I just spent a week thinking about buying a Korg PS3300. Had a plan to sell about 10 synths to pay for it. Ultimately it just seems like a bad idea. One major thing to consider is if something happens and you need to sell something, It's pretty easy to sell one or more synths for about $1000. It's going to be really hard to sell a $10,000 and up synth. You have to find the one person that wants that synth that bad AND has that money. I did the same thing where I had a week where I thought I was going to get a Schmidt. Nope. I'm finding that synths in the 3k range are really my favorite. Quantum, Fizmo, Poly Evolver, Prophet X, Prophet 10, etc etc and a little bit more for the Moog One. Plus with vintage stuff, especially the CS line, you have parts that can not be replaced. That 10K can be gone at the blink of an eye. I say that but I have a Polymoog 203a so it's not like I always listen to reason. Next week I could flip again and order that PS3300. Ya never know with this nut.
The PS3300 is really weird too, not sure if I'd even want one. It's kind of a weird divide down design with full polyphony (kind of like a Polymoog), I didn't think they have memory either, and the interface looks clunky.
@@lundsweden They make new PS3300s now. One at a time, made per order. It now has patch memory, midi, etc. I like them weird and my Polymoog is one of the most unique synths I ever heard and I've owned almost 200 at this point. I like the weirdos and unique synths.
@@VincentPresley I have a soft spot for weird and I really like the Polymoog. In theory it shouldn't sound so good, being divide down, but I think the Moog engineers were very clever with it. It sounds great, very unique with bags of character!
Simply comparing naked oscillators doesn't give you the whole story. How the signal path is routed, and what parameters are available - most notably the filter and voice modulation - are what set synths apart from each other. Case in point, the Memorymoog shared the same VCO curtis chips as countless others, but it had discrete per voice filters, voice modulation options, and more that completely set it apart from all others... to this day. Is IT worth 10k? Yes it is.
Hi VC! If you haven't seen my comment in the chat: Longtime OB member Marcus Ryle explains "The 4th Waveform" in detail at 10:44 Channel is Oberheim Official The vid is called: Comparison #3: how OB-X8 compares to an original OB-8
Would very much like to find a Yamaha Synth or Stringer with their "Symphonic" BBD effect. Would definitely get it modded for using the Symphonic effect as effect on other sounds. One of the most cool effects.
Turning my Kronos & Triton into CS-80 emulators at the moment. Immediate success and having a ball so far...except for aspects of the filters...but I'm sure I'll find a workaround.
Yeah the filters are going to sound digital - but that's not always a bad thing! You can make plenty of sounds that evoke Vangelis without 1-1 matching a CS-80
When you take into account that a new Prophet 5 cost the equivalent of $20,000 back in the day, you can buy a really nice sounding instrument for cheap these days. My take on vintage synthesizers in this day and age is the same I feel about a vintage car. They both get you where you’re going, but if you want to go in a 1957 Chevrolet it’s gonna cost you.
There are many, many vintage synths you can still buy at incredible price points. But yeah, most of these synths are actually devalued even if they seem expensive to us.
Ahh..well the Polaris uses the same CEM oscillator and filter chips the Xpander and Matrix 12 used. But It's not just the chips ...it's the circuits used around them that defines the sound. I mean my Jupiter 6 and MkS 80 sound very different. Same chips. What chips does the CS70M use? Not that it matters..Really..
Apart from them both being slightly out of tune from each other, the key tracking on the Yamaha seems off (flat) for the higher notes (or maybe it's the other way around) - maybe just a calibration issue? Worth more than 10K... IMO no unless you are a collector - nice to have, but plenty of modern analog polys now would be just as useful/more versatile for one third the price.
Man I wish I lived in country where used synthesizers were easily accessible. I'm from South Africa and the second hand Synth market is basically non existant and buying from platforms like Reverb and ebay Is not worth it for us since shipping is often more expensive then the synth itself.
Dunno. I only know I paid Eu 500 (approx USD) for my CS70M, although it was only 5 voice at the time following a tumble. The chip that saved it only cost a few bucks. Nowadays such remarks are of course understatement boasting. Like the opposite of telling what your badgeless AMG cost you. 🤣
@@VultureCulture Put a 2 before a 5 and 2 zero's in Eu's plus a 1600 km (approx. 1000 miles) roundtrip with the car to pick it up in Munich, Germany. Any idea what the REAL going rate for CS80's is?
@@VultureCulture True that. I have once described the SK30 as almost equivalent to a monophonic CS 80 because of all its layering options. On the other hand the 70 is true polyphonic and has programmable ringmod. It’s biggest vice: Th mono aftertouch always runs via the second, nonprogrammable LFO. The SK30 gives you real aftertouch control of the monosynth in stead so one can do the great CS 80 style fading in trick of the second “channel” per aftertouch.
The SK30 is the best bang for the buck option of the Yamaha analogs. I own a SK50D myself but one cannot layer the monosynth with the poly section on that. Oh bugger!
CS70M sounds woody and dense Chroma Polaris has a wind chimes metal sound I would get modern synths cause you can save more patches and integrates into DAW .
I just spent a week thinking about buying a Korg PS3300. Had a plan to sell about 10 synths to pay for it. Ultimately it just seems like a bad idea. One major thing to consider is if something happens and you need to sell something, It's pretty easy to sell one or more synths for about $1000. It's going to be really hard to sell a $10,000 and up synth. You have to find the one person that wants that synth that bad AND has that money. I did the same thing where I had a week where I thought I was going to get a Schmidt. Nope. I'm finding that synths in the 3k range are really my favorite. Quantum, Fizmo, Poly Evolver, Prophet X, Prophet 10, etc etc and a little bit more for the Moog One. Plus with vintage stuff, especially the CS line, you have parts that can not be replaced. That 10K can be gone at the blink of an eye. I say that but I have a Polymoog 203a so it's not like I always listen to reason. Next week I could flip again and order that PS3300. Ya never know with this nut.
The PS3300 is really weird too, not sure if I'd even want one. It's kind of a weird divide down design with full polyphony (kind of like a Polymoog), I didn't think they have memory either, and the interface looks clunky.
@@lundsweden They make new PS3300s now. One at a time, made per order. It now has patch memory, midi, etc. I like them weird and my Polymoog is one of the most unique synths I ever heard and I've owned almost 200 at this point. I like the weirdos and unique synths.
@@VincentPresley I have a soft spot for weird and I really like the Polymoog. In theory it shouldn't sound so good, being divide down, but I think the Moog engineers were very clever with it. It sounds great, very unique with bags of character!
hahahaha
I would love to check out a Polymoog at some point but it seems like they're brutal to service.
I’m absolutely hanging out for Behringer to recreate the CS80.
That’s one synth I would buy.
That will be a big deal when it drops
Simply comparing naked oscillators doesn't give you the whole story. How the signal path is routed, and what parameters are available - most notably the filter and voice modulation - are what set synths apart from each other. Case in point, the Memorymoog shared the same VCO curtis chips as countless others, but it had discrete per voice filters, voice modulation options, and more that completely set it apart from all others... to this day. Is IT worth 10k? Yes it is.
Hey, we're all getting old, fat and richer than we once were. If it makes us happy, then it's worth it!
Boomer?
@@scottbirch968 Zoomer
Hi VC! If you haven't seen my comment in the chat: Longtime OB member Marcus Ryle explains "The 4th Waveform" in detail at 10:44
Channel is Oberheim Official The vid is called:
Comparison #3: how OB-X8 compares to an original OB-8
Would very much like to find a Yamaha Synth or Stringer with their "Symphonic" BBD effect. Would definitely get it modded for using the Symphonic effect as effect on other sounds. One of the most cool effects.
I think the SK's have this sound in them for wayyyyy cheaper.
@@VultureCulture The SK series also sound really nice.
Turning my Kronos & Triton into CS-80 emulators at the moment.
Immediate success and having a ball so far...except for aspects of the filters...but I'm sure I'll find a workaround.
Yeah the filters are going to sound digital - but that's not always a bad thing! You can make plenty of sounds that evoke Vangelis without 1-1 matching a CS-80
When you take into account that a new Prophet 5 cost the equivalent of $20,000 back in the day, you can buy a really nice sounding instrument for cheap these days. My take on vintage synthesizers in this day and age is the same I feel about a vintage car. They both get you where you’re going, but if you want to go in a 1957 Chevrolet it’s gonna cost you.
There are many, many vintage synths you can still buy at incredible price points. But yeah, most of these synths are actually devalued even if they seem expensive to us.
That is an SK String ensemble and not the CS70 that the TOTO guys played live! I'd have a 100% serviced Siel instead :D
Ahh..well the Polaris uses the same CEM oscillator and filter chips the Xpander and Matrix 12 used.
But It's not just the chips ...it's the circuits used around them that defines the sound. I mean my Jupiter 6 and MkS 80 sound very different. Same chips.
What chips does the CS70M use? Not that it matters..Really..
It's all discreet and Yamaha IC's
Apart from them both being slightly out of tune from each other, the key tracking on the Yamaha seems off (flat) for the higher notes (or maybe it's the other way around) - maybe just a calibration issue? Worth more than 10K... IMO no unless you are a collector - nice to have, but plenty of modern analog polys now would be just as useful/more versatile for one third the price.
Absolutely agree! Tragically since I bought it
Man I wish I lived in country where used synthesizers were easily accessible. I'm from South Africa and the second hand Synth market is basically non existant and buying from platforms like Reverb and ebay Is not worth it for us since shipping is often more expensive then the synth itself.
That's a bummer to hear! How much to ship a synth to SA usually? I shipped the giant CS70M to me from Japan for about $300
@@VultureCulture about $450 + 40% customs tax on the value of purchase.
@The_Sonic_Oasis brutal
esta dificil decidir cual de los dos
Dunno. I only know I paid Eu 500 (approx USD) for my CS70M, although it was only 5 voice at the time following a tumble. The chip that saved it only cost a few bucks. Nowadays such remarks are of course understatement boasting. Like the opposite of telling what your badgeless AMG cost you. 🤣
hahaha
@@VultureCulture Now ask me what I paid for the CS80 and weep. 😁
@marcbrasse747 how much?? 😭
@@VultureCulture Put a 2 before a 5 and 2 zero's in Eu's plus a 1600 km (approx. 1000 miles) roundtrip with the car to pick it up in Munich, Germany. Any idea what the REAL going rate for CS80's is?
@marcbrasse747 so hard to know what the real sold prices are but it's at least 10x the price
The CS70 looks like my SK30. The SK30 is also a lot cheaper than the CS70
A whole lot cheaper. During the stream I mention how I've always wanted to shoot out a sk30 to see if you really need all the extra cost of the 70M
@@VultureCulture True that. I have once described the SK30 as almost equivalent to a monophonic CS 80 because of all its layering options. On the other hand the 70 is true polyphonic and has programmable ringmod. It’s biggest vice: Th mono aftertouch always runs via the second, nonprogrammable LFO. The SK30 gives you real aftertouch control of the monosynth in stead so one can do the great CS 80 style fading in trick of the second “channel” per aftertouch.
The SK30 is the best bang for the buck option of the Yamaha analogs. I own a SK50D myself but one cannot layer the monosynth with the poly section on that. Oh bugger!
@@VultureCulture Mine is definitely a keeper. I doubt that I miss any features that the CS70 has.
I have missed live stream. :(
Both of these synths sound lovely. Hard to choose one :)
Thank you, Vulture Culture, for this great comparison!
CS70M sounds woody and dense Chroma Polaris has a wind chimes metal sound I would get modern synths cause you can save more patches and integrates into DAW .