Ensoniq ASR-X Sampler/Synthesizer - $200 SOLD

UPDATE 052810: Sold! And for only $180! Why did you wait so long? Why didn’t you make me an offer?

Somehow I never thought it would come to this. I’m selling my Ensoniq ASR-X. LAME. But you can have it. COOL.

[note: Tumblr isn’t into me posting pictures today, but here’s a look at the unit. Pic isn’t mine. I can provide a picture upon request.]

This is a fantastic instrument. Period. Back when it came out it was Ensoniq’s answer to the Akai MPC, and it never really caught on, since most Ensoniqheads were already making beats on their ASR-10s and didn’t see the need to double up. Well, I did. And now I’m halving down. The ASR-10 stays, and the ASR-X goes. And the DP/4 stays. And the SQ-80 is already gone. [Sniff.]

I couldn’t have been more productive with this goofy little box. The groove quantization is a little wonky, but it ran me into more happy accidents than I can even remember. One is helpmesaveme from I Am Not A Sailor I Am the Captain - check the glitch at around 0:44 -  if I recall correctly everything but the flute lead came from the ASR-X). Apparently there is an updated OS floating around the internet that can tighten things up. The drums from Snake Oil, from week 40 of 52pickup, were also ASR-X drums. Check that deep distortion on the 808-style kick. Quite honestly, I programmed more drums on here than I can possibly remember, and when I wasn’t programming in the box, I was playing nastified sample drums into Pro Tools using this machine and sequencing using other software.

I’m convincing myself not to sell it. You might want to email me now, before I start writing the next paragraph.

If you’re an Ensoniq dork like me, you don’t need to be told that the ASR-X sounds beautiful. Ensoniq-beautiful. It has that round, grimy, 16-bit-digital sound that plays great in hip-hop and industrial genres. It breathes.

The ASR-X can also work overtime as an effects unit. I originally bought it (and the DP/4) because I feared that my ASR-10 would burn out and leave me bereft of my favorite digital effects. The ASR-X’s effects, while apparently the same, always seemed to me to be a bit brighter and more pronounced that the effects on the 10. But maybe that’s just me. The distortion patches alone are worth the price of admission.

The memory on this box has been maxed out, so sample time runs at 2+ minutes, which is good for an early-90s sampler. SCSI is installed (I never used it), so there is a possibility to expand.

Some issues with this unit: the audio outs are very weak. I always worked around this using a headphone splitter, and never had any problems. The value knob is finicky at times, too. This can be worked around via MIDI or simply finessed by the right pair of loving fingertips. I always chose the latter, and the ASR-X and I got along just fine.

Price is $200 OBO, down from $225. Email me and let’s get you happy.

Casio DG-10 Digital Guitar - $150

UPDATE 060810: Price drop! Turns out someone modded the output section. There is no longer an instrument out. Just a line out. Please take into consideration. Otherwise, the unit is in great condition. All pickups work.

The Super Synth Savings Spectacular continues. Apologies for the delay.

Next up we have the Casio DG-10 Digital Guitar. DG stands for Digital Guitar, I gather, so the full name of this item is the Casio Digital Guitar 10 Digital Guitar, which is appopriate, because it is indeed a digital guitar, so why not say it twice.

I bought this in mid-July of ‘09 and I regret to disclose that I used it only once during 52pickup, on Cruella de Ill/Donner Pass Tuxedo, my Week 37 entry. I had a blast using it, though - the drum samples and the mandolin lead both came directly from the DG-10 (dirtied up a bit during the mix, but you get the point). However, since I do not and cannot play guitar, I found little other use for it. It’s all over the record I just finished making with Felix and Volcano! - it worked really well with the band’s synthy style.

Speaking of the mandolin patch: if you are perhaps interested in using the sounds that Flight of the Conchords use on “Boom,” then this is the piece for you. They use the DG-20, the DG-10’s younger brother who ate slightly less lead paint as a child.

Sonics aside, this piece should not be overlooked as a legitimately delicious piece of studio candy. It was made in 1986, is in fantastic cosmetic condition, and still has all of its original strings. I have it positioned in my studio so it is one of the first things that people see when they walk in. Clients inevitably gravitate toward it and love trying to find a place for it in their arrangements. It’s a great creative tool that I’m going to be sad to see go. But alas. You must purchase it. 

That’s it. More pieces up soon. Email me if you’re interested, or jump over to my Craigslist post for this item and email me from there. Either way is fine.

Roland MC-307 - $150

Another in my series of synths-for-sale-because-I’m-moving-to-New-Orleans: the Roland MC-307.

I bought this piece in Texas over Christmas after I was done with 52pickup because I was so impressed with the work that Tuck Digz does using his Roland MC-505. Tuck is one of those guys who has developed a full skill set on one synth - the guy makes immaculate arrangements using just the 505 drumbox. The drum patterns for Company Man, Spicy Topix, and Extraordinary Rendition, all late 52pickup songs, were all whipped up by Tuck on the MC-505. I especially like the distortion/destruction effect on the drums for Extraordinary Rendition.

The 307 is a little brother to the 505 with a few less options. Notably, it is missing the D-beam laser controller, which is a damn shame. It still sounds fantastic, though. Its sound is clean and crisp, in stark contrast to the rounder, fuzzier Ensoniq gear that I covet so much. I picked it up because I was floored by the depth of sound that Tucker was able to tease out of his 505, but alas, I was never able to incorporate it into my rig.

Known issue: The stop button on the tranport of this piece is not working, hence the price break. It might be fixable; I have not tried. Anyone with a base knowledge of MIDI can hook up a controller via the MIDI-in input and use an external transport.

If you’re interested, click on the link at the top of the post and contact me via Craigslist. Thanks!

Ensoniq SQ-80 - $300 - SOLD!

UPDATE 051010: Sold to a nice gentleman from Providence. Happy to give this one a good home.

It will come to news to a few of you that I am moving to New Orleans in the fall. I’m saving my long-winded explanation for another time, but restlessness, adventure, bounce rap, and a beautiful woman all are at play here.

Anyway, I’m selling a few things to finance the move and streamline my setup, and since streamlining one’s setup is basically an exercise in practicality, I’ll be selling some fantastic pieces in the next few months. If you’re slow to jump to conclusions, this means that I’ll be commemorating and advertising (commemoratizing, or even better, advermorating) my items-for-sale via blog.

First up is this little beauty, the Ensoniq SQ-80. I bought it about ninety percent of the way through production of I Am Not a Sailor I Am the Captain (yes, that’s a link to my store - moving is expensive!) and immediately used it for the synth lead on Asteroid Belt. I was attracted by the hybrid analog-digital design. The digital waveforms run through analog filters and VCOs, which de-cheeses the late 80s cheesiness of the samples to my great satisfaction. There is even a tape in jack for outboard filter use. I heard through the grapevine that noise folks like to use the drum patches as triggers to make the VCOs run wild, but I never got around to using that trick. I mostly used it for lush pads and the occasional synth trumpet. Oh, and it has the best key action and aftertouch of any of my synths, ever.

The SQ80 found a friend in Sam Ueda, braintrust of New Hampshire-based synthpop Felix and Volcano!, whose Grow Rich EP (produced by me!) is hitting the mastering room at New Alliance East in a a few days and hitting the streets soon thereafter. Check for it during the freakout section of Shaadows; Sam found some beautiful, blown-out sounds that really make the end of that song great.

Also, let’s talk about how beautifully ugly this thing is. Its blue and red stripe pattern remind me for no good reason of these terrible Chicago White Sox uniforms from the 1980s. Samples are loaded via some sort of stupidly proprietary Atari-ish cartridge. The digital display is positively Speak N Read-esque. It simultenously looks amazing and looks like shit. You want to buy it.

I will be sad to see this big guy go. Unfortunately, it’s just not going to fit in the truck. Someone here can give it a good home. It’s in fantastic cosmetic condition and I encountered zero technical issues during the two years that I owned it. Contact me if you’re interested.

Good golly, look at this formatting. We’ll have to switch this up sometime soon.