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The Gakken synth 2 is a fun little synth that you can get some surprisingly cool sounds from, especially with guitar pedals. The knobs are the worst I have ever seen. They might not fall off, but feel really cheap. The theremin plus is the second version of their theremin. People had moded it with a tin foil on the back running to the battery. When you held on the the tin foil it would reverse the polarity of the theremin. So that when you get closer the pitch gets higher and not lower, like a real theremin. It has pitch and sensitivity controls. These are cheap but fun and somewhat musical toys that I am glad I purchased.
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I'm going to be blunt: this is is a toy. This isn't meant to be staple in anybody's setup and certainly won't take the place of a legitimate synth. No, this is for entertainment purposes only, a neat little gadget to play around with until either boredom sets in or something better comes along. Calling this a "kit," then, is both fitting and a inaccurate: the only thing to assemble here are the stickers and maybe the knobs, and the latter is debatable, as due to the remarkably cheap build of this unit, at least one or two knobs are guaranteed to fall off upon opening the box. The stylus can snap like a twig if the plastic holding it in it's tray isn't bent back slightly, and the LFO and VCF buttons are so stiff that even if you hear a difference, you're not sure you're the one who made it in the first place. Giving credit where credit is due, the instructions are easy to wrap your head around, and I could probably appreciate it's nuances if it weren't written entirely in Japanese. This might have more potential for those who are DIY-minded and not too shabby with a soldering iron, but on it's own the Gakken SX-150 mkII occupies an awkward space between toy lovers and musicians where neither one is totally satisfied. The price can't be beat and it's perfectly appropriate given its competition, I just wish that I had picked one up back when they were even cheaper so I could justify to myself the poor construction and limited parameters.Read full review
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SX-150 is the cheapest analog synthesizer available today. It sounds awesome and it's a lot of fun. The main problem is the lack of keyboard - those used to play keys will be disappointed. In any case, Japanese guys who designed it understood exactly how to serve it. It's made to be modified, upgraded, painted, modded etc. If you're a DIY enthusiast you will find many online suggestions how to modify SX-150. Remember - it's not a keyboard and I think those trying to make it a keyboard are wrong. Midi modules driving Sx-150 are also sort of cheesy, usually made by guys afraid to drive a musical instrument without familiar features. It's a stylophone with some real good, fat analog sounds. It's not really built to play melodies, but it farts, quacks, squeals and makes all sorts of cool noises. My kids and even my wife can play it.Read full review
A great introduction to analog synths. You can get first hand experience with LFOs, square & sawtooth wave types, envelope, attack & delay, etc. The ribbon portion of the synth is a bit unconventional but it is fun to play. The speaker isn't great, but plug into some home stereo speakers or studio monitors and this little synth will blow your mind.
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You can have a lot of fun with these - how about hooking one up to a sequencer (perhaps a DIY analogue baby 8) or combining two to make a dual oscillator synth, or making a midi to analogue converter so you can play one of these from a midi keyboard? Such possibilities - hours of fun beckon! (Note that prices have gone up enormously over the last couple of years, as it seems they are no longer being made. I have 3 of these now - the first I got for around £20 including delivery. What a bargain that was).
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