Just had to brag.....
2007-11-11 by soundthinker2001
Hi All I owned a VFX last century when they were brand new, and chose it above the Korg M-1 (which was the bees-knees at the time so everyone told me - but it was heaps noisier than the VFX - believe it or not). TIP 1 Actually on that topic, you can change the output "op-amp" chips on the VFX and make it TWICE as quiet. ??? - I'm no tech, I think they are called the op-amp chips, whatever the output stage chips are called.... I had it done, and it made a BIG difference. TIP 2. ALSO. When recording, always have the VFX turned all the way up, and have the input of your mixer (or amp live for that matter) way down. The volume pot on the VFX is NOT actually a volume pot. It's a digital controller that attentuates the output level of the sound, NOT the whole output stage, there-fore, not the background noise. So if you're recording your VFX with the volume set at half - your recording with about 20/30 db more noise!!!!!!! Anyway Then I changed to an SD-1 when they came out. What a step up!! LOVED it. BUT (like all "pro" muso's) at a certain point, ran out of money - sold all my gear. Years later bought another SD-1, I missed it so much (whimper). THEN Bought a Yamaha Motif - 7 - all the bells and whistles, everything that opens and shuts. Couldn't POSSIBLY need the dear old SD-1 any more. WRONG!!!!! DUMB MOVE!!! Particulary when I had a CD out that featured all my FAV SD sounds... Have a listen... http://www.aura-chi.com.au/musiccd.html So I just bought my THIRD SD-1!!! It was on Ebay here in Australia listed as "pick-up only" - 1000 miles from my home. DAMN!! Emailed the guy, turns out he was happy to freight it. AND he had all the original packaging, and manuals, and disks, and everything!!!!! Even a custom made dust cover. So (I'm assuming), because it was listed as pick-up only, no-one else bid. So I got a VIRGIN SD-1 for $499 - about $420 USD!!! Not a SINGLE mark on it. Only played in his church 3 times, otherwise sat at home hardly touched since he bought it new. Wooo-Hooo!!! Moral(s) of the story? 1. All comes to he who waits. 2. DON'T ever sell a classic. Some of the sounds are terribly dated now, but what it was best at when it was new, it is still BEST at. LAST TIP.... To the guy just sussing out sys-ex transfers to his VFX/SD try and use a sys-ex transfer program that you can control the transfer speed on. Ensoniq gear likes S-L-O-W transfers. You can try a program that will work perfectly, but if you use the default (fast) transfer speed, you will get the mistaken impression that the program doesn't work with your machine. boy what a prolonged ramble!! Sorry. cheers Roger