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I've finally moved to a completely independent-of-a-computer hardware setup for writing music and I love it. The only thing that's missing is tape saturation - while I have a few VSTs (I mainly used the Kramer Master Tape if I wanted to go overboard, but used some of the Don't Crack ones for a little more subtlety), is my only hardware solution recording to tape, or are there guitar pedals / reasonably-priced compressors that do the job? I don't want to go lo-fi for the sake of going lo-fi but the VSTs I use get the sound I want - I'm just trying to make it sound a little less sterile with hardware. There are a few other benefits from getting a tape recorder - six inputs means I can use all my devices since right now I've routed a few things through my Monomachine since I've only a 6i6 for now. WorldWarWonderful fucked around with this message at 14:36 on May 28, 2016 |
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May 28, 2016 14:31
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WorldWarWonderful posted:I've finally moved to a completely independent-of-a-computer hardware setup for writing music and I love it. The only thing that's missing is tape saturation - while I have a few VSTs (I mainly used the Kramer Master Tape if I wanted to go overboard, but used some of the Don't Crack ones for a little more subtlety), is my only hardware solution recording to tape, or are there guitar pedals / reasonably-priced compressors that do the job? I don't want to go lo-fi for the sake of going lo-fi but the VSTs I use get the sound I want - I'm just trying to make it sound a little less sterile with hardware. Strymon Deco. i mostly use it for the tape wobble but the saturation sounds great too.
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May 28, 2016 16:34
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WorldWarWonderful posted:I've finally moved to a completely independent-of-a-computer hardware setup for writing music and I love it. The only thing that's missing is tape saturation - while I have a few VSTs (I mainly used the Kramer Master Tape if I wanted to go overboard, but used some of the Don't Crack ones for a little more subtlety), is my only hardware solution recording to tape, or are there guitar pedals / reasonably-priced compressors that do the job? I don't want to go lo-fi for the sake of going lo-fi but the VSTs I use get the sound I want - I'm just trying to make it sound a little less sterile with hardware. Well, at the lower end you could probably get an inexpensive personal reel-to-reel or even cassette recorder on Craigslist to run tracks/songs through and dick around with. At the high end Mara Machines takes old multitrack setups, fully refurbishes them, and sells them for several grand a pop.
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May 28, 2016 21:14
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WorldWarWonderful posted:I've finally moved to a completely independent-of-a-computer hardware setup for writing music and I love it. The only thing that's missing is tape saturation - while I have a few VSTs (I mainly used the Kramer Master Tape if I wanted to go overboard, but used some of the Don't Crack ones for a little more subtlety), is my only hardware solution recording to tape, or are there guitar pedals / reasonably-priced compressors that do the job? I don't want to go lo-fi for the sake of going lo-fi but the VSTs I use get the sound I want - I'm just trying to make it sound a little less sterile with hardware. Zvex lofi junky?
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May 29, 2016 00:58
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Lofi junky is pretty hamfisted in its saturation. I find that the only good sound out of it for anything percussive is knob fully to lofi. The attack of the compressor is too slow for a sound with instant attack, popping the signal. Swells are fine with the compressor though. It's amazing on full lofi, but its tonal character isn't as subtle as most tape. It's more like a 5 year old played-every-day VHS cassette. You can reduce it with wet/dry, but it's pretty stark an effect. It's a great pedal though. My favorite use has to be reverb -> lofi junky. The compressor brings the reverb tail up as an echo.
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May 29, 2016 01:21
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Neve 542?
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May 29, 2016 02:46
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Mr. Glass posted:Strymon Deco. i mostly use it for the tape wobble but the saturation sounds great too. Thanks! I'll check it out. Electric Bugaloo posted:Well, at the lower end you could probably get an inexpensive personal reel-to-reel or even cassette recorder on Craigslist to run tracks/songs through and dick around with. I was hoping to avoid using actual cassette but if it's the best price to performance ratio I can get this will probably be the avenue I take. Oldstench posted:Zvex lofi junky? My cousin has this pedal and I tried it out for a bit - it feels like it's great for warping and grit but the compression doesn't feel like it's what I'm looking for. It feels like it'd be better using on one element rather than running the whole track through it. Thank you though! Startyde posted:Neve 542? This seems like an ideal solution but good lord it's expensive  I'll see if I can get my hands on the Strymon Deco and try it out. Again thank you all for your suggestions 
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May 29, 2016 16:15
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I don't think I even like electronic music but I've probably watched a good hour or two of op-1, organelle, and minilogue videos over the last few days. If I call these things pieces of art (like the guitars on the wall) then it seems less ridiculous. The idea of being able to fiddle with the op-1 on my commute every day is pretty appealing...
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May 29, 2016 16:42
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havelock posted:I don't think I even like electronic music but I've probably watched a good hour or two of op-1, organelle, and minilogue videos over the last few days. If I call these things pieces of art (like the guitars on the wall) then it seems less ridiculous. It's been my travel companion for a few years; be it business trips, weekends at a friend's cabin, or just to sit somewhere different. I installed the latest OS beta and the presets are far better than the old ones, and better than many I've "borrowed" from other people over the years. I can't see a situation I'd use it in daily unless you take commuter trains in from the suburbs to be honest. There's no one way to use it; I usually use the first three tracks for making music, and the fourth for sketches, so you can mute and unmute as necessary. If you have a 3DS there are a few music apps for that that I prefer to ones on iOS. I am not a "keys" person but I appreciate the ability to quickly play a chord or note compared to step sequencers, and the OP-1 offers both.
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May 29, 2016 16:52
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WorldWarWonderful posted:I'll see if I can get my hands on the Strymon Deco and try it out. Again thank you all for your suggestions there are some videos on youtube of people running synths through it, but let me know if you want a demo of a specific sound or something; i'd be happy to record something quick if it would help. the other nice thing about it is that it's stereo, which is pretty rare for smaller effects pedals.
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May 29, 2016 16:53
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WorldWarWonderful posted:I can't see a situation I'd use it in daily unless you take commuter trains in from the suburbs to be honest. This is not quite my situation, but close enough. Uncrowded public transportation for about 30 mins each way every day. Right now I basically mess around on my phone reading immediately forgettable stuff. Thanks for the input on how you use it.
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May 29, 2016 17:11
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WorldWarWonderful posted:If you have a 3DS there are a few music apps for that DSN-12 is pretty tight, and like the Minilogue it has a scope. I had a perfect cover of Yaz - Situation until my 3DS got stolen 
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May 29, 2016 17:16
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At one point I was toying around with the idea of getting an OP-1 to fiddle around with on my commute, but frankly Caustic scratches the itch for a fraction of the price.
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May 29, 2016 19:28
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WorldWarWonderful posted:I was hoping to avoid using actual cassette but if it's the best price to performance ratio I can get this will probably be the avenue I take. Something to remember is that bouncing to cassette isn't just a saturation thing. You've also got the interaction of compression/expansion and noise reduction [noise compander?] It's quite a cheap way to utilise multiple effects which a lot of people pay a lot of money for (or put through very sophisticated plugins): bus compression; soft bus saturation; high-end cut off... And if you've got good tape/solid kit/your levels right, you won't even have intrusive hiss.
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May 29, 2016 21:48
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havelock posted:This is not quite my situation, but close enough. Uncrowded public transportation for about 30 mins each way every day. Right now I basically mess around on my phone reading immediately forgettable stuff. Thanks for the input on how you use it. Any questions feel free to ask! I am by no means a great improviser like the beloved Cuckoo but I've used the device extensively. Scatterfold posted:Something to remember is that bouncing to cassette isn't just a saturation thing. You've also got the interaction of compression/expansion and noise reduction [noise compander?] It's quite a cheap way to utilise multiple effects which a lot of people pay a lot of money for (or put through very sophisticated plugins): bus compression; soft bus saturation; high-end cut off... And if you've got good tape/solid kit/your levels right, you won't even have intrusive hiss. The other thing that has me leaning towards something like a Portastudio is that I'll be able to connect all my devices into one; currently everything is routed to line ins on my Monomachine since I only have two stereo inputs on my 6i6; on a recorder with six inputs it lets me hook up three devices which is enough. A guitar pedal option would mean I'd still need a mixer to consolidate the inputs into one before running everything through if I wanted to free up inputs on my Monomachine. Having an EQ option is nice but I'm tying to get not too tied up in things like that. I guess I have my answer. Now to do my research. I was just a little leery of taking the tape route because it's hard to tell a device's condition without trying it out first, not to mention I don't know if I can get the sound I want from it since it's not like software where I can try a demo out or something. WorldWarWonderful fucked around with this message at 00:44 on May 30, 2016 |
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May 30, 2016 00:42
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My Lovely Horse posted:At one point I was toying around with the idea of getting an OP-1 to fiddle around with on my commute, but frankly Caustic scratches the itch for a fraction of the price. Same, but gadget. Also, I haven't seen anything about it anywhere but Korg released a new blue tooth mobile keyboard that has some really cool poo poo like backlighting notes / chords for the key you're in and having a decent amount of control surfaces for most apps.
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May 30, 2016 09:15
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A Winner is Jew posted:Same, but gadget. Wow, that thing looks pretty neat. I'm a big dummy and can't fit my midi controller in my new room so I've been using my computer keyboard for a while, and that thing seems like a big step up. The chord and scale helpers are probably nice too since I find myself gravitating towards the same ones all the time with my limited (computer) keys, and I'm a HUGE sucker for XY-pads. Couldn't find anywhere that sells it here in Norway though. What's the price?
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May 30, 2016 09:47
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I'm sure Thomann (.de) would be happy to sell that to you for around €150, or at least that's the price I'm getting. Hell I wouldn't mind having something like that for my hardware synths to help with my rudimentary note/chord finding skills. Does anyone make a regular MIDI keyboard with that kind of training function?
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May 30, 2016 10:23
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My Lovely Horse posted:I'm sure Thomann (.de) would be happy to sell that to you for around €150, or at least that's the price I'm getting. NI's Komplete Kontrol does it, but only with VSTs that support the feature, and it's really expensive.
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May 30, 2016 15:06
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Your Computer posted:Couldn't find anywhere that sells it here in Norway though. What's the price? The new Nanos haven't shipped yet, but they're supposed to retail for less than $150 when they finally do. If you want something to dick around with right now and don't mind using a USB adapter (or a $50 Midi-Bluetooth dongle, but I don't think those are for sale yet either....NAMM was in January guys, get it together  ) any of the <$150 25 key all-in-ones that AKAI/ALESIS/Arturia/etc make will work happily with your iOS device if what you want is something small and portable.You probably already knew this but it doesn't have to have built-in Bluetooth.
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May 30, 2016 16:04
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My Lovely Horse posted:Hell I wouldn't mind having something like that for my hardware synths to help with my rudimentary note/chord finding skills. Does anyone make a regular MIDI keyboard with that kind of training function? the regular keyboard is the training keyboard  one thing that makes it easier is to stick to white keys and use your bend wheel to change keys. ofc you need a bend wheel that doesnt move back to center when you let go, not sure if which midi plugin units got that byob historian fucked around with this message at 04:17 on May 31, 2016 |
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May 31, 2016 03:59
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I imagine there's a spring in there that you could remove without too much difficulty
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May 31, 2016 04:43
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how do you guys organize your files? i've built myself into a rat's nest over the past 10 years and am now trying to reorganize w/o losing things or messing up my remote backup.
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Jun 1, 2016 02:23
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the plague bearer is pretty wild i havent figured out how to productively implement cv over gain but the little thing squeaks howls and stomps with the best of em
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Jun 7, 2016 05:51
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Did all the Korg NanoKEY Studios get immediately bought or are they not released yet? I'm seeing delivery dates from 1-2+ months on all the web shops I know about  Also, wow. I'm really on the fence about the V Collection 5. I really want the updated GUIs and Synclavier V, but the rest is.. less interesting. Since I own the V Collection 4 they gave me a 200€ coupon that only lasts until the end of June, but if I don't upgrade now I'll probably never upgrade (updated GUIs and Synclavier are not worth 500€ to me)... Your Computer fucked around with this message at 16:57 on Jun 7, 2016 |
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Jun 7, 2016 16:47
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LOVE LOVE SKELETON posted:how do you guys organize your files? i've built myself into a rat's nest over the past 10 years and am now trying to reorganize w/o losing things or messing up my remote backup. are we talking about a fuckton of .wavs here from various sources because all ways to organize stuff suck Your Computer posted:Also, wow. I'm really on the fence about the V Collection 5. I really want the updated GUIs and Synclavier V, but the rest is.. less interesting. Since I own the V Collection 4 they gave me a 200€ coupon that only lasts until the end of June, but if I don't upgrade now I'll probably never upgrade (updated GUIs and Synclavier are not worth 500€ to me)... Wait, if you already have V4 then upgrading isn't 500 euros unless you plan on buying another license for it from scratch, right? I'm seeing 399 on Arturia's site, minus 200 euros would mean 199 euros for V5 - but upgrading it should be less, correct? Laserjet 4P fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Jun 7, 2016 |
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Jun 7, 2016 21:48
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I've got my samples stored on disk by source (self made, CD, pack, rip, etc, keeping it as close to the original distribution as possible), and then a shadow structure with symbolic links that collects stuff into rough buckets by type of sound (and also does a bit of quality control by, for example, only collecting kicks from packs that have good kicks) edit: this has hosed me because Live 9 does not display symbolic links in its file browser any more, so I stick with 8 Projects, each one gets its own folder and I always collect all necessary files into that.
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Jun 7, 2016 22:00
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Your Computer posted:Did all the Korg NanoKEY Studios get immediately bought or are they not released yet? I'm seeing delivery dates from 1-2+ months on all the web shops I know about I don't think they ever released. I've been told they're expected to come in July, by a major store here in Austalia.
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Jun 8, 2016 00:39
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Laserjet 4P posted:Wait, if you already have V4 then upgrading isn't 500 euros unless you plan on buying another license for it from scratch, right? The 399€ is an "introductory price", but I don't know what that means. Even if it's not 499€ it's still a lot of money though! I was just going by this picture:  As the owner of V Collection 4, it's 199 € to upgrade to V Collection 5 until June 30th or 100€ to only get the new GUI on my old synths only (no new content). After June 30th it's either 399€ or 499€ for the upgrade and 150€ for the GUI, even if you already own V Collection 4.
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Jun 8, 2016 04:26
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Your Computer posted:The 399€ is an "introductory price", but I don't know what that means. Even if it's not 499€ it's still a lot of money though! I was just going by this picture: ...until Black Friday rolls around and they halve the price again. If you're thinking this hard about it, at least get the GUIs for the synths you already have. The resolution issue was by far one of the biggest persistent issues with V Collection, although 200€ for GUIs, a new browsing system, 5 new instruments, and a supposedly much improved Analog Lab seems fine for what you're getting.
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Jun 8, 2016 12:48
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Your Computer posted:As the owner of V Collection 4, it's 199 € to upgrade to V Collection 5 until June 30th or 100€ to only get the new GUI on my old synths only (no new content). lomarf what the gently caress arturia why doesn't this work like komplete?
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Jun 8, 2016 19:31
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You can now play the Volca FM with velocity thanks to a fancy midi cable! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhG2nlbwFv0
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Jun 10, 2016 17:55
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This probably isn't the right place for this question but it is related to synths so here it goes. What do you guys use as far as racks go? I recently inherited a rack mounted mixer and a rack mounted tape deck. That paired with my slim phatty and my effects processor and I'm still not really sure what rack size I need. Basically where should I go to learn about rack mounts? Also what power conditioners do you recommend?
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Jun 10, 2016 18:18
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Sexy Randal posted:You can now play the Volca FM with velocity thanks to a fancy midi cable! The only thing stopping me from getting a Volca FM is I'm out of inputs on my USB interface as well as outputs on my sequencer. As someone who isn't a keys person but has used FM almost exclusively for nearly a decade it's perfect. WorldWarWonderful fucked around with this message at 00:41 on Jun 11, 2016 |
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Jun 11, 2016 00:25
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64bit_Dophins posted:This probably isn't the right place for this question but it is related to synths so here it goes. I've had a whatever Furman power conditioner and run into 0 issues. Everything "rack" without qualifiers is standardized to the 19" format, and stuff is sold by U (rack units) - essentially, how tall the faceplate is. It's a common format with computer/IT hardware as well. So, a 1U rack thing is 1U times 19". The whole idea is its completely interchangeable, so pick whatever works - as long as it's deep enough. I wanna say a Slim Phatty is 3-4U, most effects processors are 1-2, and mixers are who knows. Good luck!
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Jun 11, 2016 02:43
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In re mixers specifically they make rack cases where the top part is a second rack intended for a mixer and it can be set at a convenient angle for working with it and so on, so you might look into those especially if you're going to have some additional rack gear.
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Jun 11, 2016 04:08
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64bit_Dophins posted:This probably isn't the right place for this question but it is related to synths so here it goes. If you have access to DIY hardware (saws, drills, etc), rack rails are pretty inexpensive, so building your own and experimenting isn't a big cost. If there's an Ikea near you, people have found some furniture that is a perfect size and just needs rails added. If you aren't very DIY, and you're also looking at rack prices and your panicking, check out rack stands like this. I figure the best way to go with it is to be pretty relaxed and flexible about it. I'm still not totally sold on figuring out my rack situation, right now I'm using 6U of eurorack rails, and I have 1U of a rack effect. I don't know if I want to continue to grow my Eurorack in 19" rack format, or get dedicated eurorack cases that are wider.
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Jun 11, 2016 04:19
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My Maths arrived today. I think I'm good on modules for a bit while I figure out what I want out of this next. Definitely glad I made the plunge into Eurorack. I've learned so much about how synthesizers actually work. Here's where I am now: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/274304 
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Jun 14, 2016 04:01
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So a local pawn shop has a Roland JD800 priced at $600CDN. I'm gonna take my headphones in tomorrow and test it out, see if the keys are sticky (reading up on the red glue issue), and if everything seems okay I'm gonna lowball them at $300 and see if I can't take it home with me for under $400, then flip it on eBay/Reverb for $700+ profit 'cuz I got hosed on taxes this year. Are there any other red flags I should be wary of with the JD800 aside from the sticky keys/red glue issue? 
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Jun 14, 2016 08:49
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Handen posted:Are there any other red flags I should be wary of with the JD800 aside from the sticky keys/red glue issue? Make sure all the sliders work.
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Jun 14, 2016 09:11
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