“Where does a kid get six or seven thousand dollars a pop? Or even $2,500?” pondered Oscar Peterson in our October 1983 interview. The jazz piano
demigod was reflecting on the cost of electronic instruments and on how lucky he was to have access to state-of-the-art gear for his foray into synthesis. Luckily, the early ’80s were when keyboard makers started responding in earnest to the demand for synths that a weekend warrior or committed
student could hope to save up for. As an adjunct to our first annual (2012) Keyboard Hall of Fame, we salute these classics for bringing real synthesis power to the rest of us.
ROLAND JUNO-6 AND JUNO-60
• Released Jan. 1982 and Oct. 1982,
respectively.
• Juno-6: $1,295 list | Juno-60: $1,795 list
• Intended to fatten up the single-oscillator
engine, the sub-oscillator and chorus
effect created a signature sound that
makes Junos highly sought after today.
• Juno-60 added patch memory.
• Neither had MIDI, but analog buffs
insist the MIDI-equipped Juno-106
(1984) doesn’t sound as fat.
CASIO CT-201
• Released 1980.
• $649 list.
• Eight-note polyphony.
• Not editable, but 29 presets featured
remarkably percussive and acoustic
sounds for the time.
• Used two square-wave oscillators
with variable (but preset) pulse-widths
to create these sounds.
KORG POLY-800
• Released 1983.
• Eight voices with one oscillator or
four voices with two oscillators.
• Sawtooth/square oscillators with up
to four organ-like “pipe lengths” you
could toggle—baby additive synthesis!
• Smashed the $1,000 barrier for
programmable synths with a list price
of $795.
• Separate envelopes for each oscillator and
filter, previously unheard of at this price.
SEQUENTIAL CIRCUITS
PROPHET-600
• Released Dec. 1982.
• $1,995 list.
• First MIDI product ever!
• With six voices and two oscillators
per voice, it outspec’d its big brother
the Prophet-5 in many ways, signaling
a sharp decline in the price of robust
analog synthesis.
KORG POLYSIX
• Released 1981.
• $1,999 list price was a dramatic new
low for a poly with patch memory.
• Had a sub-oscillator and arpeggiator.
• To save cost, had no sustain pedal
input. Korg argued that since it was
programmable, you could switch to
a version of your patch with a long
envelope release.
YAMAHA DX7
• Released 1983.
• $1,995 list.
• Based on FM research by Stanford’s
John Chowning.
• Brought digital synthesis to
mainstream musicians.
• Excellent at struck, plucked, and bell
sounds that analog synths couldn’t do
with the same clarity.
• Second best selling synth ever, outdone
only by the Korg M1 workstation.