What is your favourite synthesizer?? (that you own)

I know that alot of people voted on that top 10 synthesizer poll, but I don't think that everyone owned the ones they voted for. The greatest synthesizer ever doesn't necessarily matter when you just want to make music.
Soo...for everyday music production, what is your favourite piece of gear? It can be software or hardware...sampler, synth, music program etc.

I think I would vote for RM1x /RS7000, even though I sold it :X I need to get one of those back! I was making new songs everyday on those yamaha machines.

Ebay Scam: Alesis Fusion 8hd

Not sure if this is a scam?
Link takes you to the auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200093970435&fromMakeTrack=true

Seller has two of these up. He actually responded to me and said it has a factory warranty.

Wouldn't you love to have one for $240 bucks! But I am really sick of the amount of fraud on Ebay.

Living with Vista / Keyboard Workstation Dilemna

Living with Vista:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,129375-c,vistalonghorn/article.html

His Alesis Photon X25 MIDI controller hardware no longer worked. When he tried to run his favorite DJ software, it didn't work properly; when he tried to quit the program, Vista rebooted him into Safe Mode

I wonder how long it will take for Vista to be usable for someone who does music?
====================================

Pretty slow on the updates, hopefully that should change soon. I'm thinking about making more video educational tutorials.


Keyboard Workstation dilemna......

Its my birthday coming up soon. I want a keyboard workstation with weighted keys. What do I pick? The music companies are making things really tough for us. Unfortunately its because the keyboards lack key qualities which make any one keyboard the superior choice. Here is a Pro and Con list for each. Keep in mind that I haven't played any of these! I am just comparing the features and their sound demos. I don't have everything listed, but this is just in general...

Roland Fantom/Juno-G:
Pros: Nice interface, good sequencer, very nice screen, okay sound banks, sampling.
Cons: $$$ Expensive. The sounds are not quite my cup of tea. Sounds are probably not as editable as they could be. Expansion banks cost money. Only records at 44.1khz.
Sounds: Kind of standard. A little too roland-ish for me to buy it.

Alesis Fusion:
Pro: Price is just right, especially for the 88 key version. Sound is amazing. Sounds are editable patches with 4 synth engines. Comes with free patches from sweetwater.
Con: The sequencer is not good. Bugs. Reports of the keyboard failing. 90-day warranty doesnt seem like enough.....scared to buy this machine, but I want the sounds really bad.
Sounds: Kind of like a 70s muppet christmas special. I love the piano. The synth capabilities are extremely seductive looking.

Yamaha:
Pro: Good sequencer and a system that I might be familiar with (I own a RM1x). Yamaha makes super solid machines.
Cons: Still a little expensive for the features I am looking for. Don't look the price you paid for them. Sounds can be a little yamaha-ish (bright).
Sounds: Very yamaha ish. Doesn't look like it has good acoustic sounds.

Korg:
Pro: Long history of making keyboard workstations. Most of them look pretty cool. Touchscreen.
Cons: The sounds don't grab me, but are pretty decent. Seems like they are not very innovative. Expensive.
Sounds: Eh? What kind of music would I make with this...I don't know. Not my style.


What do I want? I really want a version of the Alesis Fusion that I could trust. I hope that they make a Fusion 2.0.
I would also love recording features on the Juno-G but its only in 44.1khz! Note to Roland: Some people do make audio for dvds.

Audi TT Video - Good Sound!

LINK takes you to the video page.

Making of the Doctor Who Theme

BBC documentary on the Doctor Who Theme.

Really cool.

Also, check out Create Digital Music's post on the Doctor Who theme. He has way more information!

Learning To Play

I've been trying to read sheet music and play piano. The traditional way. Playing someone else's music opens up opportunities. Your hands and brain learn new ways to play and improvise.

I have no previous formal instruction in playing piano. That doesn't really matter. Fortunately I was in band for a number of years and can read rhythms perfectly. The main things I needed to learn was how to read the notes (up and down) on the staff...Right now I am using Piano for Dummies to learn how to read and play piano sheet music. Its a really excellent book. It comes with a music CD for every piece of music so you know if your doing it right or not. The thing I like about this book is that it puts you through it fast. It also teaches you the correct hand positions which is necessary even when not playing sheet music. Not everyone wants to buy something and take the time to learn piano, and I'm not pushing that book...so there are some online sites:
My music teachers taught me rhythm first, because it is the basis for all music...

Drum Lessons

Another resource:

Go Piano Website


Your almost better off getting a book if you want to learn yourself, or a teacher if you have no training.

Chip Radio Streaming Server Test

I am looking for good solution to put up streaming radio for the site! Does anyone know of anything thats free? Or if someone is willing to donate bandwidth, or set something up. Right now its running off my home cable connection for fun...

Chip Radio Address (56k)
http://24.236.144.203:8000/listen.m3u

Random thought: iTunes doesnt have any interface skins! What ever happened to those?