I used to drool over classic synths, like the TB303, Minimoog, Arp 2600, and there was at least one synth I had always wanted from early-00’s/late 90’s, but nowadays with all the remakes coming out for way less and being all-analog, I haven’t really had much desire to get into any of the old systems. I LOVE analog, but I’m not necessarily going for vintage original gear. It if it gets the job done and it’s analog, I’m happy enough.
The late 90’s/early-00’s stuff, back in the day before analog started coming back, people were still praising the superiority and convenience (and cost) of digital gear and damning analog as “old”. Now, analog is back and people realize it actually IS really cool and provides things that you just don’t really have in digital formats. I think it was just the old people thinking analog was “dead” when really it was just because no one was making analog gear anymore. Granted, a lot of the designs from old synths were still under copyright so clones were out, but people still made stuff like the XoXBox… I don’t know, it’s weird having people get into it now, having grew up in a time when all that stuff was just “old” and “outdated”, and only certain professionals who KNEW analog was awesome stuck with it, but now it’s back in and analog’s ok because it’s being made new.
In any case, nowadays all the gear from the late 90’s/early-00’s doesn’t really seem to offer as much imo. There was definitely some gear from that era I had always really wanted, for example the Korg MS2000. I’ve ALWAYS wanted that synth ever since I found a rack version in a used music gear shop, went back and forth over it for like a month, then finally went in to buy it but someone had beat me to it!
My concerns with gear from that period, is just it’s longevity, as the digital devices I’ve had haven’t always seemed to handle aging in a room that well. Granted, I’d leave the equipment out and so it’d get dust in it and stuff like that, so part of it is just me not necessarily taking care of it, but certainly now, buying something from that age and me still just going to leave it out until it gets dusty and knobs start freaking out, I’m not terribly assured of how long they last. In any case, VSTi’s are WAYYYY better than they used to be back in that day, and they can do a lot of cool stuff, so if I do need a digital synth I could just buy a plugin. But I think just buying digital gear that is 15-20+ years old, I’m hesitant to spend my money. idk tho, I haven’t really seen what’s out there or tried buying anything. The digital gear you’d see from that time tho I’d be hesitant to see how long it’d last cuz while that stuff was cool, my gear would always end up having issues after a few years.
I’d rather buy one of the new analog synths, those definitely have my interest, but there are some things I’ve thought about trying, some of the nicer tabletop synths like the Access Virus and things like that, I’ve thought picking up an older model for cheaper and trying them out. I’ve just never gone and took the plunge. But yeah, mostly I just buy more recent analog gear nowadays.
Of course, part of that also is I make more money now lol so I can afford a brand new Mother 32 so I just don’t want to take the chance on old digital gear lol
