Joy of Synths 30: Cyber Monday
Synth price drops in this non-musician’s guide to creating sounds for podcasts, videos, and sampling for music using analog synthesizers.
SYNTH PRICE DROPS
12/1/2024. Black Friday continues (generally) through Cyber Monday. Our scheduled newsletter about Harmonics has been shifted to 12/15 to allow for this info to be shared.
Pittsburgh Modular Voltage Research Lab 2 and Taiga Keyboard price drops
These synthesizer price drops are fairly pronounced. The Voltage Research Lab 2 drops from $1999 to $1499. The Taiga Keyboard drops from $1299.99 to $999.99. Search for Pittsburgh Modular on Amazon.com. On my account the Taiga Keyboard showed up with a 20% off coupon, which I added to my cart for a total of $799.99 + $52 sales tax.
Yes, at $799 that’s the same retail price of the Taiga semi-modular synthesizer with the addition of a few dials and a 3 octave keyboard and 24HP of Eurorack space with 3 power headers. As much as I swore off new gear on November 30, 2024, I backpedaled at this deal.
So check Amazon to see if there is a coupon on the page. Amazon was the seller and shipper in my situation. Things that may help are logging into your account and seeing if that presents a coupon. The coupon may be a limited offering, though.
If there isn’t a coupon, then buy from your favorite music store. The advantage of Amazon as seller/shipper is free returns by January 31, 2025. That’s plenty of time to trial the instrument to see if it’s right for you. If the seller and shipper is a store then be forewarned that shipping fees to and from and possible restocking fees may be subtracted from return amount.
Isn’t a Keyboard Sacrilege?
I am not proficient with keyboard instruments which is why I favor sequencers with arpeggiators. The lowered price on the Taiga Keyboard pushes me to reconsider developing the dexterity and memory for playing sheet music. This would be the analog synthesizer to do it with. If it’s not the right fit then back to Amazon it goes.
MAKE NOISE O COAST
I was looking to buy this from Perfect Circuit.com until Taiga Keyboard presented itself. Their Holiday10 coupon code applies to this $499 instrument, bringing it down to $450. The advantage of Perfect Circuit is their system may not charge out of state tax. Their return policy is fairly tight so make sure to read up before ordering. They have the PM VRL2 and Taiga Keyboard for the price drop, as well.
For perspective, Guitar Center was selling a used one for $399. However, add on sale tax and shipping and you’re slightly above $450 for a used instrument. Guitar Center would’ve had my money if only they replied by phone or email as they promised a week ago.
IMPLEXUS
Majella-audio.com has the IMPLEXUS instrument down to their launch pricing, or slightly better. Free shipping to world. Their eurorack modules are on sale, as well.
BOSS DM-101 Analog Delay Pedal
Sweetwater has the Boss DM-101 Analog Delay Guitar Pedal with supplemental stuff like Power Supply for $299. You can buy the pedal alone for $299, so follow this non-affiliate link for the bundle. I’ve been playing with a loaner Strymon Big Sky delay pedal which lives up to its reputation when used with analog synths. I came across this pedal and price drop when looking up Strymon pedals. Not sure for how long this price drop goes on.
Joy of Synths Sticker 6-Pack $9.99 with free global shipping.
Give/get six synthesizer related Joy of Synths vinyl stickers that we layout and get from sticker mule.com. These are packed loose to give to one person or share with many. Here’s the PayPal link.
AMAZON BUYING TIPS
This is a repeat from Newsletter 29. If you’re going to buy off Amazon, where possible, order from Amazon as seller and shipper. Music stores are selling synths through Amazon and handling their own shipping. This means you are subject to paying return shipping and possibly a restocking fee should the item not meet your needs. Returns also affect a small business differently than a global company like Amazon. All this said, a lot of items can be returned by end of January 2025. That gives potentially 2 months to trial the instrument, so long as you don’t scratch the item or damage the packaging. However, Amazon is being less charitable with “I don’t want it” reasoning for returns, so only buy if you’re okay with getting stuck with it.
END NOTE
Happy December! We’ve hit the 30th published newsletter milestone and are thankful for your time and attention. Next issue’s topic is Harmonics and publishes on December 15th, 2024.
All Content Copyright 2024 Anthony Torres, All Rights Reserved.