HELP deciding what to buy!

[xxrainbowheadxx]

Alright, so this is going to be my first electronic keyboard. I'm into 80's synth sounds like New Order, A Flock of Seagulls, Psychedelic Furs, etc. I have no prior experience with electronic keyboards, but I have a lot of musical experience in general (play guitar, drums, and bass), and I catch on pretty quickly to interface layouts and such. The keyboard is going to be used at home only, and recorded into my computer if need be. So if I can get some advice/pointers on what to buy and why, that would be great.
It is between:
-Yamaha DX7
-Roland JP8000
-Roland Pro E
-Roland JV80
- Casio XW-P1

 

[happyrat1]

It is between:
-Yamaha DX7
-Roland JP8000
-Roland Pro E
-Roland JV80
- Casio XW-P1

The DX-7 is a wee bit dated as are some of the Rolands you mentioned.

Personally I own a Korg TR76 and a Casio XW-P1. I can personally attest that the XW-P1 is a very capable little synth with oodles of potential. Like you I am into 80's synthpop and doing sequences on a home PC studio.

Anyway, I am biased toward Korg instead of Roland and would suggest you look at the Korg M50 as your main machine and then supplement it with a VA synth like the XW-P1 later on.

Really unless you are willing to blow $3500 on a Kronos 88 this would give you a decent compromise on ROM Sampled Sounds as well as the freaky deaky synth stuff.

While the XW-P1 claims it can do it all, it's main strength are it's synth patches but I find the sampled ROM sounds weak compared to the Korg. My TR76 has some amazingly realistic sampled acoustic instruments and as it's based on the Triton Series Waveset the same as the M50, I'd say you'd be doing yourself an injustice if you didn't wander into a few music stores just to check things out for yourself. Ultimately the only thing that matters is how it sounds to you.

 

[The Y_man]

I think you can pick up some VSTi that do good DX7 impersonations

The Y-man

 

[Oyst3h]

Back in the mid-80s, most synth bands were using Yamaha DX7, Roland D50 or Korg M1. In the early 80s it was OB-Xa, Prophet V or (best synth ever made (imho)) Yamaha CS80.
There are VSTi's available that emulate almost all those synths well enough that most people will never spot the difference.
Get yourself a cheap keyboard (the XW-P1 would be good, since its cheap and provides some useful sounds too), and download some VSTi's for your computer.

 

[MikeyParent]

I'm with these guys ^^^^

If you are only recording at home on your computer, VST is probably the way to go. You can actually get some decent ones for what you would pay to get one of the boards you mentioned on eBay.

Checkout the very great free VST emulations of the MiniMoog and ARP2600 here.
The OP-X for $99 has been a good investment for me. It sounds HUGE! here
For FM if you don't want to pay for FM8 there is Double Six XXL
Synth 1
Free Alpha
Crystal
SuperWave P8

I would have to look when I get home to see what else I am using that is good. I used to be in an 80s tribute band so I amassed a bunch of decent stuff.