Synth expander under 600€

[loziodavid]

Hi
I'm looking for a synth expander, in destkop or rack mount version, with
- good (virtual) analog tones
- PCM samples or wavetable synthesis
- polyphonic (8 voices at least)
- multi-timbrality (2 is enough, I don't play 16 instruments at same time via MIDI...just a bass sound on the lower keys and a lead tone in the upper keys, both playing with my hands)
- a powerful integrated arpeggiator/sequencer
- under 600€ budget

FM synthesis is not mandatory.
Thinking to a Waldorf Blofeld or to a Korg Radias, but I read a lot of issues about the first one, while the second one is quite rare, and even if there's one on auction, it's usually the whole keyboard+rack set.
Are there good alternatives?
Thanks a lot

 

[happyrat1]

I owned a Waldorf Blofeld Desktop for years until I sold it to buy a Hydrasynth a few months ago.

The Blofeld really does check all the boxes you listed and as for the encoder problems? They never surfaced with mine.

You could do a lot worse than picking up a used or new Blofeld.

Gary

 

[anotherscott]

Maybe a Roland D-05?

 

[loziodavid]

I owned a Waldorf Blofeld Desktop for years until I sold it to buy a Hydrasynth a few months ago.

The Blofeld really does check all the boxes you listed and as for the encoder problems? They never surfaced with mine.

You could do a lot worse than picking up a used or new Blofeld.

Gary

Glad you never had problem, I read a lot of complaints about the slippery encoders. Exactly, how many years did you have it? I read it's essentially a dust problem. Dust in the encoders. There's a YT tutorial to clean the encoders, but it is said that the operation can be performed 1 or 2 times only, as the encoders metal tongues are very thin and easy to break.
In this era is it impossible to think to something that last 20 or 30 years, even in the music world....a lot of 80s and 90s keyboards and expanders, reached the 2020 without any issues or just minor things (dark screen for example), and a 2010 hardware lasts only 2-3-4 years.

Do you know if there's a reliability difference between the black and the white version?

 

[happyrat1]

I had mine for about 6 years. It was the white version.

If you google it the encoders can be replaced with better ones if they ever fail on you.

Dunno if there's a diff between the black and white versions other than the color though I doubt it.

Any differences you might find are probably between newer and older models.

Gary