Grig Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Before I got into MIDI sequencing, my biggest "production" was recreating the Andrew Lloyd Webber medley we were playing in high school concert band on a Yamaha PSS-680. That keyboard had good-for-its-time 5-track sequencer which I made extensive use of, but the final product still required some cassette dubbing and other amateur trickery, not to mention some live-to-tape playing that I didn't always bother to fix. I was pretty proud of it at the time, but if I were to hear it now I'm sure I'd bury the tape! I would love to hear that!!! So I was able to buy a Yamaha PSR-500 from Circuit City in the early to mid 90s which had it's own sequencer. I still have most of my original compositions from that keyboard (recorded onto a portable Mini-Disc player/recorder which I still have) If anyone is interested PM me and I will send you some samples of 1990s PSR sequenced goodness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitkraft Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 (edited) That is so wild that you mentioned the SK-8. That was my first keyboard! My dad is a keyboard player and I've always had them around to play with but that was the first one I personally owned. I had a lot of fun with it with the sampling, the drum pads, and the rom pack (I only ever had the one). Unfortunately it didn't make it past my childhood since I always considered it a "toy". I can't even remember exactly when I got rid of it. It would be cool to still have it today. Which reminds me, if you ever get any full size synths or midi controlers (any size) in the shop I'd be interested. I don't currently have a keyboard at all and would like to have one. I really love to get an old Yamaha DX series synth as the DX7 and DX9 were the first couple of my dads that I really spent any time on. If I ever do, I get first dibs! It's funny you mention the Casio ROM Packs. I remember when they were still sold new. $20 a pop for four, maybe five songs. Back then I used to hang out at the local Wal-Mart every Saturday, sometimes all day long. Wal-Marts had nice music keyboard displays at the time, and I would play with them all, often much to the chagrin of the employees. My first two keyboards, the Yamaha PSS-270 and then the smaller, cheaper Casio PT-100, came from Wal-Mart. In fact the Yamaha was the first thing I ever put on layaway, anticipating the day when I could pay off the $100 tab (a lot of money to a 12-or-so-year-old). That was also around the time the NES made its American debut, and that same Wal-Mart had one of those demo consoles with every first-party launch title built in, always surrounded a horde of kids fighting for their next turn. Imagine how much that thing is worth now! Anyway, I never did own one of the Casio ROM Pack keyboards back in the day, but friends did, and I loved playing with them. Then a couple of years back, the thrift store where I volunteer got in a Casio PT-87 with its demo ROM Pack. I resisted buying it at first, because I actually would like to find an SK-8, one of Casio's first sampling keyboards that's also a ROM Pack keyboard. But, I believe the PT-87 is the same model those friends had owned, and finally nostalgia won out. I'm amused how the ROM Pack keyboards have to be able to play five or six notes at a time, to fully support the ROM Packs, but even then the PT-87 lets you play only one note at a time. It's a cute little piece of '80s tech despite its obvious limitations, and if I ever do find an SK-8 I'll probably keep the PT-87 anyway. All of this to say, I'm looking for those ROM Packs too, but if ever happen to stumble across multiples of the same ROM Packs, I'll keep you in mind! Edited January 25, 2017 by Mitkraft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FujiSkunk Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 I would love to hear that!!! I might still have that tape somewhere. If I find it and decide I'm not deathly mortified by it I may try to give it some digital clean-up. Thing was I didn't even have patch cables to connect the keyboard to the boom box I was using, so it was all recorded using the boom box's mic. Like I said, amateur trickery. In the meantime, shoot me links if you like. I'd be interested to hear your stuff. That is so wild that you mentioned the SK-8. That was my first keyboard! My dad is a keyboard player and I've always had them around to play with but that was the first one I personally owned. I had a lot of fun with it with the sampling, the drum pads, and the rom pack (I only ever had the one). Unfortunately it didn't make it past my childhood since I always considered it a "toy". I can't even remember exactly when I got rid of it. It would be cool to still have it today. That's cool! As much as I want one, I have yet to see an SK-8 in person. For a while I had an SK-5 which, minus the ROM Pack slot, is a lot like the SK-8. Same sounds, seven ROM-Pack-like songs built in, and lots of sampling fun. I let it go a little while back because two keys had broken and I knew someone else would be better than me at fixing it. Which reminds me, if you ever get any full size synths or midi controlers (any size) in the shop I'd be interested. I don't currently have a keyboard at all and would like to have one. I really love to get an old Yamaha DX series synth as the DX7 and DX9 were the first couple of my dads that I really spent any time on. Please don't mention DX-7's and thrift stores in the same sentence around me... (sigh) I'm kidding, it's all good, except I'm still grumbling about how I just left it sitting there. Speaking of the DX-7, and just to derail this thread a little more (temporarily, I promise!), when I starting to fiddle around with REAPER, a music editor not entirely unlike ProTools only a heckuva lot cheaper, I splurged on Novation's FM-8, a DX-7 emulator turned into a music editor plug-in. My crowning achievement (so far?) is a recreation of Ray Lynch's "Celestial Soda Pop" which I then multi-tracked and turned into home-made DLC for Rock Band 3. I covered the song pretty well, in my own humble opinion. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asaki Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 You pretend it's a flute or a trumpet... even when you have it set to the piano sound. Yeah, I could never do it. I still can't really...it just feels empty to solo without any other notes/chords. We later got a Yamaha PSS (I forget the exact number) that let you play TWO keys at the same time...so I played that a little more often, but still not that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverfleet Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 I sorta posted these in another thread, but whatevs. I went hunting over last weekend and bought myself some birthday presents. Went to a couple local, independent game stores and scored the following: Knight Rider CIB on the NES. I've wanted this one for a very long time. Even has the poster of Fabio posing for the Iron Sword cover in there! Yes, it's probably garbage, but as a fan of the show and a fan of the Pontiac Trans Am, it was a must have. Probably overpaid at $20, but I've wanted this crappy game forever, and now I have it. Bomber Raid on the SMS, also CIB. I have never seen this one in the wild CIB. Also probably overpaid at $25, but it's an uncommon game and I love shooters. I now have a decent shmup library for the SMS, with this, R-Type, Global Defense, Scramble Spirits, and the coveted US release of Power Strike. Speaking of SMS games, I snagged this rough copy of Choplifter for $5 because it's been talked about lately on various forums and by YouTubers, and I've heard very good things. Many say it's the best version of the game, which is debatable, of course. They had a boxed version, but the box was rough (and didn't have instructions) so I passed and saved a few bucks. Fighter's Destiny on the N64. I've heard good things about this one, and feel that the price is going to go through the roof soon, so I picked up a copy. The points system combat (sort of like Karate Champ) looks interesting. I'm one of those weirdos that actually ENJOYS Karate Champ, so I'm looking forward to playing this one. I've been chasing a clean copy of Xevious 3D/G+ for years, so when I saw this one at a local store for $15, I had to pick it up. I've always wanted to play this one ever since I bought my Playstation in 1999. This is the first time I've seen a copy in the wild, and I've been looking. Nice! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitkraft Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Please don't mention DX-7's and thrift stores in the same sentence around me... (sigh) I'm kidding, it's all good, except I'm still grumbling about how I just left it sitting there. Speaking of the DX-7, and just to derail this thread a little more (temporarily, I promise!), when I starting to fiddle around with REAPER, a music editor not entirely unlike ProTools only a heckuva lot cheaper, I splurged on Novation's FM-8, a DX-7 emulator turned into a music editor plug-in. My crowning achievement (so far?) is a recreation of Ray Lynch's "Celestial Soda Pop" which I then multi-tracked and turned into home-made DLC for Rock Band 3. I covered the song pretty well, in my own humble opinion. Oh, man, I hadn't seen that post. I've had moments like that where I passed on something and then realized I made a mistake. There was ad here on our local craigslist a while back in the free section with a Yamaha DX series keyboard (can't remember which). I emailed as fast as I could saying I would come get it right away but I never heard back. Yeah, I could never do it. I still can't really...it just feels empty to solo without any other notes/chords. Not if you are a trumpet player. I only tinkered with keyboards and guitars but never really learned how to play. Then I went on to play trumpet. Polyphony is very difficult for me..lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FujiSkunk Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Nice finds, Silverfleet! You're right about whether SMS Choplifter is truly the "best", but if you're a fan of the arcade game, it is the most faithful. The Famicom also got a port of the arcade game, but between the two I prefer the SMS version. I wouldn't mind finding Xevious 3D/G+ either. A few years back I finally found one of my coveted PlayStation SHMUPs, Raiden Project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverfleet Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Nice finds, Silverfleet! You're right about whether SMS Choplifter is truly the "best", but if you're a fan of the arcade game, it is the most faithful. The Famicom also got a port of the arcade game, but between the two I prefer the SMS version. I wouldn't mind finding Xevious 3D/G+ either. A few years back I finally found one of my coveted PlayStation SHMUPs, Raiden Project. Raiden Project RULES. I have a disc-only copy of it myself. I searched and searched back in the day for it, and could never find it complete. IMHO, it's the best home version of Raiden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0078265317 Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 The Casio PT-80 was my first keyboard. pt-80.jpg I used this keyboard to create 3 or 4 track recordings. I would use two cassette recorders - one to record and then play the first track (usually the drums/chords) and then play the bass, melody and/or accompaniment with the same technique. It was difficult and of course by the third/fourth track the sound quality was poor but it still worked. The ROM packs were great. I hope you find some! Nice. I had a PT20 as a kid and a bigger black one forget the number. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RampantOctopus Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Picked up a 5200 VCS adapter today for $8; got home, tried it-- didn't work... After a bit of googling, I learned about the original 4 port incompatibility issue and fix... So, I'm still kinda stoked about my purchase because now I've got an excuse to perform a little surgery on my SuperSystem. BTW, picked it up at a "The Record Exchange" in Silver Spring, MD. They price vintage carts like a thrift store; plenty of $1 carts! Seem like nice guys too. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheObscureGamer Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 They are all getting back into the retro thing now. Just has to be long enough to be considered retro. He said they have no Play Station 2 games because it has not been long enough to be considered classic yet. How is it not old enough to be classic when it came out in a full year before the GBA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teh_lurv Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 The other day I came across several Colecovision hardware add-ons mixed in with random toys at my local thrift store. This is the first time I've come across anything Colecovision in the wild. I scoured the store for the console itself and/or games, but sadly they probably already had been snagged. The kicker is I found stuck inside the roller controller the power adapter plug for the ADAM add-on. I probably missed out on the ADAM add-on as well. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asaki Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 (edited) Not a thrift find, but I'm enjoying the CRT I saved from being dumpstered B) It's a 2008 Dynex, 24 inch...probably not fantastic, but it's better than this Magnavox >_< The picture isn't way off-center, it has stereo speakers, and it has two composite, one s-video, and one component inputs! Woo! I think it might have a bad cap or something though. It got better once it warmed up, but the geometry still has a bit of a curve to it along the edges. Maybe it's something I could adjust if I had the remote for it. ...now I just have to finish fixing my Genesis... =/ Edited January 28, 2017 by Asaki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asaki Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Edit: Ugh, my Genesis wasn't even broken! The video cable was!! For some reason, the composite and green pins got shorted together inside the connector, so I just had to snap off the green pin >_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eltigro Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 I got a couple of things today... not because they were necessarily great deals or that I needed them, but mainly because they're things I just haven't seen "in the wild" before. One was a CD-i game. It's International Tennis Open. Nothing exciting, but it is in excellent shape. CD doesn't have a scratch. Manual's in good shape. Small crack in front cover. I paid $3. I don't have a CD-i, so I may try to flip it on Ebay or something. If it doesn't sell, oh well. I'm not out much. And hey, maybe one day I'll find a deal on a CD-i! lol The other is a Ms Pac Man arcade marquee. It's in kinda rough shape... some apparent scuff marks on the front and it looks like it was glued to a wall somewhere as there's some kind of sheetrock or something stuck to the back. I'm gonna try to clean it up as much as I can. I may try some kind of rubbing compound or something on the front... Windex didn't help it any. I'm gonna try to clean the back off, but I'm afraid I'll damage the screen printed image. I think it normally has pink on it, doesn't it? It may have faded... anyway, I paid around $25 for it. No great deal, but just don't see 'em that much. It'll probably stay in the collection... go on the shelf if I ever build it... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 That doesn't look all that bad. The alcohol (91%) may do the job, even if you have to douse a magic eraser in it to do it. You can get pushy with the front, but the back you're playing with fire as that's basically a silk screen job on plastic (translite like pinball tables have i believe.) You can end up peeling the imagery right off if that sheet rock puts up a fight. Try a corner if you want and if it starts to get ugly stop and push it back since that backer board on there should help keep it lined up anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eltigro Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 A magic eraser might be a good idea for the front. I'll try a few different things, so far I've only spent a couple minutes with windex on it, and it comes back. Looks fine when it's wet with the cleaner, but when it dries, you can see the marks still. For the back, yeah, I'm gonna try to be extra careful with it. So far I've just kind of picked at what is stuck back there with my fingernail. I may try getting it wet (just with water) and seeing if more of it will come off. I'm thinking of building a little light box to put it in so it'll be backlit, but I've got to get that stuff off the back otherwise there'll be a big dark spot right in the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Wow glued the bloody thing to the drywall wherever it last was, very very stupid. I'd say try and figure out the glue used and use a remover but odds are it would eat the image off too. I think you're probably beyond a light box, best to test a far corner and use various materials and see what may remove it without going deep. May end up just having to forget it and put a new backing on it, even if it's like black paint or something or a frame with black felt with a hook/hanger piece to it so it doesn't show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverfleet Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 The other day I came across several Colecovision hardware add-ons mixed in with random toys at my local thrift store. This is the first time I've come across anything Colecovision in the wild. I scoured the store for the console itself and/or games, but sadly they probably already had been snagged. The kicker is I found stuck inside the roller controller the power adapter plug for the ADAM add-on. I probably missed out on the ADAM add-on as well. WHOA!!! I'm in MA as well, and I've never seen Coleco anything in a thrift store! Where did you score those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverfleet Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 I've been on a tear lately! On Friday, I was on my phone checking the "Facebook marketplace" that's part of the mobile app, and I searched "Atari" like I usually do. A post for a $60 "Atari" showed up with a bunch of games and controllers. As I clicked on the ad, I realized it was a 7800. I've been looking for one around here for a reasonable price forever, so I messaged the guy and picked it up yesterday. Everything works perfect, although the joysticks are a bit loose. The Wico stick is a 2600 one, and it is fantastic. I think I did well here. And the hits kept coming! Today, I brought a working NES spare I had to the flea market and traded it in for the following: The Sega stuff is E-Swat, Super Monaco GP, Sega Classics and Sherlock Homes for the Sega CD, and Air Diver (which I though was something else, and it sucks, oh well...). The 7800 games were nice finds, and Turbo for the Coleco has been on my radar since snagging a Coleco wheel a few months back. Then, at another booth, I found a horde of SMS games. The guy had A TON of them, but I walked away with these: Guy wanted $20 for just Wonder Boy, but I got all of it for that price. I've wanted to pick up Wonder Boy for a while, so I'm happy about that. Then, there's the vinyl. From the top: Black Sabbath: Never Say Die Dokken: Tooth and Nail Led Zeppelin: In Through the Out Door Scorpions: World Wide Live! Yeah, I'm a happy camper. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FujiSkunk Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Better buy a couple of lottery tickets, Silverfleet, with the luck you're having! The only recent find I have to brag about is another batch of VCD's. This time they came courtesy of Malaysia: A couple of interesting bits: The packaging for Titanic is pretty extravagant as far as VCD's go, with metallic gold lettering just like fancy laserdisc and DVD packaging used to get. Independence Day is surprisingly letterboxed to its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and not pan-and-scanned like every other VCD I've seen so far. The packaging makes no mention of this, and actually I'm not sure it's a good thing anyway, since it makes the already low resolution of the image even lower! Lastly, whoever wrote the plot summary for The Game was using an old script. It talks about how Nicholas Van Orton's daughter gives him the gift certificate. That was in the earlier drafts, and actually the creators had cast Jodie Foster in the part, before deciding to make the character a brother played by Sean Penn instead. I assume the VCD is otherwise legit, even if it does say "Dolby Digital" at the bottom (VCD's use MPEG audio). Then again, does it count if it's at least digital audio and encoded for Dolby Pro-Logic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asaki Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Black Sabbath: Never Say Die That album is garbage, you'd better throw it away. ...preferably in a nice, clean garbage can so it doesn't get anything gross on it when I go to pick it out B) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverfleet Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 That album is garbage, you'd better throw it away. ...preferably in a nice, clean garbage can so it doesn't get anything gross on it when I go to pick it out B) The title track absolutely rips. I haven't listened to the rest of it in ages, but between the price, knowing it was the last Ozzy album before Dio took the helm, and that sweet album cover, there wasn't a chance in hell that it wasn't coming home with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asaki Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 That solo on Junior's Eyes always made my mom yell to turn it down B) Definitely a weird album, but Air Dance is one of my favorites. They even ripped it off on 13 (Loner). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asaki Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Got a bunch of DVDs yesterday, and a couple CDs that I probably won't like, and took a gamble on a pair of vintage computer speakers =) Altec Lansing ACS90s, working great and they actually sound pretty nice B) They didn't have any more 486 towers for me =( They had a Win ME machine from HP, I left it behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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