High-end, expensive synths certainly have their place, but sometimes you just get a craving for the crunchy, distorted and lovable sounds of cheap and dirty noise-making machines.
Before you set out to raid the car boot sales, though, check out this instalment of SampleRadar, which features loops, sounds and hits from some classic affordable synth hardware, including the Casio SA-1, Casio VL-Tone, and the Gakken SX-150.
What you need to know
The cheap synth samples are divided into six folders, each of which contains samples from a specific synth. There are further sub-folders within each of these.
All the samples are supplied as WAV files so can be imported directly into your DAW or sampler of choice. Because they're royalty-free, you're welcome to use the samples in your music in any way you like - all we ask is that you don't re-distribute them.
The cheap synth samples are supplied in a zip file, so you'll need to extract them before you can see them. Enjoy!
Example sounds
Casio SA1 computer sound
Casio VL-Tone rhumba beat
Gakken SX-15 processed sound
Yamaha PSS-470 programmed beat
Cheap synth samples: click to download
These samples originally appeared on Future Music magazine's cover DVD. Check out the latest issue for many more.
For more than 70,000 more samples, head to our SampleRadar hub
