dlm9068@acf4.UUCP (don mikkelsen) (04/11/85)
Did anyone else notice the ARMONYX ad in the April Keyboard magazine? (p34) They are selling a polyphonic synthesizer with sampling capability for IBM-PC compatables. I was impressed by the ad so I wrote for info, I'm even more impressed by the material I received. I'm new to the synthesizer game, but this system seems to be an amazing value. I am in the process of trying to decide what computer to buy, mostly for musical applications. Macintosh, Atari-ST and Amiga have been the front-runners, but after seeing this info I may have to go for a PC-type machine. There are two systems available. The 8000 is on one pc expansion board, with 8 independent polyphonic voices, 4 simultaneous instr- uments, a 32,000 note sequencer and mono output. The 16000 is on two pc expansion boards with 16 voices and 8 simultaneous instruments, stereo. Both systems come with a 5-octave velocity sensing keyboard, and a tip- switch light pen. The 1600 is $1695, the 8000 is $1195. Both systems come with software including: o light pen menu selection o three tutorial modes o harmonic entry module - instrument definitions can be graphically displayed and altered on a harmonic by harmonic basis (up to 16), 3-D color representation of instrument's harmonics. o parameter control menu - graphically set ADSR points with light pen o polyphonic sequencer menu o "composer mode" - edit sequences using standard music notation o instrument overlay menu - set keyboard splits As if that wasn't enough, the are also coming out with the AS-1, a digital sampling system. It is on yet another expansion board, and features include on-board digital reverb, and microphone and line-in jacks, as well as software which integrates with the 8000/16000 software. It costs $495. They are also coming out with a MIDI board this summer, as well as a "developer" package - the system is open, you can write your own applications and integrate them with the system software and menus *NICE*. A cassette demo costs $3, a demo floppy costs $5. If the demo runs on your "compatable", everything will. Early-bird (before May 15) discounts are available. Contact: Greg Smith Armonyx, Inc. P.O. Box 280 New Almaden, CA 95042 (408) 268-9094