gene@dept.csci.unt.edu (Gene De Lisa) (07/07/90)
What is the going price for a new mt-32 (or what is a decent used price)? Is there a successor to the mt-32 (I've been told they're sort of noisy). What sort of editable parameters are there? If you have one tell me what you love/hate about it. -- Gene De Lisa "Ducking for apples--change one letter and it's the story of my life" Dorothy Parker(1893-1967) (spoken at a halloween party)
MDS128@psuvm.psu.edu (07/12/90)
I have an MT-32 that I purchased about two years ago for about $400. I
don't think that you can buy a new one anymore - I think that they are relying
on the MT-100, the newer version that you were talking about. I believe that
that uses L/A synthesis instead of just sample playing like the MT-32. As for
noise, to tell you the truth, I hope they don't get any noisier than the MT-32.
The reverb is especially noisy, particularly when changing it during playback.
I use it on a sequencer, though, and for $400, I think it's a steal. It has
its share of good and bad sounds, but the 32 voice polyphony (more or less) is
wonderful. Especially the drum part.
The reason that I say it has 32 voices more or less is because some sounds
use more than one oscillator - some use as much as 4, which cuts polyphony down
to 8. This can be a real pain while trying to make a song with, say, thick
layered string chords. But, if used properly with a sequencer, it will give
you lots of bang for the buck, even if the bang is not of the highest quality.
As for the current going price, I dunno. I think that the MT-100 is about
the same price (I haven't even seen one in person). I would imagine that you
could get your hands on one for about $300.
Michael Smith (MDS128 at PSUVM)
P.S. - If you do end up getting one of those, check out the newer Sierra
adventure games - they all use the MT-32 or -100 for a soundtrack, and I
must say that I was very impressed when I first heard one.