Article 38949 of rec.music.synth: Path: orion.oac.uci.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!ucbvax!PHYAST.PITT.EDU!metlay From: metlay@PHYAST.PITT.EDU (metlay) Newsgroups: rec.music.synth Subject: Re: rate this synth Message-ID: <9208271924.AA04520@minerva.phyast.pitt.edu> Date: 27 Aug 92 19:24:09 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Lines: 52 Ahem. Dan you wet behind the ears pup, get back on yer newspapers before I slap yer little chops but good. Leave trivia to the truly trivial, like Moi! He is not referring to a T8, which would be beyond a steal at $200. He is referring to a Split-Eight, an entirely different beastie that should probably go for about $200 in today's market. History lesson for the youngsters out there: Sequential had three major building phases in its history. The first was the gradual ramp-up into very sophisticated gear, beginning with the original Model 600 and 700, then the Prophet 5 and Pro-One, followed by the introduction of MIDI with the Prophet 600 and the touch-sensitive Prophet T8. Then there was the second phase, their attempt to do what only Ensoniq has been successful with so far, namely build inexpensive but powerful synths: the SixTrak and Drumtraks were the crossover machines (you can tell, because they were the last ones to have wooden end panels), followed by the MAX, the Multi-Trak, the TOM, and finally, right before they went under, the Split-Eight. I don't know if the hiatus after that was due to reorganizing or bankruptcy, but when they came back for the third phase, they were doing it right again: the Prophet 2000, then the Prophet VS, the VS Rack and 2002, and finally the Studio 440 and Prophet 3000. The 440 killed the company, which was a shame because the 2000 was a classic and the VS was a miracle in a box even by 1992's standards. The Split-Eight was the last gasp of stage two of Sequential's life; it was advertised only briefly before the company went belly-up. It was put out in response to a demand for an eight-voice analog synth rather than a six-voice, and was in large part a repackaged, re-silkscreened MultiTrak (a six-voice multitimbral board). I know of very few units actually sold, and have never seen one. They usually sell relatively cheaply, and I have heard neither good nor bad about them. If they were anything like the MultiTrak in sound architecture, though, they'd sound pretty damn good, but I wouldn't bet on any world-shaking timbres with eight-voice polyphony. You'll probably have to layer four on four to get anything really good going. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time for my Geritol. And my arthritis medicine. And the ointment for my gout...groan.... |-> -- dr. michael metlay \ Metlay's Law: "A newly-announced, spiffy new atomic city \ piece of gear may look *great* on paper \ -- but you can't play paper." metlay@minerva.phyast.pitt.edu \ Article 39026 of rec.music.synth: Newsgroups: rec.music.synth Path: orion.oac.uci.edu!ucivax!news.claremont.edu!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!cbnewsm!nsw From: nsw@cbnewsm.cb.att.com (Neil Weinstock) Subject: Re: rate this synth Organization: The Flying Squid Patrol Distribution: na Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 22:23:33 GMT Message-ID: <1992Aug28.222333.12184@cbnewsm.cb.att.com> References: <9208271924.AA04520@minerva.phyast.pitt.edu> Lines: 36 In article <9208271924.AA04520@minerva.phyast.pitt.edu> metlay@PHYAST.PITT.EDU (metlay) writes: [ ... ] >The Split-Eight was the last gasp of stage two of Sequential's >life; it was advertised only briefly before the company went >belly-up. It was put out in response to a demand for an eight-voice >analog synth rather than a six-voice, and was in large part a >repackaged, re-silkscreened MultiTrak (a six-voice multitimbral board). >I know of very few units actually sold, and have never seen one. >They usually sell relatively cheaply, and I have heard neither good >nor bad about them. If they were anything like the MultiTrak in sound >architecture, though, they'd sound pretty damn good, but I wouldn't >bet on any world-shaking timbres with eight-voice polyphony. You'll >probably have to layer four on four to get anything really good going. As I former Multitrack owner, I'll make a couple of small comments. First, if you're looking for some analog, the Split-Eight should get you started, and $200 is pretty reasonable-sounding. It is a very warm-sounding machine (I am assuming the Split-Eight sounds pretty much like the Multitrack.) It'll do nice portamento (unlike my $*#(^&@! Matrix-6). What you won't get is a dual-oscillator machine; you get one oscillator per voice, take it or leave it. That's a rather unfortunate limitation if you're looking to do a lot of really fat stuff. The Split-Eight is 8 *oscillators*, and there's no sub-oscillator or anything like that. You also don't get a zillion knobs; the Sequential machines of that era used a single data knob and a parameter-selection scheme. So, it's a mixed bag. I can't say I'd mind having one (I need something for portamento, dammit!), but you have to know what you want... - Neil (this doesn't mean I'm old, does it?) --==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==-- Neil Weinstock @ AT&T Bell Labs // What was sliced bread att!edsel!nsw or nsw@garage.att.com \X/ the greatest thing since? Article 11723 of rec.music.makers.synth: Path: news.service.uci.edu!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!olivea!gossip.pyramid.com!pyramid!oracle!unrepliable!bounce From: jdrukman%dlsun87@oracle.com (Jon Drukman) Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.synth Subject: Re: Multi-timbral analogue synths Message-ID: Date: 27 Sep 93 20:24:06 GMT References: <1993Sep25.192338.3556@ringer.cs.utsa.edu> Sender: usenet@oracle.us.oracle.com (Oracle News Poster) Organization: Oracle Corp., Redwood Shores CA Lines: 36 Nntp-Posting-Host: dlsun87.us.oracle.com X-Disclaimer: This message was written by an unauthenticated user at Oracle Corporation. The opinions expressed are those of the user and not necessarily those of Oracle. jkreth@lonestar.utsa.edu (Jeffrey A. Kreth ) writes: >I'm looking for a good rack mounted multi-timbral unit that has really good >analogue sounds. Any suggestions? you need to be more specific. are you looking for a real analog synthesizer (analog oscillator/filter sections), a hybrid or a digital simulation of analog? if you want the Real Thing, you're pretty much out of luck. if you want to consider non-rackmounted gear tho, you've got a few choices. i'd recommend sequential circuits' 6-TRAK or MULTI-TRAK. six voices, each of which can be assigned its own voice. no dynamic allocation or anything like that, so you'll need to do some clever sequencing if you want to use it as anything other than six single-voice synths. also, in the case of the 6-trak, all you get is ONE mono output (although i think the multi-trak actually had separate outs). if you want a hybrid, my favorite has to be Roland's MKS-70, which is a beautiful sounding piece of gear. digital oscillators and analog filters. wonderful lush roland sound. you can get a programmer module for it which makes it a joy to play with. as you can tell, i'm sort of in love with mine, "and were it not a violation of god's law, i'd make ye my wife..." (to paraphrase the simpsons) digital simulation... i guess we're talking about a sampler here, in which case, there's a bazillion choices. emu's vintage keys has been touted by others in this group but i think it's absolute crap as far as an analog substitute goes. it has other virtues, but they are entirely unrelated to "fake analog." on the other hand, my ensoniq eps came with a really excellent moog bass disk... :) Jon Drukman jdrukman%dlsun87@oracle.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This calls for a very special blend of psychology and extreme violence. Article 11873 of rec.music.makers.synth: From: brooksp@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Peter Brooks) Date: Sun, 26 Sep 1993 06:28:52 GMT Subject: Seeking Six-Trak manual Message-ID: <92890049@hpcc01.corp.hp.com> Organization: the HP Corporate notes server Path: news.service.uci.edu!usc!sdd.hp.com!col.hp.com!news.dtc.hp.com!hplextra!hpcc05!hpcc01!brooksp Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.synth Lines: 25 I just bought a Sequential Six-trak MIDI/analog synth. Pretty cool sounds, and a lot of fun to play. The user interface ain't the greatest (one knob, but for $185 at the local shop, it beat waiting for another SCI 600 to show up....), but it will do. However, the beast was supposed to come with a manual, but the shop couldn't find the copy. Either they managed to misplace it, they never got it in the first place, or someone took a walk with it. I *might* get lucky, but in the meantime, I thought I'd see if any Sequential Six-trak owners might be willing to make a copy of the manual for me. I have an Imp chart from the Ferro book, but it would be a lot easier dealing with the synth if I knew what the buttons were supposed to do. Took a few minutes to figure out how to store patches. *After* I came up with a dynamite synth-bass patch that ended up in bit heaven. :-( If you've got a copy of the manual, please let me know. If you want to post, that's fine, or you can email me at: pb@hpocia.sj.hp.com (The address in the header works, too.) I'd be willing to pick up the costs and a bit for time and hassle, too. Thanks in advance, etc... Pete Brooks