From: tapas@esri.com (Tapas Das)
Subject: Re: Winter NAMM '83
Organization: Environmental Systems Research Institute
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 21:13:03 GMT


In article <5896.9301221108@csparc12.scs.leeds.ac.uk> Ross-c writes:
>
>>tdas@esri.com writes:
>>
>>Alesis showed off their new Synthesizer and Mixer unit.
>>The synthesizer has 64 note polyphony, an industry first.

>Yamaha TG500.

>>Should be out in a few months.

>Ho hum. What was the time schedule last year?


Thanks for pointing out my misinformation.  Yes, the Yamaha TG500
tone module is indeed 64 note polyphonic and sounds great too.
I checked it out.

Many of you have emailed me on this.  You are correct.  
So the Alesis Quadra Synth is *not* the first to boast of 64 note polyphony.
Its amazing how fast the midi industry is progressing.  I should refrain
from phrases like 'industries best' or 'industries first'.  
You never know what is lurking in the corner.

However, Alesis still deserves credit for including a digital 
interface on their synth that will connect to their A-DAT, all for
a low list price of $1495.

The Alesis rep demoed a few sounds on their synth.  Sounded pretty good.
You should definitely check out their  24 channel mixer board. Looks solid.
Mackies' 16 channel best seller blew out the Alesis 1622 last year.
Alesis may turn the tables this time.          

Regarding slipping on release dates, Alesis is very careful this time.
Had they been able to keep good on their A-DAT promise, the Tascam DA88
may never have surfaced.

Both the synth and the mixer were real working prototypes and
not empty shells.

In article <1k10aoINNmee@spock.dis.cccd.edu> Maurice Shihadi writes: 
>
I thought the most amazing product was Coda's announcement of a 
software package that translates any scanned printed music into a 
standard midi file.  And then there was the debut of Vivace and 
Finale 3.0.  Lotsa good stuff.
>

Yes! This will be a cool product.  Imagine, very soon you will be
able to get these cheap fake books (around $35.00, containing
1000s of printed score music) and simply scan the information
in and have them translated to a standard midi file ready to be
played back by your sound module.  Isnt this the ultimate 
midi freaks' dream product?  

The lady at the booth explained that it may need some editing though.
Sounds reasonable. I am very excited about this product. 

The live demo of 'Vivace' was very impressive.  This is a great
training tool.  I specially liked how the accompanyment module
tracked the tempo of the live horn player.  The accompanyment module
has the Proteus 1 and 2 chips built in.

The 'vintage keys' module by EMU sounded the way it should....deep
fat analog textures.  I have never played on a 'vintage analog synth'
So I cant compare how good the emulations were. 

If you like the sounds of the Proteus 1 or 2, be prepared for a 
surprise.  The EMU E3XP will blow you away!  Some of the samples
loaded in the demo unit were way cool.  These guys have mastered the
art of sampling.

I think it would be a good idea to get one of these samplers
and sample anything that catches your fancy.  This way you will
not have to spend money upgrading from an M1 to a T1 to an O1/W ....
Just rent a 'sample player' keyboard and dump it in.

The M1 Plus One, sounds by Invision, sounded great. It will be 
a worthwhile investment for any M1 user.  

Valhala, the mail-order only, sound company was looking for
dealers.  Probably you would be able to check out their sound cards
at a local dealer soon, before you decide to buy them.

Cheers!

Tapas Das
tdas@esri.com