digital synthesizer

The Quasimidi Polymorph is a virtual analog synthesizer, with sequencer, released in 1997.

The videos offer a tour through the 64 sequenced presets that come with the Quasimidi Polymorph. All can be changed or over-written. Each preset has 4 parts and each part its own FX. No external effects processor was used. This is the sound you get straight out of the box. Read more…

Fairlight co-founder Peter Vogel has put up a teaser about a 30th anniversary limited edition version of the Fairlight CMI, a pioneering polyphonic sampling instrument.

Vogel calls this image a pre-production mockup for the Fairlight CMI Series 30A.

If you’ve got more info or other thoughts on the Fairlight CMI Series 30a, leave a comment below! Read more…

This is a sneak preview video of the Radikal Spectralis 2 Hybrid Synthesizer.

See this previous post for more details on the Radikial Spectralis 2.

via SCHAAFJOERG

Casio Keyboard CZ-101 (1986)

Description:

This commercial, from 1986, introduced the Casio CZ-101 polyphonic digital synthesizer.

via XippVid

The Prophet VS is a synthesizer released in 1986 by Dave Smith’s Sequential Circuits. The Prophet VS introduced Vector Synthesis – two dimensional crossfading between waveforms.

Sequential folded shortly after the VS was introduced, but many of the ideas from the VS lived on in the Korg Wavestation. 

The video above, via Retrosound, demos some typical VS sounds. 

Features:

• 8-voice polyphony
• Multi-timbral (2 part)
• 96 preset waveforms + 32 user waveforms
• Two LFOs, each with own envelope generator
• Curtis analog (digitally controlled) 4-pole lowpass filter, with dedicated envelope generators
• 5 stage amp, filter and mix envelopes
• 61 note keyboarded with velocity & aftertouch
• 100 patch memory
• Twin chorus, stereo effects, panning of individual oscillators/individual voices
• Arpeggiator

Resources:

• Unofficial Prophet VS page
• VS info at Wine Country
• Info at Vintage Synth Explorer
• Prophet VS clone project
• Prophet VS Yahoo Group