From cord@lance.colostate.eduThu Aug  3 10:04:10 1995
Date: Thu, 3 Aug 95 10:30:53 MDT
From: Cord Mueller <cord@lance.colostate.edu>
To: cadsi.com!kent.williams@cadsi.com, analogue@hyperreal.com
Subject: Re: synsonics,DR55 problems


>There is a very cheap (and very cool sounding) Synsonics drum machine
>at a local pawn emporium. It looks like it's supposed to be
>programmable with patterns, but I can't figure it out.  Can
>anyone give me the low down?

The synsonic drum is really a nice toy. You have bass, snare, hihat (op/cl)
and two toms (one you can adjust the pitch). Problem: the bass comes on the
beginning of every beat. Anyway, you can programm 3 patterns (2x 4/4 beats)
and the progamming itself is really nice. You have the pads or the 3 buttons
for every instrument (except the bass dr.). These buttons are like rolls, so
the first brings every 1/8, the second 1/16 and 3rd 1/32. It is easy to
programm the hihats like that. Almost the same stuff they put in the MPC
(only you can roll in the quantization, mostly 1/16, but this you can
change). Anyway, this is the noisy sound and the closed hihats you can do
with pushing the accent buttons and the hihat (sure). 

>It also has a DIN connector on the side marked 'accessory' or
>somesuch. Is this for trigger in, sync out, or what?

I have also the foodswitches for the din connector. You can give it the
beat, like the tap modus (the computer calculates the beat and is playing
the patterns, here only in real time). The second switch is the accent. It
should be easily to sync with a trigger on the first beat. 

Cord