From vance@netcom.comThu Apr  6 14:23:11 1995
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 1995 14:09:31 -0700
From: Vance Gloster <vance@netcom.com>
To: map@cs.washington.edu
Cc: analogue@hyperreal.com
Subject: Re: synthesizer of the week: the Chroma

  i know there's been a lot of chat about the Chroma, but no real 
  description or review that i remember seeing. someone want to go through 
  the architecture a bit, what it has, what it can do, stuff like that?

  i intend to ask these synthesizer of the week questions periodically both 
  for general interest and to fill in parts of the machines archive that i 
  think are missing. so i'm looking for some nice general info, specs as 
  well as your reviews and impressions. let's hear it! :)

  one question i have: who made the chroma? who made the polaris? 

"Rhodes" is the short answer.  The long answer is that when Arp
imploded (they had bet the farm on the Avatar, a guitar synth whose
pitch-to-voltage never quite worked), CBS music hired much of the
former staff.  Since the Fender Rhodes piano was the only well-known
electronic keyboard they made, CBS decided to use Rhodes as a brand
name for the new venture.  It was pretty short-lived, but quite
innovative.  Like any pioneers, some of their experiments were less
than successful (the front panels for instance), but many were.

-Vance Gloster
 vance@netcom.com