From djeter@cs.utk.eduMon Jul  3 14:44:32 1995
Date: Sun, 2 Jul 1995 08:54:16 -0400 (EDT)
From: Derek Christopher Jeter <djeter@cs.utk.edu>
To: analogue@hyperreal.com
Subject: Review: Peavey Spectrum Synth


 Well, I took my Cyclone rev 1.2 back and traded it (and some cash) for a 
Peavey Spectrum Synth. After hearing a few patches, I was sold. To my 
ears, the unit sounds very rich, and puts out some whopping bass lines. 
Here is a quick run-down of what it features:

1) 2 MB of 16 bit classic and digital synth waveforms
2) 256 presets: 192 ROM, 64 RAM
3) 24 oscillators (2 / voice)
4) 12 voices / 4 voice multi-timbral
5) 12 dynamically modulated resonant filters

 With 123 waveforms, lots of modulation routings, hard sync, sample/hold, 
and a cheap price tag, this unit isn't haf bad. Of course, you program it 
via Sysex, and it has the full implementation in the manual. Some 
disadvantages are: Wal-wart power supply, multi-timbral mode must use 
consecutive MIDI channels. Finally, you can map MIDI controllers to many 
of its internal parameters.

 While driving the unit from my Akai arpeggiator, I discovered that 
turning the dynamics knob produced a wide range of different results, 
depending on the patch: filter cutoff, VCA level, etc.

 Overall, for $339.00, I'm impressed. If someone would send me one of 
those SPEC SHEETS (i deleted mine accidently) I'll fill it out and post.

| Derek Jeter   ==   djeter@cs.utk.edu   ==   http://www.cs.utk.edu/~djeter/ |
| Computer Science Department, University of Tennessee, Knoxville            |