Synths,
Modules & Samplers
Roland
TB-303 Bassline is one of the most popular vintage synth instruments in the
world today, a crucial instrument for most genre of techno music. Though it
was originally intended to emulate the sound of bass guitar, modern techno
and dance musicians found it far more useful for producing screaming, obnoxious
synth lines, squeals and leads. Thanks to its radical analog filtering and
three octave range. Up to 64 patterns, incorporating all squeals, modulation,
filtering and other sonic tweaks could be created and stored for use anytime.
The Roland MC-505 Groovebox
offers 512 of the fattest sounds on the dance music scene. 26 specially created
onboard rhythm kits deliver low kicks, snares and hits galore, meaning that
from the latest lo-fi, techno, and hip-hop sounds to all those classic Roland
drum and synth sounds (TB-303, TR-808, TR-909, Juno, Jupiter, etc.). And to
ensure that groove-heads get exactly the sound they're after, the 505 offers
steep filtering, ADSR envelope controls, enhanced LFO and Filter/Amplifier
controls, the revolutionary D-Beam light-sensing controller and a Low Boost
knob with an Octave switch (warn the neighbors now).
The Roland Juno 106 is a 6
voice polyphonic and programmable analog synth with digital controlled oscillators.
It has excellent analog filters, envelopes and chorus effects. The digitally
controlled oscillators offer stable tuning and computer controllability! This
synth is very simple and very powerful. Use it to generate lush pads, filter
sweeps, and funky bass lines. One of the most loved and used analog synthesizers
by professionals!
The Yamaha
SY-22 produces its sound by combining simple 2-op FM parts and an AWM sample.
You can have one FM part and one AWM sample, or two of both kind. These sounds
can be mixed with the onboard joystick in real-time. You can even record and
playback the joystick movements, which gives really fine evolving and changing
patches!!
Rolands M-DC 1 Dance module
is a must have, if you're into dance music. The drum section is based on the
classic Roland TR series. There's a lot of sampled voices, noises, deep basses,
including TB-303 and SH-101, and lovely digital synth samples.
The Yamaha TX-802 is the rack
mount version of the DX-7 II with a few added touches (such as 8 multitimburality
and so on). It is an FM synth, so it's excellent at re-creating electric pianos,
house organs, brass, bells and analog sounds. FM is actually the only alternative
to subtractive synthesis which has ever met with any degree of success. Being
based on sine waves, it's ideal for generating monstrous sub basses, well
known in many jungle releases. Prior to the jungle artists' discovery of their
bottom and welly, dance producers regularly programmed up a low frequency
sine wave to layer in with their kick drums.
The Yamaha EX-5R incorporates
FIVE different forms of sound generation, including the new technologies of
FDSP and AN synthesis. The EX-5R is the most powerful professional synth ever
to be crammed into 19". 128 note polyphony plus a 16 track linear sequencer
with a tempo resolution of 1/480 per beat, barely hint at the power of this
machine. Here you see what it's got all in one "box";
AN1X: All benefits of analog
synthesis plus the control, precision and stability of digital technology.
CS2X: Yamaha's proprietory system
combining sampled wave forms with powerful filters, envelope generators and
modulation.
VL-70M:
Sophisticated computer based physical modeling simulates the natural tones
of acoustic instruments.
A3000:
Sample external sound sources or resample the EX output using up to 65 Mb
of expanded memory.
Drum Machines
The
original brochure copy of the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer boldly claimed,
"The TR-808 will undoubtedly become the standard for rhythm machines
of the future because it does what no rhythm machine of the past has done."
In this case, the ad copy proved more than true. More than 15 years after
its introduction, the TR-808 sounds remain the foundation for hip hop, rap
and modern dance music: a distinct combination of thin, "ticky"
Snares, funky Cowbells and low, resonating Kick Drum sounds.
The
Roland TR-909 remains one of the most popular rhythm machines ever invented,
thanks in part to it's distinct analog drum sounds (the foundation for much
dance, house and techno music) and it's intuitive, groove friendly programmability.
In total, it offers 11 sounds: Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Low Tom, Mid Tom, High
Tom, Rim Shot, Hand Clap, closed and opened High Hat, Crash and Ride Cymbals.
For further tailoring, several controls are provided for each sound source.
A Shuffle function and Flam effect are also provided.
The Alesis
DM-5 Drum/Percussion Sound Module offers professional performance features
and an excellent selection of drum, percussion and special effect samples.
The Dm-5 puts over 540 sounds into a single rack space. Both classic Alesis
studio drum sounds and new cutting-edge sounds for the latest musical styles
are well represented. You'll find a great selection of kicks, snares, toms,
hi-hats, percussion instruments and more.
