Members Unfed Posted February 18, 2007 Members Share Posted February 18, 2007 i was at a local shop this evening and noticed they have a brand new midi interface for a Chroma. i would imagine it's for the original and not the Polaris, it's a small box with midi ports and a ribbon cable to connect to the synth. is this something anyone here can use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted February 18, 2007 Members Share Posted February 18, 2007 Got two already . You'll be seeing a lot more around as Chroma owners ditch theirs in favor of the new hot rod CC+ CPU board, which has one already built in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unfed Posted February 18, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 18, 2007 you've got two of the interfaces you mean? CC+ CPU board? is this an upgrade to the Chroma? i really couldn't care less about it, i just thought someone might be able to use it. this place has been a goldmine of old-stock stuff in the past, but it's pretty dried up as far as electronics. Tuck and Outkaster know the place... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Malekko Posted February 18, 2007 Members Share Posted February 18, 2007 Got two already . You'll be seeing a lot more around as Chroma owners ditch theirs in favor of the new hot rod CC+ CPU board, which has one already built in. please tell me more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted February 18, 2007 Members Share Posted February 18, 2007 Yes I have two of those - one for my Chroma and one for my Expander. The box you describe is the SynTech Chroma MIDI Interface, also known as the ChromaCult interface. Up till now it has been the best one available. The CC+ cpu board is a recent project by a couple of members on the Chroma mailing list, where many of the world's Chroma owners gather. It replaces the processor, ROM OS and battery backup with a modern cpu board which supports some advanced midi cc support for remote programming and controlling the Chroma over a built in midi interface. The Chroma is kind of like an old Ford Coupe, sturdy and amenable to hot rodding. http://www.rhodeschroma.com for all things Chroma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unfed Posted February 18, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 18, 2007 i just saw the expander, now i see what your avatar pic is of. how often does one of those sell for, and how much? so you've got 32 (or 16) voices o' Chroma analog there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ElectricPuppy Posted February 18, 2007 Members Share Posted February 18, 2007 Just for the record (for those researching); The Chroma Polaris had MIDI built-in and does not need the external interface. That said, I'm intrigued to hear that someone's taken on replacing the CPU board in the original Chroma. That's ambitious. Good for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unfed Posted February 18, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 18, 2007 Just for the record (for those researching); The Chroma Polaris had MIDI built-in and does not need the external interface. yeah, that's what i thought, i'll try to change the thread title... {edit: can't do it, what's with this bull{censored} forum?! } Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Teoman Posted February 18, 2007 Members Share Posted February 18, 2007 Yes I have two of those - one for my Chroma and one for my Expander. The box you describe is the SynTech Chroma MIDI Interface, also known as the ChromaCult interface. Up till now it has been the best one available.The CC+ cpu board is a recent project by a couple of members on the Chroma mailing list, where many of the world's Chroma owners gather. It replaces the processor, ROM OS and battery backup with a modern cpu board which supports some advanced midi cc support for remote programming and controlling the Chroma over a built in midi interface.The Chroma is kind of like an old Ford Coupe, sturdy and amenable to hot rodding.http://www.rhodeschroma.com for all things Chroma. Mate Stubb, I am really interested in this instrument. It is said to be the polyphonic version of the ARP 2600. Is this true? I remember someone saying it has CEM oscillators, but if it is a polyphonic ARP 2600, it must be totally discrete. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members clusterchord Posted February 18, 2007 Members Share Posted February 18, 2007 its the other way arorund, it has ARP discrete oscillator, and unique CEM3350 multimode filter per voice. it can be 16 note polyphonic, with single vco/vcf/vca "voice" per nopte, or 8 note polyphonic with two voices per note - classic two oscillator setup. but you get two mutlimode filters as well. but its not just a layer, as you can actually reconfigure the two filters in parrallel, series etc. this machine is, in many ways, a predecessor to Xpander, in terms of flexibility. afaik, besides Chroma, the CEM3350 filter was only used in Syrinx. anyway, it is the last of the analog polyphonics left that i lust for. and it probably will be my last - i've located one in mint condition w pedals, but haven't the funds yet. i think the Rhodes Chroma community is the best in the world. nobody else went as far to reverse engineer a CPU board. i wish someone do this for some other oldies like CS-80 and make a full blown fast MIDI spec, with all sliders and poly aftertouch transmitting and receiving MIDI commands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flattop Posted February 18, 2007 Members Share Posted February 18, 2007 The CS80 would probably be out of the question because the controls (sliders and knobs) are not under digital control like things such as the Chroma and Memorymoog (Linntronics interface). Wes TaggartAnalogicshttp://www.analogics.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted February 18, 2007 Members Share Posted February 18, 2007 i just saw the expander, now i see what your avatar pic is of. how often does one of those sell for, and how much? so you've got 32 (or 16) voices o' Chroma analog there? Yep, 32 VCO VCF & VCA channels, but most of the time patched into 16 dual channels in various configurations. Expanders are rare and hard to find. I bought my Chroma and Expander both brand new back in the day, but had to replace them after the neighborhood crackhead broke into my van. The Expander took me 10 years to find. As to hotrodding, the following are possible and most have been done: - easy hardware mod to make sofware envelopes super snappy - replace heavy power supply with modern lightweight switcher - replace CPU board and ROM with low current draw modern processor - replace the case parts with exotic wood - add poly pressure with (admittedly rare) OEM sensor. Schemos are available to attempt to build your own. Chroma is already set up to accept poly pressure in its mod matrix. - voice boards have been reverse engineered and files are available to have new boards made. - the OS has been disassembled and completely reverse engineered. This has allowed new control features to be added via the new CPU board. Because of all this there is really only one potential weak point to keeping them from going forever - the supply of CEM filter chips (there are also a couple CEM VCAs in the master EQ section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted February 18, 2007 Members Share Posted February 18, 2007 Here's how the filters work, for those interested. There are 8 voice boards, with 2 discrete VCOs and VCAs, and 1 CEM filter chip plus all the necessary analog gates to patch the various pieces together. The filter has 4 transconductance cells, basically equivalent to a 6 db/oct (1 pole) filter. So in 16 voice mode, you have two independent voices per board with a 12 db/oct filter, switchable to either HP or LP. In 8 voice mode, the two filters can be stacked in series. If both are LP or HP you have a 4 pole filter, if HP and LP you can get either bandpass or notch. As well, you can run them in parallel for multiple resonant peak stuff, or patch a VCO->VCF->VCA chain to modulate the other chains filter for filter FM. The only architecture you can't patch is direct FM of one VCO from the other. What you do get instead is polyphonic ring modulation. The only other semi-modular polys in all of synth history with this type of complexity that I can think of are Oberheim Xpander and of course Andromeda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members clusterchord Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 arghh, mercy!! more or less i was familiar w this data from before, talking to Chris Ryan n others, but just reading your post again makes me GAS to no end.. dying hereeeeee as a desperate measure, i'm actually considering selling some other polyanalog to get this one sooner. the seller of one beautiful Chroma is still keeping it on hold for me, but he might change his mind any time .. so Matt, has anyone actully pulled off the DIY polyaftertouch thing (not counting the "original" add-on) ?? have you done the snappy mod too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Teoman Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 Thanks for these info Tom and Mate Stubb. I am not that interested in the complex modulation capabilities, but the sound itself. I'm sure those discrete analog oscillators must sound unique. I have no idea about how CEM 3350 filters sound though. I heard that most songs of Chaka Khan have been made with Arp Chroma. This says a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 so Matt, has anyone actully pulled off the DIY polyaftertouch thing (not counting the "original" add-on) ??have you done the snappy mod too? No mods yet on my end. I intend to try it on one voice board and see if I like it. As to the aftertouch sensor - since Dave Clarke laid it all out, I WILL see poly aftertouch in my Chroma before I die! I do have a CC++ sitting on my bench when I find the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ahfinn Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 I have a Chroma and what a fantastic synth it is. Probably the most organic sounding synth I have. I think it has better keys than a CS-80 too since they are all complete wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members clusterchord Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 thanks Matt.. teo, if u havent already go to the bluesynths site , those demos Oliver made of Chroma are fantastic. HUGE sound, and so organic. 3350 sounds like a very flexible filter, form the sound of it. it does have a special character, different from yer regular 3320. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members heathf Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 Chroma sounds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Teoman Posted February 20, 2007 Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 thanks Matt.. teo, if u havent already go to the bluesynths site , those demos Oliver made of Chroma are fantastic. HUGE sound, and so organic. 3350 sounds like a very flexible filter, form the sound of it. it does have a special character, different from yer regular 3320. I downloaded many synth demos from bluesynth but somehow missed the Chroma demos. Will be checking those organic sounds immediately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members clusterchord Posted February 20, 2007 Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 Chroma sounds wow, that Chroma is in serious need of calibration. drifting all over the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ahfinn Posted February 20, 2007 Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 Yes, I know. I wanted to get the sound across. It was also cold when I recorded that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members clusterchord Posted February 20, 2007 Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 hey Finn, maybe some capacitor exchange is in order. it will cut down your warm-up time significantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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