CME Launches ASX Advanced Synthesis Expansion For UF And VX Series Keyboards

CME has announced the launch of ASX Advanced Synthesis Expansion for UF and VX series keyboards.

The ASX is a DSP board which goes into the expansion slot of UF and VX series keyboards and provides a flexible synthesis engine, turning the CME MIDI controller keyboard into a stand-alone synthesizer.

The ASX does not rely on playback of sampled sounds but brings sufficient DSP power to run dedicated synth modelling plug-ins. Four plug-ins are included with the ASX, which can be dynamically loaded one at a time: the Minimax—a polyphonic replica of the analog synth legend, the LightWave—a wavetable based virtual analog synth with plenty of modulation possibilities, the B4000 organ—a precise model of the famous tonewheel organ and the Vocodizer—a complex vocoder which is controlled via a dedicated microphone input.

Next to the microphone input, the ASX provides stereo line out, stereo headphone out and a USB port to connect to the ASX Editor Software. The Editor provides graphic interfaces to each plug-in and allows access to all settings of the plug-in. Sounds can be managed, exchanged via an online server and uploaded to the ASX hardware.

Listed at 369 USD, the ASX is shipping within November 2007.