Two Equinox Keyboards Announced

The 61-key Equinox 61 and 76-key Equinox 76 both feature velocity and aftertouch, as well as generous 64-voice polyphony. Equipped with 16 MB of ROM, these synths offer over 1000 sounds as standard. Available in a stunning array, from the most traditional to the most unique and original, these sounds were created in the USA and Europe by some the industry's most prominent programmers, producers and keyboard artists.

The Equinox 61 and 76 can each read samples direct from floppy disk, CD-ROM, SyQuest, Zip, Jaz and others in the following formats: Kurzweil K2000, and Akai S1000, WAV (PC), AIFF (Mac), SMP and SND. In further o/s releases currently under development and scheduled before the end of '98, compatibility will be added for Roland S760, Ensoniq ASR-10 Akai S3000 and E-mu E4. Once imported, these samples can be fully edited using the powerful synth engine. User RAM, for samples, is expandable up to 40 MB (up to 32 MB of SIMMs and up to 8 MB of battery-backed RAM).

An on-board "Groove Machine" provides over 1200 fully-editable, pre-programmed rhythms for creating dance loops and grooves instantly. Rhythmic ideas can be brought to life in seconds, while the "Random Groove Generator" feature can create unusual and original patterns to inspire new song ideas. Generalmusic has licensed over 1000 of these grooves from the top "Groovemeisters" in the U.S.A, England, and Germany.

The Equinox synth engine boasts 128 digital filters with resonance (4-pole/24 dB). A single patch can contain as many as six waveforms (which can be a combination of ROM or imported samples) with up to 21 independent 10-segment envelopes and three LFOs. Furthermore, the keyboardist may layer/split up to 16 patches at once using up to 64 waveforms. Essential editing is also available in real time from the 8 sliders providing instant control over the Envelope, Filter and LFO parameters.

The term "multi-timbrality" takes on a new meaning thanks to the Equinox. The allocation of its 32 available parts takes place distinctly between real-time sounds and the independent sequencer, allowing you to play highly complex combination or multi-split sounds while the sequencer controls it's own 16 tracks. By not allowing the sequencer to steal tracks from the synth, the Equinox guarantees the availability of sounds even in the most critical of multi-timbral situations.

The powerful on-board sequencer also allows for 16-track recordings with a capacity of 250,000 events/16 songs, resolution of 1/192 ppq, groove quantize and advanced microscope editing.

A drawbar organ mode, with eight physical sliders, can provide all the nuances of the classic organs of the '60s, including Leslie simulation, key click, overdrive and percussion - with dedicated buttons and sliders for every feature. A user-programmable local/MIDI arpeggiator allows you to trigger any of the onboard or user sounds in true retro style!

Extremely versatile, the Equinox synths each include 32 MIDI channels and 16 programmable MIDI zones with eight programmable sliders, eight assignable buttons, two wheels and three assignable pedals.

Optional features include a 2 Gig internal hard disk for storing everything from patches and samples to grooves and songs, as well as a SCSI interface to allow loading and saving to CD-ROM, Zip, Jaz, external hard drive and other devices.

The most impressive feature of all, however, is the price. While offering all the features of an expensive flagship workstation, the suggested U.S. retail price on the Equinox 61 is just $1995, with the Equinox 76 retailing for $2195.