source file: mills2.txt Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 10:17:09 -0700 Subject: RE: guide to non-tempered synthesizers From: PAULE One variety of Ensoniq's VFX that Brian did not mention is the VFX-SD, which I own. It only has one programmable _system_ tuning, but each patch can include a pitch-table, so you can have a different tuning for each instrument, if you like. Gary's point about the split points is well-taken, especially if you have some low notes mapped to high keys or vice versa. Steve Curtin of Ensoniq has informed me that the pitch resolution of the VFX line is not 768 steps per octave, as he originally stated, but is in fact 512 steps per octave. This seems correct given my expereince that the nominal size of an interval needs to be incremented by usually 2, sometimes 3, cents before the rate of beating changes. In light of Brian's more recent post of the state of microprocessor technology in the world of synthesizers, Michael Vannice's claim that Marion Systems' synths give 512 steps per semitone (revised from 512 steps per cent!) or 6144 steps per octave seems unlikely. Then again, Brian's reports on technology are not always accurate (CD-R, for instance), but the tuning resolution of sysnths seems to be one thing that he would know something about. Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Tue, 8 Oct 1996 07:54 +0200 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA10181; Tue, 8 Oct 1996 06:56:15 +0100 Received: from eartha.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA10182 Received: from by eartha.mills.edu via SMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/930416.SGI) for id WAA24846; Mon, 7 Oct 1996 22:56:13 -0700 Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 22:56:13 -0700 Message-Id: <961008055250_71670.2576_HHB35-5@CompuServe.COM> Errors-To: madole@ella.mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu