Re: [microsound] Crumar Trilogy

[ãããããããã <ndkent@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>    It does have a certain sound , nice action , a solid feel. It isn't
> very satisfying if you're looking to make weird noises ,
> a wide variety of sonic textures.

Well it depends on the degree of weird. You might have run into this.

http://www.synthmania.com/trilogy.htm

Anyway my point would be it makes some okay filtered organ type  
sounds as you can hear. I'd agree that it's specialty is not making  
weird noises.

Mainly it was one of the last synths that used a lot of electric  
organ technology to cut down the cost.  They don't make synths like  
this any more because the cost savings weren't enough to make up for  
the corners being cut


> >    If my memory is accurate , one is able to program presets by  
> > raising
> > the top surface and accessing eight banks of tiny potentiometers.

I never heard the Trilogy had that. It might very well be true though  
I don't see the lid, unless you are talking about taking the synth  
apart like a serviceperson would do. Regular polyphonic synths of the  
era used an early microprocessor and battery backed RAM to instantly  
store a sound, but in the 70s a few synths, Yamaha being the most  
famous, used miniature pots or sliders to let you painstakingly store  
original patches. But I'm talking about 1977, not 1981. The early  
banks of pots idea is far less user friendly.


> You might be better off saving your pop machine
> change and spring for an Alesis Andromeda or an Emu Modular system.
>
> http://www.sequencer.de/syns/alesis/AndromedaA6.html

http://www.alesis.com/support/faqs/a6andromeda.html

I've got one. It's definitely a fascinating piece of work. They hover  
a bit below $2000 used. Alesis surprised everyone in 2000 when they  
made a real analog polyphonic synth ($3499 new). Only two or so  
companies had built a new one since the mid 80s. It's understood it  
was the dream of one of the people who ran the company to make what  
by many criteria would qualify as the most advanced analog polyphonic  
synth. I believe it holds the record for most knobs on a single  
regularly manufactured synth.

I guess the "I told you so" people who try to guess the flaws of  
equipment before it comes out could were more or less on the mark  
with the A6. It has an operating system and it can go buggy, crash  
and lock up. Not enough at least for me to say it's useless, but it  
does happen. Also 25 to 40 years ago electronic components had less  
precision. A complicated instrument tended to have a lot of non- 
linearities that added a lively quality (if all worked). When you get  
lots of modern precision parts like custom modern IC chips you get  
predictable results that are both reliable and not so warm. You can  
program the A6 to sound more like old synths, though it takes more  
effort. The cynic would say that "clinical" sound is the price of  
reliability, and it's true to an extent. The zone of very sweet  
sounds caused by good or "bad" functioning behavior is tiny. It's  
easier to have your component inaccuracies sound sour or bland  
depending on the tightness or looseness of how well a technology is  
working (and your own perception). Anyway, all in all the A6 is a  
very substantial synth with some shortcomings - just as every synth  
has some very different shortcomings and frustrating aspects.

p.s. the Trilogy used stable DCO oscillators (and organ technology)  
to produce waves. Which can be good or bad. Good in that they  
probably keep in tune, bad in that they lack the "fullness" of  
classic VCOs .


> http://www.siliconbreakdown.com/emu.html

Emu Modular  (!?!)  why - because of the SOS article? - when was the  
last time you saw one of those for sale? It's true, I saw one ONCE,  
and it was $8000 ten years ago. I'd suspect parts of one might come  
up for sale maybe once or twice a year tops. It's something never  
intended for a beginner, it's hard to think of a more off base synth  
recommendation (though it can create a very wide range of weird  
noises if it's in working order)

Bringing that up.

I guess because it's not a VSTi, surprisingly few people know about  
the Clavia Nord Modular G2 software demo. It's not the easiest  
software for the beginner to grasp, but hey, it's free and if you  
have the MHz it makes some great sounds. It's slightly crippled but  
unlike most "demos"  it will save, won't time out and doesn't make a  
random noise every few seconds unless you want it to.
http://clavia.se/products/nordmodular/demo.htm


Okay. Under $200... well everyone wants that and the only way you'll  
get something good is through real luck, skill or deception. What I  
mean is someone selling a synth that they underestimate the value of.  
Buying a trashed synth and figuring out the fix, or conning someone  
out of a synth by claiming it's worth much less than market value.

There are synths in this range as you've found. They are all really  
compromised in some way, though they might not be in a way that  
matters to you, especially if you don't expect something entirely  
flexible and wide ranging.

As to value, Under $200 is a good price for a fully working Triliogy.  
I'm sure if you got it, and you didn't like it, you could sell it  
again for that price (so long as you aren't being sold a broken synth  
or have limitations like you will only sell locally)

There is a third route, building one yourself (as more and more  
courageous and money challenged people do)
http://www.musicfromouterspace.com/

Not to discourage you, but it's not realistic to build a polyphonic  
synth unless you are a serious expert. Though again, I have no idea  
if the Trilogy was chosen because it was polyphonic rather than just  
cheap.

But on the encouraging side. building your own synth is very  
educational (though the techniques used aren't the same as in modern  
commercial electronics manufacture  ... still the knowledge is far  
from useless).

nicholas d. kent
nickkent.net

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