(Click on the instrument graphics below to go to the manufacturer's product page. Click the company name to go to the corporate home.) |
 
ESI-32 Digital Sampler from E-Mu Systems. Mine has 32 mb RAM, and a SCSI port, hooked to a SyQuest EZ-135 cartridge drive for storing samples and banks. (The PC and the ESI can share this puppy, as well.) |
 I
also use a Korg 05R/W sound module. This is my GM module, but it also provides
some decent extended sounds and combination patches. Thanks to the editing
capabilities, there have been some interesting patches for this posted
around the internet. There are some great sites devoted to Korg and the
05R/W, like the KORG ZONE,
and this 05R/W
Site.
And here's the official Korg web site. Click the graphic to head to Korg. |
| For a keyboard, I use an old Yamaha SY-22 (sorry, no pic). I don't use the sounds in it much anymore, except for the occasional percussion or pad. The velocity-sensitive keys will do for now. |
 
My Opcode / MusiQuest MQX-32M MIDI interface died. I must say thought, I got 5 solid problem-free years of service from this card. Error-less until the day it passed. Its been replaced by a . . . |
. . . MIDIMAN WinMan 4x4. ( Drivers HERE ) This gives me 4 ports for a total of 64 MIDI channels. The extra ports come in handy while using the . . . |
Serious MIDI implementation. Literally every parameter can be altered realtime via continuous controller messages. I haven't beeen able to find a Cakewalk Instrument Definition yet, so I'll probably have to write one. When I do, I'll post it here. |
Also inside is an Adaptec AMM-1570 SCSI controller, which is kind of an odd bird in that it also functions as a sound card. The synth on this thing is pretty lame, so it functions as a worst-case tester for MIDI files. It does, at least, support basic GM . . . |
 An Alesis Midiverb IV serves as an effects processor for (primarily) the ESI, but sometimes I route certain 05R/W patches through it as well. Stereo or two discrete mono effects channels w/ up to 3 simultaneous effects. (Not the most perhaps, but the specs are the cleanest in this price range.) |
Mixing everything is a Tascam MM-200, which has 8 stereo inputs, as well as a 4-In, 8-Out MIDI mixer. This is useful for reducing cable-swaps while storing sysex setups, etc. This baby died on me after 16 months of ownership. Not sure I could reccommend this one. |
 
The Roland / Boss DR-550 drum machine appears courtesy of my friend, drummer, and former band manager/promoter, John Rowny. |
| Computer - Vintage '92 Apache clone PC. Upgraded ad-infinitum and outfitted with 128k of wrong-speed board-level cache, which inevitably causes the occasional and unenviable 'exception 10-H' fault. (Particularly in Netscape) |
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