Quasimidi Sirius

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Details:
"Polyphony: 28 voices
Oscillators: 2 osc per voice : 128 synth waves, 365 drum and percussion samples
Filter: 24dB and 12dB slopes, Hi and Low pass filters with resonance and overdrive
Effects: FX1: reverbs, stereo delays. FX2: chorus, flanger, delays; vocoder
Arpeg/Sequencer: 16 pattern arpeggiator / 7 track sequencer with tap tempo
Keyboard: 49 velocity sensitive keys
Memory: 384 patches (288 preset, 96 user), 16 vocoder patches, 20 percussion kits
Control: MIDI (7 parts, 3 synth and 4 drums)

* Synthesis System: DTE Synthesis.
* Polyphony: 28-note.
* Multitimbrality: 7-part.
* Preset Sounds: 672 ROM; 480 User (96 each for synth, bass drum, snare, hi-hat and percussion).
* Sequencer: 7-track; 142 ROM Patterns, 100 User Patterns; 16 Songs.
* Arpeggiator: 16 preset Programs, nine of which can be overwritten with user patterns; Chord Trigger and Gater features.
* Effects: 2 effects processors; Overblast bass boost.
* Keyboard: 4-octave, velocity-sensitive, with
pitch-bend and mod wheels.
* Display: 2-line x 16-character, backlit.
* Vocoder: 11-band, with 16 editable presets .
* Beat-recognition system.
* Connections: MIDI In, Out & Thru; L/R stereo audio outs on quarter-inch jacks; 2 input jacks for vocoder/beat recognition system; quarter-inch footswitch jack; front-panel mic and headphone sockets; external PSU socket.

Quasimidi Sirius Features:

New DTE-Synthese with powerful Sound and flexible Filtermodels

Vocoder with 16 exciting Basic-Configurations (Filterbank, Formant-Shift, Roboter-Voice,...)

A full compliment of Realtime-Knobs for realtime manipulation and quick flexible sound-creation.

Intelligent Macro-Functions, Random Sound Creation and Fast-Save for super-fast Sound Creation

Sequencer/Drumcomputer with Realtime record, Drumgrid, and Step-Edit

Arpeggiator with many different style-types

Beat Recognition System, Synchronizes the sequencer to external Audiosignals (e.g. Turntables, CD)

Architecture: 28 Voices, 480 RAM-, 480 ROM-Sounds, 256 Drum-Instruments for 20 Drumsets, 7 channel Multimode ...

Effects are basic: one of the Sirius' processors offers reverbs (Room, Metallic, Chamber, Hall, Cathedral, Plate, Delay, Pan Delay), while the other provides modulation effects (Chorus, Slow Chorus, Fast Chorus, Super Chorus, Feedback Chorus, Flanger, Short Delay, Pan Delay). Pan Delay appears twice, for some reason... Note that effects are global: if a reverb and a chorus are set up, for example, all sounds and Patterns, and the current Song, will be processed with them, though send levels for each track in a Pattern allow you to vary effect amounts. Luckily, effects settings are saved with each Song.

* Octave setting: this is something like the facility found on certain analogue synths and allows you to set a sound's octave range. Quasimidi calibrate it in feet, like drawbars on an organ.
* Detune: up to 24 semitones of detuning is possible, in one-cent steps for the first semitone, then in semitones thereafter.
* Glide: sets portamento time.
* Monophon on/off: sets whether the sound will play monophonically or polyphonically, so you can emulate a monosynth if you like.
* Pitch EG (Envelope Generator): a very basic envelope with attack and decay and a positive or negative 'mod amount' which sets how much pitch modulation is applied to the sound.
* VCF (Voltage Controlled Filter) parameters: Drive (overloads the filter stage; recommended for "acid basslines and aggressive solo sounds". In practice it seems to give sounds more edge and body); VCF Type (low-pass 24dB or 12dB, and high-pass 12dB); VCF Cutoff and Resonance; Keyboard Tracking (controls filter cutoff frequency according to where you play on the keyboard -- the higher up the keyboard, the brighter the sound); VCF Dynamic (determines how the filter responds to keyboard velocity); VCF Envelope Modulation (sets by how much the EG affects the filter); VCF EG (offering two ways of setting a filter envelope: define attack, decay, sustain and release via the parameter access system, or choose one of 128 preset filter envelope types with the front-panel VCF EG Macro knob).
* VCA (Voltage Controlled Amplifier) parameters: Level; VCA Dynamic (controls a sound's volume with keyboard velocity -- essentially a switch for turning velocity sensitivity on or off for a sound); VCA EG (sets amplitude envelope: as with the VCF EG, use the display, or choose from 128 preset types with the VCA EG Macro knob).
* LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) parameters: LFO Waveform (six choices); LFO Rate (choose a value or sync the LFO to MIDI clock); LFO Depth; LFO Amount (defines how much LFO modulation is applied to the oscillator, VCF and/or VCA).

As you can see, there's more than enough sound-mangling power in the detailed editing levels of the Sirius. However, if you don't want to get your hands quite that dirty, quick and easy editing is available from the front panel. The 13 knobs dedicated to the synth section are divided into four areas:

* Modulator (or LFO), where LFO Depth and Rate can be adjusted, and an LFO 'Macro' -- a preset LFO routing -- selected.
* Oscillator, where a sound's basic waveform can be chosen, Glide (portamento) time and Detune amount can be set, Filter Overdrive applied, and a sound transposed by a maximum two octaves down or one octave up.
* Resonance Filter (VCF), which provides quick access to the three filter types, cutoff frequency, resonance, keyboard tracking and VCF Dynamic. This section also offers a VCF EG Macro knob and one labelled Envelope Mod, which actually sets envelope depth.
* Amplifier (VCA): this section has VCA EG Macro and VCA Level knobs, a VCA Dynamic switch, and a Release switch, which automatically lengthens an envelope by a fixed amount -- so if you have a short sound selected, you can instantly give it a long decay."