A rare piece spotted by MATRIXSYNTH reader Kaden Harris on Craigslist.
"Here's your chance to own a rare early digital preset synthesizer! The DK-20 by Rocky Mount Instruments, Inc (RMI) was produced from 1979 to 1982. So rare, I can't find any demo videos of it on YouTube. It featured the latest digital technology at the time and I believe was one of the first digital pianos. 68 keys. Includes the volume pedal, sostenuto toe stud, and sustain pedal and legs/stand. You can control the decay curves, timing, and release characteristics along with mixers, phasers, and modifiers. Everything works. Asking $750."
I have recently purchased one of these from an online seller and am looking for any information available on it. Information relating to an owners manual or sources of parts would be especially appreciated. I am the owner of an RMI 300B purchased new in January of 1972 (still have it and it still works!) and I was aware that the DK-20 was the last instrument released under the RMI name but had never even heard one of these (let alone played one) until now. The seller did not have the pedal assembly and I thought the one from my 300B would work but...surprise, the polarity of the sustain pedal is reversed, meaning that you get sustain when the pedal is NOT pressed and no sustain when you do! Unfortunately, one strange little quirk of RMI instruments is that their sustain jacks and require a slightly smaller plug than the standard 1/4" phone plug. Simple enough matter to solder in a standard jack, I suppose, but I would prefer to find an original pedal assembly if possible.
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