4 ms·
None of this was possible in the early 80s when the Junos were designed. The Cortex M4 in the Teensy runs at 200MHz. In the early 80s consumer-grade DSP didn't
by TheOtherHobbes 6y ago
None of this was possible in the early 80s when the Junos were designed.
The Cortex M4 in the Teensy runs at 200MHz. In the early 80s consumer-grade DSP didn't exist at all. There were some exotic studio processors with slow microprocessors supported by custom hardware multipliers, but 8MHz 16-bit microprocessors were considered fast, expensive, and exotic.
Roland had a stellar run with their hardware designs. The Junos may be one of the best synthesizers ever made hitting the bullseye for price, character, simple but flexible programmability, and a legendary sweet but powerful sound.
There's a finesse to this kind of audio design that IMO makes a lot of Eurorack seem clumsy and uninspired in comparison.
- ssalazar 6y agoAgreed. Its also pretty amazing what Yamaha was able to accomplish in the 1980s with the DX7 and successors using entirely digital synthesis without capable DSPs or microcontrollers. Some interesting background here: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/showpost.php?p=10602091&postcount=4&s=b602749cfee23de7777e7d23232601f1 https://www.gearslutz.com/board/showpost.php?p=10602091&post...
- type0 6y agoyeah, from technology point of view 80s synths are incredibly interesting, btw recent discussion on DX7 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25592265 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25592265 The thing with eurorack that can feel uninspiring because it's never one music instrument, especially if you rewire it often and it becomes this abstract blob of music tech that is never finished, which makes it both addictive and expensive.
- dep_b 6y agoThe Alpha Juno already had a high resolution digital oscillator.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]