5. Enable/disable program changes.
Toggles between the two settings. Transmission
and reception of program changes via MIDI is disabled when the synthesizer is switched
on.
6. Enable/disable wheel changes.
Affects pitch-bend and modulation wheels. On power-
up, MIDI for these is disabled (transmit and receive).
4.0 SUBJECTIVE OPINIONS
4.1 Subjective opinions:
I'm very fond of mine, but remember, this isn't a Prophet-5. Analogue fanatics
mercilessly bash this and related SCI synths (the Six-Trak, Multi- Trak, and MAX)
because of the synth chip that is used (the Curtis CEM 3394). It sounds a little thin, with
somewhat harsh resonance on the filter. However, the sound is dramatically improved in
"double" mode, especially if the two patches are detuned slightly relative to each other,
and really grew on me as I played with it. It is capable of very nice pads, brasses and
mono basses (eight oscillators at once!). The chorus, located on a separate circuit board
from the main synthesis machinery, is not nearly as noisy as you might expect.
Programmable footswitch assignment and separate volume pots for the two patches are
nice features, as is the support for sysex dump and load. The programming interface is
better than almost any other single-parameter-at-a-time synth I've used, although
increment/decrement buttons would be handy. MIDI implementation is difficult to figure
out without a manual, although some other non-obvious functions arelisted on the front
panel. The keyboard has a very light feel to it – not unpleasant, but nothing special.
Overall, I would say that it provides convincing analogue sound with the potential for
some lovely warmth, andthe ability to produce tremendous bass sounds in "Unison"
mode. For what it's worth, I wouldn't part with my Split-8 for anything.
4.2 Annoying features and bugs:
Sysex dump-request is possible, but the manual doesn't tell you what the request bytes
are, nor does it give you a byte-map of the sysex data. Powers up in OMNI mode, with
MIDI response to external wheel controllers disabled. Mod. wheel gives a large increase
in a very short "throw" distance, either from the unit itself or via MIDI. Doesn't respond
to "all notes off" message. Pitch-bend depth is not adjustable (+/- major third, although
mine seems to be +4/-3 semitones from its own wheel). Only one VCO per voice unless
in "double" mode (with 4-voice polyphony). No noise source or sample/hold. No LFO
pre-delay or key-sync. No pitch envelope. Filter envelope cannot be inverted. Only one
LFO. Stair-stepping precludes real-time filter cutoff knob twiddling.
The only obvious operating system bugs are in the envelope generators. A decay value of
10 (the range is 0 to 15) gives a very short decay, comparable to a setting of 1. This is
true of both the VCA and VCF envelope generators. I do not know if this is common to
all Split-8s, or is simply a flaw in mine. Also, the envelopes do not re-trigger correctly
Summary of Contents for 608 SPLIT-8
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