Re: symetrix delay PLEASE READ

[erwill@ix.netcom.com (James E Williamson)]

mathias wrote: 
> Memory is cheap, what are they thinking?
>
>Not every delay is a loop machine. In fact all delay machines only 
serve
>for looping in a limited way. Tempo tap helps but does not resolve.
>

    I talked to one of the designers of this delay on the phone a month 
ago for about two hours about this delay.  I'd like to address a few 
things.
    first, the impetus for releasing this delay was that the used 
prices of low-res old delays (pcm-42, timeline, etc) are reaching 
ridiculous points in big markets.  Believe it or not, the pcm42 is 
widely used in movie post-production, and the hands-on control is the 
main reason.
    Second, the reason there is so little memory in this delay is not 
because Symetrix are stingy, but the DSP which they are using is only 
capable of addressing a limited amount of memory.  In fact, some 
features had to be taken out to get as much delay time as there is. (in 
the original sofware, the bit resolution could be set anywhere between 
1 and 24!)
    If the 606 sells well, which it is, Symetrix will (or may already 
have) start work on a 606 on steroids, to be ready to ship by the end 
of the year(!).  This new machine will posess all the features of the 
606 and more.  The memory will be upgradeable, there will be a digital 
output, there will be more parameters.  I have recomended that 
plex/rang features such as undo, multiply, and reverse (the three most 
important) be implemented, and they have taken me seriously.
    The list on the 707(?) will be $200 more than the 606.  Think: the 
power of a vortex and two echoplexes with full midi control, full 
programmability, and 24-bit processing for less than the cost of ONE of 
Obie's Echoplexes.
    This is what the looping community has been waiting for.  It will 
not happen, however, unless we go out and buy the 606.  If you have a 
suggestion as far as features of the 707 go, please give Symetrix a 
call.  You will be connected to somebody who knows whats up.
    As far as I go, I'm still going to buy my two Echoplexes, but 
salivate over the quadruple loops I could make with two plexes AND a 
707.

Thanks...

ps.If anybody's interested, I put together a tape compilation of local 
bands which have played at my shows (I put on underground music shows) 
in May.  I have continously mixed my own ambient loops in between each 
act.  The tape (96min long) was professionally duplicated with a 
full-colour j-card.  If anybody wants to buy one they're available for 
$6 postpaid.
-- 
James Eric Williamson - erwill@ix.netcom.com - erwill@heartland.bradley.edu
          One of Peoria's most obscure ambient blues musicians