From news.sai.msu.su!Gamma.RU!srcc!demos!news1.best.com!noos.hooked.net!news.well.com!usenet Thu Nov 21 10:57:33 1996
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From: manatee@well.com (Randy Link)
Newsgroups: alt.comp.periphs.soundcard.avm,comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.tech,comp.os.os2.multimedia
Subject: Re: NEED ADVICE - SB32 or AVM Summit
Date: 20 Nov 1996 17:19:52 GMT
Organization: The Well, San Francisco, CA
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References: <56p3io$57e@news.utdallas.edu> <56roe2$q2h@herald.concentric.net> <56u6ph$cam@news.utdallas.edu> <3294c167.12302491@news.cc.utexas.edu>
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In article <3294c167.12302491@news.cc.utexas.edu>,
Paul R. Erickson <pre@mail.utexas.edu> wrote:
>On 20 Nov 1996 06:00:17 GMT, goyal@utdallas.edu (warped) wrote:
>
>>thanks for the reply!
>>
>>I made a mistake though.  The daughtercard is the ALR Kurzweil based
>>wavetable synthesis daugthercard.
>>
>>it uses the same chips & sound banks as the AVM Summit.

For the record, the Summit does share the same synth chipset (Kurzweil KH-1)
with the ALR board, but it does NOT use the same patch set. AVM uses a
custom patchset developed specifically for them by Kurzweil in the Summit.

>>
>
>The Summit/Kurzweil uses a very spotty 6MB sample set, it is 4mb for
>GM and 2MB for GS.  The patch quality is very random, ranging from
>mediocre to good.

First: The Summit uses a 12+MB patch set compressed onto 6MB ROM

Second: The Summit does NOT use "4mb for GM and 2MB for GS". The
Summit does not have a GS compatible patch set. It has:

	* GM set
	* MT32 set
	* Kurzweil SuperOrchestral set

It is not realistic to say how much ROM is devoted to each set on
the Summit, as many of the patches are shared between sets. The
grand piano patch, for example, is almost 1MB uncompressed and
is shared between all three sets.

Third: I respectfully disagree with your characterization of the
Summit's patch set (presumably the GM set) as being "very spotty".
I would argue that the Summit's patch set as a whole is no more
or less spotty than those of the Roland or Yamaha. The only glaring
weakness in the Summit's GM set is the solo violin, which is
bowed much too harshly for classical sequences. The Roland in
particular has very weak guitar patches, and its piano is inferior
to the Summit's. I would rate the Summit's patch quality as good
to excellent, as I would rate the Roland. The Yamaha patch set,
stripped of the effects available on the board, is generally
inferior to either the Roland or Summit in my opinion.

>
>The best well-rounded sets can be found on the Roland and Yamaha
>daughterboards. Do not buy the Kurzweil over these cards...

Again, I disagree that the best well-rounded sets are available on
the Roland/Yamaha boards. The Summit offers (IMO) a much more
tonally interesting and realistic GM set than either the Roland/
Yamaha, and there are many others who share this opinion. 
Ultimately, though, it is up to the individual listener to decide
for him/herself which set he/she prefers. Do not dismiss the Summit
out of hand, though.

Regards,
Randy

>    šššššššššššššššššššššššš
>    ššššPaul R. Ericksonšššš
>ššARCLIGHT ENTERPRISES INC(DE)šš
>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++           
>     Univ. of Texas/Austin
>  Graduate School of Business
>      MBA 1998  Marketing
>
>"The meek shall inherit the earth only when
> we're good and done with it, and with them."
>      -Fred Rexer, G.I. 


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|   Webmaster, AVM Technology, Inc.                                  |
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