[Coco] OT but old: VSTi of 1973 Synth

[Dennis Bathory-Kitsz]

Hi all,

This isn't CoCo-related, but is an emulation that might interest some of
the large body of musicians on our list.

Last night I completed the first public beta of an emulation of the Ionic
Performer Synth from 1973.

The emulation (VSTi, Windows PC only) can be found here:
  http://maltedmedia.com/people/bathory/killer0439.zip

The original Performer was manufactured briefly by Ionic Industries in
Morristown, New Jersey. I purchased the floor model and fellow composer
David Gunn purchased a production unit. For more info:
http://maltedmedia.com/people/bathory/killer.html (I called my synth
"Killer" because it was so doggone heavy ... about 80 lbs. in its wooden
case, and lots to drag around for live concerts.)

Over the years I had built both TRS-80 Model I and CoCo interfaces to this
device, outputting pitch streams and triggers. In fact, pre-CoCo, its use
with its TRS-80 interface in a concert at the Washington (DC) Project for
the Arts was one of the first uses of any microcomputer in live interactive
performance.

This VSTi is a close replica of the original Performer, including the
deficiencies of tuning, tracking and control. Switches, sliders, buttons,
illumated presets, indicator lights and keyboard are all made from photos
of the original. (Although all functions work, some of the lamps do not
function reliably in all VST hosts. It works perfectly in Sonar 3.)

Note: This VSTi is CPU-hungry. Together with Sonar, at least a 600+ MHz
system is needed for one instance of the VSTi. And the panel is large --
almost 1600 pixels wide. I wanted a real performable unit on my computer
and so didn't make it tiny.

Best to all,
Dennis