Digital Synthesizer Workstation
The Equinox is Generalmusic’s last effort (so far) in the world of pure synthesizers (they do keep producing professional accompaniment keyboards, and to tell the truth, nowadays the difference between the two is blurring more and more).
The Equinox starts pretty much where their previous synthesizer, the incredible-sounding S-series, left off. This machine is absolutely full of features: here’s a concise list of what’s available (from the manual:
• An immense database (16 Mb samples) with over 1000 preset
Sounds and user memory locations to store more than
2000 new sounds. 112 Performance memories and a Groove
machine featuring over 1000 user-programmable Grooves.
• Unique Drawbar mode for instant access to vintage electronic
organ sounds using the 8 panel sliders as drawbars with
key-click, percussion, overdrive, etc..
• 250.000 event, 16 track sequencer with advanced song editing facilities.
• Advanced Sound editing facilities with 64 note polyphony,128 digital filters with resonance, up to 6 oscillators per voice, 3 Lfos and up to 21 independent Envelopes with 10 segment resolution.
• Sample Translator to create user-samples and load new samples of the most popular formats (Wav (PC), Aiff (Mac), Akai™, Kurzwail™, Smp, Snd. Future os versions will allow loading of Roland™, Ensoniq™ and Emu™ samples.
• Full MIDI implementation – The Equinox is the perfect Master Controller for advanced MIDI set-ups (32 MIDI Channel control, 16 programmable Midi Zones, 8 programmable Sliders, 2 programmable Wheels, 3 assignable Pedals).
• Flash-ROM memory which allows the instrument’s memory to be instantly upgraded by simply inserting a special floppy disk in the drive.
• The Equinox can be fitted with optional memory (8 Mb backed Sample RAM and up to 32 Mb SIMMs), an internal Hard Disk (2 Gigabytes) and a SCSI port (compatible with CD-ROM, Zip™, Jaz™ external hard drives).
As you see, there’s a lot to this instrument!
What strikes me most about this synth is that it can definitely sound analog (just like its predecessor did). While it’s purely sample-based, there’s something about the way the sounds come across, that make it sound warm, not digital. The quality effects also help a lot in producing some of the best sounds on board.
This is definitely a strong contender to the other workstations that came out at the same time, like the Korg Triton, Yamaha EX5, and Roland original Fantom. For some reasons it wasn’t popular enough, apparently due to the first OS that could have been better. By the time the OS was improved, other workstations had come out and this ended in the forgotten back of the music store – until now! 🙂
Generalmusic Equinox 61 Factory Performance audio demos
Generalmusic Equinox 61 Factory Sound audio demos
Bank A
Bank B
Bank C
Bank D
Bank E
Drawbar mode
Hit a button, and the Equinox becomes a full-fledged Hammond!!! Besides the sliders/drawbars, there are controls for click, percussion and Leslie speed. You can also save your own organ creations, of course. Very realistic 🙂
Drum Kits
Several great-sounding drums on the Equinox. Here are a few examples.
Grooves
A great feature on the Equinox is that you can create and assign full grooves to each single key. Here are a few examples of what is possible to achieve:
Misc. sounds
Arabic
On the Equinox, you can set a the Tuning Scale in different ways: Equal tempered, Inverse, Mean Tone, Werckmeister, Arabian, and you can make your own. For the Kanoun example, I used the Arabian scale to give it a more realistic vibe.
demo song
Choirs
nice choir sounds
Jungle
a jungle demo
Generalmusic Equinox 61 manuals
Generalmusic Equinox 61 photos
Generalmusic Equinox 61 specs
| Year of release | 1998 |
| Polyphony | 64 note |
| Presets | 1,000+ preset, 112 performance, 2,000+ user, 1,000+ grooves |
| Rhythms | Yes |
| Keyboard | 61 keys |
| Responds to velocity | Yes |
| Sound generation method | PCM |
| MIDI | In, Out, Thru |
| Sound expansion capabilities | Yes, disk / RAM / SCSI |
| Effects | Yes |
| Sampling | Yes |
| Outputs | |
| Display | Yes, backlit green |
| Misc | |
| Dimensions | |
| Weight |
Generalmusic Equinox 61 photos
SCSI Interface kit (from eBay 7424529802)
Generalmusic Equinox links