Sorry, I made a mistake on one of the instruments for sale
I said I have a CompuRythm for sale - it's a CompuMusic CMU-800 actually
As I said I have never used it because it requires an old Apple II and the
right software (on disk) to run
I have the manual
a mate of mine found this at a swap and gave it to me to figure out. I've
managed to find a copy (xeroxed) of the manual and apparently there is a
community of 8/16bit enthusiasts out there who have the software (or so I
was told by the guy who sold me the manual).
The CMU-800 is a little four-channel mixer with internal preset voices and
sequencer software for an Apple II or PC. There is a ribbon cable out the
back with a card attached. It features analog synthesis with fixed sounds.
Four note polyphony in the chord section, monophonic bass and melody synth
sections, and an analog drum section.
The Chord/Melody section has only 1 sound. The drum section is similar to
the TR-606 Drumatix, and the bass section is similar to the TB-303 Bassline
(some limited adjustments in sound were possible via software). It has
separate melody, bass, chord, rhythm, mix outputs. There's also 8 cv/gate
outs to run external analog equipment by control voltages, and there's a
click in/out. On the face it has knobs for portamento, Melody sustain &
decay, Bass decay, and Chord decay. It also has volume level sliders for
each of the instruments and a master volume slider. The software uses a
similar music programming method as the MC-8 or MC-4.
It's definitely a limited instrument today, but it's unique, quirky and
capable of some nice analog Roland sounds for cheap. If you have an old
Apple or PC lying around, and access to the correct software you're in
luck! Otherwise the CMU-800 is just a fancy paper-weight.
MEK
