Back in 1979, this Italian classic burst onto the scene as a compact powerhouse for lush strings and punchy brass, powering tracks from Duran Duran to wedding gigs with its effortless polyphonic glow.
At its heart, it's an all-analog beast with 49 keys, delivering full polyphony via a top-octave generator and dividers for true vintage chorusing—strings from dual sawtooth oscillators at 8' and 16' feet, shaped by a 3-band EQ for sparkling highs or moody lows, plus attack/sustain envelopes. Brass hits with a single square wave osc, low-pass VCF (early Moog ladder or later SSM2040 versions for varied bite), and AD envelope, all mixed with simple sliders for 15 total controls and 5 buttons. A single LFO adds vibrato or filter mod, while the layout keeps brass left, strings center, and modulation/volume right—12kg of wood-paneled portability with stereo outs, headphone jack, and velocity/aftertouch sensitivity.
Players still chase its strings for that sly Pink Floyd shimmer through chorus and reverb, though some note the shared envelopes limit note independence and sliders feel delicate after decades. Brass gets love for raw attitude, but it's the combo of era-authentic simplicity and tweakable EQ that keeps it a hidden gem in any retro rig.
