Back in 1990, this rackmount powerhouse arrived as the module twin to Yamaha's SY77, packing a synthesis engine so advanced it felt like the future of FM had landed—blending beefed-up FM with sampled waves in ways that left the DX7 in the dust.
At its core lies RCM synthesis, combining AFM (6-operator FM with 45 algorithms, 16 waveforms per operator, and flexible routing for noise or samples as modulators) and AWM2 (sampled waveforms that layer or modulate FM directly). You get 32-voice polyphony across 16 parts, each voice up to 4 elements with dual digital filters (lowpass, highpass, bandpass, even self-oscillating like analog gear), looping envelopes, and a mod matrix for deep tweaks. The front panel shines with a large LCD, keypad for programming, and real-time sliders; it's rack-sized at 480x390x132mm and 8kg, with 2 stereo outs plus 8 assignable individuals, full MIDI DIN I/O, velocity, and aftertouch sensitivity. Effects like reverb and chorus sweeten the deal, and it takes expansion cards for more waveforms.
Players still geek out over its insane FM depth for evolving pads, acoustic emulations, and wild FX—community patches abound online—though the menu-diving can test your patience if you're not into deep editing. A studio legend worth hunting down.
