Elektron Musical Instruments

Yeah, I knew about the SidSyn but that's still in a conceptual stage 
really and probably won't be ready any time soon.

I did email the guy from HardSID and honestly he suprised me. I 
emailed him once and he responded within 2 hours, I emailed a 
response and he replied within 30 minutes!! That won some serious 
points right there.

I asked him a few questions and I decided to post the Q&A here as it 
might help others as well.

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Q: Hello, I am a potential buyer of the hardSID quatro. I wanted to 
know if you currently have any of these units in stock with or 
without the SID chips.

A: We have both.

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Q: Can this unit be used basically as a tone module where I connect a
keyboard to my externalmidi interface for my computer then I can 
choose this as the output device for midi in say, Cubase or another 
midi sequencer and then I can hear the tones that I'm playing from 
the keyboard being played in the proper patch assigned by me in 
Cubase?

A: Exactly.You'll see the HardSID MIDI Synth in your Multimedia menu 
on the Control Panel,and in Cubase, Cakewalk too as a MIDI-out device.

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Q: Besides the SID sound, you state that this also has 4 cd jack, what
is this used for?

A: 2 stereo internal outputs, 2 stereo internal inputs, and 4 
external mono RCA outputs. These all are for comfortable connection 
to mixers, soundcards or amlifiers.

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Q: Can this also playback sounds like a standard sound card or can 
this only play SID files?

A: It's an analogue system, not a standard Windows sound card which 
can be use in games or such. It's a special hardware for making music.

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Q: Does the card come with some software SID sequencer in order to 
use the SID to it's full advantage.

A: You can download everything from the homepage. All you need to 
have is a MIDI sequencer. For ex. Cakewalk.

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Q: If this cannot be used to play standard sounds, then what uses 
other than c64 sound emulation can this card offer?

A: You can play cool sounds with the MIDI patch editor and use them in
MIDI sequencers. That's the most serious advantage.

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Q: Are you planning on making any version of the HardSID which has 
dual outputs instead of mono outputs for use with Stereo sounds or 
does this unit only process in mono.

A: Since the Quattro uses 4 SID chips, you can produce 2 stereo 
signals! You can make custom stereo patches as you wish!

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Q: Which SID chip would you recommend, the earlier or the later? 

A: Both chips are different. The 8580 has much more precise and high 
quality voice, but the 6581 generates more "warm" voice.

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At this point I was further intrigued and I emailed him back with a 
few more questions

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Q: First off let me state my overwhelming gratitude and appreciation 
for the speed in which you replied to my email. You've certainly won 
a few points here already.

A: Heh  I don't have internet at work, but I answer the email every 
evening at home.

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Q: Is there any possibility of a custom-made HardSID made with 2 
8580s and 2 6581s pre-installed? I will be more than happy to pay for 
the extra chips and even a small installation fee to compensate you 
for your time as this would save me a good bit of effort in the long 
run and would be worth the extra cash.

A: Well, it's all possible except the 8580 chips. We have only a few 
for internal usage. We can't sell them, sorry. We sell only one SID 
with even a Quattro, but if you wish I'll sell you four SIDs pre-
installed.

You can try to buy SID chips for cheaper price at c64audio.com, but
it's not tested by us so we can't assure quality.

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Q: Also, I think I read that this is an ISA card, is that correct? or 
is it PCI (or can it come as PCI?)

A: It's an ISA card, we probably won't make a PCI model. It's 
possible that we'll make some external device in the future.

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Q: At this point, the only other real question to you is in the 
regards of warranty and satisfaction assurance. Basically, How long 
do I have to decide if this card works with my setup and provides me 
what I was hoping for before it becomes too late to rturn it, or is 
it basically a "buy at your own risk" situation. 

Also if I do decide to keep it, what is the warranty in regards to
non-standard failures due to either a faulty card or faulty 
components on the card. 

A: Well, we didn't have to buy back any cards. We also don't tell 
people to buy the card then return it if it's not good for them. 
If you know the SID chip's sound, and you like it, you'll like the 
HardSID.

Of course if the card is not working, or you damage it, we'll try to 
repair it for you.

We had to repair about 3 cards out of 160 card, and those cards were 
alldamaged by the customers. We repaired them for free.

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I have to admit, I'm even more intrigued then I was before and I 
seriously think that I'm going to try this route and see what it can 
do. Especially for so cheap a price this might be a more sound 
investment as I already am using a computer for most of my mixdown 
and sequencing via Cubase 5.

Just means I can use this card sort of like a VSTi in the system as 
well which to me is a pretty nice idea. And at less than half the 
price of a SIDstation even maxxed out and currently available, this 
sounds like a great little idea

-Jacean Mikhael -=Another Forgotten Machine=- http://www.mp3.com/afm



--- In elektron-users@egroups.com, "Sean Welch" <s_man97@h...> wrote:
> 
> well, yeah, i've noticed, hard sid really suck when it comes to 
discribing  > their products....u know?? they say midi, but u wonder 
to its extent of > implication. well, i can tell u right now...with 
the sid station...u got a > box... somethig physical that u can tweek 
the fuck outa. as far as the > hardsid....IF it has similar 
controls...with 4 chips, u have more > voices....and possibly more 
control. But then again, u have to have  > computer, with required 
computer hardware. then u have to have a midi > sequencer. thats if u 
wanna deal with that shit...mainly its for studio use, > so unless u 
wanna deal with ALOT of shit, it wouldn't be too usefull in live 
> situations...plus, they will only send the card out with one chip. 
So u have > to pay more to get more chipps. So its all abot what u 
prefer..as > usual....probbaly didn't help, but...email hardsid...see 
if they know what > they're talking about...ask ALOT of questions, 
and hassle them...get the > info u need.
> 
> outy
> -sean
> 
> 
> 
> > > Check this ... HardSID Quattro at www.hardsid.com
> > > Bad that I don't have a motherboad with ISA slots anymore ...
> > >
> > > Check the Midi editor as well ... it seems pretty cool ...
> >Elektron, do you
> > > still plan to release an editor for the Sidstation?
> >
> >Hello all,
> >
> >I'm new here but I have a question for you all and with joining the
> >list today and seeing this question was just recently brought up I
> >figured it would be a good time to post.
> >
> >I've been watching the Sidstation for a while, I've heard all the
> >samples and I have a good feeling that it would be a great overall
> >edition to what I currently have.
> >
> >My only question is in regards to this new HardSID Quatro sound 
card
> >module. Has anyone used this thing yet? Tested it? How does it
> >compare with the sidstation?
> >
> >I really can't understand some of the double-talk they have on that
> >site so trying to get a straight answer seems only impossible other
> >than hoping that the info department gets back to my email.
> >
> >I'm looking for a good "video game"-ish sound module and a C64 SID
> >unit seems like my best bet. Now the HardSID is a hell of alot
> >cheaper and already has a software control for it, which is nice 
as I
> >do most my mixdown and recording straight to my PC anyway.
> >
> >It says something along the lines of being able to be used for midi
> >but I'm not sure if it allows full midi control and usability so 
taht
> >I can just plug my keyboard into my midi interface and start 
playing
> >the  C64 or if it can only load midi into the Sid editor thereby
> >leaving real-time control out in a ditch by the side of the street
> >somewhere.
> >
> >I need this unit to be midi compatible so if the HardSID is out 
then
> >it looks like I may end up trying to begin my search for the holy
> >grail and actually try to track down a Sid for sale.
> >
> >Thanks all for any information you may have.
> >
> >-Jacean Mikhael -=Another Forgotten Machine=- 
http://www.mp3.com/afm
> >
> >
> >
> 
> _________________________________________________________________
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