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Generalmusic: A Whole New World Of Sonic Possibilities

Longtime Sweetwater customers know we're always on the lookout for products we feel will be just right for a certain group of musicians and studio owners. So when we saw and heard the new offerings from Generalmusic, we were sure that many of our customers would find the unique design and extraordinary capabilities of these keyboards to be exactly what they're looking for.

The PRO2 ($2295 list) is an 88-note weighted, hammer action professional digital piano. According to the Generalmusic people, the instrument offers the highest level of dedicated technology ever implemented to faithfully reproduce all the nuances of grand piano performance including FFT (fast fourier transfer) Merge Sampling and physical modeling. The PRO2 offers 48 sounds including simulations of all the classic keyboard
The Generalmusic SK-76
The Generalmusic SK-76 takes a unique approach to the professional digital music workstation
instruments (like piano, electric pianos and clav), in addition to some superb organs, strings and pads. The unit also has a two track, high resolution (192 ppq) sequencer and an integral 8-band digital graphic EQ, plus full 128 voice polyphony!

The all-important piano sound on the PRO-Series instruments is actually based on samples of Steinway, Bosendorfer, Fazioli and Yamaha acoustic pianos whose individual characteristics were fused together using Generalmusic's unique "FFT Merge" system, where the strengths of these great pianos are brought together to form one unique, "perfect" piano sample.

The PRO2 incorporates Generalmusic's new patented "Natural String Resonance" physical modeling technology (which simulates the resonance of any undamped strings that are free to resonate in sympathy with the notes that are being played), as well as their "Damper Physical Model" technology (which works in conjunction with the optional continuous damper pedal to give 16 different levels of damping). Finally, their "Advanced Release Technology" provides the natural decay of different harmonics over time when a key is released. Sounds impressive, eh?

Different EQ settings can be stored into the 64 performance memories and there are 32 digital effects with independent editing and send level for each of two zones. Three different velocity curves are available, plus a user definable curve (64 levels) can be programmed. The PRO2 is currently being used by Keith Emerson, George Duke, Herbie Hancock, Don Grusin, Bruce Hornsby and many others.

Also available is the PRO1 ($1865 list) which has many of the same great sounds as the PRO2, except it has 64-voice polyphony (still quite impressive), a less powerful effects section, and no sequencer or EQ. There's also the PRO Expander Module ($665) with the same features as the PRO1, but in a convenient half-space rack at a super price.

The SK-76 ($2795 list) is a 76-key professional synth workstation which also incorporates an interactive Style Section. It occupies a unique category in the marketplace, offering the "one-man band" musician or songwriter/composer the power of a true synth workstation without sacrificing the "instant gratification factor" of interactive accompaniment styles. Features include a beautiful graphic display, 64 voices of polyphony and over 600 PCM-based sounds. There's a powerful synth engine with 24dB filters and easy-to-use graphic control of time variant filter, pitch, pan and amp envelopes, plus you can split, layer or velocity switch up to 32 sounds in real time. Want to use your own sounds? No problem. Sample RAM is expandable to 32 megs via SIMMS and there's also an optional 2 meg DRAM (non-volatile) sample RAM chip. The SK-76 can even read Kurzweil K2000, Akai S1000, WAV, AIFF, SMP, and SND formats from disk. You also get 96 preset accompaniment styles, 32 user programmable styles, and each style offers 4 intros, 4 endings, 4 fills and 4 variations. A 32 track sequencer lets you record 250,000 events (at 192 ppq resolution). The SK-88 ($2995 list) has the same great features as the SK-76 with 88 weighted key action.

Want the versatility and great sounds of an SK, but with a set of built-in speakers? Boogie over to a Generalmusic WK4 ($2995 list). Up to 32 megs of RAM can be added to the 8 megs of internal ROM (which delivers over 600 sounds), giving you a virtually limitless palette of timbres to choose from. With its 4 digital effects processors, WK4 will carry you through an enormous range of acoustic environments. 96 ROM styles and 32 programmable styles, enriched with 4 variations each, lets your creativity kick into overdrive. What's more, the WK4 has the biggest and most powerful sequencer in its class with 32 tracks capable of recording up to 250,000 events (that's 16 songs), plus background loading and a microscope editing function. Rhythms, sounds and songs from all around the world and from every possible style of music will help you travel quickly and effortlessly from rock to ethnic, from jazz to dance. A comprehensive set of connectors even links you to the audio-video universe.

Want more information on these innovative new Generalmusic products? Who could blame you? Just pick up the phone and call us here at Sweetwater for the inside story, as well as your super low pricing on any of these superb, ground-breaking instruments.

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