Engineering:Seiko DS-250

From HandWiki
DS-250
ManufacturerSeiko
Dates1985
Technical specifications
Polyphony8 voice
Timbrality1 part
OscillatorSine
LFO1
Synthesis typeDigital Additive
FilterNo
Storage memory4 user memory[1]
EffectsChorus
Input/output
Keyboard61 keys
Left-hand controlPitch bend wheel[2]
External controlMIDI In, out, thru

The DS-250 was an electronic keyboard manufactured in 1985[3] by Seiko and was considered a commercial failure.[4] It was capable of generating both digital and additive sounds.[5] It is expandable with two expander units DS-310 and DS-320.[6]

Features

The unit used additive synthesis for sound generation, chorus and ports included MIDI[2] In, Out and Through, RCA outputs (stereo), Headphones and level controls for both channels. It also has on board speakers.[2] It is capable of running either a single sound or two sounds at once, either layered or split, and each of these can be used on its own MIDI channel (there are small dials on the end of the keyboard to set each channel).

There are 16 preset sounds and these are all editable within a very limited context of volume, sustain (3 levels) and a variable vibrato (with vibrato delay switch). You can change the detune and pitch intervals between the two layered sounds.

DS1000 sequencer

A MIDI 1000 note sequencer called the DS1000 was also produced for use with the DS-250 (and other MIDI devices) in 1986.[1] It had four buttons Record, play, stop and pause, a tempo slider.[2]

Famous Users

  • Jean-Michel Jarre[7] First Rendez-vous and Last Rendez-vous (Ron's piece)[8][9][10] from the album Rendez-Vous.

Sounds

Mostly known for its pad and bell type sounds.

References