There's a rumour that Cherry Audio are about to release an emulation of this beast. If so, good choice - a UI that allows easy sound design will be a massive help. What a beautiful sounding synth!
I bought one brand new in the early eighties for around $7,500 AUD. Came standard with a hard road case and piano style foot pedals. Great sounding synth. Some of the presets couldn't be replicated by any other synth at the time (Jupiter 8, Prophet5, OBXa etc). Unfortunately one of the voice boards failed after around 6 months of ownership and no one in Western Australia knew how to fix it. The manufacturer had gone bust by then I believe, so the shop I purchased it from swapped it for an Apple IIe computer and a Roland Jupiter 6. Loved it whilst I had it.
Thanks for sharing your story. I've heard the voice cards are prone to failure or can be difficult to repair. Thankfully sounds like you were able to at least get other gear in exchange. It is a lovely synth but was very temperamental at the time, thankfully today there are upgrades avail to help make it more stable.
Thanks, I agree the Chroma commands your attention. It has a big presence in terms of sound and size! :) They are getting pretty pricey these days though.
@@synth4ever Im looking right now about 8500 but it's worth it!, not much available, super rare, value could increase, if kept in good running condition(=, Are these just the basic presets out of the box, with just the Sky Reverb? Or custom presets?
@@TonySway I'm not sure, I believe they are likely presets but I tried the synth when I visited Synth Palace in Montreal so you could check with Peter there and maybe he can advise. It's a great synth, especially if you add real-time control with Behringer BCR-2000 or one of the aftermarket controllers for it like Stereoping programmer.
I think this is one of the synths I would own if I could pick any I don't know what it is ......it could just be the colours and design of it and the wooden keys
It definitely has its own aesthetic, but it is a beast in many ways. Still very powerful to this day, the weight of its sound is massive and they keys are magnificent.
The strange, modulated delay brass sound @ 1:00 brings back vague memories ... Rick Wright, and documentary film scores from late 1970s What use was this Keyboard meant for, with the nice teak furniture? Both el pianos, organs and synthesizers for the home market?
Love this synth. Looks like a monster. What does this thing weigh? Was that hard syncing of the oscillators that we heard? Very nice playing my friend, Great demo !!!
It's definitely a huge beast physically and sonically. Not sure on the weight but it's probably less than a CS-80. There were likely some patches that had some hard sync enabled, but the Chroma also has crazy resonance. Glad you enjoyed the demo.
Great demo! Would love to know if program numbers 10 & 11 are factory patches, and their names. Great channel, really enjoy your repair centre visits too!
Hey there, not sure about if those are factory patches but would assume so unless they were edited prior to my use (this isn't my machine). Appreciate your support and glad you enjoy the repair shop tours :)
So damn crunchy. Does anybody know how it got that cutting, "harsh" sound? I'm guessing the formant filters have something to do with it, but please educate me.
Definitely... and am obscure reference. Since the nova is so rare... the nova was really the most forward looking of any keyboard... it would have bankrupted a small nation, but not Hammond! I was searching high and low for a Hammond clock the other week... I finally got a busted one... ideal! The reason? A mirrored ball! Lol. The motor in them turns 1rpm... ideal for a mirrored ball! I have no idea what else there could be.
This voice architecture tops any other poly save for the Expander/Matrix and the Alesis A6 - and it's sound beats anything short of a GX-1. I have to wonder if the concept would have fared a lot better if it were brought to market as two different tier of synth (delaying production of this big-daddy for later, ARP needed to move units pronto) : a) computer/MIDI-controlled rack-mountable module with all the patch memory and modulation routings. The studio workhorse. b) [gee...and what did they end up doing 3 years later] a smaller (than this) slider-laden 10 or 12-oscillator 5-octave poly with memory and most of the modulation routings. Keep it lIght , as more than 40 lbs is getting into boat-anchor territory for any live app without $tagehand(s).
It is quite the flexible architecture, unfortunately the interface left a lot to be desired due to membrane buttons and single data slider. Today of course there are knob-laden controllers avail for it. It was quite an achievement but yes, was very large, heavy and expensive for the time w/ poor interface (and unstable)... guessing many of these factors played a role in preventing widespread adoption. PS: your demo of the Supernova 2 inspired me to get my first hardware synth, and the SN2 as my 2nd. :)
In its standard config it is not easy to edit parameters in real time. Check the description, I linked to some real-time controllers that are now avail that really make this fun to tweak.
A cold beauty. Really nicely demonstrated. 👍
Thanks much Alex! It was a pleasure to try this classic synth.
It’s the mother of all synths. What a privilege it is to hear it. Thank you.
Thank you for taking a moment to listen and comment. It was very special to try this synth, it is in its own league.
Awesome demo, thanks for sharing the magic.
What a synth. I’ve got the demo of the Chroma by Cherry Audio, it’s so clean and so iconic. For some reason it kind of reminds me of a Synclavier.
the patch at 3:50 is one of the best synths sounds ive ever heard on any synth
The "Haunting" patch used on "Waiting for a girl like you" by Foreigner :)
@@larslevinberget9558 any idea how to get it into my chroma?
agreed!
There's a rumour that Cherry Audio are about to release an emulation of this beast. If so, good choice - a UI that allows easy sound design will be a massive help. What a beautiful sounding synth!
They did
I bought one brand new in the early eighties for around $7,500 AUD. Came standard with a hard road case and piano style foot pedals. Great sounding synth. Some of the presets couldn't be replicated by any other synth at the time (Jupiter 8, Prophet5, OBXa etc). Unfortunately one of the voice boards failed after around 6 months of ownership and no one in Western Australia knew how to fix it. The manufacturer had gone bust by then I believe, so the shop I purchased it from swapped it for an Apple IIe computer and a Roland Jupiter 6. Loved it whilst I had it.
Thanks for sharing your story. I've heard the voice cards are prone to failure or can be difficult to repair. Thankfully sounds like you were able to at least get other gear in exchange. It is a lovely synth but was very temperamental at the time, thankfully today there are upgrades avail to help make it more stable.
This synth is absolutely under the radars!! Arp + Rhodes?! Wow.
Indeed... not too many of them out there!
This is an absolutely monster synth!
Yes indeed, in both size and sound!
Beautiful sounding synth, a true classic. Thanks a lot for uploading!
Thanks. Chroma is a classic for sure. Happy I was able to spend some time with one.
Right away the sounds captures your attention, great demo!, extremely unique sounds!! Mite have to pick this up on Reverb!!
Thanks, I agree the Chroma commands your attention. It has a big presence in terms of sound and size! :) They are getting pretty pricey these days though.
@@synth4ever Im looking right now about 8500 but it's worth it!, not much available, super rare, value could increase, if kept in good running condition(=, Are these just the basic presets out of the box, with just the Sky Reverb? Or custom presets?
@@TonySway I'm not sure, I believe they are likely presets but I tried the synth when I visited Synth Palace in Montreal so you could check with Peter there and maybe he can advise.
It's a great synth, especially if you add real-time control with Behringer BCR-2000 or one of the aftermarket controllers for it like Stereoping programmer.
WHAT A SYNTH!
Thanks, I agree. A real beauty!
Vieleicht der beste Synthesizer aller Zeiten 😂🎉
What an incredible beast.
Agreed, its a behemoth
Chuck Wild of Missing Persons uses this synth on the 1982 album Spring Session M along with an Oberheim OB-X.
Very cool, thanks for sharing.
Ah yes missing persons wow❤
This thing sounds pretty good.
Yea its massive in size and sound
Timeless keyboard!!!
From an age of wonder...
Beautiful!
I think this is one of the synths I would own if I could pick any I don't know what it is ......it could just be the colours and design of it and the wooden keys
It definitely has its own aesthetic, but it is a beast in many ways. Still very powerful to this day, the weight of its sound is massive and they keys are magnificent.
The strange, modulated delay brass sound @ 1:00 brings back vague memories ... Rick Wright, and documentary film scores from late 1970s What use was this Keyboard meant for, with the nice teak furniture? Both el pianos, organs and synthesizers for the home market?
Love this synth. Looks like a monster. What does this thing weigh? Was that hard syncing of the oscillators that we heard? Very nice playing my friend, Great demo !!!
It's definitely a huge beast physically and sonically. Not sure on the weight but it's probably less than a CS-80. There were likely some patches that had some hard sync enabled, but the Chroma also has crazy resonance. Glad you enjoyed the demo.
most synths were so much better back in the day build wise..look at those monster beast keys and real wood all around.. tank
Yea, they really went all out on the Chroma.... tank indeed.
I'm lucky enough to own one with a midi retrofit.
Never heard of this one, just when I thought I had seen it all
Really??
@@SPAZZOID100 Same here, and i eat synths news everyday.
They aren't too common, but they have incredible sound
same here.
I used to see the pamphlets advertising it in Rod Argent's, in London. Pretty expensive though, even then.
Great demo! Would love to know if program numbers 10 & 11 are factory patches, and their names. Great channel, really enjoy your repair centre visits too!
Hey there, not sure about if those are factory patches but would assume so unless they were edited prior to my use (this isn't my machine). Appreciate your support and glad you enjoy the repair shop tours :)
So damn crunchy.
Does anybody know how it got that cutting, "harsh" sound? I'm guessing the formant filters have something to do with it, but please educate me.
I,m hearing the Hammond Novachord on some of these voices!
Wow!
Definitely... and am obscure reference. Since the nova is so rare... the nova was really the most forward looking of any keyboard... it would have bankrupted a small nation, but not Hammond! I was searching high and low for a Hammond clock the other week... I finally got a busted one... ideal! The reason? A mirrored ball! Lol. The motor in them turns 1rpm... ideal for a mirrored ball! I have no idea what else there could be.
Could this be BOC's secret weapon?
This voice architecture tops any other poly save for the Expander/Matrix and the Alesis A6 - and it's sound beats anything short of a GX-1.
I have to wonder if the concept would have fared a lot better if it were brought to market as two different tier of synth (delaying production of this big-daddy for later, ARP needed to move units pronto) :
a) computer/MIDI-controlled rack-mountable module with all the patch memory and modulation routings. The studio workhorse.
b) [gee...and what did they end up doing 3 years later] a smaller (than this) slider-laden 10 or 12-oscillator 5-octave poly with memory and most of the modulation routings. Keep it lIght , as more than 40 lbs is getting into boat-anchor territory for any live app without $tagehand(s).
It is quite the flexible architecture, unfortunately the interface left a lot to be desired due to membrane buttons and single data slider. Today of course there are knob-laden controllers avail for it. It was quite an achievement but yes, was very large, heavy and expensive for the time w/ poor interface (and unstable)... guessing many of these factors played a role in preventing widespread adoption.
PS: your demo of the Supernova 2 inspired me to get my first hardware synth, and the SN2 as my 2nd. :)
A++
Thank you!
Did Herbie Hancock use one of these for guest solo on Simple Minds track Hunter and the Hunted? Anyone?
are these factory patches?
I'm not sure, I tried it at the Synth Palace in Montreal -- drop them a line and they can advise.
How much could you ask for an unrestored but working chroma in original good condition (without cc+)?
Good question, not sure. Check eBay and Reverb for average sold price. I'd estimate in the thousands though.
synth4ever 7-9k sounds a bit much dont you think?
9:00 sounds like Pokémon battle music.
Kind of see it, but sounds more like 80s jazz funk to me
Preset 36 is mega..
Great sonics, but the synth looks boring.
In its standard config it is not easy to edit parameters in real time. Check the description, I linked to some real-time controllers that are now avail that really make this fun to tweak.