ASR-10 RAM

> [1] The ASR-10 needs more RAM. A *LOT*
> more RAM. Right now, the Kurzweill 2500
> series can take up to 128 megs. This
> is a reasonable minimum amount: 256 megs
> would be more like it. But 128 megs is a
> start.
> The ASR-10, by contrast, is stuck with 16 megs.
> This is around 90 seconds of sampling time at
> 44.1 khz stereo. Completely unacceptable. Far
> too small an amount of RAM to be useful.


BWEEEEEP BWEEEEEP BWEEEEEP BWEEEEEP BWEEEEEP BWEEEEEEP! Danger Will
Robinson! Don't fall into the trap of using PCs as a model for RAM requirements
on a sampler. There is no limit to the astounding levels of inefficiency that
programmers seem to be attaining on PCs, but there are definite physical limits
to how much RAM you need to digitize audio.

How much RAM you need depends a lot on what you're doing with the sampler.
For example, if you're doing orchestral instrument simulations, everything's
going to be looped and you don't need to sample in stereo. If you:
1. Keep your loop sizes down below 1.5 seconds then each wavesample will be
about that long on the average. The fact that few loops need to be 1.5
seconds long if you choose your sample material carefully, gives you
room in 1.5 seconds for the attack transients. (With the wonders of
electronics, its easy to lose sight of the fact that, on a surprisingly
large number of orchestral instruments, it's quite difficult to hold a
single note longer than 6 seconds or so.)
2. Introduce a new wavesample every major third on the average.
3. Use a typical orchestral instrument range at 2.5 octaves.
4. Limit yourself to 11 instruments total (violin, viola, 'cello, d.bass,
flute, Bb/A clarinet, oboe, bassoon, F.horn, t.trombone, and tuba).
If I can still do mental arithmetic, that all totals up to 132 seconds of total
sampling time for an entire orchestra. That leaves some room for a generic
string ensemble sound to enhance the individual string solo sounds, and maybe
even a little room for some percussion.

Don't get me wrong; I realize that that's a very scanty orchestra of limited
accuracy. And sure, I'd like to have more RAM expansion capacity alright. But
my point is not to immediately laugh off 16Meg of RAM and ask for double that,
muchless 8 or 16 times that much, until you think out what you can do with
16Meg. You can do a heck of a lot with 16Meg! Especially when the ASR-10 can
(all by it's little lonesome) play direct-from-disk audio.


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