Keyboard met standaard

The Technics SX-WSA1 was released in 1995 in a bold move by a company that had up until that point focused mostly on stereo equipment as well as organs and electric pianos. During this period, electronic synths were the domain of Yamaha, but Technics set out ot improve their synth over the competition in every way. Unfortunately, while they created a very competent synthesizer, Technics had no idea how to market and sell it. The high price tag for the time also meant less sales for them and, in the end, very few units of the SX-WSA1 were ever made.

The SX-WSA1 made use of Acoustic Modeling Synthesis, which was a method to combine PCM waveform drivers with custom digital signal processing modeling resonators. Simply put, it was a way to simulate the sound process of acoustic instruments. It also gave users plenty of flexibility when it came to control as nearly all the modeling parameters is accessible in real-time. The goal was to give players the freedom to fully express themselves with this synth.

Since the SX-WSA1 also gives players full control over the parameters for the driver and resonator, it was a great synth for anyone who wanted to move far beyond the preset sound sets. Unique sound combinations are possible and these can also be crossfaded by key or velocity. For anyone used to synthesizers that were restricted to their presets and ROM samples, this was a revelation. Technics were also able to accomplish 64 notes of polyphony, which they did through the use of modified recordings of acoustic drivers. By including 307 drivers to select from, they were able to ease the burden on the microprocessor and deliver 64 notes of polyphony, which was usable over 32 MIDI channels.