And Now I'll Finally Be Able To Make Some Music...

As you probably know, I have, in my possession, this Apple //e, with an alphaSyntauri and a Decilionix sampler. The one piece I’ve been missing for it to be the hub of my analog/digital hybrid 1980s lifestyle was the Roland CMU-800R. The CMU-800R is (more or less) a TR-606, along with a monophonic bass synth, a monophonic “lead” synth – both typical Roland analog voices of the time – and a four-voice “chord” synth, which follows the Juno 106 topology, sorta. It can only be controlled by an Apple //e. (There is rumored to be a PC version of the card and software, but I’ve never seen it.)

One of the loyal AI readers that knew this hooked a brother up this weekend, and a (basically new-in-box) CMU-800R is on its way here as I type this. I’m quite excited, as this has been on my radar for a long, long time. In fact, I bid on this very unit when it was on eBay a couple years back, and the gentleman in question outbid me for it. So it’s synchronicity squared.

In any event, the complete Apple //e music computer, with an alphaSyntauri, Decilionix, and CMU-800R is essentially my unicorn. It’s taken me some 10 years of fairly concerted effort to assemble the complete system in working order, and I’m looking forward to the post next week where I put up a complete process video of the entire system working, as the final mark of success. What’s your White Elephant, that thing you’re searching for that will make it all worth it?