“Up for auction is a vintage Sequential Circuits MAX Synthesizer keyboard. This unit is working and seems to have most all functions in place and operative. I’m guessing the unit has 6-note polyphony, and it sports a rudimentary onboard sequencer – ‘Start’ button is missing, and I didn’t bother to try and test the sequencer function as I doubt it would stack up against, well, anything made after 1982. You get basically 7 banks of 10 sounds, and apparently the only way to ‘deep edit’ the sounds is via computer. (Note that by progressing further into editor mode you will be officially flirting with full-blown geekification.) I can’t even dare to guess what hoops you’d have to jump through to get a modern computer to communicate with MAX, clearly a throwback to the heady infancy of financially accessible analog synthdom. Perhaps there are generic editor programs out there…? That said, there are a handful of onboard presets that are recognizable, and I daresay that in bank 4 (40-49) there is at least one startling TB-303 soundalike. MAX appears to be responding to MIDI in Omni mode, though Poly mode is selectable. External Pitch and Mod wheels are recognized, but suspiciously, Volume is not. ‘Tune’ button is missing, but the unit sounds like it powers up at concert pitch. Back panel power jack is looking for 8 Volts AC / 800ma – I am including a 10V adapter that seems to work fine, but I would suggest being on the lookout for a proper 8V / 800ma adapter. Cosmetically, the unit is in pretty good shape, looking good for its age. I cannot test every single function on this synth, and I have tried to describe it as accurately as possible – I am selling it As-Is and As-Described.”
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