The MiniMax took the look of the classic Moog Mini, with a scaled front panel bearing an uncanny resemblance to the original, but with extra memory location controls, and put the brains of CreamWare’s DSP machinery inside to drive the brains. It’s an inspired idea actually, as the Scope/Pulse Mini emulation was always highly regarded. The result could be likened to Korgs scaled MS20 legacy controller – but this time with the synth power on board, not in the host system. As you can imagine, there were plenty of eager takers at the show, and the unit has been in production for some time since.
The second in the ASB series takes the form of the Pro-12, another classic model, this time of the Prophet variety. The original Prophet V had 5 voices, but the Pro-12 has, um, 12. The original P5 was the first to have total digital recall of it’s voices (or put simply memories) and took the 80’s by storm with almost anyone who was using synths owning one.
The Pro-12 ASB benefits from the same sound engine as the Minimax ASB. While the sound was designed to be “genuinely old�, other
features have been taken to a contemporary level: Pro-12 integrates with your computer via USB and offers 12 voices of polyphony. Patches can be edited directly on the
hardware panel or using the supplied remote-control software which is available for both Windows and OS-X.
The Pro-12 is now available at a suggested retail price of 789 EUR net.