CompuServe Messages

John- I don't have the OSMS board, but I do have an Emu Proteus I, whose "guts" are virtually the same. (I say "virtually" because I'm not 100% positive if *every* waveform in ROM is identical.) You will get *great* sound and extremely flexible manipulation of the digitized waveforms provided (which are all you're "stuck with"), without cutting down on your polyphony. (Some of the great sounds do use two "voices," though.) If I didn't already have a Proteus I I'd probably be looking at OSMS with great interest. You are correct in distinguishing the OSMS from boards like the Sunrize offerings, though. The latter are true digitizers (record and playback digital sounds, optionally digitally edited), while the OSMS is more aptly described as a "sample playback" system. The thing about digitizers is that they don't make *any* sounds until you supply some, and digitizing is quite an art form. Sample playback devices come with a stock set of sounds, which can be manipulated quite a bit with flexible architecture such as the Proteus/OSMS has. One of the things that makes Emu what it is as a company is the quality of their samples- Kurzweil are the only company which compares to them in that regard. So, your choice is obvious: get one of each! (^_^) Good luck- Bob – (!) –