Pioneer/DSI AS-1 Synthesizer: Comparable with ...

… a Sequential Pro-One? You might come to this conclusion when listening to the attached video. (Possibly) surprising result: Soundwise, there is very little difference between the two instruments.

However, it is important to notice that the sounds in the video are (more or less) basic analog sounds. Basses, filter sweeps, leads – that’s it. And that’s why the Pro-One <> AS-1 comparison falls a little short. No weird FX-noises, no elaborate modulation-sounds, yet rather plain bread- and butter-sounds. Sounds that can be produced rapidly and compared easily.

That being said, we have to admit that the Pioneer/DSI AS-1 – sorry, the Pioneer DJ / Dave Smith Instruments TORAIZ AS-1 (a somewhat bumpy, overloaded product code) – still sounds great. It’s a wonderful, boutique-sized mono-synthesizer full of bass sounds, cutting lead lines, quirling sequencer-patterns and crisp filter sweeps.

“Its intuitive controls include parameter knobs that let you make both subtle and dramatic changes to the tone of your music to create your own personalised sound. Plus you can use the touchpad-style keyboard and slider to manipulate sounds during performances.” (www.pioneerdj.com)

“The TORAIZ AS-1 is driven by a fully programmable, true analogue synthesis engine based on the discrete analogue circuitry in Dave Smith Instruments’ Prophet-6 synthesizer. It also inherits 7 on-board effects from the Prophet-6 synth as well as a brand new digital distortion.” (www.pioneerdj.com)

The AS-1 features:

2 Oscillators
2 Filters (LP/HP)
1 Amplifier
2 Envelopes (ADSR each)
Mixer (Osc1/Osc2/SubOsc/Noise)
1 LFO (incl. Random)
Glide

Besides the LFO, there’s a small modulation bus:

Modulation Source
– Filter-ADSR
– Oscillator 2 (!)
Modulation Destination
– Osc 1 frequ
– Osc 1 PWM
– Osc 1 waveform (!)
– LP filter frequency
– HP filter frequency

Last, but not least: Some extra extras …

2 effect-sections
Sequencer (up to 64 steps)
Arpeggiator
Modulation-Slider (multi assignable)
VEL (> ADSR) and vast AT modulations
Programmable pitch bend amount (+/- 12 semitones)
17 (!) alternative tunings/scales
MIDI, USB, analog Trigger-IN

So, here’s the video. The main part (sound-comparison) starts at 2’20” …

It’s up to you to decide whether he handy Pioneer / DSI AS-1 is a modern Pro-One or not. To our ears, its bass- and sequencer-sounds come close to that classic Sequential monosynth of 1981. Remarkable!

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