Peavey DPM V3

Easy to use once I got thehang of it. The presets sounded good at first. I fell for a sales pitch that made this synth sound like the end all be all. I came from analog synth world and this synth had a learning curve for me. The manual was fine. Walked me through everything I inquired on.

I think the polyphony was 16. The keyboard action was fine for a synth. Built in effects were kind of neat. After some time with other higher quality gear I discovered the effects were not that good. It had some expansion but I never had the chance to check them out. The MIDI was very disappointing. I had alot of trouble with sequencing and this synth.The onboard sequencer was pretty nifty. I wrote alot of songs on it. The seq was very easy to use.

Reacted to velocity just fine. None of the sounds were usable professionally. This is the worst sounding synth I have every owned.

I could not depend on it at all. It was very expensive and I treated it with extreme care. It locked into a program error and I had to send it to Peavey for repair within the first year.

I had to send it to the factory within the first year of brand new ownership. They kept it for over three months and when I recieved it the LCD was shattered. I sent it back and two months later I got it back and it was still locked in the program error. I called to send it back and they then had the nerve to tell me it was out of warranty and I had to pay for any further repairs. After a nasty phone war and threats of legal action they took itback for repair. They never corrected the original malfunction. The synth spent almost an entire year at Peavey getting repaired and never came back working.

I wish it would have been stolen, I could have collected on renters insurance and replaced it with something decent. I got to play it for about 9 months before going through the repairs. I sold it for parts for $150. It was not worth the purchase. Because of this experience I sold all of my Peavey products and have never purchased another. I will not ever use or purchase Peavey again. I still encourage people to avoid Peavey and will continue to do so...

This is os version 1.3. The presets are punchy and musical. I've yet to attempt editing the patches for two reasons; 1.I haven't had it very long...and 2.I'm enjoying just flipping thru the presets. It has ten buttons for editing and small but informative lcd that reminds me of the kind you might see on older EMU Proteus-type modules. The manual is great and is written by Craig Anderton.

16 voice, dual osc. operation-up to 32 notes simultaneously on 16 keys. This is a rackmountable module, so it has no keyboard. It has two on-board digital signal processors(reverb, chorus, eq, delay). It appears to be the rackmount brother to the DPM3 keyboard. Up to 300 programs/sounds available at all times. Six (!) outputs and for a 1u rackmount, it's a hoss.

It's funny, but to me this is a very organic sounding instrument. The sounds are punchy and realistic. Peter Gabriel needs one, you know? It sort of reminds me a Roland D-50 type sound, as some of its sounds sound alive(maybe it's a looping artifact, but in this case, it sounds good). I've only used a Yamaha DJX as a controller, but it responds well and sounds great by itself. But when layered...DUDE! Very nice. The sounds aren't necessarily like crystal, but what can I say? I like 'em. Velocity sensitive.

I'm probably biased, but as with all that is Peavey, this thing is built like a cinder block. I've had P.A. equipment, still have guitars, amps and effects pedals and they all have been and continue to be quite dependable. If forced to, I wouldn't feel too scared to use it without backup.

I got this unit used not long ago with the manual and power cord but no ROM cards. When introduced, RAM and ROM cards were available, as with one of either of these you had access to more sounds beside your standard onboard 200 sounds. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I emailed PEAVEY and not only did they have some old cards left, but they sent me a few via mail FREE!!! Do you hear me? No hassle, no problem, NO KIDDING! I've been to their kick-ass website and you can download pdf files of any owners manual they've EVER produced. I know because I've done it several times. Before their website was really huge, they would send me manuals for free also. I think they set an example for other manufacturers. Guess you could tell, huh?
This module never gave the previous owner trouble, hasn't given ME any trouble, and if it did, I'm convinced Peavey would do their best to help me. I'm sure it won't be long 'til they even find a cure for cancer and put an end to world-wide hunger.

If lost or stolen, I'd try to find another one. I've got other modules like EMU Orbit, Proteus FX, Planet Phatt and Peavey modules Spectrum Bass and Spectrum Synth and some older and newer keyboard stuff too (I've got an SH-101, so don't give me that crap about vintage is the only way to go-this Peavey can hang with it-they're ALL instruments). This module sounds good compared to any of the other modules-that's MY opinion. I've been playing for more than 20 years (and still suck)and think it's a cool instrument. Bear in mind this thing came out around 1991. I think it would be good to hear one of these before you bought it. But think about it...plenty were made, but how often do you see one for sale? I don't see'em very often. I'm glad I got it because it's got the DPM3 architecture in a
1u rackmount...I'm running out of room. The only bad thing about is the way you can just spin through the sounds and find something you weren't looking for and get distracted coming up with other music ideas so it's hard to keep focus (ADD?). Try one-you'll like it.