Twister Programmable Automation Computer

A rare ‘collector’s item’ from 1987 - the Twister MIDI Mixing System!

I’ve had it in its original box since then, but stored away, so it’s never been used. Rather than try to explain its functions, I’ll just provide a few paragraphs from a couple of reviews from various magazines back then:

"Twister is an eight channel fader and mute box all under MIDI control. That is, eight inputs and eight outputs. You connect it into the insert points of your mixer, plug the MIDI Ins and Outs into your sequencer, and you have instant computer control of your mixes. Twister (fortunately, the name seems to be the only naff thing about it) is supplied in a standard 19-inch 1U rack-mounting case. The user interface, or front panel, has 18 very nice buttons, which have a very positive action and make you want to press them, rather like that polythene packing stuff with bubbles you just have to pop. But I digress.

All data input is via a continuous rotary dial on the front panel and 26 LEDs tell you, surprisingly clearly, what you are doing (so you can tell anyone else when they ask!). A two digit display and an LED meter provide visual feedback.

The back panel sports MIDI In, Out and Thru, eight stereo in/out quarter-inch jack sockets (tip/in, ring/out, sleeve/ground) and a 25-pin 'D' connector SCSI port, of which more later.

The front panel is clearly laid out in four sections. From the left, we have the Memory section with its two digit LED display and three buttons relating to the memorised functions (MIDI channel in/out, program memories and level memories), store, recall and up/down buttons. Next is the Function section which enables you to switch between mute and fader functions and to select which channels or groups you are working on. The centre panel governs Channel Select with eight buttons and eight LEDs available to (yes!) select channels, individually or in groups, for muting or fading. Finally, we have the Meter section. Here you can choose to meter the input or output of each channel, or the 'fader level' as set by the continuous wheel on the far right, working at fine, medium or coarse resolution."

"SO, WHAT DOES this all add up to? Twister is an eight-channel MIDI automation product that requires you to mix with a dial or a mouse. It will store 100 snapshots of level, mute and group settings, all recallable from the front of the unit or using an external MIDI device. It allows realtime mixing but demands storage of this information to the sequencer of your choice. Its audio quality is excellent (the circuit board layout gives an indication of the extreme care paid to sound quality), and the (Aphex) VCAs used are transparent and produce no extraneous noise. "

I tried to provide the links for these reviews, but Reverb does not allow it. You can search for the Twister review in the August 1987 issue of Sound On Sound magazine.

I'm not sure what it’s worth, but I thought it would be best to post it here and see if anyone was interested.