The Gravis UltraSound MAX. GUS, or GUX as I’ve somehow come to know him.

This one is a Rev 1.8 card built around the Gravis GF1, with a Crystal CS4231A codec added for the MAX model.

The GF1 takes a very different approach from the Sound Blaster cards I’ve been playing with. Instrument and audio samples are loaded into the card’s own RAM and the GF1 mixes them in hardware, which is one reason the UltraSound became so closely associated with tracker music and software with native GUS support.

The MAX also adds the Crystal codec for extra recording, mixing and Windows Sound System functionality.

It is also spectacularly long. I may have trouble finding a PC that it physically fits inside. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that because this thing has more red than a racing fire truck.

I didn’t take many photos of GUX, but enjoy the video above and the great sounds of a great card.

Sources

• Advanced Gravis - UltraSound Software Development Kit, version 2.22 - PDF pages 7-8 describe sample RAM and onboard mixing; PDF page 127 describes the MAX codec’s recording and mixing functions.

• Crystal Semiconductor - CS4231A Parallel Interface, Multimedia Audio Codec - page 1 documents Windows Sound System compatibility, recording and analogue mixing.

• Retronn - Gravis UltraSound MAX - identifies the GF1 and Crystal CS4231A hardware used on the UltraSound MAX.