Question: I just bought some new SIMM chips to expand the memory on my ASR-10 today. When I went to go install the chips, everything was where it was supposed to be. It even recognized that the chips were installed and displayed the appropriate number of memory blocks. BUT..! After I loaded some instruments and went to play them, the sound came out heavily distorted. Why this may be happening!?

It could be either bad SIMM's, improper SIMM's, or bad installation.

• Bad SIMM's just mean they are bad, and they need replacing.
• Each paired SIMMs should be the same type - don't mix 70 and 80ns, don't mix 2 chip and 8 chip, etc. This is within a PAIR - I have used 2 70ns and 2 60ns before, with no apparent problems.
• I recommend against using 2 chip SIMM's, even though Ensoniq upgraded the ASR in 1995 to be able to handle them. I've observed more than one instance where they didn't work, and since 8-chip varieties are fairly easily available and for the same price, I just say go with them to avoid any hassle.
• Don't use 9-chip varieties (parity). Very bad news.
• Make sure the jumpers are set properly.
• Reset the SIMM's to make sure they are completely in place.

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