This one actually just popped up for auction with a buy it now of $13,800. The 2500 was ARP’s first modular flagship and consisted of the 2003 synthesizer and 3003 keyboard controller. As mentioned in last week’s post, the ARP 2500 was also the synth played by ARP engineer Philip Dodds in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. You can actually see him play it in the film. You can find a demo of the 2500 in last week’s post as well. Some details from the auction:
“This is a very rare and early version of the ARP 2500 Modular Synthesizer. It has a larger cabinet with 3 x 5 Modules (instead of 2 x 6 Modules on standard ARP 2500s) and the switch matrix in the top section has 10 positions (instead of the 20 positions on later ARP 2500s).

The ARP 2500 for sale here has the serial number 014 (model 2003, serial 70 – 014).

I have been told that these very early 2500s were hand-built by the ARP/Tonus crew to the most exacting standards, they are probably better than later models (which of course are excellent as well).

It has 4 oscillators (2 of them with invertible waveforms), 3 excellent 24dB Filters with resonance and built-in mixers for up to 4 audio and 2 CV signals (5 CV inputs per Filter total), 3 VCAs with built-in mixer for 2 CV signals (plus another 3 fixed voltage CV inputs), 6 Envelope Generators (4 of them with Gate Delays and normal & inverted outputs. All 6 Envelope Generators have a switch for single or multiple triggering), a fixed voltage source (i.e. to shift all Oscillators at once) and a pink/white noise source with built-in filters.

There is also the rather lovely model 1027 analog sequencer with 3×10 steps and individual trigger outs for each step. Voltage controllable pulse width. The internal clock is very fast and can be driven into the audio range. You can modulate it from any source and use it as a signal generator/VCO with a user definable waveshape (by setting the 10 steps of the sequencer to different voltages).”

You can find more details including the full module list and shots at the auction while it is up, followed by this post on Matrixsynth.

Wiard 300 Series

What you are looking at is a Wiard 300 Series modular system owned by gary. Click here to see the image in all of it’s glory. Wiard produced the 300 series several years ago only to put them on hiatus, while Grant Richter of Wiard moved the line exclusively to the 1200 series. Grant has just recently re-introduced production of the 300 series. Update: I just got the list of modules in this shot. Rather than throw the formatting of this post off, you can check out the list here.

The Patch

Stephen Jones of synthwood, sevcom and of course the Prophet 5 forum recently discovered an issue of Sequential Circuits “The Patch.” He scanned the full issue and posted it here. Definitely check it out for a bit of synth history, including the “Digital Interface for the Pro-One” article, a must have for any Pro-One DIYers. BTW, if you know of where to find any other issues, please post a comment. Stephen is looking for them, and I can make sure it gets to him.

via Stephen Jones:

“I asked Dave Smith and John Bowen about ‘The Patch’ and it seems that only 3 or 4 issues were published between 1981 and 1982. I have volume 02 issue 01 (February 1982). Its got some really great information, patches and advertisements. This issue has a cool picture of a plexiglas Pro-One too.”

The EMS VCS1

What you are looking at is the prototype of what would eventually become the classic EMS VC3S Putney, followed by the EMS Synthi used by such classic acts as Brian Eno and of course Pink Floyd for the bass sequence of Dark Side of The Moon. Click here for a full sized shot. The image comes from this excellent historical article on the VCS1 and VCS3 on Switched on.

“In 1983 the Powerhouse museum purchased the music and recording instruments that comprised the Australian composer Don Banks’ electronic music studio. The contents of this studio include the EMS VCS 1 (Electronic Music Studios Voltage Controlled Synthesiser attempt #1), a prototype for the VCS 3 – the first portable synthesiser.”

And I’ll leave you with a little Roxy Music with Brian Eno on the VCS3.

Roxy Music – Virginia Plain

Have a great weekend folks! BTW, I will most likely be skipping next week’s This Week In Synths post as I have some family commitments that will leave me very tight for time. However, I will be putting up my daily posts on Matrixsynth as they are pretty quick and dirty – I try to up the bar just a little for Peter on CDM. : )

As always, for more daily synth-related content check out Matrixsynth.

A little bit of Buchla synth history via Peter Grenader of Plan b. That giant modular in the background is the Buchla 500, the rarest of the rare in the modular synth world. It is possible there were only three ever in existence. “The following flckr stream [link] was from CalArts studio B-304 taken in the fall of 1976 featuring Barry Schrader, Morton Subotnick and John Payne and a whole lotta Buchla 500. John as you may remember came up a couple of months ago on Matrixsynth in the posting regarding Mort’s use of the 300 at Ircam [link]. He went on in later years to become the Assistant Dean of the CIA School of Music and founder of it’s Music Tech department. Photo b_304.2 has a good view of the entire studio, save the three other JBL’s which are out of frame (it was a quad studio – there was one in each corner).

There are two more 500′s that I know off – at Evergreen and another somewhere in Europe (pardon the senior moment, i don’t remember where exactly). This is not to say there aren’t others…I’m just not aware of any. The one in the photo here was the first – the development system Don constructed while on staff at CalArts. I do know the 500 was adondoned quickly and resurfaced as the 300 series which included direct routing of computer control the various modules (259 VCO and 292C Gate for example) -and- the digital VCOs.”

“The box screwed into the side of the main cabinet is a speaker selector which if I remember correctly wasn’t on line. Another bit of trivia – this was taken about the time of Mort’s Game Room project that Gary Chang, Jill Frazer, Darrell Johansen, Sue Harvey and I worked on. The room next to 304 (other side of the wall which is shown behind the Buchla) was 305. It had a large 100 system (three cabinets) and for the Game Room we cut a hole in the base of that wall to run audio cables out from the tape machines to play quad audio snippets into the game area. This also took signals directly from the game board in 305 where signals were decoded and sent to the various controllers (audio, film, Buchla-controlled OCR light dimmers, etc.).

Against the other wall – opposite the one behind the 500 – was studi oB-303, which was pretty much a duplicate of this one sans the computer control – so it was a 200 studio, not a 500 studio. It also had the huge JBL monitors which were hung form the ceiling on metal brackets made by Chas Smith (which are still in place today). There’s a photo of 303 at Barry’s Schrader’s website: link

Most people preferred working in 303, mainly because the 258′s were easier to get to. On the 500 system they were all on the top row, which was a pain for most. The upside – studio time was easy to book in 304 for this reason I spent a lot of the early mornings here – tarting usually at 4AM and going until classes began around 9.”

Click here for the rest of the shots. You can find more in the comments of this Matrixsynth post.

buchla 200e rock n roll

The above is a video of the new Buchla modular, the 200e.
The demo is by Alessandro Cortini of Nine Inch Nails.

ARP 2500 Noodle

Click here for an mp3 of the ARP 2500, another of the rarest of the rare in the modular synth world. A little bit of trivia: the ARP 2500 was the synth used to communicate with the aliens in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It was played in the movie by head ARP engineer Phillip Dodds.

The demo was sent my way via ben who had the following to say:

“I thought you might like to hear a little “ARP 2500 NOODLE” i did yesterday [actually its nearly 7 mins long]. It’s an arp going through an ibanez AD-80 delay pedal. It’s in mono. The arp is set up to play a simple sequence [notice it is 10 steps long] and I tweak the pitch etc as it goes. I also tweak the delay repeat/time/blend knobs. Note that this is an analog delay pedal from the 70s, using the amazing Panasonic MN3005 bucket brigade delay circuit”

ARP 2600 Repair

Ever wonder what it might look like at a techs office repairing a vintage analog synth? The above is a video of Fredrik Segerfalk’s ARP 2600 being repaired. “This is how a tech should do it. Fix the stuff and keep you amused. This is one of many videos I got from my tech when he fixed my ARP 2600″

Have a great weekend everyone!
For more daily synth-related content check out Matrixsynth.

Every year synth die-hards migrate East for AHNE. It is an amazing gathering filled with vintage gear as you will see in the links that follow. This year’s event looks like it did not disappoint. Unfortunately I was not able to make it due to having to make a trip out East just before the event due to unforeseen circumstances, but one year I will make it! The following are links to photo sets and some video of the event.

Stretta’s Flickr Set
AHNE 2007 via alt-mode
AHNE Collage on SonicState – features some great video coverage and words by Dave below.

Minimoog & Minimoog Voyager Side by Side via Dave

Here’s an example of some of what can be had at events like AHNE. This video was done by cartoonist and synthesist, Dave of umop and his synth toon classic The Packrat. BTW, check out Dave’s video for Weird Al Yankovic’s Virus Alert.

Custom Synth Madness

CustomSynth UK

What you are looking at is a Roland SH-09 monophonic analog synth. They are normally white font and details on black. Why is this one Orange? Before purists rank on the change in design, well, the original was in pretty bad shape. It was picked up by an outfit that goes by CustomSynth they do custom designs for a number of synths including a white Juno-106, JX-3P, Korg Polysix and more. Check out this JX-3P with the PG-200 knob box built in. They are very well done and surprisingly well received in the synth community.

The Harvey TR-808

Meet the Harvey TR-808, a rack mounted Roland TR-808 built by Studio Electronics. Before Studio Electronics began building their own synths, they used to rack and MIDIfy the old classics including a TR-909 rack, the original MIDIMini Minimoog rack, the Oberheim “Obie Eight” rack, and the Sequential Circuits “P Five” rack. If you look at the Studio Electronics News page you will see mention of the old school racks as of 5.20.05:

“5.20.05: OLD SCHOOL STUDIO ELECTRONICS RACKMOUNT CLASSICS RETURN!
“Harvey” 808s, P5s, a new TR-909 rack (minus its sequencer), OBIE RACKs, and even OB-8s (I think) are back in the fold!”

I have no idea if they are still taking orders. The Harvey pictured is currently up for auction.

Monster Drum Machine

In this case, literally. This beauty was actually up for auction for a whopping $5000.

The following are the details:

“Add a useful member to your band, an interesting piece to your collection or BOTH… is it Art? Is it an instrument? (Well, the debate is still open on whether or not a drum machine is actually an instrument, but I digress) IT’S BOTH! This fully functional artistic drum machine is perfect for the edgey musician or DJ who needs a pal, the collector of one of a kind art, or the lover of cool electronica… Measures 42″ tall, 21″ at base and 18″ at its widest on the top and has 3 cord jacks… don’t let this lil mutant guy (guys?!?!?) languish in artistic limbo, he needs to lay down some bomb beats with you today!”

Check out this link for the images if the auction is down. It is an interesting piece.

If you know anything about the construction of this one, please feel free to comment.

The Lyricon

The Lyricon is essentially an analog synth that can be played by flute [see update below]. You can find more images and info on MASA, a Japanese site on the instrument. You can find a Google translated version of the site here. The following is a translated excerpt from the site. Apologies for the poor translation. If you know more about this piece feel free to comment.

“‘performing in the orchestra, was the idea like the electric flute which is audible sufficiently in the hole’, so is. It has started from the place where it tries probably to reproduce the performance method of the wooden bobbin musical instrument and the constitution of the timbre electrically. Being afterwards, appeared, become constitution of the general analog synthesizer VCO, VCF and VCA…. whichWith there is no similar point yet, changes harmonic overtone constitution and on the other hand, it can call with the point which does the sound making that it has been similar to [dorouba] of the organ. At this point in time as for [ririkon] of the first generation [ririkon] II which it mentions later, formation differs from [doraivua] completely.”

Update via brian t in the comments: “Small correction re the Lyricon: it’s played saxophone-style, not like a flute. There’s a summary in English at 120 Years of Electronic Music. Probably the most high-profile Lyricon gig was with Steely Dan, tracks like “Hey Nineteen” have Lyricon solos by Tom Scott.”

Viva Commodore64!

And finally I leave you with a little C64 action.

Magnetron by Golgoth 13A

“”Magnetron”, funny Clay animation music video clip from french band “GOLGOTH 13″ and their album called “Bruce Lee died in Galway”. Official golgoth 13 website More of Seb’s work here too.”

“The Mighty MB-6582!”

“four channel stereo synth (8x 6582 SIDs) and the up-coming release of MB-SID V2 is going to blow away all other SID hardware.” via C64Music! You can find the full flickr set of images here. This is a custom version of the MidiBox SID. Via beaker in the comments of this Matrixsynth post: “Yes, this guy is from Australia and he made this version of the Midibox SID himself. It is still based on the Midibox design though. The 6582 was not used in the C64, but it is a 9V version of the SID much like the 8580. They are hard to find, but there was some new old stock floating around that has mostly been bought up. I doubt this will become a production synth (at least not is any real quantity) due to a shortage of 6582 SID’s, especially since he’s using 8 of them in one unit. But apparently he’ll be selling boards for those that have, or can find some SID’s. One thing for sure, it did a bloody nice job of it.”

For or daily synth-related posts check out Matrixsynth.

Ok, not technically a synth, but check this out. It’s a Casio AT-40 with Arabic labels spotted in Iraq of all places. Via Daniel: “A casio AT-40 with arabic lettering that I spotted in Hewler/Arbil in northern Iraq in december last year. I should have bought it!” Yeah he should have. : ) Click here for the full sized shot. It does make me wonder how much, if any, electronic music is being made in Iraq. I seem to vaguely remember there being an online music site from the country. If you know of any, please do comment. I ran a quick search and I did find one artist that goes by “phreaque modi” in Baghdad. Click here for the site with full tracks. It’s inspirational to think music like this is making its way through a situation like that.

A TB-303 Birthday

Check out this TB-303 Birthday cake, also from Daniel.

“When I turned 30 one of my friends gave me this utterly nerdy cake. The colours look a bit funny but it really was gray at first. The knobs were eatable too!”

Very nice. I suddenly want a life sized Matrix-12 birthday cake.

Click here for a full sized shot. It kind of reminds me of a giant techno bling napoleon.

The Kawai SX-240

The Kawai SX-240 is a two DCO analog poly synth from the mid 80s. Video via jexus of syntezatory.prv.pl. Be sure to check out the rest of his videos if you like this one.

Howard Jones Retro

Two performances of Howard Jones live at his 20th Anniversery Concert at the Shepherds Bush Empire. What is obviously great about this performance is the vintage analog gear. These videos are are actually great showcases of the synths as much as the songs themselves.

Dr. Who

And finally I’ll just leave you with a collage of Dr. Who inspired videos.

Music Arcade – Radiophonic Workshop 3

Doctor Who – Corners 1987

YouTube via Tardisrules

all doctor who intro – collage of Dr. Who Intros

KLF – Dr. Who

Ok, that last video was probably stretching it a bit, but… Have a great weekend folks!

As always, for daily synth-related posts check out Matrixsynth.

I read the description, checked out the rest of the videos and started posting each video on Matrixsynth as they went up during this week. Pepemogt, or rather Pepe contacted me and we began to chat a little. Pepe lives in Tijuana, Mexico and is part of an independent electronic music label based in Tijuana, named Mil Records. Do check them out.

So where the heck does Mexican Wrestling come in? I really liked the album covers for Latinsizer. The source? A local artist in Tijuana that mainly paints signs for Mexican wrestling. “”when i released my first latinsizer album, for the art cover i was try to do something diferent with the art, so i found a guy that his way of living is painting signs for mexican wrestling, and puting them on streets, in your trips to tijuana maybe you have seen this, anyway, i took some synths and drum machines and went to his workshop and ask him to paint them, and also the credits of the record and basically all the art” Pretty cool… Unfortunately, I didn’t get the name of the artist in time for this post. I will update the post if I get it. If you happen to know, feel free to comment. : ) UPDATE: I heard back from Pepe on the artist. Here is what he had to say: “about the guy who painted the synths, his name is “loo is” is what he call himself, when i finally finished the CD and LP12″ i went back to his workshop to give him a copy of the records to “loo is” but the workshop wasnt there anymore, and no one there knew were he moved?? so i lost contact with him, i hope i kew where he is so he can see his art ended on the records cover and give him the copies…”

Flourescent Mods

Next we have a couple of gorgeous display mods by Mark.

Prophet VS

“Here’s my Prophet VS keyboard, which I have just retrofitted with a vacuum fluorescent display by Noritake. Because the VFD is thicker than the stock LCD by almost 3/8″, the lengths of all the standoffs between the front panel, the front panel PCB, and the switch PCBs have to be increased. The pots and LED display have to be stood off as well. Other important details: a blue filter for the VFD, a neutral density filter for the alpha numeric LED display, double stick tape to secure the filters, extra long pins to connect the switch PCBs at their new mounting height. The most time consuming part was selecting and ordering all these parts, installation was done in a couple of evenings.

I’m not generally a fan of putting blue LEDs in old synths, but the Prophet VS did come from the factory with a blue backlit LCD, and has blue front panel graphics, so what the heck. The trick to installing blue LEDs is choosing the right resistor value. If you just do the math and install the recommended value, they can be almost blindingly bright. Right now they are at a very comfortable brightness, though I may change the resistors one more time to match the LED brightness a little more closely to the VFD.

I hope you like it!” Indeed. Gorgeous work. You can see more shots here.

Sequential Circuits Studio 440

“This is one of my two Sequential Studio 440s, one of my favorite instruments in my studio. Like a lot of older instruments, the backlit LCDs in both of my 440s went dark long ago, and there’s nothing sadder than trying to navigate a menu in a dark room with no backlight. Recently I found that a company called Noritake that sells VFDs that are almost drop-in replacements for some LCDs. I say almost drop-in because the mounting depth is a little deeper. In the case of the 440, I had to trim down the existing studs and install longer standoffs for mounting. Mounting these into an instrument with more depth restriction might not be possible. These vacuum fluorescent displays are just beautiful. There’s something about having a bright, crisp display that makes the instrument seem much easier to use, it’s like the brain assimilates the information effortlessly when the text is so clear and bright. I decided to retrofit both of my 440s and they worked out great.” Also very nice. You can see more shots here.

Modded EMS Synthi A

Next we have a gorgeous modded EMS Synthi A via Johan. “This is a Mk I EMS Synthi A from 1971, the first version of the EMS popular briefcase model. About a year later came the Mk II, also known as Synthi AKS. Mk I is rarer due to its short production run. According to Robin Wood at EMS about 300 were made. Electronically it’s identical to the first version of the VCS3 which was produced between 1968 and 1972. Mk II intruduced a number of modifications:
* The PSU was redesigned, Mk I PSU is too weak to power a KS (the blue/black touch keyboard of the AKS) DK1 and DK2 can be used though.
* The output amplification, reverb driver and ring modulator circuits was redesigned.
* The patch matrix was reconfigured, Mk I has two individual outputs per oscillator Mk II has only for each of osc 1 and osc 2 only osc 3 has two outputs. In my opinion the Mk I configuration is much more useful.
* Some switches were added for AKS compatability.
* Prestopatch socket was added. With some work it can be added to a Mk I as well.
I think all Mk I Synthis and VCS3 came with the beautiful “Morning Mist” coloured front panel. Later on, most of them had uncoloured metal finish.

I have owned this synth for three years. When I bought it from a guy in Berlin I was told that this particular unit was originally owned by Manuel Goettsching of Ash Ra Temple and used by him as well as by Klaus Schulze, but i have not been able to confirm this so i can’t be sure.

Together with Magnus Danielsson I have restored it internally. All electrolytic capacitors and all but two potentiometers have been replaced. Some failing transistors has been replaced with “new old stock” transistors of the same kind that was used by EMS during the 70′s. Many trim potentiometers has been replaced for greater precision. The PSU has been re-organized. One of the transistors there produces a lot of heat. This one has been moved from the circuit board and mounted to a larger metal area inside. Many Mk I Synthis and VCS3 has been ruined due to this transistor being mounted on the board, it has the potential of burning off the traces of the circuit board.

I have made two small modifications:
1. The panel switch for the built in voltmeter has been replaced with a three way switch so that it can be turned off when routing signals that way.
2. Voltage control for the waveshape of Oscillator 2 has been added via one of the microphone inputs (route out via meter and in via mic 1 with a patch cord).
Both are fully reversable in case one would prefer it to be original.” This Synthi is up for auction. You can find hi-res images here.

The One and Only… Donny Osmond!

Finally, I leave you with something to get your groove on for the weekend. Donny does synth.

Donny & Marie Show guest Desy Arnaz Jr.

Crazy Horses – The Osmonds

Have a great weekend all!

For daily synth-related posts check out Matrixsynth.

“Fifty years ago, in 1957, at Bell Telephone Laboratories, Max Mathews demonstrated that the digital computer can be used as a fantastic new musical instrument. He created a revolutionary software platform destined to form the basis of all contemporary digital musical systems.

His audacious ideas were driven by the belief that any sound that the human ear can hear can be produced by a computer. Mathews’ mastery of this new instrument revealed new musical horizons and sparked a burgeoning curiosity into the very nature of sound. His comprehension and elaboration made five decades of art and research ossible, laying the groundwork for generations of electronic musicians to synthesize, record, and play music. Today at Stanford’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) as a Professor Emeritus he continues not only to educate students and colleagues, but also to guide and inspire with his constant inventiveness and pure musical pleasure.”

You can read more about Max Mathews on wikipedia, where this image was taken from. An interesting side note is Max may just be the godfather of “groove” and accompaniment software:

“Starting with the Groove program in 1970, my interests have focused on live performance and what a computer can do to aid a performer. I made a controller, the radio-baton, plus a program, the conductor program, to provide new ways for interpreting and performing traditional scores.”

For any Berklee alumni, there will be a special event to honor Max on April 30. You can find more details here. Some of you might have been lucky enough to have caught the event on April 18.

Synths in Second Life

Meet Dreamaiden, a character in the growingly popular massive multi-player world, Second Life. Note the synths. I see a Roland JP-8000, what looks like an Oxford Synthesizer Company OSCar, and one more synth I can’t make out. I don’t play Second Life myself, but I’ve noticed a number of classic synths cropping up in images of the game. My guess is only the GUIs are modeled. If you play Second Life and/or know more about the synths appearing in the game, please feel free to comment. What’s interesting about Dreamaiden, is her new album, “Blue Light” will actually have a release party hosted in Second Life. Via Steve the mastering engineer for “Blue Light:” “Dreamaiden also runs the Abbacadabra gallery in Second Life, where she is hosting two launch parties for the CD on the 21st and 22nd of April. There is a listening booth where tracks from the CD can be auditioned, and DJ Plum is the MC for the event which is available as an audio stream.” The album also predominantly features the Andromeda A6 for all parts except drums. You can find more info including samples and a downloadable track on her website.

The KORG MS-911 and Synthi Micro

Beautiful custom KORG X-911 modularized into the KORG MS-911 via Perry.

“This is a Korg X-911 that I have re-built to a modular synth. The original X-911 Guitar Synth actually contains much more than is obvious on the front pane.”

Also be sure to check out the rest on his site including the Synthi Micro. The Synthi Micro isn’t exactly a clone of the original EMS Synthi as it does not share any electronic components, but it sure does look nice.

“”This is a sort of clone of the EMS Synthi A. Well, not a clone really, since it has none of the electronics like the EMS, nor has it the complete amount of functions. It is also smaller then the original. I wanted a synth that could do the typical effect sounds that the Synthi A is known for. At first, I designed an even smaller synth, with a minimum of modules and functions, and no pin matrix. But after a while I realized this design would be far too limited, and I also wanted the routing capability of a matrix. So this is what it turned out to be. I used a lot of stuff that I happened to have laying around in the junc box; like the 10×10 pin matrix, a small reverb tank, CEM3340:s etc.”

You can find more info including specs on Perry’s website. There are samples for the Synthi Micro.

Russian Made Polivoks

I thought the following was a particularly good demonstration of the Russian made Polivoks analog synthesizer via williamenroh. You can find an mp3 of the intro song here.

Every Barbie Needs a Synthi

Finally, I leave you with a great shot of Barbie with her EMS Synthi by Wetdragoon. “Just for fun, here is a shot of my synthi, inspired by the famous ad: “every nun needs a synthi” ”

Awesome. I absolutely love this shot. It would make for a great album cover.

Have a great weekend everyone.

For daily synth-related posts check out Matrixsynth.

In case you missed it, Sonic State is running a video series on The Top 20 Greatest Synths of all time. About once a month they put up a video featuring three synths from the countdown. As you can imagine a few controversial pieces came up including the E-Mu Proteus, and the Roland JV-1080 which happened to beat the mighty Jupiter-8. The Jupiter-8 didn’t even make the top 10! That aside, it is an awesomely entertaining series even if you are new to synths (be sure to read the description on their site before watching the vids to get an idea of what they were after and how the list was formed). I’ve been putting up posts on the video as they come up on Matrixsynth. Let’s just say there were some pretty animated responses. I thought, what could be less subjective than a top 20 list? It occurred to me that no one can argue about what synths were revolutionary in the sense that they brought a new technology to the table.

So I created a “The First Synth to…” post. The purpose of the post is to create a list of synths that were first in a particular technology that readers can participate in. I put up the first two items on the list and so far the list has grown to 35 entries from users submitting entries in the comments of the post. The list is also sorted by year so you can follow a time line on what came out in order. BTW, this might sound similar to Obosolete.com’s 120 Years. It is, however, there are three major differences. One, you get to participate by adding to the list in the comments, two, there is discussion in the comments so the focus is not just the list (check out some of the interesting comments that have come in so far), and three, there will be differences in the list. The Matrixsynth list is driven by the synth aficionados. Peter Grenader of Plan b and Buzzclick dropped by with an amazing story on the Coupland Digital Music Synthesizer and the first NAMM showing of the NED Synclavier. “The Coupland was vaporwear…it never existed. I met Mark Vail, who’s now a friend, by writing him a letter informing him that his story about the Coupland in his Vintage Synthesizers book (GREAT book) which mentioned it’s only recorded showing was at the AES show in LA in 1978 was a farce. I was there – at their booth and their suite in the Hilton where the instrument was said to be. I was there on the first day, I was there on the last day. The only thing they had was a small model – about six inches across, sitting on a table. The booth was amazing – this radial orb multiple people could sit in, with a cover that came over each person which played what I remembered was a very impressive demo which swirled around four speakers inside the box. I, and everyone else, were blown away. They kept saying…’it will be here tomorrow, it’ll be here tomorrow’…so I showed up the last day just to see it, figuring by the then it would have arrived…it didn’t. I did see the frst Synthclavier at that show however. Their suite was across the hall from the Coupland folk. That completely kicked the crap out of everything else shown that year.”

The comments are a great read and I encourage you to drop by and participate. Please do note the list just started and has a long way to go. My plan is to let people build the list over time. I will begin to add to the list myself once it looks like the bulk has been submitted by others. It wouldn’t be any fun if I just did the list on my own. I was asked why not put this up on a wiki? I just might do that, but to start I’d like to stick with the post for the discussion aspect and mainly as I’ve noticed quite a few corrections come in – it’s much easier for me to update the list and make corrections rather than leave it wide open. Once we have the list relatively locked down it might find a new home on a wiki. Pictured is the first item on the list, the Telharmonium, an electromechanical instrument first developed by Thaddeus Cahill in 1897. It is currently credited as the first conceptual synthesizer although it probably is closer in concept to the electromechanical organ such as the Hammond B3.

Star Trek Wii

For all you Star Trek fans. I thought this was pretty cool…

YouTube via gattobus

The First Yamaha Synthesizer

You are looking at Yamaha’s first keyboard synthesizer, the SY-1 from 1975. This was recently up for this auction and sold for a paltry $700. From the auction: “1975 Yamaha SY-1 vintage synthesizer. All keys, knobs, sliders, and outputs function. This was yamaha’s very first entry into the synthesizer world. The Very First! This keyboard came out before the popular CS series. This monophonic VCO synthesizer has 28 presets all of which can be edited, but not saved. NOTE: This synth is old and shows signs of use. This does not affect the playability or control in any way. Please take this into consideration when bidding on this item. Aside from that, this keyboard is in great shape and very rare.

Yamaha’s first keyboard synthesizers, the SY-1 (pictured above) and SY-2 are monophonic single-VCO analog synthesizers with preset sounds and limited programmability. There are 28 great preset sounds which can be slightly edited using the 8 sliders to the right of the small 37-note keyboard. There’s an analog low-pass / high pass resonant filter, analog VCA envelope and a slide effect. There is no sign of MIDI, CV or Gate control but the compact design and wood-case make this a fun synth to mess around with. Some crazy analog sounds can be formed. These are fun little synths with plenty of ‘Vintage’ status and fun live-performance-ability.”

Another bit of interesting synth trivia? The SY-1′s bigger brother, the SY-2 made an appearance in Close Encounters of The Third Kind.

Access Virus Ti Goldfilter

Meet the one and only Access Virus Ti Goldfilter. Talk about bling. Access created this one of a kind version of the TI for their 10th anniversary. They ran a video contest and one lucky person won the synth. You can view the winning video here. The winner of the synth set up a site dedicated to the synth and he plans to auction it off.

Sequencer Madness

This was quite the week for sequencers. This is essentially a mini “This Week in Sequencers.”
First up:

Ciat Lonbarde Rollz 5 Drum Machine by Photon

This one is technically a drum machine with built in clock generators to sequence drum patterns.
“”Here’s a couple of photos of my implementation of the Ciat-Lonbarde Rollz-5 drum machine. The geometric jack arrangements are pulse generators. The banks of knobs are filters: the left produce drum like sounds, the ones on the right tones. The upper four filters heterodyne and make weird shortwave radio-like sounds. You connect the pulse generators to make patterns then patch thru a filter to output.” Check out more of Ciat-Lonbarde’s brilliant design. BTW, you might recognize one of his pieces from this old CDM post from back in 2004.

genoQs Octopus OS V1.0 Released

Abolutely one of the most gorgeous pieces of synth hardware I have seen. The genoQs Octopus was introduced in August of 2005 and released in April of 2006. You can find more info on this sequencer at genoQs Machines.

The following is a video of the Octopus in use by companyofquail (click through for another after this):

Ambi-J’s DIY sequencer in progress

“A DIY Sequencer from my Belgium friend Ambi-j. It’s controling some Wiard gear and some steps got a input from a Wiard noise ring witch pitches that steps. It even got diferent scales in the quantizer and a diver for the clock input. This sequencer is not done yet so there is no info avaible yet.”

YouTube via waveshaper. Via Dennis.

Latronic Notron

This one was recently up for auction. The Latronic actually came in two designs, the design pictured here in grey, and a blue version more rectangular which you can find on this great Latronic Notron site. From the auction details, “”In the words of Paul Nagle from his Sound On Sound (June 1997) review: ‘Is it a hi-tech bathroom scale? Is it a 21st-century computer game? Is it Darth Vader’s toilet seat? No, it’s an innovative LED-laden MIDI step sequencer, with the power to wring new life from your old synths’.”

Roland MC-4b, MTR-100, and OP8

Below is a rare site, the complete set in mint condition via this auction: “This is a Roland MC-4b MicroComposer Digital CV/GATE Sequencer for sequencing analog synths with CV/GATE inputs. It comes complete with the extremely rare optional MTR-100 Digital Cassette Recorder and the somewhat rare optional OP-8 DCB converter for controlling a Juno-60 or Jupiter-8 via DCB interface. It also includes the original manual, 20 Maxell M-90 Data Cassettes (recommended by Roland in the manual), and an original DCB cable for interfacing with a Jupiter-8 or Juno-60. It took me [isattelite] over 12 years to complete this set… This sequencer is the tightest sequencer on the planet, and can sequence CV/GATE synths with ease. It was used by many artists to create some of the best music ever heard. Former users include Vince Clarke, Rational Youth, Human League & Martin Rushent (Dare!), Richard D. James (Analord), John Foxx, Wang Chung, Tears For Fears (The Hurting), Toto, Devo, YMO, and many more. A keyboard with CV/GATE output can be hooked up to enter notes via keyboard, or you can enter notes using the calculator keypad. This MC-4 is the more difficult to find expanded model with the “B” designation that allows you to save patches to the supplied MTR-100 Data Cassette Recorder at twice the speed as normal, and also contains double the memory capacity. This is my last MC-4b, and it will be sorely missed. You can listen to a song I composed entirely with this setup and an additional MC-4 here: link. For more information, you can visit my detailed review at: link.”

Ken Stone’s Programmer/Sequencer

And finally, through the synthwaves for the week, we have Ken Stone’s Programmer/Sequencer. “The Programmer/ Sequencer is a Serge inpired multi-stage sequencer. Unlike most sequencers, this one makes no use of binary counters. Rather, it uses a set of individual stages, each one directly accessible. As such it could be considered to allow “random access”. The first sequencer produced by Serge was a 4017 based counter that put out gate pulses. In order to get a control voltage sequencer, the gate outputs were fed to the input stages of a multi-state programmer. Usually built in groups of four, but sometimes coupled through a switch, these programmers would only allow a single stage to be active at any time, outputting the corresponding control voltages to their bussed output jacks. The stages could be selected either via a gate/trigger input or a panel mounted push button.” You can find more info on Ken Stone’s Catgirl Synth (CGS).

Note that all This Week In Synth posts are literally what came in during the previous week. I track everything that comes in via various email lists, websites, and forums as well as what readers send my way.

For daily synth-related posts check out Matrixsynth.

Wendy Carlos Today

Wendy Carlos has been credited with starting the synth revolution. Before her album, Switched on Bach (1968), synths were mainly perceived as educational tools and not part of mainstream music. Wendy painstakingly performed Bach using a MOOG modular and an Ampex 8 track tape recorder. Remember, the MOOG modular did not have any presets, was monophonic and you had to use patch chords to manually connect components to come up with a new sound. The album came out and rocked the music industry. It’s fascinating to think a Bach album started it all. The interview is a fascinating, open dialog from Wendy that brings in the human aspect to making music and experimentation. Click on the image to get to the video on NewMusicBox.

A New Kind of Sequencer?

4×4 SM Programmable Sequencer by synthmonger. According to synthmonger, “This is a new kind of programmable sequencer. Each step can drive other sequencers or clock sources. For instance, in this video I am running one clock source into Row 1 -not into the other Rows. Each of Row 1′s step outputs 1, 2, 3, 4, are sending a clock signal to Rows 2-4. Steps on Rows 2-4 are sending signals out to each other… The Rows are CV’ing 4 simple ghettofied vactrol oscillators. Here is an example: if you want Row 2 to advance one count everytime Row 1 hits it’s 3rd step, you would run a patch from Row 1′s 3rd step to Row 2′s clock input.” You can find more info here, including contact info if you are interested in picking one up.

Circuit Bending Synced

Next we have cretin4321 playing a Speak and Spell synced to a Roland TR-606. No disrespect to the free running circuit benders out there , but I’m finding the synced approach pretty refreshing. Make sure to check out rest of cretin4321′s videos for more examples.

Retrosynth PPG MiniROM for Blacet Wiard Miniwave

Pictured on the right is a PPG Wave 2.2. It was a digital analog hybrid that used digital wavetables for its oscillators. The following video was put up this week via Cary Roberts of Retrosynth, home to the Analog Heaven and Synth DIY mailing list archives. The following is Cary’s description of what you see in the video:
“This is a demo of the Retrosynth MiniROM loaded with PPG wavetables courtesy of Jason Proctor. The Miniwave is being driven from the sawtooth output of a Serge PCO scaled and offset through an audio mixer and scaling buffer. The wave select on the Miniwave is modulated by a Universal Slope Generator with gain and offset from a CV mixer. The output of the Miniwave is patched directly into the dual channel stereo mixer module for final level adjustment and then it’s off to a small Roland MA-8 monitor. There are 64 waves in each PPG wavetable bank and a stock Blacet Miniwave can only do 16 waves per bank. Plus there are only 16 banks in a stock Miniwave. The board I made allows for 32 banks of 64 waves each. That’s 8X more samples per ROM. Jason Proctor provided me the wavetables. I’m just the hardware monkey that made them fit in a Miniwave socket. Some pictures here: [link]” BTW, if you are not familiar with the PPG Wave line of synths, you can find more info and shots from some of my previous posts on Matrixsynth.

Making Beats In The Studio With Charles

And finally we have Charles. Nothing much to say about this one, other than have a great weekend folks. Matrix out.

Check out drewtoothpaste for more.

For daily synth-related posts check out Matrixsynth.

As you know, the Frankfurt Musicmesse opened on Wednesday the 28th. There were quite a few exciting announcements including the Nord Wave, Arturia Origen Keyboard, the Dexter and of course the biggest announcement in my opinion, the Solaris hardware synth by John Bowen Synth Designs. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the interview by James here. Aside from the major announcements there was quite a bit more worth checking out in the synth world including this gorgeous MacBeth M5N, a white version of the M5 with a few updates including snappier envelopes, greater signal to noise ratios for the filters, and more. You can find links to more Messepics here, many courtesy of sequencer.de, a great synth site based in Germany. Some of the synth related gadgets include the Tiefenrausch monophonic analog synth, the Anyware Instruments ClockBox, the SteckBox (an EMS style pin matrix with light risters), and more.

Rarities Set Loose

Fairlight Series IIIx

A Fairlight Series IIIx and MFX is up for auction with a whopping Buy It Now of $11,900 US.

Some details:
“Offered for sale is a very rare fully functional vintage rack-mount Fairlight CMI III computerised musical instrument workstation in excellent condition. Also fitted is Fairlight MFX2 capability, which adds a 24 track direct to disc recorder / editor. The system is a late model, and as such has the latest and best in technical innovations, whilst still retaining the classic legendary sound of the CMI.

The system has 16 voices, 16 Mbytes RAM, colour graphics card, digital sampler and 24 output router. It also comes with the later MFX alpha-numeric keyboard, and a proper weighted action music keyboard. A 15” LCD screen (not the one illustrated) is included. There are two 4 Gbyte hard discs, one empty for disc recording, and one full of the following libraries:

Complete Fairlight library, Prosonus Strings, Brass, Percussion, Sound
Genesis strings, plus many libraries collected over the last 20 years
dealing with top producers and musicians. These include libraries from: Pet
Shop Boys, Trevor Horn, Hans Zimmer, Frankie goes to Hollywood, Art of Noise
and many, many others. The complete Fairlight IIX library is also included.”

Yamaha FX-1

Next up, a Yamaha FX-1 for auction. The Yamaha FX-1 was an FM based Yamaha Electone behemoth with motorized sliders. Think DX7/DX1 on steroids. There are very few of these known to exist. There is one known model in the UK according to this Sound on Sound article and until this auction, only one that I was aware of in the US, owned by a dying breed, a one man club act from the 60s, Jimmy [BTW, Jimmy's story is pretty fascinating].

Via the SOS article:
“Lest you think that (other than the DX1) all FM synthesizers were small, neat affairs, let me tell you about the FX1. This was a huge three-manual beast very much in the mould of the GX1, but based entirely on FM synthesis. If you’ve never heard of it, I’m not surprised. Costing £36,000 in 1986, there’s only one working example in the UK, and not many more elsewhere.”

MOOG Model 12

Finally, a MOOG Model 12 modular recently went for $5100 US. The unit was sold as is from The University of Wyoming. You can see the auction here. I also backed it up on Matrixsynth for when it disapears. The price may seem high considering what you can get from current modular synth manufacturers, however this is part of history. You can barely make it out, but there’s a handle at the very top of the modular and latches to the site. The modular is was built into is own carrying case.

The Non-MOOG Modular

Below is a video of some MOOG modulars manufactured by Don Martin. If you remember from the March 16 Week In Synths, Don Martin owned the Moog name in the US after MOOG music went under. He released a Model E Minimoog commonly referred to as the Donimoog. In addition to the Mini, he also release a number of MOOG modules. Cary Roberts posted the following video on AH along with more pics you can find here. You can find a list of the Don Martin MOOG modules here. BTW, word is they actually sounded good. Note: unfortunately there is no audio in this video, but I prefer it a bit more to just the static shots.

Tie-Fighter Cockpit and Willy Wonka’s Music Box

Finally I leave you with two Buchla videos:

Buchla 700

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Video by Electric Parade.

The Buchla Music Easel

Note the Music Easel video is from the Analog Heaven Midwest synth gathering. You can find more videos from the event here.

BTW, credit for the Tie-Fighter analogy goes to Wingo Shackleford via the comments of this post.

For daily synth-related posts check out Matrixsynth.

You are looking at the Moog Synthesizer, Stearns 2035. It currently resides as part of the Stearns Collection at the University of Michigan. According to the university it was the first commercially produced MOOG Synthesizer.

“This particular instrument has the distinction of being the first commercially produced Moog synthesizer. It was commissioned by the Alwin Nikolai Dance Theater of New York in 1964 after being demonstrated at the Audio Engineering Society convention in New York in October of that year. Nikolai used the synthesizer to compose recorded musical accompaniments for his dancers. Later, the instrument was acquired by the Collection. In 1989, Robert Moog gave a demonstration lecture using this synthesizer—a lecture jointly sponsored by the Stearns Collection and the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. Synthesizer technology has advanced significantly and become much more widespread since the original Moog synthesizer—Robert Moog himself has designed a number of successors—which underscores the importance of this artifact of early electronic music.” You can find more info and images at the Stearns Collection Online Exhibit. To see the collection from the beginning click here.

Mike Oldfield’s OB-Xa?

Next we have an Oberheim OB-Xa claimed to have been owned by Mike Oldfield of Tubular Bells fame. Remember the theme song to The Exorcist? That was Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells. Before you conclude this OB-Xa was used in that release, realize the album was released in 1973 while the Oberheim OB-Xa was released in 1980. However, you can see the Tubular Bells image on the case. This shot comes from an auction that was recently pulled. If anyone knows more about this piece feel free to comment. I did manage to grab the details and more images from the auction here before it was removed.

$32k of Synth History

The MOOG Synthesizer IIIp. This one is actually up for sale. The asking price? $32,000 US. It was purchased by Phil Davis in 1969 and used in film (George Harrison – Ravi Shankar – film score) and a number of live performances including “Tommy,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” a Sgt. Pepper Stage production and Disney’s “Electric Light Parade,” and Paul McCartney’s “Ram.” You can find more images and info here.

For daily synth-related posts check out Matrixsynth.