Anyone know what this is? Via these two auctions: 1, 2.Details:
"the first of three big cabinets that obviously belong together
maybe early tube synthesizer
measures 50 x 70 x 25 cm
top left 4 tubes are missing, to the right there is a part missing
see picture from the second cabinet in other auction
nothing known of except that old, heavy and big
best to pick up at my place but can be shipped of course
with this unit comes the foot controller, that belongs to the cabinets"
via Johan
My guess, just looking at what's there, is that these are tone cabinets for an electronic accordion. These weren't all that uncommon; you occasionally see ones of various makes on eBay and so forth.
ReplyDeleteof all things, this sure does not look like a synthesizer.
ReplyDeleteMaybe a portable organ.
ReplyDeleteAnything pre-transistors isn't a synth.
ReplyDeletethis one is pre-transistor and synth:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.trautonium.com
A Tratonium is an electronic musical instrument though it has a good number of aspects of what would be defined as a synthesizer than a lot of other electronic musical instruments
ReplyDelete"Anything pre-transistors isn't a synth."
ReplyDeleteI think the peeps from metasonix might disagree :p
"Anything pre-transistors isn't a synth" While I respect your right to make this statement, I think you sould back it up with a little fact. I mean, it all comes down to: What is a synth? Do those raymond scott machines predate transistors?
ReplyDeletenovachord, clavivox, etc...but i suspect that the world of next tuesday meant to get us riled up... :)
ReplyDeleteIt's the "tone cabinet" for a Cordovox accordion - this series came out in the 1960s. It plugged into an amplifier with an identical-looking cabinet. These things crop up with some frequency on the bay. The schematics are readily available. One day I bid on one for about $99, got it, and then converted it into a wheezy-sounding synth - not hard to do, and a ton of fun.
ReplyDeleteI always thought synthesizer was derived from synthetic as in "a synthetic source mimicking an acoustic resonant source." Thats why an electric guitar is not a synthesizer - because it IS an acoustic resonant source, it just has to be amplified to be musically usuable.
ReplyDeleteWell Metasonix isn't *pre*-transistors, it's someone designing with tubes for the challenge and results. This thing looking vaguely transportable clearly would have been made with transistors had they been readily available and cost effective to build that with. Yes, I know the first transistors date from '47 and I'm not saying that thing is before '47 necessarily but the first units no one questions are synthesizers were all solid state and it wasn't for decades until commercial companies like Peavy and Metasonix put some tubes in to be more special or stand out. "A synthetic source mimicking an acoustic resonant source." is a whole lot of things like organs. Moog and Buchla effectively redefined the performance level for what a synthesizer was in the mid '60s and it was the acceptance of the Moog in the general public's consciousness and others designs made by other companies after examining it that established it as the basis of one's definition. Now of course the Moog wasn't made in a vacuum. There were plenty of electronic instruments that had a number of features found in synthesizers. But it's true that a couple more or less one-off early electronic intruments like the mixtur-trautonium probably has more functionality than many later economic commerical synthesizers. I guess my main point is not all electronic instruments are synths and not all musical instruments that use electricity are even electronic.
ReplyDeleteI second what David said
ReplyDeleteIt's the "tone cabinet" for a Cordovox accordion
I have seen three of these since 1990 but i have never seen the accordion that goes with it. though i bet Petosa music in Seattle could get you at least a picture if they didn't have one in stock.
To "the world of next tuesday"
ReplyDeleteAs someone else mentioned, you should look at the Hammond Novachord from 1939. It has your oscillators, filters, VCAs, etc...
Don't believe it? Check out Novachord Restoration Project!
Looks like a part from an electronic organ made by Hammond,
ReplyDelete(see www.eboardmuseum.com)
or an amplifier.