MATRIXSYNTH: SEIKO DS-310 Digital Synthesizer


Sunday, March 30, 2008

SEIKO DS-310 Digital Synthesizer


images via this auction

Note the lack of jacks in the back and the ribbon connector. According to the auction it's an "add on to the 1980's Seiko Digital Sound System Keyboards." See this post for more details on that synth.

Update via Qwave in the comments: "Right, this is only an add-on for those Seiko Keyboards.
I used to have a Seiko DS202 with this DS310 additive synthesis add-on. You could store 4 sounds only. Each Sound consisting of three user programmable static 16 harmonic waves. The unit got 4 different envelopes to get the various possible crossfades of the spectrums over time and the over all volume envelope. Soundwise it was the pure man's ynclavier or PPG wave ;-)

Well not bad. But no detuning, just static one and a chorus from the DS202 keyboard. There was also a keyboard without the chorus. And the real time sequencer add on was named DS320. See a picture of mine (sorry, long gone) here. The most famous user were J.M. Jarre (see Rendez-Vous) and Robert Schroeder. He also did the demoing (by playing The Beatles "Eleanor Rigby") the year it was first shown in the Frankfurt Musik Messe."

12 comments:

  1. Right, this is only an add-on for those Seiko Keyboards. I used to have a Seiko DS202 with this DS310 additive synthesis add-on.
    You could store 4 sounds only. Each Sound consisting of three user programmable static 16 harmonic waves. The unit got 4 different envelopes to get the various possible crossfades of the spectrums over time and the over all volume envelope. Soundwise it was the pure man's ynclavier or PPG wave ;-)
    Well not bad. But no detuning, just static one and a chorus from the DS202 keyboard.
    There was also a keyboard without the chorus. And the real time sequencer add on was named DS320.
    See a picture of mine (sorry, long gone) here:
    http://till-kopper.de/seiko.html

    The most famous user were J.M. Jarre (see Rendez-Vous) and Robert Schroeder. He also did the demoing (by playing The Beatles "Eleanor Rigby") the year it was first shown in the Frankfurt Musik Messe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi there. I happen to have a Seiko DS-202, with the DS-310 Synthesizer and the DS-320 Sequencer attached. I'd like to sell it. Do you have any idea what these go for complete like this? I'm having trouble trying to find info on the web. Apparently they're pretty rare. Thanks for any help you can offer! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Howdy,

    Do you still have the 310 programmer? How much are you asking for it/
    Rig

    ReplyDelete
  4. Howdy,

    Do you still have the 310 programmer? I am interested in buying one.
    mark

    ReplyDelete
  5. Howdy,

    If it is a package deal that you won't break up, how much are you asking?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I used to sell these things back in the 80s, and there's an interesting bit of background...

    The original design for the Seiko was developed in the USA by a company called Gray Laboratories. They were a typical Silicon Valley garage start-up in San Jose, and they produced only one product: The Basyn Minstrel:

    http://www.synthmuseum.com/gray/graybasyn01.html

    They tried unsuccessfully to market their synth as the "world's lowest cost digital synthesizer" back when Synclaviers cost 50 grand. By comparison, the Minstrel was a bargain at 6000 bucks. The problems were two-fold: One, it sounded like crap, the ergonomic design was awful, and it had no user memory! At the last meeting I had with company president Janet Gray, she told me they were getting out of the synth business and selling their patented digital sound technology to... Seiko!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Mark...I do still have the 310, and would be willing to split it up from the whole set. But I haven't a clue how to reach you on this forum...how can I get in touch with you? Sorry, total newbie... :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi, I would be very interested in the sequencer DS 320.
    BTW: The DS 310 cannot be used without the base keyboard. So you need the DS 202 oder DS 250 for it. A DS 310 standalone is useless.

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Janelle: if you want to contact me click on my name. On the next page you see an email button.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Its Alive. Just picked up a DS101

    ReplyDelete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I also need the programmer and the sequencer. Kindly contact me via guneyhanedanATgmail.com

    ReplyDelete

To reduce spam, comments for posts older than one week are not displayed until approved, usually same day. Do not insult people. For items for sale, do not ask if it is still available. Check the auction link and search for the item. Auctions are from various sellers and expire over time. Posts remain for the pics and historical purposes. This site is meant to be a daily snapshot of some of what was out there in the world of synths.

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