via this auction
"It’s a great sounding analog bass pedal system manufactured in Japan around the same time period that the Taurus 1 and II models were being marketed. It’s a great sounding instrument, giving you the type of sound that brings to mind that crazy fat but expensive Moog Taurus pedal sound. So just what is a Firstman BS-999? 
I would call it a poor mans Moog Taurus I. It’s made well, and is a completely 100% pre-midi analogue bass synthsesizer with real time performance controls. The mono bass sounds can range anywhere from being short and muted all the way to being real fat, with that VCA type mono synth sound so familiar with early analog synthesizers. A variety of sounds can be realized with this unit. There are three sections labeled Octave, Effect and Attack. There are 5 control pots above that section which fine tune the sound to the desired rate.There is a master tune knob that changes the pitch to a full half step up or down in either direction. There are also two pots that control overall tone and overall volume. There are two small red colored LEDs that are located above the Octave switches. The “hold” switch also has a corresponding red LED when activated. Both of the “Attack” switches labeled “percussion” and “Mute” also have red LEDs above them that light when active. In the Effect section, there is a hold button, a sustain button, and an “expand” button. The hold button holds a note until another is depressed. The sustain of the note can be turned on or off, and the sustain length is determined by the sustain rotary pot located on the top row of 5 pots. The “Expand” button, when selected, really has a dramatic effect on the sound. You immediately get that familiar single oscillator synth type sound so familiar with the mini Moogs and the Taurus pedals of the same time period. if you turn the rotary control knob back and forth while in the expanded mode, the sound is a classic VCF mono sweep! Very 70s! There is not much information out there on the internet about the Company Firstman International. How many were actually produced is anybody’s guess! I’ve read on one museum page for analog synthesizers that it was possible that the company was loosely associated with Univox."
Really bad sounding, i have ona and used to have another one, both sounds like a bass fart, sorry but it's not like a Taurus, i hope it was.
ReplyDeleteI've got one of these.Love it.Used it in every band i was in.
ReplyDeletehaven't used it years,now trying to tune it in.Only had to do it once before,took me about a week.
Nice to see another one.