MATRIXSYNTH: Ralph Dyck's 1970s DIY Synth Recovered From Pawn Shop


Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Ralph Dyck's 1970s DIY Synth Recovered From Pawn Shop


You might remember Ralph Dyck as the Godfather of the Roland MC-8 MicroComposer. His home-brew sequencer served as the basis for the MC-8. See this post for a video featuring a track he wrote titled "Odd Rhythms" that was included in the MC-8 manual. Ralph Dyck was also featured for his DIY modular work in this 1972 news article.

via Pea Hicks on the Roland MC-8 Micro Composer blog:

"A couple years ago, Ralph mentioned to me that in the early-70s he had built a couple of custom analog synthesizers for local schools – UBC and Carson-Graham Senior Secondary. I attempted to contact the music departments of both of these schools. The UBC music department still had theirs, but the Carson-Graham synth was missing in action. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, and I get an email from Ralph that an acquaintance of his in Vancouver recognized Ralph’s handiwork in a craiglist ad for a homebrew synth- it was the long-lost Carson-Graham synth!

The asking price was only $75, but try as he might to recover it, Ralph was too late, and it was purchased by a young guy interested in making 'bloopy synth sounds.'"

Click here for the full story including audio and pics.

Side note: Pea Hicks aka peahix who wrote the article is also the man behind Optigan.com.

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