Yamaha SS 30 String Synthesizer

via this auction

"This baby is Ultravox in a box!!! Listen to "Reap The Wild Wind" or other tracks from Vienna or Rage in Eden to hear the SS 30 in all its glory; or check it out on Youtube as mentioned later.

I have several string synthesizers including the ARP String Ensemble, Korg Lambda and Delta, and Crumar Multiman (very underated btw!), and I've owned several more and I can truly say that the SS 30 is unique!!! It has a shimmering quality which the chorus and vibrato can emphasize like no other stringer I've played. I've also had a Yamaha SK30 and these strings are MUCH BETTER, so don't judge this lovely Yamaha on the quality of those SK models. These are more like the string presets built into the Yamaha home organ E50/70 series which also had the CS 50/60/80 voices on it... full of character and a top end that really cuts through a mix. Cleaner than the ARP String Ensemble, more like a Roland RS 505 but better ;-) Peter Forrest raved about it in The A-Z of Analogue Synthesisers and it has many fans on the net. They are super rare in the USA, as they were not sold here when new.

Some of the best uses are applying chorus and or vibrato to the violins and not the cellos with the different keyboard splits and using the cellos as a bass synth sound. This is one of the only string synths where the sounds are just as good without chorus as with. EVERYTHING WORKS on this well-maintained unit which has been in my smoke free studio since 2006. The veneer has a cut or two and some scratches... this is probably a 7 out of 10 cosmetically but all the knobs and logos are complete and legible. These do not come up for sale often!!!

You can apply vibrato and chorus in weak and strong amounts with variable rates, delay etc to either cellos or violins independently; there are two "oscillators" or ranks so the vibrato comes from varying their pitch slightly. Attack and release for envelopes is also independent and each key has its own VCA like the Korg Lambda or the Moog Polymoog, you never get voice stealing on long sustains. Two cello voices, a viola voice and two violin voices.

The only negative I will admit to is that it's mono... if it were stereo it would rule the world, or most of the good parts. It has inputs for a volume pedal and sustain switch, these both work and the volume pedal helps with dynamics as it has no velocity.

Hear for yourself on Youtube, I'm not linking to any vids but they're easy to find. This board loves effects too... throw some phasing on it and you get stereo delight."