DK Synergy II+ Synthesizer with Kaypro II PC SN 01272

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"The listing is for a Digital Keyboards Synergy II+ synthesizer with Kaypro II PC in great condition! One of the first premium digital synthesizers manufactured in the US , The synth is based on Dr. Hal Alles from Bell Labs synthesizer architecture.This model is the programmable version and has the solid wood casing which only came out with the very early serial numbers. The wood was replaced by tolex to reduce cost in following years. Approx 700 total Synergy units were made of which about 300 were said to be the upgraded programmable version.It is estimated that only 100 or so units are still operational today of which about 20% are the higher end wooden case version. When the Synergy II + hit the market in the early 80s, they were going for upwards of $10K for the wooden programmable version with Kaypro PC. The DX7 came out with their FM synthesis in 83 for $2500 and changed the entire synth industry. After that DK was dumping their units for under $7K with Kaypro and eventually went under in 1985. I payed $5,450 (including shipping) for this unit 8 months ago so for a 30 year old rare synth , it is still holding it's value.

The Synergy II+ 's Kaypro II PC is in great shape as well with two functional drives and the 1980s style green light screen resolution is still very prominent. You can find Kaypro PCs for sale on eBay should you ever need a back up. The sale includes everything you see in the photos- Synergy synth, Kaypro PC and keyboard, null modem cable to RS232 port ,original operational manual for the synth( not a copy), instructions for understanding the Kaypro and the complete Synergy library.The library includes close to 500 patches. It includes the L1-L13 FDs, VCART1-VCART6 FDs and Wendy Carlos Library( WENDY 1-WENDY3 FDs). All library, diagnostic, software systems and boot disks have been backed up with multiple copies, anywhere between 4-6 sets of each. The sale also includes a 2 hour video made by the original owner who purchased this synth as a floor model in 1983. The video on DVD is well thought out as well as his written start up instructions to get a new owner going. You definitely want to review the video and documents to understand the nuances using the synth and PC software . Included are the original documents listing the names and categories of the library disks and patches/voices in alphabetical order and by instrument or sound type. Other documents include synth schematics, pin schematics if you want to make your own null modem cables and addendum released by DK.

This synthesizer is definitely not for the touring musician or quick knob turning gratification player. This synth is typically purchased as a collectors piece or a programmers synth who enjoys sound sculpting for personal pleasure or studio recording. This synth has unique architecture and very sophisticated envelope control . What makes the Synergy II+ unique even to this day is that you voice each oscillator twice for both frequency and amplitude and you have 16 different envelope points for each envelope. So you get to control how each voice changes in response to velocity. For example, you might choose to have a phase modulated envelope that rises very sharply at low velocities and dies off fast, but at high velocity(loud notes) it rises less sharply and dies off much more slowly. Or you could do the opposite with the carrier envelope scheme which means the loudness envelope of the timbre operates normally with a sharper attack the harder you press the key but a shorter decay at louder amplitudes. Since you can define two 16 point frequency envelopes for each oscillator and you are dealing with phase modulation, you can have sound going from strictly harmonic overtones to inharmonic partials and back again over time or set it up to go inharmonic to harmonic and back again. And this effect is with just two oscillators. Typical Synergy II+ patches use 3-6 oscillators so you can also detune them to get chorus effects. Another reason to set up multiple chains of oscillators for a patch is to have different sets of overtones moving in and out of harmony against one another which gives you very complex timbral effects like you would get with real instruments. Another reason to use multiple oscillators is so you can combine additive synthesis with phase modulation to create some very realistic percussive sounds like bells or chimes using subharmonics of the fundamental of a note to create that low hum that is not harmonically related to the timbre ,but present in real percussive instruments.There is a reason that Wendy Carlos still has two Synergy GDS units among her gear of only 5 remaining keyboards.

For those not familiar with the Synergy, there is a good website if you Google DIgital Keyboards Synergy Preservation Page.Also there are several YouTube videos on this unit. However, here are the basics:



74 velocity sensitive keys-ability to control amplitude and timbre and change voicing with fingertips. Velocity sensing is bi- directional. The micro processor senses not only how fast you attack the key but how quickly you release the key which can change the timbre.
Polyphony-depends on OSC selection. You could have 32 note polyphony with one oscillator per note, 16 note polyphony with two oscillators per note or 8 note polyphony using four oscillators per note. Any voice combination that adds up to 32 OSC or less.
32 digital oscillators uses sine and modified triangle waves to produce a combination of additive, FM, and phase mod synthesis.
Ability to select number/ type of oscillators and filter type per voice.
Filter A is a simple low pass filter, filter B is a group of six notes for which you define the amplitude of the OSCs to form a formant filter.
Ability to specify two complete sets of rates and break points for the envelopes in which the Synergy interpolates between the two sets.
Up to 16 stages for the amplitude and frequency envelopes with X> Y morphing depending on velocity and extensive scaling macros.
Up to 4 timbre stacking multi voice mode including a rolling mode that plays alternating voices per note. Voice stacking is limited to a total of 32 oscillator/ note combinations. So for example if you stacked 2 voices and each voice 2 oscillators, you could play up to 8 notes at once. If you stacked 3 voices and 2 voices used 3 OSC and 1 voice used 2 OSC, you could only play 4 notes at a time in this stacked configuration.You will know when your stacking configuration exceeds 32 OSC- you will hear missing notes or weird digital popping noises that will let you know polyphony has been exceeded.
Ability to split keyboard including a floating split which scans hand movement up and down the keyboard and keeps track of which voices are with which hand. Very unique for its time, even for today.Not sure of another synth that does this.
Pitch bend and vibrato joystick
Portamento quant and rate knob
Vibrato depth, rate, and delay knobs
Note transpose function
Channel assign including alternating channels(leslie effect)
4 track polyphonic/ multi timbral sequencer( up to 1750 notes) and speed knob
Program storage - up to 8 sets of 4 voices each. Voice edits can be stored on disk to create your own library.
No Arpeggiatorper se but you can program envelopes to loop to create continuous arpeggiated sounds which you can hear on some of the library patches.
Midi in , out, and through.
Two outputs(left , right channel)

So what about the feel and sound? The Synergy feels like a real keyboard instrument with full size keys and nice action. It has a Hammond organ feel to the keys. Sound wise, this sounds to my ear like something like a digital/analog hybrid dig OSCs but very analog sounding VCA/VCFs. It has also been described as sounding like a much fuller deeper version of a DX7 with a lot more resonance and envelope control. Wendy Carlos used the Synergy to do the soundtrack for Disney's Tron. It is also featured prominently on her Digital Moonscapes CD. Tangerine Dream used it for the Thief soundtrack and the Synergy appears on MJ's Thriller album. Larry Fast and Jimmi Destri of Blondie used the Synergy for live performances as did Don Fagan of Steely Dan. What I appreciate about the Synergy is that each key you trigger can sound slightly different than the prior one just like with real notes on an instrument ,unlike manyt digital synths today where each key sounds exactly the same other than pitch change. It truly does have a unique sound!

. Note that this is a fully functional system , however the Kaypro PC runs an antiquated Z80 assembly language that is similar to the old IBM DOS . It is known by design to be temperamental like the old Commodore 64s OS. Digital bits sometimes hang up in the serial buffer and other locations and give you an error message. When that happens during a patch file loading for example, you just hit " enter" again and it clears. In the rare event a bit hangs up and doesn't clear from just re- entering a command, rebooting clears it just like when the old Apples and Commodores would lock up. There are detailed instructions on how to deal with error messages and in the video .It is not a big deal but thought i would mention it. In all the time I have owned this Synergy, I have only had to to a factory restore( a simple push of one button) just one time to clear out a hanging bit that would not clear on a retry attempt. Although this is a 30 year old unit, there are still several repair centers that will handle Synergys including Davidson Electronics in NY and EPR Electronics in Florida should you ever need service. In many cases, you can just ship out the daughter/ motherboard..."