WERSI BASS SYNTH Rare German Vintage Analog Synthesizer SN MS 36011077

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"Starting productin in 1977, this keyboard was advertised as two instruments in one: an Electric Bass Guitar and Synthesizer, this compact light-weight instrument from German organ builders WERSI was aimed at keyboard and organ players. The purpose was to give the organist/keyboardist some Bass Guitar and Synthesizer sounds they could incorporate into their performances. It is a monophonic analog synth with funky controls, great sound and a very unique character.

The Bass Guitar sound is actually very realistic, really capturing the sound of an electric bass guitar or acoustic bass. It has an attack control called "On" that lets you adjust the initial attack to make it sound like a picked bass or a fingered bass. A "Damp" control is essentially a sustain envelope that can be used to create more of a muted bass sound.

The Synthesizer section is pretty basic, and definitely designed using organ player lingo as opposed to synth player lingo. There are five flute stops (sine wave) from 16', 8', 4', 2', to 1', two brass stops (sawtooth) at 16' and 8' and a woodwind stop (square) at 8'. Multiple octave and waveforms can be mixed together to create more complex tones. These waveform sections, as well as the Bass Guitar section, have independent volume controls to balance their relative mix.

There is even a filter section—a formant filter referred to as "Wah-Wah"—that the brass (sawtooth) and woodwind (square) waveforms can be effected by in either automatic or manually adjusted modes using the "Wah-Wah" slider. There is no frequency cutoff or resonance knobs or anything like that, just an "On" switch, direction switch ("Up/Down"), a manual switch, and a "Rotor" (auto) switch. A simple envelope section is available with attack and sustain parameters.

A unique "Glide" slider can be used to pitch shift the keyboard by an entire octave. The octave shift can also be automated up or down at variable speed. A really interesting feature is the "Hawaii" button—an intermittent switch that drops the pitch by a half-tone. It is effectively like a pitch bend but only goes down and at a quick fixed rate. A Vibrato effect is available as well, with rate and depth controls and either continuous or delayed modes.

This instrument is in amazing condition, even without considering it's age. Believe me, this is a real find. (Uh-oh, I'm starting to regret putting it up for sale. I love this little keyboard!)"