MATRIXSYNTH: Rhodes Chroma Expander Synthesizer


Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Rhodes Chroma Expander Synthesizer

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via this auction

"That is right. You can believe your eyes. This is a fully functional Rhodes Chroma Expander. I have never seen one for sale on eBay or anywhere else over the last few years. I would dare say that this may be one of the few chances you will ever have to own one.

This Rhodes Chroma Expander, serial #0110, has been completely painstakingly restored internally over the last 3 1/2 years at Three Wave Music. Prior to that, additional restoration work was done by David Wilson at the Synth Museum in New Hampshire. You will want to refinish the wood to bring it back to its former glory as the outside is not where you will want it to be. There are also a couple of small spots where the front panel membrane is slightly lifted but it does not interfere in any way with performance of the unit. Three Wave Music secured it and made sure it was stable.

It is interesting to watch the interest in Arp 2600s. This is literally 6 of those synths [it actually isn't - totally different architecture and implementation - see etheory's comments below]; it is polyphonic, AND PROGRAMMABLE [correct]. It eats 2600's for breakfast. This one also has an upgraded power supply, and onboard MIDI with the CC+ upgrade. if you look at the invoice, you'll see there was a multitude of work done to bring it back to spec. $1700 of restoration at Three Wave Music alone. Operational manuals for the synth and CC+ are readily available on the Rhodes Chroma website."

2 comments:

  1. The claim that this is 6 ARP 2600's is completely false and seems to just be something repeated without verification. You can look at the schematics of each in the freely available service manuals to see that the voice architectures literally have nothing in common at all with each other.

    That's certainly not to say the Rhodes Chroma isn't an amazing synth as it is, it's just a totally different beast and sound to a 2600.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! You are definitely correct. The post has been updated to reflect this.

      Delete

To reduce spam, comments for posts older than one week are not displayed until approved, usually same day. Do not insult people. For items for sale, do not ask if it is still available. Check the auction link and search for the item. Auctions are from various sellers and expire over time. Posts remain for the pics and historical purposes. This site is meant to be a daily snapshot of some of what was out there in the world of synths.

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