EMS Synthi AKS analogue modular synthesizer jam / demo (dank techno vibes on an original 70's AKS)

video upload by ako

"My first jams with the original 70's EMS Synthi AKS modular synth at work at the Keele University music production studios, or rather 13mins of the best bits edited from footage of my first couple of hours jamming with this monster. After the 'satanic dub siren' patch I made, I noticed the keyboard pitch control used the same points on the patch matrix as the external audio inputs, this gave me the idea to see if it would track the pitch / follow external audio. I tested this with a Yamaha MU15 and then by sending some drums into the audio inputs from Ableton Live. I really like heavily processed percussion and I ended up jamming with this idea for an hour or so with various different drum patterns (which makes up most of this video). It (unsurprisingly) worked very well with techno / gabber-esque kick and cymbal patterns. Although the kicks were actually low toms as toms seem to work the best for tiggering the oscillators (presumably because the toms have more pitched content). It also seems to mix the input audio with the synth audio (as you can clearly hear the audio of the original cymbals at various points). This all makes me wonder how the built in keyboard works, does it generate audio frequencies? Also I noticed you can fire external audio in and still use the keyboard and both will simultaneously control the oscillators. I must admit I don’t know a ton about this synth (and I couldn't really figure out the envelope generator, it seems to loop and retrigger itself – any info on synth is welcome!) but it sounds insane! Hope you folks enjoy"