EPIC SYNTHESIZER MADE IN THE USSR. FORMANTA EMS-01

video upload by Alexander Obukhov

"The combined electro-musical instrument "FORMANTA EMS-01" integrates two instruments: a polyphonic organ and a monophonic synthesizer. It is designed for performing musical compositions of any genre and obtaining various sound effects for film scoring, theatrical performances, and studio recordings.

The organ features a five-octave keyboard, six fixed sound timbres, frequency vibrato with adjustable delay, decay adjustment, and a stereo phaser (common for both the organ and the synthesizer). The vibrato delay scheme only starts with each subsequent keypress after releasing the previously pressed keys. In "legato" play, the vibrato delay scheme does not activate.

The synthesizer includes:

A three-octave keyboard.
A modulator with modulating voltage supplied to the frequency modulator (FM), width modulator (WM), filter, and amplitude modulator (amplifier).
Generator 1, generator 2 – wide-range generators with various waveform oscillations.
Mixer for summing signals from generator 1, generator 2, noise generator, external source, and ring modulator.
Filter for dynamically and statically changing the spectrum of the summed signal from the mixer output.
Amplifier to impart characteristics typical of various signal envelopes to the sound.
Clear separation of the synthesizer panel into the listed modules, their mutual arrangement, facilitate orientation when creating different timbres.

Additionally, the synthesizer can control another identical synthesizer. To achieve this, connect the control output connector of the controlling synthesizer to the control input connector of the controlled synthesizer using a connecting cable (according to the electrical schematic diagram of CONTROL INPUT and CONTROL OUTPUT connectors, see Appendix 3). Press the CONTROL - button on the controlled synthesizer (the LED should light up). In this case, the control panel of the controlled synthesizer is disconnected from its keyboard and connected to the keyboard of the controlling synthesizer. Thus, one musician has at their disposal two identical control panels with one keyboard, allowing for two fully parallel synthesis channels, greatly expanding the possibilities for creating sounds.

The instrument provides the option to connect stereo headphones. When adjusting the instrument's volume with the foot pedal from maximum to zero, the signal to the headphones remains unchanged on all instrument outputs, allowing for preliminary control of the timbre through headphones before sending the signal to power amplifiers. When the PHASER is activated in the synthesizer or organ channel on the STEREO L and STEREO R jacks, a stereo signal can be obtained. When the PHASER is disabled in both channels, the MONO mode will be implemented.

Technical specifications include power supply from an AC voltage of 220 ± 10 V, frequency of 50 Hz, power consumption not exceeding 75 V A, and operational capability within specified temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure conditions. The relative frequency drift over 4 hours of continuous operation is no more than +0.5%. The organ keyboard spans 5 octaves, and its sound range goes from F sharp (43.65 Hz) in the control octave to E in the third octave (1318 Hz). The synthesizer keyboard spans 3 octaves, and its sound range spans 9 octaves. The tuning range for both the organ and synthesizer is +6% (+0.5 tones), with a smooth detuning range of generator 2 relative to generator 1 of at least 1 octave. The frequency cutoff of the filter can be tuned in the range of 100 to 1500 Hz. The dynamic range is not less than 55 dB, and the weight does not exceed 40 kg. Engineer: Alexander Reunov, Designer: Andrey Petukhov, Produced by: KRYZ 'Formanta.'"