ELGAM CRAZY BAND 48 : A unicorn Groove Box unearthed

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Chapters
..................
00:00 intro
00:35 specifications
01:37 drum machine demonstration
04:49 auto accompaniment demonstration
05:15 bass section
05:55 chords sections
06:49 auto melody
07:24 jamming
08:17 disco
08:58 one finger mode and sayonara

ELGAM CRAZY BAND 48 (1978)

After looking for years we finally found an ELGAM CRAZY BAND 48 about a year ago in a former communist country with great food - hunch hunch - and, without knowing if it worked or not, went straight to making the first and last V.A.I. unboxing video ever - we plugged it in and was rewarded a full blasted of hiss so loud the neighbors dog started barking : • UNBOXING THE ELGAM CRAZY BAND 48 [posted here]

The had arrived with a thick folder of docs - the manual and even the warranty and sales receipt - but better still : the original schematics.
Fixing it was surprisingly complicated but well, now it works and this is the first ever recorded video and probably audio of the ELGAM CRAZY BAND 48.

This is the machine Elgam created to follow up on the success of the ELGAM CAROUSEL.
It's what we like to call a "unicorn" - there are very few of these around.
It's a similar type of auto-accompaniment and analog drum machine as the ELGAM CAROUSEL but with an expanded drum section and more auto accompaniment sounds : instead of the arpeggiator of its predecessor the Carousel, we're blessed with a unique Auto-Melody generator.

The name Crazy Band 48 comes from the number of drum patterns - they're 48 rhythms in total since each of the 16 rhythm push buttons has 3 selectable variations.

The rhythm patterns span 2 bars instead of the more common single bar so we're well covered rhythmically here.

The Crazy Band 48 is comprised of 5 individual sections, each with a separate volume control.
Apart from the drum section, the stand-alone keyboard controller changes the tonality and harmony of the 4 auto accompaniment voices :
Bass, Chord 1, Chord 2 and Auto Melody.

The Auto Bass delivers 2 bass lines and a Auto Vari function that switches between the two.
It has 4 different Bass sounds compared to the Elgam Carousels' single sound.

Both chords divisions have two, unique sounds each, while the Auto Melody flexes three. The Auto Melody generates 16 half-tempo arpeggio type melodies that vary depending on the rhythm pattern engaged."