EMS Synthi A stolen from Synthorama

Some unfortunate news sent my way vis Swissdoc. Apparently someone has stolen an EMS Synthi from the Swiss synth museum Synthorama. You might recall the video walkthrough just posted here yesterday.

The following is via the curator of Synthorama, Martin Hollinger aka Airböurne (creator of the modular synth by the same name), on the Sequencer.de forum (translated via Google):

"Hello everyone

I finally managed to register on the forum. I'm the owner of the Synthorama and, due to a current event, I'd like to give you a brief update on the museum.

The Synthorama has been around for 25 years and serves to introduce synthesizers to a musically interested public. Almost all instruments can be played and tested here.

But you all already know that ;-)

Unfortunately, there are also people who misuse the museum. Since its inception, there have been four thefts, the fourth on August 2, 2025.

The first was about 15 years ago, when someone stole around 10 modules from one of my Moog modular systems while it was unattended and then filled the "holes" with other modules or even front panels. I didn't notice this for a long time because it wasn't that obvious.


About ten years later, all the EPROMs were stolen from an Oberheim Stretch DX. I have no idea why the guy didn't ask me if I could copy it for him; that would have been easier...

I strongly suspect it was the same perpetrator, but I didn't recognize him for sure.

After this incident, I decided to close the museum after a third theft.

A few years ago, again, the date is unclear, someone stole a module from my Sequential Pro-FX 500. I only noticed it when someone asked me if I could take a photo of the module.

Well, on August 2, 2025, someone stole my Synthi A, including the KS keyboard. If this instrument is offered on any platform, I would be grateful if you could inform the police and me.

The two devices have the following serial numbers:

EMS Synthi A SN 4235
EMS Keyboard KS SN 45098

Devices photographed by a visitor in 2004.

The two devices were in my possession for over 30 years. The Synthi A is in a dark gray case, not a black one. The stolen devices are missing the power cable, the Synthi A cover, and the connecting cable between the Synthi A and the KS.

There were six people in the museum that day. One of them pretended to be a UK resident. He constantly wore a guitar-shaped bag on his back, which I assumed actually contained a guitar. I can't prove it, but it's also possible that this empty (?) bag was intended for transporting the EMS. Perhaps the dark-skinned gentleman had performed this stunt at other venues?

If this person reads this and has no snubs, please contact me so I can remove them from the one-liner list of suspects.

For me, the loss of the instrument is not only a financial loss, but I also have to accept that it's no longer possible to run a museum on the basis of trust these days.

I invested my entire fortune in the instruments and the building and allow interested visitors to enjoy the synthesizers every first Saturday of the month. To achieve this, I organized my entire life so that I was never on vacation on those days (except for two times in 25 years).

In addition, the museum, with its low entrance fee, never came close to being profitable, and I incur several thousand francs in operating costs myself every year.

When I see that visitors exploit my passion in a criminal way, it simply makes me sad, and I realize that my idea of an open museum has failed.

Despite everything, I also don't forget that the vast majority of my guests enjoyed the museum and the instruments, showing me that I wasn't so wrong after all. Many thanks to everyone who visited and appreciated the Synthorama. It was an interesting and enjoyable time, and I met many interesting people.

For the time being, the museum will remain open during its usual hours. However, visitors must now register by email at least two days in advance, and jackets, bags, or backpacks are not allowed into the museum.

Please give me time to decide whether I will close the museum completely or whether it will continue to operate in the aforementioned format for a few more years, which I would be delighted to do.

With that in mind, I'll leave you now and thank you for reading my lines.

I wish you an interesting and melodious summer.

Martin Hollinger"