The Building of the VCS3 Clone

Published on Apr 30, 2016 100 Things I Do

"As promised , my ramblings about how I built my VCS3. It just happened as I was putting the VCS 3 back togeather after filming I decided to do some fine adjustment of the Amplifier part of the PCB and the hum I was a little annoyed about has now gone completely!

The following link will take you to a 9 minute inital 'full' test I did with the synth.

https://omadowin.bandcamp.com/track/v..."



See the Derek Revell label below for previous posts.

The Irish Sea

Published on Feb 27, 2016 100 Things I Do

"Home made VCS3 clone I built last year. Still needs a bit of work and a better case made for the synth but very useable as is."

Update: The internals are based on Derek Revell boards.  See the Derek Revell channel below for previous posts.

"The Phutney" Derek Revell's EMS Inspired DIY Synth

more pics and details here

"this project has required all of my skills to complete, I have been in Engineering for 42 years, and my hobby was electronics before I started my engineering apprenticeship in 1968, you will need a great deal of DIY skills to build a clone for yourself, even if you have the necessary components."

Be sure to see the rest of Derek Revell's website for more EMS resources including parts, history and more. You'll also find pages on Moog, ARP and EDP.

Update via Unknown in the comments: "A broken link here derek revell's web site was shutdown, I couldn't afford the price that my original hosts were asking, so I've transfered and updated my web site at www.phutney.com"

Derek Revell's EMS VSC3 Clone Project

Full details on Derek Revell's website. PCBs are now available if you'd like to make your own EMS Synthi A or VCS3 clone.

The bottom image here is the clone.

"I have made the clone , using the dimensions of the original VCS3 they are H 44cm x W 43cm x D 42cm.

The panels sizes are upper W 40cm x H 32cm x 2mm and the lower panel is W 40cm H 30cm x 2mm.

The VCS3 clone is complete on 16/03/2010, but needs fully calibrating, as there are some differences with the pots and internal wiring.

I was fortunate enough to obtain the almost complete circuit diagrams of the VCS3/Synthi A, unfortunately there are so many errors in the drawings, compared with the actual circuit boards, and the internal wiring of the patch panel and front panel potentiometers that I decided to completely re-draw the originals, a very time consuming task, I have also finished the track layouts of the three main PCB's."

via this electro-music.com thread

Simian Mobile Disco's synth-loaded studio

More shots on Music Radar

"With two studio albums and a slew of remixes behind them, Simian Mobile Disco (AKA James ‘Jas’ Shaw – pictured left – and James Ford) are one of the most-talked-about production duos of the past few years (Ford has also produced for Arctic Monkeys and Klaxons). Future Music recently headed over to the rented London studio that spawned 2009’s Temporary Pleasure long-player, and discovered that SMD’s reputation as synth-heads is well-deserved."

Regarding the modular:
"The Wardrobe is the name given to Jas Shaw’s most recent eBay purchase, a unique modular synth built by Steve Urquhart. “He had a gig at T in the Park Scotland and as I live in Aberdeenshire, his guys picked it up for him,” says Steve."

via http://twitter.com/nsputnik

Update via Yusynth in the comments: "This modular is mainly based on Jurguen Haible's, Steve Thomas', Graham Hinton's, Derek Revell's and Yves Usson's designs as it is stated in the Future Music article. It is nice to see artists acknowledging the contribution of the SDIY community."

Update via Seppe in the comments: "It's a very late comment, but I just discovered a better look at the studio here" [video]