"This was found in a storage unit it is untested but appears in good condition. Very rare and hard to find. Bid knowing that this is untested and may need repairs. Very hard to find get it while you can! Starting the bid at $500 unsure of a good starting point for this. Hopefully that’s not too crazy!"
"Made in the late 70's, this company Mediamix made these awesome joystick controllers that could be interfaced with Moogs, ARPs and Oberheim synthesizers. This one had been used with an Oberheim TVS-1 Two Voice Synthesizer. The controller is in excellent physical condition, but is untested and sold as-is. Obviously from the circular connector, it would take some modifications to the synthesizer to interface this, it's not plug and play."
"The SynthAxe is a fretted, guitar-like MIDI controller, created by Bill Aitken, Mike Dixon, and Tony Sedivy and manufactured in England in 1985. It is a musical instrument that uses electronic synthesizers to produce sound and is controlled through the use of an arm resembling the neck of a guitar in form and in use. Its name comes from the words synthesizer and axe, a slang term meaning a guitar in rock music. The system was developed as a joint venture funded by Richard Branson's Virgin Group.
The SynthAxe itself has no internal sound source; it is purely a controller and needs synthesizers to produce sound.[1] The neck of the instrument is angled upwards from the body, and there are two independent sets of strings.
The fretboard is continuously scanned and sends signals to synthesizers which produce the sound. The left set determine the pitch played, through contact with the frets on the neck and by sensing the side-to-side bending of the string. The right set of strings are velocity sensitive; these strings can be plucked, strummed or damped in the same manner as a guitar. A keyboard made up of nine keys can also be used to trigger notes instead of the strings.[2] Design of the key toggles was done by the late David Fowler, at the time trading under BJ Hopkins Injection and toolmaking, in Littleworth, Oxford.
An electronic tremolo bar (the 'electronic wang arm') can be used for standard whammy bar effects, or can be redefined to produce different MIDI output such as filter cutoffs or volume.[3]
When originally produced, the SynthAxe was priced at £10,000[4][5] (approximately $13,000) and eventually sold for about £6,000. The instrument was built from aerospace and military grade hardware, and was such a sophisticated and expensive piece of machinery that few were sold, making it difficult to keep the company afloat. In or around 1986, Virgin Games took over the distribution but let it go after a couple of years.
Fewer than 100 SynthAxes were made,[6] and it is difficult to locate used units. Most musicians who desire a MIDI guitar controller often use other alternatives, such as Roland or Axon systems that can convert a guitar's output to MIDI via 13-pin cables and outboard devices or older systems such as the Roland GR-500."
"At Herscheid & the Headbangers: Super rare Keio Donca Matic Universal Drum Machine in fair condition.
Fair condition because some functionalities are not reliable like the start/stop button. (Unit is always on basically). When using it I would just flip the sound/silence switch.
Sign button responsible for the metronome and cue will engage about 80% of the time. I doubt that many musician today will be using that feature but still prefer to mention it.
There's also a clock / clicking sound when volume is past 60% - 70% so it would benefit further amplifying before next stage or unit
EQ in perfect working order
The magic solo feature is fully working
All potentiometers are turning smoothly without scratchy noises
Both high and low impedance outputs are functional. I couldn't test the (very) old speaker connector
Tempo knob and Tempo Matic / Common functionalities perfectly working
Every program / style is working, same for every instrument + their respective on/off switch
FOX SWING section super fun to use! In good working order. The normal/quick button is working but seems to be reversed. Swing / normal working and properly set.
ADLIB MANUAL: Nice feature but will not necessary replicate the notes shown (It's basically depending on if other settings are engage or no. I don't think it was designed like this, just the old age of some components most likely responsible for this behavior)"
"I had no idea what to expect when I got this vintage drum machine from Istanbul. It looks like a classic Elka Drummer One style preset rhythm box, but there was no 'Tango' or 'Slow Rock' on here. Instead, the patterns are marked by timings, 9/8, 7/8, 5/4. I was fascinated but needed a lot more input, so I kicked of a little investigation into traditional Anatolian dance music, the history of the machine itself and the musicians that used it.
00:00 Intro and translating
01:58 Turning it on
03:53 Making a track
05:39 A look inside
06:36 Anatolian Music Primer
10:31 Who made it and who played it?
"rare machine, made to store, read, and transfer midi data files. and also can play them back via it's midi output to other devices, or via it's own sound engine.
it's also made to work with general midi, and it has a general midi playback sound engine inside, which is fully configurable, tracks can be muted, instruments selected, etc. it even has audio effects per track.
nice for a journey into general midi research, and old video games soundtracking. or as a midi sequences orchestrating playback device.
it has floppy emulator installed instead of a floppy disk drive, which makes it way easier to operate, and midi files can be easily transferred from a computer.
comes with original box, original manual and original power supply.
"Today we look at the Talking Typewriter by Petite, circa 1981. What does it do? How does it sound? And what's rattling around inside...? Let's find out!
Chapters:
0:00 What's rattling?
0:12 Titles
0:20 Leaking batteries
1:01 Cleaning the battery terminals
3:52 New batteries
4:55 Power on!
6:00 It speaks the letters
7:42 I try to spell some words
12:52 It speaks the numbers
14:19 Some revelations
15:33 I attempt to open it up
17:13 It keeps its secrets for today
18:29 Outro
18:52 Ivy's Corner"
This appears to be the first post to feature the Pearl Pk-701.
"Extremely rare synth by Pearl, produced in very limited numbers with very little documentation available online.
It resembles an Italian-style string machine with piano, string, and brass sounds, featuring a beautiful chorus and vibrato. In reality, it’s a true 8-voice polyphonic synthesizer with an absolutely beautiful sound.
Cosmetically is in great condition, unfortunately, there are no schematics available, and I haven’t been able to tune the individual voices. Each voice has 4 potentiometers, but without documentation, it’s difficult to tune everything properly.
All the voice boards work perfectly, although the slot for board 2 doesn’t output piano sounds on the assigned note."
"Aries Music 1978 Catalog. Aries Modular synthesizer information across a 12 page catalog (cover to cover). Cool pics of 4 Aries modular systems and pics/specifications of the modules. Also Extra separate 6 sheets (double sided) on Aries synthesizer module kits. Good condition, however minor scuff, slight corner crinkle, has punch holes, no missing pages, intact, no writing, no highlights, no stains. Awesome vintage analog synthesizer literature for the studio library. Time keeps on slipping into the future."
This looks more like an amp than a mixer. The built-in rhythm machine gets the post. This would be a fun item to show off in the studio. "Check out my new amp", then flick on the rhythm section, or route a sequence running on your other gear through it with the volume down, then say "I wonder what's on the radio", mute your main mixer and switch over to the Optonica, "Oh it's me!"
"The MX-1000 is an extremely rare product, it is a mixer, an analog reverb unit & a pre-programmed rhyrhm machine.
Warm-sounding reverb, deep sinking echoes, and saturation sounds unique to analog mixers. Rhythm machine sound like Roland CR-78. You can listen to these wonderful sounds on youtube.
Features : Inputs - 2ch Microphone - Phono - Aux Reverb / Echo effects Pre-programmed rhythm machine (Waltz, Rock, Cha Cha, Latin, Ballad, Mambo, Foxtrot & Waltz Rock)"
This is the first post to feature the MX-1000. Curios what the rhythm circuits are based on.
This appears to be the first post to feature DIGIAC.
"This was originally a logic trainer for education but I re-purposed it as a logic source to experiment with hybrid analog/digital modular music synthesizers. I'm selling it because I no longer have a modular synth to use it with. It has been rebuilt with all new electrolytic capacitors, I/O switches and blue LEDs. Included is an assortment of multicolor patch cables that I made up with silicone jacketed wire and gold plated 2.5mm banana plugs. Mounted in a wooden enclosure it is self contained with a built-in power supply & clock generator. Size is 19"W X 17.5 "H so it fits nicely in a 19" rack 10U space. I setup a demo video of a dual decade up counter.
Logic modules included:16x JK flip flops, numeric keypad, multiple AND/NAND/OR/NOR/XOR gates, full adder, D/A converter, 1k bit addressable memory, comparator, one shot multivibrator, schmitt triggered buffer, 60Hz clock, dual seven segment decimal display, other miscellaneous functions including four I/O switches and a patchable 16 pin IC socket (nice if you want to add an additional IC or an interface cable).
Cosmetic condition: Fair to good with some scratches on the panel and damage to the wooden enclosure (see pictures).
Power source: 120VAC Logic family: 7400 series 5V TTL"
Pictured are a few interesting items for sale from Mike Berman. You can find them here.
I asked him if it would be OK to capture the pictures here as I've never seen the "matrix pump" before. He gave me the all clear. Note this is the first post to feature one. This is a rare piece of synth history.
All Mike knows about it follows: "For me, the nature of the Matrix pump and its affiliation with EML is pure speculation. I always assumed it to be, at best, an unfinished one-off. If you magnify the photo you can read the labels on the controls and they are intriguing. The multi-pin socket on the left side of the MP accepts the same plug that EML sequencers use. That section is labeled 'Synto Interface'. I experimented with various patches and found some functionality in a few of the controls but I don't recall specifics beyond that. "
Below that you can see The Tim Smith box featuring the following section: Explonental Amp, Noise Generator, Lag Processor, and ENV/Gate Generator. I asked Mike is Tim Smith the same Tim Smith that was the Western Regional Tech Rep for Sequential Circuits , Arp, Moog and also contributed to the famous Vintage Synthesizers book and articles in Keyboard Magazine. He's not sure but believes it is.
Further below you'll find the MODEL EML-200, MANUAL CONTROLLER EML-300, multi-pin cables, EML 400 : EML 401, EML 500, EML POLY-BOX, X-Y CONTROLLER
"This is the first video in a new series exploring the University of Iowa’s Electronic Music Studio. In addition to presenting its historic instruments (including a 1968 Moog IIIP with custom-made modules), and the famous musicians who have used them, these videos will extrapolate ideas to use in your own modular systems. This episode examines a unique random sequencer that was developed in 1974 by Paul Dingman, an electrical engineering student at Iowa. It then shows how it might be recreated using the third lane ('time') on Make Noise’s 0-Ctrl. NOTE: several other Eurorack sequencers also have this feature, as indeed does the Moog’s own 960 sequential controller; alternatively, use an LFO to clock any sequencer and patch the sequencer’s second lane/channel (if it has one) back into that LFO’s frequency input.
0:00 University of Iowa's Electronic Music Studio
0:42 Introducing Dingman's Probability Controller
1:58 Demonstrating the Probability Controller
3:50 Recreating the Probability Controller in Eurorack
My new album:
CREDITS
Thanks to Paul Dingman for answering my questions over Zoom.
Film sequences:
'Atom Smashers' (Encyclopaedia Britannica Films in collaboration with the Division of the Physical Sciences and the Institute of Nuclear Studies at the University of Chicago, 1952)
'The Meaning of Time In Science' (Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, d. Kent Smith, 1973); both archive.org
Music: Peter Tod Lewis, 'Gestes II' (1974), from the Mnemothèque Internationale des Arts Electroacoustiques (University of North Texas Music Library). Program notes for an EMS concert on April 13, 1979, described “Gestes II” as “the generation of musical gestures through coordinated operation of sequential controllers programmed to produce a large but finite collection of voltages, controlling variously oscillators, amplifiers, and filters” (University of Iowa Music Library)."
"Ultrarare presents another super rare device drum module - Lel MIDIDRUM. In MIDI format all knobs of the device do not work, volume commands are transmitted in the note mode. Thus, the only regulator is the volume knob in the lower right corner. The simplicity of the plugin is compensated by the uniqueness of the source. To date, no other working preserved copy is known. Also included in the delivery set will be 34 unique drum parts of Lel in midi format, the name of which is written on the device."
This appears to be the first one to be featured on the site.
"Now this right here is some real vintage, one-of-a-kind, gear! Literally!
Produced in the 60's, these quirky little synths came as DIY builders kits, making each one slightly different in its own way. This one we got here is a great example of one built by someone who cared. Simple controls with a nice variety of sounds and voicings to make and play with to your heart's monophonic content!
While showing some signs of its age, this thing is still kicking and ready to be played!"
This appears to be the first one to be featured on the site.
"At Herscheid & the Headbangers: Super rare Keio Donca Matic Universal Drum Machine in fair condition.
"rare machine, made to store, read, and transfer midi data files. and also can play them back via it's midi output to other devices, or via it's own sound engine.
This looks more like an amp than a mixer. The built-in rhythm machine gets the post. This would be a fun item to show off in the studio. "Check out my new amp", then flick on the rhythm section, or route a sequence running on your other gear through it with the volume down, then say "I wonder what's on the radio", mute your main mixer and switch over to the Optonica, "Oh it's me!"
"This was originally a logic trainer for education but I re-purposed it as a logic source to experiment with hybrid analog/digital modular music synthesizers. I'm selling it because I no longer have a modular synth to use it with. It has been rebuilt with all new electrolytic capacitors, I/O switches and blue LEDs. Included is an assortment of multicolor patch cables that I made up with silicone jacketed wire and gold plated 2.5mm banana plugs. Mounted in a wooden enclosure it is self contained with a built-in power supply & clock generator. Size is 19"W X 17.5 "H so it fits nicely in a 19" rack 10U space. I setup a demo video of a dual decade up counter.
This appears to be the first one to be featured on the site. You can find additonal NDK creations in previous posts here.
I asked him if it would be OK to capture the pictures here as I've never seen the "matrix pump" before. He gave me the all clear. Note this is the first post to feature one. This is a rare piece of synth history.
