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"This quirky instrument sounds incredible, and because of its non-standard keyboard it makes you play differently, and produce new chord progressions you would never achieve on guitar or piano-style keyboard. In very good cosmetic condition apart from the things arrowed in red on the pics - an unimportant music rest with a break in it, and the scrapes caused by the incredibly bad lid design - lift it up and it almost always falls down and scrapes the panel unless you take care. (Now the hinges have been reversed to avoid that happening.) The drum machine is cheesy but in a good way. Seriously hand-made and impossible to re-create today. Euro/UK power, currently with UK mains lead. Packing 24GBP."
Pics of the inside below. Note this appears to be the first Crumar Panorgan X76 to be featured on the site.
"This product has been tested and confirmed to be functional. The initial protective padding in the left panel area has not yet been removed. This is a very rare Kawai item that can be used not only as a MIDI controller by tapping the pads, but also as a ROLL or FLAM to play very unique tricks."
This appears to be the first one listed on the site.
"Synthesizers had it hard in Socialist East-Germany - Socialist Realism was for a long time the prevailing art form. An instrument that creates unreal sounds was not endorsed by the SED leadership. Only in the waning years of the GDR (or DDR as it is called in German) that changed, with the Vermona Synthesizer coming out in 1982. The first officially sanctioned modular synthesizer, the Audiotronic AMS3 featured in this video was built between 1986 and 1988 for the Electro-Acoustic Studio of the Akademie der Künste.
"1971 Contessa Branded Keio (Korg) Mini Pops 7. I have owned several of these and this one is in excellent condition (a few minor marks) and it sounds amazing. The signal is beautifully clean.
This is the UK voltage version - 220v.
It has just been fully serviced and comes with a period footswitch and a bespoke case, which has kept it in good condition all these years. I have replaced the rubber feet, as after a few decades they simply perish.
This analogue drum machine was used by Jean Michelle Jarre and Aphex Twin and has a rich and highly distinctive tone and range of patterns. It's highly versatile and can even be programmed live using the buttons (zero signal noise when you do this) and sliders (smooth as a baby's bottom).
Most of these machines survive due to the exceptional build quality but are usually scratched and bashed about. This one has very few marks on it and looks stunning. It even has the original panel for the mains cable compartment - most of which are missing. I don't think you'll find many better examples than this."
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video upload by ohm_studi_ohm
This appears to be the first one to be featured on the site.
"this is a quite rare spring reverb built by Dynacord in the late 60s.
As minimal as it can possibly be: a black box with only a socket (input/output) and a gain level. Not even a power switch !
This particular unit was fully recapped and it sounds very nice, deep but quite bright for a spring reverb. Tank is a Accutronics one and electronics is only transistor based.
The pot is not a blend pot but a gain level. As you can hear you can get the unit to overdrive quite easily.
You need to set the unit as an aux to your mixing desk or soundcard. If you plug an instrument directly you will get wet sound only. In this demo it is connected to a RME babyface as an aux, and I used a Korg Mini Pops 120 (btw for sale here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/305744488287) and a Roland SH-101 as source materials"
"classic Korg Minipops 120, the last drum machine from the Mini Pops serie.
Unit was serviced, partially recapped and calibrated. It's in fully working order.
Unit was also slightly modded: the balance knob which originally acted as a kind of EQ (boosting bass on the left side and high on the right side) is now acting as a HI Hats / Cymbal volume (like it should have IMO) so you can totally dialed off the hi hats / cymbal and it allows for more rhythmic variations, perfect for those breaks."
"The Seabro Gig Machine!
Check out the mentioned samples and songs from this video available to download here :-
/ lookmumnocomputer
Which helps the constant improvement of @THISMUSEUMISNOTOBSOLETE info here :-
https://this-museum-is-not-obsolete.com/"
"Rare as hen's teeth (possibly even rarer than that) is a near-mint EMS TKS sequencer from the 70's in its original beautiful afromosia case. This was the standalone keyboard/sequencer for the EMS Synthi and VCS3 MKII synthesizers and will get you that Pink Floyd "On the Run" sequencing sound. Even better, this one has been modified with a jack for an extremely rare Brookside Electronics trigger interface. This interface allows you to send a trigger source into the sequencer so you can sync your sequencers to MIDI or DAW. Quite a powerful add-on, and impossible to find!
History
I bought this during COVID from an acquaintance in the UK (he sold it to me in working condition - he was also selling his VCS3 MKII at the time, which I could not afford) in the hopes that I'd eventually acquire a VCS3 MKII to power it.
Condition
Since I was never able to test this out, this unit, and the accompanying Brookside sync box, are being sold in excellent physical condition, but untested, possibly non-functioning condition. I cannot guarantee that it functions, so please keep that in mind when bidding.
Accessories
Comes with connection cable for a VCS3 MKII and the Brookside Electronics sync box."
This appears to be the first one to be featured on the site. Note the listing states it is currently in non-working condition.
"This 1970s Pianotone Synthesizer Keyboard J-300B is a rare find for any vintage music enthusiast. Made in Italy, it is a unique piece of musical history that has been well-maintained and comes with a case, pedal, and cord. The keyboard is perfect for those who want to add a touch of vintage sound to their music.
The brand, Pianotone, is known for producing high-quality electronic keyboards, and this model, J-300B, is no exception. With its vintage design and sound, it is sure to inspire any musician. This keyboard is ideal for those who want to explore the world of electronic music and create unique sounds.UNTESTED. I am not an expert in this, when connected to electricity the button lights up, but the keys do not make any sounds, it may need to be connected to a speaker. The fuse may need to be replaced. There is no damage upon visual inspection. You can pick up - location : 07840, NJ"
"Made in Japan Liwaco LW-610 mini keyboard synth 80s.
Instrument de Musique Electronique!
I guess Liwaco is a French electronic gadgets/toy company, and they had comissioned Casio to do their own brand models, equal to original Casios but with different colour schemes and of course printed in French!!
This is the good old Casio VL-1 VL-TONE , only sexier (than it already is ) with the futuristic bordeaux colour and with French words spread all over :)
MINT MINT MINT!
No issues, works excellent, all OK.
Comes in original box and the users manual booklet (of course in French)"
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video upload by riffers
This appears to be the first one featured on the site.
"Presets: Flute, Horn, Trumpet, Melodia, String,
Effects: Wha Wha, Vibrato
Drum Machine: Bossa Nova, Slow Rock, Tango, Swing, Beat, Waltz
Additional features: Octave switch, Key Start drum machine, Continued or Accented accompaniment & more
Recently serviced, extensively tested and fully functioning. No burnt or damaged components, sliders cleaned. Excellent cosmetic condition considering its age. Nice patina to the metal parts and teak has aged into a gorgeous amber.
"Recently serviced, extensively tested and fully functioning. No burnt or damaged components, sliders cleaned. Excellent cosmetic condition considering its age. Nice patina to the metal parts and teak has aged into a gorgeous amber."
Fascinating bit at 1:50. Paul McGowan actually created his own synthesizer, The Infinitizer. Curious if there are any images of it out there. He almost sold one to Wendy Carlos. It gets a mention in his book 99% True: Almost a National Bestseller which you can find on Amazon here (note this is an affiliate link - see the site's privacy policy for more info).
Update: I asked Paul if he had any pics of The Infinitizer. Unfortantely he didn't, and he no longer has any of the parts, but he did send over the following additional info:
"I don’t have any photos of the Infinitizer, unfortunately. I remember a very sad day back in 1995 or so when I was cleaning out my lab and had to own up to hauling it off to the dump (it was a mere skeleton of PCBs, a keyboard, and lots of wires and didn’t work)."
"The idea was to make 10 synthesizers into one unit that was easy to use. This meant it would be the world’s first polyphonic synth, since musicians only have 10 fingers.
I designed a complete analog chain of 10 modules (the usual: VC filters, oscillators, envelope generators, amplifiers, etc.). Then, I hired an engineer out of Vandenburg Air Force Base who was a whiz at this new thing called “digital”. He designed for me a multiplexed keyboard that constantly scanned all the keys looking for ones that were pressed. The keys were all internally numbered and when pressed, the multiplexer would find an available VC oscillator and assign that number to the oscillator. Because we know the number of the key, the appropriate voltage was sent to that oscillator and it produced the appropriate frequency for that key. In order to have the entire keyboard voltage move up and down (like if you wanted to bend the notes or modulate the frequency with a LF oscillator) the master voltage (that got divided by the individual keys assigned to it) could be accessed as one might normally do through the patch bay.
I also wanted to have the keys pressure sensitive so for that, I invented the use of conductive foam under each key (and that too could manipulate the master voltage to the oscillator banks) and could be assigned to modulate any of the other modifiers too. My patch bay was a switch matrix and pots kind of like ARP used to do.
It was a very cool device which I wrote about extensively in my memoirs, 99% True."
-------
As for the first non organ based poly synth, currently that honor likely goes to one of the following depending how you define it:
1975 - Buchla 502 - six voice polyphonic with minicomputer and ability to save patches to tape drive. Development on the 500 series began in 1969.
1975 - Oberheim FVS - four voice polyphonic with Polyphonic Synthesizer Programmer. Not sure if the 502 or FVS was released first.
1977 - Yamaha - CS50/CS60/CS80 - first single enclosure polyphonic keyboard synthesizers, with the CS80 to be the first synth with poly aftertouch
1978 - Sequential Circuits - microprocessor control the SCI prophet 10 (briefly) and the P-5 --- again based on existing E-mu tech stuff
"Feedback Devices Test Equipment Noise! #synthesizer #sound #experiment
See the mentioned videos and download the mentioned song and audio! here :- https://www.patreon.com/lookmumnocomp...
Patreon is a massive enable to making videos, the larger DIY projects would be a lot more strung out without it! so i cant thank my supporters enough."
"This is the Optronics Workstation, an Australian synth made for composer Keith Humble around 1970. It could be controlled by brainwaves…
The Optronics Workstation contains an EMS VCS1 – you can see the controls in the bottom right corner. Yes, a VCS1, not the VCS3 that EMS eventually marketed. The VCS1 was the first synth made by British company EMS. Three were created, the original, known as the Don Banks Music Box, can be seen above in the last image. It was made in 1968, predating the VCS3 by 12 months and many say it was the commission from Don Banks that led to the formation of EMS, so perhaps without it, there would be no other EMS synths.
Humble’s Optronics was built by an engineer called Graham Thirkell around the VCS1. It is perhaps the world’s first electronic workstation, containing a mixer, a synth and FX, all of which are inter-patchable.
In the centre is the 'Mindreader' or 'OmniVoila'. Players attach an electrode to their temples and this device read the signals and turned it into voltage to produce sound or modulation. On the left side is a three-channel mixer for three external line inputs, plus a send for a delay. Top right is a patch panel where voltages can be routed to create sound or modulation. Above that you can see two ring modulators. It also has an in-built spring reverb.
Humble was a huge early proponent of electronic music in Australia. He founded the Electronic Music Studio at Melbourne Universities’ Grainger Centre and the music school at La Trobe University, Melbourne.
The Optronics Workstation is now in the collection of MESS, the non-profit Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio. They are fantastic people who preserve and restore vintage instruments and encourage people to come in and play with them. Humble’s Optronics still works, so if you’re in Melbourne or near there, drop them a line and go say hello.
They were going to send me some video of it in action but I think they’re too slammed. I’ve included the only audio I could find that might be the Optronics in action. It might not be, though. But it was made by Keith Humble about a year after he started working with the Optronics and given that it was his only synth at the time, I think there's a good chance the audio was made with the Optronics."
"A video from the Australian Broadcasting Company about a composer and inventor called Percy Grainger, who made electronic instruments in the 1950s that would follow a curving line to create pitch and music. He physically made the curving line out of thick sheets of card and fed them into the machine, controlling the pitch of an oscillator."
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