the Good, the Bad and the WELSON RITMO

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

00:00 video begins
00:30 introduction and specs
01:48 more examples of auto accompaniment sections
03:07 fast orchestral arpeggios
04:29 more orchestral arpeggios
04:49 waltz ending

"WELSON RITMO - 1980?

The successor to the Welson Band is a colorful device with great analog sounds albeit slightly minimal variety or modulation offerings.

The video probably has the information you need so please watch the whole thing - we can't provide better answers than you find in the video itself.

Let's do a basic rundown here :

The thumbnail shows you the siblings together : The Welson Ritmo and The Welson Band - both machines made by Italian instrument maker Welson.

The Ritmo offers 4 instrument sections with individual volume controls and mute buttons :

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Solton Project100 - Welson Syntex - Elka EK22 - Jen Synx508 - Crumar Composer / Ambient LFO Jam

video upload by VSMI - Vintage Synths Made in Italy

"Some of the best synthesizers Made in Italy play in Ambient LFO Jam as is
Viscount EFX1000 reverb
Montarbo REV128 delay"

Welson Syntex - 1975 Italian monophonic analog synthesizer short demo

video upload by Jake

"A short and quick made demo of the synth.
2 analog oscillators digitally controlled
Lowpass Ladder filter
1 lfo
1 EG"

WELSON BAND : Analog, Hexagonal and Spectacular

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Chapters
..................
00:00 intro
00:19 features
01:12 demonstration 1
03:01 auto accompaniment demonstration
06:41 organ mode and arrivederci

WELSON BAND (1976?)

There are quite a few cool machines we've managed to track down after searching for years, but very few have fallen into our laps.
But the Welson Band did just that.
We hadn't even heard of this stunningly beautiful machine at all when we bought it on a Google Alert whim - considering our obsession with auto accompaniment units - that's a rare first.

Acquired for next to nothing we managed to locate a PDF of its schematics - the only trace of this machine on the web - and swiftly failed to understand how one was supposed to control the harmonies of the accompaniments, meaning the bass, chords and arpeggiator.

The back does sport a connector, to hook up a potential bass pedal, accordion or controller keyboard to, but it's marked "Switch Board".
Remember, this was about 10 years before MIDI was invented so this machines for sure needed an external something to decide the key and harmonies.

We had our dear tech Andrea bash together a controller keyboard and it works and looks pretty well apart from being a bit crooked and not triggering all the time.

The video explains everything well so please read the text if you have any questions - in short the machine is fully analog, great drum sounds and the arpeggiator is to die for.

The VINTAGE AUDIO INSTITUTE ITALIA website is pretty much a catalouge of photos and descriptions of cool Italian synths and drum machines so head there : https://www.vintageaudioinstitute.com/"

Looking At Italian Synthesizers You Have NEVER Heard Of - Some only one in existence.

video upload by LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER

Follow-up to this post.

"This week We were lucky enough to spend the whole week at ‪@museodelsynthmarchigiano1717‬ Lots of videos and things to come! ‪@Hainbach‬ behind the camera!
------
i have a video on the Crumar spirit already up on patreon here :-
/ look-at-crumar-133890428
-----
if you haven't seen the link at the top to the museums youtube channel here is the website :-
https://www.museodelsynth.org/"

Also see A visit to the Marche Synth Museum

Check out the labels below for additional posts.

Welson K.O. Keyboard Orchestra String Synth SN 182584

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this Reverb listing

You can find demos and pics of the inside in previous posts here.

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Welson Super-Matic S12

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this Reverb listing

You can demos in previous posts here.

"The unit is fully working and in good cosmetical condition for its age with some cosmetical traces of use in the wood case. The only thing to report is that the on/off switch button in this unit is not working. So, to turn the drum machine on and off you simply have to unplug the drum machine! Inside the drum machine there is something that moves (a screw or something else), but - since the drum machine works well - we never decided to remove it. Real vintage gem from Italy: grab a bargain!

DESCRIPTION: The Welson Super-Matic S12 is a vintage Italian analog rhythm box drum machine with 12 preset rhythms. Produced in early 70's, it has 4 pads to trigger 4 sounds: Roll Drum, Claves, Tom 1 and Tom 2. Then it has 12 different rythms: Waltz, Tango, Western, March, Samba, Mambo, Bossa Nova, Swing, Shake, Slow Rock, Rythm and Blues and Metronome.

It has a potentiometer to control the volume and another to control the tempo.

It has 4 push buttons (pads trigger) that allow you to play 4 different types of percussions at any time (Roll drum, Clave, Tom1 and Tom2).

It has a START/STOP and an ON/OFF switch (IMPORTANT: in this unit the ON/OFF button is NOT working: so, to turn the drum machine on and off you simply have to unplug it!).

It also has a light that turns on when you turn on the Super-Matic and that flashes with the frequency of the rhythm (set by the tempo potentiometer).

It also has a tone and impedance control potentiometers in the back!

Welson was the Italian brand that produced many legendary instruments. The Company was based in Castelfidardo (Marche, Italy), in the same area where Eko, Elka, Elgam, Farfisa, Crumar, Jen, Siel, Solton, CRB, etc. were born."

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Welson Ritmo - Serviced with DIY Keyboard

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this listing

"Rare, analog auto-accompaniment machine from Italy with DIY keyboard - these don’t come up for sale often and if you’re a fan of Elgam Carousel or Elka Wilgamat you might need this.

The Welson Ritmo has 4 sections with individual volumes and minor modulation controls:

1. Analog drum machine with 12 preset rhythms

2. Bass line generator with 2 sounds and 2 bass lines per rhythm

3. Chords section with 2 independent chord sounds with volumes.

4. Arpeggiator with 1 sound with volume and decay controls and harmony.

Very good condition unit just back from service with some minor paint chips on top and a few smaller dings on the wooden sides.

The DIY keyboard is heavy duty and has a vintage feel - it was made from a vintage Gem organ keybed.

220 volt with Italian 3-prong power plug

Item ships from Italy"

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Welson Supermatic S12 Analog Drum Machine with Original Foot Pedal SN III.264

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this listing

"The Welson Supermatic S12 is a unique and rare Italian drum machine that stands out for its vintage charm and exceptional quality. This model, originating from 1972, is notable for its near-mint condition, reflecting its careful usage and maintenance over the years."

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Farfisa Syntorchestra demo and tech tips

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"i've serviced several Syntorchestra and I found out that because of the age, build quality and design limitation of the synth, owners can sometimes wonder if their unit is working and sounding how it should.
So here you have an example of a properly working unit, with its strength and weakness. These instrument are quite unique. Before I laid my hands on one I was not really convinced by the demos I heard. Sure is sounded nice but nothing to rave about. But I must admit that when you have the chance to play with one you get quite quickly drowned in its sound. There is something very unique about that instrument, nothing I can really compare it too. Especially when you play both sections together, something magical happens.
First part of the video is a quick performance using a Welson S12 drum machine and Vermona VRS23 for reverb. Second part is recorded dry from the synth with no production. I go over every sound and parameter of the synth in that section so you can compare to your unit.

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Welson Super-Matic S12 analog drum machine

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"Very nice analog preset rhythm unit from the late 60s. It features 12 patterns that can be combined and 4 manual trigger sounds (snare roll, claves, tom 1 and tom 2), very much like the Farfisa Rhythm 10.

On the back of the unit you can set the 'impedance' and the "tone" of the unit. Also a pedal input is availbale for start stop.

intro synth used is a Korg Poly 61. Drum and synth recorded through a Teisco Vocal 120 in order to add spring reverb."

via this listing

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Welson S12 Super Matic analog drum machine / Korg Mini Pops 7

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this listing

This is the first one to be pictured with the built-in stand on the site.

You can find a couple of demos of the S12 in previous posts here.

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Welson Syntex (1977) restoration

video upload by M&M

"Hello everybody my Hobby it's restore the old Combo organ and Synth.
In this video i show you the restoration and test of Welson Syntex."

Vintage Drum Synth Demos by You Are The Robots

video uploads by You Are The Robots

Arturia Keystep Pro was used to sequence those w/o built in rhythm sections. Use the player controls to skip around.

Playlist:
Sears Rhythm-Matic vintage analog drum machine with built-in speaker
SYNSONICS ELECTRONIC DRUM MODEL 5300 - A Very Rare Vintage Analog Drum Synthesizer | DEMO
POLLARD SYNDRUM 178 Vintage Analog Drum Synth Triggered By Arturia Beatstep Pro | DEMO
BOSS DR. PAD DRP-1 - Vintage Digital Drum Pad | DEMO
ROLAND CR-68 COMPURHYTHM - Vintage Analog Drum Machine | DEMO
ACE TONE RHYTHM ACE FR-1 - Vintage Analog Drum Machine | DEMO
NOMAD RHYTM MAKER 12 - Vintage Analog Drum Machine | DEMO
Vintage Analog WHIPPANY ELECTRONICS RHYTHM MASTER RM -10 Drum Machine W/ DIY Mods | DEMO
KEIO DONCA MATIC KORG MINI POPS 5 - Vintage Analog Drum Machine | DEMO
WURLITZER SWINGIN’ RHYTHM 5020 Vintage Analog Drum Machine | DEMO
WELSON SUPER-MATIC S12 Vintage Analog Italian Drum Machine 1971 | Demo
Mattel Synsonics Drums - Vintage Drum Machine
Univox SR-95 Vintage Drum Machine
Nomad Rhythm 12 - Vintage drum machine
Realistic Concertmate - Vintage Drum Machine / Metronome
Oberheim DXa (DX w/ factory midi) - Vintage drum machine
Roland CR 5000 - vintage analog drum machine
Modified Roland TR 606 - Vintage analog drum machine
Tama Techstar TAM500 - Analog Drum Synth
Rhythm Ace FR-2L With Issues - Vintage Drum Machine
Univox SR 55 - Vintage Analog Drum Machine
Whippany Rhythm Master - Vintage Analog Drum Machine
Sears Rhythm Matic R1000 - Vintage Analog Drum Machine
Simmons Digital Clap Trap - Vintage Clap Machine
Mattel Synsonics Pro - Analog Drum Machine
Univox MR8 Micro Rhythmer - Vintage Analog Drum Machine
MTI Auto-Orchestra Analog Drum Machine Bass & Strings Machine
Wurlitzer Swingin' Rhythm Analog Drum Machine
Ace Tone Rhythm Ace FR-3 - Vintage Analog Drum Machine For Sale On Ebay

rare birds: Welson Keyboard Orchestra (K.O.)

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"I've seen many string synths and this one is still one of my favourite. It's one of the happy few string synths I keep. I have one always plugged in my studio and it's actually the one I use the most (along with the Arp Omni 2). It's not the lushest, not the smoothest, not the fatest one and yet there is something I'm particularly attracted to. I like the combination of the 2 strings sounds with the harpsichord one. And on the other hand I really like the piano sound, played alone. It's my favorite of all the electronic piano sound I could hear, except for the Farfisa Professional Piano that is the best electronic piano there is (and with dynamic !).
Design is very close to the Elka Rhapsody 610 but I definetly favor the sound of the Welson. Like the Rhapsody it only embeds a double chorus, and that explain why the sound is not as lush as other stringer that uses triple chorus (most of them). Still they sound very nice IMO."

via this listing

"Quite rare italian polyphonic keyboard with 4 sounds: cello, violin, piano and harpsichord.

Very simple design and yet very nice sounding. Check the demo I made.

You can mute evey section with its dedicated switch and you have control over individual volumes, as well as "sustain" for the string presets and "decay" for the keyboard presets.

Inside there is of course a BBD based chorus, using classic TCA350Y chipsets, like many famous string synth: Eminent Solina, Logan/Hohner String Melody, Elka Rhapsody etc

Like on the Elka Rhapsody it's only a double chorus, not a triple one, so string sound is not as lush as on the Solina or Logan. But these strings sounds very nice, better IMO then the Elka.

There are also seperate outputs for both sections. And furthermore the instrument is quite compact and leightweight (13.5 kilos) for a string synth, which makes a great live performer."

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Welson KO (Keyboard Orchestra) String Synthesizer

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

You can find a demo of one previously posted here.

"An amazing and very rare Italian string machine/keyboard from the late 1970's.

It has the ability to separately process the Violin and Viola sections from the Piano and Harpsichord sounds. I tend to put a chorus and reverb on the strings and a delay on the percussive sounds...for amazing results.

This keyboard is in excellent shape considering that it is 44 years old. I just cleaned all of the slider pots and the internal circuits. In gorgeous shape for a mid-aged instrument.

I recently replaced/repaired the slider for the string sections sustain control. I couldn't find an exact match, but did my best."

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The Welson Brothers - late '70 Welson Syntex & WelsOne 4 oscillators prototype LiveJam as is

video upload by VSMI - Vintage Synths Made in Italy

"Welson Syntex with midi retrofit by Mirco Trentin play a sequence from Step Seq on Ipad
Free play on WelsOne 4 oscillators prototype (it's like 2 Syntex with more feutures)
Linn Drum sample on Ipad
Montarbo DRev 128"

Welson Syntex SN 152776

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

video posted here

"This is a favorite - of all the Italian mono synths we got in the studio it stands out as a extremely versatile and powerful instrument with some really cool features.
It sports dual oscillators with 4 footages each, Moog ladder filter as well as white and pink noise. Watch the video of this very unit in action.
The Random Music button triggers random notes but can also be routed to control the LFO of the noise and filter sections to create rhythmic, drum-like patterns - here that snappy filter comes to good use.

The LFO triggering is stable so dialing in the tempo to an existing track is a breeze

This was serviced a few years back and still works great."

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rare birds: Welson Ritmo / analog drum and accompaniment unit

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

Also see this one from 2022 with a smaller keyboard controller.

"The Welson Ritmo was a accompaniment unit intended as an add-on to some of Welson's organ line. It consists of a rhythm unit, a bass section, a chord section and an arpeggiato section. All sounds are of course fully analog. It is very similar in features and sound to the Elka Wilgamat, Böhm Böhmat and Wersi Wersimatic CX1. They are actually built around the same chipset family (SGS M2xx), but the Ritmo cannot be programmed.

It was never intended as a standalone unit so I built a custom keyboard to make it so.

Unit is very easy and straightforward to use with some nice features: for instance you can play it in "free chord" or 'one finger chord'. In the first mode you need to make a 3 notes chord to trigger the arp sound. With one or 2 notes you only trigger the bass and chord sounds, this make for some nice performance variations. The bass section can be set to 'walking bass', and in this mode you also need 3 notes to trigger the melody.

In 'one finger chord' you play a major chord with one key. There is a pedal input on the back to make the chords minors. I also added a switch on the keyboard to alternate between major and minor chords when playing in the "one finger chord" mode.

Other nice features are "keystart" (obvious functionnality) and 'memory' which holds the played notes (and rhythm). And like almost all the preset rhythm units you can combine different rhythms together."

Pics via SALES.OHMSTUDIOHM@GMX.FR

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LFO Random Domain LiveJam - Welson Syntex/WelsOne/Jen SX1000/Jen SX2000

video upload by VSMI - Vintage Synths Made in Italy

"3 LFO oscillators and 1 random knob for Italian Synthesizers:
Welson Syntex (1974)
WelsOne (4 oscillators prototype late 70')
Jen SX1000 Synthetone (1977)
Jen SX2000 Synthetone (1978)" https://vsmi.bandcamp.com