Rare Kurzweil VA1 Demo

Kurzweil VA1 Quick Demo 1 by WeiserSound

Demo of the suepr rare Kurzweil VA1 that enver made it into production. Apparently the engine made it's way into the PC3X.

"I finally dusted off my VA1 and banged out a very quick/dirty demo with 9 tracks, one take each, no quantization, plus a cheesy drum track. The display closeup shows choices for oscillators, filters, "deform" (an extra block of shapers and distortions), "processors" (sub oscillators, ring mod, etc in the Osc section), modulation sources and FX (not implemented).

There's a tiny bit of reverb con everything, and a small amount of Laserverb on two of the leads, both coming from a KSP8. Most of the better DSP items survived and now live inside of the current Kurz boards like PC4, Forte and SP6. Note - many of the DSP items were experimental or iterations, never meant to see the light of day.

This is one of ten prototype units that were made, and one of the few that had the cooler paint job.

For music choice, I went with The Traitor, from Herbie Hancock's Manchild album, an old fav!"

You can find a handful of posts featuring the Kurzweil VA1 here.

Quasimidi Quasar Werks Factory Demos 1/2 - Rare Red & Blue Quasimidi Quasars

Aulikuorium

I don't beleive I've seen blue and red models of the Quasimidi Quasar before. Anyone know how many of these were made?

Quasimidi Quasar Werks Factory Demo 2/2


Jeam-Michel Jarre style demo.

Pic for the archives in case the videos ever get pulled.

THADDEUS CAHILL: A Preliminary Paper From the Creator of the Telharmonium

An amazing bit of electronic history just in today via Justin Maxwell @303

" Merry xmas, synth nerds. Here's a never-published 1934 bio of the inventor of the 1st electronic musical instrument, Thaddeus Cahill by his brother. I've been meaning to digitize this for 20 years.

https://code404.com/cahill [you don't need to sign in - give it a second to load]

@cdmblogs @matrixsynth @catsynth @mu_zines @BoingBoing"

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For those not familiar with Thaddeus Cahill and the Telharmonium, via Wikipedia:

"Thaddeus Cahill (June 18, 1867 – April 12, 1934) was a prominent inventor of the early 20th century. He is widely credited with the invention of the first electromechanical musical instrument, which he dubbed the telharmonium."

Also see: Electronic_musical_instrument#Early_examples, and http://120years.net.

See the Telharmonium below for related posts.

Vol. 1​(​a​)​: Campfire Orb by Witch on Horseback Vintage Vinyl Featuring Trumansburg, NY Moog Employees

According to this post on Boing Boing, this is a narration featuring early Moog employees from Trumansburg, NY.

"John discusses a particularly bizarre vinyl recording he happened upon during the local library sale, created by a man named Dr. Noving Jumand in collaboration with some early Moog employees from nearby Trumansburg, NY:

Jumand was something of an Ithaca legend back when I first moved here in the nineties, though he's mostly forgotten now. He'd come to town for a Cornell PhD in psychology, and was teaching as a lecturer, when he got approval for a controversial study involving the effect of narrative on human behavior. A few of his subjects—students, getting paid five dollars an hour—ended up hospitalized, and one was (and perhaps still is) committed to a mental institution. This created all kinds of paranoid rumors about Jumand's narratives—that they were in some way magical, or had been funded by the defense department—but it turned out that he'd given half of these students an experimental drug cocktail, derived from Phencyclidine, and this is what sent them on their dangerously dissociative journeys.

An investigation followed, during which it was revealed the the subjects knew they might be drugged and had signed release forms saying so; and the ones who were hospitalized already had histories of mental illness and drug addiction that could explain their reaction. As a result, no criminal charges were brought against Jumand—but the University cancelled his research and kicked him off campus.

[…]

One extant artifact of his brief period of notoriety is a series of rare recordings of his narratives, made in collaboration with some former Moog employees he met at a swap meet in Trumansburg."

The One of a Kind EMS Synthi KB1

EMS Synthi KB1 by Digitana from portabellabz on Vimeo.

"Wish a nice background music from the Synthi KB1 will come ;)
Thanks for sharing, Steve !
synthi.co.uk/"

This image was spotted and sent my way via @deejayiwan. I've seen it before so I did a quick search on the site, but only found this previous post. A little digging on the web and I found the video above and a post on none other than x0xb0x creator, Adafruit's blog. According to that post:

"ask.audio blogs about the 2017 recovery of a rare, one-of-a-kind EMS Synthi KB1 synthesizer, a model that never made it into production. This one was made for the band YES in 1971. Digitana Electronics obtained the synth and was looking to document some music history.

'We are pleased to announce that Digitana Electronics has acquired an important piece of E.M.S. history…the E.M.S. Synthi KB1 keyboard. Only one prototype was ever made, for the band YES in 1971.

'The synth never went into production. It has remained essentially unused for 46 years though Steve Howe (YES guitarist) did use it on a track in the first of his ‘homebrew’ demo recordings, some of which featured on the bands albums. We plan to release more photos and audio demos of this keyboard in the future so that E.M.S. fans everywhere can finally hear and find out more about this beautiful and historic instrument.'”

The Processor: Analog Music Synthesizer From 1976

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

Vintage DIY spotted on RRAuctions

"'The Processor'—a hand-built mid-1970s prototype music synthesizer

Impressive analog music synthesizer prototype named 'The Processor,' one of two examples designed and built circa 1975 by electrical engineers Dennis Drew and Thomas Sawyer. The huge unit measures approximately 41″ x 32″ x 19″, and was built to transform the sound of one musical instrument into that of another in real time. The Processor performs its signal transformations by sending audio through a series of discrete devices pre-wired to perform dedicated signal modifications with musical intent. Unlike a conventional synthesizer which uses oscillators, white noise generators and other devices to produce new sounds (which can then be modified with filters, envelope shaping, etc.), the Processor creates no actual sounds on its own. The Processor is a 'pass-through' system that transforms, augments, modifies and converts musical signals into other sounds, in real time, using pure analog circuitry. Some results resemble other musical instruments, whereas other sounds are completely unique.

It is important to note that the Processor is a 'closed loop' system. This is entirely analog circuitry, there are no digital transformations or computerized functions. By routing a signal through a mixer, dynamic limiters, phase-shifting modules, delay lines, and 'signal seeking' filters, the Processor 'extracts' hidden tonal components and adds them selectively to the original sound, or it produces entirely new sounds depending on the requirements. It works particularly well for instruments with wide dynamic ranges, long sustains and/or continuous signal characteristics. Harmonically rich instruments such as piano or organ, acoustic guitar and most stringed instruments capable of both long tones and percussive effects work especially well. It includes a control console that has meters to indicate dynamic response and signal levels, and a joystick to make adjustments. It is currently partially operational: those modules that are physically powered are active, but six missing FLT cables prevent the whole system from operating. This piece will be crated and shipped from New York; the buyer is responsible for all associated costs."

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Synth Rorschach #73: GEM SPA

Spotted this one on Seth Elgart's Twitter feed, @selgart:

"*heavy sigh* Been going there for probably more than 45 years, since the 1970s. The best egg creams. Period. #gemspa"

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So... This one is pretty nuts. I was curious when the black & white image was taken so I zoomed in and started looked for cues. If you look carefully you will see the synth connection. If you give up see this post for a tip.

P.S. I don't want to give too much away. If you get stuck leave a comment and I'll give you one hint. And if you do get this one, please don't give it directly away in the comments. Just say you got it.

There is a cool reference to synth history here.

1970's Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 Synth Brochure w/ Original Mailer Envelope

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

via this auction

Original Sequential Circuits branded envelope pictured below.

"This listing is for a Vintage late 1970's Brochure, Mailer or Pamphlet from Sequential Circuits. The mailer is post marked Aug, 10th 1979.

The mailer or pamphlet comes as pictured and also included an original price list. The mailed has been three holes punches to file in a three ring binder. This is a cool item for Synthesizer collectors."

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Museo del Synth Marchigiano

Trailer del canale Youtube del Museo del Synth Marchigiano e Italiano

Published on Apr 22, 2020 Museo del Synth Marchigiano

Don't miss the video below from some rare vintage synth spotting. Amazing...

"Siamo lieti di presentare il canale youtube del Museo del Synth Marchigiano e Italiano

Parleremo della storia degli strumenti elettronici italiani, di tecnologia, restauro e conservazione, dei musicisti che hanno usato i nostri strumenti, della storia del distretto produttivo e dei suoi protagonisti
Vi mostreremo gli strumenti più rari e le loro sonorità.
Presenteremo le attuali aziende italiane e i loro sintetizzatori, ci saranno interviste, dibattiti e chiacchierate con gli esperti e con chi fa crescere il museo ogni giorno

We are excited to launch the Italian Synth Museum Youtube channel

We will talk about the history of Italian electronic instruments, about technology, restoration and preservation, about famous performers who played these instruments, about the history of the manufacturing district and its main actors.
We will showcase the rarest instruments and play them, spotlight today's Italian companies and their synthesizers, host interviews, debates and chats
with the experts and with those who work daily to make the museum grow"

Museo Del Synth Marchigiano 2019 - Virtual Tour

Published on Apr 30, 2020 Museo del Synth Marchigiano

"Una visita virtuale tra le sale dell'esposizione temporanea del 2019, il museo non ha una sede fissa, ma sviluppa ogni anno esposizioni tematiche.
A virtual tour of the temporary exhibition from 2019, the museum has no permanent location but it spins temporary exhibitions on specific topics."

Vintage CRUMAR 2003 organ / synthesizer / string / brass ensemble

Never seen one of these before. This is the first one featured on the site.

Playlist:

1. CRUMAR 2003 organ / synthesizer / string / brass ensemble: first startup in years

The Crumar 2003 is a very rare instrument which combines the best Crumar had to offer in the late 1970's. It includes one of the best solid state drawbar organs, a monophonic 1 VCO synth, a brass / piano / string section and the Nerve Centre 15 accompanyment section which produces lot's of spacy stuff. The brass / piano / string combination was also offered in standalone instruments like the Orchestrator and Multiman. Strangely enough these are traded for a lot more money then this combined instrument but then again: It weighs a ton and takes up a lot of real estate. This one is a bit of an old banger but I simply cannot bring myself to getting rid of it. It's simply too rare. For more info on my creative adventures visit www.brassee.com. Have fun!

2. CRUMAR 2003: some general maintenance and startup tips for old organs / synthesizers / keyboards

This is the second video about my rare Crumar 2003 organ. It shows the electronics inside and contains a few general tips about starting up old electronic instruments after years of neglect.

3. CRUMAR 2003 organ/ synthesizer / brass / string ensemble video 3

Here's the 3rd video about my old Crumar 2003. It's similar to the startup video but a bit more compact and made with th asssitence of a camera(wo)man. It's just as unproffesional in about every other aspect though but real vintage synthesizer and keyboard fans might still like it. For more about my creative adventures visit: www.brassee.com

1990 KAWAI Television advertisement made in Chile ?

Published on Apr 22, 2020 Nacho Marty Meyer

A Chilean synth ad. I think this is a first for the site. Looks like the TV commercial is from Audiomusica.

The end reads:

AUDIOMUSICA

Líder en technolgia musical

Ahora también en FISA 90

visitants en el Pabellon 6

Which translates to:

AUDIOMUSIC

Leader in music technology

Now also in FISA 90

Visitors in Hall 6

Vintage Mystery Synth

Anyone know what this is? It was recently spotted by Florian Anwander who had the following to say:

"This device was used while a live stream from a Hamburg Club streaming event. We had the impression, that it made 808 like drumsounds, but we are not sure. I tried to turn and unskew the picture to make the writing readable, but
the success is mediocre. It might read Mma 090. It looks like the grey rectangle is a speaker (there is a second under the moog FX). Can anyone identify what it is?"

The style reminds me of Boehm or Bohm, but I couldn't find it in the archives. If you know what it is let us know!

Update via Florian in the comments:

"Richard von der Schulenburg, who used it while this event, kindly answered my request. It is a 'PENTA Stereo keyboar' by the brand GERLAND. I found as a single hit on google this picture.

I've never heard about it, neither the brand nor the instrument. If I search for the brand name, then I find typical home organs."



GARLAND is an organ brand. Note the button style is the same as the PENTA.

Roland Keyboards Vol 1 - Product Sheet Brochure Catalog

Additional scans in via Corey. This one features the Roland Keyboards Vol 1. This one is the motherload. Click here for additional brochures in via Corey. You can find hi-res copies here including a PDF for this one.

Featured:

MC-4 MicroComposer
System-100m
Jupiter-8
Jupiter-4
Promars
SH-2
SH-09
VP-330
Juno-6
MP-600 Combo Piano
Piano Plus 11 EP-11
EP-09 Electronic Piano
Piano Plus 70 HP-70 & 60 HP-60
RS-09 Organ Strings
SA-09 Saturn
VK-09 Electronic Organ
CSQ-600 Sequencer
CSQ-100 Sequencer
Cube-60 CK-60, 40 CK-40, & SST-120 Keyboard Amplifiers
TR-808
TR-606
TB-303
DR-55
CR-8000
CR-5000
CR-78
CR-68
Roland Rack Series
SPA-240 Stereo Power Amplifier
SPA-120 Stereo Power Amplifier
SBF-325 Stereo Flanger
SDD-320 Dimension D
SVC-350 Vocoder
SPV-355 P/V Synthesizer
SPH-323 Phase Shifter
SEQ-315 Graphic Equalizer
SEQ-331 Graphic Equalizer
SMX-880 Line Mixer
SDE-2000 Digita Delay
Guitar Amplifier JC Series
Mixing Amplifiers & Boss Mixers PA & KM Series
Echo Chambers
SRE-555 Chorus Echo
RE-150 Echo Chamber
RE-501 Echo Chamber
RE-201 Echo Chamber
DM-300 Delay Machine
DM-100 Delay Machine
RX-100 Reverb ADD
Keyboard Volume Pedal FV-200
MS-100 Monitor Speaker
Stands & Accessories
World Distributors

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Cadans C12 - S12 - 12 voices - Soviet Union - "RARE" Synthesizer (TOM -1503) SN 150

Published on Apr 8, 2020 Gargula Tron

This one is in via GT. Some pics below. The Cadans C12 - S12 is a 12 voice vintage soviet synth. This one was restored by the original soviet union engineers, Sergey Kononov and Gennadiy Terekhov, pictured below. You can find additional posts featuring the Cadans 12 here. This is the first post to feature pics of the creators.

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Every Picnic needs a Synthi

Published on Apr 6, 2020 wutierson

"It was a special meeting, on September 2016, at Sonorámica Studio, somewhere in Mina Clavero/Traslasierra (Córdoba, Argentina), which included events along four days: courses on sound synthesis, production with electronic technology and live performances by Ernesto Romeo, Toni Gutiérrez and Sebastián Cirillo.
There were several classic and contemporary synthesizers, modular systems, sequencers and more, so on 10th September, at sunset and under the inspiring landscape of the mountains, the idea came out: since there were two EMS Synthi AKS units and one EMS VCS3 in the setup, the recreation of the magical scene was unavoidable. All of this happened, of course, off schedule. The composition was improvised at that moment with no previous rehearsal and taking as inspiration the magical essence of the environment, the wild and welcoming nature, the energy of the area, well-known for its frequent "sightings"… The EMS brought its organic sound and its futuristic and science fiction spirit and aesthetics to represent that moment perfectly. It was recorded live without any further additions. The sounds and melodies emerged from the top of the mountain, radiating their power to the valley, while the last sunbeams lightened the earth.
Unique and very special experience that was possible thanks to the love and passion of everyone who attended the meeting. This video and this theme remain as a memory of such a moment.

Ernesto Romeo : EMS Synthi AKS, Electro Harmonix Memory Man delay
Antonio Gutierrez: EMS Synthi A
Sebastián Cirillo: EMS VCS3

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The Buchla “System 3”

via Shasta Cults

"Shortly after selling his company to CBS in the late 60s, Buchla was tasked with designing a less expensive system to market to schools and universities. EMS had just released the VCS3 and it had started to overtake that market due to low cost and high functional density. Don seemed more interested in researching computer control and had started devising his 500 series system which CBS was not willing to fund. In early 1970 to meet contract requirements 6 prototypes of the 'System 3' were delivered to CBS before Buchla and CBS parted ways."

Axel Hartmann's Original Panel Design for the Waldorf Q & How the Yellow Q Came to Be

Update1: Soviet Space Child noticed the Instrument section under the main display has the additional numbers found on later models of the Q. This might actually be a later prototype panel that matches the original color concept. Soviet Space Child noted: "The Q was originally designed as a 4 part multitimbral synthesizer, and later expanded to 16 parts multi via an OS update. This explains why the FX unit is only 4 part multi, as the hardware architecture ran off of 3 DSP's, two for 8 voices of polyphony each, and one dedicated to 4 FX parts. On the original Q models the 4 instrument buttons above the display were labeled 1-4, but later revisions had additional numbers to reflect the added multi parts, as seen in the prototype panel photos." It's also worth noting the original Wave came in different colors including Sahara yellow and Crimson Red. There was also a green Microwave. That backs up Waldorf wanting to go bold with the Q.

Update2: Swissdoc heard back from Waldorf's Frank Schneider and he stated this is the Jade panel. It makes sense as Jade is green and this panel is greenish in color. What's odd though is the render in the promo sheet appears white in color but is labeled as Jade. Also, according to swissdoc, the Q actually did come 16 multi-timbral to start: "The Q came from the start with 16 part multi, just the yellow case had only 4 labeled. See the changelog from here."

Update3: it looks like the Q was 4 part multi prior to release according to this SOS preview for the Q (via Soviet Space Child): "In keeping with modern synth architectures, the Q promises 16-part multitimbrality and 16-part layers/splits that Waldorf call 'Multis', but neither of these is implemented in the current operating system" later followed by "Early reports suggested that the Q would include a dedicated drum section with the ability to emulate popular analogue machines such as the Roland TR808 and TR909. In recent weeks, Waldorf has shelved the idea in favour of expanding the multitimbrality of the instrument from 4-part to 16-part."

So the preview model sent to Sound on Sound was 4 Part multi, and they made it 16 for release. Update4: I remember now. The Q was released pre V1.0 and was updated later. I forget if it was 4 or 16 part multi on release.  There was a bit of excitement about the Q, as you can imagine, on the various forums and email lists at the time.  Sonic State's The Gas-Station was THE forum at the time and there was a Waldorf email list.

The original post:

swissdoc and I were exchanging emails about the recent Waldorf posts featuring the JADE Q, non-Nextel Pulse, and the manuals for the XT, and MicroWave. Some interesting bits of info came out of our exchange.  You can find them in updates in those posts. Possibly even more interesting are the images you see here in this post. Swissdoc sent them my way with the following. What you are looking at is the original design prototype color concept? [see above] for the Waldorf Q.

"I got the pics from a guy called pixeldealer in Summer 2014. He said it was the original Q-prototype in turquoise/silver color and the first design by Axel Hartmann. It was never released, the Q was released in yellow Nextel as we know. Axel Hartmann is telling the same story in an interview on Amazona.de (last section). He bougth the case (without electronics etc) from the production partner of Waldorf in Troisdorf. He was looking to sell the parts.

Axel said:
Die ersten Q wurden geboren, als der Markt für virtuell analoge Synthesizer noch durch Clavia mit ihren grellroten Nordsynthesizern beherrscht wurde. Wolfgang wollte daher ein stärkeres optisches Statement, als es unser bekanntes, dezentes Dunkelblau zulies. Wolfram (Franke) hatte dann die Idee mit dem schrillen Gelb, das wir in den finalen Layouts umgesetzt haben.

Unsere ersten Farbkonzepte für die Q Synthesizer gingen in eine völlig andere Richtung. Wir hatten in unseren Entwürfen ein dezentes, sehr helles, grünliches Grau in Kombination mit Aluminium und Nussbaum Anbauteilen visualisiert. Wie gesagt, das war den Waldorfern damals aber einfach nicht laut genug…

Deepl.com Translation:
The first Q were born when the market for virtual analog synthesizers was still dominated by Clavia with her bright red northern synthesizers. Wolfgang therefore wanted a stronger visual statement than our well-known, subtle dark blue. Wolfram (Franke) then had the idea with the shrill yellow, which we implemented in the final layouts.

Our first color concepts for the Q synthesizers went in a completely different direction. In our designs we had visualized a subtle, very bright greenish grey in combination with aluminium and walnut add-on parts. As I said, that simply wasn't loud enough for the Waldorfers back then..."

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Roland's Forgotten Space Echo

Published on Mar 25, 2020 Alex Ball

"In 1974 Roland released the RE-201 Space Echo. It went on to become the industry standard appearing in studios and live rigs the world over.

They released numerous other successful models (before and after) but the rarest of them all is the RE-5 Digital Space that had a very short run in Japan in 1988.

Its intended application is also quite surprising and in this video we take a look at what it does and contrast it with its famous older brother."

Additional posts featuring Alex Ball

You can find additional documentary type posts via the documentaries label at the bottom of this post.

Waldorf Q JADE

Update2: this might actually be the Jade version. See details there.

Here's something you might not have seen before. Axel Hartmann, maker of the Hartmann neuron, and the man behind the physical design of a number of synths ranging from Waldorf to Moog, shared this photo online - posters for the Access Virus Indigo, the Waldorf Q in classic Nextel blue, and a Waldorf Q in "JADE" (looks white). Curious if any were ever produced. Also note the creamware.com poster underneath.

Update: I reached out to swissdoc who was a Beta tester for Waldorf back in the day. He reached out to one of his contacts and apparently 3 - 5 of these may exist.

"zu der Menge Pulse in Pulver kann ich Dir leider nichts genaues sagen... es waren aber einige (vielleicht 500-1000). Ein Exot ist es auf jedenfalls nicht. Der Q allerdings in Jade ist schon eher ein Exot. Der ist nur in kleiner Muster Menge gefertigt worden, vielleicht so 3-5 Stück."

Googlish:

"Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything specific about the amount of pulses in powder ... but there were a few (maybe 500-1000). It is definitely not an exotic. However, the Q in jade is more of an exotic. It is only was made in small samples, maybe 3-5 pieces."

The Complete Guide to Synthesizer by Devarahi Including the Con Brio ADS 200, Buchla Touche, Emu Audity, Aries and SMS Modular Systems & More

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

via this auction

"The Complete Guide to Synthesizers by Devarahi. Covers many legendary, vintage, analog and digital synthesizers. Arp 2600 sections. Many pics and diagrams."

Some synths featured inside:

Aries Keyboard System III
SMS Modular Synthesizer
Polyfusion
Moog System 55
Fairlight C.M.I.
Con Brio ADS 200 Digital Command Console
Crumar / DKI GD ?
Emu Audity
Buchla Touche

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