CBS MASTERWORKS Electronic Percussion 1970

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video upload by fritz5139

Vintage Electronic Drums (Percussion/Congas)

video upload by celtusfergus

via this auction

"This exceptionally rare analogue percussion synthesizer was made in Japan in the very early 1970's. It has been most notably used by Anne Peebles in the rare groove song 'I Can't Stand The Rain' which was sampled and used in the 1997 Hiphop track 'The Rain' by Missy Elliot. I have replaced the disintegrated foam which sits under the pads with brand new longer lasting foam. The pads are "velocity sensitive," using a magnetic pickup inside each pad that runs on a 9V battery which powers all voices. The mute switches all work, which essentially control the decay for each instrument by varying degrees based on the circuit design. There's a circuit diagram pasted to the base of the case beneath the top of the synth.

There are trimmers on the circuit board of the synth which I'm assuming control either overall tuning or deacy. I haven't touched these in order to maintain the originality of this instrument. The synth is in amazing original condition despite its age and the fact that it needs to be hit in order to work. :)"

Note this is the first one to be featured on the site.

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Rare Macbeth Moroco Stereo Filter Bank Processor w/ Patch Points & MIDI

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via this auction

Tone Tweakers eBay | Reverb

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"Spelled Moroco and not Morocco. This is a fantastic dual multimode filter with 4 LFOs and 2 envelope generators and midi control. It seems there may have only been 8 made. The photos show one of 2 units we have - this may or may not be the one we sell, but they are in the same condition (just about perfect). Fully tested and working great. Not sure how to put on a price on such a rare item. Price will definitely be negotiable if it doesn’t sell for a while, though if you miss this one, it’s likely you won’t find another anywhere cause they’re that rare."

There have only been four posts prior to this one mentioning the Moroco. There was a video which is unfortunately gone. You can however see the original announcement post with digital flyer there. Only one other was listed for sale.

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1969: Introducing the MOOG SYNTHESISER | Tomorrow's World | Retro Tech | BBC Archive

video upload by BBC Archive

"Derek Cooper introduces the Moog synthesiser, an instrument that can produce a variety of noises and arrangements, both mimicking real instruments and creating new sounds - all electronically.

This clip is from Tomorrow's World, originally broadcast 30 September 1969."

Also see 1970: WENDY CARLOS and her MOOG SYNTHESISER | Music Now | Retro Tech | BBC Archive

Dianzi Qin (电子琴) Chinese synth from 1978

video upload by Robotussin Vintage Synths

"Look at these strange synths produced by Cold War-era China. This is a Dianzi Qin (电子琴).

The synth came about following a cultural exchange in the early 1970s when composer Bernie Krause visited China to demonstrate a Moog modular system. It was part of Richard Nixon’s attempt to build up relations with China to counterbalance Soviet influence in the region – a program known as “Ping-pong diplomacy”.

Krause demo’ed his Moog to Communist officials who were apparently very impressed, after which the Party declared that electronic music 'had no cultural bias', meaning it was not intrinsically Western and decadent, and so there was no problem for Chinese people to explore it and incorporate it into their compositions.

This led inventor Tian Jin Qin to develop this instrument, as a modern, electronic synthesizer with Chinese characteristics – it’s loosely based on traditional Chinese string instruments such as the Erhu.

The Dian Zi Qin is controlled with four ribbons, which power an additive synth engine. There seem to have been two versions, one that looks like an upright stringed instrument, the other that looks more like a desktop synth but with a vertical neck sticking out of it with the ribbon controls to finger. The second type has additional touch controls on the main unit that have some ability to bend and accent the note.

I’ve read that very few were made and it didn’t get out of the prototype stage, but in this video I see at least three playing in concert, as well as what looks like a more conventional organs. I’ve uploaded the full film to my YouTube channel as it was not available anywhere on the Western internet."

Norman McLaren's hand-drawn sounds

video upload by Robotussin Vintage Synths

"Scottish-Canadian animator Norman McLaren developed a technique of painting onto the optical soundtrack area of the film negatives of his animations.

The shapes would then make drones and buzzes when played through a special type of projector. He used the technique to create experimental soundtracks to his animations.

It's similar to Daphne Oram's technique of turning shapes into sound – though hers, which she called Oramics, was more complex, with dedicated machines that read shapes on the entire area of the 35mm film, rather than just the little strip that contains the soundtrack.

You can see the results in the third video above, an extract from McLaren's film 'Dots', which employs the technique.

McLaren – born in Scotland in 1914 – worked for the British Post Office's film unit until around 1939, when he moved to New York, then to Canada in 1941, where he produced animations for the National Film Board, before setting up an animation studio at the École des beaux-arts de Montréal and the Ontario College of Art.

There he produced around 70 films, much of it highly experimental and strange. He died in 1987 aged 72."

This also reminds me of the Optigan.

Norman McLaren is mentioned in this book: Vector Synthesis: a Media Archaeological Investigation into Sound-Modulated Light

Punchcard synths at the Seimens studio in 1967

video upload by Robotussin Vintage Synths

Click the CC in the player controls on the bottom right for subtitles.

"The electronic music studio of the Siemens company in Munich in 1967, one of the first private electronic music studios in the world. Programming electronic music back then was a complex process that involved punch cards and maths. On the plus side, there were lots of gorgeous dials to turn and Bakelite switches to play with.

The Seimens studio was set up in 1958 and used until 1968. The studio initially created “musique concrète” but later explored purely electronic works, with engineers building equipment specifically for this task. I’ve seen it said that vocoders – which were invented during World War II to encrypt voice messages – were first used in music production at this lab.

The first major work produced here was the soundtrack to a documentary called 'Impulse of our Time' ('Impuls Unserer Zeit') directed by Otto Martini. After this, the studio was rented out to radio stations for compositions and sound effects, and composers were also invited to use the equipment. Karlheinz Stockhausen was one prestigious guest who used the studio, but there were many others. But really, the studio was a showpiece for Siemens and a chance for them to test out new ideas and equipment

The studio was placed in storage and forgotten from around 1968 to 1992, when it was rediscovered. It is now permanently installed at the Deutsche Museum von Meisterwerken der Naturwissenschaft und Technik in Munich.

I took this from a 13 minute video that’s available in full on the YouTube channel freeartslab. I added the subtitles so they are not very accurate, but they give you an idea of what’s going on if you don’t speak German."

The Massive Sound Of An Experimental Soviet Drum Machine

video upload by HAINBACH

This appears to be the first post to feature the RMIF ES-2-5.

"The RMIF ES-2-5 is an experimental drum machine that was made in Riga, Latvia, in the last days of the Soviet Union (1991). It was an attempt at re-creating the Roland TR-808, but was hampered by the lack of microchip technology available. RMIF abandoned the project after only a testing run of 30 units where made. One rare surviving example found its way to my studio in a sorry state. I had it restored to better then new condition, as I feel it is a piece of instrument history. And it sounds so very very heavy and melancholic.

PATRONS get sounds of the ES-2-5: http://patreon.com/hainbach"

00:00 Unboxing
01:08 First Track: With Maestro
02:30 Second Track: Solo ES-2-5
03:27 A Closer Look
05:31 Third Track: FX
06:22 The Sequencer
07:41 History Time
09:16 The Competition At The Time
09:50 Relevance Today

Shamballah (K7) Recording in SANYO KBX-7 WIRELESS SYNTHESIZER KEYBOARD RADIO CASSETTE 80'S

video upload by AMYR VON BATHEL CANTUSIO JR ALPHA III PROJECT

"SANYO KBX-7 WIRELESS SYNTHESIZER KEYBOARD RADIO CASSETTE 80'S VINTAGE (Curiosities)
MUSIC BY AMYR CANTUSIO JR( 1990) Kanx K7(cassete tape)
Music I produced, recorded in K7 on this device. I already had one. The little keyboard separates from the radio but the sound is WIRELESS (ie the keyboard itself has no sound output, but comes out via "remote" through the radio speakers ) bluetooth type.
Radio sound is fantastic and above all, the Keyboard records audio in K7 (cassette tape) with great definition!
With the Audio output of the Headphones vc. you can plug in an amplifier and use the Keyboard signals for a P.A. with great possibilities. The keyboard is not a wave synthesizer, but similar to Casio Portátil with K7 recorder."

Note this is the first post to feature the SANYO KBX-7. I found the following pics of a white one on eBay.

via this auction

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Rob Rosen Reveals His Ultimate Synth Collection

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

A look inside the Yamaha CS80, the 14th ever made Sequential Prophet-5, a Rev 1, and a Roland Juno-106, touching on some of the evolution of analog synthesis technology over the years.

"I hope you enjoy this rare opportunity to visit with my close friend Rob Rosen for a deep dive into his ultimate vintage synth collection. Together, we’ll see inside some of the rarest synthesizers of all-time and learn from this master technician how synthesizers have evolved, what makes them tick and why synthesizers make such cool sounds!

I consider Rob’s shop @Rosen Sound ground zero for anything relating to synthesizers. It’s also the biggest wonderland of vintage synths in perfect working order that you’ll ever see .

Rob is a self-taught technician and is now the world leader for repair, restoration, custom manufacturing and sales of vintage synthesizers. He’s also quite an accomplished musician programmer and keyboard player as well."

Chapter Time Stamps:
00:00:01 Intro Anthony on the street in Burbank, CA
00:01:55 Entering Inside Rosen Sound
00:02:06 Meeting “P” from Chromeo and The Rosen Sound Team
00:03:06 Rob shows us his personal work space
00:11:42 Montage of Synths - Start
00:12:35 Montage of Synths - End
00:12:36 Anthony and Rob in “The Cabin” - a wonderland of vintage synths
00:13:42 Anthony explains and demonstrates features on the CS-80
00:20:36 CS-80 “Under the Hood” in-depth tour by Rob
00:53:31 Prophet 5 “Under the Hood” in-depth tour by Rob
01:12:50 Anthony Demonstrates some of the Juno 106 sounds
01:19:27 Juno-106 “Under the Hood” in-depth tour by Rob
01:28:54 One-of-a-Kind Oberheim Modular 8 Voice System tour by Rob
01:35:31 Anthony asks Rob 20 Questions about Synthesizers
01:39:09 Rob asks Anthony some Questions about Synthesizers
01:49:47 Bass Shootout: 1973 Moog System 55 VS ARP 2600
01:54:54 Shoot Out Conclusion and Bass Tips

The first recording with Minimoog synthesizer - Sun Ra – ‘My Brother The Wind’ (1970)

video upload by George Greene

"The first recording with Minimoog synthesizer (Model B prototype) - Sun Ra And His Astro Infinity Arkestra – ‘My Brother The Wind’ (1970)

In 1969, Sun Ra had recorded on Moog Modular synthesizer at the New York midtown studio of Gershon Kingsley. Those recordings were issued on My Brother the Wind, Vol. 1 (although it was not titled 'Vol. 1'— it only achieved that reference after 'Vol. 2' appeared). The following year, drummer Tommy Hunter arranged a meeting between Sun Ra and synth pioneer Robert Moog in upstate Trumansburg, New York. Bob and his crew were testing prototypes of the Minimoog at that time, inviting Sun Ra to explore its sounds. A recording of this test session was made and, although not originally intended for commercial release, partly released many years later in 1992 (My Brother the Wind, Vol. 2, CD tracks 7-11: The Wind Speaks, Sun Thoughts, Journey to the Stars, World of the Myth 'I', The Design - Cosmos II). But more significantly, it was during this visit that Moog loaned Sun Ra a prototype Minimoog (Model B), several months before the commercial instrument (Model D) was introduced in March 1970. Ra immediately added the instrument to his repertoire of keyboards, later acquired a second, and featured the Minimoog prominently on many of his recordings of the early 1970s. Sun Ra sometimes played two Minimoogs at the same time to achieve a duophonic synthesizer sound.

#ElectronicMusic #SunRa #Minimoog #MyBrotherTheWind #BobMoog #Synthesizer

All rights belong to their respective owners."

You can find dditional posts mentioning Sun Ra and the Minimoog here.

You can find Sun Ra – ‘My Brother The Wind’ on Amazon here.

Found this one updating this old post, after posting AutomaticGainsay's The History of the Minimoog Prototypes. Down the rabbit hole I went...

Keith Richards Play a Synthesizer - 1969

video upload by TheMaximumVolumeable

Super Rare 1973 Caravan Synth | Vintage Analog Synthesiser | Made in Italy | Similar to Vox Jaguar

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by riffers

"(Video) Serviced Super Rare 1973 Caravan Synth | Vintage Analog Synthesiser | Made in Italy | Similar to Vox Jaguar | 49 Keys, 4 Voices, Vibrato, Chorus Bass | Built-in Speakers | Legs included"

via this auction

"'You know that new sound you been looking’ for?… Well listen to this!'

- Chuck’s cousin, Marvin Berry

Check out the video we've done running through some of the sounds produced by the 4 voices, vibrato and bass chorus. We also do a volume pot test, vibrato pot test, chromatic test follwed by a brief demo. We mic'd up the built-in speaker with a Shure SM-57 for the video but there is an external output for use with amplifiers etc.

Condition:

Excellent cosmetic condition and fully functioning. Recently serviced (19/07/23). Legs are included."

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7/16/23 The sound of a Viscount PCM 64S dying :(please send schematics :)

video upload by Cfpp0

This appears to be the first post to feature the Viscount PCM 64S.

"This rare and feature-packed (trigger in, out, individual snare out, footswitch jacks for break, clap, and start, volume knobs for six categories, 2 clap variation buttons, three percussion cancel buttons) preset pattern drum machine worked fine every time. Yet it wasn’t getting used enough and was put in a storage box and listed on Reverb. It sold, so it got pulled out for a final test (as one does) before shipping. What evil invisible specter lived in that box? Not sure, but it flew this Viscount over the cookoo’s nest and now this once glorious machine just ratchets and glitches. I opened it up and saw no bulging or leaking capacitors or obvious issues. We have a tech who is willing to fix it, and the previous buyer is still willing to buy it once it’s fixed, but we have no schematic. Viscount was an Italian company and restoration of antiquity is one of the many things at which Italians excel. So, if you have a schematic, posso avere? Ti prego!"

Update:

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Museum Of Synthesizer Technology , Analog Heaven Featuring Bob Moog

video uploads by wutierson

Also see Museum Of Synthesizer Technology DVD B-Roll footage

Mr. Martin Newcomb's Museum of Synthesizer Technology mid-1990's.

Note the plaque in the opening reads: "This Museum Was Opened By DR R.A. Moog On 29th July 1994" [4th video in the playlist above]

There was also a book dedicated to the museum you can find in previous posts here.

The Secret Of The Overtone Synthesizer

video upload by HAINBACH

"A unit with no markings and a hearsay history found its way into my studio. It is unique and wonderful, but shrouded in mystery. I show what it can do, but can you help me uncover it's history? Featuring @HANGINGOUTWITHAUDIOPHILES aka Jamie Lidell

SOUNDPACKS, MUSIC and LOVE: http://patreon.com/hainbach"

Cyclon Ltd. ME Analog Synthesizer

video upload by Chris Chrome

"80er Jahre DIY Synthesizer, Projekt"

Note there are two videos in the playlist above that appear to be the same. Including both in case one is removed. Use the player controls to skip to the next video if the first disappears. I also captured a few screenshots below. Click on them to zoom in. That out of the way, if anyone has any additional info feel free to leave a comment. This is the first post to feature Cyclon Ltd on the site. It appears to be a prototype and/or DIY, but who knows... If you know, leave a comment. Note the center Cyclon appears to be CYCCON, but you can see elsewhere on the synth it is Cyclon.

Check out the New Old label for other rare and older synths making their first featured on the site.
Check out the Exclusive label for posts featuring the rare of the rare. There is of course some overlap.

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WAVE KIT SA13 1980 DIY Analog Synthesizer

video upload by Time Tripper

"This is an analog synthesizer that I made when I was in high school.
At that time, it was a transition period from analog to digital, and soon the era of personal computers began. I think this was the last time I touched analog circuits.

WAVE KIT SA13
・2 VCO
・BPF VCF
・ADSR/AR
・NOISE(W/P)
・LFO
・VCA

#AnalogSynth #Electronics #Synthesizer #Synth #DIY

高校生の時に自作したアナログ・シンセサイザーです。
当時はアナログからデジタルの過渡期で、程なくしてパソコンの時代になりました。
アナログ回路に接したのはこれが最後だったと思います。

#アナログシンセ #電子工作 #シンセサイザー #シンセ #DIY"

Quasimidi Caruso 4-part Sound Module

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by Musicnectar

Never seen one of these before - this is the first post to feature the Caruso, spotted in the listing below. I did a quick search for one on Youtube and found the video above from 7 years ago.

via this auction

"Very rare Quasimidi Caruso rack module. This is a 4-part sound module layering exceptional organs, accordions, brass, strings, and keyboard sounds. Very intuitive interface and easy to program.

Specs

20 Voice polyphony with 4-part Multitimbral

M.A.S.S. (Multi Algorithm Sound Synthesis) Quasimidi Sound Engine

512 sounds and 612 performances (512 ROM and 100 RAM), where the 100 sounds in RAM are fully editable.

2 independent integrated multi-effects: 1) reverb, echo 2) chorus, flanger, phaser, rotary, echo, distortion

Digital Rotary Effect

Ensemble Effect (Intelligent Melody Harmonizer)

MIDI IN / OUT / THRU"

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German Rackmount Yamaha TG77, TG33, CPX, Synthax RACKWare RG 124 & Kawai MAV-8

via this auction

This one was spotted and sent in via M Me.

Interesting rig. You'll find a picture of the back below with the TG33. This is the first post to feature the Hybrid Arts CPX computer module. Hybrid Arts also made the ADAP SOUNDTRACK SAMPLER ADAP-1. If anyone has any info on the CPX, feel to leave a comment. Curious if it's simply a computer with an editor for the TG77 and TG33, or it's own synth/sample playback module. Take a look at the back below. The Synthax RACKWare RG 124 appears to be the monitor for the system, and the Kawai MAV-8 is a midi patchbay.

It's interesting to see the TG77 and TG33 in a different enclosure.

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Williams Synthesiser?

video upload by matrixsynth via Andrew

Update: video above added along with new pics below, via Andrew.

"Explored the internals and it doesn't appear to be a Maplin kit, but looks like a DIY/Handmade."

Andrew went on to mention "It looks like a Dewtron DIY system. The controls are similar to that of the Apollo." [see this post]

This one is in via Andrew.

Note the WilliamSynthsizer on the top right, the 7 x 10 patchpay on the lower right, the massive 12 x 19 patchbay on the left, and the keyboard controller. I thought it might be a Maplin. If so, some massive custom work went into it. It could also be ralated to this synth from 1973's Wireless World magazine. There was also a custom white 5600s which has a larger patchbay compared to the standard square found on most Maplins. Note the one on this Williams Synthesiser is much larger. I could not find a matching keyboard controller.

Andrew plans to open it up and take a look at the inside. He also plans to take more pics. I'll put up a new post when they come in. Until then, if you know what this is, or have any guesses, let us know!

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