Synths in TV and Film

Note: some of the videos below have been pulled from YouTube, but I'm keeping mention of them up as a reference that they are out there.

Let the page load before scrolling - it's a long one.
Be sure to see the Synth Movies list and see the Synth Movies and Synth TV and Film labels for more.

1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Synths: ARP 2500 played by Phillip Dodds, head of ARP Engineering, Yamaha CS-?.


2. Fame Synths: ARP 2600, MOOG Minimoog

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Big Synth News Coming From Behringer (& KORG's Hiroaki Nishijima)?

This one was spotted and sent in via Soviet Space Child.

Per the description: "I am in beutiful Japan together with Luigi Scarano, our Synthesizer Innovation leader.

Stay tune from some big news - and i mean BIG news.

Uli"


Note who looks like KORG's Hiroaki Nishijima in the back left. I thought that might be Korg's Fumio Mieda on the right, but I'm not sure. You can find a pic and interview with Hiroaki Nishijima and Fumio Mieda here. Some of the other faces look familiar as well, especially the gentleman on the front left. If you can ID them, please comment.

Could this be the Behringer DS80 / CS80, a partnership with KORG, or other?

Behringer meeting with any representatives of another large scale synth company is a big deal. It will be interesting to find out what this is all about.

You can find an interview with Luigi Scarno here.

Update: Announcement below with a new pic, also in via Soviet Space Child. It looks like Hiroaki Nishijima is indeed joining Behringer.

“Synthesizer Icon Hiroaki Nishijima to Lead Behringer’s New Synthesizer Innovation Center in Japan

Behringer announced today that Hiroaki Nishijima, synthesizer icon and inventor of the famous Korg MS-20 Synthesizer, will lead Behringer’s new high-tech innovation center in its Tokyo headquarter.

Behringer’s vision is to build a large research and development center and invite many talented Japanese engineers to focus on flagship synthesizers, samplers and other innovative product designs.

About Hiroaki Nishijima

“Ever since I was a child, I was always excited to disassemble toys and explore how they work. My father and grandfather helped nurture that side of me by teaching me electronics and how to solder while attending third year of elementary school.

During that time, I got into music. I started playing with my brother’s classical guitar and eventually got lessons from an actual classical guitar teacher. I continued to play and improve until I noticed I was becoming better at it than my brother.

As my skills grew more diverse, so did my taste in music. Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Genesis, ELP and I Pooh became my inspirations. In junior high school, I bought an electric guitar and formed a band. That’s when I saw a synthesizer for the first time. It was amazing and I wanted one for myself, but it was just too expensive for a student like me.

When I entered university, I studied electronic engineering and played in a band. While that was going on, I’d also repair my friends’ amps and would design effects on the side. After graduation, I joined Korg to develop synthesizers like the MS-20 series, Sigma, KES and PME-40X series, Z3 and even Korg’s component modeling technology.

Over the past few years I have watched Behringer deliver high-quality synthesizers and pursue a very strong mission to deliver impressive instruments to musicians around the world. I reached out to Uli Behringer because I wanted to be part of his mission and help Behringer design world-class musical instruments. This is my dream, too.

These days, it’s difficult for current Japanese companies to create the types of synths that I used to develop. This is why I joined Behringer because my ambition to create professional analog synthesizers coincides with Uli Behringer’s love of musical instruments and with that I’m very excited to see what we can dream up.

I am currently looking for experienced embedded software leaders and engineers for our new Innovation center in Tokyo. Please can contact us at yuka.ishigami@musictribe.com.”

About Music Tribe

Uli Behringer, Founder of Behringer and Music Tribe commented: “I am extremely proud to have Nishijima San on our team. This man is a legendary synth icon with decades of experience.
Ever since I designed my own synthesizer in 1977, I have always been obsessed with synthesizers and today, Behringer is on a mission to bring back classic synthesizers as well as design completely new instruments and make them available at prices everyone can afford. We at Behringer believe that everyone should have access to the amazing synthesizers and sounds of the 70’s and 80’s.”

Uli continues: “We are currently recruiting experienced synthesizer engineers from all over the world to join us in our synthesizer mission. People interested can directly contact me at uli.behringer@musictribe.com.”

Sequential Circuits TOM SN 03064 w/ TAUNEK Expansion & Cartridge Collection

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

via this auction

This one was spotted and sent in via M Me.

"Sequential Circuits TOM Vintage Drumcomputer MINT Serviced Expanded + Sounds w/ "TAUNEK" Expansion

- Serial #03064
- Made in USA
- fully serviced
- 100% working
- manuals (original) included
- includes 20 cartridges !!!

- Techno Drums
- Hippefex 1
- Atomic Drums
- Brazilian
- Brushes
- Power Drums
- Rock Drums
- Ethnic
- Analog Drums
- Orchestral
- Percussion 1
- Percussion 2
- Percussion 3
- Percussion 4
- Percussion 5
- Percussion 6
- Special Effects
- Contemporary
- Latin Percussion
- Basic Percussion


This wonderful machine has been serviced by our tech and all contact were cleaned or replaced.

Expanding the Sequential TOM to hold 16 "cartridges"

I bought my TOM a few years ago, and had always intended to make some sort of switch-able cartridge for it. I decided recently that it would be nicer to have everything inside the TOM, if possible, and control it using the TOM user interface. There are two advantages to doing it this way:

1) Cartridges can be selected without unplugging and replacing EPROMs, which can get damaged by ESD or bent pins.

2) Both the internal sounds and the cartridge can be swapped out, so all 15 sounds can be changed, not just the top 7. There are two "slots" - internal and cartridge. Any of the 16 "cartridges" can be placed in either slot. If a cartridge has seven sounds in it, and is placed in the internal slot, button 8 will not make a sound. All of the cartridges I have made have 8 sounds. If they are placed in the internal slot, all 8 are available. If they are placed in the cartridge slot, only the first 7 sounds are available.

The board plugs into one of the internal sound ROM IC sockets, after both chips have been removed. It also needs A15b and A16b which are not available in either socket, so two short wires are used. I use A15b and A16b instead of A15 and A16 to avoid connecting to the Wonder chip signals. Luckily there are eyelets on the TOM board right where I needed them to be for these two signals.

Here is a photo showing the newer version of the pcb, which has a third wire. The original two wires are connected exactly as before, while the third wire attaches to the lower end of the 10K resistor near the battery. I have added a small circuit which should allow inserting a cartridge (for testing) into the TOM while the TOM16 is installed. In this case, the only sounds available would be the ones on the cartridge, as the TOM16 EPROM is disabled.

How does it work? I added code to the TOM V1.6 OS firmware (the final SCI version) to allow selecting cartridges using the std user interface. Once the selection is made, these values are sent using the Wonder chip in a special way to a PIC micro-controller on my board. That chip presents the two cartridge select 4-bit codes to a dual 4:1 mux that feeds the correct one to an 8 Mbit EPROM. I do not plan to release the PIC code, or provide the source for my version of the TOM OS at this time. The only changes that I made to the TOM OS firmware were for TOM16 support. No other changes were made.

I am currently offering fully assembled pcb's for $105 including Priority Mail shipping to USA addresses. If you are outside of the USA, please contact me for the additional shipping cost. In order to install the board in your TOM, you will need to upgrade the (socketed) firmware EPROM with one that I supply. You will also need to remove the two (socketed) sound ROM chips I610 and I611. And finally you will need to carefully solder three wires, (which I will supply) into small holes in the TOM pc board and in my board."

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Evenfall Mini Modular Designed by Grant Richter of Wiard

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

This one was spotted and sent in via Soviet Space Child.

via this auction

"I guess 50 (60?) of these were produced, either as kits or assembled products. I bought this to complete my own rack full of Grant Richter modules. It was a largely an impulse buy fueled by the tingly feelings my Wiard 300 modules give me. Make no mistake--this is NOT a Wiard module nor does it sound like one. It is not nearly as awe-inspiring overall, though it does have a few tricks that make it worth exploring. Definitely a cool piece of synthesizer history.

I found this to be, overall, one of those "sweet spot" machines, where nuanced wiggling can give you some really unique and impressive sounds. This is particularly true with the bandpass filter, which really sounds like Satan yelling about the weather while contending with a head cold. Very cool.

There are a few peculiar aspects to this, such as the weird gain staging. Any setting after 12 o'clock in the VCA will saturate/distort. Maybe you like this. I don't care for it personally. That's just the way these things work, as confirmed by several other owners, as well as Cary Grace, who currently builds all modules under the Wiard name, and who tours with an Evenfall Mini Modular (largely because it's small and light, I guess). This is a very lightweight synthesizer.

The pots are all mini pots, like attenuator pots on lots of modern Eurorack modules. I'm a bit of an oaf for these, but they're not difficult to work with.

I have not opened it to check internals or perform any mods. I'm not sure whether there are schematics floating around, but if you choose to go that route I'm sure you're an intrepid enough lad or lass to chase them down.

Cosmetically, there is some damage on the lower right edge of the panel; I have straightened this to the best of my ability.

Their words (copy/pasted info from around the web):
The Evenfall Mini Modular Synthesizer is a rack mountable semi-modular analog synthesizer featuring the warm, organic sound of real analog circuitry and the flexibility of individual control knobs and a patch cord interface.
The Mini Modular also features internally "pre patched" or "normalized" connections among the modules. These connections make the Mini Modular a capable synthesizer even without inserting patch cords. These internal connections can be overridden by inserting 3.5mm patch cables as desired.
The Mini Modular can be patched to make sound by itself or in conjunction with another voltage-controlled synthesizer. It can also be controlled from a MIDI controller via the built-in MIDI to CV interface which provides pitch, velocity, gate, pitch bend, portamento on/off, and modulation output voltages.

-
This synth was designed by Grant Richter of Wiard synthesizers and there were roughly 60 sold, 30 in kit form and 30 assembled. The previous owner told me this is a factory-assembled unit.

Grant wrote this on the old Wiard Yahoo list:

"That is a great little instrument.

It was originally slated to be the Wiard Model 3600, but I decided to pass on it because we could not find knobs to fit the little nubby pot shafts. They are just like TR-808 tuning pots. I feared the lack of knobs would limits sales too much.

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Synthetic Soundlabs Pays a Rare Visit to Bell Lab's VODER Speech Synthesizer From 1939

Update: via Doug: "The console I’m playing is a recreation that was commissioned to me by current Bell Labs President Marcus Weldon. I’m seen here playing it prior to a BL event. Photo by Larry Fast. Also in attendance was Wally DeBacker (Gotye). you can see and hear me play it live on the PBS series 'Breakthrough: History of the Smart Phone' episode [might not be available in your area though]. Narrated by Patrick Stewart, and hosted by former editor of Popular Mechanics, Jim Meigs."

via Synthetic Sound Labs, click through for additional pics.

"For the first time in nearly 80 years, the VODER has been found – well at least some of it. Unfortunately, none of the operator consoles are known to have survived the various archive moves over the years.

On December 15, 2015, SSL’s President Doug Slocum was treated to unprecedented access to the AT&T Archives & History Center in Warren New Jersey to view and record the uncovering of two of the original equipment racks used to train VODER operators in preparation for the Bell System’s 1939 Worlds Fair exhibit."

Check out this post for an old black and white video demo of the VODER when working. You can find a handful of additional posts mentioning the VODER here.

This one was spotted and sent in via M Me.

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Some info on the Upcoming Buchla Modules (100, 200, and Easel)

This one was spotted and sent in via Soviet Space Child, on muffs.

Post by Eric Fox of Buchla U.S.A. You can find a recent interview with Eric Fox here.

"Hey everyone!

I appreciate the interest in what it is we’re working on. Although I don’t spend too much time on the forum, with all of the announcements and imminent release of Easel Commands into the wild it is probably a good idea for me to poke my head up once in awhile :)
Let’s see if I can quickly shed some light on a few things:

Easel vs Easel Command- When I refer to a “full” Easel, I am indeed referring to the classic configuration of some form of 208+218+Case. Just like what we did with the 208C, the 218 and case needs to be updated in order to make them better, more consistent, and have the ability to scale production based on demand. We’re actively working on these and hopefully I can make an official announcement with details this summer.

Easel Preset Manager- Joel, Darren, and Charles are now working on this one. Those guys are the masters at this stuff, so I’m gonna hopefully have the official rundown of what all it can do soon. While it will be different physically than iProgram Card, it’s my understanding that the the new UX from a software angle might be able to be an update for the iProgram card. I’ll stop talking now about it since those guys will yell at me for not knowing what I’m talking about. We’ll make a clear announcement about this soon :)

200 and 100 reissues- These full-size recreations are being headed up by Jon Nenson (The Human Comparator) and our own in-house designer, Charles Seeholzer. We were planning on having (5) 200 models to show off at SB. These certainly won’t be the only 200’s we offer... but it’s a little difficult to launch 20+ models all at the same time! We insist on making them as good as they can be. Otherwise, what’s the point? Releasing a handful at a time just makes the most sense so that each model can get the proper attention they deserve. If you don’t see your favorite one in this first run, just know that it will probably not be that far behind. Patience young grasshoppers.

Clones vs Official- To clarify, the point I’m trying to make is in regards to not wanting someone to think poorly of any brand based on the possibility that they are playing with a shitty, poorly built, corner-cutting diy project from god knows where. Please don’t confuse that statement with the fact that I know there absolutely are quality builds out there that do a great job of really capturing the true spirit of the original design. I’m friends with a lot of those who are considered some of the best at doing this and that’s why I choose to partner with them when possible. I know that I have the best resources out of anyone to do this right including involving actual people who were there alongside Don when these were being developed. If Buchla can offer a consistently high-quality official version that comes with full warranty/support and it helps support some of the “Associates” who were there with Don... seems like that’s the right way to do it. No shade being thrown at those using quality built products intended.

Who is “Dave”?- All I’ll say is that it is being renamed to “Don’s Barber Shop” as per the request of some of those who were closest with Don.

I hope I didn’t create more questions than answers! If there is a real pressing question you need answered, just hit me up directly and I’ll do my best to answer with the best available info I have and feel free to share my responses with the rest of the class :)

Thanks for your passion. Stay safe+sanitary+sane
-Eric Fox"

Moog's First New Poly Synth Coming in August/September?

Update: some pis of the PCB and patent here.

First a quick note on leaks: I don't enjoy posting them as I admit they make me feel a bit shady. Manufacturers work hard to make sure a product release goes smoothly. Leaks throw a wrench in that. On the other hand I feel obligated to you my readers. If the news is out there, I feel like it is my job to post it and let you all know. My policy on the site has always been not to leak unless the info is already out there and already leaked. Once it is, it's just a matter of time before all sites pick it up. That said, manufacturers need to do a better job at not leaking info out there. All info ultimately comes from the source. I sometimes wonder if manufacturers actually allow carefully placed leaks to get out. Who knows...

Second: This is still in the rumor stage. Read below and decide for yourself.

So... remember that rumor about a new poly Moog coming to Moogfest?

It might actually be real. Not the render, but a new poly from Moog. Rumor is it will be the "Moog One", currently trademarked by Moog. Note August/September would correspond with a Knobcon release. Update: Soviet Space Child mentioned, "Summer NAMM starts this week, maybe the reveal was scheduled for later in the week? That would make more sense for a potential August release." That is a good point. You rarely see major synth product announcements during Summer NAMM, but that would make for a surprise with little competition to steal the limelight. It would also be a little closer to Moogfest, which would explain the previous rumor. Often product announcements get pushed out, as you know.

The synth could be based on the tech presented here: Geert Bevin, Amos Gaynes - Designing and Implementing Embedded Synthesizer UIs.

Details follow, spotted and sent in via Soviet Space Child. I will admit I sat on it for a bit as the original source post was pulled, however, it went up elsewhere, so here it goes:

[Disclaimer: the following seems a bit shady to me. Why would this guy post it w/o mentioning the dealer? How could any dealer think it's OK to announce it w/o Moog announcing it first?]

"Ok this is copied directly from my personal email from my rep who is a senior rep, and personal friend of mine:

Oh, it's cooler than that! So glad I can actually spill some details for you now.

It's polyphonic, and comes in 8- and 16-voice versions. (Moog has not only set us up as the earliest dealer with stock (around mid-August), but we'll have an exclusive until they launch with other retailers in September. And they've also promised us a number of low-serial-number units (2-10) on each unit, though this does run an extra $500 (and also gets you a letter from Mike Adams, and a signed photo by the techs who built it). Sounds incredible, and check this out!

• 3 VCOs per voice
• 3 part multitimbral - 3 synths in 1
• Knob per function
• 4 LFOs per synth with easily assignable modulation
• Arp and sequencer (per synth)
• Clock sync
• Assignable CV ins and outs
• Lots of i/o for routing synths and effects
• Eventide reverbs built in
• Unrestricted number of presets

Oscillators
create complex waveforms

Noise
• Dedicated envelope for transient shaping

Filter
• Stave variable filter AND Moog Ladder Filter
• HP, LP, BP or notch
• link filters together for ganged sweeps
• assign sources to SVF ladder or both in the mixer

Envelope
• 3 envelopes (amp, filter, and assignable)
• easily assignable mod matrix

Sequencer and Arp

Effects
• True bypass effects
• effects per synth and a master effects bus
• 2 assignable macro controls - customizable per patch
• Vocoder
Modulation
• Easily repeatable mod mattrix routings
• 4 LFOs - 1 button destination routing
• Fine tune and ccreate complex modulation via transforms
• Easy assign performance controllers
• XY pad for expressive control

Not too shabby, eh? Admittedly, I'm always pretty impressed when Moog comes by, but this was probably the biggest shock I've ever had at seeing their products early under an NDA…and the toughest to keep private until we could talk about them! I figured you'd appreciate knowing about it as much as anyone, since you've been involved in MI retail for so long, and have probably seen most things under the sun to date.

Still not sure when we'll have it up on the website, but we are taking orders, if you're interested. 8-voice version is $5999.00, and the 16-voice version is $7999.00. I've got a little wiggle room for you, but a bit less than usual…they really don't want us deep-discounting these due to anticipated demand, obviously.

Whew…glad I could finally talk about this!"

RSF KOBOL EXPANDER I+II Clones

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

via this auction

Note MOS-LAB also made KOBOL Clones.

This one was spotted and sent in via M Me.

"You canmodulate a lot using control voltages:
The VCO’s waveform, LFO rate, resonance, attack time, decay time, sustainlevel, release time (Exp. II)!


The RSF Kobol was the French synth company's firstcompact keyboard synthesizer, certainly inspired by the Minimoog. It is a muchmore compact instrument than the Modular Model 11 series of synthesizers theyhad been making thus far. It is a monophonic analog synthesizer withtraditional controls, knobs, switches and two oscillators for a good solidanalog synth sound. Initally released as a keyboard in 1978, a 3-unitrack-mount system was later released in 1979.

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Vintage RME DIY Drum Machine?

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via this listing

This one was spotted and sent in via M Me.

"Are you looking for something a bit more special to exhibit in your studio space?
For sale is a unique, ultra rare analogue Drum Machine from the late 1970's.

I got it from an elderly gentlemen who worked for the BBC as an electronic engineer in the early 1980’s.

Everything as far as I can tell seems to be working including all of the red LEDs.

It recently had been converted from a much older round bacalite power connector in the back to an IEC standard connector.

I have no way of testing the multi-pin connectors on the back, which have been installed st the time to connect the machine with multicore looms!

It has eight trigger inputs and eight separate line outputs on XLRs and also a stereo monitor output on a DIN plug (I will supply the DIN plug adaptor)....

This drum synthesiser looks like it could have been a custom built drum machine for Kraftwerk's own KlingKlang recording studio! ;-)

It is actually a drum synthesiser with eight seperate instruments and controls for the instruments like a more modern drum synthesiser not unlike like a Vermona DRM for example, but obviously in a much larger console shaped enclosure.

This is from the earlier days of electronic music where some engineer tried to combine the preset beat-boxes of the time with eight oscillators, that have basic sawtooth, sinus and triangle waveforms and with white noise generators that were triggered by those preset rhythms or via the trigger inputs in the back. Various rhythm presets which were common at the time and some permutations are selectable. Also several presets can be selected at the same time which make a lot of variations possible.

You can get some basic beat box sounds like many other drum machines from the 60's and 70's, but also disco toms (Ring My Bell) if you tune the oscillators. The oscillators go up into the sonic spectrum so you get some very robotic sounds out of the machine too, but settings need to be selected carefully and with some patience.

LFO, VCO and Noise generators can be individually switched on and off per channel.

I would say that the oscillators and the options remind me a little bit of something like let's say the options of what a Coron DS drum synthesiser from the mid 80's had to offer.

A real focal point in ANY studio setup!

This is piece of memorabilia from a bygone area of early electronic pioneers like Kraftwerk, Cluster, Harmonia, Ashra, Popul Vul, etc.

Cosmetically speaking the drum synthesiser is in excellent condition and hasn’t been moved around much and it shows.

The fourth photo shows the drum synthesiser without any of the knobs.

The dimensions are 55x 47x x29cm and it's about 20kg, so pretty heavy....

Here is a link to a quick sound sample of the RME drum machine that I recorded this afternoon. No EQ or compression was used. [Soundcloud here]

This sound sample is taken from the stereo monitor output section which splits instruments 1-4 to the left side and instruments 5-8 to the right side."

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Akai MPC 3000 "SP Custom" by GhostInMPC

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

via this auction

This one was spotted and sent in via M Me.

"This unit has been refurbished and upgraded to work properly and look good. It is not mint and that´s been acknowledged in the selling price.

One of the four SP Custom units GhostInMPC has made was sold in Japan recently for approximately 3162 US Dollars (about 2800 Euros).

You won´t see these for sale often! EUROPE ONLY! ASK FOR SHIPPING!

- Custom Vailixi 3.50 operating system chips for this specific serial number and "SP Custom" unit. (see pictures)
- Brand new ultra bright LED screen.
- Black wood sides and armrest by Audiocustom pl. The wood side panels are a few millimetres shorter than originals so I am including the plastic sides as well.
- Brand new 32mb maximum ram installed for maximum sampling time
- Installed Jazzcat custom internal SCSI cable for internal zip/SCSI device. Allows you to have the external back port SCSI interface function simultaneously with internal SCSI device.
- Installed 3.5 disk power cable extension cord for easy installation and powering of internal SCSI devices.
- Mpcstuff.com button decals (see pictures)
- Installed internal iomega Zip 100 drive. (Will include zip disk)
- Step down power transformer for European power specifications.
- Fixed a typical Akai MPC 3000 fault: Noise in headphone outputs fixed and removed by qualified technician.
- All tact switches replaced by a qualified technician. Works like new.
- Power supply updated by a qualified technician.
- New pad sensor installed
- New SCSI fuse installed.
- A/D converter board fixed and inspected by a qualified technician.

Happy bidding!

PS. This machine looks beautiful next to a E MU SP 1200 black reissue! ;)"

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Akai MPC 2000XL Custom “Black Modular” Phenolic & Walnut Bezel

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

This one was spotted and sent in via M Me.


via this auction

"Custom Akai MPC 2000XL | Caramel Phenolic & Walnut Bezel, MC-2000XL Card Reader
Black Vinyl Wrap, 32MB RAM, 8 Output / Digital I/O Board, v.2 LCD Screen, Fat Pads
Just released October 2019, the 1st unit sold in 4 days. We are now making these units per individual order. Place your order for this custom MPC-2000XL unit by Big Noise MPC. Built to order; we can build your unit to your specifications, colors and desired extras. Price may very depending upon options and part/s availability. Custom builds are delivered within 30 business days.

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Roger Nichols WENDEL JR Drum Sampler

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
EPIC!!! '80s Drums 'n' Echo: Roger Nichols WENDEL/WENDELjr Sequential Drumtraks Lexicon 224XL/LARC video upload by Synclav com

via this auction

Note auction links are affiliate links. See the site's privacy policy for more info.

This one was spotted and sent in via
M Me.

Note this is the first one to be featured on the site. There's mention of a Wendel Sampling Computer here. Roger Nichols, the creator, passed away in 2011.

"Note that there is only one (1) unit (s.n. 140) shown in the photos and seven (7) sound boards, and that is what you get for one money.
Serial number 140 is seen in the video "EPIC!!! '80s Drums 'n' Echo: Roger Nichols WENDEL/WENDELjr Sequential Drumtraks Lexicon 224XL/LARC", it is the unit that is not rack mounted but over on the right side, sitting on top of the two stacked Lexicon 224XLs with the two LARC remotes sitting on top of it, and it is heard to play the Tom-2, Crash cymbal (Crash Cym-1), Ride cymbal (Ride Cym-1), Heart snare, and Heart kick.

If you select quantity two (2), you will get the second identical unit (s.n. 230) and a second set of the same (7) sound boards. I promise you the second one not shown is in equal or better condition. This would be very powerful and convenient setup for a producer to have, then able to do kick and snare at the same time, for example, and also for live sound drum replacement applications.
Serial number 230 is seen in the video "EPIC!!! '80s Drums 'n' Echo: Roger Nichols WENDEL/WENDELjr Sequential Drumtraks Lexicon 224XL/LARC", it is the unit that is in the bottom of the rack, and it is heard to play the two alternating clap sounds (the clap sound is not included in this listing, but always available), which again shows what the WENDELjr can do but none of these drum machines can (alternate claps, they just go clap-clap, same sound, machine-like).

Also if someone wants me to list just the sound kit for some other WENDELjr they bought from a chump and have no sounds for it, it's $799.00 for the seven sounds on seven boards."

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Custom White Roland JX-8P w/ PG-800

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This one was spotted and sent in via M Me.

Description in Googlish:

"CustomRoland JX-8P + Roland PG-800 + Roland M-16C Cartridge + Printed / Bound Owner's Manual.

Eprom OS 3.1

This JX-8P was in terrible condition when I got it (see last 4 photos), held together with wood screws, large scratches all around and a lot of rust on the front panel. Had 6 broken keys and the pitch bender was hanging loose.

The wood screws destroyed the inner bracket mounting holes that held the side panels together, so I had to drill these out and replace them with 5mm Allen screws, which looks pretty cool and gives the synthesizer back its stiffness.

Sanded the entire synth to bare metal / plastic to remove any remaining rust and scratches. On the bender panel, I filled in the holes drilled by a previous owner to hold the pitch bender.

Gave it a professional paint job in a contemporary light industrial gray that matches the buttons of the PG-800 and the industrial look of the JX-8P.

The PG-800 is built by myself with the original firmware / eprom. Potentiometers are from Alps and the knobs are from Sifam.

I made the graphics myself and are screen printed aka screen printing.

I bought an extensive screen printing kit so I can now print any design on any surface. I am satisfied with the result.

All keys have been cleaned and polished and the keyboard plays perfectly and the aftertouch works fine.

Also the light scratches on the display removed with a plastic polisher and that now looks like new.

All tacticle switches have of course been replaced with new ones :)

Getting this JX-8P back to its former glory was a lot of work, but I have to say it looks better than the original imho."

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EEHs Natural Sound Store Unit Zaunkönig Brochure - The FIRST Sampler w/ Realtime Time Stretching

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This one was spotted and sent in via M Me. I beleive this to be the first post to feature the Zaunkönig/Zaunkoenig. EEH also made the Banana and the DS 500. I just like saying they made the banana. See the EEH label for more. Why it wasn't yellow or even yellowish green, we will never know...

via this auction

"Original brochure, allegedly only 2 devices were built. FIRST sampler with realtime time stretching. Was bought by Akai and in a stripped down version, without realtime, for the S 1000. So the wren is the father of the Akai S 1000"

Update: you can find an article in German on the Zaunkonig here.

Update2: scan of the brochure added below along with a close-up pic of the front of the Zaunkönig, in via an anonymous reader. Also some interesting background added.

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New Behringer SP-2400 Sampler - E-Mu SP-1200 x 2 Clone In the Works?

This one spotted and sent in by Soviet Space Child. Update: it's real and it's not from Behringer.

Click on the image for the full sized shot. It's not the highest resolution but you can see SP-2400 Prototype printed on the bottom right. You can also see the following starting on the top left (circuit board print & jacks):

Active EQ for channels 3-6 (or is it 3 - 5)
filter for channels 1-2
Sampler Input LP AMP
CH 1 Out on the right and CH 8 Out on the top left (8 outs)
Mix Out
Stereo IN followed by MIDI In/Out/Through jacks
Power & USB jacks
Post EQ
Post AMP
FREQ Cutoff 1
Resonance 1
GNDA
FREQ Cutoff 2
Resonance 2

Check out some pics and videos of the E-Mu SP-1200 in the archives here.

Update via M Me:

"Hi Matrix, The SP2400 render picture is a fake render,if you zoom in on the picture you can see black lanes that goes in all ways. proportions of some trace planes are not possible,like from very large to one point delta. Also traces that goes to the 'big' processor/DSP comes from all sides and not the way like circuits are drawn.

100% fake"

Donny Benét - Le Piano (Official Music Video)

video upload by Donny Benét

This one was spotted and sent in via Soviet Space Child.

Roland TR-808 intro, followed by an ARP 2600. I'm guessing the 2600 is layered over a Yamaha CP70 mentioned below for the piano sounds? The 2600 does appear to come in for the synth solo at 3:04. The bass almost sounds synthetic. Soviet Space Child mentioned it sounds an awful lot like a MiniMoog. Whatever it is, it's fun stuff.

Video description:

From the EP Le Piano, out April 1 on Dot Dash Records
Pre order here: donnybenet.com and from bandcamp
****************************************************
Directed, filmed and edited by Alex Smith
Assistance: Riley McCullagh
2022
****************************************************
"It gives me great pleasure to present the first single Le Piano from my upcoming EP also titled Le Piano, coming out April 1 on Dot Dash records
After a crazy period of touring, being stuck at home for the past 2 years allowed life to slow down and gift me an extended period in my home studio.
After writing and releasing Mr Experience at the beginning of the coronavirus, I’d turned back to listening to a lot of instrumental music - Sakamoto, Hiroshi Yoshimura, Goblin, Kraftwerk, Vangelis, Yanni…to name a few.
I indulged myself and bought a vintage Yamaha CP70 electric grand piano, as well as finally setting up my studio to record live drums - something that’s been on my mind for quite some time. It seemed too soon to be writing a new album straight after Mr Experience (an album which I can’t wait to perform for you in 2022) so I spent most of the time in my little room experimenting, skilling up, and enjoying the musical process once again without the pressures of deadlines and touring.
This EP is a small taste of my world from this crazy moment in time - I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed creating it.
XXX

Rare Dynacord ADS-K Keyboard Sampler

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via this auction

This one was spotted and sent in via M Me.

This appears to be the first one to be featured on the site. Also see the Dynacord ADD-two.

From the listing:

"Here comes the rare keyboard version of the ADS, namely the ADS-K, under the hammer!

The ADS/ADS-K dates back to 1989 and raised the 16-bit bar a little higher with 20-bit converters. On the one hand, the ADS ties in with Dynacord's drum sampler history and, on the other hand, with their PA products (the well-known DRP-20 dates from the same time).

Extremely slick 80s design. Is - for my taste - only topped by the white version. But I've never seen them for sale. But the black version is also impressive. Who owns a Dynacord keyboard!?

Can also be used as a master keyboard due to the good synth keyboard and the large contact surface for computer keyboards or similar.

The features:
- 16bit with 20bit D/A converter
- Stereo sampling
- 16 votes
- 2MB, expandable to 8MB
- reads S-900 floppy disks (but I was never able to try it due to the lack of the sampler mentioned)
- Re-sampling (can sample itself)
- Additive synthesis with 64 harmonics
- Modulation matrix (see pictures; That's right, we also know it from another device, especially from the ramp generators. The software was said to have been programmed by the same gentlemen.)
- Internal mixer with loop-in path
- Individual outputs
- SCSI connection (I haven't been able to try that before, but it should still work)
- Good synth keyboard with effective dynamic conversion
- more features: see Internet

Unfortunately, the 33 years have left the following traces:

- The top two buttons are broken and beyond repair. I took them out of service and temporarily glued them on for cosmetic reasons. Didn't turn out that well - you can see a slight difference in height in the pictures. I hope the construction survives the transport.

- The upper right segment of the right 7-segment display is defective. You can see that in the pictures. "00" should be displayed. But that doesn't matter when playing, because you primarily look at the display and the button labels.

- The lower octave keys are slightly yellowed.

Scope of delivery:
- Dynacord ADS-K
- Original box
- Power cord
- Disks with sounds (unfortunately some of them are no longer readable)
- Leftovers/components of the two defective keys"

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Jurgen Haible - Living Vocoder Custom Build

This one was spotted on Muff's from JanneI and sent in via M Me.

Jurgen Haible started work on the design back in 2009, prototype boards came in 2010, and he unfortunately passed away in 2011. His site is gone, however I was able to find his page on the Living Vocoder at the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine here.

"The Filterbank funktion will have 3 modes:

1) On
The Filterbank will always be mixed with the vocoded sound, acording to how you set the Filterbank sliders.

2) Off
Basic Vocoder function

3) Silence Bridging
The Filterbank function will fade in when there is no speech. So there is always a coloured Excitation signal. While you speak, the colour is set by the speech. When you don't speak, the colour is set by the 20 Filterbank sliders. This allows a seamless blend of ariticulated and non-articulated sound.
You can set the threshold - how many dBs down the speech signal is, before the filterbank is engaged -, and the attack and release time of the filterbank fade in/out, with 3 potentiometers.

Capacitors

I have reduced the expensive, 1% capacitors to two values: 10nF and 47nF.
That way, you can buy them in larger quanities and they won't be that expensive.
You will need about 150 pieces of 47nF 1% and 150 pieces of 10nF 1%.
They are available at www.rs-components.de , order number 169-326 and 166-6421 (These are bags of 10 pieces.)
You'll need a lot of other capacitors as well, of course, butthese can be 5% tolerance - not so hard to source."

You can find additional details and links to schematics here.

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The Rare Welsh Minimoog Model E Synthesizer

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This one was spotted and sent in via M Me. You can find a few in previous posts here. There was a period when Moog went out of business and Bob Moog ran Big Briar. Two individuals grabbed the Moog name, Don Martin (Donimoog) in the US and Alex Winters in the UK / Wales.

Google translated from this German listing:

"For sale is a rare collector's item, a Minimoog Model E.

Only about 3-5 of these were built. The manufacturer was Moog by Alex Winter from Wales. When Bob Moog lost the naming rights to his original company in the USA, Alex Winter from Wales bought it for Europe and built a handful of Minimoogs. The condition is very good, except for a scratch on the panel in the right control panel.

It has the same features as the Minimoogs from the USA, but also has PWM for the oscillators and has MIDI.
The sound is absolutely identical to the other Minimoogs.

The buyer can look forward to a well-kept, very rare device, which has the advantage of being significantly younger than the old Moogs and can be integrated into a modern setup due to the midi connection.

I took over the device from a friend who owns a large collection of synthesizers, who bought the device through the company 'Touched-by-Sound'."

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GHOSTINMPC Custom Black & Orange/Red Roland TB-303 Devil Fish Mods Ver 2.0

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This one spotted and sent in by M Me, via this auction

"Devil Fish remodeled model of the world-famous TB-303 that produced many famous songs!
Fine adjustment of the filter is possible, and it is possible to make a more radical sound than the original, including overdrive.

In addition, this Devil Fish, GHOSTINMPC is custom painted!
Of course there is only one in the world.

* There is some distortion in the main body, and the foot on the right front side is floating about 1mm."

Check out more GHOSTINMPC custom designs here. I created a new label for them moving forward.

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