Synthesizer von Gestern (Synths of the Past) Vol 2, Matthias Becker.

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via this auction

"Beautifully-produced second volume of Matthias Becker's authoritative 'Synthesizers of the Past' book - in German, but with so many superb illustrations that it's hardly necessary to read the text. New, unused, still sealed. The photos were taken of another copy of the book.

Too many highlights to mention all, but the book covers such absolute classic synths as the Trautonium, ARP 2500, EMS Synthi 100, E-mu Modular, Steiner-Parker Synthacon, RMI Harmonic Synthesizer, Birotron, PPG 1002, Moog Taurus and Liberation, Roland System 700, Synlab Modular, Roland SH-7, Crumar DS-2, Korg Sigma, ARP Quadra, Roland RS-505 and VP-330, Fairlight CMI, Realton Variophon, Oberhaim OB-Xa, Xpander and OB-SX, Gleeman Pentaphonic, RSF Kobol, Emulator 1, Synergy, Roland SH-101, TB-303, TR-606, MC-202, Jupiter 6, Syntec Banana, SCI Prophet T8, OSCar......... an incredible roster which would (in the beautiful condition they are in the photos) probably now be worth over half a million US dollars.

All with superb photos by Dieter Stork. Hardback, beautifully printed on very high quality paper, bound to the highest standards. A coffee-table book which is also a superb source of information. The Rolls-Royce (OK, Mercedes) of synth literature. (I should know - I produced the Ford Fiestas of the genre.) ISBN 3927954012, printed in 1995."

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Synthesizer Von Gestern by Matthias Becker

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via this auction

"New, sealed, hard cover synthesizer book. Synthesizers Von Gestern by Matthias Becker. Full color, hard cover, high quality stock paper. Covers many famous and legendary analog synthesizers. Note: photos are very nice however Book is written in German."

Synthesiser von Gestern Volumes 1 - 3

Synthesiser von Gestern Volume 1
Published on Feb 22, 2015 baward

"From the 1990 CD, ‘Synthesiser von Gestern' ('Synthesisers of Yesterday’) or 'Vintage Synths Volume 1’"

Playlist:
SVG1 1/22 Arp Odyssey
SVG1 2/22 Yamaha CS-60 part 1
SVG1 3/22 Oberheim SEM
SVG1 4/22 Korg Mono/Poly
SVG1 5/22 Minimoog
SVG1 6/22 Memorymoog
SVG1 7/22 Roland Jupiter 8
SVG1 8/22 Yamaha CS-60 part 2
SVG1 09/22 Sequential Circuits Pro One
SVG1 10/22 Korg PS-3100
SVG1 11/22 Roland SH-5
SVG1 12/22 Rhodes Chroma part 1
SVG1 13/22 Korg Poly 800
SVG1 14/22 Roland System 100
SVG1 15/22 Roland Juno 60
SVG1 16/22 Mellotron
SVG1 17/22 EMS Synthi A
SVG1 18/22 Rhodes Chroma part 2
SVG1 19/22 PPG Wave 2 2
SVG1 20/22 Yamaha CS 15
SVG1 21/22 Korg MS-20
SVG1 22/22 Moog System 55

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"Synthesizer von Gestern" ARP Odyssey in the Flesh

via RetroSound.de

"I bought this beauty in the late 90s from the author of the german vintage synth book 'Synthesizer von Gestern' M.Becker. this is the synth in this book and today in the same fantastic condition"

Synthesizer von Gestern Vol. 2

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via this auction

Googlish: "It will be presented approximately 50 vintage synth classics with text and great pictures, including: EMS Synthi 100, Steiner Parker Synthacon, E-MU Modular, Roland System 700, Synlab Modular, Oberheim OB-1, Roland SH-7, Jupiter 6, Banana, Yamaha CS-30, Fairlight CMI, Oberheim OB-Xa, Roland VC 10, Roland SPV-355, Trautonium e-MU emulator I, Roland SH-101, TB-303, TR-606, MC-202, Korg poly-61, poly 800, OSC Oscar Oberheim XPander, and many other well-known and very rare synthesizer."

Synthesizer von Gestern II

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

via this auction

"A brand-new sealed example of the most beautiful book ever produced about synthesisers.

Hardback, top quality paper and reproduction, full colour printing on most pages, great photos by Dieter Stork, and authoritative, well-researched text by Matthias Becker.
In German, but still a huge amount of info and synth porn for a non-German-speaker.
146 pp, A4 size (nearly 12 x 8.5"). 750g (1lb 10oz) - a really solidly-made and well-bound book.

First edition, published 1995. This is the second (and bigger) of two volumes of the book, and covers a huge range of classic synthesisers.

Instruments featured:-
Oskar Sala's Trautonium and Mixtur-Trautonium (cf the whole soundtrack of Hitchcock's Birds)
Joergensen Clavioline
ARP 2500
EMS Synthi 100
Moog Sonic Six
E-mu Modular
EMS Synthi Hi-Fli
ARP Pro-Soloist
Steiner-Parker Synthacon
RMI Harmonic Synthesizer
EMS Synthi E
Birotron
PPG 1002
Moog Taurus
Moog Liberation
Roland System 700
Synlab Modular (incredible!)
Yamaha SY-1
Oberheim OB-1
Roland SH-7
Steiner EVI
Crumar DS2
Yamaha CS-30
Korg Sigma
Korg VC-10
ARP Quadra
Roalnd RS-505
Roland VP-330+
Fairlight CMI
Realton Variophon
Oberheim OB-Xa
Oberheim OB-SX
Roland SPV-355
Moog Prodigy
Gleeman Pentaphonic
RSF Kobol
E-mu Emulator I
DK Synergy
RSF Blackbox
Roland SH-101
Roland TB-303
Roland TR-606
Roland MC-202
SCI Prophet 600
Roland Jupiter 6
Korg Poly 61
Yamaha DX7
Syntec Banana
SCI Prophet T8
Boehm Soundlab
OSC OSCar
Korg Poly 800
Oberheim Xpander"

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Final Set of A-Z of Analogue Synthesisers

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via this auction

The listing is from the author Peter Forrest who states this is likely the last set.  These are great books and imo the most comprehensive.  Click on the pics to get an idea of what they are like.  Peter also has other items listed including The Museum of Synthesizer Technology and Synthesizer von Gestern II.

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Synthesizer von Gestern (Synths of the Past) II, sealed

via this auction

"Classic hardback book about classic synthesisers, in German, but with loads of superb illustrations - the most beautiful book about synths ever made.

Sealed, brand new. This is Book II, which is bigger than Book I, and includes authoritative text and diagrams and gorgeous photos.

The book starts with an in-depth interview with Oskar Sala, inventor of the Mixtur-Trautonium (used for the entire soundtrack of Hitchcock's 'The Birds'). Fantastic photos of his studio and various Trautoniums.

Other synths and electronic instruments covered in detail include:- Jorgensen Clavioline, ARP 2500, EMS Synthi 100, Moog Sonic Six, Emu modular, EMS Synthi Hi-Fli, ARP Pro Soloist, Steiner-Parker Synthacon, RMI Harmonic Synthesizer, EMS Synthi E, Birotron, PPG 1002, Moog Taurus, Liberation, Prodigy; Roland System 700, Synlab Modular, Yamaha SY1, Oberheim OB-1, Roland SH-7, Steiner EVI, Crumar DS-2, Yamaha CS-30, DX7; Korg Sigma, VC-10, Poly 61, Poly 800; ARP Quadra, Roland RS-505, VP-330, SPV-355, SH-101, TB-303, TR-606, MC-202, Jupiter 6; Fairlight CMI, Realton Variophon, Oberheim OB-Xa, OB-SX, Xpander; Gleeman Pentaphonic, RSF Kobol, Blackbox; Emu Emulator I, DK Synergy, SCI Prophet 600, Prophet T8; EEH Banana, Boehm Soundlab, OSC OSCar.

A beautiful quality coffee-table book - high production values, great illustrations, hardback, and as rare as some of the rarest synths it contains! Still sealed!"

Synthesizer von Gestern (Synths of the Past) Volume 2

via this auction

"This is a brand new sealed, unopened copy of the rare classic synthesiser book, 'Synthesizer von Gestern' by Matthias Becker. It is the second volume, which (at 146 pages) is larger than the first, and includes an incredible array of classic synths. Unlike the A-Z or Museum book, this is a beautifully-bound hardback, and is printed on very good quality paper. It is the first and only edition of this rare book. The picture is of another book, but it is identical.

When this book was out of print and no longer available, copies were changing hands for 100GBP-plus. Then the publishers found one last pallet of books in their warehouse, gave them to the author in lieu of royalties, and I drove to Koeln in Germany to bring back all I could.

It is in German, but so much of the book is taken up with beautiful full-colour photos and excellent illustrations that that isn't as important as you might think, if you don't speak German. It's a great coffee-table book, but full of serious information too - and the photos are in a class of their own. Crisp, beautiful, detailed, professional!

The book starts with an in-depth interview with Oskar Sala, inventor of the Mixtur-Trautonium (used for the entire soundtrack of Hitchcock's 'The Birds'). Fantastic photos of his studio and various Trautoniums.
Other synths and electronic instruments covered in detail include:-

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Vintage Synths Vol 1 - Oberheim SEM

YouTube via triumphthruxton.

Another Synthesizer Von Gestern track.

Note I added the CD to my Synth CDs section.
"Vintage Synths Vol 1 - Oberheim SEM
German synth historian Matthias Becker produced a CD series back in 1990 with tracks made with one synth only. The CDs were named "Synthesizers Von Gestern Vol 1/2/3". This track was composed by Klaus Stülen at Originalton West Studio / Köln."

Synthesizer von Gestern - Rhodes Chroma Tracks

You can listen to two Rhodes Chroma tracks on the Rhodes Chroma site. You will also find the full track listing with notes for Volume 1. This is a follow-up to these posts.

via Chris Ryan in the comments of this post. Chris actually hosts the excellent Rhodes Chroma site.

Synthesizer Von Gestern and More Single Synth CDs

As most of you know, this site is not about electronic music in general, it's about synths. Why? I put up anywhere from 20 - 40 posts every single day. You can imagine what the number might look like if I opened the site up to the more general. I do make the rare exception but there is always a very specific reason for it. That said, the music that does get showcased here is the music that showcases an individual synth or two. One of the best examples of this are the Synthesizer Von Gestern CDs. Pictured to the left is Vintage Synths Vol. 1. Below is the track listing. I was fortunate enough to have swissdoc play a couple of the CDs for me during my last trip to Switzerland. You might remember the Synthorama Museum posts from this trip. Swissdoc just wrote in to let me know you can find the Synthesizer Von Gestern CDs and more at Originalton West.

Track list for Vintage Synths Vol. 1 (these are the actual track names)
1. arp odyssey (1:54)
2. yamaha cs-60 (3:45)
3. oberheim sem (2:04)
4. korg mono-poly (3:16)
5. minimoog (1:59)
6. memorymoog (4:48)
7. roland jupiter 8 (2:42)
8. yamaha cs-60 (2:07)
9. sequential pro one (2:58)
10. korg ps-3100 (3:27)
11. roland sh-5 (3:38)
12. rhodes chroma (2:15)
13. korg poly 800 (2:18)
14. roland system 100 (2:39)
15. roland juno 60 (3:18)
16. mellotron (1:39)
17. ems synthi a (2:17)
18. rhodes chroma (3:41)
19. ppg wave 2.2 (3:16)
20. yamaha cs-15 (2:49)
21. korg ms-20 (2:46)
22. moog system 55 (2:38)

Synthesizer Von Gestern - Roland System 700 Recording

This one via Jeff and Mark Pulver on AH. The direct link to the recording is here, courtesy of Jeff and posted on the MIDIWall gear page by Mark Pulver. Be sure to check out the MIDIWall gear page for more synth goodness. You might recognize the name Synthesizer Von Gestern from these prior posts.

Update via peterwendt in the comments:
"Great. I have the vol. 1 and vol. 2 CDs that include this track. I love listening to them and I think they give a good account of the characters of the instruments that I know. Vol. 2 includes the System 700 and a wonderful performance by Oskar Sala on his Mixtur-Trautonium.

There is a vol. 3 disc that I really want (Buchla, Prophet VS, ...).

The German CD label has interesting pages on the CDs and the project here:
http://www.originaltonwest.de/vintage%20synths%20vol.1.html
http://www.originaltonwest.de/vintage%20synths%20vol.2.html
http://www.originaltonwest.de/vintage%20synths%20vol.3.html

Dang. If only I had bought that System 700 cheap in Japan."

links also via Jeff on AH.

Synthesizer von gestern vol.2

via this auction. Vol 1 here.
Update: check out the comments if you are interested in this book.
"Synthesizer von gestern vol.2 (in German)
Matthias Becker, 1995. 148 pages, A4, high quality full colour pictures by Dieter Stork.

Matthias Becker, born in 1955, has been involved in the world of synthesizers for more than two decades. During the eightes he ran a school in Koeln concentrating its activity on the theory and practise of the synthesizer. Matthias Becker is considered beeing an expert on Vintage synthesizers. His large collection of synthesizers have been publicly exhibited Osnabruck, Leipzig, Hamburg and Frankfurt.

This is Matthias Becker´s second book with historical synthesizers. One of the best book ever!"

Synthesizer von gestern vol.1

via this auction.

Details:
"Synthesizer von gestern vol.1
Matthias Becker, 1990. 122 pages, A4, high quality full colour pictures by Dieter Stork.

Matthias Becker started in September 1987, writing an articleserie in the german magazine KEYBOARDS. Later on this was put together into a book "Synthesizer von gestern". With photos from Dieter Stork have Matthias Becker set a very high standard presenting historical synthesizers in word and picture. The wonderful photos (at least 100 in each volume ) make up the fact that it's in German. Everyone interested in classical synthesizer will find very interesting details, including information which maybe the manufacturer didn't think of."

EMS Putney VCS3 pictured.

Synth CDs

See the Synth CDs label for more.

Vintage MOOG Albums - Free downloads. Check this one out. This is not an ad.


Amin Bhatia Virtuality
Post on MATRIXSYNTH


Switched on Bach (MOOG)

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EMS Synthi 100 on YouTube

"Rare footage of a Synthi 100 in operation - though I am not sure if this guy really knows what he is doing."
YouTube by Sharpblue.

Update via Moogulator of Sequencer.de in the comments:
"this is from the analogue heaven video from martin newcombe.. maybe he is not really amused, same with the moog one, it's from the same video..

matthias is a writer of the german keyboards magazine, he wrote the synthesizer von gestern books and series - (vintage synthesizers or exact words are: yesterdays synthesizers)

it is more a live-video and obviously he really tried to find out where the modulation comes from (turned down all OSCs etc. checked the matrix..) well.. the matrix is cool but even on the VCS3 it takes some time to find the mod-pins on the right place ;)"

Oldstyle Evolver

Title link takes you to a 4.22M mp3 of the Poly Evolver by Stefan Trippler.

"I listened to the great CD collection "Synthesizer von Gestern" again, lend
some chords and structure from Ralf Weber and tried to make a track in a
similar style with Poly Evolver sounds.

Here is the result:

Oldstyle Evolver

Some softer sounds again. I won't ever be able to produce a reasonable
mixing quality, but anyway, I think it is good enough to get an impression
of the Evolver sound character. Btw I didn't try to imitate the sounds from
the original track too close, would habe been too much work, if possible at
all...

All sounds from the Poly Evolver, PSP Easy Verb, some delays and compressors
from Cubase"

Via AH.