for dee in D# ~ Roland SVC 350 Vocoder

video upload by Ebotronix

Roland SVC 350 Vocoder, Aira J6,
Microphone Sennheiser 441,
Arp Odyssey,
Waldorf Iridium,
Bode Frequency Shifter, (2x) ,
Doepfer R2m , Ribbon Controller, (3x),
Mutable Instruments Midipal , (3x),
ADDAC Foot Control, with Boss EV 30 ,
Befaco ST Mix,
Tunefish Modular , µVeils,
Line 6 DL 4 MK 2,
Strymon Big Sky MX,controlled by,
ATO Faderbank 16 n , with Midi CC,
Mixolydian Scale,
17.04.2024
video # 2508

april minor one

video upload by Ebotronix

april minor two

video upload by Ebotronix

Waldorf Iridium,
Intuitive Instruments Exquis,
Doepfer R2m.,
Mutable Instruments Midi Pal,
Tunefish Modular µPeaks,µVeils,
ADDAC 2x Foot Control,
Boss EV 30,
Befaco ST mix,
Line 6 DL4 MK2,
Roland J6,
Bode Frequeny Shifter,
Sennheiser 441 microphone,
VC 16 Vocoder,
Strymon Big Sky MX, controlled by ,16n ATO Faderbank,
Yamaha MCS 2,
05.04.2025
vid # 2502 & 2503

SENNHEISER VOCODER VSM-201 - Handmade miniaturte 1/6 scale.

video upload by Ronaldo Lopes Teixeira ROLT

Rauhnacht³

video upload by Ebotronix

Make Noise Spectraphone Vocoder
with Art OPL Preamp and Sennheiser MD 441 Microphone
Make Noise: Contour, 2x Erbe Verb, Function, LXD, 2x Maths V1, Maths V2,
2x Mimeophone, 2x MMG, 4x Moddemix, Morphagene , Mysteron,
2x Optomix, 2x Pressure Points / Brains, 2x QMMG v1 & v 2, QPAS,
Rene , RXMX, Spectraphone, 5x STO, 2x Telharmonic (Shepard Generator) ,
Tempi, 5 x Xpan, XPO, 2x Wiard Wogglebug!
the others:
Tunefish Modular 3x 1u Ornament and Crime with Phaserville
Calibr8or with Pa Khafi Scale. number of notes: 7
notes (in cents): 0, 203.9, 293.8, 497.7, 702.3, 906.2, 996.1
Mutable Intruments Shades,
4ms Peg,
Flame Memory Slider,
Doepfer 2x R2m Ribbon Controller, A 138n, A 156, 2x A 177-2 with 2x Boss EV 30
Befaco Stereo Mixer,
XAOC 3x Batumi ,
Erica Synths Pico Drum ( Rim ),
ATO Faderbank 16 n Midi CC to
Strymon Big Sky MX!
29.12.2024
[twelve nights between Christmas Eve and Epiphany]
vid # 2449

SYNTOVOX 221 VOCODER

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

via this auction

"Vocoder built by the dutch high end synthesizer company Synton. Distributed in the USA by [Bob] Moog's Big Brair company.

This is the flagship vocoder from Synton, and is among the best vocoders of all time. It shares company with the EMS 5000 and the Sennheiser VSM-201 vocoder.

It's really rare, only 20 pieces was made.

One of the ultimate best vocoders in the universe, if not THE best. This is what Wendy Carlos said (on the web )- 'Question #4 -- What kind of vocoder do/did you prefer? Felix Visser made the best ones, for his long-gone (alas!) Synton company, all during the 80's. Some other fine devices exist, as the EMI/Synthi big one, and Sennheiser's expensive one, those and dear Harald Bode's design that Moog's good 16-band one was similar to. The ultra-basic analog units were generally mushy-sounding. Synton's had the best intelligibility on spoken words for their original 32-band device, .......' This is Felix's own machine, serial number 010, and was actually used extensively by Wendy Carlos - there's a typed note to her on the power supply saying it had been changed to 115V for her. It has now been changed back to 220V by Felix Visser. Unlike some models, it has a complete case. It will be sold fully working, and with a signed cerificate of provenance.

Synthovox 221 is a 20-channel vocoder system which has made its way to numerous recording studios, radio stations, composers and scientific institutions for its outstanding quality and its unexcelled intelligibility.

It includes 54 dB/octave filter, a feature not found in any other vocoder on the market. It also offers the versatility of a build-in pulse generator for direct speech sythesis and several control units for pitch modulation.

It features matrix patching for format shifting and a highly precise voiced/unvoiced detector system. And it offers extreme flexibility by the multiway connector which gives access to the analyzer and synthesizer sections and the control terminals of the voiced/unvoiced detector.

The Intelligible Machine has set standards in vocoder techniques.

High end model, attenuator per channel.

Only about 20 of these were made. Users include Wendy Carlos (who owns a 221 & SPX 216), various electronic studio's in Europe. Best suited for studio use due to complex control.

The 221 has a 50-pin connector on the back which provides CV in and out for each channel, and other functions as described above."

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V.A.I. 77 : CRB VOCO STRINGS / CRB COMPUTERBAND 2000 / SIEL CRUISE

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Combining two very rare oddballs - both manufactured by CRB Elettronica in the late 1970s : The CRB Computer Band 2000 and the CRB Voco Strings.

The Computer Band 2000 is an analog auto-accompaniment machine with a range of chord and arpeggiator sounds with decay controls, as well as a bass section and a drum machine with individually mutable sounds.

The Voco Strings is CRBs take on the Roland VP-330 - a string and vocoder machine. Were there any other commercially produced vocoders in Europe apart from this one and the Sennheiser VSM-201? Let us know in the comment section.

We're letting the CRB Voco strings process the Computer Band, via the regular audio input, while a third player, the Siel Cruise, a lovely Mono / Poly machine, is connected as an external carrier signal, via the instrument input.

More videos of this lovely combination will be going up soon.

Vintage Audio Institute is a gear vendor and recording facility in Florence Italy."

Analogue Solutions Announces Colossus #4

I almost skipped posting this as the only news here is there's a 4th production run of the Colossus. I guess it's interesting knowing how many are out there. What's also interesting is I always assumed the Colossus was either built in a limited initial run, or it was built per order only. This is a mammoth endeaver and each one costs 25,000 GBP which comes out to $35,000 US. It is $4500 less than this little Sennheiser VSM201 Vocoder!

Note, the images in this post appear to be stock. You can find demos of the Colossus in previous posts here.

Press release follows:
""Analogue Solutions announces forthcoming fourth run of Colossus supersized synth that trips back to the future of analogue

KINGSWINFORD, UK: following a showstopping showcase during its introduction at SynthFest UK 2019 in Sheffield, British boutique electronic instruments innovator Analogue Solutions is proud to announce a forthcoming fourth run of Colossus — its supersized synth that trips back to the future of analogue, albeit symbolising so much more than a powerful analogue ‘workstation’ with no fewer than 12 VCOs (Voltage-Controlled Oscillators) beating at its monumental musical heart, rather representing art, architecture, and superlative studio furniture at its hand-built best by taking its design cues from the colossal classic that is the EMS Synthi 100, although no Synthi circuit was cloned or copied in making the destined-to-be-classic Colossus fit for a new generation of high-flying owners — as of February 15…

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$39,500.00 Sennheiser VSM201 Vocoder

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

via this auction

"Here is it, one of the rarest and most legendary vocoders and synthesizer effects on the planet. The Sennheiser VSM 201. These supposedly cost upwards of $20,000 when built new and apparently only a few dozen were ever made. It's hard to say how many are still left in existence. In the past 10 years of searching we have only seen a handful of these for sale. We have previously owned a few of them, including one that was owned originally by Herbie Hancock and one we sold directly personally to Daft Punk before their Random Access Memories release. Other legendary users include Kraftwerk. This one is in great shape and fully functional. Fantastic for collector/curator or showpiece to have in your studio. A joy to play with, no other vocoder is quite like it. A multitude of knobs and tone shaping possibilities. The last one we saw for sale sold for $28k over 2 years ago. Since then vintage gear has only continued to climb in value. A great investment. Don't miss out!"

Priced at US $39,500.00

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Voice of the Cylon - Battlestar Galactica, The ARP 2500, and the EMS Vocoder 1000

Published on Nov 20, 2019 supajc

Amazing series sent my way via John L Rice. Playlist and descriptions for each video in the playlist above, directly below. Enjoy. ;)

See here for previous posts featuring Battlestar Galactica.

Playlist:

1. Voice of the Cylon Pt. 1 The Synthesizer [ARP 2500]

Battlestar Galactica fans & synthesizer community, rejoice! For the first time in history the mysterious sound of the Cylon voice is revealed. I tracked down probably the last person alive who knows the entire formula, very private individual still works in visual arts. To him it was just a job he did 40 years ago, to me it's one of the most mesmerizing sounds in musical/sci-fi fx history. 6 parts to this series as of 11-2019.

2. Voice Of The Cylon Pt. 2 the Voice Recording

My contact told me "they brought us the voices" on Nagra III and IV tape machines. Vocoder recorded back to Nagra for film sync. Voice actor Micheal Santiago was hired to do the voice, but didn't, telling youtube user intromix later that "they ended up getting someone cheaper" to do it. One actor did all the voices, for consistency, reading the script in a lifeless, monotone voice as to not shift the frequency spectrum in the vocoder.

3. Voice Of The Cylon Pt. 3 The Vocoder [EMS Vocoder, specifically the Vocoder 1000]

Finally it is known exactly which vocoder was used for the Cylon voice. Universal Studios had rented the EMS and Sennheiser, and when sound designer Peter Berkos was asked about it circa 2008 he mis-remembered due to having the Sennheiser manual still. Youtube user intromix has owned both and tested oscillators, it could not have been the Sennheiser but now we know for sure anyway.

4. Voice of the Cylon Pt. 4 the Phaser & Distortion [Countryman Associates Type 968A Phase Shifter]

The rare, quirky effect box that was used as an impromptu distortion device. My contact told me that they floated the idea of using a guitar amp and/or pedals, but did not even try it once they found this. ** Also, he told me NO Marshall Time modulator was used as it hadn't even been released yet.

5. Voice of the Cylon Pt. 5 Recording Gear

Two main pieces of studio recording gear that were present at Universal Studios in 1978 that had a big impact on the sonic character of the Cylon voice recording. Big thanks to Ken from Electrodyne for all his advice, as well as https://vintageking.com/ and http://petesplaceaudio.com

6. Voice Of the Cylon Pt. 6 Audio Demos & Credits

Resurrecting the sound of the Cylon Centurion from the original Battlestar Galactica 1978 using the original equipment. Once the vocoder was recorded, it was further altered/degraded by multiple tape transfers in the video editing process, post-production techniques (EQ and reverb, to "place" the character in a big room, spaceship, etc) My contact said there were just pieces of tape on the gear to place knobs/switches back where they were; and that the synthesizer frequently sounded very different from day to day or after a power outage. In the series there are wildly differing Cylon tones, tiny movements in gain or EQ settings (especially the ringy ARP 2500 filters) radically alter the vocoder due to the ultra-harmonic richness of the tone. So many preamps and transformers involved, it was hard for THEM to make the Cylon voice consistent. Supposedly sound designer Peter Berkos wrote notes on the process, Universal Studios couldn't locate any info at all, it likely all burned down in the great fire of 2008 as well as the golden ARP 2500 oscillator used all throughout Galactica 1980.
Preamp was running a bit hot in this demo, didn't catch until after, so this tone sounds extra crunchy in this example. I sampled my tones with lowpass filter a bit too low, hope to get another chance with the real thing some day.

7. Gold Cylon Voice Vulpa [extra video]

Recreating the lower voice of the Gold Cylon commander. There are so many steps and factors to re-creating the Cylon voice even the original crew could not make it consistent on a day-to-day basis. Out of hundreds of test files this year I'm only really happy with about 5 of them but will keep working to recreate it perfectly.

EMS Vocoder 3000

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

via this auction

"For sale is an insanely rare EMS Vocoder System 3000. A once in a lifetime chance to own one of these? We think so. In our 10+ years of synthesizer hunting, this is the first ever 3000 we have encountered. The 2000 is quite rare, but the 3000 even more so. We've owned almost every major vocoder made (Roland VP330, SVC-350, Korg VC10, EMS 1000/2000, Sennheiser VSM201 (3 total!), Moog Vocoder etc) and to our ears the EMS is the best for dialing in intelligible vocals with synthesized tones. It just sounds excellent, easy to use and all around fantastic vocoder. The EMS 3000 adds level controls for 16 bands which makes it incredibly useful for dialing in more specific tones.

This unit is fully functional, recently serviced and in excellent shape. Don't pass this one up!"

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Kraftwerk's Sennheiser VSM 201 Vocoder

Published on Dec 5, 2011 DJ DNA (Urban Dance Squad)

"This is the very vocoder Kraftwerk used on their albums Computerworld and Man Machine, I purchased it from their Kling Klang studios in 1999, it is modified and came with a 19" Telefunken midiunit that connects via a SCSIport in the back of the vocoder, rerouting the 20 bands of processed signal, thus enabling xtra controls (presumably for liveshows)."

The Voice of Q

Published on Oct 22, 2018 VoiceEncoder
Update: looks like VoiceEncoder pulled the video.
I found other uploads and a link to the 12" on Bandcamp for those interested.
This of course went up as a demo of the Sennheiser Vocoder VSM201 according to the original description from VoiceEncoder further below.

"12" Now On Bandcamp:

https://isleofjura.bandcamp.com/album...

The leftfield electro disco gem originally released in 1982 finally gets an official reissue. Bootlegged badly in recent years, Isle Of Jura does it right with fully remastered versions from Matt Colton and the added inclusion of a previously unreleased Q song ‘Keep It Strong’."

Original description from VoiceEncoder:

"Q: 'The Voice of Q' (Full VINYL album uploaded in 1080p HD). Sennheiser Vocoder VSM201. Full VINYL album.

Tracklisting:

1. "The Voice of Q" (Original 12").
2. "Keep It Strong" (Unreleased Dub Edit).
3. "The Voice of Q" (Vocoder 12")."

Korg DVP-1 Demos by SynthMania

Technologic DVP-1

Published on Jun 17, 2018 SynthMania

"Just goofing around a bit in the studio :-D"

Korg DVP-1 quick demo

Published on Jun 19, 2018 SynthMania

"A quick demonstration of the four main modes of the Korg DVP-1 Digital Voice Processor, from the year 1985:
- Pitch Shift
- Vocoder
- Harmonize
- Internal waveforms
MIDI keyboard: Korg Monologue
Microphone: Sennheiser XS 1"

EMS Vocoder 2000

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

via this auction

"I have owned at one point or another almost every vintage vocoder ever made, including all the popular classics like the Roland SVC350, Roland VP330, EMS 1000, 2000, Sennheiser VSM201, Moog Vocoder, etc. To me the EMS 2000 is one of the best out of them all for creating pronounced and intelligible vocals while giving you the vocoding effect, though it can get quite creativity and warped on other settings as well. For a small box with only a few switches there's still loads of sounds to be had. There's nothing quite as classic as a good vintage vocoder, every collector or home studio needs to have at least one. Don't miss out!"

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Moog Modular IIIc ▪ Sennheiser Vocoder VSM 201 ▪ Heinz Funk 1978 ▪ English subtitles

Published on Mar 24, 2017 MonoThyratron

► Educational Purpose only, please ◄
► English subtitles provided ◄

Videosource without English subtitles:
https://www.youtube.com/user/funkheinz

"In 1978, German musician, technician and businessman Heinz Funk (* 1915 - † 2013) tried to bring the average television consumer closer to the possibilities of electronic sound production. Going for half-measures wasn't his scene then: The TV demonstration included the cabinet-size Moog Modular IIIc, on which 2 copies of the Sennheiser Vocoder VSM 201 resided (only 50 pieces were allegedly produced). Left to them was placed the - here unused - Moog license module 1630 of the Bose Frequency Shifter.

'Storm wind', 'canary' and 'Lili Marleen' were pre-produced for this televised report, but the speech-laden vocoder demo was obviously done live. A white lab coat and patch cables wrapped around the neck should symbolize the technician. Body language and positioned leg of the presenter should bring out the relaxed handling of the then still quite unknown music technology.

Since this presentation was embedded in a musical entertainment program of the 'Second German Television', it should not deal too much with scientific and technical matter. The entertaining aspect was in the foreground, because the target audience on this TV show was not much drawn to electronic music production at that time. Heinz Funk mastered the tonal span between convention and modernism with wit and at the end of his performance even staged the "crazy professor". This was something usually not expected of a serious musician, as Funk was one. According to reports, he presented this highly "casual" style of a Moog and Sennheiser sales presentation even to a specialist audience, which was not always accepted with approval in German sales circles those days.

The vita of Heinz Funk reveals a "Jack-of-all-trades": Flight instructor, film composer, accordion and piano player, orchestra director, arranger, producer, music teacher, sound engineer, author of technical documentation, Moog sales partner, founder and proprietor of the nationwide „Studio Funk“, which still produces for radio stations, as well as film and sound studios. Heinz Funk's wide network within the AV media industry also brought together numerous musicians and developers, thus promoting the emergence of the German electronic music scene of the 1970s and 1980s."

Synth Spotting with Meat Beat Manifesto

Three pics via dwell, where you'll find the full post.

Photos by Joe Fletcher.

Mmm... vinyl.

Synth spotting:
E-mu modular on top of ARP 2500
Small Buchla system? on top of KORG MS series, on top of KORG PS3300
EMS SYNTHI & Elektron Analog Four
Roland Jupiter-4 over Jupiter-8
Roland System 100m modular over complete System 100 minus speakers
White EML 101 minus keyboard over blue EML 200 expander
Sennheiser VSM-201 vocoder over EMS Vocoder 2000 racked on the left
Big Briar Model 91A Theremin on the right (thank you Theremin World!)

Spotted this one on TRASH_AUDIO

bFAKE - Kraftwerk Vocoder (Official Video)

Published on Sep 29, 2016 bFAKEVEVO

Moog Source, Crumar Trilogy, Synton modular & Sennheiser vocoder!

"The first single Kraftwerk Vocoder, by bFake! Stream the single elsewhere: https://V2.lnk.to/bFake

bFake is PinKi & da Bruin and DJ DNA"

via Synthtopia

Synton Syntovox 221 For Sale & Synton Syntovox Vocoders: "Demo-Recording"

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
Uploaded on Sep 29, 2009 VoiceEncoder

"Synton Syntovox Vocoders: 'Demo-Recording'.

Copyright Synton Electronic of Holland, Inc. All Rights Reserved. For listening pleasure only."

via this auction

Pics of the inside below.

"This is the flagship vocoder from Synton, and is among the best vocoders of all time. It shares company with the EMS 5000 and the Sennheiser VSM-201 vocoder.

It's really rare, only 20 pieces was made.

The face of the unit is without blemish. The pots feel smooth and as new, no pins are missing and all LEDs work as new.
When I got it five years ago, a CA3080 in it nearly 'exploded'. I got in touch with the Synton factory in Netherlands they informed me that this is a type bug and suggested to replace all of them. I decided to do that, and with this I replaced the condensers as well. (In the link below you can see pictures about the repair)

A technician has gone over it thoroughly, and couldn't find a fault.I used it also and found everything in a perfect state.

I provide a video and other infos about the product on the special tumblr page which I made for this project: syntovox221.tumblr.com"

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Happy Birthday Herbie Hancock!

Today is Herbie Hancock's birthday!

Found this great shot of Herbie with a Moog Minimoog & Sennheiser VSM201 vocoder via @moogmusicinc.

BTW, unless he owned more than one VSM201, that exact VSM201 was up for auction here back in 2011. Crazy to think someone out there has that little bit of synth history.  Curious what happened to the Mini.

La fabrication de Moscow Diskow (Telex)

Published on Nov 28, 2012 nygmatrash·9 videos

"Dan Lacksman et Marc Moulin décomposent leur tube de génie !"

Sennheiser VSM-201 Vocoderhttp://m.matrixsynth.com/2007/11/vocoder-videos-via-intromix.html, PPG 350 Sequencer, Moog modular & more.

Telex - Moskow Diskow (1979)

Published on Jul 10, 2012
"Telex - Moskow Diskow

Version : Original 1979

"Telex-Moskow Diskow", sound recording administered by: EMI"