the Good, the Bad and the WELSON RITMO

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

00:00 video begins
00:30 introduction and specs
01:48 more examples of auto accompaniment sections
03:07 fast orchestral arpeggios
04:29 more orchestral arpeggios
04:49 waltz ending

"WELSON RITMO - 1980?

The successor to the Welson Band is a colorful device with great analog sounds albeit slightly minimal variety or modulation offerings.

The video probably has the information you need so please watch the whole thing - we can't provide better answers than you find in the video itself.

Let's do a basic rundown here :

The thumbnail shows you the siblings together : The Welson Ritmo and The Welson Band - both machines made by Italian instrument maker Welson.

The Ritmo offers 4 instrument sections with individual volume controls and mute buttons :

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Wersi Wersimatic WM24 / like Elgam Carousel Godwin Drummaker CX1

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

via this Reverb listing

"Rare analog drum machine and auto accompaniment unit from Germany. Very much like italians units like Elgam Carousel, Elka Wilgamat or Welson Ritmo, and predecessor of the CX1.

VIDEO DEMO [previously posted here]

Unit was fully recapped and is in fully working condtion.

As an early 70s unit except some backgroun noise but nothimg major, check the démo.

Cosmetic is quite good with some wear.

Comes with original DIN and jack cables to plug the keyboard to the drum expander."

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Finally a decent video on the GODWIN DRUMMAKER 32

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

""Many find it attractive" reads the gushing review in british music mag Muzines in February 1983 : https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/go...
The reviewer makes the point that it sounds too good to be a typical auto-accompaniment section from an organ and damnit if that ain't right.
Punchy drums, futuristic synth arpeggios, separate audio outputs and individual volumes for most drum sounds.

We finally found a Godwin Drummaker 32 and its even rarer keyboard 32 K and we think the internet deserves a high quality video of its sounds and functions since the ones out there might leave more to be desired.

Most of the specific information and specs are in the video text so please have a look but a quick summary would go a little something like this :

The successor to the Drummaker 45 share all the original features but got an upgrade with completely new sounds in every section.
The new drums are snappier and fill-ins have been added while the arpeggio has an actual synth sound.

Used by OMBs - One Man Bands - all over Italy, this type of machine generate accompaniment to sing and play other instruments over when the budget and/or stage space is limited.
The keyboard on top indicates the chord and key to the unit below, generating bass lines, chord patterns and arpeggios.

If you're into rare Italian synths and drum machines you should check out our website which is basically an encyclopedia of them : https://www.vintageaudioinstitute.com/

And don't miss our next video of the almost equally rare GODWIN CD1 so subscribe here on Youtube or better still follow us on Instagram where we also post vintage gear for sale : / vintage_audio_institute_italia

Elgam carousel elka wilgamat solton disco 64 solton polyvox wersimatic cx1 cx2"

You can find addtional posts featuring the GODWIN DRUMMAKER 32 here.

Rare birds: Wersi Wersimatic II WM24 + WM24B analog drum machine & accompaniment synth

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

Currently listed on Reverb and eBay here.

Pics captured here.

"functionnal demo of this Wersi Wersimatic analog drum and accompaniment unit I just serviced. It's very like other units of that era like the Elgam Carousel, Elka Wilgamat or Godwin Drummaker.
You get 24 rhythm patterns that can all be combined and 12 accompaniment patterns that can also all be combined and these consist of an arpeggio (with a selection of 2 sounds: piano and spinet), a walking bass and a chord (with a selection of 3 sounds: piano, spinet and guitar). You can manually play chords or play 'one-fingered' chord and then you have the option to alter the chords (Min, 7th and Diminished).
On the drum you have the option to alternate 2 patterns. Note that one of the pattern should have a dot under its name and the second should not, otherwise these pattens won't alternate but combined. You can actually alternate between groups of combined dotted patterns and undotted patterns (i do this towards the end of the video).
Other nice features includes mute switches for most of the sound (unfortunately not for the Hi Hat and Cymbal), snare roll, drum fill, stereo output (demo was recorded in mono output plugged into a Dynacord VRS23 for reverb).
These units can also very easily be moddified (indivual outputs, trigger input, clock input etc)"

Wersi Wersimatic WM24

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

via this Reverb listing

"rare analog drum machine and auto accompaniment unit from Germany. Very much like italian units like Elgam Carousel, Elka Wilgamat or Welson Ritmo, and predecessor of the CX1."

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Elka Wilgamat: all patterns and variations and some tips

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

00:00 intro
01:10 all patterns and variations demos
06:17 instruments played as solo"



"UNIT IS FOR SALE:
https://reverb.com/item/89181075
https://www.ebay.com/itm/306255320490

I've serviced several Wilgamat and I noticed that sometimes you can miss some minor issues in an otherwise working unit, mainly in the bass accompaniement arpeggios: missing notes, wrong pitched notes, double trigger notes... These issues (as most of the issues in this instruments) are caused by faulty CMOS chipsets. These are cheap and easy to replace. Issue can however be in the AY-1-1313 chipsets (Priority Latching Network chipset) and these are harder to find.

Here you can listen to a fullly working and proper sounding unit and compare it to yours. Pay particular attention to the bass part, especially in "walking bass" mode. If one or more patterns do not sound like these then you have some faulty chipsets somewhere.

There is a non intended use of these unit I like: when playing in "key" start mode with lowest tempo, you can use this unit as a simple bass or synth keyboard.

Depending on the pattern selected you don't get the same result. With a little pratice it can turn as a nice simple bass keyboard.

Also note the bass section only spans over 1 octave whereas the accompanient sections spans over 2."

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Elka Wilgamat Analog Drum Machine and Synth

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

via this Reverb listing

"The Elka Wilgamat was an accompaniment unit intended as an add-on to some of Elka's organ line and also as a standalone unit with dedicated 2 octave keyboard. It consists of a rhythm unit, a bass section and a chord section. All sounds are of course fully analog. It is very similar in features and sound to the Godwin Drummaker, Wersi Wersimatic WM24, Elgam Carousel or Böhm Böhmat. If you don't know these units check the video I made with a different unit. [previously posted here] Unit was serviced and is in fully working order. It comes with a custom DIY keyboard and cable. Cosmetic the unit has some scuffs mainly on the case but overall looks very nice."

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Elka Wilgamat analog drum machine and synth

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

via this listing

"The Elka Wilgamat was an accompaniment unit intended as an add-on to some of Elka's organ line and also as a standalone unit with dedicated 2 octave keyboard. It consists of a rhythm unit, a bass section and a chord section.

All sounds are of course fully analog. It is very similar in features and sound to the Godwin Drummaker, Wersi Wersimatic WM24, Elgam Carousel or Böhm Böhmat.

if you don't know these units check the video I made with a different unit: [previously featured here]

Unit was serviced and is in fully working order. It comes with a custom DIY keyboard and cable. Cosmetic the unit has some scuffs mainly on the case but overall looks very nice."

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Welson Ritmo - Serviced with DIY Keyboard

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

via this listing

"Rare, analog auto-accompaniment machine from Italy with DIY keyboard - these don’t come up for sale often and if you’re a fan of Elgam Carousel or Elka Wilgamat you might need this.

The Welson Ritmo has 4 sections with individual volumes and minor modulation controls:

1. Analog drum machine with 12 preset rhythms

2. Bass line generator with 2 sounds and 2 bass lines per rhythm

3. Chords section with 2 independent chord sounds with volumes.

4. Arpeggiator with 1 sound with volume and decay controls and harmony.

Very good condition unit just back from service with some minor paint chips on top and a few smaller dings on the wooden sides.

The DIY keyboard is heavy duty and has a vintage feel - it was made from a vintage Gem organ keybed.

220 volt with Italian 3-prong power plug

Item ships from Italy"

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Elka Wilgamat, Oberheim DX and Powertran Transcendent 2000 in sync

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"Since I just finished adding DIN SYNC24 to my Elka Wilgamat I decided to hook it to the Arturia Keystep pro and further added an Oberheim DX and a Powertran Transcendent 2000 to the game.
Playing with the Wilgamat accompaniment part brought a known melody to my memory so temptation was high to follow this path...

The Transcendent can be seen in another video i made earlier this month. It was modded to add a sub oscillator and also to correct the peculiar CV/Gate it originally used in order to use it in a standard CV/gate environnment. It's now working fine when controlled externally as you can hear.

If you want to add sync to the Wilgamat there are 2 issues you need to adress:
- the unit needs 4ppq so unless you have a device capable of providing such a clock frequency you need to convert the more conventional 24ppq to 4ppq.
It's actually very easy to do by using a single 4018 chipset, which can divide by 6 the incoming frequency
- second issue is that the clock on the WIlgamat ask for negative pulses so you need to convert the positive pulses to negative ones. I used a single op amp to do that (TL071)"

Exploring the Cosmic Beauty of the Elgam Carousel

video upload by HAINBACH

"Form changes function - the Elgam Carousel first appeared as part of a big organ. Elgam quickly realized that they could a make a standalone product out of this, for the more mobile musicians entertaining crowds at business and family functions. They set a trend - CRB and Elka followed with the Computerband 2000 and Wilgamat. These standalone keyboards can be called the first groove boxes. In this video I demo this cosmic sounding wonder and show real world applications in scoring.

Music, Soundpack and thanks:
https://www.patreon.com/hainbach

LISTEN TO My Music: https://hainbach.bandcamp.com"

You can find additional posts featuring the Elgam Carousel here.

Elka Wilgamat analog drum machine and accompaniment unit SN 1227

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

via this auction

Note the listing is for only 1 unit.

"The Elka Wilgamat was an accompaniment unit intended as an add-on to some of Elka's organ line and also as a standalone unit with dedicated 2 octave keyboard. It consists of a rhythm unit, a bass section and a chord section. All sounds are of course fully analog. It is very similar in features and sound to theGodwin Drummaker, Wersi Wersimatic WM24, Elgam Carousel or Böhm Böhmat."

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Rare birds: Elka Wilgamat 1 / analog drum machine and accompaniment unit

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"Here is another 'one man band' from the 70s I just serviced. Many dead CMOS chipsets, lots of bad connections on the motherboard daughterboards sockets (broken pins, bad solder joint) and a dying voltage regulator, among other things. Custom built keyboard to trigger the accompaniment unit, with jack socket input for pedal that introduce drum breaks. A different flavor than the Welson Ritmo I recently demoed but definitely in the same mood.
Recorded through a Teisco 120 to add some reverb."

This appears to be the first post to feature the Elka Wilgamat 1. Note the "1" on the right. The Elka Wilgamat minus the "1" has been featured on the site before in previous posts here. Which came first? :) You can find additional Elka Wilgamat models here.

Update: according to Ohm Studio: "Electronics are exactly the same. I think this one is later and was an add for some Elka organ, maybe Concorde or something. The black color is I think factory since it’s all over the case even inside. It’s clearly the same fake wood as the original but painted black, probably to better match the organ aesthetics. I definitely remember seeing auctions with Elka organ and this wilgamat unit bundle. Also the complete wilgamat electronics and controls are fitted in some Elka organ, spinet and combo. Don’t remember which model but I did scavenged à spinet one to retrieve all the pcbs."

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Elka Wilgamat III - Serviced with modifications

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

via this auction

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

video posted here

"Elka Wilgamat III with custom controller keyboard modified with foot switch control access.
Just back from service and sounding heavenly.
The 4 buttons on top of the keyboard substitute the rare foot-switch - giving access to the drum fills (3 different fills for every rhythm pattern!) start/stop, minor and 7th chords - If you check my video on YouTube you’ll get it.
The original main unit is in good condition with signs of wear of some areas.
The keyboard looks almost like new.

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rare birds: Welson Ritmo / analog drum and accompaniment unit

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

Also see this one from 2022 with a smaller keyboard controller.

"The Welson Ritmo was a accompaniment unit intended as an add-on to some of Welson's organ line. It consists of a rhythm unit, a bass section, a chord section and an arpeggiato section. All sounds are of course fully analog. It is very similar in features and sound to the Elka Wilgamat, Böhm Böhmat and Wersi Wersimatic CX1. They are actually built around the same chipset family (SGS M2xx), but the Ritmo cannot be programmed.

It was never intended as a standalone unit so I built a custom keyboard to make it so.

Unit is very easy and straightforward to use with some nice features: for instance you can play it in "free chord" or 'one finger chord'. In the first mode you need to make a 3 notes chord to trigger the arp sound. With one or 2 notes you only trigger the bass and chord sounds, this make for some nice performance variations. The bass section can be set to 'walking bass', and in this mode you also need 3 notes to trigger the melody.

In 'one finger chord' you play a major chord with one key. There is a pedal input on the back to make the chords minors. I also added a switch on the keyboard to alternate between major and minor chords when playing in the "one finger chord" mode.

Other nice features are "keystart" (obvious functionnality) and 'memory' which holds the played notes (and rhythm). And like almost all the preset rhythm units you can combine different rhythms together."

Pics via SALES.OHMSTUDIOHM@GMX.FR

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WERSI WERSIMATIC II

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"It's still here and we love it - so here we go again with new music :
The Wersimatic II - the previous generation of the Wersimatic 24 auto-accompaniment machine and probably familiar to fans of the Elgam Carousel, Böhm Solist 78, Elka Wilgamat and Godwin Drummaker 45 units.

The Wersimatic II has 4 sections on board:
Bass line tone generator
Drum machine with individual mute options
Various chord sounds
Various Arpeggiator sounds (same sounds as chords but with busier patterns)

The bass sounds great - very nice and analog.
Drum sounds are very analog - this is sound generation in its infancy - the hi-hats scare me :)
The chord and arpeggiator sounds were processed through the Digitech Synth Wah - a relatively cheap envelope follower pedal that’s a great bang for the buck.

The sounds and controls are across the board identical to the Wersimatic 24 unit as far as we can tell but the difference being the Wersimatic II was never made as a stand-alone unit - it was part of a large, double manual organ called Wersi Helios.
This particular one is unique : it has been transplanted from that organ into a smaller box with a twelve buttons acting as chord control instead of the two bottom octaves of the organ.

Special thanks to Organfairy for the rare schematics that were necessary to complete the repair : dude you f-ing rock

Vintage Audio Institute is a gear vendor and recording studio in the hills of Florence"

Additional Wersimatic II posts

ELKA WILGAMAT (1975)

video upload by Synthesizer Home

Wilgamat III Modifications - version 3

video upload by mysterycircuits

"Modified Elka Wilgamat 3. DIY keyboard controller using Yamaha PSR-12 keys. Tubbutec uniPulse for MIDI clocking and drum triggering. Individual accompaniment sounds switched on and off from keyboard controller, accessible via DB25 to 1/4" breakout. Four octaves of square waves called "Synth" follow the bass lines. "Roll" button on keyboard activates a built in drum roll. Fill, Minor, and 7th are controlled from keyboard. More info at: www.mysterycircuits.com/wilgamatIIIv3.html"

Additional Wilgamat III posts

V.A.I. 56 Elka Wilgamat / Multivox MX-3000

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"With a little help from external effects, the Wilgamat auto accompaniment machine really shines brighter than a lot of the other Tanz-nite units out there.
It's a good match with the rare Multivox MX-3000 in our opinion, lots of wonky tones you really don't get out of your standard Roland / Korg gear.

The Multivox synthesizer is really a 4 section divide down string machine and poly synth with an added Monophonic synth section.
It's a little reminiscent of the Crumar Composer but the polyphonic section really has more going on - with a great filter, slide and glide modulation, two different choruses and on and on.
We're still exploring the complete set of possibilities of this beast of a string machine / mono combo. It might even make a great cappuccino.

Vintage Audio Institute is a gear vendor and recording facility in Florence Italy - we make these videos for fun in our spare time."

Elka Wilgamat - 1976 - Auto Accompaniment Unit SN 1376

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

Update: moving this one back on top as I had the wrong auction link. Sorry about that. It is now fixed.

via this auction

You can find demos of the Wilgamat in previous posts here.

"This is the first model, complete with the controller keyboard, attachments for music sheet stand and leg attachment pieces on the sides.

The legs and music sheet stand are not included.

The Wilgamat is in good condition but close to very good condition - with a few lighter scuffs and some smaller areas missing the wood finish - quite typical for these machines.

It’s had little use - the front panel looks almost new and the buttons and sliders work great. Fully functional and sounds amazing - please watch the video of this very unit for sale - no effects added.

Some general info:

It features three chord voices and two bass voices plus a range of great drum sounds, with a fill-in option engaged by pressing the wooden bar on top of the controller keyboard.
The auto accompaniment section is a two octave bass and chord synth that can be controlled by either an external two-octave keyboard, an Elka organ or foot pedal via a 31-pin cable.
The bass and chord patterns change depending on the rhythm, Salsa, Rock, Bossa Nova...
In total 16 different rhythm presets with fill-in option, two bass patterns (auto and walking bass), two bass sounds, with a bass sustain option.
The accompaniment consists of three sounds that of course sounds nothing like what they're named after: Piano, Guitar and Brass.
There are individual volume for each of the three sections, plus an overall master volume.
These standalone units are very rare to find complete with the original controller keyboard.

220 volt with EU plug Items ship from Italy."

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