"Fully working unit, fat analog sound. Strings, pads, basses sound oh so good. Look at those electric blue cash register displays. Has been upgraded with Tauntek firmware for sysex patch backup/retrieval. And many other wonderful added features. Has new battery for long term patch memory retention."
"Oberheim Matrix-6 very meticulously cared for and only used in the studio. All of the button switches have been replaced, the memory battery is new and is easily swappable, and the latest firmware 2.15 (Tauntek) has been installed.
Couple of small blemishes and a small chipped key keeps it from looking like it came straight from the factory, but aside from those small nicks, it's in great condition and clean inside and out.
It sounds fantastic and it's by far the most affordable genuine Oberheim programmable analog synth from the 80's that you can get your hands on today."
"This is without a doubt the nicest Crumar Bit 99 I’ve ever owned or seen. It looks beautiful and shows signs of only very light use. It’s been well cared for in its life.
Everything works as it should — zero issues.
I purchased this in 2023 from a 100% feedback eBay seller. He made the following updates:
- power supply electrolytic capacitors replaced
- voice board electrolytic capacitors replaced
- firmware upgraded with Tauntek one: you can now easily control and program the synth with any midi controller
- keyboard dismantled and contacts and bus bar cleaned
- meticulously calibrated
- panel board and case fully dismantled, cleaned and polished
PLEASE NOTE: This is a 220-volt unit. You will need a step-up transformer to use this in the U.S. or Asia. This auction includes the power cable with the Euro/U.K. plug as shown in the photos, but no step-up transformer is provided."
Click the auction link on top when you get there for additional listings.
VEMIA is Peter Forrest's auction house. He is the author of The A-Z of Analogue Synthesizer Books.
"Great early analogue monosynth, serial number 0723, actually called the OB-1A. This version has livery like the OB-X, and it's reasonable to assume that internally it is very much like an OB-X voice with much more individual control. It is in very good working order, with the keyboard re-bushed in the last few weeks. Cosmetically it has some minor paint scrapes - hence our calling it 7/10 cosmetically. An experienced restorer could probably spend a couple of hours and get it back to near-mint.
This synth has one mod, quite neatly done on the sloping panel behind the keyboard: a switch to send pitchbend to the CV out, with a corresponding amount knob. Switchable voltage, currently set to 240V with a UK plug. It has the Tauntek CPU mod. Packing 15GBP."
Click the auction link on top when you get there for additional listings.
VEMIA is Peter Forrest's auction house. He is the author of The A-Z of Analogue Synthesizer Books.
"Rare Oberheim OB-1 from circa 1977. serial nr: 0523. In extremely good condition / close to mint. Fully working. Keyboard is newly re-bushed and plays like new. Has the Tauntek memory board installed, which expands patch memory to 64 editable programs in 8 banks of 8, (A huge improvement from the original 8 non-editable). -- An incredibly good and fat sounding monosynth with similar voice architecture to the OB-X but with extra features/ *Dual Sub-Oscillators. *Continuously-variable waveforms (can be modulated by Envelope or LFO). *Osc Sync (modulated by Envelope or LFO). *2pole & 4pole Switchable filter. -- European/UK voltage. Will be packed well for shipping. ---- Hi-res photos here."
"Tonight, my daughter called for me after I put her to bed. It's unusual that she calls for me now as she's gotten older. I used to find it so irritating to get these calls, sometimes 3-4 times a night ("Papaaaaaaaaaa... uhm, I love you"). Now it seems to happen once every few months and is usually something more serious (at least to her), so I run up. She's sitting up in bed telling me about how she was terrified I had "gone away." I think she was just afraid I was going to die (of course, we all are going to some day), but it was hard to get that out of her. Usually the harder days are the days she has the most fun, I guess (maybe creating a lot of memories?). I know we're slowly descending into fewer and fewer days to be together, fewer chances to snuggle before bed, to tell 'Kwazii stories.'
I did tell her that some day I will die - and that I hope that day comes long before her time comes. That I won't be feeling anything when I'm gone, and that I would be happier if it were me and not her. That, of course, didn't really make her feel much better. Me staring at her boogery nose and making a face did. She started giggling, and I knew I had cracked the sadness, which faded, and we could say our good nights.
If you remember me saying the other day I had a financial problem - well, it was that I plugged the Kawai SX-240 back in to play it and it was dead. Nothing would happen. I was miserable, because I was planning to sell it and of course it would die before I could! Well, I managed to fix it. If you ever look up the service manual for this thing, it's horrible. I didn't realize how bad it was until I messaged Bob Grieb about his Tauntek eprom update (thinking maybe a bad eprom was the problem). He said it wasn't likely the problem, but sent me his version of the service manual and you can actually see the traces on it (the online version is so bad it didn't even pick up half the traces!). From there, I could see there was a bad solder joint between Pin 3 of the EPROM (I was right, something was wrong with the EPROM!) and Pin 2 of an adjacent IC. And - well, I brought it back to life. Another successful repair.
"This listing is for one Roland CR-78 analog drum machine. It has been fully recapped and has the fantastic Tauntek MIDI mod that allows you to sync this unit to MIDI clock. It is in great shape and works well."
"Fully functional and near Mint cosmetic condition Roland Jupiter-6. I am hesitant to use the word Mint to describe any vintage synth but this is pretty damn close. It almost looks like it came straight out the box in 1983. It features a new Tauntek OS upgrade which improves upon the original JP6 firmware. Unlike Europa this is not complete rewrite, but an upgrade which adds:
MIDI sysex patch storage
MIDI CC parameter changes
New VCO toggling
And much more! Read about it on the Tauntek website.
This JP-6 has been serviced to preserve the reliability for another lifetime of studio use."
Very potent and versatile vintage analog mono synth.
This particular OB-1 has the fantastic Tauntek programmer board installed.
That includes more cool features like 64 memory locations etc-etc.
It also completely replaces the sensitive and unreliable original programmer board.
The Oberheim OB-1 has a screaming resonance. The sweet analog filter is switchable between 2pole and 4pole."
"Absolutely mint condition vintage Roland Jupiter 6 analog synthesizer. You will be hard pressed to ever come across another as pristine as this one. Tauntek firmware upgrade installed. Works perfectly and is incredibly inspirational to work with. A collectors dream."
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video upload by ohm_studi_ohm
"Quick 80s inspired tune mainly to demonstrate the MIDI sync capabilities of the Tauntek MIDI kit. (http://www.tauntek.com/Poly61.htm)
It's a basic MIDI kit that adds MIDI IN notes and Arp Sync control to the Poly 61, as well as MIDI receive channel. These features makes already a big differrence over a stock Poly 61, or over a Poly 61M which though has MIDI implemented only works in OMNI mode and don't let you sync the arp over MIDI.
All synth sound are from the Poly 61, drums and MIDI clock are provided by the Oberheim DX."
"6 voices analog polysynth, serviced and upgraded with a Tauntek Midi interface.
The upgrade lets you play notes over midi and also synchronise the built-in arpeggiator to MIDI clock !
Unit was serviced and is in fully working condition. It did suffer the classic battery leaking but was fixed and a brand new battery was fitted, along with factory presets.
Cosmetic is overall very good, except for the side cheeks that are damaged, and a key that was glued but barely noticeable, see pictures. Otherwise a very clean unit."
"Fantastic vintage analog polysynth in remarkable condition. Fully cleaned inside and out. No electrical issues or sound issues whatsoever.
The Tauntek upgrade allows for more settings and greater MIDI implementation. Sad to see it go, but I found just too much overlap in sound between this and my Juno."
"demo of a Korg Poly 61 that was recently upgraded with Tauntek's new CPU board (www.tauntek.com/Poly61newKLM.htm) which adds several functions to the synth that make it more versatile.
As well as extended parameters value range and MIDI Control Change for every parameter, there are some more waveform available for LFO1, DCO2 and a second LFO with 4 possible waveforms (this LFO is permanetly assigned to PWM and can be assigned to DCO pitch modulation instead of LFO1. The latter is always assigned to VCF modulation).
Other nice features are the possibilty to desactivate DCO1, MIDI synchronising the arpeggiator, random mode for the arpeggiator, the ability to use INC/DEC switches to select programs, 80 users programs (vs 64), MIDI OUT and THRU etc
Nothing fancy in this video, just live editing the synth to showcase some of the new features."
"Not to be confused with the Crumar Bit One keyboard, this is the rack of the Bit 99. The older Bit One keyboard contained SSM chips. This unit contains CEM chips. It sounds great!
This unit's been professionally serviced and is working perfectly. We installed the excellent Tauntek OS which adds full MIDI CC control over all parameters - this makes it much more useful as you can automate parameters and program it from midi CC knob boxes or computer editors, and is a must have.
We also installed a new battery and replaced capacitors in the power supply as a preventative measure.
This unit was originally sold in Europe (as most of them were) and is therefore 220 volts, so if you're not in a country where that's the norm, you'll need the correct transformer. These are cheap and readily available."
"Today I have a special vintage synthesizer that you don't see everyday...the mighty ELKA SYNTHEX! I get lost while playing this synth, instant lush/80's workhorse synthesizer with the best sounding chorus! I've got it hooked up with an AMS RMX16 Digital Reverb. This Elka Synthex demo video is for Matt Fiske from Sensorium Studios.
Repairs done:
-Replaced Noisy Fan with a modern Quiet Fan + It's own Meanwell SMPS to run the fan.
-Rebuilt the Power Supply, upgraded the regulators
-Installed the Tauntek Firmware Upgrade (check out www.tauntek.com for more details)
-Replaced all electrolytic capacitors on cards
-Full Calibration/Tuning
-Installed new Volume Pot, Mono/Stereo Switch
The Elka Synthex is a legendary polyphonic analog synthesizer produced by the Italian music instrument manufacturer Elka from 1981 to 1985. It's considered a classic synth and is highly sought-after by musicians and collectors today.
The Synthex was conceived and developed by independent Italian designer Mario Maggi. Maggi gained the financial backing of Elka, a company known for its organs, to produce the synthesizer. Elka manufactured the Synthex from 1981 to 1985, with a total of 1,850 units produced.
The Synthex was known for its lush sound, 8-voice polyphony, and extensive modulation capabilities. It featured 30 knobs, 6 sliders, 80 switches, and a joystick for sound shaping. The Synthex gained popularity among musicians and was used in various genres, including synth-pop, new wave, and electronic music. It's associated with artists like Jean-Michel Jarre and Depeche Mode."
"Demo of the Akai AX80 8 voices analog synth with Tauntek upgraded firmware that allows among other improvements MIDI Control Change editing of all the synth parameters.
Just tweaking a bit on a bass preset and a pad preset, and further demoing a few patches I made.
No FX were used."
"I started building this midi controller for the AX-80, all 45 controls are presented with buttons and LEDs for the switch functions. Pots for the 0-99 controls. It will have 999 patch memories and names and can be used as a master for the AX-80 which means you don't store any sounds on the AX and the editor is in charge. Or normal mode where it just edits parameters. It also acts as a usb to MIDI converter so you can play the AX over USB from your DAW. I've also mapped CC 7 for volume to CC 96 (VCA level) to act as a volume control."
"Oberheim Matrix 6R with Tauntek OS upgrade and Alpes Machines midi controller.
The 6R as a polysynth oozes vintage sound for a decent price - beats all new analog polys i have tried in that respect. Unlike Matrix 1000, the oscillators on the 6R are clocked individually, lending to more characterful drifting and phasing sounds. The Alpes controller integration is very immediate and well done. Can control up to 4 Matrix 6R or 1000 units at once!"
Anyone confirm there's a difference in clocked oscillators between the M6 and M1000? I don't beleive I've heard that one before.
"This is without a doubt the nicest Crumar Bit 99 I’ve ever owned or seen. It looks beautiful and shows signs of only very light use. It’s been well cared for in its life.
"Great early analogue monosynth, serial number 0723, actually called the OB-1A. This version has livery like the OB-X, and it's reasonable to assume that internally it is very much like an OB-X voice with much more individual control. It is in very good working order, with the keyboard re-bushed in the last few weeks. Cosmetically it has some minor paint scrapes - hence our calling it 7/10 cosmetically. An experienced restorer could probably spend a couple of hours and get it back to near-mint.
This synth has one mod, quite neatly done on the sloping panel behind the keyboard: a switch to send pitchbend to the CV out, with a corresponding amount knob. Switchable voltage, currently set to 240V with a UK plug. It has the Tauntek CPU mod. Packing 15GBP."
"Not to be confused with the Crumar Bit One keyboard, this is the rack of the Bit 99. The older Bit One keyboard contained SSM chips. This unit contains CEM chips. It sounds great!
