Auction to be held at Musician's Hall of Fame & Museum, Nashville, on November 19
An incredible collection of more than 450 artifacts from the life and career of Florian Schneider, co-founder of the pioneer electronic band Kraftwerk."
Pics and videos featuring some of the gear below, and his Lederhosen for good measure (thanks greg!).
Update: the post has been fully updated with all the synth related gear. This may just well be the longest post to be featured on the site. I wanted to capture all the pics for all of the details including notes, scuffs, and of course serial numbers. It's an interesting look into what he used, the condition he keped his gear, in some cases, how he actually used his gear. Note the phonetics on the keys of the Casio CZ-101 and DX-100. Note the Midi Switch Box with a built-in speaker? What's that about? Note the camouflage key strap on the Korg RK-100 Remote Keyboard. Did he pick it out himself or did the keytar just come with it? Note the repeat midi controllers and the MIDI saxaphones. Wind was his primary instrument. You'll find a ton of the acoustic gear he used in the other listings. This is a fascinating insight into both what and how he used his gear.
Side note: there is no affiliate compensation for this post. The note at the top automatically shows for all posts with the Auction label.
Rack Mount Sennheiser VSM-201 Vocoder
Starting Bid
$5,000
Estimate
$20,000 - $40,000 USD
A late 1970s Sennheiser VSM 201 Vocoder with no serial number from the personal studio and collection of Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk (see images). While it’s said that only a few dozen of these Vocoders were produced, a few examples made it into the hands of forward-thinking musical artists including Herbie Hancock, Daft Punk, and of course, Kraftwerk, who used a VSM-201 like this on their albums Man Machine (1978) and Computerworld (1981). The VSM-201 has an intelligible sound that has not yet been bested by modern gear. Includes power cable. This VSM-201 has been removed from its wooden enclosure (which bears the serial number plate) and modified with a metal rack mount casing, presumably for live use. Requires 240v, IEC power cable not included.
Dimensions: 19 x 9 x 9 inches
Category: Kraftwerk, Equipment
Provenance: PROVENANCE From the Estate of Florian Schneider
The TR-1000 is available now for $2,699.99. Check with dealers on the right for availability.
"The TR-1000’s analog engine features 16 of the most coveted circuits from the TR-808 and TR-909, faithfully recreated from the original designs with detailed engineering and carefully selected modern components. Alongside the TR-1000’s analog voices are powerful digital sounds driven by Roland’s latest advancements, including 21 circuit-bent TR-808 and TR-909 models built with Analog Circuit Behavior (ACB) technology, FM percussion, virtual analog tones, and a deep PCM library for sonic exploration and fresh textures."
Playlist:
1. Roland TR-1000 Rhythm Creator | Egyptian Lover Performance
2. Roland TR-1000 Rhythm Creator | Everything You Need to Know
User videos followed by hi-res pics and the press release:
Adam B. gives a brief tour of the Roland RD-2000 EX stage piano at Kraft Music.
The Roland RD-2000 EX delivers the ultimate RD experience, fusing Roland's top piano technologies with a rich array of modern creative tools. This powerful and inspiring instrument is the most complete stage piano solution available, offering dual sound engines, two pre-installed V-Piano Expansions, premium playability and authentic grand piano touch from the PHA-50 keyboard and weighted hammer action, and advanced controller features for professional performers.
Get more for your money with an exclusive Roland RD-2000 EX stage piano bundle from Kraft Music. These package deals include the accessories you'll need to get the most out of your new piano, all for one low price. If you have any questions, please contact us. Our knowledgeable Sales Advisors will be happy to assist in choosing the bundle that's right for you!"
Playlist:
Roland RD-2000 EX Stage Piano - First Look
Roland RD-2000 EX Stage Piano - All Playing, No Talking
Anthony Deutsch plays the Roland RD-2000 EX - Sessions from The Gallery
And a couple of demos from Roland followed by the press release:
"Updated RD Models with Expanded Sounds, Plus EX Upgrade Packages on Roland Cloud for Current RD-2000 and RD-88 Owners
Los Angeles, CA, July 23, 2024 — Roland announces the RD-2000 EX and RD-88 EX, the latest members of the historic RD family of stage pianos for professional performers. Building on the foundations of previous generation models, these powerful instruments offer players expanded creative capabilities with new world-class piano sounds. In addition to the RD-2000 EX and RD-88 EX models for first-time purchasers, RD-2000 and RD-88 owners can expand their instruments with EX sounds through upgrade packages available for purchase on Roland Cloud.
RD-2000 EX Stage Piano Launched in 2017, the RD-2000 introduced the most advanced RD stage piano to date. The RD-2000 EX elevates this successful platform with two pre-installed V-Piano Expansion titles. Designed for the needs of top-level stage performers, the RD-2000 EX features independent sound engines driven by V-Piano and SuperNATURAL technologies, premium hammer-action playability with the PHA-50 keyboard, high-end controller features, and computer integration for modern workflows.
First released in 2022 as an option for RD-2000 owners, the German Concert V-Piano Expansion 01 provides a versatile new voice inspired by famous concert-class grand pianos. Enhanced modeling features offer new sonic possibilities highlighted with 17 ready-to-play Tones. The sound is organic and responsive for solo work while also delivering muscle and presence for cutting through dense band mixes on stage.
The newly developed Essential Upright V-Piano Expansion 02 introduces an intimate sonic flavor with the distinctive character and unique spatial quality of a high-end upright piano. The 14 preset Tones include classic sounds for pop and rock styles, along with a variety of colorful non-standard sounds.
With the sophisticated Piano Designer tools in the RD-2000 EX, users can customize the V-Piano sounds for their style and touch. When combined with the instrument’s powerful sound layering and effect processing options, the creative possibilities are endless.
RD-88 EX Stage Piano Unveiled in early 2020, the RD-88 brought players acclaimed RD sound and playability in a lightweight and affordable instrument. The RD-88 EX retains every core feature from the previous model, including SuperNATURAL and ZEN-Core sound engines, the expressive PHA-4 hammer-action keyboard, intuitive controller tools, and a room-filling onboard stereo speaker system.
The newly developed SuperNATURAL Acoustic Piano 3 Expansion comes pre-installed in the RD-88 EX, adding a premium concert piano option that complements the SuperNATURAL acoustic and electric pianos already included. The expansion offers 15 distinctive Tones and 20 Scenes, from bright, dynamic sounds for live band performances to darker textures for solo work and ambient explorations.
RD-2000 EX Upgrade and RD-88 EX Upgrade RD-2000 and RD-88 owners can expand their instruments with the new EX sounds via the RD-2000 EX Upgrade and RD-88 EX Upgrade on Roland Cloud. Each user-installable upgrade package is available with a Lifetime Key purchase in Roland Cloud Manager, the software portal for Roland Cloud content.
Availability & Pricing The Roland RD-88 EX and RD-2000 EX are available in July in the U.S. for $1,299.99 and $2,599.99 respectively. The RD-88 EX Upgrade and the RD-2000 EX Upgrade are available in July for $99.99 and $199.99 respectively."
"The whole scene of Thief (1981) with TD's re-edition of 'Thru Metamorphic Rocks' theme, renamed as 'Igneous' in the OST release.
The film version is by far more extensive than Thief CD version.
Enjoy that sequence !"
TD = Tangerine Dream.
Curious what they were using back then. According to this thread, they used the following on tour during that time period:
Live in East Berlin, 31st Jan 1980
Chris Franke: Custom modular synthesizer (comprising of about 50% Moog and 50% Projekt Electronik): Moog Oscx2/R.M./VCF/VCAs Projekt Elektronik VcEnvx2 & Proj. Elek. 2VCO/W.Noise/R.M./Waves (for Drums) Digital sequencer & trigger selector Programmer for above (SCI model 700 programmer) Synth sound bank (for above) Moog 960 sequential controller x2 Projekt elektronik sequence controller x2 Moog 3-band parametric Moog 12 stage phaser Moog 920 programmer Moog 16-channel vocoder Rhythm robot sequencer Emu Oddity voice card 12 analogue drum sounds Drum envelope unit Drum EPROM sampled sounds and more...
Edgar Froese: custom Moog modular synthesizer (3 box units comprising Moog modules and sequencers plus sequence controllers from Projekt Electronic) Prophet 5 rev 2 PPG Sonic Carrier 1003 programmable duophonic DCO/DCF/DCA based synthesizer PPG Wavecomputer 360 polyphonic digital synthesizer PPG 350 keyboard sequencer Arp Pro-DGX monophonic preset synthesizer Korg PE-2000 polyphonic ensemble Roland MC-8 microcomposer Roland VC-10 vocoder Arp/Solina string ensemble Mellotron mk V
Johannes Schmoelling: - Minimoog - Yamaha CP-80 electric grand - Oberheim 4-voice - Elka Rhapsody 610 - Polymoog - Korg PS-3100 - Synthanorma sequencer
-----------
European tours (Nov-Dec 1980 & Jan-Feb 1981):
Equipment used:
Chris Franke: Moog/PE modular tower as above Minimoog Arp Odyssey mk III Elka Rhapsody 610 Prophet 5 rev 2
Edgar Froese: Projekt Elektronik modular synthesizer & sequencers (used by Peter Baumann during '76 and '77) PPG 340 A Generator Unit, PPG340 B Processor Unit, PPG380 Event Generator, PPG x 2 Terminals, PPG x 2 Computer Keyboards, Oberheim OB-X
He may have used some more keyboards during these tours but I'm not sure which ones (possibly the Arp pro-DGX, the PPG Sonic carrier or the PPG 360 wavecomputer?)
Johannes Schmoelling: Moog modular synthesizer (usually handled by Edgar Froese on stage) Minimoog Polymoog Prophet 5 rev 2 Yamaha CP-80 electric grand
-----------
British Isles tour (Oct-Nov 1981):
Equipment used:
Chris Franke: Moog/PE modular tower as above Minimoog Arp Odyssey mk III Elka Rhapsody 610 Prophet 5 rev 2
"The Italian term to describe this synth would be blasonato:
Someone so noble they have a their own coat of arms.
we give you the Yamaha CS60 :
45 kilos of heavy duty Japanese build quality.
We just couldn't pass this one on although it's not typically the machine of our choice it sounds incredible.
Put on your headphones and you'll get it.
The range of sounds you get out of this synth seems frankly endless and the general interaction with an important instrument always makes us want to sell all our other machines and just keep this one instead.
We have to think about this - meanwhile it's going to a Yamaha CS-series specialised repair man for a new ribbon control and a general calibration since it's never been tuned or serviced in its 45 year old life - also kind of incredible - the build-quality is insane.
We got two drummers in this video: first songs are backed up by the elusive CRB Computer Drums (the drum section from the Computer Band 2000) and the second half of the video the rhythm unit is the EKO Ritmo 20.
Both machines have individual sound options - mute switches on the Computer Drums and volumes on the EKO Ritmo 20.
More videos with these two will go up soon so subscribe if this is your thing and follow us on Instagram for first dibs vintage gear sales and much more."
"45 kilos of heavy duty Japanese build quality - we give you the Yamaha CS60.
We just couldn't pass this one on although it's not typically the machine of our choice it sounds incredible.
Put on your headphones and you'll get it.
The range of sounds you get out of this synthesizer seems frankly endless and the general interaction with an important instrument always makes us want to sell all our other machines and just keep this one instead.
We have to think about this - meanwhile it's going to a Yamaha CS-series specialised repair man for a new ribbon control and a general calibration since it's never been tuned or serviced in its 45 year old life - also kind of incredible - the build-quality is insane.
"Very obscure rhythm box from 1980 - the CRB Computer Drums is the stand-alone drum machine from the CRB Computer Band 2000.
Lovely analog drum sounds - 9 sounds in total - each with its own mute option dip switch.
This makes these machines quite interesting, we would have preferred individual volume sliders instead but there probably wasn't enough free real estate for that.
One rhythm preset at a time - no mixing and matching.
20 rhythm pattern presets rock, mambo - you name it.
An additional 20 pattern variations - selectable to occur either on every 4th or 8th bar.
And last but not least, a Break button with an additional 20 fill-ins.
So this little box actually sports 60 rhythm patterns in total.
Have a look at our other CRB-related videos - they made a small production run of cool gear in the late 70s and early 80s of which few units survive today."
"CRB Elettronica was one of many organ manufacturers in the Marche region in Italy in the 1970s.
They did however branch out to produce a very limited number of synthesizers and drum machines for a domestic market where, due to a weak lira and high import taxes, synths manufactured in Japan and America were rare treats.
Speaking of rare - these CRB machines are today incredibly so - having already been manufactured in numbers in the low hundreds - very few survive today.
The CRB Computer Band 2000 is an analog auto-accompaniment unit with a range of chord and arpeggiator sounds.
1. Analog Drum Machine Section with individually mutable sounds
2. Bass section with three sounds and two modes
3. Two separate chord sections with a total of seven sounds, decay and volume controls.
4. And at last the arpeggiator section with four different sounds and decay control.
These sections were originally made for big home-organs, they're incorporated into the CRB 910 organs and a few Solton branded ones as well.
The CRB Voco Strings is an Italian take on the Roland VP-330 - a string and vocoder machine.
It has a great sounding string section as a carrier - maybe one of the very sweetest sounding string machines that came out of Italy?
Change my mind in the comment section :)
In this video we're letting the CRB Voco strings process the CRB Computer Band 2000 via the audio input.
During the first two compositions, a third player, the Siel Cruise - a lovely Mono / Poly machine, is connected as an external carrier signal instead of the Voco-Strings String Sounds, via the external instrument input in the back.
This video is a compilation of previously released videos on our channel - there are lots more videos of the Computerband 2000 unit as well.
The CRB Computerband unit is currently for sale on Reberb."
"Introducing the wonderful CRB Computer Band 2000 - a mainly analog auto-accompaniment machine from the the late 70s and early 80s with four sections:
1.Drums with individually mutable sounds and fill-in and variation options
2.Bass section with three sounds, decay controls and two modes
3.Two chord sections with a total of seven sounds, decay and volume controls.
4. And an arpeggiator with four different sounds and decay control.
A great song writing tool when you're stuck and simply a very inspiring instrument, the sounds on these are really cool.
The Computerband 2000 was originally made for big home-organs, they're incorporated into the CRB 910 organs and a few Solton branded ones as well.
These stand-alone units are very rare."
"The CRB Voco Strings is an Italian take on the Roland VP-330 - a string and vocoder machine.
It has a great sounding string section as a carrier - maybe one of the sweetest sounding string machines that was made in Italy? Change my mind in the comment section :)
The CRB 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.
For phasing we pulled out a Schulte Compact Phasing A - kind of a legendary german (duh) effect that still mystifies us a bit - sometimes it's amazingly swoopy - and sometimes it doesn't really do that much at all, no matter how hard you tweak those dials."
"CRB Elettronica was one of many organ manufacturers in the Marche region in Italy.
Starting in the mid 70s they did however branch out to produce a very limited number of synthesizers and drum machines for a domestic market where, due to a weak lira and high import taxes, Japanese or American manufactured synths were rare treats.
The CRB 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 CRB Voco Strings is an Italian take on the Roland VP-330 - a string and vocoder machine.
In this video we're letting the CRB Voco strings process the CRB Computer Band 2000 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."
"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."
Hiromichi Oohashi wrote in to let us know about his new synth book featuring rare and somewhat strange synthesizers from Japan. The book features synths from his collection along with a CD of audio/music. You can find the book via the publisher Rittor Music (Japan) (published Nov.2021), and on Amazon JP here.
You can find a list of the synths featured by chapter further below.
Details on the book from Hiromichi Oohashi follow.
"This art book introduces many of Japanese most rare and strange electronic musical instruments (1960s~1980s) from author's private collection for long years.
Contains over 130 synthesizers, rhythm machines, organs, toy instruments, speech synths, etc most of these rare instruments will be the first public release.
All color pages, lot of beautiful photo of these unique instruments with simple and detailed text, all photos and book design by author himself.
Contribution from Mark Mothersbaugh (DEVO)
Foreword by Eric Schneider (author of TOY INSTRUMENTS/MBP)
Attached CD has original music using these strange instruments so you can hear what these synth sounds like.
CD's music made by author's band KINO-MODERNO (world-renowned electronic music duo)
Hiromichi Oohashi is an artist born in Tokyo 1961
after studied art & design at Kuwazawa Design School in Tokyo
works as an artist and producer for Art, Design and Music
also known as collector of rare electronic musical instruments
in 1990 released groundbreaking [ VIDEO DRUG2/Phuture ] and get noticed
member of electronic music duo KINO-MODERNO since 1984
president of DAT PLANET PRODUKT"
"Another little video with some neat CRB equipment, the CRB Oberon is a two oscillator monophonic synth from the late 70s.
The CRB Computerband 2000 came out a few years later and is a classic auto accompaniment machine with 4 sections"
"Introducing the wonderfully quirky CRB Computer Band 2000 - a mainly analog auto accompaniment machine from the early 80s with four sections:
1.Drums with individually mutable sounds
2.Bass section with three sounds and two modes
3.Two chord sections with a total of seven sounds, decay and volume controls.
4. And an arpeggiator with four different sounds and decay control.
These sections were originally made for big home-organs, they're incorporated into the CRB 910 organs and a few Solton branded ones as well.
The stand-alone units are quite rare.
The CRB Oberon is a two oscillator monster synth from roughly the same era, it has some interesting features and is probably the most complicated Italian mono synths out there."
"The Marche Region in Italy was home to a thriving industry of music instrument production from the 1950s to the mid-90s. Tens of thousands of people made organs, accordions and small runs of synthesizers that were like nothing else in the world. Much production closed in the 90s, leaving only a few companies around, and many people lost their jobs. The history of Marche synths was not talked about, too bitter were the memories. The Museo Del Synth Marchigiano aims to change that - a motley crew of synth lovers work together to get the story about this special time in music instrument history out.
I was invited to play a show at Acusmatic Festival in Ancona and visit the collection before. I was overwhelmed by the amazing sounds these machines made, so I captured them on tape and for use in my performance. I also just had to film every synth I could get my hand for you to enjoy. You will find instruments by Siel, Elka, Elgan, Farfisa, Crumar, CRB and more here.
Waldorf Kyra Sounddemo Published on Oct 7, 2019 WaldorfMusicChannel
Waldorf's Kyra is now available at a suggested retail price of €1,843.00 EUR (excluding tax). That comes out to roughly $2000 US, £1600.
"Waldorf Music announces availability of 128-voice, FPGA processing-powered Kyra VA Synthesizer sensation
REMAGEN, GERMANY: having teased the musical masses last year, then turned heads and opened ears when unveiling a preproduction prototype at The 2019 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California earlier this year, with repeat showings Stateside (at Synthplex 2019 in Burbank, California) and closer to home (at SUPERBOOTH19 in Berlin), high-quality synthesizer developer Waldorf Music is proud to announce availability of Kyra — its eagerly-awaited 128-voice, FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) processing-powered VA (virtual analogue) synthesizer sensation — as of October 7…
Accompanying documentation proudly proclaims that Kyra “...is one of the most powerful music synthesizers ever built.” But this is not hardware hyperbole on Waldorf Music’s part. Put it this way: with 32x oversampled hardware sound generation and 96kHz floating point sound processing providing guaranteed contention-free 128 voice channels, Kyra is guaranteed to make its musical mark as a sensational synthesizer that is as easy to use and easy on the eye as it is powerful and flexible.
"Playing Around the rare Crb Computer Band 2000 one of the first rhythm drum computer with 20 different rhythms presets a double octave bass line synthesizer, and four different sections"
