Vongon Replay / Chroma Console / Mellotron

video upload by hen

EMS TKS Touch Keyboard Sequencer for Synthi / VCS3 MKII - w/ Brookside Sync Box

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via this listing

Note this is the first post to feature Brookside.

"Rare as hen's teeth (possibly even rarer than that) is a near-mint EMS TKS sequencer from the 70's in its original beautiful afromosia case. This was the standalone keyboard/sequencer for the EMS Synthi and VCS3 MKII synthesizers and will get you that Pink Floyd "On the Run" sequencing sound. Even better, this one has been modified with a jack for an extremely rare Brookside Electronics trigger interface. This interface allows you to send a trigger source into the sequencer so you can sync your sequencers to MIDI or DAW. Quite a powerful add-on, and impossible to find!

History

I bought this during COVID from an acquaintance in the UK (he sold it to me in working condition - he was also selling his VCS3 MKII at the time, which I could not afford) in the hopes that I'd eventually acquire a VCS3 MKII to power it.

Condition

Since I was never able to test this out, this unit, and the accompanying Brookside sync box, are being sold in excellent physical condition, but untested, possibly non-functioning condition. I cannot guarantee that it functions, so please keep that in mind when bidding.

Accessories

Comes with connection cable for a VCS3 MKII and the Brookside Electronics sync box."

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Pittsburgh Modular Voltage Research Laboratory

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"The Pittsburgh Modular Voltage Research Laboratory - one of the most fascinating synths around for people who want to explore sounds inspired by lifeforms, rich sonic behaviours on the edge of chaos and so on. I've used this fascinating, sonically rich synth on a film scoring project and am now selling it on for someone else to cherish.

A thing of beauty musically and sonically, the VRL is also as rare as hen's teeth, especially in the UK and Europe. This one is signed on the bottom and is in excellent condition. It will come with power supply and cables.

Here's the official blurb - do also see the video [posted here], created by Pittsburgh Modular:

The Voltage Research Laboratory is a completely different analog synthesizer where every function of the instrument has been influenced by the behaviors and systems of the natural world. Wildly experimental and extremely deep, the Voltage Research Laboratory is a sonic playground created to explore the natural systems and lesser known fringes of analog synthesis. The Voltage Research Laboratory is 100% eurorack modular format compatible and is comprised of 3 separate eurorack modules housed together in a purpose-built, handmade eurorack enclosure. More than a collection of tools and functions, it is a unique modular synthesizer designed to reward deep experimentation and encourage the creation of unique sonic systems."

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Powertran Transcendent DPX

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"Up for sale is my Powertran Transcendent DPX polysynth. Originally sold in kit form in 1979 for the princely sum of £375 plus VAT (so about £1500 today then, if you take a bit of Ted Heath style inflation into account). I bought mine around 20 yrs ago and it worked perfectly and sounded fantastic, especially through a bit of outboard, although it did occasionally get a bit temperamental when you played the lowest octave. The electric piano, which you can play in unison with honkytonk, and the strings were quite special and it made for some decent Ray Manzarek emulation, if you're into that sort of things. Since then, it's been sitting on a stand in my home studio not being played and the time has come to let somebody else enjoy this piece of synth history.

Unfortunately, upon testing it ahead of listing, it appears to have developed an issue which may or may not be an easy fix and I don't have the time to delve into this further, hence it is sold as parts or not working with no returns offered. On the piano side of things, some of the keys don't produce a sound and one or two occasionally play a cacophony of noises, which I assume is the brass/strings kicking in. When you switch to the voice section, you get a lot of sounds playing at once without being triggered. The volume control also appears to have stopped working, although I probably only every changed the volume with my desk so it may never have worked. It did get marginally less awful after I had left it powered on for a couple of hours.

On a more positive note, these are as rare as hen's teeth if being unique and distinctive is your thing, it's in very nice cosmetic condition with only minor marks to the solid teak end cheeks and all the keys are clean and white with no chips. I've opened the lid so you can see the condition of the internal circuitry. I can't see any rust or signs of anything horrible going on in there, but be your own judge. As you probably know, this was sold as a DIY kit and as such the circuits are (allegedly, I haven't tried) easily accessible and easy to work on. Google doesn't offer up much on this, but I found a full set of articles online that talk through building one, show schematics and an overview of what it does (see below). There is also a parts list so, should you need to replace any electronic components that may have given up the ghost in the past 40 years, you can check whether they are likely to be available and how easy they are to swap out prior to bidding. My assumption is that the original DIY-er had more in the way of ambition than talent." Magazine scans via the Wayback Machine.

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Chimera BC16 Modular Analog Synthesizer

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"They don't get much rarer than this. Hen's teeth, etc. On Throbbing Gristle's last performance in San Francisco I watched Peter perform almost solely on this little device (same model, not the exact same synth), and he just about burst my eardrums.

From The Internet:

The bC16 can be cryptic at first, with no printed layout to describe the functions of the knobs, no description of the 25 patch points and just three blinking lights. But that's the whole of the bC16-experimentation. You can try just about any connection point with one of the ten provided 2mm mini banana patch cords. After a while you get very accustomed to this micro-modular. Lets face it, with 1 ADSR, 1 LFO, 1 VCA, and 1 VCO (actually two linked VCO's) you can't really lose yourself. For its bargain price it's also a very good contender for use with other modular or semi-modular systems to add flexibility to them-need a resettable LFO for your MS-20? You got one here. Want a second ADSR for your Sherman Filterbank? You can find one in the bC16 (although you would have to make your own mini banana adapter). The bC16 is battery powered via six AAA batteries or by an external 9 to 12v source.

The linked oscillator is a very clever way to have two oscillators without another bundle of knobs. One VCO knob can adjust how detuned they are while another knob selects which waveform you want for both, or in some combination. Because the bC16 is battery powered, the VCO responds to a unique 0.586v/octave (5v/8.5 octave=0.586v/octave) control voltage signal. All the other modules respond to a more typical +/- 5v signal. The headphone amp is very noisy, though you can get around that when recording by using a mini-banana adapter to use the direct output of the voltage-controlled amp.

But beware, while it can do some basic synth applications, its main strength is to provide a powerful array of synth-FX sounds. Because of the ability of the synth to run by itself, you don't necessarily need a MIDI connection to make sounds with this tiny modular. And there's a lot of fun to be had with it-keep your sampler handy to sample whatever weird sounds you may find. For its price, it's a great and versatile device, which you can learn from without costing yourself an arm and a leg."

Studio Electronics MIDIMini SN 1299

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Kawai Synthesizer 100F

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"This is one punchy sounding machine and has more fat than a packed out hen party in a Blackpool Wetherspoons! It is amazing and although it looks simple the sounds are really quite unique. I rate it second to the Pro One and considering it's only a one oscillator synth it does a very good job on bass, leads, effects, and you name it... If it had two oscillators the Pro One would have become very afraid of the competition back in the day. Oh, and there is an external input filter section.. Yeah!! This is not a sugar-free synth like many of the VA models manufactured today, it is a full fat chunky sounding monster. If it was a human it would be a sumo wrestler on steroids!

Compared to the Roland SH101, or similar synths, the 100F eats them for breakfast and will break windows, crack concrete, and wobble the building where you keep the studio! It is a beast and very underrated, due to its rare appearances in the classifieds.

You can see Vince Clark playing one/miming on Top Of The Pops performing New Life all the way back in 1981.

It is in great condition and easy to use, even though you can play on it for hours and never get bored because it produces so many different and cool sounds, it is nuts!!"

Minimoog Model D Synthesizer SN 10625 with Extras

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via the seller: "This is a Minimoog model D synthesizer serial number 10625. I am the original owner and bought it new in 1979. It is still in great shape, both outwardly and functionally. I used it a lot for three years, mostly in a home studio. I babied it and protected it like a mother hen. It was never moved around much and it has been stored in the case I custom made for it, ever since. That has kept it in great condition to this day. The cabinet, face and knobs are all in very nice condition. The keys are all lined up properly. It plays nicely and all functions work as far as I am able to tell. The only things that I can find wrong with it after all these years are, the power pilot light is burned out, the waveform switch for oscillator three could stand a cleaning as it crackles a bit if switched while depressing a key, and two keys act as though they could stand a contact cleaning at times. Other than that, I can find nothing wrong. It includes the custom built, padded case, the 1120 pedal controller and S-trigger plug. The earlier Minimoogs had oscillators that drifted out of tune, while the later ones had stabilized oscillators. This one came with the updated oscillator board and always stayed in tune well. The Minimoog was the synthesizer used by so many professional musicians. The three oscillators and low-pass filter gave it a rich, familiar sound. This unit is all original and was never modified other than a pad on the bottom so it wouldn't scratch my Hammond."

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Sonic weekend 9 with hen

Published on Apr 20, 2013 Gordon Charlton·42 videos

Synth spotting with a chicken.

Maestro Woodwind

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"Incredibly rare vintage 60s Maestro Woodwind analogue effects box complete with clarinet pickup and original carry case! I think it's the rarest "W1" model. Not sure where to start with this...

It's primarily designed for playing Clarinet or Saxophone through, then passing it into an amp but can also be used as a guitar effect, synth effect or you can put just about anything through it via the inputs.

You can hear this all over the woodwind on a lot of the Frank Zappa records - infact, it's on the inside sleeve of Hot Rats. Used by Kraftwerk also. It sounds a lot like loads of effects on early Roxy Music/ Brian Eno stuff...

In theory it has settings like "Cello" and "Horn" which transform the woodwind sound via pitch shift/ tracking etc.

BUT, you can also coax various 60s Maestro fuzz sounds out of it (they made very expensive classics like the Brassmaster etc.) by putting whatever you want through it.


The clarinet socket was switched to a 1/4" socket by the previous owner, which makes it easier for feeding signals through. There's a very slight dent where they did it - you can see in the picture. Output is on two 1/4" jacks. This allows you to get really good stereo effects. It also has a tremolo and EQ! You can apply effects to each output.

If you want to run a guitar or signal from a mixing desk/ Pro Tools through the unit then you should use a preamp or signal booster before it so it can track the notes OK. Also, best to run it into a DI box or instrument inputs on your soundcard/ desk.

If you want to use the Maestro with a clarinet then use the pickup/ barrel in place of the usual one on your clarinet. Has fitted every single clarinet I've used it with (Buffet, Bundy etc.)

All in all a very eccentric and unique box, rare as hen's teeth. I was told this one was made in the 60s which would make sense. It's in really good condition and looks amazing. Probably a real collectors piece. Very useful and fun for studio sessions/ mixing.

Only made in the US I think - so you'll have to use a plug adapter which you can get really easily (and cheaply) at Maplin/ most places..."

Sound Design Challenge, sound 1

YouTube Published on Sep 17, 2012 by rolandtelevision

Roland Jupiter-80. Googlish below.

"De eerste sound-design Challenge: Het Intro-soundje uit Tim Berg's Bromance.

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Gotharman DeMoon Synthesizer

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"The Gotharman DeMoon is an amazing handbuilt four-note polyphonic filterbank synthesizer with a built-in granulator, distortion, step sequencer, and note randomizer. This is not your run of the mill virtual analog emulator but a much grittier, ballsier alternative perfect for building dirty, glitch 4-bit/8-Bit sounds as well as speaker shaking bass, screaming lead sounds and lush pads.

These are like hen's teeth now and this unit is in MINT condition, complete with the protective plastic cover over the LCD screen

The DeMoons four oscillators are continuously variable from triangle to saw to noise and waveshaping can be modulated from all sources, including the oscillators themselves. The oscillator section also has two LFOs and an envelope plus the polyphonic and unison (with detune option) modes already give you a diversity of sounds from this section alone.

The deMOON's four filters are independently programmable and can be routed in series or parallel with individual low-pass, high-pass, or band-pass filters. The DeMoon also features the Minigran, a brilliantly easy granular synthesis engine that works by cutting up and rearranging the input into small fragments to generate new timbres. It also features an inbuilt distortion unit that has five kinds of distortion effects from your regular gain and fuzz up to insane distortion effects like XDIS that will really "destroy" your sound.

The DeMoon also features an intuitive step sequencer and note randomizer - dead simple to formulate stunning arrangements as well as a MIDI in channel for use with MIDI controllers.

I can't really do this unit justice you have to check out the sounds - and the peerless Nick BAtt gives his usual excellent overview right here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK8JONB_q7U

You can also see a more detailed description at the Gotharman site here - http://www.gotharman.dk/demoon.htm"

Chimera BC16 mini modular analogue synthesizer with CV and MIDI

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via this auction

"On offer is one Chimera BC16 digital/analog mini modular monosynth. One of the coolest pieces of kit to appear in recent years. Used (allegedly) by the likes of Depeche Mode and Throbbing Gristle.

Sadly, the BC16's maker's business acumen was rather less well developed than his inventiveness (to put it mildly), so they were only made for a short while in very small quantities. Rare as the proverbial hen's teeth! Nevertheless it makes some wonderful analoggy (sic.) noises and is great fun to use.

This is from, I believe, the last batch of BC16s made, and has firmware version 3, which is as good as they got, I think. As far as I can tell, it is working perfectly. Midi and CV work as they should, and it makes squelchy, gritty and gnarly bleeping noises! What more could you want? It's actually a very capable little synth when used via Midi.

As you can see in the pictures, I have added labels for the various knobs and patch points. The labels can of course easily be removed if serendipity is your thing, but I have found them rather useful getting to know the beast!

Included are the essential control signal inverter (so the BC16 can talk to other CV gear such as Moogs etc.) and ten mini banana patch cables. I'll include a print of the manual, such as it is. The company went belly up before they got round to finishing the manual, but the essentials are there.

Specs:
1 ADSR
1 LFO
1 VCA
2 linked VCOs
24dB VCF
Noise source
Ring modulator
Headphone amplifier
Arpeggiator
Midi and/or CV control
Requires 6 AAA batteries"

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Lysets lyd Art Installation featuring Percussa Audio Cubes

Lysets lyd teaser 2 YouTube Uploaded by thedreamhub on Oct 4, 2011

"Preview og test af "Lysets lyd" er en lyd og lys-installation med 12 kuber med lys i, som reagerer på at publikum interagerer med dem. Verdenspremiere 21. oktober 2011 i Vor Frue Kirke i København. Se mere på http://facebook.com/lysetslyd og http://dreamhub.dk

Preview and test on audiovisual installation "The sound of the light" with 12 audiocubes in the Cathedral of Copenhagen, Denmark. World Premiere October 21st 2011. More on http://facebook.com/lysetslyd and http://dreamhub.dk"



Danish description followed by Googlish:

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Vintage Moog 1125 Sample & Hold Controller

via this auction

"Like Hen's Teeth!!

super-rare vintage Moog 1125 Sample & Hold Controller for use with your original Minimoog or modular Moog synth. This one was manufactured in 1977 by Moog Music Inc. at their Buffalo, New York HQ.

Complete with all original fitted connectors, there are just four plugs to hook up, and you can be up and running in a jiffy. There is a 6-pin Jones plug for power (from the Minimoog), an S-Trig plug and two jack plugs to trigger oscillator pitch and filter (or volume).

It generates random or sawtooth samples or a combination of both, varied by slider. Scale and glide are varied in a similar way. There is a wide/narrow scale span switch, variable rate (speed) and pattern rotary controls, separate output switches and short/long trigger switch."

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Motherboard's Electric Independence: XXXChange

via Motherboard. via Seema:

"Here we get to see Upton's a spiffy vintage vocoder: the rare-as-hen’s-teeth EMS VCS3 monosynth. And all that time cooped up in the synth henhouse has made him eager to share some secrets: Most notably, the innovative use of umbrellas as acoustic design tool, and the magical weapon behind Dr. Dre’s super bass heavy productions." more details at Motherboard.

Cyndustries / Modcan A Milton Sequencer

via this auction

"16 x 4 *Powerful* Analog Sequencer for Modcan A
Hen's teeth to find today, for auction is a Cyndustries-brand Milton sequencer in Modcan A format.

This Milton is of the revision with CV inputs for sweeping through sequencer stage."

Sold For: 0 bids

Roland MTR-100 Digital Cassette Backup for MC-4b

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"extremely rare (as in hen's teeth rare) Roland MTR-100 Digital Cassette Backup unit for use with the Roland MC-4b MicroComposer. Without this unit, if you power down, you'll lose your MC-4b sequences. This unit allows you to save and load your patches at twice the speed using hard to find data cassettes (Roland recommends Maxell M-90 data cassettes). Fortunately, a number of years ago I sourced some new old stock cassettes and 20 of them are included with the MTR-100 in this auction (19 of them sealed). The MC-4b is the same sequencer Vince Clarke used on many of his earlier works with Erasure. Features: Double-speed backup of MC-4b sequencer data. You will need an MC-4b for this to work (or will have to upgrade your MC-4 to an MC-4b) since only the MC-4b has the add-on board and interface jack that allows you to interface with this unit." via Rob

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ICEM Studio 1

flickr by nr34

full size

Anyone know more about this one? SYNLAB?

Update: some audio on KlangBureau (look for Synlab FM bits). Some notes via the AH archives:

“Again from the nord modular list, this might be of interest to everyone. Pics of the synlab and closeups of some modules can be found here. Looks like a nice copy of the arp 2500 design with many more types of modules and more features per module. Very impressive indeed! And from what i've read, it fills an entire room and it cost about 350,000 to build back in the day.”

“SYNLAB - big-as-a-house modular. Rare as hen's teeth. 'Probably the most impressive synthesiser ever made'”

"just read the book again [A-Z of Analogue Synths] and it wasn't that studio at
all but the ICEM computer music institute in Essen. Also, the name of the synth was SYNLAB."

Update: be sure to check out the comments of this post for more info and links.