Impact of Safety Regulations on the Sale of Vintage Synths

Interesting. Remember that post on Japan banning the sale of vintage synths due to a law prohibiting the sale of older electronic equipment that does not meet current safety regulations? Well it looks like there is a similar law in the UK. Not sure how long this law has been in effect and the impact it has on the sale of vintage gear. If you know, feel free to share.

Via Tony of Oakley Sound on AH:
"Now there is a law that prevents any unsafe object being sold in the UK.
Some old synths and many 1960s amplifiers would not pass current UK
safety legislation. Thus to sell these items for the customer to use in
a powered up state would probably be illegal or, at least, in breach of
one's liability insurance.

For example it is is very rare to see charity shops selling electrical
goods because the staff do not usually have the training to the test
these items to ensure their safety.

It is quite common to see items that have failed safety tests to be
rendered inoperable. This usually means taping off the mains inlet or
removing the mains plug. This should include stuff being dumped into
landfill since there is a likelihood that the items could get back into
the public domain.

Of course, tape may be removed and plugs rewired, but this then is the
new owner's decision and not the shop where you bought it from. The
shop, maybe this includes private individuals too, must then always
ensure that the buyer is aware that the unit is not to be powered up as
it is.

This also applies to the UK repair service centres as well. No item
returned to the customer must be allowed to be powered up if it has
failed the safety test. Repairing home made stuff is a nightmare in this
respect.

Most items can be modified in such a way as to make them perfectly safe
without affecting the look and feel of the unit.

Tony

www.oakleysound.com"

Followed by:

"I can give one example in the Synth world. The Synthi AKS. It has an illegal [in the UK] mains plug on its front panel. Does one replace this with an IEC [or other arrangement] or leave it as it is? That is a question for the owner to decide."

MiKo Open Labs Video on One Blue Monkey

Title link takes you there. Video link under date, under title when you get there.

Studio and Modular P*rn Fest

No title link; all links below. People are posting their modular and studio shots on AH. Definitely drool worthy. I'll add to the list as they come in so be sure to check back. Below is a fantastic shot of the Waldorf Wave by Rikard. Make sure to check out this specific shot of the back of the Wave next. I didn't realize how thin their control panels were. Amazing.



Rikard Latvala: http://www.itsahit.com/rikard/studio2/
AH Bay Area Gathering: http://www.cubanpetemusic.com/gallery/AH-Bay-Area-Gathering
James R. Coplin: http://www.ticalun.net/music/Studio.aspx
Jason Proctor: http://www.redfish.net/red_fish_modular.jpg
daddio: http://www.tapewarm.com/pix
Cyndustries Gallery: http://www.cyndustries.com/gallery.cfm
Doug Terrebonne: http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f217/dougt55/mymodulars02-06.jpg
bbob: http://www.fluxmonkey.com/fluxinfo.htm
Scott Pfifer: http://www.bigsynth.com
Also linked by Scott Pfifer:
http://www.synthesizers.com/gallery.html
http://www.synthesizers.com/artists.html
Four Serge shots from Carbon111:
http://carbon111.com/serge.jpg
http://carbon111.com/rusty4.jpg
http://carbon111.com/photos/serge_close2.jpg
http://carbon111.com/photos/serge_close1.jpg

Update:
Jason Proctor: http://www.redfish.net/red_fish_modular_new.jpg

"the rack is a Middle Atlantic RL10-38 with accompanying cantilever
base extension and i can't recommend it enough. it solved all my
ergonomic issues and is damn stable and quality to boot (and there's
about 8U left over!). i got mine from Sacramento Audio Supplies and
the combo was $180 plus tax & ship. after selling all the puny little
racks it replaced, i should come out ahead!"

Daddio:
www.tapewarm.com/pix/doepfer.jpg
www.tapewarm.com/muzikfrommarz/id14.html
www.tapewarm.com/muzikfrommarz/id13.html
www.tapewarm.com/muzikfrommarz/fripper.html

JH PolyKorg Clone and The Secret Life of Trees

I previously posted about the JH Synthi Clone. Here's a JH-3200 PolyKorg Clone. Pretty amazing. While there, be sure to also check out "The Secret Life of Trees."

Oberheim Xpander Shots

Sent my way via Loscha of Edmaro. Title link takes you to high-res shots pulled from this auction. Thanks Loscha!

2 Voice Oberheim FVS

Title link takes you to shots pulled from this Craigslist post. The price at $1200 seems too good, but you never know. If found a pristine Yamaha CS60 on Craiglist for $375. For deals like this, I'd do local pickup only with checking it out first.

Korg EA-1 - New Flickr Set

Shot by joshua schnable

EMS Vocoder 3000

No title link. Shot below pulled from this auction. Compare it to the EMS Vocoder 2000.

Tritonian Sunset - New Flickr Shot

Shot by gentle bakemono

SoundPlant 26.1

Update via Inverse Room in the comments: "Let me put in my 2 cents on this program...it's awesome. I sometimes use it live in my improvisational electronica duo, The Bemus Point... at our web site, www.thebemuspoint.com, there's a live mp3 of us on which I have two instances of Soundplant running, one with timestretched video game sounds, the other with guitar and softsynth loops. Just scroll down to where it says 'Evaporated Metal Music.'"

"Soundplant 26.1 is a self-contained digital audio performance program that turns your computer keyboard into a fully customizable sample-triggering device. It allows the assignment of sound files of unlimited size to virtually any keyboard keys, with no external devices needed and no MIDI involved. It can be used as a drum pad, to add a live track to an already made song, to mix together tracks in realtime, to create music or loops from scratch, to quickly sketch sound designs, to give new life to old sounds, or as a performance, presentation, or installation tool. Because it is not a synthesizer and instead uses your own digital samples (it's a 'software sampler'), Soundplant is a virtually limitless electronic instrument. A simple graphic interface provides for drag-and-drop, point-and-click configuration of each key, including several options which control the way each sound is triggered, along with pitch, offsets, looping, volume, and panning. Sounds can be easily batch assigned across multiple keys at varying pitches and offsets, and keyboard configurations can be saved and loaded."

Title link takes you there.