MATRIXSYNTH

The Frankenbox

"The Frankenbox is essentially an all-in-one synthesizer built for making distorted screeches, growls, and other awful noises. It includes two oscillators, a built in microphone, two audio inputs, a voltage controlled amplifier with ringmod capabilities, a voltage controlled lowpass filter, an LFO, and a sequencer. One oscillator includes a photocell and the other can be modulated by the LFO and the sequencer. There is a joystick that allows for frequency modulation of the oscillators. Each component was specifically designed with the intention of creating loud, rumbling sounds with crackling distortion over the top. The entire box, down the knobs, case, and LED color, was created exactly as requested. With 41 knobs and hundreds of ways to make the device interact with itself, an almost infinite number of sounds is possible."

Title link takes you to more devices including samples of The Frankenbox and others. Via Colin of Experimentalists Anonymous Custom Electronic Devices.

An Early Dave Smith

This is actually the cover to a DVD titled "Dave Smith: Synthesizer Pioneer." Title link takes you to more info on the Dave Smith Instruments site.

via sequencer.de.

The New Reason

As you all probably know by now, the new version of Reason is out, featuring Thor. Title link takes you there.

Guess the Synth

Title link takes you to more info and images. Click on the Gallery link on the bottom of the page when you get there. There are some great shots. I purposely went with the "wtf-is-that" teaser shot for the post. Don't click unless you want the answer immediately.

via Synthcat who spotted it on the planetz forums.

Jean Laurendeau and the Ondes Martenot

YouTube via unidaddy. Another great vid found by AudioLemon.
BTW, I just added AudioLemon to my Blogroll on the right.
For a current approximation of the keyboard with ring check out the Analogue Systems French Connection.

Yamaha CS-40M

YouTube via analoguecrazy4. via AudioLemon.

KORG Synthe-Bass

via this auction.
Details:
"This is a vintage analog synthesizer released around 1975 (Around the time of the Mini and Maxi Korgs). It's got 5 waveform choices a huge Sine, a buzzy Square, Fat Triangle, More buzzy Square, and then a Phaser setting that makes a sound that is similar to an old Moog Prodigy. It also has a "traveller" (filter cutoff). It is a very small and light Synth/ keyboard (17 keys) that puts out great analog bass tones"

Update: There was also a pedal version that looks like it could work as a desktop unit which you can see in this post.

Update via the comments: "RE: the update: the synthpedal isn't a pedal version, it lacks the VCO and more. The synthepedal is just a env follower VCF, an amazing filter but not a bass synth"

Emulator II

Title link takes you to a great Emulator II site I found via this auction (posted on Matrixsynth-b).

KORG Micro Preset M500 SP

Click here for shots via this auction.

Update: Some interesting bits on the M500 just in via The Most Underrated Synth post.

"It has one oscillator, 2 2-pole resonant LP filters (one for the synth preset, one for the brass preset), and four fixed (organ-style) filters. The 2 filters have VCAs built in, and each of the fixed filter circuits had its own VCA and (fixed) envelope generator. The brass voice and synth voice also had their own envelopes. The envelope attack and release controls affected the synth and brass VCA and VCF.

They could afford 6 VCAs because, for a fixed-voice, fixed-envelope monosynth, they could get away with one-transistor VCAs and RC (NO active component) envelopes, and the VCF/VCA chip I imagine was used in other synths as well.

OMD used this synth a lot on their first few albums. You can recognize it easily in their stuff before they got into samplers, which you can also recognize (Dazzle Ships onwards)"