MATRIXSYNTH

Roland System 100, 101 & 102 Keyboard & Expander

images via this auction
"The Synthesizer 101 section is a fully self-contained analog mono-synth. It features a 37-note keyboard (with no performance controls, velocity or aftertouch), and lots of sliders to tweak. Its design is similar to the SH-series analog synths. Controls for the VCO, LFO, VCF lowpass/highpass filters, VCA with ADSR, Noise, and Portamento/Glide effects are all within hands reach. There's also a handy A-440Hz tuning oscillator, like on the Minimoog. The Expander 102 section is a keyboard-less version of the 101, designed to stand upright and behind the main Synthesizer 101. More than one Expander 102 can be added to make your system fatter and fatter! The Expander is identical to the Synthesizer except that it replaces Portamento/Glide effects with a Sample-and-Hold feature for the LFO, the Noise gen. is replaced by a Ring Modulator, and the A-440 tuning osc. is replaced by weak/strong sync inputs and a mix-in jack. The Expander is an excellent way to add more oscillators and synth effects (the s&h and ring-mod) to a System 100. The oscillators can be synced if you have both modules. The 101 & 102 are already internally patched and ready to produce sounds, but that can be bypassed by external patching."

Update: box shot via this other auction from the same seller. There is also a System 100m 181 keyboard controller here.

Roland SBX-80 and TB-303

images via this auction

"The Roland TB-303 Bass Line is a synthesizer with built-in sequencer manufactured by the Roland corporation in 1982 and 1983 that had a defining role in the development of contemporary electronic music.

The TB-303 (named for "Transistor Bass") was originally marketed to guitarists for bass accompaniment while practicing alone. Production lasted approximately 18 months, resulting in only 10,000 units. It was not until the mid- to late-1980s that DJs and electronic musicians in Chicago found a use for the machine in the context of the newly developing house music genre. At the time they were very cheap, which helped to contribute to their popularity. The TB-303 is considered a collector's item today, often valued at US $1000 to $3000. An example recently sold on eBay for US $2,275.00. Phuture's "Acid Tracks" is widely acknowledged to have been the first Acid House recording to incorporate prototypical TB-303 sounds. Earlier recordings featuring the TB-303 can be traced back as far as the early Electro scene, including artists such as Ice T, Newcleus, and Mantronix, as well as pop musicians such as Heaven 17 and Section 25. In the early 90's, as new Acid styles emerged, the 303 was often overdriven, producing a harsher sound. Examples of this technique include Hardfloor's 1992 EP "Acperience", and Interlect 3000's 1993 EP "Volcano". The well-known "acid" sound is typically produced by playing a repeating note pattern on the TB-303, while altering the filter's cutoff frequency, resonance, and envelope modulation. The TB-303's accent control modifies a note's volume, filter resonance, and envelope modulation, allowing further variations in timbre. A distortion effect, either by using a guitar effects pedal or overdriving the input of an audio mixer, is commonly used to give the TB-303 a denser, noisier timbre--as the resulting sound is much richer in harmonics. The head designer of the TB-303, Tadao Kikumoto, was also responsible for leading design of the TR-909 drum machine. " No details on the SBX-80. If you know more, feel free to comment. via ni hao in the comments of this post.

Update via burstgenerator in the comments: "the SBX-80 was good for syncing sequencing hardware to tape machines via SMPTE that it would then translate into midi-clock or roland sync, etc. link"

ID the Synth and Music

swissdoc sent in this mp3. Anyone know who composed the background music and what synth or synths are used?

Update via Z: "The 'bells' are Roland D-50, it's a preset, but I forgot which one. At 1:40, the narrator says "David Lanz" who is a new age composer that was on the Narada label back in the 80's. Not sure if he's the composer of the background music or not."