MATRIXSYNTH

Korg Polyphonic Ensemble P

images via this auction
"This amazing vintage synth was the first polyphonic model introduced by Korg. This Univox "K-4" version adds sensuous hardwood veneers for a more upscale appearance.

This particular unit was used very carefully by a local church group.

Major Features (from the Owner's Manual):

--Refined 7 Preset Tones. String, Pipe Organ, Brass, Electric Piano, Piano, Harpsichord, Clavichord

--Controls with a wide range of freedom. Tones can be synthesized freely by means of control knobs. Almost an infinite range of tones can be synthesized. Example: Koto (Japanese harp), sitar, harp, horn, human chorus, etc.

--Chords can be produced. As the name indicates, the Polyphonic Ensemble--an embodiment of synthesizer technology--can produce perfect chords.

--Korg's exclusive Traveler mechanism.

--Octave Coupler for richer sound.

More details about this vintage gem (including service manuals and owner's manuals) can be found at http://www.korganalogue.net"

MFB Analog Drum Synth Modules

via this auction

Note this one is from NoiseBug.

"the drum-01 revives the kick- and snare sounds of the legendary seventies drum-machines mfb-301/302 as well as the model mfb-501. their unique sound is based on digital c-mos gates that produce less distortion than conventional opamp’s and therefore sound softer. bass- and snare can be triggered thru individual inputs. however, triggering does not need to take place with conventional analogue or digital signals only. you may as well use drum-pads or piezo- and dynamic microphones. separate sensitivity controls adjust the input gain. dynamic triggering will not only affect the volume but also attack and decay parameters.

drum-01 offers the following functions:
kick: attack produces a short impulse sound that is mixed with the kick drum signal to enhance its percussive character. decay defines the length of the kick – a parameter that was only adjustable inside the mfb-501.
snare: tune controls the tonal part of the snare sound while noise controls the atonal part. decay defines the length of the noise part after triggering.
noise out: this separate jack outputs the unfiltered signal of the digital noise generator. use it in combination with other modules to create hi-hats, claps or cymbals.

the module has a width of 40 mm (8 te).

delivering five different analogue generated percussion sounds, drum-02 is the best possible addition to mfb’s drum-01 bass- and snare-drum module. the sounds are tom, low bongo, hi bongo, low clave and hi clave. the sounds are vastly taken from the mfb-501 and offer individual decay controls.

accordingly to drum-01 module, drum-02 uses c-mos gates for a unique sound that is softer and less distorted than typical opamp’s circuit layouts. the c-mos gate are combined to work as a bandpass-filter with adjustable resonance. triggering of all five inputs can take place by digital and analogue signals. individual controls for input sensitivity also allow usage of drum-pads, piezo- and dynamic microphones. dynamic triggering will not only affect the volume but also its attack and decay level.

the matching step-sequencer for drum-01 and drum-02 will be forthcoming seq-1 module that will allow 12 trigger-tracks with individual outputs and accent function.

remark: the sounds h1 and h2 of mfb-501 have been renamed to low clave and hi clave in drum-02. tom and the two bongo instruments can also be used as three toms tuned differently. the module has a width of 60 mm (12 te).

the drum-03 module revives the cymbal, closed- and open hihat sounds that were originally found in mfb’s drum-machines mfb-301/302 and later on in model mfb-501. drum-03 complements drum-01 and drum-02 modules to a complete mfb old-school beatbox drum-set.

just like the other mfb drum modules, drum-03 has that specific mfb-sound that derives from analogue sounding digital c-mos gates. these units work with less distortion compared to typical op-amps and therefore sound softer. hihat and cymbal accept different trigger signals at their inputs. these don’t necessarily need to be analogue or digital trigger signals of a step-sequencer but can also derive from drum pads, piezo- or dynamic microphones. the two sens-controls will individually adjust the input sensitivity. dynamic triggering will not only affect the volume of the sound but slightly also attack and decay parameters.

drum-03 offers the following functions:
hihat: the sound source for the hihat is a digital noise generator that is sent into a bandpass filter. two parameters quality and filter offers different sound variations. decay controls the duration of the open hihat sound and also affects the closed hihat’s decay slightly. cymbal: the cymbal sound uses the same combination of digital noise generator and bandpass filer as the hihat section. here, only the bandpass frequency can be altered. decay sets the decay time of the cymbal with a range that is almost equal to the open hihat section. accordingly, the cymbal can also be used as a second hihat sound. with a shorter decay time it may complement the groove as a half open hihat.

the module has a width of 40 mm (8 te).

this item is a 'lightly used demo model.'"

SynthStar

"I'm writing to let you know that I've launched a new synthesizer database site – yes, another one:

http://www.synthstar.com

Of course I know that there are already several synthesizer database sites out there – but they all lacked one thing, which was a decent search feature. None of them let you search by individual synth specifications, so I've stepped in and created a site with an exhaustive advanced search function. If you check out the advanced search page, you'll see what I mean:

http://www.synthstar.com/advancedSearch.php

Here, you can pretty much go crazy with the search parameters. If you wanted to find a list of all synths made between 1979 and 1995 with a chorus effect, you can do so. Looking for a synth that has an aftertouch-capable keyboard as well as a minimum of three oscillators? Can do.

Apart from that, each synth page has its own comments area, and I've compiled resource links for just about every synth in there. I also tried to keep the design low-key so that pages would load quickly and also to make it easier for visitors to find what they're looking for faster. Almost all of the information entered in the database was culled from product manuals when possible, and from other sites when absolutely necessary. For the record, Sequencer.de has by far the most complete and accurate set of synth information on the web.

All of the data entry for this site was done by myself, for all 641 synthesizers in the database (I did turn up a few which I didn't see on any other synth DB site). Because of this, I'm sure that some errors were introduced, or some synths missed, so I'd ask that visitors use the correction form if they notice something wrong. A reference would be appreciated if something is found, to save me a bit of leg work since I'll need to research it anyway.

One note I should make: right now there are no modular synthesizers in the database. Initially I did start adding these in, but quickly realized that they wouldn't work with the site because their specifications vary so widely and it's difficult to put these in a searchable database alongside "normal" synths and still return accurate results. So for now I'm holding off on that, and may instead launch a sub-site at some point in the future that would list each individual synth module rather than treating all of the modules as one big theoretical machine.

One thing I would definitely appreciate is image submissions – you'll notice that there aren't a lot of synth images on the site right now. It just wasn't feasible for one person to get permission to use images for 641 synths, so instead I'm going to rely on the kindness of visitors to get these up there. I really, really appreciate anyone who is able to take the time to help me out with this part of the site.

This took me a long time to put together, and I'm happy that I've reached the end of this project – I hope people find the site useful! I plan on adding more to the site and continually improving it as time goes on, so anyone is welcome to email me with their comments and suggestions to admin@synthstar.com. :)"