Homemade synthesizers 6

YouTube via organfairy. see all six vids here.
"In this - the 6th and final - video featuring my homemade instruments I make excessive use of a wah-pedal I made out of the volume pedal from a scrapped Elgam organ. With this, an LFO, and a VCA I can make an allmost rhytm-guitar-like sound."

A blunt and totally biased viewpoint on electronic synthesizers from Bob Moog

1977 ad via Retro Synth Ads where you'll find the write-up.

Update via Michelle Moog-Koussa of The Bob Moog Foundation in the comments: "This is indeed a very cool ad on the face of it, but I can tell you for sure that this was not written by Bob Moog. To those of us who knew him well, this is evident in so many ways.

The first glaring example is......did they say Walter Carlos?? In 1977?? Bob was highly sensitive to Wendy's personal life, and to address the issue, he always called her Wendy (and sometimes just "Carlos") especially in 1977 when her transformation was nearly complete. The use of Walter here is grossly insensitive and an obvious pandering to the public who knew the artist as such from the initial release of "Switched-On Bach" nearly nine years prior.

Second, Bob was a stickler for grammar and an excellent writer. This ad is riddled with enough grammatical errors to make Bob's fingers itch for the red pen he always kept in his breast pocket.

Lastly, (and I'm being charitable by just stopping here) Bob did not think the Polymoog was "musical engineering at its finest". While Bob understood the desirability of polyphonic analog instrument, he always knew there was a high cost: the integrity of the sound and the reliability of the instrument would be compromised. The Polymoog, which was not designed by Bob, proved the later with its 200% repair rate. No instrument Bob ever worked on himself had a 200% repair rate or even one close.

By 1977 when this ad was published, Bob had been pushed to the periphery of synth design at Moog Music and was in a tiny office designing amps and effect pedals for Norlin and acting as the face of the company. He agreed to be the spokesman for the company only to keep his "whisky drinking, golf playing S-OB bosses" (his words) happy, not because he agreed with what he deemed to be a compromise to his commitment to the highest level of quality and a general downturn of "musical engineering" as he knew it. Bob left the company a year later, disgusted with the direction it was taking.

This ad has a slick marketing department's fingerprints all over it, not Bob's.

I usually keep pretty quiet about this stuff, but sometimes a realminimoog has to speak up."

808bd+707

YouTube via lesingemonotone
"DIY 808-alike bassdrum (module in the back) trigged from the TR-707."

Triadex Trio: Muse, Amplifier and Lightshow

via this VEMIA auction

"Extremly rare Triadex Muse, Triadex Amplifier and Triadex Light show. A complete collection of a trio set from '72 still with two original boxes (Muse and Amplifier), manuals, cards and...the old warranty papers ;-) ALL is perfect working and lighting... visual condition as new! The Triadex Muse is the first digital musical instrument and was produced in 1972. It was designed by Edward Fredkin and Marvin Minsky, the creator of the alien 'MONOLITH' in 2001 SPACE ODYSSEY, friend & collaborator of Stanley Kubrick. Marvin Minsky has made many contributions to AI, cognitive psychology, mathematics, computational linguistics, robotics, and optics. In recent years he has worked chiefly on imparting to machines the human capacity for commonsense reasoning. His conception of human intellectual structure and function is presented in The Society of Mind (1987), which is also the title of the course he teaches at MIT. The Triadex Muse it's an algorithmic music generator: it uses digital logic circuits to produce a sequence of notes based on the settings of various parameters. It has four small sliders that control Volume, Tempo, Pitch, and Fine Pitch. It is not known how many were made, but they are considered extremely rare. For years, the Muse was a featured exhibit at the Museum of Science, Boston. The signage explained the device's algorithmic (and deterministic) approach to the creation of its seemingly-random music. Far from being random, its preset 'song' played continuously -- and was even given a name, 'Museum Musings,' by the staff. USA standard voltage of 110 volts Here is a youtube demo about the current Triadex trio lot" below

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Synton 3000 series two-case modular plus

via this VEMIA auction

"Rare and large Synton 3000 series modular synthesizer with accesories set. It's an amazing system full of voltage controlled modules, all in perfect condition. This modular is a special system with some rare, unique Synton modules, it was Felix Visser's personal system and expanded recently with more modules... Here is the module list: CASE A: 5x 3021 VCO's (based on CEM 3340) - 2x 3015 MXA (audio/cv mixer) - 1x 3017 VCF (notch filter) - 1x 3224 VCF double Hp + Lp filter - 2x 3010 VCEGR (voltage controlled EG) - 2x 3209 2VCA (dual vca) - 2x 3233 S&H/LFO (sample and hold + lfo) - 1x 3211 PRM/NRG (ring modulator + noise/random generator vlf) - 1x 3236 (functions reset / divider) - 1x 3003 keyboard controller I/O - 1x 3046 inp/inh/out - 1x 3235 ENV/CPR (envelope follower, comparator, trigger delay) - 1x 3016 gain out amplifier - 1x 3001 custom banana to jack multiples. CASE B: 3x 3218 2INV/SLR (dual inverter and slew limiter) - 2x 3223 2LFO (dual vc lfo) - 2x 3015 MXA (audio/cv mixer) - 1x 3242 MMX (dual clock controlled I/O) - 1x 3233 SH&LFO (sample and hold + lfo) - 2x 3004 4ATT (quad attenuator) - 2x 3006 MPL (multiple, 1 input and 4 buffered outputs) - 1x 3044 DMX (4 steps clock controlled switches) - 1x 3025 external input - 1x 3022 binary divider - 1x 3001 custom banana to jack multiples - 1x 3235 ENV/CPR (envelope follower, comparator, trigger delay) 1x 3001 custom quad attenuators - 3008 PSU unit + multiples and keyboard controller. ACCESSORIES: Synton KBM35 keyboard, very nice and unique Touchpad controller, original Series 3000 manual, a lot of coloured banana connectors. One PSU is external (Case A) and the other one integrated into the 3008 PSU module (CaseB) Working voltage: 220 or 240 volts."

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RSF Kobol Modular: 41U rare Kobol rackmounts!

via this VEMIA auction

"This is a monstrous and extremely rare RSF Kobol modular system composed of 8x Kobol Expander 1s with cv gate, modulation, audio in and programmer expansions, 1x Expander II, 2x Programmer sequencers, 1x Keyboard mixer, patchbay and Polyclavier (8 voices and sequencer) that can drive the whole system. All modular system is perfectly working and fully tested. About the Polyclavier status, I have just plugged the keyboard and tried for a while...and all seems to be ok. The Kobol modules are fitted on three high quality professional travel cases, closable as a cube... very nice! I'm not sure if it was this one, but seems that a similar Kobol big modular was used on the Jean Michel Jarre China tour in the '80s ... The cosmetic condition is very good apart from the Polyclavier upper wood and front left corner which need some restoration. Working voltage is 220 /240 volts. (VEMIA note: please bear in mind that the owner isn't guaranteeing that all Polyklavier functions are 100%, because he is not familiar with it.)"

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Maplin 5600s

via this VEMIA auction

Videos below.

"Maplin 5600s stereo synthesizer. It's a very rare vintage matrix synthesizer, rich in parameters ... much more than an EMS VCS3. This isn't a typical example, either. Unlike most, the construction and wiring quality is absolutely professional, so it comes in perfect working condition, serviced and tested recently. The original service manual is included.... very unique cover! The Matrix has 30 x 30 contact points (900 in total) for complex I/O and control voltages. It has a built in spring reverb and an amazing cv controlled phaser. Many features: 4x VCO's, 1x LFO, noise and Sample & hold, 3x audio Mixers, 2x CV controlled mixers, 2x Transient envelopes (that you can use as sequencer with hold delays & portamento, amazing!) 1x Trapezoid envelope, 2x 24db filters, 2x VCA, 2x Ring modulators, Spring Reverberation, amazing Phaser, 2x Audio in modules, Pan controls, Joystick and more. The keyboard is 5 octaves and there are 2x cv controls and gate (2x trig inputs, switchable from the audio in modules) retrigger, echo send / return, foot pedal & switch connections. Working voltage: 220 / 240 volts There are 3 fresh youtube demos about this Maplin 5600s: filters on phasing patch and other 2 of transient techno sequences, you can check the videos from this channel" below

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EMS Random Votage Generator

via this VEMIA auction

"EMS Random Voltage Generator module (RVG) a good expansion for Synthi, very nice also for driving analog synthesizers and modular systems, in excellent working and visual condition. It comes with (included) the Facilities multiway cable ...that is very hard to find."

EMS Prestopatch: 'Battle'

via this VEMIA auction

"Prestopatch 'BATTLE' for VCS3, Synthi AKS, and Synthi A mark II (only models with a prestopatch socket - check yours!). Perfect condition."

EMS 8-Octave Filter Bank

via this VEMIA auction

"Rare module manufactured by old EMS: 8 octave filterbank, a good expansion for Synthi, very nice also as studio outboard in excellent working and visual condition. It's working on 220 volts at the moment but the voltage can be selected inside: (110 or 220/240)."