Electronic Dream Plant Wasp with Original Box

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via this auction

"Designed by Chris Huggett and built in the UK during the 1970’s.

Two oscillators, noise source, LFO, High/Low/Band pass filter separate EG’s for VCA and VCF.

Touch sensitive keyboard.

These are highly sought after due to the gorgeous sound they produce.

I doubt you’ll find a better example complete with original box!

It has no cracks in the casing which so many do have."

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Oxford Synthesizer Company OSCar

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"Extremely rare and sought-after hybrid digital/analogue mono/duophonic synthesizer designed by synth guru Chris Huggett. The OSCar is a very powerful synth with the unique feature of a split filter allowing formant shifting which gives very vowel-like sounds..."

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EDP Electronic Dream Plant Wasp Synthesiser

via this auction
"I've owned quite a few classic synths like the Minimoog, Oberheim OB-8 and Yamaha CS80, but none of them is quite as extraordinary as the Wasp. Designed in Oxford by Chris Huggett, the Wasp is an early digitally-controlled analogue synth in a unique injection-moulded plastic case

The Wasp looks like a toy, and sounds pretty tinny through the built-in speaker, but plugged into a mixing desk it sounds enormous. The sounds seem to come from nowhere with no background noise. Just huge, clean monstrous synth sounds that you couldn't imagine coming from any other synth

At the heart of the Wasp are two digitally-controlled oscillators and a superb filter. There's a third "control" oscillator for LFO and filter modulation, switchable between random, sine, two sawtooth and square wave shapes. There's also a noise source. There's an envelope shaper for the VCA and one for the filter. The filter is very flexible - both the control oscillator and the envelope generator control the filter via +/- pots

The main oscillators can be switched off and the filter & noise source used to generate wind & noise effects - which it's very good at - or the filter Q can be pushed right up, virtually into oscillation, to generate spooky water drop effects with the control oscillator on random

It's a monophonic synth, in the tradition of the great Mini Moog and, like the Moog, can generate monster bass sounds. The Wasp is cleaner sounding than the Moog and it's also brighter and deeper"

Vintage EDP Wasp Synthesizer with Case

via this auction
"Vintage EDP Wasp Synthesizer with hardshell case and owner's manual, serial number 001186... Works on 6 C-cell 1.5V batteries or 9V DC Adapter, neither of which are included in the auction, both of which are commonly available.

Elby Designs in Australia makes a built-in Midi adapter for the Wasp for around 50 Euros (£45, $68) which enables you to plug any standard Midi keyboard into it for a controller. Kenton Electronics in the UK also makes a somewhat more expensive Wasp Midi converter.

EDP WASP SPECIFICATIONS
• Designed by: Chris Huggett
• Manufactured by: EDP/Electronic Dream Plant Ltd.
• Dimensions: 17 (w) x 13 (l) x 2. 5 (d) at rear/1 at front. (Dimensions in inches).
• Keyboard: 2-octave, monophonic, touch activated
• Two digital VCOs, with sawtooth and pulse.
• LFO, with six waveforms.
• Digital Noise Generator.
• VCF, with low-, high- and band-pass modes, and Envelope Generator with repeat LFO.
• VCA, with Envelope Generator and repeat LFO.
• Separate line-level and headphone outputs.
• Two 'LINK' sockets for connecting other EDP products.
• Built-in 4 x 2-inch speaker.
• Powered by six 1.5V 'C'-type batteries or external 9V PSU."

OSCar Oxford Synthesizer Company

via this auction
"This is number 855, I believe Chris Huggett from the Oxford Synthesizer Company made about 300 non midi and about 700 plus with. This is the last revision which means the potentiometers respond quicker and you have all 36 voices to store your own sounds. It is a remarkably versatile idiosyncratic sounding machine that has a character all of its own. It syncs up perfectly to computers or drum machines via midi. The sequencer is excellent for creating quick grooves and the separation knob allows this baby to talk like no other synth I have heard. Made in England."

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EDP GNAT

images via this auction
"Synthesizers don't come much more special and rare than this, the infamous EDP Gnat, smaller 1 Oscillator brother of the EDP Wasp. Designed in 1980 by Chris Huggett of OSCar fame, this is a seriously quirky synth with a huge sound for it's size. It may look like it'd be difficult to play, but it's not, and it's a lot of fun too. You can create a wealth of unusual sounds, from deep basses to soaring leads, modulated textures to drones and other sonic madness. The filter alone is worth buying it for - i've never heard a synth with such a razor sharp sweep when you open the filter up."

Moog OSCar

I remember seeing this a few years ago on the 'bay. The claim was that it was the prototype of the Oxford Synthesizer Company's OSCar in the case of a Moog Source.

Via the AH archives:

"it was confirmed in SOS. There's an article on it. you can even see it in
the auction.

I don't think that many peopel want it because it's not working properly.
It's collectible, but that's all, not so overly usable..."

"I also think that this is the one described in a issue of Future Music
some years ago when they did a interview with Lionrock. I don't
remember the issue, though I know that I still have it. Apparently, it
was stolen shortly after the interview was completed. I saw the SOS
article too and, since the owner of the piece at that time had worked
with Lionrock, I assumed that the synth was returned."

I found this article on Sound on Sound, but no mention of the word prototype or moog (I need to read the whole thing). But I did find this information that I've also forgotten over the years. Chris Huggett, was the man behind the EDP Wasp, Oxford Oscar, Akai S1000, and finally the Novation Supernova. Pretty impressive.

From Sound on Sound:

"Chris Huggett? In the same way that I had to go and get a proper job with E&MM and then Sequential to make a living, Chris eventually had to get a more reliable source of income. I put him in touch with Akai, for whom I was doing S900 sound development, and the next thing I knew he was writing the operating system for the new S1000. Chris worked for Akai behind the scenes on most of the sampler operating systems for more than 10 years until he grew frustrated with their refusal to let him work on the hardware design as well (with the Wasp and OSCar, he had of course done both). Having fostered Novation in its early days with help and advice, he eventually joined them full-time a couple of years back and is the guiding light behind the virtual technology of the Supernova. So a very British designer is once more working on a very British synth for a very British company."

Update via Turboskin in the comments: "Found the restoration of this exact Moog OSCar: stereoping.com/"

Update 3/8/12: Bigger pics here: Legendary Moog OSCar Up for Auction

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