Computone Lyricon Wind Driver Controller

via this auction

Computone Wind Driver Lyricon-type controller

via this VEMIA auction

"Rare and special wind controller, owned from new by Bruno Spoerri, one of the pioneers of wind-controlled synthesis. Here's Bruno's comments from today:- 'I tried the Wind driver and it worked perfectly, as far as I can analyze it. It's 220 Volt (if I remember well, it can easily be converted to 110), and it comes with the original handbook and the original service handbook.' Cosmetically it looks nice. Even if you aren't a wind player, it's a great way to get wind-instrument-like expression into analogue synths. There's a manual online for more info during the auction at:" [link - mirrored here]

Computone Lyricon "The Driver" Vintage Wind Controller

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Update via Steve Greene in the comments:

"I own two of these...
In the 1970's my good friend (now deceased) Jay Lee was a consultant to Computone. Jay was way ahead of his time respect to analog synthesis composition and recording. If you google the album One Step More, an all-analog synthesis album I engineered and co-produced, you will quickly understand the breadth and depth of Jay's talents on the Emu modular synthesizer system.

Jay created some nice demo music for Computone with the Wind Driver, and was paid with inventory instead of money (I assume that the former was in much greater supply than the latter.)

In exchange for the many hundreds of hours I spent on his album, Jay paid me with 2 copies of The Driver. I shutter to think of the per-hour pay that figured out to be (like maybe $2) After receiving these, we used 1 of them to create (for it's day) some very realistic horn fanfares which became the signature music for BBC/Lionheart, a distribution deal done between BBC films and King World Entertainment. That little 15 second ditty was put on the end of every film the BBC exported for about 5 years.

Fast forward to today. I have revived one of the wind drivers. One of the reasons I believe the instrument ultimately failed was due to the tremendous back pressure created by lead hoses that were too small in inner diameter. I have replaced the hoses on 1 of The Drivers with a much thinner gauge cross section hose, resulting in a much more satisfying playing experience. Really too bad the Computone engineers couldn't figure that one out themselves. I am currently using it with a four-voice modular synthesizer made from 4 of the original EMU voice evaluation boards featuring the line of Curtiss Electromusic VCO VCA VCF and EG chips. SOUNDS GREAT!

If any of you are interested in the other wind driver, please contact me.

Cheers,
Steve Greene"

Computone Lyricon Vintage Wind Synth Driver

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