Digital Cymbal

video upload by George Benton

"I took an MKS50240 Top Octave Synthesizer IC (TOS) and copying from a Lowrey Organ circuit from the 80's made a Digital Cymbal noise Generator.
Lowrey D350. The MKS50240 is obsolete as far as I know. If anyone can source them put it in the comments. I hope to do a part 2 when finished."

Kind of like the EML Polybox.

EML PolyBox & Minimoog

video upload by akestromer

"Very quick amateurish demo of my EML PolyBox that I recently bought and repaired.

I've added an output for oscillator 2 on the minimoog* so that the polybox would have a frequency to track.

*using alligator clips, so don't worry, no minimoog was harmed in the filming/taping/sd-carding? of this video."

https://reverb.com/shop/stromer-mutroniks

RSF BLACKBOX Vintage Synthesizer SN 13260

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via this auction

"xtremely RARE item from the French Synthesizers Made By Ruben & Serge Fernandez in the 70′s. The RSF Blackbox is a small 18 keys mini synthesizer that can turn your Analog Monophonic Synthesizers into Polyphonic by the use of CV/Gate with both type of Voltage Source as CV Volt/Oct. And/Or Hertz Volts and Both Gate Types as Positive Gate (V-Trigger) or Negative Gate (S-Trigger).So basically you can control & use every kind of Analog Synthesizer with this unit like Korg, Roland, Yamaha, Kawai, Sequential Circuits, Moog, ARP, Oberheim."

Similar to the EML Polybox.

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EML Poly Box black

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via this auction

You can find a demo of an orange one previously posted here.

"Ultra rare EML Polybox (or EML Poly-Box). Only 130 untis were made. It makes chords from your mono sound.

Let me quote vintage synth explorer that quotes EML manual: 'Poly-Box takes a single pitch from your synthesizer and creates two banks of pitch sources. Each pitch bank contains 13 simultaneously available pitch sources at precise semitone intervals - covering an entire chromatic octave. The pitch banks may be in the same or different octaves, and can cover the range from one above to three octaves below the synthesizer oscillator.'

It has been professionally serviced and cleaned by my great synth repair man. One note C is not operating, beсause of the divider that is not working correctly (it can be purchase as a replacement from a company in UK for 50-60$). We couldn't deliver the parts to Russia, because of the royal mail failure, so we left it as it is, with, 98% restored besides this chip."

EML Polybox Demonstration

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
Published on Sep 23, 2019 Joseph McGinty

"Here is a brief demonstration of the EML Polybox, a keyboard accessory that would allow you to play chords on a monophonic synthesizer."

via this auction

"For your consideration is an extremely rare EML Polybox. The Polybox allows you to play chords on your monophonic synthesizer. It is in very good working condition. It has been serviced by Ake Stromer of Stromertronics in Brooklyn. It includes the owner's manual and schematic."

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Vintage Electronic Music Labs ElectroComp EML-101 Synthesizer Early Production Model

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via this auction

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Rare Orange One Octave EML Polybox Keyboard

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via this auction

"This thing is amazing, hook the output of a vco to the input and set it to auto so it follows that tone with precision while adding the selected semitones (as many as you want by pressing the keys down). The keys can be momentarily pressed for it to operate or a hold feature can be used holding any keys that are pressed one at a time or all at the same time. Led lights above each key illuminate telling you what keys were pressed and held. This not all, there's another tone that you can choose the octave of with a selector switch and then the octaves of all tones together with another switch. There's a phase adjustment pot to put this other tone slightly out of tune to fatten up the sound..."

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EML Synthesizer brochures, EML Family and Polybox, EML 500 Photo, EML Primer

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via this auction

You might recognize the postcard from this post.
"EML Synthesizer literature. Original. Approximately 1976. Two EML brochures, also EML500 Photo Postcard, and EML Primer. The EML Family Of Synthesizers (4 page brochure), EML Polybox brochure (1 page double sided), Full Color EML500 Postcard (6X9 inches), EML Primer (small mini booklet One Synthesizer Makes More Music (12 pages cover to cover). The EML500 Photo Postcard and EML Primer booklet are near mint. Both EML brochures have punch holes. The EML family brochure has neat folds from mailing and residual tape on back from address EML taped on at the time. The EML polybox brochure was not folded however has a long wrinkle down one side. Both brochures do not have any writing or highlights."

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Befaco diy modular synth & eml polybox

Befaco diy modular synth

Published on Jun 8, 2014 xamstradx·4 videos

"Having fun with my Befaco DIY modular synth (2010-2014, and growing)

Everything recorded in live, all sounds coming from the main output.

Patch 1 - Using MidiCV module ( Multi4 mode ), different sequences and filter functions.

Patch 2 - Using MidiCv module ( Poly mode ) trying some chords and pads. Don´t expect it to excel at this, it´s not what it is intended for. But with some tweaking you can still get some polyphonic goodness.

Path 3 - Random+rythmical pattern using internal functions (no midi here).

All sound recorded with the camera microphone, sorry for the poor quality

Kits are available at befaco.org."


eml polybox Uploaded on Aug 4, 2011 xamstradx·4 videos

"Got this eml poly-box for some years now, i decided to put up some quick demo due the lack of info, and sometimes curiosity, about it.
It´s is a cute, tiny, and exotic synth companion who basically turns a mono synth into a pseudo poly-synth (well not exactly, but more or less).
I bealive it was designed to work with EML electrocomp series. So to take the best of it you need a modular or semimodular device i´d say. Here it is with my diy modular synth.


'From the Peter Forrest guide to all things synth: 'A curious and rare product - only 130 ever were made. Designed to turn monosynths into pseudo-polyphonics. Twenty-six "note memories." Connect a monosynth audio out to the PolyBox input, play a note on the monosynth, hold down a chord on the PolyBox, and the PolyBox will fill out the chord from the original root note. Then you could route the PolyBox back into your synth (if it had an audio input) to use the synth's filter and envelope. The PolyBox's own sound was limited to pulse wave

Here is how EML describes it:
'Poly-Box is a pitch following variable chord generator controlled by your synthesizer and Poly-Box's own keyboard with built-in memory. Poly-Box takes a single pitch from your synthesizer and creates two banks of pitch sources. Each pitch bank contains 13 simultaneously available pitch sources at precise semitone intervals - covering an entire chromatic octave. The pitch banks may be in the same or different octaves, and can cover the range from one above to three octaves below the synthesizer oscillator.'"

EML Polybox Quick Test w/ Analogue Solutions Telemark

Published on Dec 20, 2013

"Here's a quick test of the EML Polybox:

The GATE IN is accepting signal from the Analogue Solutions Oberkorn for purposes of rhythm.

http://www.vintagesynth.com/eml/polyb...

In only a few minutes it has already become obvious that this little box is capable of much more than standard basic polyphony...

Verdict? Awesome

More to come..."

Mark Mothersbaugh's Tour of Mutato Muzika

Published on Jun 4, 2013 keyboardmag1·273 videos

"In this archival clip from May 2010, Mark Mothersbaugh gives us a tour of some of the vintage synths in Mutato Muzika, DEVO's headquarters in L.A."

EMS SYNTHI AKS, Oberheim TVS, Moog Memorymoog, Minimoog & Sonic Six, various circuit bent gear, EMS VCS3, custom DIY modular Aries Modular, EDP Wasp, Novachord, Electronium, TONTO, EML 500, Polybox, Octave CAT, Pink Floyd's Ondioline, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 & more.

Update via Michael Hewel in the comments: "the modular around 08:00 is an Aries"

TempoSync

Published on Jan 28, 2013 artoftravelogue·3 videos

"Here is a demonstration of how to sync to tape using FSK, which has been my preferred method for nearly 20 years."

Orange EML Polybox in there.

The Analog Lab NYC-Sennheiser VSM 201 | EML POLYBOX

YouTube Published on Sep 6, 2012 by TheAnalogLab

"A brief, stereotypical vocoder demo featuring the amazing Sennheiser VSM 201 Vocoder with an EML POLYBOX.

These were both units that were in for repair at The Analog Lab in NYC.

The tone generator is routed through the EML where it is divided into user selected pitches/chords. The chords remain static, but the pitch shifts with the change of the frequency of the tone generator.

-Also featured- One of Harlan's favorite screwdrivers...it snuck in and I didn't notice until afterward.

And an Oscilloscope for awesomeness.

www.theanaloglab.com"

EML POLY-BOX KEYBOARD REMOTE CONTROLLER

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated. via this auction
"This is an excellent working condition EML POLY-BOX. This is remote control keyboard. Super clean unit with that has very little use. This unit was tested and works perfectly. Devo was well known for using one of these.This was owned by a musician who is having financial problems, he is forced to sell this rare gem. It has just 2 tiny nicks near the front left(See photo 17), rest is virtually flawless. It looks like it is 1 year old not over 30. Only 130 of these were ever produced, trying to fnd one is this condition, nearly impossible.

Back in the day, most synthesizers were monophonic - that is they could play only 1 note at a time. EML realized this limitation and came up with the Polybox. This rare little box has built in oscillators which track the pitch of an incoming audio signal really well - even following vibrato and portamento successfully. Take any monophonic synthesizer audio output, patch it into this synth and play the Polybox's keys along with the mono melody to convert it to chords. Or lock the chord memory so it follows your melody automatically with a set chord that's transposed along with the melody's pitch. Or play its internal oscillators as their own instrument. This is a very cool, unique and extremely useful tool!

ONLY LISTING ON EBAY OR THE ENTIRE NET

Specifications Polyphony - 26 voices (13 per bank) Oscillators - n/a
LFO - n/a
Filter - n/a
VCA - n/a
Keyboard - 13 keys
Memory - 26 patches
Control - CV/Gate
Date Produced - 1977-84

This is info gathered from one of EML's founders, Jeff Murray. This is reprinted from Vintage Synthesizers. [on Amazon]

The Poly-Box.
On the heels of introducing some fairly straightforward synth equipment, EML did an about-face and came out with one of the strangest accessories ever designed for mono- and duophonic synths: the Poly-Box, which had only a one-octave keyboard (C to C ). If you sent one or more notes into the Poly-Box’s audio input and played a chord on its keyboard, the Poly-Box would output a chord based on the incoming note (the root) and the notes depressed on the Poly-Box keyboard. Each key was programmable within a four-octave range, and memory could store up to 26 notes for automated pitch-following of a synthesizer. “The Poly-Box was kind of a cool instrument,” says Murray. “A lot of early synthesizers were just one- or two-note devices, but with the Poly-Box you could play chords. It had phase-lock-loop circuitry so that it could follow the frequency of an incoming audio signal. Then you could hit a chord on the Poly-Box and it would synthesize all the other frequencies of the chord.” EML made around 130 Poly-Boxes between 1977 and 1984. It originally listed for $475.

'It's more for those old mono's you can't get to be poly. sure there's poly synths falling out of trees these days, but there's no polyphonic version of vintage synths falling out of trees and that's where this baby fills the gap!'

'This is a very rare and unusual keyboard that acts as a unique accessory for any monophonic synthesizer or sound source. Plug a mono source into the input of the Poly Box and it will take the input waveform and allow you to play chords with it, effectively turning a mono source into a polyphonic output. It also has its own internal oscillators, so it can generate polyphonic sound all by itself. You can lock a chord on the Poly Box and then vary the pitch of the mono input, thereby changing the root pitch of the output chord. Additional controls allow you to add an additional tone either one or two octaves below the input, and to transpose everything down an octave, as well as adjust brilliance and add phasing. This unit takes your mono synth into a whole new world of polyphony.'

'I blame DEVO for my lust of the EML.'"

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EML Poly-Box vintage analog synth

via this auction
See the here for more.
"From the Peter Forrest guide to all things synth: 'A curious and rare product - only 130 ever were made. Designed to turn monosynths into pseudo-polyphonics. Twenty-six "note memories." Connect a monosynth audio out to the PolyBox input, play a note on the monosynth, hold down a chord on the PolyBox, and the PolyBox will fill out the chord from the original root note. Then you could route the PolyBox back into your synth (if it had an audio input) to use the synth's filter and envelope. The PolyBox's own sound was limited to pulse wave.'"

EML POLYBOX

via this auction

EML 500 and Polybox

flickr by codeslave9000
(click for more)

EML Polybox

For sale on Paul's Boutique

via Patrick on Facebook

360 Systems 20/20 Frequency Shifter (BODE)

via this auction

"This is a very rare item, probably the first I've seen one on ebay. It is a Frequency Shifter, model 20/20 by 360 Systems.

360 Systems was (and still is) an innovative company that developed this pitch changer (as used by Synergy/Larry Fast, John McLaughlin), one of the first guitar synths (John McLaughlin) the first sample-playback keyboard and many audio post devices since. They also developed the first LINN Drum for Roger Linn. Bob Easton was/is their clever designer."
360 based their design on Harold Bode's rare "Klangumwandler" that was made and sold for Moog in the late 1960s and early '70s.

The Moog/Bode 6552 Klangumwandler ('sound-changer', in German) was an interesting concept, to modify pitch (frequency) without changing the overtone structure. Bode's invention was first created for Ussachevsky's electronic music studio at Columbia University (Bob was quite familiar with the composer and studio, as well as his various students like Wendy Carlos. Wendy and Tomita used this module on their classic albums. Club of the Knobs synthesizers now make a very accurate replica of the original Bode/Moog module and you can see it (and the similarity to this 360 design) on their website. The 360 has the same "series of 5" settings (5,50,500) as the Bode - and mixed vs. independent outputs, although the squelch is internal on the 360 via trimpot. There is CV (Voltage Control) of the frequency - great with a sequencer, CV pedal (McLaughlin) or random. These are similar to a ring modulator, but have a VERY unusual effect at the lowest settings. This is the effect I love (and why anyone should own this) - a deep phasing in stereo, without "messing up" the sonic quality of the original signal - all bass a treble frequencies remain solid, and the harmonics shift around in stereo beautifully. It's weird but not ugly - very HiFi and cool-sounding.

BODE

some text from the web):
'... the EWE, which stands for Electro Wagnerian Emancipator. There's only one of them; it was designed for me by Bob Easton at 360 Systems… That is now gathering dust in the warehouse. I tried to use it on "Big Swifty" from Waka/Jawaka - Hot Rats, but it didn't end up on the final track." (BTW synth geeks - this is mystery item was basically just an EML Polybox, same idea!)

'We also have some neat little 360 Systems model 2800 programmable equalizers, which are four-band parametric with memory storage for saving any particular settings that you may like. Those were designed by Bob Easton and are no longer available, but we have a few of them.'"

via Brian Kehew of Moog Cookbook

Update via eben in the comments: "check out the comment in that ebay auction in the questions section - none other than Tom Rhea, author of the minimoog owners manual"

via the auction:
Q: Hey neighbor, interesting that you have a frequency shifter for sale, but your description that a klangumwandler shifts without changing the overtone structure is incorrect. Pitch shifting a la the Eventide Harmonizer does this; Harald Bode built frequency shifter(s) that provide a LINEAR shift in frequency (Hz) for all partials in the input signal. This will, of course drastically change the "overtone structure," not preserve it. Sorry to be a drudge about this, but I knew Harald well, teach this stuff at a well known music College," This message purely in the interest of sharing information. Hope you get a good penny. PS, I have several Bode 1630 FS (lucky me, but just knowing Harald was the real treat!) Tom Rhea (author Minimoog Owner's Manual, etc.) Good luck in the sale! Apr-14-09
A: Hey Tom - you are likely QUITE right. I only said it was based upon the Bode - which seems quite true given the controls and front panel, steps of "5's" etc. Obviously, the audio track given shows what this very unit does exactly, so no deception is implied.

PAiA Oz As seen in DEVO's "Come Back Jonee" video

via this auction

"In 1982, a friend owed me money but I got this synth and a story instead... After high school I thumbed my nose at the regular life and moved myself to Austin, Texas which was then as it is now: the live music capitol of the world. Everybody was in a band and if you weren't in a band then someone in a band owed you money. Or both. I was both.

My friend Ryan was in a Devo/Kraftwerk ripoff band called "Light Switch" or some vaugely stupid electrical term. The band wasn't that good but they had a pretty impressive collection of synthesizers - especially for 1982 - including the first electronic drums I'd ever seen. One item in particular that I always admired in Ryan's aresenal was a lovely little Paia Oz. I liked the woopy little pitch bending pad, the teeny keyboard and the alien beep the little machine made.

Anyway, at some point I loaned Ryan and the guys of "Light Switch" nearly one-hundred dollars to pay for rehearsal space, food, electricity and probably weed, knowing them. Of course they had no intention of ever paying me back and, predicably, push came to shove (including actual shoving) in an attempt to recover my money. So I said we could call it even if Ryan gave me his PAIA Oz. I really loved that keyboard and I'd probably been subsconsciouly angling for this outcome in the first place.

And he said, "No way - Mark gave that to me." "Wait, " I said, "Mark? Like Mothersbaugh? Like Devo? That Mark?"

Yes, that Mark.
The story goes that in high school Ryan worked at a music shop in Houston around 1977 and who should walk into thier shop with a sweat-ruined Minimoog was none other than Mark Mothersbaugh himself. They had a show at the Texas Opry House, a Houston punk club, and Mark had ruined his Moog with sweat and possibly beer. So, Ryan cleaned up the Moog's contacts, replaced a few pots and had her booping again. Ryan was so flabbergasted that Mark was in his shop that he didn't charge Mark for the repairs and, in turn, Mark was so surprised that this kid could fix synths that he invited him to the next Devo show in San Antonio - including after-party passes. Wow - girls, booze and everything!

Ryan made the five-hour drive to the show, which was super-awesome, and the after-party, which was also super-awesome. Mark, possibly made jolly and generous by the various substances at the party kept introducing Ryan to partygoers as "the guy that saved the show." Before Ryan left for Houston, Mark gave him his PAIA Oz as a thank-you.

Well, it was a nice story and I wasn't sure if it was true. If it were in fact true, then it only made me all the more determined to let the Oz stand as repayment. And if it weren't true I wanted it anyway bacause I thought the Oz was way neato. But Ryan wouldn't budge. He wouldn't part with the synth.

Well, then...
I moved back to Austin a few years ago and who should I meet again but my old friend Ryan. We exchanged phone numbers and emails - and it turned out that our wives already knew each other - and bid farewell. He called me that night and said, "Hey - you still want Mark's keyboard?"

There you are. I have no idea if the lineage of this keyboard can be traced back to Devo or what. It's probably total BS, but you never know. There WAS a PAIA OZ in the Devo video "Come Back Jonee." I like the story more than I like the Oz, so bid early and often."


Update via BirdFLU in the comments: "That's a great story. But if you look at the little keyboard in the Come Back Jonee video it's the same orange/yellow color as an EML Polybox. The OZ may have been Mark's but I don't think it's what's in the video. "