EML POLYBOX

via this auction

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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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 The MKS50240 is obsolete as far as I know.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.

Album Art

Anyone know where this image is from?

"LEM Studios." Via Cynthia on AH:

"The picture appears on the back of the LEM album MACHINES (highly recommended), Wavefront Records 1977. It is Bryce Robbley's chrome mannequin and Serge System next to Doug Lynner's Serge System, and Alex Cima's Steiner Parker SynthaSystem... It was shot in Star Track Studios on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood, circa 1977 or so. Danny Sofer of Oberhiem Electronics also played with them and may have contributed the Polyfusion modular on the right side of the picture? They also used an ARP String Ensemble, a Synthi AKS, and an EML PolyBox, a Syndrum, some Oberheim, and a little Buchla 200. These guys were good friends of mine and part of the Synapse/LEM/Triode crowd. They recorded together under the names MOBIUS and LEM (Live Electronic Music). Bryce (RIP) and Doug went to Cal Arts, and Doug's 5-panel Serge was the very first sold as an assembled unit, instead of as a synth kit from the CIA "staircase assembly party" days. Doug went on to use his Serge in the band INVISIBLE ZOO which enjoyed radio airplay of their pop tune "Synthesizer Man" and he performed with it as recently as last October when he and I played live at the the Sacred Elixirs Festival at the San Jose Convention Center."

Update via Loren in the comments: "I use to have that album. You forgot to add Steve Roach as another person who played with these guys. I know Steve played in MOBIUS and I think he made a guest appearance on the LEM album if my memory is correct."

Update: more from Peter Grenader of Plan B:
"A bit more trivia about one part of that photo - the Steiner-Parker
Synthasystem shown in the photo to the left of the robot's ear. - that was
Alex Cima's..

After Alex stopped rep'ing Steiner Parker in Southern California, this
system became the property of John Waddell, who already had one other and
along with a VCS3, were being used for the Electronic Music Studies
department of Birmingham High School in the SF Valley, LA. John was my very
first EM mentor and is wholeheartedly responsible for me being accepted to
CalArts as he pushed me to enter a concert competition that Alex hosted. I
did, I made it, I submitted that to Cal Arts, I made that. Waddell gave me
the best music theory instruction I've ever had, up to and including CIA.

John passed away four years ago, and willed that Steiner-Parker to
me...which I really loved and, although it's recently found a very good home
in Marina Del Ray. It's a great system.

Back about 1977 (?) Alex and I hosted a couple of EM concerts together, one
of which LEM performed live on the seond half. Cima and I also performed
live once with Emmett Chapman, which was one of the highlights of my
performance career. Oddly enough i didn't touch electronics on that one - i
was playing flute and sax, w/Alex on synths, this dreadful percussion player
Alex found and Chapman, who as usual played the stick like no other.

I ended up inheriting Alex's EM concert series, called Electronic
Explorations, after he had had enough. I did three or four of them, one
co-produced by John Waddell, which got that horrible review in Synapse by
Doug Lynner (of LEM) i've spoken about here before. The poster for that
event was done by a very good friend of Cynthia's at the time who used the
name of Sue Dinim (get it?) for her artwork credits.

Ain't it weird how the fabric of the LA electronic music scene was sewn?

Alex Cima is still around, teaching recording and electronic music at
Fullerton College and while he has long departed with his various Steiners,
still owns his Synthi AKS."

The Shumann PLL

Analog harmonizer that allows you to take an input signal and create square waves based on that input signal for chords and other effects. Similar to the EML Polybox: link 1, link 2.

Title link takes you to more including samples on Sendling.

Sonic State Podcasts

I didn't realise Sonic State started doing podcasts. The second one just came out. Title link takes you to there. There's a link to the first one at the bottom of the page.

"Our second round-table discussion once again with Andy Jones and Dave Spiers ranges in topics from monitor choice – Dave have just bought a pair of ADAM monitors and wants a Roland D50, Andy wants something like the Lemur polyphonic touchscreen but not quite and the best and worst of Ebay. We also talk of Imgoen Heap, Thomas Dolby, Russian synths, EML Polybox, Daves enormous synth collection, the Optigon and a few grumpy words on ringtones and more."

EML 500 and Polybox

flickr by codeslave9000
(click for more)

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"