EMS Vocoder 2000

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via this auction

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The Vintage Synthesizer Museum

Published on Feb 7, 2020 CatSynth TV

"We drop in at the Vintage Synthesizer Museum in Oakland, California, and try out a few of the synths!
For more information and reservations, please visit https://vintagesynthmuseum.squarespac...

0:00 Intro
0:17 Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
0:29 Elka Synthex
1:11 Steiner Parker Synthacon
1:32 Roland RS-505
1:52 Octave CAT
2:04 Serge Modular
2:18 EML Electro-Comp 101
2:34 Rhodes Chroma
3:01 EMS Vocoder 2000
3:08 Wurlitzer Model 203 Electric Piano
3:27 Korg PS-3100
3:37 Moog Micromoog & 3100 Drum Controller
3:47 DK Synergy
4:04 Sequential Circuits T8
4:12 Korg Mono/Poly and Rhythm 55b
4:31 Rhodes 73 mk1
4:51 Korg Trident MkII
5:16 Yamaha CS70M
5:37 Yamaha CS80
5:41 Roland TR-808 / Jupiter 4 / Jupiter 6 / Jupiter 8"

EMS System 2000 Vintage Vocoder

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"Very Rare Vintage EMS Vocoder System 2000 !
It is the first silver original version.

Not very easy to find one these days.
This item has been serviced and works perfectly.
Pure analog Classic Vocoder tone."

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Voice of the Cylon - Battlestar Galactica, The ARP 2500, and the EMS Vocoder 1000

Published on Nov 20, 2019 supajc

Amazing series sent my way via John L Rice. Playlist and descriptions for each video in the playlist above, directly below. Enjoy. ;)

See here for previous posts featuring Battlestar Galactica.

Playlist:

1. Voice of the Cylon Pt. 1 The Synthesizer [ARP 2500]

Battlestar Galactica fans & synthesizer community, rejoice! For the first time in history the mysterious sound of the Cylon voice is revealed. I tracked down probably the last person alive who knows the entire formula, very private individual still works in visual arts. To him it was just a job he did 40 years ago, to me it's one of the most mesmerizing sounds in musical/sci-fi fx history. 6 parts to this series as of 11-2019.

2. Voice Of The Cylon Pt. 2 the Voice Recording

My contact told me "they brought us the voices" on Nagra III and IV tape machines. Vocoder recorded back to Nagra for film sync. Voice actor Micheal Santiago was hired to do the voice, but didn't, telling youtube user intromix later that "they ended up getting someone cheaper" to do it. One actor did all the voices, for consistency, reading the script in a lifeless, monotone voice as to not shift the frequency spectrum in the vocoder.

3. Voice Of The Cylon Pt. 3 The Vocoder [EMS Vocoder, specifically the Vocoder 1000]

Finally it is known exactly which vocoder was used for the Cylon voice. Universal Studios had rented the EMS and Sennheiser, and when sound designer Peter Berkos was asked about it circa 2008 he mis-remembered due to having the Sennheiser manual still. Youtube user intromix has owned both and tested oscillators, it could not have been the Sennheiser but now we know for sure anyway.

4. Voice of the Cylon Pt. 4 the Phaser & Distortion [Countryman Associates Type 968A Phase Shifter]

The rare, quirky effect box that was used as an impromptu distortion device. My contact told me that they floated the idea of using a guitar amp and/or pedals, but did not even try it once they found this. ** Also, he told me NO Marshall Time modulator was used as it hadn't even been released yet.

5. Voice of the Cylon Pt. 5 Recording Gear

Two main pieces of studio recording gear that were present at Universal Studios in 1978 that had a big impact on the sonic character of the Cylon voice recording. Big thanks to Ken from Electrodyne for all his advice, as well as https://vintageking.com/ and http://petesplaceaudio.com

6. Voice Of the Cylon Pt. 6 Audio Demos & Credits

Resurrecting the sound of the Cylon Centurion from the original Battlestar Galactica 1978 using the original equipment. Once the vocoder was recorded, it was further altered/degraded by multiple tape transfers in the video editing process, post-production techniques (EQ and reverb, to "place" the character in a big room, spaceship, etc) My contact said there were just pieces of tape on the gear to place knobs/switches back where they were; and that the synthesizer frequently sounded very different from day to day or after a power outage. In the series there are wildly differing Cylon tones, tiny movements in gain or EQ settings (especially the ringy ARP 2500 filters) radically alter the vocoder due to the ultra-harmonic richness of the tone. So many preamps and transformers involved, it was hard for THEM to make the Cylon voice consistent. Supposedly sound designer Peter Berkos wrote notes on the process, Universal Studios couldn't locate any info at all, it likely all burned down in the great fire of 2008 as well as the golden ARP 2500 oscillator used all throughout Galactica 1980.
Preamp was running a bit hot in this demo, didn't catch until after, so this tone sounds extra crunchy in this example. I sampled my tones with lowpass filter a bit too low, hope to get another chance with the real thing some day.

7. Gold Cylon Voice Vulpa [extra video]

Recreating the lower voice of the Gold Cylon commander. There are so many steps and factors to re-creating the Cylon voice even the original crew could not make it consistent on a day-to-day basis. Out of hundreds of test files this year I'm only really happy with about 5 of them but will keep working to recreate it perfectly.

EMS Vocoder 3000

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"For sale is an insanely rare EMS Vocoder System 3000. A once in a lifetime chance to own one of these? We think so. In our 10+ years of synthesizer hunting, this is the first ever 3000 we have encountered. The 2000 is quite rare, but the 3000 even more so. We've owned almost every major vocoder made (Roland VP330, SVC-350, Korg VC10, EMS 1000/2000, Sennheiser VSM201 (3 total!), Moog Vocoder etc) and to our ears the EMS is the best for dialing in intelligible vocals with synthesized tones. It just sounds excellent, easy to use and all around fantastic vocoder. The EMS 3000 adds level controls for 16 bands which makes it incredibly useful for dialing in more specific tones.

This unit is fully functional, recently serviced and in excellent shape. Don't pass this one up!"

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EMS Vocoder 2000 SN 12066

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via this auction, also on Reverb

"EMS Vocoder 2000 MK1 speech synthesizer. A rare and classic unit, capable of producing very interesting vocal and tonal effects. Recently serviced and in excellent working order."

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THE RIVER Analog Polyphonic Synthesizer & More Handmade Miniature Synths

Published on Mar 30, 2019 Ronaldo Lopes Teixeira ROLT

And more: (I believe I've posted some of these in the past - here's the full set - see the miniature label at the bottom of this post for others)



Update: the list:
MINI KORG 2 - HANDMADE MINIATURE
HANDMADE CLASSIC KEYBOARDS COLLECTION MINIATURES by Rolt
Making a Mellotron M400 Miniature
MINI MOOG MODEL D - HANDMADE MINIATURE
ARP ODYSSEY HANDMADE MINIATURE
HAMMOND B3 ORGAN HANDMADE MINIATURE
FENDER RHODES SUITCASE PIANO - HANDMADE MINIATURE
PROPHET 5 - HANDMADE MINIATURE
WURLITZER ELECTRA PIANO (BEIGE) - HANDMADE MINIATURE
HOHNER CLAVINET D6 - HANDMADE MINIATURE
MOOG LIBERATION - HANDMADE MINIATURE
Celeste - CLASSIC HANDMADE PROG KEYBOARDS

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EMS Vocoder System 2000 Vintage Analog Voice Synthesizer

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via this auction

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VINTAGE SYNTHESIZER MUSEUM - Synth Studio Tour & Synthesizer Music Studio

Published on Sep 18, 2018 synth4ever

"An in-depth synth studio tour of the Vintage Synthesizer Museum -- a classic synth, music & recording studio in Oakland, California.

The Vintage Synthesizer Museum is a legendary synthesizer music studio where you can play, record, and learn about vintage analog synths including Roland Jupiter 8, Yamaha CS-60, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, Arp 2600 and more.

The Vintage Synth Museum features over 40+ analog synthesizers and various drum machines, effects, amplifiers, keyboards, music and audio recording tools.

To learn more or book your appointment at the Vintage Synth Museum, visit http://www.vintagesynthmuseum.com"

Update:

Video retitled: VINTAGE SYNTHESIZER MUSEUM - Synth Studio Tour & Synthesizer Reviews

With following description & timeline:

"An in-depth synth studio tour of the Vintage Synthesizer Museum -- a classic synth, music & recording studio in Oakland, California.

The Vintage Synthesizer Museum is a legendary synthesizer music studio where you can play, record, and learn about vintage analog synths including Roland Jupiter 8, Yamaha CS-60, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, Arp 2600 and more.

The Vintage Synth Museum features over 40+ analog synthesizers and various drum machines, effects, amplifiers, keyboards, music and audio recording tools.

To learn more or book your appointment at the Vintage Synth Museum, visit http://www.vintagesynthmuseum.com


=======

Vintage Synthesizer Museum - Synth studio tour timecodes:

00:00 - Intro

* POLYPHONIC SYNTHS - QUICK WALTHROUGH:
00:28 - Yamaha CS-70M
00:31 - Yamaha CS-60
00:33 - Oberheim OB-Xa
00:36 - Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
00:37 - Sequential Circuits Prophet T8
00:37 - EMS Vocoder
00:40 - Roland RS-505
00:40 - Roland Jupiter 6
00:40 - Roland TR-808
00:41 - Roland Jupiter 4
00:41 - Roland Jupiter 8
00:48 - Yamaha CS-40M
00:48 - Rhodes Piano
00:52 - Rhodes Chroma
00:52 - DK Syngery
00:52 - Korg Mono/Poly
00:56 - Buchla Music Box

* MONOSYNTHS & DRUM MACHINES:
01:15 - ElectroComp 200
01:17 - Korg Vocoder
01:20 - Korg MS-50
01:20 - Korg MS-20 & MS-10
01:32 - Roland SH-101
01:35 - Roland TR-606
01:36 - Sequential Circuits Pro-One
01:38 - Roland TR-909
01:42 - CMI Fairlight

* MOSTLY MONOSYNTHS:
01:55 - Monosynth wall

02:08 - Aelita synth
02:10 - Arp 2600
02:33 - Korg PS-3100
02:40 - Gleeman Pentaphonic
02:52 - Crumar SPirit
02:58 - ElectroComp 101
03:03 - Korg Maxi-Korg
03:07 - Moog Minimoog Model D
03:11 - Oxford OSCar
03:17 - Steiner Parker Synthacon
03:18 - Octave The Cat

* POLYPHONIC SYNTH NOODLING:
03:50 - Rhodes Chroma
03:55 - DK Syngery
04:10 - Korg Mono/Poly
04:37 - Roland Jupiter 6
05:07 - Sequential Circuits Prophet T8

05:42 - Conclusion"

WDR Studio für Elektronische Musik 2018 (Visit)

Published on Feb 19, 2018

EMS SYNTHI 100 in the background. There's also an EMS Vocoder, a 16 Channel Quadraphonic Effects Generator by QUEG, a rare Jellinghaus DX-Programmer, and more.  See the link in the descriptions below for more pics.

"Besuch des Studios für Elektronische Musik - 2018, Köln
Dokumentation dazu www.sequencer.de Suchbegriff WDR Studio reicht - dies sind zufällige Ausschnitte vom Besuch, vor allem für die Anwesenden, die Themen sind auf Sequencer.de gelistet. Das Video ist für mich selbst gedacht und für die, die da waren und erfüllt daher keine Gedanken an Qualität und Co. - Es ist nur da - bitte also das zu beachten - https://www.sequencer.de/blog/wdr-stu..."

Googlish:
"Visit to the electronic music studio - 2018, Cologne
Documentation on www.sequencer.de Search term WDR Studio is sufficient - these are random excerpts from the visit, especially for those present, the topics are listed on Sequencer.de. The video is for myself and for those who were there and therefore does not think about quality and co. - It's just there - so please keep this in mind - https: //www.sequencer.de/blog/wdr-stu ... "

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How to use a patchbay all crazy-like

Published on Nov 4, 2017 Synthead

Vintage EMS Vocoder System 2000.

Panda Bear Synth Art

A friend of mine, Douglas, recommended Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper. I picked it up on vinyl, opened it up, and saw this image on the inner gatefold sleeve. How cool is that? You can clearly spot a Moog Voyager in the background and a Jomox XBase 999 in the foreground. There's also a some other gear, a synth cat, and a grim reaper with cables. One of the cables the reaper is holding wraps around Panda Bear and morphs into a scythe. Death by cable / death by synth / death by audio.

What is also particularly cool, and something you rarely see, are the synths listed in the liner credits. They are listed as follows:

Panda Bear: Jomox Xbase 999, Yamaha TX81Z, Moog Voyager, Elektron DPS-1, vocals, piano, effects & percussion.
Sonic Boom: EMS Synth AKS Synthesizer, Fenix II Modular, Moog Voyager, vocoder & effects.

Sonic Boom is the man behind Spectrum.  He has been featured here a few times on MATRIXSYNTH, including this post for his action figure. Side note: One of my biggest regrets years ago, before I started the blog format of MATRIXSYNTH, was missing out on Sonic Boom's Synton Syrinx and EMS VCS3 / Putney, which was previously owned by the one and only Delia Derbyshire. He listed them for sale on one of the synth lists. I forget which. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford them but I will never forget them.  It was one of those rare moments when you think, "Wow, that is something I will never see again.  I wish I were rich... "  Don't we all.  :)

First person synth jams! EP2: Electro-reggae with an EMS 2000 vocoder

Published on May 30, 2017 synthead

"Music starts at 6:57!
Download the song here! https://clyp.it/xucpekjt"

Using a Roland Juno-106 & BOSS Dr. Rhythm DR-55. Man that sounds good.

You can see a pic of this particular EMS 2000 here.

VINTAGE SYNTHESIZER MUSEUM STUDIO TOUR

Published on May 26, 2017 once upon a synth

"I went to visit the Vintage Synthesizer Museum in Oakland and recorded a little tour. It's called a museum but you can rent it out and play with the gear. They have an impressive collection of rare vintage synths and effects. In this video I'll show you the studio. In future videos I will be posting demos of some of the synths I've recorded while there.

http://www.vintagesynthmuseum.com

~~~ THEIR COLLECTION ~~~
Vintage Synths:
Moog: Minimoog Model D / Taurus I
EMS: Synthi AKS / Vocoder 2000
ARP: 2600 w/3620 / 1613 Sequencer / Odyssey MkII / Rhodes Chroma
Sequential Circuits: Prophet 5 / Prophet T8 / Pro-One
Oberheim: 4-Voice / OB-Xa / Xpander
Roland: Jupiter 8 / Jupiter 6 / Jupiter 4 / Juno 6 / Juno 106 / SH-101 / TR-808 / TR-909 / RS-505
Korg: MS-50 / MS-20 / MS-10 / SQ-10 / VC-10 / Mono/Poly / Univox MaxiKorg / PS-3100
Yamaha: CS-70m / CS-60 / CS-20m
EML: Electro-Comp 101 / Electro-Comp 200
Steiner Parker: Synthacon
Gleeman: Pentaphonic Clear
Crumar: Spirit
Octave: Cat MkI
Oxford: OSCar
PAiA: Proteus
Fairlight
DK Synergy

Modern Synths:

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Inside an EMS 2000 Vocoder

This one spotted and sent in via Soviet Space Child.

via Reddit:

"Hey all! This is an EMS 2000 vocoder I just got in the mail! I was too curious to not take its top off (heh heh heh), so I did and was delighted to see all the 16 bands of this lovely vocoder separated out in plain view. I then realized that there were basically no pictures of the insides of these things online, so here you go! Enjoy!"

Update: video here.

EMS Vocoder 2000

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"I have owned at one point or another almost every vintage vocoder ever made, including all the popular classics like the Roland SVC350, Roland VP330, EMS 1000, 2000, Sennheiser VSM201, Moog Vocoder, etc. To me the EMS 2000 is one of the best out of them all for creating pronounced and intelligible vocals while giving you the vocoding effect, though it can get quite creativity and warped on other settings as well. For a small box with only a few switches there's still loads of sounds to be had. There's nothing quite as classic as a good vintage vocoder, every collector or home studio needs to have at least one. Don't miss out!"

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Rare EMS Vocoder 2000 SN 604006

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"It is in PERFECT working order and sounds unbelievable.

This is the black version and aside from a few small marks and a couple of small scratches on the top and bottom, it looks fantastic. The 3-position switch on the far right was recently replaced by my tech (one of the best techs in LA) as it was occasionally intermittent. I wanted it to be perfect for the next lucky owner. It works perfectly know. The knob is different, and I actually prefer the feel. The original knob is included in case you want to use it in the future. Also included are some bottom mounted "prop-up" feet that are original.

These are incredibly rare, and the best vocoder sound out there. If you're looking at this, you know the deal."

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Synth Spotting with Meat Beat Manifesto

Three pics via dwell, where you'll find the full post.

Photos by Joe Fletcher.

Mmm... vinyl.

Synth spotting:
E-mu modular on top of ARP 2500
Small Buchla system? on top of KORG MS series, on top of KORG PS3300
EMS SYNTHI & Elektron Analog Four
Roland Jupiter-4 over Jupiter-8
Roland System 100m modular over complete System 100 minus speakers
White EML 101 minus keyboard over blue EML 200 expander
Sennheiser VSM-201 vocoder over EMS Vocoder 2000 racked on the left
Big Briar Model 91A Theremin on the right (thank you Theremin World!)

Spotted this one on TRASH_AUDIO

1976 EMS Vocoder 2000 SN 12070

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"Perfect condition holy grail vocoder by EMS, who made the infamous Synthi AKS / VCS3. Just been serviced by Analog Lab in Brooklyn. Cleaned, recapped and calibrated. Comes in a nice wood rack."

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TR-909 Into Korg Stage Echo Into EMS Vocoder

"Roland TR-909 into Korg Stage Echo into EMS Vocoder into your ears."

A video posted by Vintage Synthesizer Museum (@vintagesynthmuseum) on Jun 29, 2016 at 1:47pm PDT