Foreigner - Cold As Ice (Live At The Rainbow '78) w/ an EML 101

video upload by Mercury

EML 101 lead at 4:10

Two synth spotting videos sent in via Dustin who had the following to say (2nd video below):

"I don't recall ever seeing an EML 101 onstage with any of the big 70's radio bands -of course, it's almost always the MiniMoog, Arp 2600/Odyssey, etc. So I was a bit baffled trying to figure out exactly what synth this is during this live video.

It's a bit hard to see, and it's on a custom raised stand facing the audience, separate from the connected keyboard. The tip off for me that it might be an EML 101 was the distinct metal closing latch that you can see here on the keyboard.

As always, this killer synth sounds great, and kudos to him for having the guts to play a bit of a different rig than seemed to be on everyones elses stage at the time.

Anybody know of another big band like this using EML's live?

Update: some mentions of other artists that used the EML 101 in previous posts here.

And:

Foreigner - Double Vision (Official Music Video)

video upload by RHINO

In this video you can clearly see that this is an EML 101 (pause at 0:52).

"You're watching the official music video for Foreigner - 'Double Vision' from the album 'Double Vision' (1978). 'Double Vision' reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100."

Update2 via Rick Steff in the comments: "al talks about it here: https://al-greenwood.com/home/blog/a-classic-turns-50" From that link:

A CLASSIC TURNS 50!

The EML 101 Synthesizer turns 50 this year! I was working with the late and great Walter Sear at Sear Sound Studio when he introduced me to this ground-breaking synth. He was also a partner with Robert Moog and instrumental in developing the Minimoog. I used this synth on the first 2 Foreigner albums on the tracks - 'Feels Like the First Time, Cold As Ice, Damage is Done, and Spellbinder.

Rare EML Electrocomp 101

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via this auction

"EML Electrocomp 101 duophonic synthesizer. The ElectroComp 101 is a suitcase synthesizer which rivals other 1970s synths from Moog and Arp. Electronic Music Laboratories introduced the 101 in 1972, and ceased production in 1976. Notable users include Tommy Mars, Foreigner, Weezer, and Devo.


This particular synth is in great shape and sounds wonderful. It has a unique character to it and the possibilities are truly endless for making melodic sounds or effects."

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ElectroComp Synthesizer model 101 Electronic Music Labs Inc.

Published on Mar 4, 2018 Vykaar Tones

"Twiddling knobs on this great American vintage analog synthesizer half way through restoration and repairs. Very well built hard wired to tag strips like an amp inside and sealed AB pots like minimoog ( a pain to open and clean) some of the caps have died and oxidation on all metal parts... The lack of connectors inside is a blessing as in my opinion most Moog synthesizers for example suffered from far too many unreliable connectors which constantly oxidised and caused random faults.

Some info from vintagesynthcom:
The ElectroComp 101 was the successor to the rare ElectroComp 100 from Electronic Music Laboratories (EML), a small synthesizer company based out of Connecticut in the USA. Like the ARP 2600, the 101 was a patchable (1/4'' patch cords) semi-modular synth with a pre-wired voice path that could be over-ridden via patching. But unlike the ARP (or Minimoog for that matter), the 101 had as many as four oscillators (two of which could go sub-sonic, for use as LFOs) with multiple waveforms that you could sweep between using its rotary knobs. The 101 was also Duophonic so you could play up to two notes at once. Another major distinction was that unlike Moog and ARP, who used transistors that would tend to drift out of tune under various operating temperatures, EML used op amps which proved to be far more stable and reliable.

Other onboard features included a voltage controlled 12 dB/oct multi-mode filter with resonance, two envelope generators, ring/amplitude modulator, noise, and sample-and-hold (they call this the "Sampler"). In addition, the 101 makes no distinction between control voltage and audio paths allowing just about any source to be patched to any control or audio input in any order. The 101 could easily be closed, secured and carried inside its wood casing.

In its day, the 101, as most of EMLs instruments, were marketed and sold to universities and other educational markets. But with the 4-oscillator architecture, multi-mode filter, and elaborate patch control, the EML-101 was undoubtedly one of the most flexible of all of the portable patch-synthesizers available at its time of manufacture. So it did not take long for it to find its way into mainstream music. It has been used by Skinny Puppy, Tommy Mars, Download, Weezer, Foreigner, and Ohm."

David Van Koevering Has Passed Away

Update: this post will be pinned on top for the day. You can find newer posts below.

Brian Kehew wrote in to let us know synth legend David Van Koevering passed away yesterday at the age of 77. Per Brian, "So many people in the industry knew him; such a long and varied life!" Indeed. The following is the obituary sent to him from Van Koevering's family.

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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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EML 101

via this auction

"Like the ARP 2600, the EML-101 was a patchable (1/4'' patch cords) quasi-modular synth with a hard-wired voice path. The synth offered 4 oscillators (2 of which could go sub-sonic) with multiple or variable waveforms, a voltage controlled 12 dB/oct multi-mode filter with resonance, 2 envelope generators, ring/amplitude modulator, noise and sample-and-hold. In addition, the synth makes no distinction between control voltage and audio paths allowing just about any source to be patched to any control or audio input in any order. With the 4-oscillator architecture, multi-mode filter, and elaborate patch control the EML-101 was undoubtedly the most flexible of all of the portable patch-synthesizers available at its time of manufacture. It is used by Skinny Puppy, Tommy Mars, Download, Weezer, Foreigner, and Ohm."

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