"Yes, this is /that/ VCS-3, the instrument used by Delia Derbyshire, Pink Floyd (e.g., "On the Run"), Jean Michel Jarre, Todd Rundgren, Hawkwind, Roxy Music, King Crimson, and The Who--just to name a few.
If you're interested in bidding on an instrument this pricey, then it is because you know what it truly is: /priceless/.
This particular VCS-3 (see pictures) has the following cosmetic problems: some of the knobs are missing their brass covers and one of the matrix pegs is missing. The fool who owned it before me added some kind of portamento button to the keyboard, so I'm just writing the keyboard off (i.e., not really factoring it into the price). The keyboard /does/ work, however, and I'll include my homemade Jones connector in with the lot...
The VCS itself works fine, v/oct control of each VCO, envelope trigger, etc., using the connectors in the back. I've only been able to explore this instrument a little: sufficed to say, every parameter sounded to be working (the reverb is especially interesting, very "Radiophonic workshop" sounding).
The thing is too special for words, but I just can't afford to sit on it now, supposing their may be someone out there willing to pay top dollar for a rare piece of musical history...
"Everything is fully functional, as this Korg Poly-ensemble S, has just been serviced and gone through with everything in good working order.
This PE2000 is a secret weapon of some of your favorite musicians such as Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Beach House, Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream, Legowelt, Hawkwind, and more.
Comes with the Original lid in worn condition (not pictured) which doubles as a travel/gig case for the synth."
"From Synthesis (1980). Improvised live, with no overdubs, at the Soft Rock Cafe, Vancouver.
Del Dettmar - guitar, EMS VCS3 with pitch to voltage converter Gerald Toon - additional synthesizer
Del Dettmar was formally the Hawkwind sound engineer, providing additional synth and effects to the Space Ritual soundscape. He emigrated to Canada in july 1974."
"Unlocking the Magic: Synthi AKS Sequence in Pink Floyd's On The Run
Demo of a wide range of sounds & special FX of the VCS3 - & how to program them - explained by Andy Whitmore at Greystoke Studio.
The VCS 3 (or VCS3; an initialism for Voltage Controlled Studio, version) is a portable analog synthesiser with a flexible semi-modular voice architecture, by Electronic Music Studios (London) Limited (EMS) in 1969. This product was called various names by EMS. For example, the printed logo written to the front left of products are: "V.C.S. 3" or 'The Putney (VCS 3)' on the earlier version, then "The Synthi (VCS 3) II" on the later version (Synthi VCS 3 II).
The VCS 3's basic design was reused by EMS in many other of their own products, most notably in the EMS Synthi 100 (1971), and the Synthi A (1971) and AKS (1972) (essentially a VCS 3 housed in a plastic briefcase). The AKS also has a sequencer built into the keyboard in the lid.
VCS3 - as used by BBC Radiophonic Workshop Brian Eno Chemical Brothers Hawkwind David Bowie Flood Ice-T Jean-Michel Jarre John Paul Jones - Led Zeppelin King Crimson Kraftwerk Pete Townshend - The Who Rick Wright, David Gilmour & Roger Waters - Pink Floyd Tangerine Dream
Timothy Blake of Gong and Hawkwind. Check out his double EMS Synthi system and Moog System 55. On his relationship with EMS:
"My EMS relations were mostly with Robin Woob (now the owner) and the technical people, Graham Wood, Graham Hinton, with whom most of the unique modifications to my set-up were designed.
I've met Zinovieff, of course, but not Cockerell or Cary. Peter seemed to look down on those who played the EMS synths, regarding them as toys he sold to finance his huge computer music studio. I have never heard a note of his music!!
I believe I once impressed Peter at an EMS lunch, by enjoying his Cheese with very hottest oh his home-made chutneys!! Strange stuff, Electronic musicians!"
via Inverse Room, via Muff's:
"You guys will dig this.
Some of you probably know Trevor Pinch from his book Analog Days [Amazon hardcover & paperback, preview on Google books], about the history of the Moog synthesizer. Trevor's a friend of mine--we both teach at Cornell U.--and he recently restored his moribund DIY modular that he built in the seventies. Last night he and our friend James Spitznagel (together they are Electric Golem) played a show here in Ithaca, with Trevor on his synth and Jim using a Mopho, Evolver, Orb, Nintendo DS and various iPhone apps.
Oh BTW sorry these are not better photos. I should have brought a DSLR for this but I had a digital rangefinder camera with me that is not so hot at high ISO. Full set is here (for now): http://inverseroom.creotia.com/golem/"
I contacted Trevor Pinch and he had the following to share:
"Hey Matrix:
I built that synth in London in 1973. I used it til 1975/6 in a collective band/scene in London and then in Manchester - we also had a VCS3 and various gizmos from EMS as one of our band knew Tristram Cary, one of the founders of EMS. By the way anyone interested in EMS should check out the half hour documentary Matt Bates made for Australian TV - 'What the Future Sounded Like'. I was a talking head for that movie. It's got tons of info in it and great clips of Hawkwind, music of early Floyd etc [below].
My synth was kinda in storage before being shipped to the States in 1990. It was smashed up badly in the move and I only started work on it again a few months ago when Park Doing here in Ithaca persuaded me to get it going to jam with Johnny Dowd, Richie Stearns, Brian Wilson, and others for a 'Requiem for Analog TV' show we did at Cornell. Since then I've played out with it a couple of times with Park's band, the Atomic Forces, and once with The Electric Golem with Jim Spitznagel.
The schematics come from the hobby magazine Wireless World August 1973. Tim Orr did the design (he was the same guy who designed the EMS Vocoder). I built it 1973. The Voltage Control filter is online [link]
VCO 1 has square, triangle, sine , and variable mark space (I think in the US they call it duty cycle - adjusting the width of the top of a square wave). It turns out the variable mark space is one of the most musically useful controls I know.
It has three frequency ranges from very low to way up there! There are two VCO inputs with 1 K pots to control the voltage in.
VCO 2 has square, triangle, sine, ramp, and pulse outputs. There are two VCO inputs with 1 K pots ditto.
VCO 3 is a six-step sequencer with an incredible frequency range, with each step selectable and tunable. This is the awesome guts of the beast. There are two VCO inputs with one K pots. You feed the sequencer output as an input into the VCO1 and VCO2 and away you go.
There are also the following modules:
2 voltage control amplifiers
2 exponential converters
A keyboard module for operating a resistor chain monophonic keyboard - I abandoned the keyboard as I could never get it in tune and it sounded better out of tune!
I voltage control filter - band pass or low pass output - band pass only is working
I mixer with three channels and two virtual earth mixers for summing and reversal with three channels each,
White noise source and blue and red noise (variable) outputs
Spring reverb.
Envelope shaper. Not yet working
Two preamps. Buggered.
2 very low frequency outputs. Not yet working.
Sample and hold - Never worked!
Joy stick control and circuits with two pots providing variable X and Y voltages.
The joystick is home built by using three pots (design based on the first one that David Cockerell made for VCS3) my killer control for live performance (think Brian Eno and the way he used the joystick on the VCS3 (Putney)). The joystick was beat up terribly in the move and was the hardest single thing to get working and nicely balanced. Read the story of how the pitch and mod wheel were designed for the minimoog in Analog Days! Having a controller that feels right when you play is for me half the battle.
There is an onboard power supply for 240 volts in and 15v plus and minus and 5 volts plus out. Useless in US! So got new power supply built.
The modules are mainly built on plug in breadboards made by a UK company called Electrokit. So when I blow out transistors - happens all the time - I can unplug for easy access. Also I like to leave it open so shaking the instrument shakes the modules and affects the sound and of course the reverb. Opening the black box is my aesthetic.
Housed in hand machined painted aluminium case (wise choice in hindsight as it is sturdy, light and didn't rust!)
Patch bay is banana plugs, wires and sockets (what we used to call banana plugs or Wonder plugs in the UK). US banana plugs are too big - anyone know where I can get the UK banana plugs from as I need more?
If anyone is interested in my early experiences in playing the synth, they are written up in a chapter in a book by Sherry Turkle, Evocative Objects - the reflection is online at a awesome exhibition, "Remix, Rewind and Replay" at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art which I was on a panel for. http://www.rewindremixreplay.org/pdfs/pinch.pdf
By the way, that essay was written before I got the synth working again. In that essay I said the synth had no name. When I unearthed the old schematics to start soldering work I found I did give it a name, "Stray Capacitance". That's what the synth was like - full of capacitance.
The synth truly has a unique sound : the sonic energy is simply amazing. It can cut through like a chain saw on magic mushrooms - everything sort of feeds back on everything else in various unpredictable ways. Its like a live bucking beast to control. Park Doing says I shouldn't call it a synth and I agree. It's more a sometimes controllable sound and noise maker. John Robert Lennon (aka Inverse Room) on seeing and hearing it in action the other day - said how come it just doesn't explode. It's a miracle that it works at all! Its industrial sound is awesome in a punk band and when playing alongside someone with more varied and sweeter sounds (like Jim Spitznagel can produce) it can cut through and complement and attract attention. With the spring reverb it sends you into space. In the early days we also used to use huge tape loops as well.
That's it!
Trevor"
I'd like to give a huge thanks to Trevor Pinch for taking the time out to share this with us and of course Inverse Room for sending this our way.
YouTube via inverseroom — April 25, 2010 —
"Inverse Room interviews Trevor Pinch, author of "Analog Days" and other books about the history of technology, who demonstrates the DIY modular synth he built in the 1970's.
The thing I find really cool about this design is the step sequencer that can be run at high enough speeds to create, in effect, a new oscillator with primitive custom waveforms. And of course there's the total lack of sides to the case--gotta love that, too!"
The VCS3 was created in 1969 by Peter Zinovieff's EMS company. The electronics were largely designed by David Cockerell and the machine's distinctive visual appearance was the work of electronic composer Tristram Cary. The VCS3 was more or less the first portable commercially available synthesizer—portable in the sense that the VCS 3 was housed entirely in a small, wooden case.
The VCS3 was quite popular among progressive rock bands and was used on recordings by The Alan Parsons Project, Jean Michel Jarre, Hawkwind, Brian Eno (with Roxy Music), King Crimson, The Who, Gong, and Pink Floyd, among many others. Well-known examples of its use are on The Who track "Won't Get Fooled Again" (as an external sound processor, in this case with Pete Townshend running the signal of a Lowrey Organ through the VCS3's filter and low frequency oscillators) on Who's Next. Pink Floyd's "On the Run" (from The Dark Side of the Moon) made use of its oscillators, filter and noise generator, as well as the sequencer. Their song Welcome to the Machine also used the VCS3. The bassy throb at the beginning of the recording formed the foundation of the song, with the other parts being recorded in response. The VCS3 was also a staple at the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop, and was a regular (and most frightening) sound generator for the Dr Who TV series. Many fo the monsters and atmoshere;s created for the show came directly from the VCS3.
Description
The VCS3 has three oscillators (in reality, the first 2 oscillators are normal oscillators and the 3rd an LFO or Low Frequency Oscillator), a noise generator, two input amplifiers, a ring modulator, a 18dB/octave (pre-1974) or 24dB/octave (after 1974) voltage controlled low pass filter (VCF), a trapezoid envelope generator, joy-stick controller, voltage controlled spring reverb unit and 2 stereo output amplifiers. Unlike most modular synthesizer systems which use cables to link components together, the VCS3 uses a distinctive patch board matrix into which pins are inserted in order to connect its components together.
Keyboards controller
DK1 keyboard controller
Although the VCS3 is often used for generating sound effects due to lack of built-in keyboard, there were external keyboard controllers for melodic play. The DK1 in 1969 was an early velocity sensitive monophonic keyboard for VCS3 with an extra VCO and VCA. Later it was extended for duophonic play, as DK2, in 1972. Also in 1972, Synthi AKS was released, and its digital sequencer with a touch-sensitive flat keyboard, KS sequencer, and its mechanical keyboard version, DKS, were also released."
"Tape Leaders book review & flipthrough. Tape Leaders is a richly illustrated A-Z compendium featuring over 100 composers active with tape and electronics in the analogue era.
Containing information never previously uncovered, Tape Leaders shines a fresh light on many sound experimenters unacknowledged in the history of British electronic music. It also covers EMS synthesizers such as the VSC3, Synthi and others as well as BBC Radiophonic studio.
Tape Leaders: A Compendium Of Early British Electronic Music Composers is an indispensable reference guide for anyone interested in electronic sound and its origins in the UK. The book compiles information on practically everyone active with experimental electronics and tape recording across the country to reveal the untold stories and hidden history of early British electronic music.
With an individual entry for each composer, it covers everyone from famous names like William Burroughs, Brian Eno and Joe Meek to the ultra-obscure such as Roy Cooper, Donald Henshilwood and Edgar Vetter.
There are sections for EMS and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and amateurs, groups and ensembles that experimented with electronics, including The Beatles, Hawkwind and White Noise.
Author Ian Helliwell draws on his experience and extensive research into electronic music. After six years and dozens of interviews, he has amassed information never before brought to light on this fascinating subject.
With a specially compiled 15 track CD of mainly unreleased early British tape and synthesizer works (exclusively available to the Velocity Press shop), this is an essential book for anyone interested in electronic music history during the 1950s and 60s.
This hardback book is 22.7cm x 17.7cm, and the 224 pages are printed and bound on heavyweight 130gsm paper. You can grab a copy at
----------
TIMECODES
00:00 - Intro & Overview
00:50 - Electronic Music Composers A-Z 12:07 - Experimental Amateurs 13:20 - Electronic Music Groups 15:31 - EMS (Electronic Music Studios) 16:32 - BBC Radiophonic Workshop 17:25 - Tape Leaders CD Liner Notes 17:41 - Info, Credits & Index
- Anthony J. Resta (record producer and multi-instrumentalist)
GRENOBLE, FRANCE: music software company XILS-lab is proud to announce availability of XILS 4 — an authentic software emulation of the legendary VCS4, a ‘dual VCS3’ analogue matrix modular synthesizer prototyped by EMS back in 1969, but never commercially released — as of May 19...
EMS (Electronic Music Studios), a British company founded by the pioneering Peter Zinovieff, made musical history in 1969 with its introduction of the VCS3, the first portable synthesizer commercially available anywhere in the world. Its innovative modular matrix-based patchboard dispensed with the telephone exchange-like cabling of other (much larger) modular systems in favour of making connections with (removable) coloured pins, so it could be comfortably housed in a small wooden (solid afrormosia) cabinet.
Needless to say, the (hi)story of the EMS VCS3 is well documented, with XILS-lab later playing its part in resurrecting its still-sought-after sound with its cost-conscious and award-winning XILS 3 software emulation for Mac (OS X 10.4 and above) and PC (Windows 7, Vista, and XP) proving popular with both first-time buyers beginning a wonderfully in-depth journey into the wonderful world of modular synthesis and also seasoned synth explorers, including renowned sound designer Richard Devine and original VCS3 aficionado Tim Blake (Hawkwind), and even Peter Zinovieff himself, who commented kindly: “A great step forward!”
Not so well documented, though, is the stuff of legend: the 1969-vintage VCS4 was EMS designer David Cockerell’s so-called ‘Live Performance Module’, comprising two VCS3s sat side by side, together with a five-octave keyboard, a mixer, and a signal-processing unit, all housed in a single wooden cabinet. Only one prototype was ever produced, its ear-opening sounds lost in the sands of time... until now, that is!
By being based on two intricate and interacting VCS3 (‘Synthi’) cores — following in the fanciful footsteps of its one-off analogue ancestor to a tee, XILS-lab’s XILS 4 favourably emulates EMS’ VCS4. Indeed, those two cores can be set to work side by side or operate in serial (with one feeding the other). Each and every module on one side can be used to modulate or feed anything on the other side with stunning sound possibilities plus weird and wonderful effects readily available in abundance as a direct result. That said, XILS 4 shows its true 21st Century colours by also allowing amount settings to be individually applied to each patch ‘pin’. Providing patchboard power par excellence to an already special soft synth shows that there is clearly so much more to XILS 4 than solely emulating vintage hardware — rare as the vintage hardware in question clearly is. Little wonder, then, that XILS 4 is billed by its creator as being the Ultimate Analog Matrix Modular Synthesizer!
XILS-lab has sought to take things severals steps further still by coupling those cores with the SEQUENCER 256 module, inspired by EMS’ trailblazing Synthi Sequencer 256 namesake. Needless to say, this three-layer sequencer with analogue-to-digital and digital-to-analogue converters to enable digital processing of control voltages to drive multiple analogue synthesizers or multiple parameters with storage of up to 256 ‘events’ was well ahead of its time when released in 1971. Here in the virtual world, XILS-lab has well and truly transported it to the present day with three independent layers, slew rates, and recording modes, together with added abilities like sequencer layers acting as modulation sources in a dedicated SEQ MATRIX — matchless, even by today’s most sophisticated DAW standards!
So is that all? No, not at all! Adding a second ‘pin matrix’, two additional envelopes, an LFO, comprehensive SAMPLE AND HOLD module, and VOLTAGE PROCESSOR, plus several new input modules — including GATE, ENVELOPE FOLLOWER, and PITCH TRACKER — means that there are hundreds of additional connections available to the discerning synthesist set on exploring XILS 4 to the full as a superlative soft synth or as a powerful effects processor plug-in in its own right. The fact that there are over 1,140 possible connections per patch makes for a literal lifetime of programming possibilities that will surely far outlast the host computer concerned, though those in need of a helping hand have easy access to almost 700 professionally-programmed presets from world-renowned sound designers, including the complete XILS 3 factory library and over 350 presets specifically designed for XILS 4. A selection of tutorial-style patches are also available to help users seeking to take their first tentative steps towards scaling the heady heights of this mountainous modular monster of a soft synth!
Simply put, with a whole host of modules and associated far-reaching functionality — for starters, 12 aliasing-free oscillators, grouped in six pairs with wave-shaping and hard sync — yesteryear’s impossibilities have become today’s possibilities with XILS 4... a great step forward, indeed! A giant leap for modular synthesis software, some might say.
XILS 4 is available to purchase as an eLicenser or iLok copy-protected virtual instrument and effects plug-in for an introductory discounted price of €149.00 EUR (rising to €179.00 EUR on June 17, 2014) from the XILS-lab web store here: http://www.xils-lab.com/pages/STORE.html (Note that this time-limited offer also includes the XILISTICS sound bank with 160-plus presets worth €25.00 EUR, plus a free USB-eLicenser copy-protection dongle!)
XILS 3 owners can upgrade to XILS 4 for an introductory price of €29.00 EUR (rising to €49.00 EUR on June 17, 2014). XILS 4 can be directly downloaded as a 32- and 64-bit-compatible virtual instrument and effects plug-in for Mac (AAX, AU, RTAS, VST) and Windows (AAX, RTAS, VST) from here: http://www.xils-lab.com/pages/XILS4_Download.html
Check out several informative XILS 4 tutorial videos here: http://www.xils-lab.com/pages/XILS4_Videos.html"
Tape Leaders: A Compendium Of Early British Electronic Music Composers is a richly illustrated A-Z compendium featuring over 100 composers active with tape and electronics in the analogue era. Containing information never previously uncovered, it shines a fresh light on many sound experimenters unacknowledged in the history of British electronic music.
With an individual entry for each composer, it covers everyone from famous names like William Burroughs, Brian Eno and Joe Meek to the ultra-obscure such as Roy Cooper, Donald Henshilwood and Edgar Vetter. There are sections for EMS and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and amateurs, groups and ensembles that experimented with electronics, including The Beatles, Hawkwind and White Noise.
First published by Sound On Sound Magazine in 2016, this is the first time it’s been available outside their shop and this new edition has been extensively revised and updated. The hardback book is 22.7cm x 17.7cm landscape, and the 224 pages are printed and bound on heavyweight 130gsm paper. With a specially compiled 15 track CD of mainly unreleased early British tape and synthesizer works (exclusively available to the Velocity Press shop and free with all pre-orders), this is an essential book for anyone interested in electronic music history during the 1950s and 60s.
Ian Helliwell: "Years before investigating the work of FC Judd for the documentary Practical Electronica, it was evident there was so much early British electronic music that had never been properly researched. The idea of a book examining this formative period began to crystallize during work on the film, as interesting facts were being uncovered that fed into a much broader-based history than has ever been available. A compendium to cover not just the acknowledged figures, but also those that never get a mention, was the objective so that famous names sit alongside the unknowns, and the reader gets a sense of the vast amount of electronic music activity that was going on, which has since been ignored or forgotten about.
“The graphic design was another important consideration and has been something of a labour of love to evoke the era of tape recorders, tone generators and analogue synthesizers. Many of the photos and images have come directly from the featured composers or their families, and form an eye-catching array of illustrations to support and enhance the text."
"Great classic electronic tape released through Energy tapes in 1980 ,by ex Hawkwind/Melodic Energy Commission keyboardist.A must for all space /electronic music lovers!Sorry no pic sleeve scans.Would appreciate it if someone could upload the cover!"
Title link takes you to the post with a link to a download for the cassette. Anyone know what synth/s were used for the tape/album?
via josh. Josh is guessing it could be the EMS Synthi A
"A Compendium Of Early British Electronic Music Composers.Published 16th June, 2016.
In the form of a richly illustrated compendium, Tape Leaders is an indispensable reference guide for anyone interested in electronic sound and its origins in Great Britain. For the first time a book sets out information on practically everyone active with experimental electronics and tape recording across the country, revealing the hidden history of early British electronic music.
With an individual entry for each composer, starting with Daevid Allen and going through to Peter Zinovieff, it covers everyone from the famous names of William Burroughs, Brian Eno and Joe Meek, to the ultra-obscure Roy Cooper, Donald Henshilwood and Edgar Vetter. There are sections for EMS and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, as well as amateurs, groups and ensembles that seriously experimented with electronics, including the Beatles, Hawkwind and White Noise.
Author Ian Helliwell draws on his experience and knowledge of electronic music, and after six years and dozens of interviews, has
amassed information never before brought to light in this fascinating subject. With a specially compiled 15-track CD of mainly unreleased early British tape and synthesizer works, this is an essential volume for anyone with an interest in the history of electronic music during the 1950s and 60s.
There is also an ebook version with electronic music extracts, to highlight the work of 25 of the featured composers.
220 page Book + 15 track CD - available via Sound On Sound
£29.00 + p&p. soundonsound.com/shop"
"Ok here is a bit of an oddity its a boxed Transcendent 2000 synth which was designed by EMS and sold mainly in kit form in the late 70s. This unit comes in original box with filtersweep pedal. This synth was used by many UK acts including Joy Division - there is actually a picture of Bernard Sumner and Martin Hannett using one in the studio - in the 70s. This one is in excellent cosmetic condition although it has lost many of the silver caps on the knobs and two knobs are missing (easy to buy new ones from Maplin of course!!!). Performance wise its a bit quirky - the original owner had it stored since the 80s, I bought it for a studio session now completed - all knobs work and effect the sound and all keys trigger although the filter section is a bit iffy as it cuts out at times, it needs a proper service to get the best from it. That said it can produce some truly evil sub frequencies and ridiculous Hawkwind-like pink noise sweeps. You can get some great lead sounds on it too. Inside everything is clean and it has been neatly put together. There are schematics online and loads of mod options for those adept with a soldering iron."
Via Ross: "Adelaide Australia will show a world premier short film about the history of the mighty EMS VCS3 in March 2007."
Title link takes you there.
Synopsis: "Post-war Britain was a period of intense scientific and industrial experimentation where art participated in, and reflected, wider social change. Out of this context came Electronic Music Studios (EMS), a radical group of avant-garde electronic musicians who composed a futuristic soundscape for the New Britain. Comprising of pioneering electronic musicians Tristram Cary (famed for his work on Dr Who) and Peter Zinovieff, EMS was one of the world's most advanced computer-music facilities. Its great legacy is the VCS3, Britain’s first synthesizer and rival of the American Moog. The VCS3 was a uniquely British invention, which changed the sounds of popular musicians including Brian Eno, Hawkwind and Pink Floyd. Almost thirty years on, the VCS3 is still used by electronic artists like Aphex Twin and Chicken Lips. Local filmmakers Matthew Bate and Claire Harris uncover a lost chapter in music history, emphasising a group of composers who used technology to re-think the boundaries of music and sound.
Matthew Bate, Claire Harris and Tristram Cary are Guests of the Festival"
"Yes, this is /that/ VCS-3, the instrument used by Delia Derbyshire, Pink Floyd (e.g., "On the Run"), Jean Michel Jarre, Todd Rundgren, Hawkwind, Roxy Music, King Crimson, and The Who--just to name a few.
