The wonderful Yamaha SY-2

video upload by Paul Curreri

"A few sounds from the Yamaha SY-2 (1975 or so), the upgraded version 2 of Yamaha’s earliest standalone. Such a lovely filter, and remarkably expressive aftertouch to the VCO, VCA or VCF. Start with any of the adjustable presets and meander from there. Pitch bend, portamento, pulse width, two ADSRs, resonant high- and low-pass filters, super-fast vibrato. Plus it's never had a problem in the 6 years I've owned it & has classic CS vibes? Not too shabby."

MiniKorg 700S K2 demonstration (1974)

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Published on Jun 28, 2019 Paul Curreri

"Functional demo of this fantastic synth. One minute surrounded by air, the next throttling wooly and present. Tangible, immediate, and expressive, the 700 series is hands down one of my favorite synthesizers -- I've owned four. This particular machine came with quite a few chips toward the backside of its wooden ends (plus a sticker), but the faceplate actually looks nice. And as you can hear, it sounds awesome."

via this auction

"A fantastic synth, circa 1974. One minute surrounded by air, the next throttling wooly and present. Tangible, immediate, and expressive, the 700 series is hands down one my favorite synthesizers -- I've owned four.

You may notice that this is one of the rather rare models that has the additional fine-tune pitch control on the second oscillator. Super-useful.

PHYSICAL CONDITION: This particular machine came with quite a few chips toward the backside of its wooden ends (plus a sticker), but the faceplate actually looks nice.

FUNCTIONAL CONDITION Everything works well and, as you can hear in the video, it sounds awesome.

The one exception: the EFFECT switch, which turns on and off the second oscillator. This switch is finicky. This switch was finicky on the LAST one of these i had, too. I had it fixed three times on that machine before I just swore to never touch it again. After all, it’s an entirely unnecessary switch, as the fader directly above it is the volume for the second oscillator, which is just as easy to use.

When I got THIS machine, I tried it once, it seemed to work ooooookay, but not excellent, so again, I just never used it. Which is what I’d recommend to the next owner as well. It’s just not necessary, and is one of the very few parts of these machines that isn't built like a tank.

Other than that, the only thing I’d mention... a lot of folks aren't familiar with how tweakable the 700 series is via their internal pots. If desired, there is even more sonic flexibility and customization under the hood."

Cool Rad Cat Records sticker!

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1975 Farfisa Syntorchestra Demo

Published on Feb 22, 2019 Paul Curreri

"A basic function demo of the 1975 Syntorchestra. For the three years I’ve owned it, this machine has been excellent. But recently, the E’s have stopped working on the poly section. Still sounds absolutely electric and singular and wild. Recorded into Cubase with a small amount of delay (DL4) and reverb (miniverb ii). No EQ, compression, or limiting."

Prophet 600 Idling

Published on Dec 23, 2018 Paul Curreri

"No music, just five minutes of squelch and sizzle, mostly manipulating the poly-mod section. The sound happened to be running through the Line 6 DL4 at the time. Truly just whiling away some hours. Great synth. :)"

Paul jams a sketch

Published on Dec 28, 2017 Paul Curreri

"Dec 28, '17: Came downstairs to find Paul in the early stages of a song sketch. Sounded cool so I asked if I could video him. :)

Equipment used: SCI Pro One, Micromoog, Roland Juno-60, Oberheim DX, Line 6 DL4, recorded in Cubase w. small amount of Echoboy. www.patreon.com/devonandpaul"

1979 Crumar Performer Update

Just a quick update for the video posted here earlier today. It turns out, that particular Crumar Performer is current for sale on Charlottesville Criagslist. Paul Curreri who posted the video also has a write-up on the allure of vintage synths on his Patreon page that went along with the video posted there.

1979 Crumar Performer

Published on Jun 25, 2018 Paul Curreri

Update: This one is currently for sale.  You can also find an additional write-up on Paul Curreri's Patreon site here.

"for more stuff exactly like this and not like this at all: www.patreon.com/devonandpaul

The Performers are more versatile and textured that you might think!

Multi-tracked into Cubase. No additional compression / processing beyond a small amount of VintageVerb reverb, plus a bit of delay on the drums (Hammond Auto-Vari, and Oberheim DX)."

Some pics of the Performer via Charlottesville Criagslist.

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Soviet Solaris Estradin 314 demo proj3

Published on Jan 11, 2018 Paul Curreri

Update: this one is currently for sale on Reverb here. Pics captured here.

"A bit of a meander through this fascinating and wild analog poly / organ.

As you can see, it’s in excellent cosmetic condition. Sliders all slide fairly smoothly. A proper power cable was professionally installed, as the one it came with didn’t fit snugly. It still uses 220V though, so a converter is required.

Now, much as I love it, I can’t say for certain that this Soviet-Era instrument is functioning 100% optimally. After all, I don't speak Russian, and I've never encountered another! You can probably hear the slight hum -- though the signal-to-noise ratio easily masks that when playing. Perhaps it could use a tune-up?

I’ve always found the unit perpetually intriguing. One minute it’s a 60s compact organ (w. a filter!), the next a 70s string machine, then a growling 80s analog synth bass, and then blammo: a rocket ship. I mean, c’mon.

If your path in life leads you to encounter a Solaris Estradin 314, maybe bring it home?
Thanks for watching.

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Wonderful description from the web:

Vintage rare soviet analog polyphonic synthesizer - SOLARIS Estradin-314. Produced in the USSR on "Estradin" factory in Zhitomir city (famous for its Estradin-230 & Altair-231 synths) in 1988.

SOLARIS uses organ style drawbars to create the basic tone, and has a analog filtering as well. Inside it has 12 voice boards that correspond to each key in an octave, and then uses a divide down system to get to the other octaves. The filter is really extreme and sounds fantastic, as well the envelope is really punchy, so you get great synth stabs, sweeps and percussive organy sounds.

If you use the envelope and filter sections carefully you can get great moogy leads out of it, warm organ sounds, flying ambient textures, in the high resisters it can sound like a string machine, or even a theremin if you crank the resonance.It has tons of character and can sounds amazing!"

Univox Mini-Korg 700 K1 SN 0431

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Published on Dec 17, 2016 Paul Curreri

"Short jam to showcase some of the sounds of this punky monophonic. Created in advance of selling the unit (replacing it with the K2). More stuff like this and not like this: www.patreon.com/devonandpaul

Recorded directly into Cubase with a little reverb from a MidiVerb II. Drums via an AceTone Rhythm Ace."

via this auction

"Such a punky little monosynth from 1973. I bought this guy in Richmond, VA, though I didn't really intend to. I didn't even bring any money with me. I'd just never seen one in real life, so I made the drive. Anyhow, homie took Paypal.

I knew The Cars used one a lot on their first record — you know that buzzy hook in "Just What I Needed." The Cure too, back when Robert Smith had short hair. Surprisingly expressive, especially considering the unorthodox layout & almost cockily slim number of parameters.

No issues with the functionality at all. Smooth, noiseless-sliders. In advance of selling it, I had my keyboard fix-it friend (previously Wilco's keyboard friend) give it the once over. Cosmetically, it's missing its MINI-KORG emblem, and the colors on the ends of all the switches aren't there. For all I know, they were intentionally removed, because the rest of it looks good."

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