TMP-01 Vintage Synth TV Series from Benge

video upload by zack dagoba

Additional Vintage Synth TV episodes by Benge

00:00 Opening Titles
00:33 Introduction
01:32 Switched On Monosynths
17:58 Synthesiser Club
19:43 Commercial Break
21:51 Patching Today
32:15 Video Lab
35:02 Outro/Coming Up Next Time

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First in a new six part series of programmes from Benge made at his Memetune Electronic Music Studio

The series explores his passion for vintage synthesiser instruments and studio gear and how he uses it on his productions and collaborations

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It is divided into the following sections:

SWITCHED ON - Featuring in-depth discussions about the history and development of the synthesiser over the years, including demonstrations and feature guides of many classic and iconic instruments

SYNTHESISER CLUB - A short musical demonstration of a synthesiser classic or two

PATCHING TODAY - A deep-dive into vintage modular systems and how to set up a patch on them, starting from scratch

VIDEO LAB - A look at old video equipment and how I create visuals for my music

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In THIS episode:

SWITCHED ON MONOSYNTHS - A brief history of Monosynths, with the Minimoog, ARP Odyssey, Roland SH101, SH5, Korg 800DS, Yamaha CS40M, Elka Soloist, EMS VCS3, Buchla Music Easel, and various related sequencers: Moog 960, ARP 1601, EMS TKS

SYNTHESISER CLUB - ARP / Rhodes Chroma, ARP 2500

PATCHING TODAY - Emu Series 2000 Modular synthesiser

VIDEO LAB - Brief introduction to the lab, Panasonic WJ-MX50, Sony Camera, Grass Valley Indigo vision mixer

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LINKS:
Benge's Studio Blog: http://myblogitsfullofstars.blogspot.com
Memetune Studio Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/memetunestudio
Benge on Bandcamp: https://zackdagoba.bandcamp.com

Oblong album: https://townsendmusic.store/product/5...

Stephen Mallinder Um Dada album: https://www.daisrecords.com/products/...

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The MemeTune Programme Credits:
Everything in this video was created by B D Edwards (Benge)
All music, design, writing, filming and production completed at Memetune Studios, UK, 2022

zack dagoba Vintage Synth TV

RHODES CHROMA KEYBOARD CHASSIS for Parts

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

via this auction

Additional Tone Tweakers Listings, also on Reverb

Some pics of the wooden keys and inside. The Chroma has a polyaftertouch keyboard. This one appears to be SN 21030 923. Karta Inglesias is written on the inside. Possibly once belonged to the Karta Inglesias School of Music.

"Here's a lot of 5 Rhodes Chroma Keyboards someone (not us!) sadly gutted many years ago. These units are in storage far away. They're obviously missing circuitry and are for parts only. No parts of these units have been tested, so they're being sold completely as-is, with no guarantees whatsoever. Since it's impractical to go back and forth to storage multiple times, we'd like to sell all 5 in one shot to one person.

We’ve heard that one or more people have remade and sell voice card circuit boards, so it may or may not be possible to make a complete working unit our of these chassis. But please verify this and check out the pics first - we can’t promise this is true as other necessary parts may be missing. Or perhaps the voice cards someone removed from these units are still floating around there somewhere and could be used to restore one or more of these (with additional parts found somewhere else)."

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Fender Chroma Polaris Service Manual & Schematics

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You can find a digital copy on the excellent Rhodes Chroma site here.

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Rhodes Chroma w/ Fan Mod

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"Rhodes Chroma synthesizer from the early 1980's (only 3,000 made). It was fully went thru and serviced right before I purchased it less then a year ago. Absolutely no issues with it and cosmetically its 10/10. It's been kept in a professional smoke free studio. It sat more than it actually got used so there is very little hours of use."

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Fender Rhodes Chroma Polaris SN 301269

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"Only 3600 ever made (1984), here we have a super-rare Fender Rhodes Chroma Polaris <> model 2123 s/n 101269. dims:- 100 x 37 x 11cms weight:- a chunky 19Kgs!..sure is robust! It has just been professionally serviced ~ fresh internal battery fitted, all reset to factory settings, switched to 220V operation, and some interesting patches loaded in.

Here are the specs:-
~ 6-voice polyphony
~ 61 dynamic keys
~ 132 memory slots (11 banks A > K x 12 progs each)
~ split/dual mode
~ 2 VCO (saw & pw)
~ 4-pole analogue filter
~ midi fitted ~ twin levers
~ sequencer
~ live control of filter/resonance/modulation ~ ring modulation ~ unique mod "sweep"
~ noise

Condition:- sourced from an avid UK collector, this Polaris has mostly been looked at/treasured. Its obvious that all the faders and membrane switches have many years of usage left - a nightmare common issue on such synths, as they do wear out..... keys are excellent; lowest "G" has some lateral "play" (aka wobbly side-to-side)...not a big deal. Casing is "good", no damaged veneer, just a few dinks of little note. All LEDS, levers, switches work perfectly. At the moment, the glide function is not working; we are printing off the manual; maybe that can be sorted....

Sounds like? Some reviews say "tinny"...we disagree. This synth is powerful. It excels at polysynth sounds, bass sounds, lead lines, silly percussive stuff/noise etc....but you will not find piano-type sounds.....leave that to the Korg M1 (well, they started all the sampled waveform stuff, didnt they?).This is subtractive synthesis. Find a progamme you like, live-tweak it, as most of the controls are waiting for you to do this, then pop YOUR creation into one of the 132 slots...simple as that!"

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Rhodes Chroma Polaris

video upload by MYSYNTH

Chroma Polaris

video upload by rimela

"Multitrack recording of Rhodes Chroma Polaris in Ableton Live. All sounds from Chroma Polaris except drums."

Rhodes Chroma

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Fender Rhodes Chroma Polaris w/ Vol.1 Data Cassette

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Rhodes Chroma - Fully Restored, with CC+ and New Power Supply

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This Rhodes Chroma is in excellent condition and performs exactly as it should. It has been fully restored and upgraded by Chroma guru Randel Osborne. Randel has restored many Chromas and also builds the Enabler controller. It’s hard to imagine a better example of this rare instrument: beautiful, modernized and 100% Randel certified.

Restoration included:
- complete synth cleaning, calibration and testing
- voice board servicing
- refinishing of the woodwork
- installation of the modern switching power supply by Luca Sasdelli
- installation of the CPU Plus (CC+) control board (MIDI upgrade with breakout cable)

The keybed is in superb shape, with a comfortable feel between piano and synth action."

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Rhodes Chroma 8 voice polyphonic analog beast with JL Cooper Chromaface MIDI

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Pics of the inside below.

"Rhodes Chroma just serviced, in excellent shape and working fine. Polyphonic analog beast with 8 voices: 8x CEM3350 Dual VCF, 8x CEM3360 Dual VCA and 16x VCOs similar to those in the Moog Minimoog Model D (OLD OSC version). JL Cooper Chromaface midi interface included."

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"Future Archaeological Find" - Rhodes Chroma Synthesizer Composition

video upload by Synthesizer Style

"Future Archaeological Find was inspired by a sound I created for my Rhodes Chroma, and a Photo I chose for the 'video' (i.e. Something to look at).The Chroma is an incredible instrument capable of many, many sounds. Very deep and moving sounds are possible with the Chroma."

Custom Behringer BCR2000 controllers on top.

EES Germany YAMAHA TX416 (TX216 TX816) in Custom Rack Flight Case

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This one was spotted and sent in via M Me.

Note the EES logo on the right. They also made a MIDI interface for the Rhodes Chroma.

"4 modules of Yamaha TF1 FM built by EES Germany, in small Rack. Very rare - mint condition

Rack Synth with 4 modules.

Its like 4 x Yamaha DX7 Synthesizers!"

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Baloran The River 2021 Black

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Reminds me of a Con Brio meets Rhodes Chroma.

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Synthesiser Club Chroma

video upload by zack dagoba

"Part four of the Synthesiser club, featuring the Rhodes (ARP) Chroma, and a friend"

Synthesiser Club posts

ARP 2500

Rhodes Chroma

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"Includes MIDI interface and spare cards / parts as seen in the photos. Absolutely astonishing synthesizer, the velocity sensitivity is amazing."

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The Synth King Vintage Synthesizer Demos

Playlist:
KORG DW-8000 - Synth King "vintage analog" sounds
Roland JX-8p - Vecoven Super Flash ROM & PWM upgrade
Yamaha CS70m - first contact
Yamaha CS70m - loading patches from magnetic cards !!
Oberheim Matrix-12 -- first contact !
Oberheim Matrix12 - one song - one synth
Rhodes Chroma - one song - one synth
Rhodes Chroma (ex KRAFTWERK Kling Klang Studios) - first contact !
Oberheim OB-Xa - 15 minutes pure analog sounds - part 3/3
Oberheim OB-Xa - 15 minutes pure analog sounds - part 2/3
Oberheim OB-Xa - 15 minutes pure analog sounds - part 1/3
Oberheim OB-Xa - one song - one synth
Oberheim OB-Xa improvisation
Oberheim OB-Xa - first contact
Roland SH-2000 - one song - one synth
Roland MKS80 - one song - one synth
Korg Polysix - one song - one synth - free patches !!!
Roland JX3P - one song - one synth
Roland Juno 106 - one song - one synth
Roland Jupiter 4 & Promars MRS-2 - one song - one synth (ok 2)
Roland Jupiter 6 - one song - one synth
Roland Super JX10 - one song - one synth
64 new sounds for Roland JX10/MKS70 Vecoven PWM 4.xx update
64 new sounds for Roland JX10/MKS70 Vecoven PWM 4.xx update
Fender Chroma Polaris - one song - one synth
Fender Chroma Polaris Sound Demo (132 patches)

An Enabler for Your Rhodes Chroma

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The Enabler from Redshift went into production in 2014. A 2.0 version in development in 2018 was featured in this video. Not sure what version this listing is for.

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Rare Set of Rhodes Chroma Sequencer Manual's

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"Very rare set of Rhodes Chroma Sequencer manual's inc Interface and Programming manuals. All in very good condition."

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Early Analog Band - Fender Chroma Musical Instruments 1982

video by Brigida Family

"Rare vintage footage! This product demonstration for Fender Chroma features a performance by Mike Brigida, John Shykun & Cleve Pozar.

16:50​ closes with John Williams 'Indiana Jones Theme' & 'Superman'"

And a note from the Rhodes Chroma list:

"The 'Expander's they show don't seem to have the same setup as a typical expander today. Specifically, the expander panel looks to be identical to that of the Chroma - and so has a extra black metal lip on the front. It is much more of a 'keyboard-chopped-off-Chroma' versus what ended up being the Expander.

Somewhat of a prophetic quote from one of the questions and answers in the video:

Q. How long before the Chroma is obsolete?

A. Chroma is an expressive, powerful musical instrument. Since it sounds good and has terrific expansion capability it stands the best chance among products available today of lasting the longest."