Happy New Year! The Year in Synths 2013

Happy New Year Everyone!

What a busy year it has been in the world of synths.

This is going to be one doozy of a post, so bear with me. This post is a review of the year in synths for 2013. We begin with Tributes to Those We Lost This Year, followed by New Manufacturers & Makers, Older Manufacturers Added to the Site, New Gear Announcements, Top 10 Posts by Traffic,  My Standout Posts for the Year, and finally This Years' Synth Events. I did my best to keep things as short and concise as possible.

Let's begin with the hardest part of the post.

Tributes to Those We Lost This Year

RIP Bernard Parmegiani - Electronic & Acoustic Composer
Lou Reed RIP
RIP Dick Raaymakers aka Kid Baltan
RIP George Duke - DreamWeaver
RIP Ralph Dyck, Sept 28, 1941 – May 20, 2013
RIP Ray Manzarek

All missed and never to be forgotten. Take a moment to remember them.

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New Manufacturers & Makers

Starting last January, I decided to keep a running list of every new manufacturer and maker introduced to the site during the year.  This is something I haven't done before and I thought it would be interesting to see how many there were in the year.   It's easy to focus on the big synth announcements throughout the year, but what about all the new makers and brands? I shouln't have to go considerably into the significance of new designers on the scene, so I'll just say two things regarding them.  One, the number of new makers is a direct reflection on the interest in our scene, and two, these are the creators of new gear which directly translate into new designs not previously available to us.  Think about that for a moment.  These are makers and designs that did not exist before.  They are part of our synth history.  So what is the total count of new synth designers for the year? A whopping 113. Think about that a bit. One hundred and thirteen new synth designers and brands this year alone.

Here they are (note a handful date back to 2012, but 2013 marked their momentum and availability):

CLICK FOR MORE »

The CRB Oberon

via Davide Mancini of soundmachines on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

"Mr. Enrico Cosimi shows a CRB Oberon mono synth to the audience..."

This is the first post featuring the CRB Oberon. You can find a few posts featuring the CRB Computer Band 2000 synth and CRB Diamond 725 Rhythm machine here. I did a quick search on the CRB Oberon and found the demos below featuring the following:

"6 tracks
Sequence - Steelphon S900
LFO sound - Steelphon S900
Bass sound - CRB Oberon
High Filter sound - CRB Oberon
Solo - CRB Oberon
Pad - Elka Rhapsody 610"

Royalty-free music for professional licensing

Update: click here for for a photo gallery of CRB instruments on Facebook.  via Luca

STEELPHON S-900 Rare Vintage Analog Synthesizer

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

via this auction


"Ultra rare Steelphon S-900 analog synthesizer in perfect working conditions (serial number 14) , sound amazing like a RA Minimoog early series due the discrete "TOP" components onboard its 9 cards, is possible to make different harmonics with all the divider sliders... weird and unique!

It also has Preset options with bass, leads and fx stored inside thru some cards with trimmers regulated for each preset.

Cosmetic side is very good, only one upper yellow wooden strip need a bit of paint, very easy service for say near mint! There were exemplars (one in as-is conditions) gone for more of 2k euros years ago.."

Pics of the inside below.

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Steelphon S900 synthesizer

YouTube via JackOasys | August 10, 2010

"A look inside - Uno sguardo dentro -
Prodotto in Italia negli Anni Settanta, questo raro synth fu uno dei primi a introdurre la novità dei preset su macchine monofoniche di piccole dimensioni (3 ottave). Mi auguro che il video serva ad apprezzarne le caratteristiche di costruzione e assemblaggio che hanno fatto "grandi" moltissimi sintetizzatori di quell'epoca. Anche in Italia.
Lo Steelphon del video è stato filmato prima degli interventi di restauro
Oggi sono introvabili. Il valore oscilla tra 1500 e 2300 euro, ma possono avere prezzi anche maggiori in base a condizioni di funzionamento e particolarità.

Grazie per aver scelto questo video."

Googlish:
"A Look Inside - A look inside -
Made in Italy in the seventies, this rare synth was among the first to introduce the new machines monophonic preset small (3 octaves). I hope the video will serve to appreciate the features of construction and assembly that have made "great" many synthesizers of the era. Also in Italy.
Steelphon The video was filmed before the restoration
Today they are unavailable. The value ranges between 1500 and 2300 euro, but they may have even higher prices based on operating conditions and circumstances."

Oxygene IV (J.M.Jarre)

YouTube via aemmezero

"Oxygene IV, Ensoniq ESQ1, Korg Polysix, Steelphon S900, Roland TR505"

S900 Steelphon synthesizer

YouTube via aemmezero.

"Resonance and Noise games"

Steelphon S900 synthesizer demo1


"Wave, lfo & filter demo"

Steelphon S900 synthesizer demo

YouTube via aemmezero.

"A little demo of my vintage monophonic Steelphon Synth, made in Italy in 1973."

Follow up to this post. via insektgod.

The Steelphon Vintage Analog Synth

I previously put up a post on Vintage Synths Made In Italy. The Steelphon has recently been added to the list with a few more shots and a demo. Note the play button is right under this image when you get there.

Synthmaster

Trip. When I had severe GAS (Gear Aquisition Syndrome), I used to have these dreams where I'd walk into a pawn shop and see all these bizarre and obscure synths. Sometimes they were rare models of Oberheims and Rolands, etc, but usually they were obscure synths from manufacturers I've never seen before. Right before I was waking from the dream, I'd think if I only grab one I might be able to take it to the other side. : ) If you ever had dreams like this you probably know what I'm talking about.

Well, when I saw the Synthmaster post on sequencer.de, I had that same feeling, like I just walked into a pawn shop of obscure synths in dream land. There are a ton of bizarre and obscure synths I've never seen or heard of before. Looks like he brought them over from the other side. Click here for more.

Pictured above top down: E-Pro Minisynth, Firstman FS-4V       Polysynth, and Antares 1.

Synths on Synthmaster:
Antares 1
E-Pro Minisynth and Spirit - this looks like the Crumar Spirit to me.
CRB Daimond Vocostrings Ser.1, Ser. 2
Crumar Spirit, Compac Synth
Conn Electrik Band
Elka Accordion Synth Soloist 505
Excelsior Digital Synth, EK 4
Excelsior EK 4
Firstman SQ-01, FS-4V Polysynth
Jen Synx 508
Keytek CTS 5000, 2000, 1000, 400
Paia System 4700
Powertran Transcendent Polysynth, Transcendent 2000, Transcendent Variation
Pulser M 75
Salamander SMS 400
Skyline Orchestra
Steelphon S 900
Stramp Synchanger 2
Welson Syntex