The Lord Skywave

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via VEMIA

You can find a demo of one previously posted here, and a small advert here.

"After 28 years of auctions, VEMIA finally has a Jeremy Lord Synthesisers Skywave as an item. And it's not just a fantastically rare and collectable thing to look at, either. Dani at Hideaway has put all her knowledge and experience and many, many hours into restoring it, and it not only looks great but sounds great too.
Debuted in 1977 but only released in its final form in 1978, it aimed to be different from the run-of-the mill monosynths out there, and certainly succeeded. Dani did a very nice demo while she was finishing servicing it, and it shows the versatility and charm of the machine well: https://soundcloud.com/hideaway-studio/1977-lord-skywave-desert-awakening .

Thanks to its built-in case and lid, internally it is in pretty wonderful condition for a 47-year-old, complete with the best name graphics of any synth ever.

The case itself shows its age but is decent and solid - even if one piece (with TOP scrawled on it) seems wrong. Dani believes she found a faint '6' inside the unit, and suspects that is the actual serial number (out of the generally believed 10). As an early independent design, it has some failings and unfinished parts of the project - the programmer, and the fact that it has a variable-angle back case, but no Minimoog-like prop to hold it up. Dani used a metal rod. Were the five slits in the casing next to the power supply meant to be part of a variable prop system that was never completed - or is it just a vent? The inside of the case where the main section rests when the case is shut looks messy, too, with odd bits of padding.

The Z-axis control, wiring and chrome shaft assembly on the 3-axis modulation joystick had been broken and botched beyond belief into the original yoke, so a similar one from the same era was sourced and retrofitted.

The A-Z book entry mentions safety concerns, but this design seems to have been improved from the original, and seems as safe as any typical small-scale manufactured electrical item of this age. AS ALWAYS, REMEMBER THE SAFETY DISCLAIMER AND SEEK QUALIFIED ADVICE. 220-240V - just use an IEC lead for your UK/EU/Australia etc country - or if you will need a stepdown transformer remind us to add a UK IEC lead. ***The owner (who has owned it for 20 years or more, and looked after it well) has pointed out to me that for something as incredible as this, the description sounds negative in parts. Typical me. It is an amazing, exciting synth, as well as being phenomenally rare, and it's worthy of a much more positive description than I have given.***"

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Moog Model 12 vintage modular synth synthesizer

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via this listing

"Amazing condition vintage real deal Moog Modular Model 12 synthesizer from around 1972. Was serviced about 2 years ago in England when purchased through Vemia. Works excellent and looks great. Keyboard has new bushings. Amazing sound. Does not have the lids and latch for lids.

Comes with original keyboard cable. Replacement power cord.

Pickup in Sherman CT."

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Richard D. James Aphex Twin Yamaha CS-5 SN 10044 w/ Etched Selected Ambient Works II Liner Notes

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via this auction

"This no ordinary synthesizer; in fact this is the ultimate, holy grail of Aphex Twin memorabilia. This CS-5 was previously owned by Richard D. James, who hand-etched the liner notes to Aphex Twin’s seminal “Selected Ambient Works Volume II” on the bottom of it. Those etchings were photographed and used for SAWII’s artwork.

This synth was purchased by me in 2006 from a Vemia auction in the UK. Other than loaning it to Ghostly/Suction Records recording artist Solvent to record his RDJCS5ep 12-inch in 2011, the synth has been carefully stored at my house. The synth has never been serviced, repaired, or modified by me, and is in the same condition as when I received it. It runs on 230V UK power, with a UK plug. You can see some additional etchings and markings in the photos - these were all in place (and likely done by Aphex Twin himself) when I received it. It’s in perfect working order as far as I know, but I offer no guarantee of its functional condition; anyone who’s buying this will surely be buying it for its provenance.

I can provide the winning bidder with all of my email correspondence with Vemia about this Yamaha CS-5."

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Rare Ionic Performer for Sale - EMS VCS3 + Putney In Custom Enclosure w/ Keyboard

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via Vemia

"Rare Ionic Performer Synthesiser and Modulator produced in 1973. Basically similar to a VCS3 + Putney keyboard but uses a series of pushbuttons, instead of patch pins, to route sounds and voltages. It's capable of producing some very complex sounds but definitely requires work from a good synth tech to get its full potential. The ring modulator and one of the tremolo channels is not working. VCO tracking needs adjusting. Power supply was rebuilt in 2008. Cosmetically it is in superb condition for a 46 year old synth."

Some pics of the inside below. Also see the Ionic label for previous posts.

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Helm Elektronik - Formant Based Modular System

via Vemia

"This is a professionally built huge modular by Helm Electronics. The founder of the company set himself the task of turning the original Formant modular into a professional and super-powerful machine, and this is the result. The build quality and the sound put it in a completely different league as compared to the Formants you usually find. If you ever wanted to know what this beast can really do, this is the one to get. Massive sound and clear studio quality signal path. Envelope gate and vco cv connections are to a large extent normalised and need no patching but you can of course override and patch as you like. Hugely powerful sequencer and a great keyboard that plays well. I have gone through it and the reverb needs work - or maybe is just missing its tank. Nothing serious at all. I also have a few spares which I will include. It is also extremely beautiful."

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PPG Wave 2.2 / 2.3 Rack Project

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via this auction

"I have a significant amount of time [both mine and others] and money invested in making this work.
I am at my limits of abilities to work on it. I can get a display to run but no sound because of the Proz-mismatch.

The PPG has the latest Virtual Music 8.3 ROMs. I am including a second set of ROMs as well.

I would refer to this below from Alexander from Virtual Music [link removed by eBay]
I am looking for $5000 as is.

When this was shipped, the cards were not removed and wrapped so the damages are listed below.
• 2-3 broken mylar caps [the leads are hairline thin and very fragile]
• 1 broken 27.460mhz Crystal
• LCD cable pins are bent / broken and some will need replacement.

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Emuverb

Published on Mar 6, 2018 zack dagoba

"I've added a vintage stereo spring reverb to my Emu Modular system. I bought the original Emu face panels ages ago on Vemia for pennies, and also an old 1980s D&R spring reverb. I got my friend Ross to wire up the Emu panels to the reverb unit, and also add CV to the really nice sounding eq that the unit has. Heres a patch with it integrated into the full system, using the memory modules for sequencing. Oh and some seals I filmed at the zoo last week. See http://myblogitsfullofstars.blogspot.... for more"

Vintage E-mu modular.

Yamaha CS-80 with Kenton MIDI

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via this VEMIA auction

"It's difficult to tear myself away from this sumptuous instrument long enough to write this description. It really does justify its fame and high value - and unlike some classic synths it would be completely prohibitive to try to re-manufacture it. I imagine it would need a price of 30000 GBP to break even - there is so much hand-wiring and intricate loom work for a start. This is a lovely example. It has its original stand, wheels and lid, and has had Kenton MIDI professionally retro-fitted. There are a few minor dings on the panel (very minor) - and there is a crack at the bottom right edge of the programmer well - see pic - plus a small (10x5cm?) bit of tolex missing from the bottom, and the lid and case are showing their age - but the overall feel and look is beautiful. It sounds gorgeous and plays perfectly. Of course transport can cause tuning issues, and I feared the worst when we got this in and set up. For the first 20 minutes a couple of oscillators were horribly out of tune. Then 'ping', everything came back into perfect harmony. It is a seriously lovely instrument to play, with its organic analogue sounds, incredible modulation, powerful keyboard control choices, and poly aftertouch. And the keyboard itself is a delight. We will hope to deliver this economically by hand (and if you have a staircase we will ask you to provide extra manpower). It should be possible as far south as the Alps if necessary. **If it has to be shipped, you will need to pay for professional crating.*** And remember, tuning may be disrupted by moving. The best thing for a CS-80 is to keep it in one place ... and play it!!"

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EML Electrocomp 400 / 401

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via this VEMIA auction

"One of the most elaborate and powerful sequencers in the world, coupled with a quirky and unusual synth engine in one fold-together box - rare, and well worth the effort of getting your head around the curious terminology. This is a significantly different approach from any of the other great analogue sequencers, and sometimes the results can be stunning. In very nice cosmetic condition, inside and out. It has been serviced by Lucid ready for this auction and is in full working order throughout. A copy manual will be included. It has slightly different terminology for one or two controls but is still illuminating and very necessary. This machine has been converted to 240V - very handy and pretty uncommon. Packing 8GBP."

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Orange/Black Macbeth M5

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via this VEMIA auction

"The Macbeth Semi Modular M5 (Mk1) colour scheme wise looks like the ARP 2600 with the black and Orange livery. (Not to be confused with the M5N which is white). These synthesisers where made in small numbers by Macbeth Studio Systems ( Macbethstudiosystems.com ) This unit is in as new condition and has been in the studio since I bought it around 9 years ago. There are lots of demos on YouTube if you want to check out its capabilities and as there are people using it you get a sense of scale of the unit. Its in a metal case which makes it robust and also contains a spring reverb. [VEMIA note: wow, like London buses - we have not had as many of Ken MacBeth's amazing creations in all the previous auctions put together. This one is at a truly staggering start price - plus we should be able to collect for onward delivery if that is useful.]"

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Vintage Moog IIIc Modular System

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via this VEMIA auction

"The Moog IIIc has been with the current Owner since 1999 having been purchased from Martin Newcomb's Synthesiser Museum outside London. This IIIc contains the early 901B Oscillators and not the later 920 range. The IIIC is in pretty good condition for its age as can be seen in the photographs. The corners of the bottom of the Lower cabinet have been scuffed but otherwise the cabinets are in good condition (and very heavy). The modules in the Cabinets are: Top Cabinet: 2 x 690 Sequential Controllers 2 x 962 Sequential Switches 1 multiple 1 961 Interface Middle Cabinet: 1 x 914 Fixed Filter Bank 1 x 905 Reverb Unit 1 x Control Voltage Switches (all switches illuminate) 1 x 904B Voltage controlled High Pass Filter 1 x 904C Filter Coupler 1 x 904A Voltage Controlled Low Pass Filter 3x 902 Voltage Controlled Amplifiers 1 x Trigger and Envelope Voltages (all switches illuminate) 3 x 911 Envelope Generators 1x 911A Dual Trigger Delay 1 x 912 Envelope Follower Lower Cabinet: 3 repeated groups of: 1 x Input control sector switches (all switches illuminate) 1 x 901A Oscillator Controller 3 x 901B Oscillators 1 x Submixer 1 group: 1 x 901 Voltage Controlled Oscillator 1 x submixer 1x 903 White Noise Source 1 x Pitch and Trigger Multiple 1 x 984 Four Channel Mixer 1 x Power and fuse Panel Additionally there is: 1 x 951 Keyboard Controller 1 x Copy of an original Moog Modular Owners Manual (seller does not own the original manual) Additional Information: All Modules are labelled RA MOOG with the exception of 1 of the 960 Sequential Controllers and the 904A Low Pass Filter which are labelled Moog. The Moog was serviced about 2 years ago by James Walker at Synth Repair. Moog (in the USA) updated some control components in the 901A Oscillator Controllers (not the Oscillators themselves) so that the 901A Oscillators can now tune to scale across the full 5 Octaves. This modification does not of course alter the Oscillator tone. James Walker then replicated this modification to the other 2 x 901A Oscillator Controllers. Prior to this update the Synthesiser only accurately scaled across a single Octave. It is 110V but I will include the two 240V to 110V step down transformer power supplies that I have for it for in in the description (one for the top cabinet with the 960 sequences and the other that drives cabinets one and two which are interlinked so only need one supply source). VEMIA should be able to arrange collection and delivery by hand to large areas of North-Western Europe."

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Oxford Synthesizer Co. OSCar

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via this VEMIA auction

"That classic filter sound. OSCar with factory midi and last OS installed for extra memories etc. fun additive side to it for the clangs and tones. Very good condition considering it's age, a few scratches and wear to silk screen shown in photos. In my possession since 1997 and studio housed. Last serviced about three years ago by Lucid and rarely used since, all pots and buttons good, not using it as much as I should and needs a good home where it'll be appreciated more. Original if rather tatty manual included with OS addendums"

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Roland System 100 **COMPLETE SYSTEM** n/m

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via this VEMIA auction

"Absolutely fantastic: these complete systems come up so rarely, and it is so difficult and expensive to find the rarer individual pieces. This system is being checked over and serviced ready for the auction by Waveterm in Sweden, and is in beautiful condition. They really are classic systems, sounding amazing and presenting a complete and organic modular system. It's interesting how nice it is to have the mixer, reverb and speakers all together - a bit like the VCS3, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This comes with original instruction manuals and patch books for both the 101 and 102, and a patch notes pad for the 101 and 102 combined."

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KORG MS50

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via this VEMIA auction

"In perfect working order, serviced by Lucid in mid-October 2014 ready for this auction, here is a sought-after MS-50. Cosmetically the back is a bit scuffed, and the top edge has various bits of paint missing - but the front panel, sockets and knobs are actually pretty good. UK voltage."

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Realton Variophon Spot with Seven Cards

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via this VEMIA auction

"Variophons are simply the best wind synthesisers ever produced. This one is a reluctant sale, because although I have another one it is such a unique instrument I would be devastated if that one broke. There is simply nothing else I know of which can make a non-wind player able to play with expression, and, unlike with sampled or digital sounds, sound like a wind player too. The designers need more recognition for making a.) a great controller and b.) the most amazingly realistic impersonations of wind instruments you ever heard. This version was checked over by Lucid recently (May 2014), and is in excellent working order. It comes with seven cartridges - Panflute, Horn, Trombone, Clarinet, Saxophone, Trumpet, Tuba. They are all wonderful. With the glissando control (left hand operated) and the attack, volume and timbre variations you get with breath, this really is astonishingly organic and musical. It comes with a useful info sheet from a previous owner. The wind controller looks like it was silver-painted at some stage, but otherwise the whole thing is in excellent cosmetic condition. It comes with a new unused mouthpiece. (You may need to put it in hot water first to make it easy to attach.) The one design fault is that it seems impossible to close the main unit case safely with the existing Euro plug on the mains lead, so for transit we will cut the lead ready for you to get your own UK or Euro plug fitted to it. Packing 5GBP."

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KORG PS3300

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via this VEMIA auction

"A magical and very rare polysynth from the mid 70s, one of an incredibly small group of analogue poly modular synths (less than 50 were sold), the PS3300 groups 3 synth units, and includes full polyphony of 48 voices. This machine is in very good working order, having just had a full mechanical and electronical service for this auction, including replacing all the connectors and capacitors, etc. All knobs and stick are original and in working order. All the frequency dividers are original. One filter was replaced, by an original filter (korg 35 filter). The external box has also totally been restored and rendered to the original hue. One minus point is a large cigarette burn upon two keys (see picture). User manual found on Internet included."

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Moog Memorymoog Plus (with MIDI)

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via this VEMIA auction

"This Memorymoog Plus is all working very well, I serviced all the switches, so they all work well. It tunes all 6 voices quickly everytime, and is in very good condition. It is an original Moog 'Plus', so the Memorymoog badge has 'plus' on it as well. It comes with a substantial flightcase (with wheels on one end) - though I didn't photograph this."

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PPG System (PRKFD, WTB + Wave 2.3)

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via this VEMIA auction

"I am unfortunately forced to sell my crown jewel. My near mint PPG System from 1987. I am second owner and it shows. There is only minor tear and wear and the system is 100% working and I would judge the cosmetic condition to 98% or so. The PPG System consists of the PPG Waveterm B, the PPG PRK-FD and the fantastic PPG Wave 2.3 - all in near mint/mint condition. Comes in original boxes, with factory library on 30+ floppies, 2 VERY BIG original shipping labels stickers, the original PPG Demo Tape, all cables, and the original PPG stand. System has been serviced by the PPG Guru Stefan Hübner in Hamburg. Can potentially be shipped but will most definitely prefer a pick up. This System is NOT light and due to weight, age and working condition I will not recommend it to be shipped - but it is possible."

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New England Digital Synclavier II

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via this VEMIA auction

"A newly restored and beautiful FM/Additive Synclavier II System. The complete System has been converted to 220V Power. The ORK Keyboard is as close to mint as they come and the rest of the system looks very very good. Only technical issue is with the Winchester Hard Drive that has stopped working. The Mac I had it hooked up with showed the Winchester but can't read/write from/to it. So you will need someone to restore/reformat the HDD. System can be booted - and used - with no problems at all as long as you boot from the Superfloppy Drive. Included in the sale are the following components: ORK Keyboard. 16 Voices Control Unit. M512K (External RAM). D16 Scientific Timer Module. 2 x M32K Cards. FPRM. FPSM. MFC1. D100A (Superfloppy Controller Card). D40 Serial Card with VERY rare Manual. D107 IMI Winchester Controller card (drive not included). All the cables you need to get it running. 5.25 inch Boot Floppies. 3.5 inch Floppy with application for Mac. And of course the Control Unit. System can be shipped but I will definitely recommend a pick up due to weight and size."

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Emu Emulator II with Mac Performer with Sound Designer Software

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via this VEMIA auction

"Cult early sampler from EMU and still very sought after today due to it using analogue filters, this one has been updated to a EII+ also includes mac performer with sound designer software installed and CD drive, so you can edit your EII from the mac, there are some disks and cd’s with the original factory sounds on, most are still easy to find on the internet to down load onto CD, the early factory sounds are fantastic and even today stand up to modern sound design and are still highly usable in a variety of genres of music/film score or sample your own. Used by nearly everyone in the mid late 80’s as it was a cheaper alternative to the other pro samplers. Synclavier, fairlight PPG etc. Recently serviced by SRS with new backlight fitted and manuals for the EII and SD (you will need them). Good condition with only minor marks to the case, the logo on the back and around the volume knob, the top C key is slightly un level but works perfectly 7/10 For shipping please contact Vemia for details."

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