Yamaha CS60 / CRB Computer Drums

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"45 kilos of heavy duty Japanese build quality - we give you the Yamaha CS60.

We just couldn't pass this one on although it's not typically the machine of our choice it sounds incredible. Put on your headphones and you'll get it.

The range of sounds you get out of this synthesizer seems frankly endless and the general interaction with an important instrument always makes us want to sell all our other machines and just keep this one instead. We have to think about this - meanwhile it's going to a Yamaha CS-series specialised repair man for a new ribbon control and a general calibration since it's never been tuned or serviced in its 45 year old life - also kind of incredible - the build-quality is insane.

On drums we got the elusive CRB Computer Drums - the drum section from the Computer Band 2000."

The links directly above will take you to additional posts featuring each.

SOLTON PROGRAMMER 24 / SOLTON PROJECT 100

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Italo Disco Machines?
Not false - but these two hotties offer a bit more than that.
Launched around the same time in the mid-80s, none of them caused much stir but at least the Programmer 24 was exported widely and they pop up on the market even in the US.
Overrun by sleeker Japanese machines, most Solton units probably seemed a bit dated at the moment of their release but re-adjusting the rearview mirror a bit we think they sound pretty great.
The Solton Programmer 24 is the obvious song writing tool:
It's a drum machine, bass line generator, chord generator and arpeggiator with an added string and organ section and a filter for the arpeggiator.
A very simple thing, almost a toy, but it's fun as hell and adding some effects to the sounds it gets interesting. For effects we're using the Schulte Compact Phasing, the low-budget, digital delay unit Vermona DEG-50 and the oddball, even lower-budget, mini-rack, multi-effect LEM FX22."

SOLTON PROGRAMMER 24 / SOLTON PROJECT 100

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Can't get enough of that Programmer 24 arpeggiator!
The filter has a real sweet spot where it sounds a bit like a Juno 6 or Polysix to our ears.
The range of the sounds are of course much less wide but for a simple machine it really does the job.
All sections are actually programmable although we have yet to attempt that - we did download and load a few programs on to it and it worked perfectly. "

SOLTON PROGRAMMER 24 / SOLTON PROJECT 100

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Italo Disco Machines?
Not false - but these two hotties offer a bit more than that.
Launched around the same time in the mid-80s, none of them caused much stir but at least the Programmer 24 was exported widely and they pop up on the market even in the US.
Overrun by sleeker Japanese machines, most Solton units probably seemed a bit dated at the moment of their release but re-adjusting the rearview mirror a bit we think they sound pretty great.
The Solton Programmer 24 is the obvious song writing tool while the Project 100 adds the depth and richness in sound that the former machine lacks.
For effects we're using the Schulte Compact Phasing, the digital delay unit Vermona DEG-50 and the mini rack multi-effect LEM FX22.
We'll be exploring the Solton Programmer 24 and Solton Project 100 further so stick around.

Vintage Audio Institute is a gear vendor and recording facility in Florence Italy."

SOLTON PROGRAMMER 24 / SOLTON PROJECT 100

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Another go with this amazingly entertaining device from the golden era of Italian synthesizer production. The Solton Programmer 24 is a programmable auto-accompaniment unit with 12-bit drum samples and analog and digital hybrid synth and string sounds."

INTRODUCING THE CRB COMPUTER DRUMS

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Very obscure rhythm box from 1980 - the CRB Computer Drums is the stand-alone drum machine from the CRB Computer Band 2000. Lovely analog drum sounds - 9 sounds in total - each with its own mute option dip switch.
This makes these machines quite interesting, we would have preferred individual volume sliders instead but there probably wasn't enough free real estate for that.
One rhythm preset at a time - no mixing and matching.

20 rhythm pattern presets rock, mambo - you name it.
An additional 20 pattern variations - selectable to occur either on every 4th or 8th bar.
And last but not least, a Break button with an additional 20 fill-ins.
So this little box actually sports 60 rhythm patterns in total.

Have a look at our other CRB-related videos - they made a small production run of cool gear in the late 70s and early 80s of which few units survive today."

You can find additional drums featuring the CRB COMPUTER DRUMS here.

ELKA DRUMMER ONE COMPARISON CHAPTER II

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

Part 1 here

"Once again we have the unique pleasure and privilege to own two Elka Drummer Ones.
These two units are very close in sound - and sound amazing to our ears.
The snare is powerful and punchy, the kick deep as a river in a valley :)
These machines have a unique internal architecture - they're literally crammed with circuitry compared to similar drum machines of the era.
The secret to its sound is the routing of each drum sounds signal path before being summed by the master volume amp.
We've had quite a few of these units by now and have noticed that they vary in sound and in circuitry.
The circuit boards don't always mount the same components.
The rhythms themselves differ - if you take a look and listen to our first Elka Drummer One Comparison video you can hear that the patterns are different from one unit to the other.

The lower shelf unit is for now sale on our Instagram page and Reverb shop. It's our beloved studio puppy and it needs to go while we're keeping the golden rimmed one because of it being a bit more rare than the silver version.

Watch the end of the video for a quick run through of the machine sitting in the middle, the rhythm box that succeded the Elka Drummer One :
The Elka Rhythm Machine.

Some of the magic is missing here - the sounds are flatter and more generic - not bad at all but definitely not as amazing. The front panel is very similar to the Elka Drummer One - the amount of rhythms correspond except for Afro being added and Rhumba spelled with an H."

CRB Voco Strings and CRB Computerband 2000

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"CRB Elettronica was one of many organ manufacturers in the Marche region in Italy in the 1970s.
They did however branch out to produce a very limited number of synthesizers and drum machines for a domestic market where, due to a weak lira and high import taxes, synths manufactured in Japan and America were rare treats.
Speaking of rare - these CRB machines are today incredibly so - having already been manufactured in numbers in the low hundreds - very few survive today.

The CRB Computer Band 2000 is an analog auto-accompaniment unit with a range of chord and arpeggiator sounds.

1. Analog Drum Machine Section with individually mutable sounds
2. Bass section with three sounds and two modes
3. Two separate chord sections with a total of seven sounds, decay and volume controls.
4. And at last the arpeggiator section with four different sounds and decay control.

These sections were originally made for big home-organs, they're incorporated into the CRB 910 organs and a few Solton branded ones as well.

The CRB Voco Strings is an Italian take on the Roland VP-330 - a string and vocoder machine. It has a great sounding string section as a carrier - maybe one of the very sweetest sounding string machines that came out of Italy?
Change my mind in the comment section :)

In this video we're letting the CRB Voco strings process the CRB Computer Band 2000 via the audio input. During the first two compositions, a third player, the Siel Cruise - a lovely Mono / Poly machine, is connected as an external carrier signal instead of the Voco-Strings String Sounds, via the external instrument input in the back.

This video is a compilation of previously released videos on our channel - there are lots more videos of the Computerband 2000 unit as well.

The CRB Computerband unit is currently for sale on Reberb."

See the CRB label below for more.

CRB Computerband 2000

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Introducing the wonderful CRB Computer Band 2000 - a mainly analog auto-accompaniment machine from the the late 70s and early 80s with four sections:

1.Drums with individually mutable sounds and fill-in and variation options
2.Bass section with three sounds, decay controls and two modes
3.Two chord sections with a total of seven sounds, decay and volume controls.
4. And an arpeggiator with four different sounds and decay control.

A great song writing tool when you're stuck and simply a very inspiring instrument, the sounds on these are really cool.

The Computerband 2000 was originally made for big home-organs, they're incorporated into the CRB 910 organs and a few Solton branded ones as well.
These stand-alone units are very rare."

Addtiional CRB Computerband 2000 posts

Solton Programmer 24 / Solton Project 100

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Italo Disco Machines?
Not false - but these two offer so much more.
In the next videos we'll be exploring the sound capabilities of the Solton Programmer 24 and Solton Project 100.
These were both launched around the same time in 1984 and didn't cause many ripples in the synthesizer sea.
Overrun by sleeker Japanese machines they seemed painfully dated already at the moment of their release.
But adjusting the rearview mirror to seek a more timeless, or rather the slightly more dated, vibe of a few years prior, we think they stand the test of time well and sound pretty awesome.
The Solton Programmer 24 is the obvious song writing tool while the Project 100 adds the depth and richness in sound that the former machine lacks.
In our opinion these two form a dream team ;)"

Crumar Perfomer VS Crumar Multiman S-3

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Two lovely string machines steps into the ring - ready to rumble.
The energy bill is here and it's steep.
We need cash badly so we're squaring these two off to see which one we can part ways with.
It's a tough choice but there can be only one.

The machines differ a bit in layout and controls:
The Performer sports a 4 octave keyboard compared to the Multimans 5 octaves.
It's also a bit more simple, it lacks a few filter controls in the brass section and the string section has constant chorus.
It still sounds great though, and it's a lot lighter than the Multiman - all of which are surprisingly heavy.

Have a look and listen - let yourself be heard in the comment section - which one would you keep?"

SOLTON PROJECT 100 / EKO RITMO 20

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"This is the last out of four videos of songs made entirely with our Solton Project 100. Or almost - We're using it along a few hits and bangs from the EKO Ritmo 20 - a very nice sounding Italian drum machine with individual volume controls for each sound.

For effects we're using two 1980s, grade B rack units - the half rack format LEM FX 22 and the Vermona DEG 50 Echo. The LEM FX 22 is a multi-effect with a combo mode that lets you engage two effects at the same time. The Vermona DEG 50 is actually part of our secret weapons arsenal - a pretty crappy and noisy Digital Delay rack unit but the chorus modulation has that magic wonk.

The Solton Project 100 is maybe the coolest name for a synth we've ever heard - prove us wrong in the comment section :)"

"Introducing" the DR BÖHM DIGITAL DRUMS

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

You can find additional posts featuring the Bohm Digital Drums here.

"Dr. Böhm Digital Drums in action - that's HERR DOCTOR to you thank you very much.

We love these when they work - we hate these when they don't work.
They're notoriously hard to service - this one was no exception.
It could be the most advanced auto accompaniment unit out there - change my mind in the comment section.

We thought Dr. Böhm Digital Drums could use an in-depth video of the auto accompaniment section alone.
The videos out there present this device as a "Italo Disco Machine" - when it's actually so much more.
It has 180 different auto accompaniment arrangements, and the 4 instrument voices have more than 60 individual preset sounds at your disposal.
The variety and range of stuff that comes out of this thing is really not bad - comparing it to other machines of the same era, the Solton Programmer 24 and the CRB Computerband 2000 - Dr. B comes out ridiculously more versatile.

We used almost no effects used in this video, the compositions are improvised one-takes that we came up with on the spot without preparation.

This specific machine was modified - it had six mysterious, extra potentiometers in place already when we bought it - but they weren't hooked up to anything internally - probably a botched project from the previous owner.
So we asked one of our techs to wire them up to modify the Bass, Mono 1 and 2 sections with individual volumes and the internal, on-board cut-off filter.

The result is not bad - for all types of Electro and Electronica obviously, Pop or Ambient textures for sure, even Musique Concrete-leaning experimentations.

Big thanks to Ludus Pinski here in Florence for wiring this up for us, and to Ondrej Pavelka in Prague Czechoslovakia, for sorting out the rest."

"Introducing" the DUBREQ PIANOMATE

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

Introducing in quotes as the Pianomate isn't a new product. You can find pics and an additional demo of one in previous posts here. Don't miss the Crumar Performer at the end of the video above.

"There really are quite few instrument that are uniquely different than others.

The Dubrec Pianomate is uniquely different - we've never seen anything like this before - have you? The comment section is all yours.

Even before it made it to Italy we realised - right off the bat - that we were going to use this in all kinds of ways.

This video is just a few quick ideas recorded off the cuff - a first scratch on the surface - there are so many more applications for this tool :

Effects you can run it through ( a good Leslie effect would make this thing shine)

Switching the trigger bars around (why didn't we think of that for this video damnit) and on and on.

It's truly a new dimension in sound."

Solton Project 100 - Part 3

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

Solton Project 100 posts

"Imagine an underground spa in mid level hotel in an episode of Miami Vice.
This would be the scene when the New Age cult members slipped Tubbs a Roofie and lured him into the spa at night.

We're using the Solton Project 100 along with the EKO Ritmo 20 - a very nice sounding Italian drum machine with individual volume controls for each sound.
For effects we're using two 80s grade B, rack units - the half rack format LEM FX 22 and the Vermona DEG 50 Echo. The LEM FX 22 is a multi-effect with a combo mode that lets you engage two effects at the same time. The Vermona DEG 50 is actually part of our secret weapons arsenal - a pretty crappy and noisy Digital Delay rack unit but the chorus modulation has that magic wonk.

The Solton Project 100 is maybe the coolest name for a synth we've ever heard - prove us wrong in the comment section :)"

V.A.I. 75 : SOLTON PROJECT 100

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"The Solton Project 100 is a 6 voice DCO synthesizer with SSM filters.
In this video we're only using the Solton Project 100 - and especially its built-in sequencer that's easy to program - great - but oddly enough doesn't quantize whatsoever.
For effects were using two 80s grade B, rack units - the half rack format LEM FX 22 and the Vermona DEG 50. The LEM FX 22 is a multi-effect with a combo mode that lets you engage two effects at the same time.
The Vermona DEG 50 is actually part of our secret weapons arsenal - a pretty crappy and noisy Digital Delay rack unit but the chorus modulation has that magic wonk."

Update: one more demo by Vintage Audio Institute Italia here and a few others here. There was a black edition as well. You can find additional posts mentioning the SOLTON PROJECT 100 including ad scans and pics here.

SOLTON PROJECT 100

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Frankly we're not that well versed in 80s Digital or hybrid synths - MIDI sync, sub menus accessible by pressing three buttons simultaneously while peering into unsexy tiny screens trying to figure out what parameter you're actually tweaking...

It can be demoralising.

But we like the Solton Project 100 a lot - maybe because it looks like the Solton Programmer 24 - and they match up very nicely sound wise as well - more of that to come.

It's a 6 voice DCO synthesizer with SSM filters and came out around the same time as the Roland Juno 106. In this video we're only using the Solton Project 100 - and especially its built-in sequencer - basically just recording patterns and then flipping through the presets to create something.

The sequencer doesn't quantize at all from what we can tell - which is a bit odd - but also kind of cool.

It definitely grants you textures and phrases that you might not have settled for were they perfectly in grid.

Jason Basson made a ton of impulsive videos of the Solton Project 100 a while back - does anyone know what happened to him? [He's still around. You can find some of his Solton videos in previous posts here]

Vintage Audio Institute is a gear vendor and recording facility in Florence Italy.
Follow us on Instagram for gear sales and other fun updates:
https://www.instagram.com/vintage_aud..."

V.A.I. 80 CRB Voco Strings / CRB Computer Band 2000

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"The CRB Voco Strings is an Italian take on the Roland VP-330 - a string and vocoder machine. It has a great sounding string section as a carrier - maybe one of the sweetest sounding string machines that was made in Italy? Change my mind in the comment section :)

The CRB Computer Band 2000 is an analog auto-accompaniment machine with a range of chord and arpeggiator sounds with decay controls, as well as a bass section and a drum machine with individually mutable sounds.

For phasing we pulled out a Schulte Compact Phasing A - kind of a legendary german (duh) effect that still mystifies us a bit - sometimes it's amazingly swoopy - and sometimes it doesn't really do that much at all, no matter how hard you tweak those dials."

V.A.I. 78 : CRB VOCO STRINGS / CRB COMPUTERBAND 2000 / SIEL CRUISE

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"CRB Elettronica was one of many organ manufacturers in the Marche region in Italy. Starting in the mid 70s they did however branch out to produce a very limited number of synthesizers and drum machines for a domestic market where, due to a weak lira and high import taxes, Japanese or American manufactured synths were rare treats.

The CRB Computer Band 2000 is an analog auto-accompaniment machine with a range of chord and arpeggiator sounds with decay controls, as well as a bass section and a drum machine with individually mutable sounds.

The CRB Voco Strings is an Italian take on the Roland VP-330 - a string and vocoder machine.

In this video we're letting the CRB Voco strings process the CRB Computer Band 2000 via the regular audio input, while a third player, the Siel Cruise, a lovely Mono / Poly machine, is connected as an external carrier signal, via the instrument input."

V.A.I. 77 : CRB VOCO STRINGS / CRB COMPUTERBAND 2000 / SIEL CRUISE

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Combining two very rare oddballs - both manufactured by CRB Elettronica in the late 1970s : The CRB Computer Band 2000 and the CRB Voco Strings.

The Computer Band 2000 is an analog auto-accompaniment machine with a range of chord and arpeggiator sounds with decay controls, as well as a bass section and a drum machine with individually mutable sounds.

The Voco Strings is CRBs take on the Roland VP-330 - a string and vocoder machine. Were there any other commercially produced vocoders in Europe apart from this one and the Sennheiser VSM-201? Let us know in the comment section.

We're letting the CRB Voco strings process the Computer Band, via the regular audio input, while a third player, the Siel Cruise, a lovely Mono / Poly machine, is connected as an external carrier signal, via the instrument input.

More videos of this lovely combination will be going up soon.

Vintage Audio Institute is a gear vendor and recording facility in Florence Italy."