rare birds: Welson Ritmo / analog drum and accompaniment unit

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

Also see this one from 2022 with a smaller keyboard controller.

"The Welson Ritmo was a accompaniment unit intended as an add-on to some of Welson's organ line. It consists of a rhythm unit, a bass section, a chord section and an arpeggiato section. All sounds are of course fully analog. It is very similar in features and sound to the Elka Wilgamat, Böhm Böhmat and Wersi Wersimatic CX1. They are actually built around the same chipset family (SGS M2xx), but the Ritmo cannot be programmed.

It was never intended as a standalone unit so I built a custom keyboard to make it so.

Unit is very easy and straightforward to use with some nice features: for instance you can play it in "free chord" or 'one finger chord'. In the first mode you need to make a 3 notes chord to trigger the arp sound. With one or 2 notes you only trigger the bass and chord sounds, this make for some nice performance variations. The bass section can be set to 'walking bass', and in this mode you also need 3 notes to trigger the melody.

In 'one finger chord' you play a major chord with one key. There is a pedal input on the back to make the chords minors. I also added a switch on the keyboard to alternate between major and minor chords when playing in the "one finger chord" mode.

Other nice features are "keystart" (obvious functionnality) and 'memory' which holds the played notes (and rhythm). And like almost all the preset rhythm units you can combine different rhythms together."

Pics via SALES.OHMSTUDIOHM@GMX.FR

CLICK FOR MORE »

Wersi Wersimatic CX1 / CX2

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"Demo of a Wersi CX1 I just serviced. Showcasing the general functionality of the instrument by fiddling with some presets I made.

This unit is actually more a CX2 since it was upgraded at some point to a CX2. This was a possibility given by Wersi when they released the CX2 not too long after the CX1. Basically it replaced the full analog drum sounds with 12 bit PCM drum samples. Otherwise the CX1 and CX2 shared the same analog arranger and programming unit. There are still 4 analog drum synthesized sounds in the CX (maracas, claves, tambourine and "synthdrum", the latter being only manually triggered).

The CXs also have 3 SSM2044 filters for the 3 analog parts (bass, chord and arpeggio) and it features a great Wersivoice BBD triple chorus card to give that ensemble sound to the string presets sounds (check my videos about these units if you dont know how they sound).

Both drum and arranger parts are programmable and you can store your own 16 presets, in top of the 48 builtin presets. Instant 80s and italo disco sound with this unit. Very close in philosphy and sound to the mlighty Bohm Digital Drums, with the latter being a much more advanced unit though."

WERSIMATIC CX1

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Here’s some more Wersimatic CX1 for you - a hella stylish auto accompaniment unit made in Germany when the going was good - the early 80s.

The machine looks like a obsolete computer terminal and sports 4 sections :

Analog Drum machine
Bass section
Chord section
Arpeggiator section

We modded this one quite a bit - with separate volumes and outputs for the bass, chords, strings and of course the drum section.
We're routing the separate outs to a ton of different effects:
The Compact Phaser effect is an odd one - it could be a Vermona prototype - it sounds like the Vermona Phaser and looks very nice and stylish for a one off.
It's sitting next to the Compact Schulte Phaser and you can see the resemblance in design."

THE WERSIMATIC CX1

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Introducing the Wersimatic CX1 - a stylish auto accompaniment unit made in Germany in the early 80s.

It sports 4 sections :

Analog Drum machine
Bass section
Chord section
Arpeggiator section (it’s maybe more like a second chord generator)

Each section can be muted, individual drum sounds can be muted.
This specific unit was modified with independent volume control for each section - those are the extra knobs on the front panel - as well as separate outputs for each section in the back.
The drum patterns, the chord and arpeggiator sections are all programmable.

The CX1 was followed by the CX2 - which is basically the same machine but with 12bit sample drums instead of the CX1’s analog drums - it seems the bass, chords and arpeggiator sounds and patterns are all the same on the CX1 and CX2. The CX2 sports an additional row of buttons for programming purposes but those are available on the CX1 as well - the row of buttons on the left has a third submenu."

Additional WERSIMATIC CX1 posts

WERSI CX2 WERSIMATIC Analog Groove Box 1985 | HD DEMO

video by AnalogAudio1

"(c) 2021 by AnalogAudio1

In the beginning of the video I added a little reverb from a Lexicon MPX500 on the drums, all other sounds came directly dry from the CX2.

Wersi WERSI MATIC CX2 is a programmable rhythm machine / accompaniment from Germany.

The CX2 has preset rhythms and is also programmable. The drums are digital 8-bit samples of real drums. The CX2 It's micro processor controlled, but it has analog sound generation for the accompaniment. A kind of "solina string ensemble" is also on board. Tape interface for storing own patterns onto tape - like on analog synths as Korg Polysix or Roland Juno-60. The Wersi CX2 is the successor of the CX1, which is essentially the same, except the drums. The earlier CX1 has fully analog drum sounds, whereas the CX2 uses digital samples.

The CX2 was also included in Wersi organs of the day. It's similar to the 'Böhm Digital Drums'."

Additonal WERSI CX2 posts

Wersi CX1 Wersimatic

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

via this auction

Service:
Recap of PSU
Voltage regulators (7815/7915) are replaced by new ones.
The keyboard contacts were serviced.
Push switches were serviced with IPA.
Several suspicious looking solder joints were reflown.
A better power cable was installed.
220V/50 Hz.

CLICK FOR MORE »

1982 Vintage WERSI wersimatic CX1 analog drum machine rhythm synthesizer

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

via this auction

"Wersi WERSI MATIC CX1 is a programmable rhythm machine / accompaniment from Germany.

The Wersi CX-1 is a Preset Rhythm Accompaniment and Drum Computer. It offers 64 presets with analog based sounds for drums and rhythm accompaniment. It has 3 sounds for bass, 5 for rhythms and 5 for accompaniment sequences. There is no sound editing of the internal synthesizer but the rhythm and drum sequences are user programmable and can be stored internally or via tape interface.

The CX1 has preset rhythms and is also programmable. It has analog sound generation for the drums and the accompaniment. Tape interface for storing own patterns onto tape – like on analog synths as Korg Polysix or Roland Juno-60. The drums sound a bit like the Korg KR-55.

The CX1 was also included in Wersi organs of the day.

Original receipt from 1983 $2,124

Original User Guide

Original Technical Data / Assembly Manual"

CLICK FOR MORE »

WERSI CX1 WERSIMATIC Analog Groove Box 1982 | HD DEMO

Published on Sep 6, 2015 AnalogAudio1

"(c) 2015 by AnalogAudio1

In the beginning of the video I added a little reverb from a Dynacord DRP20 on the drums, all other effects came from the CX1 itself.

Wersi WERSI MATIC CX1 is a programmable rhythm machine / accompaniment from Germany.

The CX1 has preset rhythms and is also programmable. It has analog sound generation for the drums and the accompaniment. Tape interface for storing own patterns onto tape - like on analog synths as Korg Polysix or Roland Juno-60. The drums sound a bit like the Korg KR-55.

The CX1 was also included in Wersi organs of the day."

WERSI - "Funky" Wersimatic CX1 ...(1982)

YouTube Uploaded by premiumexpert on Aug 6, 2011

"Soundcheck : Analog Drums + Synthe Bass + Wah Guitar + Clarinets
(some reverb added)"