NYZ DRN4 DECLASSIFIED

Exclusive mix on SoundCloud:


And a track from the release on Bandcamp:


Tracklist:

1. NYZ_FMMGKSQ_43t
2. ISR_16x16_WCM
3. CSN [excerpt 2 mono]
4. SWI_r170_16x32x32_B
5. SWI_FM1#16
6. NYZ-1_1#08_A [finite downsized]
7.CSN1 [excerpt 1 mono]

Be sure to see the MATRIXSYNTH exclusive further below!

FM EXPLORATIONS AND MICROTONAL DRONES FROM NYZ (AKA DAVE NOYZE, DAVID BURRASTON, NOYZELAB, BRYEN TELKO)

This is the first release by NYZ and is a superb musical collection of research areas classified to internal Noyzelab operations. Not even .MEDS label were informed of the secret processes underlying its creation, excepting that we know it involved Frequency Modulation (FM) synthesis! We have not been given any information regarding when this work was recorded, but we suspect the material spans at least a decade of David's FM algorithm research on numerous synthesizers, as well his own custom built ear deceiving gear...

According to one reviewer of David's previous musical output he "gleefully disrupts just about every standard convention of musical form you could think of, including those of so-called experimental musics."

Other reviewers have written that :
"His music is a bizarre, yet compelling journey investigating the outer realms of music generated on ancient & contemporary machines." "It's strikingly original audio that doesn't really sound like anything else I can think of." "Utterly sublime. So there you go, a life-affirming slab of mind-altering sound to reawaken you to the terrifying possibilities of creation."

"absolutely wreaks havoc" wrote Keith Fullerton Whitman on reviewing David's last release T. H. Cycle cassette on Important Records/Cassauna .

Cassette releases April 1, 2016

All Audio by David Burraston
Design Tom Knapp

----

MATRIXSYNTH recently asked NYZ why he put together this new album of FM synthesis based explorations, and whether he would discuss some of the process behind it. The declassified information below has been put together by NYZ especially for a MATRIXSYNTH exclusive.

***BEGIN NYZ DRN4 DECLASSIFICATION REPORT***

DC REPORT STATUS: PARTIAL DECLASSIFICATION ONLY
PARTIAL DC STATUS: INCOMPLETE CELLULAR BINARY SPACETIME
PARTIAL DC LEVEL: SEMI-PICTORIAL_TEXTUAL_HIGHLIGHTS
FUTURE DC STATUS: _PENDING

The main reasons for making this album were an interest in FM synthesis in both analogue modular and MIDI/digital mediums. I had worked with digital FM synthesis since getting a Yamaha TX81Z when they came out back in 1987 (which I still have, along with another backup machine with a very hummy mains transformer which bleeds onto the outs). How me and another synth friend used to cry with drunken laughter at preset D11 Hole in 1... :) But after initially wondering whether I had just wasted about 350 UK pounds on an utter piece of shit... I quickly warmed to its better presets, and its very different approach to synthesis yielded enough interesting results early on for it not to get outed.

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New Arcano Systems Gem-8 Retro 8-bit Computer and Chiptune Synthesizer on Kickstarter

Published on Mar 15, 2016 Arcano Systems

"Gem-8 is an 8-bit, WiFi-enabled personal computer and chiptune music synthesizer inspired by the home computers of the 1980s. Back the Kickstarter campaign to receive Gem-8 as a reward.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/..."

Arcano Systems previously brought us the MIDI NES Chiptune Synth as well as the Obscura MIDI 8-bit Chiptune Synth.

Details via Kickstarter:

"Gem-8 is an 8-bit, WiFi-enabled personal computer and chiptune music synthesizer inspired by the home computers of the 1980s like the Commodore 64, the Apple IIe, and the ZX Spectrum. This 8-bit AVR-based personal computer features 256-color VGA video output, PS/2 keyboard input, audio line output with 8-bit quantization, 8 digital input/output pins, and a serial expansion port to connect peripheral devices.

Specifications:

Processor: Atmel Atmega1284

RAM: 16 kB

Video: 256-color VGA

Keyboard: PS/2 (compatible with IBM PC AT scancode set 2)

Audio: 8-bit-quantized line out (standard stereo connector with same signal in both channels)

Peripheral Interfaces: serial expansion port + 8-pin female GPIO pin header

Two peripherals have already been created for Gem-8: a WiFi card and a MIDI interface. The WiFi card allows Gem-8 to connect to the internet using the preloaded serial terminal application. Gem-8 is particularly well suited to accessing online multi-user domains, text-based multiplayer online games, and bulletin board services that use the Telnet protocol. The MIDI interface peripheral connects a MIDI keyboard or other MIDI musical instrument to the Gem-8 computer, allowing users to create their own C64 and NES-video-game-style chiptune music using the preloaded chiptune synthesizer application. The Gem-8 chiptune synthesizer application also features video synth visualization capabilities. Currently, the Gem-8 synthesizer software features 8 waveforms and 4 effects settings for a total of 32 unique patches.

[Middle Pic: Gem-8 MIDI interface and Gem-8 WiFi card (based on the ESP8266-12 WiFi module)]

Using additional applications included in Gem-8 OS, users can set the digital states of 8 output pins, which can interface with external components like LEDs and relay modules. Gem-8 users are also able to set the duty cycles of up to 8 pulse-width-modulation signals, which can be used to control servos or to vary the intensity of external LEDs.

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Rhodes Chroma CC MIDI SPSU Polyphonic Analog Synthesizer SN 30472

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

via this auction

"RC w/ SPSU & CC MIDI Upgrades, Factory Pedals + Polyphonic Aftetouch kit!
S/N #21034105 Made in Fullerton, CA, USA, Pro-Serviced

In 2017, this Chroma was repaired, calibrated, tuned by Greg Montalbano, a world-class synth tech.

This is the ONLY Chroma you will see listed with the following features & benefits:
includes resurfaced top/back cover (bead-blasted, powder-coated)
includes pedals, fully renovated
CC MIDI, with breakout box, & SPSU Power Supply Upgrades --> 100% DAW-ready!
Aftertouch kit included (not installed)
Free Anvil case OR hand delivery to CA/OR/WA/NV/AZ
Exterior: Chassis/Cabinet/Panels:
Membrane panels are working perfectly, all LEDs are bright, all sliders function, and are original.
Renovated original cherry cabinet: dark walnut w/ semi-gloss finish (see pics).
No rust/corrosion present in the chassis of the synth itself.
Some light oxidation on some contacts (see pics), they all function 100%
Interior
CCMIDI+ CPU Board (with the MIDI Breakout Box):
Channel motherboard, I/O Board, EQ Boards all in Excellent shape
All 8 Voice Cards (0-7) look great and tune PERFECTLY.

CC+ Midi Upgrade and Breakout box (pictured)
This CC Midi Upgrade offer CC+ parameter control from BCR2000 or other common MIDI control surfaces.

SPSU
The SPSU power supply greatly reduces emitted heat, and reduces the transformer weight of this unit. See rhodeschroma-dot-com for more details."

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Hartmann Neuron Synthesizer w/ Spare Parts

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

via this auction

"Sound designer's dream... The best digital synthesizer ever made. Fully functional less Control 3 pot (read below).

The good:
It has a new motherboard and new hard drive which has the latest OS, sourced from a gentleman in France (I believe they are not available anymore); spare pot caps, spare mushroom joysticks, spare sticks and original user manual and box (AC cord included).
All keys, pots, joysticks, wheels, sticks, switches, LED, displays work as they should (less Control 3 pot).

The bad:
1/ Control 3 pot does not work anymore (it can be controlled over MIDI)
2/ It has 3 dents / scratches (see pictures):
- Control 3 is pushed 1/4" down
- Programmer has a paint scratch (about 1/2") and pushed 1/8" down
- Paint scratch below Shaper 2 (about 1/4" wide)
3/ Frame is warped (it does not sit evenly on its 4 legs (1/4" play))
4/ Master volume pot cap is grey (not red).

If you are looking for a rare and fantastic synth and can live with the 'not museum condition', this synth is for you."

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KEYS prototype

video upload by Ghost In Translation

"This is the very first time I create a working prototype using multiple of my tactile keys.

Those who follow me on Instagram know by now that I've been working on making an entire tactile keyboard for quite some time. I tested many different designs for the keys, had a few failures, and recently it finally started to work.

The keys feature:
- very discreet
- 1 wire only per key
- pressure sensitive

The circuit to which the keys are connected is my current prototype of the MOTHERBOARD v2.0. It is based on Teensy 4.0.

My goal is to create a 32 keys keyboard...

All my code is open-source:
https://github.com/ghostintranslation

Follow me
https://www.instagram.com/ghostintran...
https://ghostintranslation.bandcamp.com"

Symbolic Sound Kyma X + Capybara 320 Basic System

via this auction
"Basic Capybara 320 system complete with firewire drive interface and Kyma X software CD (once installed you can update to the latest version off the symbolic sound website). It also comes with PDF versions of the Kyma X Revealed instruction manual as well as information on Prototypes and the Tau Editor.

This system has long been the secret weapon for professional sound designers and musicians such as BT, NIN, Aphex Twin, and many others. Specs below.

Imagine the sound designer's dream machine...
• a machine that would let you graphically string together unlimited-length chains of processing and synthesis modules and run them with zero latency on a dedicated multiprocessor computer with little or no impact on your main computer's memory or processing capabilities...
• where you could expand the processing capabilities of your hardware transparently, simply by plugging in more processing cards, because the machine was designed from the outset with scalability and multiple processors in mind...
• where you'd never have to sacrifice sound quality just because you're trying to squeeze more real time processing out of your desktop or laptop computer...
• with FireWire, timecode, MIDI, and 8 channels of 24-bit 100 kHz audio...
• controlled by the award-winning Kyma software with cutting-edge algorithms like granular processing, real-time analysis/resynthesis, aggregate synthesis, and spectral morphing...
• an online community of colleagues at the leading edge of film, music, advertising, and game development...
• a tech support staff that is among the most dedicated and educated in the business,
• and a symbolic, blue LED on the front panel.
Hardware Specifications

Basic Configuration
• four processors installed on the motherboard
• 96 MB sample RAM
• 12 expansion slots
• I/O and external sync (see below)
• External desktop or rackmount case (protects the DSPs and converters from the electrically noisy environment inside your personal computer, and leaves valuable slot-space free to use for other cards on your host computer)

Expansion Card
• two processors installed on the expansion card
• 48 MB sample RAM (per card)
• Up to 12 expansion cards (for a total of 28 processors) can be added

Inputs and Outputs
• 4-8 channels
• 32-100 kHz sample rate
• 24-bit
• Balanced Analog and Digital (AES/EBU)

External Synchronization
• Word Clock input
• VITC & LTC Timecode input and output

Interface options
• FireWire for Macintosh OS X and OS 9, Windows XP, 2000, and ME desktop and laptop machines"

Hartmann Neuron Synthesizer Keyboard

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
Published on Aug 18, 2019 Neuronium spectacular

"This video shows what it looks like when the system of the neuron "hangs". Inside is a normal PC motherboard with Celeron processor. The LED chains next to the knurled wheels light up completely for 4x before the initialization routine starts.
If it is more than 4x, the system has " hung up ". Then only a re-on and off helps."

A short Demo of Hartmann Neuron Synthesizer

Published on Jun 24, 2019 Neuronium spectacular - previously posted here.

"This video shows the nice sounding of Hartmann Neuron Synthesizer. This instrument was build between 2003 - 2005"

via this auction

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Drumcomputersystem Dynacord ADD-one/ADD-drive/BigBrain

via this auction via the forum

the description is in German, here is the Googlish translation:

"In this auction to offer you a complete Dynacord Sampling drumcomputer System consisting of one ADD-ADD-drive (including the sampling option), and the Big Brain Sequencer. Who wants to know how the system sounds, should the first edition of the Synthesizer-Magazin care.

Dynacord ADD-one
The Dynacord ADD-one has a hammer in terms of sound, handling and editing. The Samplingdrumcomputer ADD-one was from June 1985 to February 1986 from a Dynacord cooperation with the American team of designers Froward Fast Design (former Oberheim). For example, the spring comes the legendary Oberheim Marix-12 and Xpander.

In 1987, the ADD-drive, a RAM with the motherboard has been extradited. This is one of the ADD-an external analog to digital input jack or XLR and a 3.5 "floppy drive to the external sample storage. Without this board RAM is the ADD-one with up to three sample-ROM Paltinen upgradeable.

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"The Singularity of Ray Kurzweil"

via motherboard.tv where you will find the full write-up.
Note the documentary interview with Ray Kurzweil does not cover Kurzweil the synth company, but this should give you some insight on the man behind the company. You can spot some Kurzweil synths in the background. This one sent my way via Fabio Masseti.

Waldorf Microwave XT Shadow

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

via this auction

"Ultra rare collectors item finished in Gunmetal Grey and Black! One of only 666 made (this one is no 269). It sounds fantastic. This one has the nice tapered knobs and the upgradeable V3 motherboard. Built in Fx and Sequence arpeggiator and is 8 part Multi-Timbral.
Fantastic condition, all fully tested and working and comes from a private non-smoking studio. Comes with original PSU.
All knobs also output controller data so this can also function as an excellent midi controller/editor."

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Creating music with science

"Can an old electronic toy make melodies? JACOB ADELMAN finds a festival full of rewired gadgets used as instruments.
Hans Koch stood on stage with the disemboweled guts of a computer spread out on a table before him. He prodded the motherboard, floppy drive and modem with a pin and doused them with salt water. The components -- attached to a mixer and amplifier -- emitted bursts of noise that layered into a collage of static and feedback."

Title link takes you to more including a podcast.

Open Labs MiKo Synthesizer / Keyboard

via this auction

"500GB harddrive. Dressed in an all-new Arctic White Chassis color scheme, the Timbaland Special Edition MiKo will stand out in any crowd.

The Timbaland Special Edition MiKo features E-MU™'s new Proteus™ X2 Streaming Sound Module V2.5 with over 7,000 instruments, including the new Ensoniq™ Urban Legends™ Sound Library that contains the sounds from Ensoniq's ASR™/EPS™/MR™/ASR-X™/ZR™ instruments.

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AMBIKA analog digital synthesizer 6x POLIVOKS

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

via this auction

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CIRCUIT BENT PS2 - LSD: Dream Emulator / B.L.U.E. / GTA VC - Soft Modded, Internal SSD (FMCB)

video upload by LoFiFuture

"Taking on a limited number of these circuit bent PS2s for 2022! https://www.lofifuture.com/storefac96...

And for all the DIYers out there, I'm currently editing the tutorial one how to circuit bend your own PlayStation 2!

This modification starts with a full disassembly and deep clean of the PS2, the optical drive is removed in favour of an internal HDD and a memory card running Free McBoot. (Free McBoot is a custom firmware that runs on a memory card that resides in memory card slot two of the console. It introduces various features to the PS2, the main one being the ability to run game backup ISOs from an internal HDD, via ethernet or from a USB pen drive)

Once the optical drive is removed 23 toggle switches are mounted on the top of the console to control the circuit bends a long with a RCA video out and 3.5mm stereo audio out omitting the need for the original Sony AV cable. 14 of the toggle switches are wired into the traces between the Emotion Engine (EE) and Graphics Synthesizer (GS) chips on the PlayStation motherboard. These corrupt the 3D data running into the GS before they are sent to the video output encoder.

9 of the toggle switches are wired into the Sound Processing Unit (SPU) RAM for some circuit bent audio effects. all 23 of these switches are wired to the same "bend bus" meaning that when two or more switches are in the "on" position they are connected together. Connecting the audio data bends to video data bends results in chaotic and mesmerising cross modulation.

Every game is effected differently by the toggle switches. Some are easy to crash with certain switches. Some games will take everything you throw at it and then some! It all depends on how the game you are trying to glitch out was programmed and how it utilises the hardware we are mercilessly forcing into a corrupted state. It helps to make a "switch map" for any game that like to crash when things get to glitchy, this was you can easily rule out what does and does not work for a particular game.

For example, running the PS1 copy of LSD: Dream Emulator produces some incredible effects but likes to crash when I flick one particular section of switches into action. On the other hand, GTA: Vice city will run with every single toggle switch on and revert back to completely normal visuals.

Includes:

-Circuit Bent PS2 Console (PAL or NTSC, select from the dropdown)

- Aftermarket PS2 controller

-Internal 120GB HDD + Network/HDD card"

Ghost In Translation SYNTH x FX PEDALS

video upload by Ghost In Translation

"How does SYNTH sound like through a distortion and an echo-delay guitar pedals...

Code on https://github.com/ghostintranslation...
PCB and panel on https://ghostintranslation.bandcamp.c...

--

SYNTH is a modular FM polyphonic synthesizer, based on Eurorack physical format it has however no patch cables in the front but has rather MIDI and audio jacks in the back.

It is based on my homemade platform Motherboard, everything is open-source.

--

Follow me
https://www.instagram.com/ghostintran...
https://ghostintranslation.bandcamp.com"

via Ghost In Translation

"SYNTH is a modular FM synthesizer, based on eurorack physical format it has however no patch cables on the front but has rather midi and audio jacks in the back.

This product includes 1 front panel and the 2 necessary back pcb.

Colour option:
You have the choice of simple black (1 side) or bicolour (2 sides, just flip it) black/white or black/aluminum.

Note that the white is done with the silkscreen layer and the 'aluminum' is done with the copper layer so it is not perfectly flat as shown on pictures compare to the black that is the base board colour.

I took the photos on an angle on purpose to increase the imperfections, however they are not as strong when looking the panel straight."

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family meeting: Roland MRS-2 Promars and Roland Jupiter 4

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"Since I just serviced a Promars for a friend of mine I decided to compare it to my JP4.
Both units are fully working, recapped and calibrated. And both are from latter revision with IR3109 filters. Basically they have same motherboard, module board and module control board.

First a quick impro taking advantages of what makes them different: Promars has a second VCO with 2 tuning settings so it can sounds thicker than the JP4, whereas the latter is of course polyphonic and has a builtin arpeggiator and stereo chorus effect.
They share the same CPU and 'compuphonic' technology and have (almost) the same presets.
You can hear when I compare both synths that the presets don't sound exactly the same but this is more a question of calibration and preset values then synth character.
Calibration method are different for the 2 synths and there are slight different adjutements, especially on the filter frequency, width, resonance and hi pass filter setting.
Also i'm quite sure the presets value are a bit different in the JP4 and Promars. Most obvious is the "voice" preset with is one octave higher on the JP4 ! And listening to other presets some a bit brighter on the Promars while other are brighter on the JP4.
But you can observe when I edit the JP4 presets that it's very easy to get the same sound from both unit.

They do get along quite well and their respective particular features make owning the two of them even more desirable."

And some pics via ohm_studi_ohm:

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How the Vocoder Saved the World, Literally

This one in via fabio. Motherboard has a good review on Dave Tompkins' How to Wreck a Nice Beach. You can find it here.

"The brink of nuclear annihilation calls for sound advice over a secure phone line, at least one that works properly. On October 25, 1962, John F. Kennedy pushed the button and spoke on the vocoder. While his voice went to the machine, his body was at the pharmacy, infused with steroids, painkillers and anti-spasmodics. He heard a hiss of static and pushed again. At the other end, British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan heard “garble,” not, “I don’t want to have an incident with a Russian ship tomorrow.” While the US Strategic Air Command was at a DEFCON 3 state of readiness—with no secure way to communicate with the ground—Kennedy’s Brahmin accent was being transformed into “Mickey Mouse/Donald Duck,” a side effect of processing the president’s vocal tract into a binary code. Talk of a “Naval interdiction” of all vessels bound for Cuba was compressed and artificially rendered at 1667 bits per second. The letter R was nowhere to be found.

Kennedy had been using the KY-9, a 500-pound 12-channel scrambler developed by Bell Labs in 1953. He often turned to the KY-9 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a time when a single teletype exchange with Premier Khrushchev in Moscow could take over twelve hours between transmission..."

Click here for all posts featuring Dave Tompkins' How to Wreck a Nice Beach including video.

How to Wreck a Nice Beach on Amazon. Added to the Synth Books section as well.

Ghazala iPad 2 Audio Desk

YouTube Uploaded by qrghazala on May 29, 2011

"I've been sneaking around Apple's garden for a long time, dating back to the Apple II motherboard hacked into my code-munching poly-synth of the early '80's. I've modded iMacs, towers, endless accessories, and I've drastically bent mac-centric code with wonderful result. This movie loosens another brick in Apple's wall, and opens the iPad's usability tremendously.

I know I'm not the only individual appreciating the experimental music apps available on the iPad. I'm anxious to support the developers' fine work. But for musicians, the iPad's interface can be frustrating. Do you really want to use dongles, mini-jacks and flimsy wire to get in and out of the thing?

This audio breakout solves these problems, is easy to do, and is inexpensive.

No bending here, just a quick, theory-true hack based upon iPad docking charts I found online. Not a superdock. No competition for the Alesis breakout. But if you want a slick, basic and functional DIY audio desk, on the cheap, check this hack out!

The breakout board is available at kineteka.com

Be sure to see the photos and REVISIONS, and pick-up the printable schematic at my iPad Audio Desk flickr gallery:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonbear3325/sets/72157626688587705/

This audio desk is really fun to use. Hacking the apple is always a good thing. I hope you'll enjoy the movie! (Let it download for full-screen 1080).

-Reed Ghazala"

Reed Ghazala is considered the father of circuit bending. See the Ghazala label below for more including the Ghazala Thereglyph.

Fender Rhodes Chroma Expander

via this auction

via the description:
"I bought this Chroma Expander in either 1986 or 1987 directly from Fender to use as a backup and programming synth when I was working with Josef Zawinul in all technical capacities. As you can see from the pictures, I added forced air cooling (a fan) to the rear panel and cut an air intake hole on the bottom of the synth adjacent to the power transformer location. I did this mod to all of Joe's Expander's and he had already had it done to his Chroma's. European Jazz Festivals in the summer were not forgiving to his analog synth gear. The fan will run at the same speed regardless of the Mains Voltage selected. Even though we never took this unit on the road with us, it had to be ready to travel just in case.

I have completely rebuilt the power supply. C3 is now 50,000ufd 16VDC rated allowing me to remove the OverVoltage Crowbar circuit and all Series Pass elements have been replaced as well as the rectifiers and electrolytic capacitors. The capacitors have been replaced with 105 degree Panasonic FC or Nichicon types with higher microfarad values. The Dual Channel Voice Card Motherboard has been upgraded as well. The batteries have been replaced with rechargable Li-ion types and the battery holder was replaced as well.

The Midi Converter is from my friend Ken Ypparila at Syntech and is installed internally. I will include a copy of the manual I made back in the day. The midi jacks are not labeled, however, I used patch-bay wiring convention of Send upper and Receive lower...

Shipping will be expensive. Roughly 60 lb.'s and because of double boxing the packaging will be 50 inches X 20 inches X 15 inches. "

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Hohner String Performer

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"The Hohner String Performer was one of the very last effort to release a string synth, in the early 80s I think. This was the only one genuinely manufactured by Hohner. The early ones like the String Melody, StringVox or String Orchestra were italian rebadged ones.
The Performer features 3 strings presets, 1 piano, 1 harpsichord, 1 bass (only on the left part of the keyboard) and a monophonic 'solo' section on the right part of the keyboard only. Just like other 'orchestral' synths like the Crumar Orchestrator/Multiman or the Elka Rhapsody 610 you have individual volume faders for each sound on each side as well as a mute switch per section.
The 'bass' preset overides everything on the left part of the keyboard when selected.
Overall this is one of the most refined string sound you can get, very polished, maybe too polished for some. I like it a lot, I find it very cinematographic.
The solo section is not very interesting in its own but when layered with the strings it adds a very nice lead touch.
The instrument features 3x seperate outputs in top of the general output, and jack input for piano/harpsichord sustain pedal and a volume pedal.
There were 2 revisions made to this instrument, and the only difference is the power supply. The most common you will find is this one and it uses an external power supply (18v DC but you can use anything between 15 and 24 since this supply gets regulated inside the synth). The second one has a built in 230v power supply and you can easily recognized it because it has a red translucent on/off switch.
The builtin power supply probably lowers the tendency to hum and magnetic interference you get with the first one, which can be quite picky on the power adapter you use. But I never had a second version at hand to compare to the first one so i can't be sure.

TECH TIPS:
This is the 5th String Performer I serviced and though they had all different issues one common issue it that they ALL had cracks on one or more PCB, leadind in cut traces.
The design of the instrument is clever but not sturdy enough. The case is very well built and solid and it's very hard to seriously damage it.
But all the 12 oscillators and filter PCBs are socketed to the motherboard which is underneath the keys, and are screwed to a hinge that tends to get bent when the instrument is subject to violent transport, so the pcbs bend too and crack.
This result usually in some mute notes on all poly section (just like if a divider has died) or on some section only, and very often the solo is also dead because of a cracked pcb.
This is one of the synth I would advice not to have shipped, the chances to receive a 100% working instrument is closed to null."