rare birds: Welson Keyboard Orchestra (K.O.)

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"I've seen many string synths and this one is still one of my favourite. It's one of the happy few string synths I keep. I have one always plugged in my studio and it's actually the one I use the most (along with the Arp Omni 2). It's not the lushest, not the smoothest, not the fatest one and yet there is something I'm particularly attracted to. I like the combination of the 2 strings sounds with the harpsichord one. And on the other hand I really like the piano sound, played alone. It's my favorite of all the electronic piano sound I could hear, except for the Farfisa Professional Piano that is the best electronic piano there is (and with dynamic !).
Design is very close to the Elka Rhapsody 610 but I definetly favor the sound of the Welson. Like the Rhapsody it only embeds a double chorus, and that explain why the sound is not as lush as other stringer that uses triple chorus (most of them). Still they sound very nice IMO."

via this listing

"Quite rare italian polyphonic keyboard with 4 sounds: cello, violin, piano and harpsichord.

Very simple design and yet very nice sounding. Check the demo I made.

You can mute evey section with its dedicated switch and you have control over individual volumes, as well as "sustain" for the string presets and "decay" for the keyboard presets.

Inside there is of course a BBD based chorus, using classic TCA350Y chipsets, like many famous string synth: Eminent Solina, Logan/Hohner String Melody, Elka Rhapsody etc

Like on the Elka Rhapsody it's only a double chorus, not a triple one, so string sound is not as lush as on the Solina or Logan. But these strings sounds very nice, better IMO then the Elka.

There are also seperate outputs for both sections. And furthermore the instrument is quite compact and leightweight (13.5 kilos) for a string synth, which makes a great live performer."

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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

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Roland CR8000 analog programmable drum machine

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"quick functionnal demo of the Roland CR8000 I serviced and sell here: https://reverb.com/item/90538580 [pics captured here] as you can see everything is working as it should, the switches in particular are responding perfectly, that's the main issue on those great units.
Programming is also working and user patterns are held into memory thanks to the 3x AA batteries. Recorded with no FX nor EQ."

Korg Poly 61 with Tauntek CPU board upgrade

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"demo of a Korg Poly 61 that was recently upgraded with Tauntek's new CPU board (www.tauntek.com/Poly61newKLM.htm) which adds several functions to the synth that make it more versatile.
As well as extended parameters value range and MIDI Control Change for every parameter, there are some more waveform available for LFO1, DCO2 and a second LFO with 4 possible waveforms (this LFO is permanetly assigned to PWM and can be assigned to DCO pitch modulation instead of LFO1. The latter is always assigned to VCF modulation).
Other nice features are the possibilty to desactivate DCO1, MIDI synchronising the arpeggiator, random mode for the arpeggiator, the ability to use INC/DEC switches to select programs, 80 users programs (vs 64), MIDI OUT and THRU etc Nothing fancy in this video, just live editing the synth to showcase some of the new features."

rare birds: Technics SY-1010 analog mono synth

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"Demo of a recently serviced (and converted to 230v) Technics SY-1010 analog mono synth.
Only produced for the japanese market you don't find many out of there.
Very simple design but very nice sounding, a bit like Roland SH-101.
The VCA initial gain control, continuous oscillator pitch adjustement and fast LFO give this little synth a lot more possibilities that you would first think of.
Extremely compact and lightweight too.

Get in touch if interested: sales.ohmstudiohm@gmx.fr"

Vermona Digital Rhythm Machine

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"First i demo a few patterns I programmed along some of the functionalities like "flam" (which affects either toms or snares depending on the state of the dedicated switch), "solo", "fill", "bass only", "second rhythm". Then I program a pattern on the fly to show how straightforward it is to do (either in "TR" recording or in realtime). After that I demo the presets of the unit and finally I hooked the Vermona to a Roland TR8S to use the latter as a MIDI pad and sequencer to play the DRM's sound."

via this listing

"Analog drum machine from East Germany, often tagged as the "east block TR-808". I think it deserves better than this comparision, since it's a very nice sounding drum machine on its own, with many features for the time (MIDI, optional trigger input and individual outputs etc)

Unit was serviced, calibrated and is in fully working order. You could argue some switches sometimes mis trigger or double trigger but nothing major, and quite normal for a 40 years old technology.

Cosmetic is in very good condition with some wear of course."

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Roland Juno 106 with Kiwi Upgrade

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"The Kiwitechnics Kiwi 106 is a major upgrade to the iconic Roland Juno 106 which adds too many features to be listed here, so just check their website.
Among those the ones I think would alone justify the upgrade are: arppegiator, LFO extra waveshapes with sync possibilities and extra key modes (among which a real monophonic mode and a unison mode with adjustable detune). Here is a quick demo of those features.
Once again i'm only scratching the surface of what's possible with the mod but if you're familiar with the 106 sound and playability you'll have an idea of all the new territories it can cover.
Actually making it quite close to the Jupiter 4 (despite the Jupiter 8 style overlay :-)"

via this listing

"This unit was serviced and upgraded:
- Kiwitechnics Kiwi 106 upgrade was fitted and updated to the firmware v2
- The 6 VCA VCF voice cards were unsoldered and cleaned of their resin coating with acetone and fitted on sockets, so that in the future you could replace a faulty voice without any need for soldering.
- power supply capacitors were replaced
- 16 faders from the control panel (all the fader except for the HPF) were replaced by new ones
- original leds were replaced with blue ones
- blue display was fitted
- clear bender was fitted
- unit was calibrated
- SynthGraphics Jupiter 8 theme panel overlay was fitted. Please note this is based on the Kiwi 106 v1 so there are a few discrepancies in the layout since the upgrade is now in version 2. Only minor differences that would not justify an overlay replacement IMO

Cosmetic are very good with only minor signs of wear."

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Seuential Circuits TOM with Tauntek TOM16 extansion

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"The Sequential TOM was already a great drum machine at the time it was released, with a lot of nice features, especially regarding MIDI implementation. You could play, record, synchronise the machine over MIDI and adjust sample direction, volume, pitch and pan of every sample either on the device or over MIDI, in real time and for every step ! That gives you lots of possible variations. Not many drum machines could could achive that at the time.

And now thanx to another amazing engineering by Tauntek you can have 16 kits in the instrument at all time, without the need to switch cartridges. And even more important: you can swap the internal kit samples as well as the cartridge ones, enabling for any combination of 2 kits you wish. This is impossible with cartridges or other upgrade available, and only possible thanx to Tauntek firmware. And that makes a huge difference. Note that you can only have 15 sounds at hand not 16. The 8th pad from the cartridge layer is always a trigger out message and won't trigger a sound, even if the loade kit has 8 sounds.

You can even make your own kits if you have access to an Eprom programmer.
Check Tauntek dedicated page for more info (http://www.tauntek.com/TOM16cart.htm)
This unit also had its RAM maxed out, expanding the internal 8k to 32k and thus bringing the stock 2,300 notes capacity to a whopping 10,400. And believe me you run very quickly out of memory if you make some complex patterns with different variations.

So here is the demo, i didn't make patterns demos for each of the 16 kits but you'll get the idea, and I didn't go too deep into external MIDI playing/programming but bare in mind you can record instrument tuning pitch, volume, pan and sample direction (reverse) for every instrument on every step.

Here is the timeline:
00:00 stock kit patterns
02:28 TR808 kit patterns
03:56 TR909 kit patterns
05:08 TR606 kit patterns
06:25 CR78 kit patterns
07:17 sound preview of all the kits included in the box
11:18 quick realtime patterns programming using external pads

list of the kits included in the TOM16:
SCI Internal
SCI Basic Percussion
SCI Contemporary
SCI Latin Percussion
SCI Special Effects
Drumware Rock Drums
Drumware Techno Drums
Drumware Orchestral
Drumware Percussion 3
Drumware Hippefex
Drumware Analog Drums
Roland TR808
Roland TR909
Roland CR78A
Roland CR78B
Roland TR606"

Crumar Bit 01 demo with midi controller

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"Here is a demo of this italian 6 voice analog polysynth i'm selling (via this auction)
Unit was upgraded with the great Tauntek firmware and can now be controlled remotely over midi by Control Change with any controller.
In the demo I basically flip through the unit presets and edit some of them on the fly just to show how easy it is now to program this otherwise austere synth.

I didn't demo the bi-timbral feature of the rack. You can have 2 different presets, lower and upper, either layered ("double") or split. Lower and Upper parts can have their own audio output.
Preset from 76 to 99 are allocated for the performance presets and need to be dialed in (you can't use the + and - value switch to select those like I did on the video)."

SN 00522 via this auction

"Italian 6 voice analog polysynth. This is the CEM 3328 version, not the SSM 2044 one, in the rare white colour.

This unit was serviced and upgraded and is in perfect working condition, see video.
What was done:
- power supply capacitors were replaced
- new battery was installed
- Tauntek new firmware eproms were installed. You can now control the unit directly over MIDI with CC with any hardware or software controller
- Midi thru socket was modified so that you can export your preset by sysex dump over midi (original could only export presets through the "tape" function)

It also comes with some goodies (well especially for french speaking person)
- original owner's manual + preset lists (in french)
- original schematics diagram
- original Crumar Bit range advertissement (in french)
- original inspection card from factory (this unit came out from factory in November 1985)

Condition is very good with only minor scuffs to the nice white metal paint."

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Arp Omni 2 with external ensemble FX (Wersivoice)

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"if you've watched some of my videos you know I love string synth and string ensemble FX, I collect the former and build the latter.
I wanted to test how an Arp Omni would sound through a Wersivoice unit.
To do so I used the synth section of the Omni and plugged it to the Wersivoice, since the waveshape of the synth and string section of the Omni are basically the same.
In the first part I A/B the 2 chorus sounds by using a foot switch. It's quite obvious which is what so you'll figure out. As you'll probalbly find out the Omni built-in chorus sounds mellower than the Wersi, which is brighter and harsher. Not better or worse, just a different taste. It's worthy to note the Omni 2 chorus is build around Reticon SAD512 BBD chipsets (so is the Moog Opus 3 btw) and this Wersivoice is build around Panasonic MN3004 (the same used in Roland Jupiter 4 / VP330). Early Wersivoice units (FM76s and WV3 / WV7 pcb) are build around philips TDA1022 and sound mellower. I'll make a demo with the Arp and one of those at some point.

Then in the second part this is when it gets really interesting... Since we use the synth section of the Omni we have access to a full ADSR enveloppe and a resonant filter with control over it by enveloppe, LFO and external pedal.
And this allow for a much wider sound palette.
Thanks to the enveloppe shaping the VCA you can get some string articulations that are not possible in the string section since it has a ASR enveloppe (meaning you can control Attack and Release but there is no Decay and Sustain is always maxed). Great for swell, staccatos, stabs etc
It's also worth mentionning that the release of the ADST (synth) enveloppe is tied to the string section release, this one being the "master" or final release. If you want a long release on the ADSR you have to bring the String release up. This is not an issue, it is the way it is designed and that's one of the drawback of paraphonic design.
And then comes the resonant filter... with it you can shape the tone of the sound to almost choiry / vocaly ones. And you can bring this more lively by using the LFO or an external pedal to open the filter like I did at some point.
And of course you can always run the string section through the Wersivoice, which I did in the last part. And that, when the builtin Omni's chorus is set to phaser mode gives a very thick (sick ?) sound.
Hope you like the video.

00:00 builtin chorus / Wersivoice comparision
02:48 quick discovery of ADSR and filter
05:19 example of ADSR use for string articulation
08:19 example of Filter use for tone shaping
10:56 use of external swell pedal (not on screen) to control filter and then LFO
14:41 BONUS string section in phaser mode through Wersivoice"

Roland Juno 106 Chorus + HPF input mod demo

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"A very easy mod for the Juno 106 consists in adding an input socket that allows external sources to benefit from the builtin chorus and high pass filter (and VCA gain).

This short video illustrate how it sounds with a Yamaha Reface DX."

Vermona ET-3 combo organ + Dynacord Echocord Super 75 tape delay

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"Quick demo of a nice organ / delay in the form of a Vermona ET3 and Dynacord Echocord Super 75.
You can get quite a large variety of sounds with this combo, for 60s pop to experimental droning."

Rare Elex Excelsior EK4 Strings & Brass Synth SN 6937

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

This appears to be the first post to feature one. You can find additional string machines by Elex in previous posts here.

via this auction

"Extremely rare italian string machine, built by Elex (ELettronica EXcelsior), also sold by Hohner at some point. Very close in sound to the Crumar Performer or Elka Rhapsody.

It offers Strings and Brass section, with independent volume for each instruments, a very nice filter in the brass section, as well as vibrato, and the string section has long crescendo and sustain settings.

Unit was serviced and is in very good working order except for the attack in the Brass section that doesn't work. This synth use a very rare SSM2050 chipset as the enveloppe generator on the brass section. This is the same chip used in the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 and the RSF Kobol for instance. It simply can't be found anywhere. But if you are lucky to own one you can most probably fix the attack on the brass section ;-) Apart from that everything is working. Capacitor in the power supply were replaced and synth was calibrated. It uses the typical "ensemble" effect based on a triple BBD chorus, with the same TCA350 chipsets you have in the Eminent Solina, Crumar Performer, Logan String Melody and so many more classic string synths.

Cosmetic wise the synth is in good condition, especially considering the rather cheap build quality. But of course it has some scuffs here and there."

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Roland RS-09 MKII string and organ synth

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++@allrounderplus135
SYNTH IS FOR SALE: https://www.ebay.com/itm/305343063515
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Quick impro and functionnal demo of the underated Roland RS-09 MK2 polyphonic synthesizer. The Roland CR78 is mainly here to gather your attention :-)

Sure it would not be my first choice, and even not my third, when it comes to string synth but the RS-09 has some tricks up it sleeve that makes it worthy of interest. The main one is it's ensemble FX which is a 4 BBD stereo chorus with 2 modes. It's give a very rich sound, especially since it's stereo, and keeping with Roland's tradition of ensemble FX, it sounds quite different than your typical string synth triple chorus.

Next best thing is there is an audio input so you can run your favorite synth through the ensemble FX (and through the filter). Works very well with analog polysynth's pads.

The organ section on its own is not very interesting if you compare it to an actual organ. It lacks the percussive attack and bite of combo organs for instance. But if you consider this section as a way to build harmonic pads it can sound very sweet. And of course you can route it to the ensemble FX which dramatically changes things. Last but not least of its quality is its dimensions and weight !"

via this auction

"Analog polyphonic (paraphonic) poly synth with organ and string sounds.

It has a very nice sounding stereo ensemble fx, based on 4x Panasonic MN3004 BBD chipsets, just like in the VP-330 or the Jupiter 4 (which only has 2 of those). And most importabtly it has an audio input so you can run any source through this great stereo chorus. The audio input even goes through the filter ("tone"). Another very nice feature is its weight and dimensions ! You won't find many strign synth and/or organ you can carry so easily around.

Unit was serviced and is in full working order. The organ "ensemble" switch can be a bit temperemental but nothing major.

Cosmetic it has many scuffs and doesnot look so nice so that's why you can grab it for cheap. "

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Custom made Farfisa analog drum machine with Korg Stage Echo SE-300

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"DRUM MACHINE FOR SALE HERE: https://reverb.com/item/71915584

This is a scavenged rhythm unit from a 70s Farfisa spinet organ. Sounds are of course 100% analog on this one, no IC only transistors and diodes.
10 rhythms that can be combined and only volume and tempo control.
Sounds nice with the tape delay and spring reverb unit Korg Stage Echo."

Pics captured here.

Dynacord Echocord Mini

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"Démo rapide de l'effet afin de se rendre compte de son fonctionnement. Enregistrement brut sans traitement, cela permet de juger le bruit de fond de l'appareil, qui reste très controllé pour ce genre d'effet.
Source utilisée: Yamaha Reface DX

============================================================

Quick demo of the Dynacord Echocord Mini I'm selling just to show that it is in very good working order.
Dry recorded so you can have an idea of the overall background noise of those devices, which is not so bad.
Input used is a Yamaha Reface DX"

Some pics of one via this auction

The seller has one other listed here.

I don't know if either is the one in the video above as there wasn't a listing number or link in the video description. I just thought it was a good demo with the Yamaha Reface DX.

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Dynacord Echocord Mini / Roland MC202 / Farfisa Rhythm Unit

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"Quick demo of a Dynacord Echocord Mini vintage tape delay recently serviced and for sale
(http://www.ebay.com/itm/305463654546 ).
I used a Roland MC-202 to demo it, as well as a custom built Farfisa rhythm unit that is also for sale (http://www.ebay.com/itm/305464352202 )"

via this listing

"One-of-a-kind drum machine.
It"s a rhythm unit ripped from a 70s Farfisa spinet organ and built in a custom case (trying to remain faithful to the original look).
Classic analog drum sounds like the ones you get out of the many boxes of that area (Roland TR77, Ace Tone FR-1 FR-2 FR-8, Hammond Auto Vari etc etc)
It is very close in to the Farfisa Rhythm 10 unit that Kraftwerk used at its beginning.

10 rhythms that can be combined to get some more, controls for tempo and volume. Mono jack output, on/off switch and running on 12v-18v DC (power supply is provided).
Case is DIY so don't expect manufacture quality. YSWYG."

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DYNACORD P20 Programmable Digital Drum Computer / Computer & Drum-to-Midi-Converter

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

Pics and listing links previously posted here.

"Quick functionnal demo of the Dynacord P20.

Though being a very simple digital drum expander the P20 has quite some comprehensive features.

It has 24 builtin sounds and 5 more can be added with cartridges, the same used for the Percuter.

Sounds can be played by triggers or by MIDI, and the unit can be used as a trigger to midi converter. When using MIDI you get dynamics over the sounds.

You can program 90 presets with any combination of sounds (or midi out only), volume, midi notes and channel, dynamics and a very effective 'echo' effect. It's a re trigger features that mimics an echo effect. I demo this features at the end of the video.

There is also a special midi mode where you have the whole 29 sounds available at hands. I demo this also in the video."

Korg Mini Pops 7 with Tubbutec Unipulse Midi interface

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"Quick demo of a recently serviced and upgraded Korg Keio Mini Pops 7.
Every single electrolytic capacitors were replaced, instrument calibrated and fitted with Tubbutec Unipulse card which adds MIDI synchronisation AND triggers to this classic drum machine.
First part of the demo I use an Arturia Keystep Pro to sequence and program the Minipops and on the second part I simply use the Keystep to clock and start/stop the machine, showcasing a few of its patterns."

via this auction

Note auction links are affiliate links. See the site's privacy policy for more info.

"For sale is a cult Korg Minipops 7 upgraded with Tubbutec Unipulse kit which allows for MIDI triggering of sounds and MIDI tempo synchronization.

Unit was serviced and fully recapped. It's working and sounding as it should. Check the video I made."

Pics of the inside below.

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VintageRack process vintage synths

video upload by Igor Vasiliev

"VintageRack (iOS/Mac) - minimalistic and convenient multi-effect app realistically modeling notable retro gear from the early digital era with their inherent aesthetics and atmosphere. ~
In this demo I tried to give some ambience and depth to the sound of vintage synths by adding a little processing with several effects in the VintageRack app specifically for each track. ~
The original tracks, without any processing, were recorded from real instruments and were kindly provided by @ohm_studi_ohm, as were images of these instruments from which they were recorded. On his channel you can find original demos of these synths and other interesting instruments and devices."