Polivoks Soviet Synth Designer Vladimir Kuzmin Gives an Overview of His Synths

Published on Jan 8, 2018 vladimir kuzmin

"Overview of all instruments designed by Vladimir and Olimpiada Kuzmin."

This one in via Soviet Space Child.

In the following video Vladimir Kuzmin goes over the Polivoks based modules by Industrial Music Electronics (formerly the Harvestman). It's in Russian, however you can enabled CC for your language via the player controls for the video.

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Polivoks Creator Vladimir Kuzmin Teams up with Behringer

Another synth legend joins Behringer. You might recall KORG's Hiroaki Nishijima joined back in 2019. PPG's Hermann Seib joined in 2020. Luigi Scarano of fingersonic joined back in 2019 as well as Mode Machines Michael Thorpe. Robin Whittle of Devilfish fame almost worked out a deal to bring the Devilfish mods to the TB-3 but that fell through and Behringer moved forward without him. Not sure what the story was behind the Jasper WASP and then there's the Swing. It is interesting to see who is willing to work with Behringer and who isn't. You might recall Behringer sued Dave Smith Instruments/Sequential along with 20 forum members, they threatened to sue an online publication, and they created the Cork Sniffer. That said, here's the news:

"Vladimir Kuzmin and Behringer announced today that they have entered into a collaboration to develop a new Polivoks synthesizer.

Vladimir Kuzmin stated: “With great interest have I followed Behringer’s Vision to bring back iconic synthesizers and make them affordable for musicians. For all my life, I have been extremely passionate about synthesizers and I decided to contact Uli to see if Behringer would be interested to design a new Polivoks as I would love to see my legacy live on.

I designed the Polivoks in 1980 at the Urals Vector plant in Russia, while it was produced by the Formanta Radio Factory. The Polivoks has features that are very unusual on most analog synthesizers, which creates this very unique and distinctive sound, often referred to as “Russian synthesizer sound”. For many years it has been my dream to create a new and much improved Polivoks. Uli’s synthesizer Vision provides a fantastic opportunity for me to contribute to the reimagining of my Polivoks and to make it accessible to everyone - a Vision I profoundly believe in and want to be part of.”

Uli Behringer, commented: 'It’s an immense honor to have Vladimir Kuzmin on our team as he is a legendary synth designer. We are extremely proud, we could win him for our ambitious Vision.
This partnership demonstrates again that we welcome collaborations with boutique inventors and manufacturers, as we believe we can perfectly coexist and complement each other. We invite anyone interested in a possible collaboration to contact us at joinus@musictribe.com.'

Here is a great article about Vladimir Kuzmin and his amazing Polivoks story."

Vladimir Kuzmin of Polivoks Fame on His Kvintet Piano, Brass, Organ, Harpsichord and Strings Synth

Published on Feb 3, 2018 vladimir kuzmin

"Piano-strings Kvintet. The story told by its inventor Vladimir Kuzmin."

Note the timbre presets are only Brass, Organ, Piano, and Harpsichord. Additional timbres are created by applying the effects section. Strings are created by adding chorus.

Also see:
Vladimir Kuzmin Discusses the Polivoks
Polivoks Soviet Synth Designer Vladimir Kuzmin Gives an Overview of His Synths

Meet The Inventor of The Polivoks - 33rd Anniversary Campaign

Published on Nov 11, 2015 Андрей Старцев

"This is an official video for the Polivoks’ 33rd anniversary crowdfunding campaign at Indiegogo.

Polivoks - Demo by its inventor Vladimir Kuzmin.

Published on Nov 11, 2015

"This is a demo of the famous Soviet synthesizer - Polivoks by its inventor, Vladimir Kuzmin. If you want to get an original CD, a t-shirt and a large poster signed by Vladimir Kuzmin and personalized with your name, contribute our champagne at Indiegogo."

"Thirty-three years ago in 1982, mass production began of Polivoks, the best Russian synthesizer ever. Today, Polivoks is very popular among musicians all over the world for its unique sound, reliability and great features. Many studios and great musicians use it for their work. Among them are Franz Ferdinand, Rammstein, Godfrap and many others.

Now we have started a crowdfunding campaign so we can release a CD celebrating Polivoks’ 33rd anniversary. It is a superb collection of unique tracks recorded by great musicians from many countries. Most of them were recorded especially for this CD. As a perk, you will get an original T-shirt and a large poster personally signed by Vladimir Kuzmin.

Some unknown facts about Polivoks:

Polivoks was manufactured at the “Vector” military plant from 1982 until 1991, a total of approximately 20,000 units.

The retail price was 600 rubels (around $850).

Polivoks was never exported from the USSR, and it achieved its popularity abroad only after the “Iron Curtain” came down.

One of colour variants of the synthesizer was supposed to be “khaki,” but it was never produced in this colour.

All the knobs on the front panel have dots marked with white paint.

The first batch of Polivoks have knobs occasionally marked with fluorescent white paint, which was used for military equipment.

They were not changed, so several Polivokses have knobs that glow in the dark."

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Vladimir Kuzmin Discusses the Polivoks

Published on Jan 14, 2018 vladimir kuzmin

"Description of the Polivoks in English.."

Follow-up to Polivoks Soviet Synth Designer Vladimir Kuzmin Gives an Overview of His Synths.

Vladimir Kuzmin on the IK51 - 1st Soviet Digital Keyboard with Accompaniment

IK51English Published on May 1, 2018 vladimir kuzmin

"The history of creation the 1st Soviet fully digital instrument with autoaccompanement."

You can find additional videos with vladimir Kuzmin discussing his creations here.

Polivoks Tuning with Vladimir Kuzmin

PolivoksTuningEnglish Published on Mar 25, 2018 vladimir kuzmin

"Original tuning method of the Polivoks synthesizer described by its inventor Vladimir Kuzmin."

Vladimir Kuzmin on the Maestro Soviet Synthesizer

vladimir kuzmin

The creator himself. As most of you know Vladimir Kuzmin was the man behind the Polivoks. Click here for additional posts featuring his name.

Creator Vladimir Kuzmin On His Maestro and VS34 Synthesizers

MaestroVS34(English) Published on Mar 4, 2018 vladimir kuzmin

"The story about Maestro synthesizer and VS34 vocal synthesizer."

You can find all parts in Vladimir Kuzmin's series of videos here.

New ELTA Polivoks M Presented by Vladimir Kuzmin

Published on Aug 18, 2018 vladimir kuzmin

"Video revue of new analog synth with USB MIDI Polivoks-M by Kuzmin/ELTA."

From the creator of the original Polivoks himself.

You can find additional posts including demos featuring the new ELTA Polivoks M here.

Behringer Polivoks Prototype

You might remember back in 2021, Behringer shared that they were working with Polivoks creator Vladimir Kuzmin.

Here's an image of the prototype in standard Behringer desktop & eurorack format.

"Two years ago Vladimir Kuzmin and Behringer entered into a collaboration to develop a new Polivoks synthesizer. Here now is the latest prototype, which is now undergoing thorough testing and hopefully the approval of Vladimir."

POLIVOKS VINTAGE DUOPHONIC USSR SOVIET ANALOG LEGENDARY SYNTHESIZER

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

via this auction

"The Polivoks (also occasionally referred to as the Polyvox; Russian: Поливокс) is a duophonic, analog synthesizer manufactured and marketed in the Soviet Union between 1982 and 1990. It is arguably the most popular and well-known Soviet synthesizer in the West, likely due to the uniqueness of both its appearance and sound.

The Polivoks was designed at the Urals Vector plant, but actual production was handled at the Formanta Radio Factory in Kachkanar, Russian SFSR. It was intended to appear and sound similar to American and Japanese synthesizers from companies such as Roland, Moog, and Korg. The Polivoks was engineered by circuit designer Vladimir Kuzmin with the appearance of the instrument influenced by his wife Olimpiada,[2] who took inspiration from the design of Soviet military radios. Its retail price upon release was 920 rubles and over its lifetime around 100,000 Polivoks were manufactured - sometimes with a production rate of up to 1,000 units a month. But accordingly to information shared by Vladimir Kuzmin only 200-300 Polvokses were produced per month. It means that total number cannot be more than 32000.

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Polivoks FAEMI-M Soviet Vintage Analog Polyphonic Synthesizer

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

via this auction

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

Update: The listing has the FAEMI-M as being from 1968. It seemed a little early to me so I checked my copy of Peter Forest's The A-Z of Analogue Synthesisers. It's listed but without a production date. Right before the entry for the FAEMI-M is the FAEMI children's keyboard which was released in 1972. I then checked http://www.ruskeys.net, but no date is given either. Previous posts refer to the FAEMI-M being from the 1970s. Sound on Sound's article on the Polivoks mentions the FAEMI-M but w/o a date. If anyone defininitively knows, feel free to leave a comment. A couple of interesting comments from that Sound on Sound article:

"The Polivoks is a duophonic synthesizer designed by Vladimir Kuzmin, an electronics engineer who had been the bass player and sound engineer in his student band. Having graduated in 1976, he was inspired to apply for work at the Urals Vector Company by the inventor of the FAEMI, the first commercially successful Russian electronic keyboard. That man was Vladimir Lugovetz, the Director of the bureau that controlled development of electronic instruments at the Vector company, and the father of Kuzmin's future wife."

Followed by "Interviewed by Polish synthesizer enthusiast and supplier Maciej Polak, in 2003, Kuzmin explained: "My first task was to design the spring reverberator, but I also tried to improve the design of FAEMI‑M in order to obtain some modern effects such as portamento and filtering."

Auction details:

"So, the good news: All four oscillator generators are working; I have cleaned the potentiometers, and only one couldn't be fixed, and just one is slightly crackling on movement. I replaced the output jacks with the standard 1/4" jack.

Things I couldn't fix: The vibrato section is not working. Several keys are not working at all, and some of them work when pressed harder.

The external original power supply is unusual – it is combined with the scale pedal in one housing. The pedal works, but it also has a slight crackle on movement.

To see and understand the objective condition, I recorded a video. Please watch below, where I aim to show the specific condition of the device. Despite the problems, it is still alive, and I believe you can either repair, sample, or simply enjoy the time with such an old and unusual synthesizer, even in its current state. Of course, due to these reasons, I have also objectively reduced the price.

The package is fully loaded: synthesizer, original power supply/volume pedal, original 5-Din cable to connect the pedal to the synth, power cable for the power supply, original wooden hard case

Here is some official spoecifications:

Specifications:

Keyboard volume - 4 octaves.

Full sound range (all the registers are switched on) - from F in the controctave to E in the fifth octave.

Output voltage at the load of 100 kOhm - not less than 0.1 V.

Power supply:
-from an external DC source - 12 V +10\-20 %;

Power consumption from AC mains - not more than 15 W.

Current consumed from the battery of dry elements - 350 mA.

Overall dimensions - 610*280*110 mm.

Weight - not more than 10 kg."

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Introducing The Harvestman Polivoks VCF

The mystery module (scroll) revealed.
Now in-stock and ready for shipment from Analogue Haven.
"The Harvestman is proud to present the first widely available modular release of the Polivoks filter circuit. The filter is made via a collaboration with the synth's original designer, Vladimir Kuzmin, and Shawn Cleary of Analogue Haven. The filter circuit is identical to the original design and uses the exact same schematic as the Polivoks synthesizer as well as new old stock Soviet integrated circuits (KR140UD1208 and KR140UD608, not Western "equivalents"). A signal mixer and bipolar CV multiplier were added in order to use the filter within the modular realm but no other additions are present. This helps to preserve the unique and unstable sound character without compromising signal flow authenticity.

First sold in the USSR in 1982, the Polivoks was the first voltage-controlled Soviet synthesizer. Boasting an impressive set of features comparable to Western designs, the synthesizer was noted for its extremely aggressive sound, particularly within the filter. Easy to overload, unstable at high Q values, and self-oscillating with a dirty pulse.



Specifications:
Made in cooperation with Vladimir Kuzmin
Manual and voltage-controlled cutoff frequency
Manual control of resonance
Bipolar CV input multiplier
2-input signal mixer (easily overdrives filter)
Low- and bandpass outputs
Original Soviet integrated circuits - no capacitors used in the design!
Panel size: 10HP"

Click here for more info. via Scott Sebastian Jaeger of The Harvestman as well as bbob.
For more info on the legendary russian synthesizer, the Polivoks, see these posts (be sure to scroll).

Adjusting the Polivoks VCA with Creator Vladimir Kuzmin

Published on Oct 21, 2018 vladimir kuzmin

You can turn on CC and select your language via the player controls at the bottom of the video.

"Рассказывается, как отбалансировать VCA модулятора и VCA генератора огибающей"

"Describes how to balance the VCA modulator and the VCA envelope generator"

SOUNDMIT 2020 - Vladimir Kuzmin - The Polivoks Story - Interview

SOUNDMIT

"We interviewed Vladimir Kuzmin together with Giulio Curiel of New Musical Instruments. Inventor of the Polivoks and other Russian synthesizers in the 70s and 80s, we hear from his voice the story of those incredible years"

Vladimir Kuzmin Master Class on the Polivoks Synthesizer

MasterClassEnglish Published on Mar 2, 2020 vladimir kuzmin

"Original video Master Class was created 3 years ago and was in Russian. All this time I got request from many English speaking people to repeat it in English because they want to know more about the Polivoks. So this is my responce. But to create absolutely new video is not good vecause that original video is as full as possible in details. So I decided to record new sound track with both original speech and my version of English text. This is better (may be not) then to write sub titles. Waiting for your responce. Thank you."

THE HARVESTMAN IRON CURTAIN ELECTRONICS SYSTEM (POLIVOKS MODULAR SYSTEM) NOW AVAILABLE

via the harvestman
Brief audio demo posted here.

"IRON CURTAIN ELECTRONICS SYSTEM AVAILABLE NOW - five systems, first come - first serve - direct from The Harvestman Digital Audio Electronics for immediate shipment. Desktop case by Monorocket, power supply by Make Noise.
The Iron Curtain Electronics system is a modular instrument based on the legendary POLIVOKS synthesizer, created in cooperation with the original instrument designer Vladimir Kuzmin. The Polivoks was the first voltage-controlled synthesizer from the Soviet Union, first manufactured in a military radio factory in 1982 from a special selection of components. It later became notorious in the West for its aggressive sonic character. All modules and system components are compliant with the Eurorack format.

The Polivoks modular voice contains temperature-stabilized sawtooth-core VCOs, VCAs, and ADSR envelopes (two each), combined with a noise source, sample-and-hold, LFO, the famous 2-pole filter, and the suboctave circuit from the LIDER guitar effects processor. To preserve the character of the circuits, NOS electronic components from the USSR were used where appropriate.

The Harvestman has added specialized mixer, multiple, and slew limiter modules for patching these classic circuits into this new modular environment. The Iron Curtain modules have a redesigned user interface towards this goal, with extended controls not available on the original keyboard instrument such as individually patchable outputs, advanced envelope controls, and a plethora of attenuverted control voltage inputs. Packaged in a durable, portable desktop cabinet by Monorocket, the modules sit at a pleasant angle to the performer, with a large flat area on the top of the case for additional modular cabinets or other electronic instruments to be stacked above.
More Iron Curtain Electronics modules will be released in 2015, continuing the work of Vladimir Kuzmin with selections from his vast instrument design portfolio.

PRICE: $2000 USD (plus shipping) . Send an email to sales@theharvestman.org to organize a purchase, please include "IRON CURTAIN" in the subject field.

INCLUDED:
2x HMR1983 Polivoks Oscillator
1x HMR1982 Polivoks Filter
2x HMR1985 Polivoks Envelope/VCA
1x HMR1987 Polivoks Modulator
1x HMR1984 Lider Suboctave
1x Multiple Miggs
assorted blank panels
Quickstart manual pages/faceplate translations
Colored patch cables, 3 different lengths (23 cables total)
utterly delightful embroidered Harvestman insignia badge
Case: Monorocket desktop case, black tolex. 104HP, lid included
Dimensions: 24 x 14 x 12 with lid (inches)
Weight: 23 pounds with lid
Power supply: Makenoise MINI-PWR (AC adaptor works worldwide.)
Room for expansion: 27HP, +750mA +12V, -250mA -12V

*** NOTE: These first systems do not include the pictured KING SLENDER mixer/slew module, available in January 2015 with improved performance. The price has been adjusted accordingly, and early adopters may add this module later at a discounted price."

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ПОЛИВОКС синтезатор POLIVOKS Synthesizer (1982) Cafe Moskwa

Published on Sep 10, 2019 RetroSound

(c) 2019 vintage synthesizer track by RetroSound

all synthesizer sounds: #Polivoks Analog #Synthesizer (1982)
drums: E-MU Emax samples
recording: multi-track
fx: reverb and delay

Polivoks Duophonic Analog Synthesizer
Made in #USSR 1982-1990

Designed by Vladimir Kuzmin and produced at the Formanta Radio Factory in Kachkanar
2 VCOs, FM, 2 ADSR, Glide, 2 LFOs, ADSR loop function,
The nice filter that can be switched from low pass to bandpass and two envelopes that can be looped over the AD sections.

ПОЛИВОКС синтезатор POLIVOKS Synthesizer (1982) ЭЛЕКТРОНИКА

Published on Dec 29, 2018 RetroSound

"(c) 2018 vintage synthesizer demo by RetroSound

all synthesizer sounds: #Polivoks Analog #Synthesizer (1982)
drums: LinnDrum
recording: multi-track
fx: reverb and delay

Polivoks Duophonic Analog Synthesizer
Made in #USSR 1982-1990

Designed by Vladimir Kuzmin and produced at the Formanta Radio Factory in Kachkanar
2 VCOs, FM, 2 ADSR, Glide, 2 LFOs, ADSR loop function,
The nice filter that can be switched from low pass to bandpass and two envelopes that can be looped over the AD sections."