Wersi Analoge Bass Synthesizer AP-6 / The Wersi AP-6 Baß (Bass) Synth

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"In 1977 German organ company released the two in one Bass Synthesizer AP-6. Its a bass syntheszer and a bass guitar synthesizer in one with a quarky glide setting named "Hawaii" which worked as a slide guitar function presumably to play Hawaiian style slide guitar riffs.

Billed as two instruments in one: an Electric Bass Guitar and Synthesizer, this compact light-weight instrument from German organ builders WERSI was aimed at keyboard and organ players. The purpose was to give the organist/keyboardist some Bass Guitar and Synthesizer sounds they could incorporate into their performances. It is a monophonic analog synth with funky controls, decent sounds and a unique character.

The Bass Guitar sound is actually very realistic, really capturing the sound of an electric bass guitar or acoustic bass. It has an attack control called "On" that lets you adjust the initial attack to make it sound like a picked bass or a fingered bass. A "Damp" control is essentially a sustain envelope that can be used to create more of a muted bass sound.

The Synthesizer section is pretty basic, and definitely designed using organ player lingo as opposed to synth player lingo. There a five flute stops (sine) from 16', 8', 4', 2', to 1', two brass stops (sawtooth) at 16' and 8' and a woodwind stop (square) at 8'. Multiple stops and waveforms can be simultaneously engaged to create more complex tones. These waveform sections, as well as the Bass Guitar section, have independent volume controls to balance their mix.

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WERSI Bass Synthesizer

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"This is a vintage synthesizer from the German company, Wersi. As you'd expect from German engineering, Wersi is the BMW of synthesizers and organs.

FEATURES & CONTROLS
36 keys cover the C below a bass guitar open E string up to the B on the 16th fret of the G string without using the glide control. Push buttons select 2 bass guitar synthesized tones: 1) bass guitar, 2) damped bass guitar. Then there are eight synthesized pipe organ tones: 3) 16' sawtooth wave, 4) 8' sawtooth wave, 5) 8' square wave, 6) 16' sine wave, 7) 8' sine wave, 8) 4' sine wave, 9) 2' sine wave and 10) 1' sine wave. Any or all voices can be combined together. A pitch control on the rear panel 'tunes' the unit to different reference frequencies, if desired (say, when your guitarist thinks he's SRV and tunes his guitar half a step low).
SOUND
As mentioned, the bass guitar sound is excellent. Add in some of the deep, growly pipe organ sounds of the 16 and 8 foot pipes with a rotating speaker effect and you can mimic some of today's sounds easily."

CONNECTIONS
There is a high and low output, both TRS 1/4" and a 'pedal' input to control this unit from bass foot pedals. See photo of rear panel. Of course, a power cable is required and I will include the rather unique one that came with the unit."


The Wersi Bass Synthesizer YouTube via AutomaticGainsay

"The unit in the video is a Wersi prototype of this model; it looks smaller and has different switches and knobs, but the sounds are the same.

WERSI BASS SYNTH Rare German Vintage Analog Synthesizer SN MS 36011077

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"Starting productin in 1977, this keyboard was advertised as two instruments in one: an Electric Bass Guitar and Synthesizer, this compact light-weight instrument from German organ builders WERSI was aimed at keyboard and organ players. The purpose was to give the organist/keyboardist some Bass Guitar and Synthesizer sounds they could incorporate into their performances. It is a monophonic analog synth with funky controls, great sound and a very unique character.

The Bass Guitar sound is actually very realistic, really capturing the sound of an electric bass guitar or acoustic bass. It has an attack control called "On" that lets you adjust the initial attack to make it sound like a picked bass or a fingered bass. A "Damp" control is essentially a sustain envelope that can be used to create more of a muted bass sound.

The Synthesizer section is pretty basic, and definitely designed using organ player lingo as opposed to synth player lingo. There are five flute stops (sine wave) from 16', 8', 4', 2', to 1', two brass stops (sawtooth) at 16' and 8' and a woodwind stop (square) at 8'. Multiple octave and waveforms can be mixed together to create more complex tones. These waveform sections, as well as the Bass Guitar section, have independent volume controls to balance their relative mix.

There is even a filter section—a formant filter referred to as "Wah-Wah"—that the brass (sawtooth) and woodwind (square) waveforms can be effected by in either automatic or manually adjusted modes using the "Wah-Wah" slider. There is no frequency cutoff or resonance knobs or anything like that, just an "On" switch, direction switch ("Up/Down"), a manual switch, and a "Rotor" (auto) switch. A simple envelope section is available with attack and sustain parameters.

A unique "Glide" slider can be used to pitch shift the keyboard by an entire octave. The octave shift can also be automated up or down at variable speed. A really interesting feature is the "Hawaii" button—an intermittent switch that drops the pitch by a half-tone. It is effectively like a pitch bend but only goes down and at a quick fixed rate. A Vibrato effect is available as well, with rate and depth controls and either continuous or delayed modes.

This instrument is in amazing condition, even without considering it's age. Believe me, this is a real find. (Uh-oh, I'm starting to regret putting it up for sale. I love this little keyboard!)"

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WERSI BASS SYNTHESIZER AP-6 - beautiful little analog mono synthsizer

Published on Jan 24, 2014 NoiselabCH·7 videos

"Exploring some of the sounds of the WERSI Baß-Synthesizer AP-6, a rare monophonic analog synthesizer built in 1977. NO EFFECTS, only pure WERSI BASS Synthesizer sound.

The sometimes called WERSI BASSIE has a very warm sound and a neat formant filter. Simple but fine modulation possibilities, in fact two LFOs, which can't be used with all sounds though. The E-bass simulation is pretty good, unfortunately no filtering here. All divided sounds coming from 1 osc only can be selected together resulting in a fat, sometimes organ like sound. Good monosynth for basses, flutes, funky leads but due the lack of external control mainly a players synth. That said, there's a multiple pin connection on the rear for external control with WERSI organs, foot-keyboards, a tech could possibly find out how to trigger it. I didn't find any schematics though.

Find more infos on vintagesynth.com:
http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/wersibasssynth.php

As usual simply recorded with an IPhone, played through a EDEN Bass amp - no effects. I'm not a keyboard player so appologize for the very basic fingerplay ;-) Just looking for sounds...

Be the synthforce with you, Darth NoiseLabCH"

WERSI AP-6 Analog Baß Bass Synthesizer Suitcase Synth

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"Wersi Bass Synthesizer... modified to run on U.S. current. This synth sounds absolutely fantastic with the richest, deepest bass tones, and if you've ever considered adding a bass synth to your setup, this is the one! All buttons, switches, and sliders work perfectly, except for the wah wah slider control. Otherwise,all other controls and functions work perfectly (inlcuding the Wah Wah button controls). This unit was been looked over by my tech at Electronic Innovations in St. Clair Shores, Michigan.

Billed as two instruments in one: an Electric Bass Guitar and Synthesizer, this compact light-weight instrument from German organ builders WERSI was aimed at keyboard and organ players. The purpose was to give the organist/keyboardist some Bass Guitar and Synthesizer sounds they could incorporate into their performances. It is a monophonic analog synth with funky controls, decent sounds and a unique character."

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WERSI Bass Synth

YouTube via phlattgetit — February 13, 2010 —

"Another version (I believe the factory version) of the Wersi bass synth. The music at the beginning is the same synthesizer multi-tracked."


via this post on Retro Synth Ads on the 1977 Advert for the WERSI Bass Synth. You'll find the write-up and one more video there.

Wersi Bass Synthesizer Demo

ZOOM0004 Published on Feb 3, 2016 Claudio Corona

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"It is a rare gem, sounds absolutely awesome with some funky effects like the wha-wha.

I have researched for 2 years an analog synth that as well as synth leads has an electric bass sound that reproduces a Fender Precision E.bass with character This is the one. I produced an album with this. Amazing.

For the left hand keyboard player this is precious. Stevie Wonder warm bass sounds as well.

The case has some scratches and sign of use.

I once was obsessed about this and because it has an old socket where you can connect a Wersi Pedalboard (if you find it!) I thought to add MIDI and spent months in finding the manuals which I eventually found by a German guy still working for Wersi. (It's a photocopy). He would have never sold me the original. It hasn't got MIDI. But you could add it.

Please see my impromptu jam with the synth to show it in action."

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Wersi Bass Synthesizer

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"Wersi Analog Bass / Brass Synthesizer. Features multiple waveform generators and waveform sound contours with ADSR functions. Reproduces perfect bass guitar and has rear output for a Wersi pedal board (not incuded). Produces realistic brass sounds. Great for brass lead riffs. Includes Wah and Transpose slide bars, adjustable pitch control and simulated rotor control. Integrated vinyl road case with handle."

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Wersi Bass Synthesizer

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A search here on MATRIXSYNTH for Wersi Bass Synthesizer will bring up some videos.

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Wersi Bass Synth from 1977

Published on Aug 30, 2013 se7ense7·146 videos

"Some random button and keyboard bashing on this Wersi Bass synth I found at the local flea market for a rather good price (first decent find ever!) considering the current value of analog VCO monosynths). I got it in good working condition and it's really mint.

The controls are a little quirky - but I love quirky."

Exploring the Wersimatic WM 24

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"We thought there wasn't really anything decent info out there on this rarity so here's a video that sheds some light on the Wersi Wersimatic 24 A & B units.

Wersimatic 24 is an analog drum machine, bass / chord arpeggiator generator similar to the Elgam Carousel, Elka Wilgamat, Godwin Drummaker 45 and Böhm Solist units, The Wersimatic 24 was manufactured in Germany in the early 1970s.
These were also part of various model Wersi organs of the era, such as the Helios that featured the "Wersimatic II" auto-comp section and they seem to be identical in controls and sounds.
The Wersimatic 24 is a bit different than your regular auto-accompaniment machine since the keyboard is a separate instrument: it holds the circuit boards and sound generators for the melodic section and sports its own volume slider and audio jack output.
The keyboard is powered by the drum machine unit via a DIN cable though, and the tempo is regulated on the drum machine as well.

24 drum patterns with 8 mutable sounds
12 rhythmic chord/bass/arpeggiator patterns
Bass section with one sound
3 chord sounds
2 arpeggiator sounds (the second arpeggiator sound is not functioning at the moment)

The bass covers two octaves, which is rare for this type of machine (the Elgam Carousel, Elka Wilgamat has a one octave bass section only) and can generate almost synth like arpeggiator patterns.

We like this machine a lot, especially the bass section and the drum sounds are really raw and industrial sounding.

Sorry for dirty fingernails, it's black paint residue - not dirt - promise.

Vintage Audio Institute is a gear vendor and studio in the hills of Florence."

Wersimatic posts

WERSI BASS SYNTH

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"Offered for sale is this rare German Wersi Bass Synth in very good cosmetic condition and excellent working order.

It was serviced and calibrated about a year ago, and is in perfect working order aside from the attack pot for the bassguitar, which has no effect. Fortunately, the bassguitar voice sounds brilliant as is - just the right amount of bite - quite convincing.

This fine little monophonic synth is a testament to German design and attention to detail - it's very expressive, sounds wonderful and plays beautifully. There are plenty of modulation and expression options and it's very easy to conjure up a wide range of warm rich analogue synth sounds.

It's in very good condition for its age - see photos below for details - there are minor scuffs and scratches to the finish (see photos below) and some joints of the wooden case have been repaired. Overall a good example of this rare and fabulous-sounding synth and a chance to stand out from the crowd.

Aside from the Bassguitar Attack pot, there are no known operational faults with this unit.
(Please note: it is always possible with vintage equipment that some crackly pots/sliders may develop over time when equipment has not been used - even during a short delivery period - this can usually be easily rectified either by use or with a bit of switch-cleaning spray)..."

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Wersi Bass Synth and Korg Microkorg

Published on Sep 2, 2013 se7ense7·148 videos

"Sounds. Footage. Recording. Music. Self-explanatory.

The Wersi Bass Synth is a mono VCO machine built in 1977 - it's not really a 'preset synth' but it doesn't have standard vco/vcf/lfo controls either. It features a bassguitar sound with adjustable release, a pulse and saw wave which can be filtered with a formant filter with adjustable envelope and lfo (only the depth, speed and polarity) and a sine wave. There also is a pitch envelope (called glide) and a tremolo (adjustable depth and speed)."

The Wersi Bass Synthesizer (high quality)

YouTube via AutomaticGainsay | August 01, 2010

"Here is a high-quality version of the popular Wersi Bass Synthesizer (kit version) video."

WERSI BASS SYNTHESIZER AP-6 | Analog Synthesizer 1977 | HD DEMO

video by AnalogAudio1

"(c) 2021 by AnalogAudio1

Lexicon MPX500 for reverb effects and Korg SDD-3000 delay were used.

The Wersi Bass Synthesizer (Model AP-6) is a weird analog monophonic synthesizer from Germany. Very uncommon controls, uncommon behaviour. You never know if it works as it should. Funny after all. You can combine waveforms with different footages. The filter is a bit of a joke (called Wah-Wah), but the synth has a nice and brave vintage tone. Beware, it's not exactly an acid monster :-)"

RARE VINTAGE WERSI BASS SYNTHESIZER

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"THE WERSI BASS SYNTHESIZER MEASURES APPROXIMATELY 21.25" WIDE X 12.75" DEEP X 6" HIGH (INCLUDING LID/COVER)"

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Wersi AP-6 Bass Synth

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"Rare German bass synth in excellent cosmetic condition and superb working order...

The bass guitar voice sounds brilliant – just the right amount of bite – as near as a 70s analogue synth might get to a Fender Bass through an Ampeg B15N?

The Wersi AP-6 Baß (Bass) Synth is a fine little monophonic analogue synthesizer; testament to German design and attention to detail, it’s very expressive, sounds wonderful and plays beautifully. There are plenty of modulation and expression options and it’s very easy to conjure up a wide range of warm rich analogue synth sounds."

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1982 Vintage WERSI wersimatic CX1 analog drum machine rhythm synthesizer

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"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"

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1970's Wersi AP6

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"Seventies bass synthesizer in good working condition. the low C key sticks and the middle C & D work intermittently but otherwise all functions and keys operate as they should. Comes with lid.

From the web:

In 1977 German organ company released the two in one Bass Synthesizer AP-6. Its a bass syntheszer and a bass guitar synthesizer in one with a quarky glide setting named "Hawaii" which worked as a slide guitar function presumably to play Hawaiian style slide guitar riffs.

The robustly built instrument is monophonic with square, saw and sine waveforms. There are 5 organ stops for playing various octaves. 3 envelope generators are available with attack and decay for the sine waves and attack and decay for the filter envelope. The bass guitar section only has decay available as an envelope.

The filter section is a formant filter which acts like an autowah than a traditional analog filter. There are 2 LFO modulators available LFO 1 is a rotorary style effect and LFO 2 is vibrato effect with a normal and slow setting.

There are 2 slider performance controls, 22 buttons and 10 knobs available for creating and setting sounds. The unit features 37 keys and is built into it's own case with lid for transporting. The output section has two monophonic outputs for low and high impedance."

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Wersi Bass Synthesizer Demo Video

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Published on Aug 5, 2014 Claudio Corona

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"This unique machine has also a fantastic electric bass sound that sounds like a
Fender Precision in an old Fender Bassman Amp.

Keyboard players that want to add dirty, funky and deep bass have now their solution.
No sample sounds like this. And it own pre-amp make a great attack in any amp.

Watch the short video. The synth has different sounds on the video I show only 2."

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