MOOG Minitmoog - VEMIA

"The rarest of all the later Moog synths (limited to 2500 and many have not survived well). Cosmetically very good – only issues are: slight hairline cracks on reverse of sliders; small piece missing from underside on E3; minor scratches to panel. In good working order, too, with the exception of a slightly erratic touch response sensor (should have better touch system fitted to all higher serial numbers, though): sync sweep appears to sometimes be the wah-sound intended and sometime affects pitch instead; filter response is (in my opinion) a little quiet and tremolo is almost inaudible via touch controls. Tremolo and vibrato modulation otherwise work fine when applied with touch sensor disengaged! Pitch and vibrato modulation respond well to touch sensor. Attack / Decay work on some of the presets but not others – not sure if this is intended or not? More positively, all presets respond as they should; glide and sustain are working well, so too are brilliance, modulation depth / rate, and glide amount. Despite requiring some minor attention to get this back to 100%, it is a little beauty: bring in the 2 VCOs via the A/B mix knob, slight detune, add a little vibrato and, hey presto, the MinitMoog can produce some instantaneously gorgeous sounds: lunar and Taurus are interesting. Buyer pays postage costs. Fitted with standard US plug (110V) but will supply suitable Maplin voltage converter free of charge for UK and EU buyers."
VEMIA - Click on Auctions, Search, and search for 5692.

ARP Solina String Synthesizer - VEMIA

"Extremely rare expanded version of the famous ARP / Solina String Ensemble, the String Synthesizer. In very good working and cosmetic condition; this has been brought to VEMIA by its Belgian owner to ensure good packing to its eventual destination. Probably 100 or less were made; this seems to be the 35th to leave the factory. Some small scratches on the top; one or two of the light-coloured knob tops are more faded than the others; and there is a small piece of damage to the underside rear edge - but compared with most examples of this notoriously easily damaged synth, it is very good. Classic string ensemble sounds plus a little extra from the ARP Explorer-type monosynth; various methods of interacting between them; and altogether a great chance to buy one of the rarest production musical instruments of all time. With very rare original user manual (scribbled on on pages 1 and 3, but the rest almost unused); extra sound sheet (one side scribbled on); original invoice and guarantee certificate; and copy service documentation for the Solina String Ensemble and the ARP Explorer."
VEMIA - Click on Auctions, Search, and search for 5815.

PPG Wave 360 Wavecomputer - VEMIA

"An enigma, in more ways than one: it clearly isn't working 100% - more like about 50 to 60%. There's quite a loud hum (more a background noise than just a mains hum, not so bad as to be unusable, but still probably needing a noise-gate when you're not playing a note), most of the editing facilities are not working exactly right, as far as I can tell; and several keys for a start need their contacts servicing - but there are some great sounds in it. And although it looks a bit tatty cosmetically (because of the scrapes to the metal sides and edges I decided it was just 6/10 and not 7/10), I think a competent restorer could very easily re-spray those parts of the metalwork, replace some of the missing screws, and turn it into a very good 8/10 machine. And the serial number is very cool, if I'm reading the hand-written felt-tip correctly: 007. Plus CV and gate in and out are an interesting bonus. The keyboard moves downwards when you press a key fairly hard (ah, just been informed by a 360 expert that it's supposed to move, for aftertouch - but I didn't notice differences in the sound when I pushed down) ; and there seem to be a couple of extra knobs at the left of the keyboard (one for simle volume?, a bit noisy). All slider tops and buttons seem present and correct. And those sounds are really interesting....(at least as good as a Wave 2.2, it seems to me). For something this rare, if you are at all competent at fixing early digital keyboards, or even if you just want a source of very usable sounds, warts and all, this would be a real bargain."
VEMIA - Click on Auctions, Search, and search for 5811.

Elka Synthex - VEMIA

"this is an elka synthex the panel is in great condition the wood on the bottom side has scratches. this one is a late one with MIDI. the portamento on it is working but not properly. nothing a tech cant fix, otherwise fully working."
VEMIA - Click on Auctions, Search, and search for 5800.

Oberheim Matrix 12 with Xpander Front Panel - VEMIA

"Matrix 12s seem so difficult to come by that I've heard of this happening before: an original Matrix 12 keyboard with a new front panel from an Xpander. Actually this is a one-owner machine, put together from new parts when Oberheim sold off their remaining stock. All the computing boards are labelled Matrix 12, and all the voice boards are labelled 'Xpander' as on standard Matrix 12s. User and service manuals will be included on a CD in .pdf format. A Frankenstein, but an extremely nice and powerful one, in excellent working order. IEC socket, so a mains lead is easy to provide yourself - or the owner may be able to supply one depending on your country."
VEMIA - Click on Auctions, Search, and search for 5808.

PPG 350 Computer - Sequencer - VEMIA

"Rare and interesting early sequencer from PPG. Has some quirks, but works fine and has some excellent features. Here's Lucid Sound's informal report after servicing it:- 'There were a few 'anomolies' with this, and very little info available on the web, but I've got it to a good useable state. It really is quite an innovative device. There are some great features here, like the ability to invert the notes in a sequence just by pressing a button, or 'immediate playback' where the sequence repeats what you've just played as soon as you lift fingers off keyboard (takes some explaining but it's good, trust me). Two transpose modes, immediate (waits until the end of the current note) or delayed (waits until the end of the loop) - brilliant. There is a sync in/out, which is a high frequency audio clock, so you can sync to tape, or as I did, use a VCO to control the speed of the sequence (great with an EMS). It's 1V/Octave out, positive trigger. A few strange things though: The 'manual' (translated and brief) says pressing middle C starts a sequence or any other key to transpose - not on this one, bottom C is no transpose, all other keys transposing up. There is a Gate output. This works from the keyboard but not from the recorded sequence even though the trigger output does - however even the guy who wrote the simplified manual that's avaailable online says, and I quote: 'there is no word HOW and what these trigger modes are (sorry!)' It'll also do real time recording, and there's a whole load of editing stuff (timing and pitch changes etc). In really nice cosmetic condition too."

VEMIA - Click on Auctions, Search, and search for 5760.

EML Electrocomp 200 - VEMIA

"Excellent condition, rare interesting semi-modular with EML's usual character - both sonically and physically. Very solidly made, with chunky knobs, and a pleasure to use. Working perfectly, and in superb cosmetic condition - I nearly described it as 'near mint' which is pretty amazing for a 35-year-old instrument. Even the outside of the casework is excellent, and the case metalwork is shiny and not at all corroded. A fantastic way to get a slice of early synth history - this was designed before the Minimoog, 2600 etc; a museum-quality example; and a synth with a different character from any other range. 110V US power - but transformers are easy to find in Europe. You can guess the small scale of production when you see that the serial number was scratched on by hand (inside the power cable compartment). Thoroughly recommended. (Peter Forrest of VEMIA visited Jeff Murray, one of the EML founders, in January and saw the actual garage where these machines were made. Great location, really super guy, and excellent synthesisers!)"
VEMIA - Click on Auctions, Search, and search for 5752.

PPG 1002 Analogue Monosynth - VEMIA

"Superb early rare interesting analogue monosynth in excellent condition. I can't imagine there is a much better example of this synth in the world. The CV in is a strange non-linear design, but tuning on its own keyboard is perfect. Thoroughly tested by Lucid Sound, some screws replaced, the whole instrument serviced and calibrated where necessary. It is in excellent cosmetic condition, with the panel almost faultless, and all knobs in original condition. One of the neat (EMS-like) 'magic eye' buttons has lost its iris, so that the orange bit doesn't disappear when it is switched off. The solid wood endcheeks show signs of its age, but look fine, and somehow right. The keyboard is level and in first-class condition. There is a bit of paint scraping on the back panel, visible in the photo. Beautiful."
VEMIA - Click on Auctions, Search, and search for 5743.

Oberheim OB-Mx - VEMIA

"A real bargain: a four-voice OB-Mx, the closest you can get to owning a modern Buchla without spending a lot of money (as it says on the back, 'Custom designed for Oberheim by Don Buchla'). Of course the story is more complicated than that, and there is a lot of controversy about this instrument. Many examples appear to work poorly as well. This one is an exception. It performs faultlessly, has absolutely NO known problems, and sounds great even with its (fairly boring) factory presets. It comes into its own when you use the massive modulation possibilities to create fascinating abstract sounds. Apart from having no rack ears (and one machine screw missing in the top panel), it is also in beautiful cosmetic condition. The front panel really does look like new. Multi-voltage, just uses an IEC socket for mains anywhere (you swap a little switch above the socket to change to 110V). With a good copy user manual. At VEMIA for ease of packing and shipping."
VEMIA - Click on Auctions, Search, and search for 5740.

PPG 390 drum unit (rare prototype) - VEMIA

"NB: THIS MACHINE IS A PROTOTYPE AND HAS NO PROPER CASING. IT IS ELECTRICALLY UNSAFE WITHOUT PROPER SHIELDING. ONLY BID IF YOU ARE A TECHNICIAN OR WILL HAVE IT MADE SAFE BY A TECHNICIAN BEFORE USE. Incredibly rare early PPG drum unit. Search for this on the internet and you will probably find evidence of only one machine - this one! Check the photo to see exactly the same knob pieces missing. The front panel (apart from the little bits missing on one knob and the four knobs missing on the right) is in excellent condition, and doesn't look anywhere near the 25 or so years old it must be. It uses EPROMS for sound storage - one seems to be missing. The amazing thing is that despite its ramshackle internal appearance (the largest veroboard circuitboard is also wobbly, because there is nothing to support the top) it partially works. Four of the sounds trigger and are well usable in all their 8-bit retro glory, and in theory it should be possible to get everything back to working order without too much difficulty. 240V, standard UK mains plug. BUT ONCE AGAIN, PLEASE NOTE THIS MUST BE MADE SAFE BY A COMPETENT ELECTRONICS ENGINEER BEFORE USE."
VEMIA - Click on Auctions, Search, and search for 5738.