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Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Joystick Journeys: The VCS3 Collection
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"Welcome to the weird, whacky and wonderful world of the EMS VCS3. This unusual instrument was developed by EMS in the late Sixties and intended as a portable electronic music studio. Unlike more famous instruments of the day, the VCS3 was initially released without an accompanying keyboard. As such, it was embraced (often by those under the influence of certain mood enhancers) as a resource for special effects. It became an electronic voice for space rockers, psychedelic bands and sound designers. The VCS3 and its big brother the Synthi 100 were used by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to create effects for many programs, including of course, Doctor Who. With clever marketing ("every nun needs a Synthi"), the VCS3 and its electronically identical suitcased brother the Synthi A became mainstays of the European rock scene. EMS itself was a hot spot, visited by many musical stars of the day.
What made the VCS3 so endearing? Why does it claim ridiculously high secondhand prices to this day? Perhaps because, keyboard-free, it invited atonal experimentation. Or maybe because it looked like the flight deck from a Gallifreyan time machine. It certainly wasn't because it stayed in tune! In fact, when the keyboard was eventually released, many musicians quickly discovered that its oscillators were hopelessly undependable, drifting and wobbling like spec of cosmic dust in a solar storm. Maybe its appeal came courtesy of that crazy push-pin routing matrix (which took the place of patch cords, but traded 'em for some pretty nutty cross-talk). It's an awful lot of fun to blindly stab pins into that thing and see what happens!"
Catgirl Synth (CGS) Opens Serge Site
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"I have just supplied pictures of my Serge Modular system to Ken Stone, he of Catgirlsynth fame. He is into the early (pre-STS era) Serge synths, which are easily recognised by their paper-faced and laminated modules. So he has put together a website serge.synth.net which is a growing resource for these rare and beautiful beasts, with pictures of known systems, catalogs, manuals and stuff
If you have any pictures and info about other Serge paper-faces get in touch with Ken via his site..."
Beatie Bop Percussion Synthesizer
via this auction
"A handmade and unique Analog Drum Synth and Optical Theremin. Create cool spacey sounds, bangin' bass drums, ethereal spookiness, synth drones and more. It can be triggered by the onboard drum pad, voltage input, or audio input. Pitch can be controlled by the light-sensor!! Wave your hands in the air."
RKY M-185 Analog Sequencer Module 5U MOTM
via this auction
"Rare M-185 sequencer from RYK, as published on the Electro Music forums, it is based on the Roland Sytem 100M modular synth 185 sequencer module, follows the same basic principle but adds many features. An absolute killer analog sequencer!
There was only a very limited number of pcb's, pics and switch sets available for this project so this now very desirable indeed for anyone with a 5U MOTM Style modular synth.
The panel has been assembled with all switches, including really nice feeling tactile click switches for start/stop and other primary functions. I have also fully assembled the PCB with all parts including V2.1 firmware pic chip. Just needs wiring up and its ready to go! You will need to be reasonably experienced at assembling synth modules to complete this, it is not a project for beginners!
More details of this module and assembly instructions are in the (Rather long!) thread on the Electro Music Forum:
http://electro-music.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27157
This is part of a huge 5U modular synthesiser I was building, but due to moving house and changing jobs I no longer have time to persue this project, so I'm selling up everything in a full life laundry. All of the components have been fitted to the pcb, it has been powered up but will require final testing and calibration. I am a very skilled at electronics and have built many synth modules over the years, I am also selling an Elby Pixie synth which is of rather higher complexity and this module is built with the same attention to detail - all of the components fitted have been checked three times to eliminate the possibility of a wrongly fitted or incorrect value component. Because I didn't get round to installing and calibrating this module I'm selling it as a project with no warranty with no returns rather than a finished item."
J Haible Frequency Shifter FS-1A PCB & Panel 5U MOTM
via this auction
"Jurgen Haible Frequency shifter, 2 pcb's with all components fitted, all caps and resistors carefully selected as per build instructions. Also includes Bridechamber MOTM style panel. Like all of Jurgen Haible's designs this is absolutely the best you can get, this will be a really superb frequency shifter when completed."
PlanB M26 CV Processor
"PlanB M26 Multitask Control Voltage Processor for sale! Quite a rare item for ebay, I never see Plan B modules on here and they haven't been manufactured for several years so now's your chance to grab a great bit of equipment!
Fully working and in great condition. This module is awesome, seriously! 10HP panel including a Logic gate (brilliant for combining clock sources to create interesting modulations/rhythms etc), a voltage mirror which produces an exact mirror image copy of whatever source is plugged in (a unique way of voltate inversion) and a slew limiter with a range switch (normal time to 10x which is very very slow, excellent for slow modulations!).
For such a small space, this module packs a real punch and I used it all the time. Sold my entire modular now and this and the other modules in my sales are the only ones left. The Plan B stuff was the hardest to let go compared to the Doepfer stuff, there's something special about Plan B modules! They are a great addition to a Doepfer system as it adds a new complimenting flavour to the already brilliant designs from Doepfer.
This retailed at $195 and aren't made anymore so grab it while you can, they don't crop up too often."
Crumar Trilogy
"This synth is best known for it's string sound which is similar to the ARP Solina. The synth section is not the greatest but quite fun nonetheless. It has seven presets (which can be manually edited if you are prepared to lift the lid!) and one user patch.
It is 100% analog, the resonance on the VCF can seriously damage your speakers if you are not careful. The synth section is useable but could do with a half decent effects unit to add a bit of depth."
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