Synthesizers

[Pekka]

Any other analog synth fans? Here's my gear:


Yamaha CS01, Yamaha CS-5 and a Sonosaur bass pedal synth (Ric bass and DSOTM marble are for some extra prog appeal...). OK, not completely analog, CS01 has a digital oscillator and Sonosaur has two DCO's but filters are analog on those two also. Pretty basic stuff but they sound good, especially the CS01 has a great PWM and all are good for playing bass lines.

[chromium]

Great synths, Pekka!  I've always been partial to the old Yamaha CS lineup.  Unfortunately, I'm not anywhere near coordinated enough to even begin to contemplate pedals of any sort

I'm very much into old electronic and electromechanical instruments and effects, and enjoy repairing/restoring that stuff as a hobby.  I've been fortunate to own quite a few synths and vintage keys by doing the buy-low/repair/try/sell-high thing for many years.  The dust is starting to settle, and I'm currently left with a Solina String Synth (landed this for free!), Oberheim OB-8 polyphonic, Oberheim FVS four voice w/sequencer, Hammond M-102 and Leslie 145 w/147 amp, Hammond M-3 (I'm wanting to liberate this one - free to any LBO'ers close to the Phoenix-area!  Bring friends and a hernia belt   ), Sequential Circuits Pro-One (had this since I was a kid- bought cheap during the great DX7 sell-a-thon of the mid-1980s), '74 Minimoog, Rhodes MkII, a large Moog-format modular, several old Roland guitar synth systems (G-505 and 808 guitars, GR-100, GR-300, and GR-700 synths), and a few nice (IMO) digitals - Ensoniq EPS, Casio CZ-5000, and a Waldorf Q.

The majority of these were bought in various states of disrepair.  Still need to tackle a couple of them - the Rhodes action is horrible, and the Waldorf has the somewhat common jumpy-encoder problem (akin to dirty pots, but in the digital world).  The Roland GR-700 needs some service as well (LOVE the sound of that one, though - and it has digital oscillators.  No digital bigotry here   )

Here are some pics...

Sequential Pro-one, Yamaha CS-40M, Obie OB-8, and a Multimoog on the floor:


Hammond, Leslie, and Solina:


This is probably the only one I miss- Korg X-911 Guitar Synth:


Minimoog, with one of my handmade "ribbon controllers":


Before-pic of the Minimoog  


Oberheim Four Voice, pre-restoration


...during restoration- ack!




...and post-restoration with original sequencer (and noise, sample/hold source) interfaced in:


Roland systems:







Moog-format modular.  This one has filled out a bit since this pic.  Currently has 7 oscillators, 7 filters, 7 attenuators, 3 envelope generators, 4 sequencers, 4 quantizers, noise, sample/hold, wavefolder, distortion/clipper, ring modulator, analog delay, dual phaser, frequency shifter, triple chorus, and some other misc logic and signal processing things.  Still have a bunch of stuff left to build for this one- EMS Synthi oscillator clones, Korg PS-3100 resonator clone, Buchla low pass gates and quad function generator clones...






So yeah... I guess a synth fan  

[clankenstein]

wow, i love them moog format modular.i have one of those korg guitar synths.1974 i think?

[hieronymous]

In order to keep this in the Bass Zone we'd better load it with bass synths!



I don't have nearly as much variety as Pekka and Joe - 95% of my stuff is Moog, I can only find a pic of my Little Phatty right now but also have a Micromoog and used to own a Moog Rogue:



Plus some MoogerFoogers which are basically synth modules, with the requisite spaghetti:



Haven't been doing much synth stuff lately, though I've been tempted to bust out the Taurus 3 with the new soul jazz trio...

[Pekka]

Thanks guys, I can show these pics to my wife now and she'll get off my back...

Great stuff you have, I'm very jealous. I can't even start what I would like to own of those. All the Oberheims, Moogs etc. I hate you.

I forgot this:


It's an old Korg PK-13 Pedal unit driving a PBX-3 module. Very limited sound shaping possibilitites but it sounds very warm. I've learned these are very rare. Chromium, do you know anything about these? Or anybody? I'm thinking of selling it since I have the Sonosaur.

BTW, my friend has that X-911 guitar synth. The same friend gave me the CS01 (he had got it from a flea market for a fiver...).

[4stringer77]

You guys must love playing "Frankenstein". What kind of keyboard hanging from the guitar strap is Edgar playing here?

[Pekka]

You guys must love playing "Frankenstein". What kind of keyboard hanging from the guitar strap is Edgar playing here?

It's a keyboard for an ARP 2600 synth.

[chromium]

It's an old Korg PK-13 Pedal unit driving a PBX-3 module. Very limited sound shaping possibilitites but it sounds very warm. I've learned these are very rare. Chromium, do you know anything about these? Or anybody? I'm thinking of selling it since I have the Sonosaur.

BTW, my friend has that X-911 guitar synth. The same friend gave me the CS01 (he had got it from a flea market for a fiver...).

Pekka, I think those pedals were offered as an add on to the Korg BX-3 organ when that emerged in the late 70s.  You're right- they don't show up very often.

wow, i love them moog format modular.i have one of those korg guitar synths.1974 i think?

The X-911 was somewhat limited sounding, but I really liked using it with bass.  It actually tracked surprisingly well!  This was a little improv/impromptu thing that I had recorded with mine:   .  All the buzzy synth sounds were from the X-911 being driven by my Alembic Distillate.  The synth bass sound is a mix of heavily compressed Alembic and the Korg.  I didn't get mine as cheaply as Pekka's friend (getting tough to find those deals!), but I bought it broken and repaired it.  Had to sell that one to help pay for the modular, but may try to re-buy one someday.

It's a keyboard for an ARP 2600 synth.

I actually was looking for an ARP 2600 when the start to my modular system became available used.  I went that route figuring that it would offer more flexibility, and it was built this side of 2000 - and so less service issues to have to deal with...  Still have a soft spot for a 2600 though!  I think that may have been my first exposure to synths as a little kid - via Stevie Wonder on Sesame Street!  
(it was also the voice of R2-D2   ).  




If that didn't get me started, early exposure to Tomita, ELP, Yes, Floyd, Herbie, George Duke/Zappa, Weather Report, Mahavishnu and Jan Hammer Group, etc... surely did.

[Pekka]

Pekka, I think those pedals were offered as an add on to the Korg BX-3 organ when that emerged in the late 70s.  You're right- they don't show up very often.

That is what I was thinking too. If you know anyone who is interested in those let me know.

The X-911 was somewhat limited sounding, but I really liked using it with bass.  It actually tracked surprisingly well!  This was a little improv/impromptu thing that I had recorded with mine:   .  All the buzzy synth sounds were from the X-911 being driven by my Alembic Distillate.  The synth bass sound is a mix of heavily compressed Alembic and the Korg.  I didn't get mine as cheaply as Pekka's friend (getting tough to find those deals!), but I bought it broken and repaired it.  Had to sell that one to help pay for the modular, but may try to re-buy one someday.

My friend got the CS01 for a fiver not the X-911.


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[gearHed289]

Some great stuff there guys! Love the Pro 1. I still have my first synth - an Oberheim Matrix 6. I also recently acquired a rack version Matrix 6R. A few years ago a guy GAVE me an original Moog Taurus. Awesome! All the myth and mystery is true about these things. Nothing else sounds quite the same. On the more modern end, my main keyboard is a Roland Juno G and Roland PK5 MIDI bass pedals.

[uwe]

We have a hive of Geddy Lees here!!!! Ayn Rand, high-pitched vocals and an abundance of Rics can do horrible things to a young man's mind.

And the synth shall inherit the earth!

[Highlander]

(J*sus,) Joe (seph and M*ry)... you certainly know how to come out of the closet in style...

When it all goes into place, is there some highly polished chromium-steel ten foot wide pipe that descends in a hillscloud of dry ice to reveal the secret picture...?

[chromium]

(J*sus,) Joe (seph and M*ry)... you certainly know how to come out of the closet in style...

When it all goes into place, is there some highly polished chromium-steel ten foot wide pipe that descends in a hillscloud of dry ice to reveal the secret picture...?

Too much Dr. Who and BBC Radiophonic Workshop have taken their toll!

Actually, it would appear that I'm not the only one... 

[Pekka]

We have a hive of Geddy Lees here!!!! Ayn Rand, high-pitched vocals and an abundance of Rics can do horrible things to a young man's mind.

At least I don't sing.

Another Canadian band with a Rickenbacker-wielding synth-playing Taurus-pedalling lead singer was the eccentric trio called FM. Ben Mink or Nash The Slash on electric violin & mandolin (no guitars), Martin Deller on drums and occasional ARP 2500 (!) and Cameron Hawkins on lead vocals/bass/synths. Their first four albums are being reissued in late March by Esoteric and I'm rather fond of them. Very unique sound and I think they did some of the stuff Rush did on "Signals" few years earlier.

This songs reminds me of Peter Gabriel, Ultravox and Kate Bush. Produced by Larry Fast in 1980 so maybe there's the connection:

[Highlander]

Joe... it's all lost on some of your bretheren (as I glance at my gravity-defying TARDIS to my left) ...