demos of rare or obscure synths

[acreil]

I've recorded some demos of some of the more unusual synths I've owned. I think these are valuable since there aren't many recordings available of this sort of thing.

This is the Keytek CTS-2000, it's almost the brain damaged, undesirable cousin of the Prophet VS. It has numerous errors in the case design, including a MIDI "TRHU" jack.



Anyone got any others (that haven't been posted everywhere already)? The weirder the better...

I'll add a few more in a little while.

[clusterchord]

Here's Yamaha CS-70m. rarer than its already rare famous predecessor.

even tho it uses mostly the same proprietary analog IG chips as CS-80, it sounds distinctively different. again 2x vco-hp-lp-vca layer system to create one normal two oscillator "voice", with additional posibility of layering two of these voices for 4 vco, 4 x hp/lp pairs setup (3 voice poyphony), or spliting them.. (2 x 3 poly, or 2 x 6 poly)

it had monophonic aftertouch, separate dedicated modulation envelope (not poyphonic), fantastic sounding ring modulator and dirty inmisteakably 70s ensemble effect.

character of this machine always steered me into psyhedelic, krut rock and virgin era TD waters. which is somewhat obvious from demos i chose to make.

not your classic poly in any sense. you wont be making punchy moog basses and oberheimish stab brasses. its better suited for unheard of stuff. extremely organic, dark/warm, with phenomenal filters.




CS70m demos - clusterchord

[acreil]

I always wanted a CS70M. Those filters and that chorus (3 BBD string chorus, not like the CS-80) are a great combination.

Here's my secret weapon, the Wersi EX20 (rack version of the MK1 synthesizer). It has the most bizarre, confusing and powerful envelope generators ever. And it sounds great.

straight to stereo demo


multitracked with Korg KR-55


faux 70s avant garde computer music


I have an MK1 also. I'll sell it eventually.

[acreil]

I uploaded a couple more: maybe not the most exotic gear, but it's not how you typically hear it used.

Yamaha RX5


Yamaha RY30


I think I need to dig around for a few more. Mostly I've just sat on this stuff for years.

[EF86]

1938 Novachord (all 163 tubes of her!) directly from the balanced line output into chorus and reverb shortly after partial restoration - warts & all!

The slight tonal changes in the first few seconds are me tweaking the formant resonator controls whilst playing.

For those new to this vintage electronic instrument:

Built in 1938 by Hammond
1069 built over 3 years - < 50 operational remaining
163 Tubes, 1/4 ton
72 note polyphony (very early monostable based divide down)
12 free running tube top octave oscillators + 6 Free-running vibratos
Pentode VCA per key with central ADR control and sustain pedal
Triple variable L/C formant resonator

Due to her extremely organic nature (much to do with the innacuracies of monostable divide down as opposed to bistable ie. the trigger points are never quite in the same place) and the free running top octave oscs (like Eminent 310 & PS-3100) she sounds great dry but for some reason (as Phil Cirocco discovered) can sound truly amazing through chorus and reverb (much more than you'd imagine). That said, played dry, especially in the lower registers, she can sound remarkably like a piano which is just jaw dropping for a 72 year old synth!!

[Zombie H]

163 tubes?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

my god you could warm an apartment with that kind of ambient heat

[djugel]

Wow.. really love the WERSI demos. How rare are those? How much do they do go for?

[EF86]

Originally Posted by djugel

Wow.. really love the WERSI demos. How rare are those? How much do they do go for?

Yes, I must admit it prompted a quick eBay search here too!

[djugel]

I know, my awful taste in design makes me think it's 5 grand..

That thing would play along so nicely with my D-550.

[Mr. Varaldo]

Originally Posted by EF86

1938 Novachord (all 163 tubes of her!) directly from the balanced line output into chorus and reverb shortly after partial restoration - warts & all!

The slight tonal changes in the first few seconds are me tweaking the formant resonator controls whilst playing.

For those new to this vintage electronic instrument:

Built in 1938 by Hammond
1069 built over 3 years - < 50 operational remaining
163 Tubes, 1/4 ton
72 note polyphony (very early monostable based divide down)
12 free running tube top octave oscillators + 6 Free-running vibratos
Pentode VCA per key with central ADR control and sustain pedal
Triple variable L/C formant resonator

Due to her extremely organic nature (much to do with the innacuracies of monostable divide down as opposed to bistable ie. the trigger points are never quite in the same place) and the free running top octave oscs (like Eminent 310 & PS-3100) she sounds great dry but for some reason (as Phil Cirocco discovered) can sound truly amazing through chorus and reverb (much more than you'd imagine). That said, played dry, especially in the lower registers, she can sound remarkably like a piano which is just jaw dropping for a 72 year old synth!!

You have one of the most beautiful - musical instruments - EVER - created

This sound is pure... magic I want one!!!

[djugel]

Doesn't the fumes of that thing cause brain damage tho? ... seems like a cursed monkey paw to me...

[bobule]

omg the novachord!! EF86 you legend

[alexstringer]

Good job Acreil! I really like you demos too! Your Wersi demos reminds me a bit of some soundtrack from 80's french movies!

Hey! What's the synth w/ short arpeggio'd notes @0.38 you used on the 1st Yamaha RX5 demo you posted, i like it a lot!

[Resonance5]

@EF86

gearslutz needs a samples library of that monster... really... (even extremely tiny one)

[AnalogGuy]

Originally Posted by Resonance5

@EF86

gearslutz needs a samples library of that monster... really... (even extremely tiny one)

Hollow Sun already made sample library of novachord.


Here's a demo about some obscure but fancy and fun toy:



Korg's DDM-110/220 drum machines enhanced with auto-arranger features.


Also, here's very obscure synthesizer. Anyone enough lucky to be able to find any sound demos?

[acreil]

Originally Posted by djugel

Wow.. really love the WERSI demos. How rare are those? How much do they do go for?

I'm in the US. They're very rare here, but less so in Europe. There doesn't seem to be a set price. I've seen an EX20 on ebay (US) go for as much as $950. I'm going to sell an MK1 as soon as I can fix it up a little....

Doesn't the fumes of that thing cause brain damage tho? ... seems like a cursed monkey paw to me...

I think it's more of a white elephant... unless you happen to have a large and well stocked workshop, considerable experience restoring vintage electronics, and endless free time.

Hey! What's the synth w/ short arpeggio'd notes you used on the 1st Yamaha RX5 demo you posted, i like it a lot!

That's the RX5. I'm using the "DX MARIMBA", "DX ORCHESTRA" and "DX CLAVINET" sounds on the cartridge.

Here's a demo about some obscure but fancy and fun toy:

Oh, I've got one of those too. Anyone got a user manual?

I've got a couple more demos coming. I might as well get it out of my system...

Also, here's very obscure synthesizer. Anyone enough lucky to be able to find any sound demos?

From what I barely remember, there's only one sitting broken in the original designer's basement. I think I've seen the patent for it. It didn't really look that exciting. It's additive synthesis with only 8 harmonics, or something like that.

[Franc]

Originally Posted by Mr. Varaldo

You have one of the most beautiful - musical instruments - EVER - created

This sound is pure... magic I want one!!!

Oh My God. This thing sounds like a big Synthex or a big Analog poly of some kind. Amazing. I first thought it sounded like a bigger and better Mellotron but it is a lot more than that.

72 year old synth doing pads and other sounds. Incredible.

Sounds a bit like this and this is possibly my favorite demo and favorite synth:

Elka Synthex Demo Track - YouTube

[acreil]

More crap, not so unusual this time (no cat photos either), but I pushed it in some unexpected directions...

Ensoniq EPS


Ensoniq EPS again


Ensoniq EPS yet again (see video info)


Ensoniq ESQ-M

[AnalogGuy]

EKO EkoSynth P15



http://reedgors.home.xs4all.nl/64/Au...ro%20Bossa.mp3

Just amazing sound and lovely performance there!

[gordonmerrick]

Damn I love Novachords.

[titaanzink]

Originally Posted by Resonance5

@EF86

gearslutz needs a samples library of that monster... really... (even extremely tiny one)

These guys have captured it:
Novachord : Virtual Instrument for Kontakt & Kontakt Player | Soniccouture

Their sample libraries in general are excellent. FWIW, Sound on Sound rated this particular one 5/5. Price is a bit steep though $129....

[projectwoofer]

Originally Posted by AnalogGuy

EKO EkoSynth P15



http://reedgors.home.xs4all.nl/64/Au...ro%20Bossa.mp3

Just amazing sound and lovely performance there!

Fantastic!

[tyler477]

Originally Posted by acreil

More crap, not so unusual this time (no cat photos either), but I pushed it in some unexpected directions...

Love your demos man, you are a great composer!

[dougt]

Shh, Don't tell anyone but these are an analog beatbox with a built-in 303 -

[GeorgeHayduke]

Originally Posted by titaanzink

These guys have captured it:
Novachord : Virtual Instrument for Kontakt & Kontakt Player | Soniccouture

Their sample libraries in general are excellent. FWIW, Sound on Sound rated this particular one 5/5. Price is a bit steep though $129....

The Hollow Sun pack is free, downloading now..:
Hollow Sun - Freepacks

[EF86]

Originally Posted by AnalogGuy

Hollow Sun already made sample library of novachord.

I'm suprised nobody has made the connection yet... NC346 = HS Novachord:

I partially restored Novachord 346 (blogged on VSE: http://www.vintagesynth.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=51703&hilit=wakeup) a couple of years ago having imported her to the UK from Seattle in a very badly burnt out state. She was originally owned by my friend and vintage synth guru, Marc Doty.

Much of my time was involved in totally rebuilding the complex (active noise cancelling!!) PSU chassis from bare metal - including reverse engineering and rewinding two mains transformers and a choke which had literally been reduced to charcoal. This was the first Novachord to be captured for a dedicated sample library - The Hollow Sun Novachord. The Soniccouture library was released several months later which was made using Phil Cirocco's rebuilt Novachord 1256 (a true labour of love!).

Both libraries are superb but different.

346 was partially restored and the resulting HS library is essentially of an original, yet poorly calibrated instrument, and 1256 was completely rebuilt and hence the SC library was of a pristine Novachord. The result is that both libraries are superb but maybe have a slightly different feel as 346's sound is a little more laden with buzzy harmonics due to cyclical mis-triggering in the monostable pentode dividers (the effect is quite curious and musical). The SC library is very comprehensive and beautifully scripted. I'd highly recommend both libraries.

The first major production to feature Novachord 346 was Petri Alanko's superb score to the block buster game, Alan Wake.

You can see her in action here:

Novachord video - YouTube

It is worth pointing out here that 346 is being fed through chorus, delay and reverb in the movie via the balanced output from the pre-amp. That said, there is less reverb than you'd think, the 72 note polyphony permits massive sustains which you can hear clearly in my montage posted earlier in this thread.

[bluegreengold]

Originally Posted by acreil

Ensoniq EPS

Ensoniq EPS again

Ensoniq EPS yet again

I love the eps so much I keep one in my kitchen.

[tyler477]

Originally Posted by dougt

shh, don't tell anyone but these are an analog beatbox with a built-in 303 -

this is ****ing sick!

[acreil]

The MTI Auto Orchestra thing is great. I love the drum sounds. I'm once again reminded of how much I want a Wersimatic CX1, or Elka Wilgamat. Solton and Dr. Böhm made similar things, I think.

More weird sound design:

Yamaha TG77 (Pythagorean scale)


Kurzweil K2VX (held notes only)


Kurzweil K2VX (held notes only, 19TET)


Casio VZ-10M


I've got a few more unusual ones, but I need to finish some recordings first.

[djugel]

Someday I need to learn how to use my VZ-10m