SYNTHI A
VINTAGE SYNTH EXPLORER:
he Synthi A (pictured above) and AKS [right picture] are exactly the same as the VCS3 except that they are housed in a thin plastic briefcase for enhanced portability, with a small touchpad keyboard (activated by the 50 Hz-hum in our fingers). The Synthi A was also known as the "Portabella". The AKS model adds a 256 step on-board monophonic digital sequencer and a 30-note touchplate keyboard.
It has three oscillators, and a unique patch system. Instead of patch wires, the VCS3 uses a patchbay grid in which the synth components are laid out, and signal routing is accomplished by placing small pins into the appropriate slots. The VCS3 was, in actuality, a modular type synthesizer reduced down to an extremely portable size.
It generates familiar sci-fi sounds (Dr. Who) and other truly analog sounds. After ten minutes of warming up the oscillators become pretty stable. There's a Noise Generator, 2 Input Amplifiers, 1 Ring Modulator, 1 Voltage Controlled Low Pass Filter (VCF), 1 Trapezoid Envelope Generator, Joy-Stick Controller, Voltage Controlled Spring Reverb unit and 2 Stereo Output Amplifiers.
What is important about the portable line of EMS synths is that they were super miniaturized and fairly sophisticated for their time. The patching grid system made patching easier, and allowed the unit to take up a lot less space. Both were released in 1971, two years after the launch of the VCS3. It should be noted that the case mounting of the AKS can be very precarious. The mounting is prone to fail, and therefore any used units should be examined carefully to see if this common problem exists before buying.
he Synthi A (pictured above) and AKS [right picture] are exactly the same as the VCS3 except that they are housed in a thin plastic briefcase for enhanced portability, with a small touchpad keyboard (activated by the 50 Hz-hum in our fingers). The Synthi A was also known as the "Portabella". The AKS model adds a 256 step on-board monophonic digital sequencer and a 30-note touchplate keyboard.
It has three oscillators, and a unique patch system. Instead of patch wires, the VCS3 uses a patchbay grid in which the synth components are laid out, and signal routing is accomplished by placing small pins into the appropriate slots. The VCS3 was, in actuality, a modular type synthesizer reduced down to an extremely portable size.
It generates familiar sci-fi sounds (Dr. Who) and other truly analog sounds. After ten minutes of warming up the oscillators become pretty stable. There's a Noise Generator, 2 Input Amplifiers, 1 Ring Modulator, 1 Voltage Controlled Low Pass Filter (VCF), 1 Trapezoid Envelope Generator, Joy-Stick Controller, Voltage Controlled Spring Reverb unit and 2 Stereo Output Amplifiers.
What is important about the portable line of EMS synths is that they were super miniaturized and fairly sophisticated for their time. The patching grid system made patching easier, and allowed the unit to take up a lot less space. Both were released in 1971, two years after the launch of the VCS3. It should be noted that the case mounting of the AKS can be very precarious. The mounting is prone to fail, and therefore any used units should be examined carefully to see if this common problem exists before buying.
more photos by a.ro
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|