The A-Z of Analogue

Our definitive directory of every analogue synth in the history of the whole world ever. Included are keyboards, expanders and sound modules. Readers are invited to expand upon or correct any part of the A-Z. Parts 1 to 11 may be ordered on Music Maker's mail order hotline: (Contact Details).

Part 12 - compiled by Peter Forrest

Kawai (continued)

• SX-240

61-note 8-voice 16-DCO 48-memory MIDI polyphonic synthesiser, c. 1984 - c.1985
Original price: £1245
Target price: £140 - £220

• One of the earliest MIDI synths, and so one of the quite small band of MIDI analogue synths ever made.
• In many ways, similar to SX-210, including the curious lack of a modulation wheel. But doubling up the oscillator count does improve a lot of the factory sounds, and the potential for creating your own. Other improvements are the extra memories, good split and layering facilities, the on-board 1500-note real-time sequencer, and above all MIDI, which makes it quite a good retro buy.

Keynote

• Scorpion

44-note (F-C) 2-VCO 8-preset monophonic synthesiser with aftertouch. 1978 - 1979
Original price: £595
Target price: ?

• Very rare British synth. Did it ever make it into full production?
• Semi-flight-cased; quite a good design, clearly laid out, but standard of finish not brilliant.
• Three synth presets, plus flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet and violin; plus 'variable' setting where the panel controls come into operation. All these are accessed by push-button, with a little LED to show which has been selected.
• Pressure-sensitivity (aftertouch) involves whole keyboard lurching down, as on Polysynthi. Can produce pitch-bend and LFO modulation - so the lack of mod and pitch-bend wheels isn't so important.
• Designed to be no trouble: Good tuning reliability.
• No interfacing; no noise generator; no self-oscillation on the VCF.
• The one brave bit: VCO2 can modulate the VCF to give metal/ring mod type sounds.
• Simple envelopes - just attack and decay on both the VCA and VCF envelopes, with a switch to bring in sustain.
• Some early problems with unwanted background noise on notes; was it ever overcome?

Korg

Massive Japanese company who have consistently made interesting and usually cost-effective instruments, from the early synths - monophonics like the 700 and the MS20, and massive polyphonics (the PS series); through the first affordable polyphonies like the Polysix and Poly 800; to the WaveStation, and M1/01/X3 series. One of the giants of modern digital technology, but also past masters of analogue.

• 700/700CS/700S Mini Korg

2-VCO 37-note (C-C) monophonic synthesiser. 1973 - c.1979
Original price: £499 (700 - £345)
Target price: £100 - £140
Users include: Duncan Bridgeman, Andrew Fletcher, Mathieu Hartley/The Cure, Paul Hardcastle, Simon House/Hawkwind, Mark Karman/The Features, Kitaro (x6), Daniel Miller, Thieves Like Us, Martyn Ware/The Future.

• Controls on front of case, beneath keyboard - designed for organists to put on top of their Hammond or whatever.
• Two VCF's; two noise sources; switchable delayed vibrato; autobend, like on Roland SH7.
• Three types of LFO waveform/destination.
• No mod/pitch-bend wheels.
• More reliably in tune than most of its then rivals.
• Decent sounds, chunky controls, good build quality, wooden end panels.
• One of Kitaro's all-time favourite synthesisers.
• 700S has additional control panel with effects switch, sustain switch, vibrato travel (modulation of VCF) and ring modulator balance and pitch controls.

• 770/770S

2-VCO 32-note (F-C) monophonic synthesiser. 1975 - ?
Original price: £475
Target price: £100 - £140
Users include: Human League (Dare), Teoman "The Turk' Irmak, Ian Reid (770S).

• Inter-modulation of oscillators possible. Ring modulator.
• Oscillators have independent waveform and tuning controls.
• Angled front panel, but not as sharply angled as MS series.
• No mod/pitch-bend wheels.
• Autobend and switchable delayed vibrato. Two LFOs. Two VCFs (low-pass and high-pass). Portamento. Interesting 'expand' switches (LP + HP/off/normal/reverse).
• As an early synth, uses non-standard terminology like 'traveler' for VCF, and 'singing level' in the envelope. Has pink, white, and 'scale' noise.
• External signal input socket - one of the first.

• 800DV

Duophonic 2-VCO 44-note (F-C) monophonic synthesiser. Late 1974 - c.1978
Original price: £835 (1974) / £889 discounted to £635 (1979)
Target price: £140 - £180
Users include: Wally Badarou (on 'Pop Musik'), Dave Brock, Brian Chatton, Vic Emerson, David Ferguson/Random Hold, The Grid, Kitaro.

• DV stands for Dual Voice.
• No mod/pitch-bend wheels. 22 sliders, though, and loads of knobs and switches.
• Two sub-oscillators, with ring modulator. Curiously for sub-oscillators, can go up to 2'.
• Pedal control of VCFs via DIN plugs, and two other 'accessory' input sockets.
• Non-standard envelopes: attack, singing level, range and mode contols. Also simple envelope control of pitch - auto pitch-bend, as on SH7, up or down.
• Repeat controls. Two LFO's; PWM and vibrato.
• Four output sockets: upper, lower, and two 'accessory' outputs.
• More independent control of oscillators than on most duophonic synths.
• Korg's obligatory duophonic model - cf Roland's SH7, Octave's Cat, and ARP's original Odyssey.

• 900PS

Monophonic 37-note preset synthesiser, c.1975 - c.1978
Original price: £530 (1975), £612 discounted to £399 (1979)
Target price: £80 - £120
Users include: David Ferguson/Random Hold

• Unique modulation control: metal rod that runs the length of the keyboard in front of the keys, so that you can apply modulations with the finger or (more likely) thumb of your right hand.
• Modulations available: repeat, 'forte', pitch-bend, vibrato and portamento. Each is independently available, and a three-position switch gives you the option of having each of them on, off, or controlled by modulation rod.
• Pre-sets include 9 percussive sounds, 15 longer voices, which can be affected by the hold control; three varieties of envelopes to use with 16'/8'/4'/2' harmonics sliders, unpitched white noise, and a pitched noise reminiscent of Tomita.
• Can switch between preset envelope and variable attack / release (called 'sustain' by Korg, as in 'the sustain characteristics of a guitar').
• Furthest pre-set to the right takes precedence: no self-cancelling system.
• Single VCF slider, called 'traveler'. Three-position octave switch.
• Some sounds (eg brass) very solid indeed. Others awful but evocative of '70s.
• Ultimate minimalist back-panel. Nothing but one jack socket, marked OUT.
• Useful headphone socket on front panel.
• No modulation/pitch-bend wheels.
• Fetching aquamarine power-on light. Wooden end-cheeks.

• Delta

49-note (C-C) string/simple polyphonic synthesiser. 1980-1984
Original price: £699 / £761
Target price: £50 - £100
Users include: Blancmange, Human League (Dare)

• Solidly made and likely to be more reliable than many of its contemporaries.
• 8' and 16' string sounds with variable attack and release and tone controls; 16'/8'/4'/2' synth sounds and white noise fully mixable.
• For possibly the first time on a Korg synth, effective 24dB/octave VCF (low-pass or band-pass) and ADSR on synth section.
• Joystick controller for pitchbend (left/right) vibrato/VCF modulation (up) and noise modulation (down).
• Single or multiple triggering for either of sections. Separate outs and two mix outs at different levels; trigger in and out; VCF pedal input.
• Cardboard template with five colour-coded settings on it (as on Micro-Preset) - brass, electric piano, jazz and rock organ, metallic synth, and funky wah synth.

• EX800

Eight-DCO MIDI expander version of Poly 800. 1984 - c. 1985
Original price: £425
Target price: £100 - £140
Users include: Douglas Adams, Steve Cunningham, Neuronium, Nort, Philip Oakey/Human League, Peter Oxendale.

• Guts almost identical to Poly 800, but slightly later release date meant better MIDI - no problems with getting out of Omni mode, unlike first Poly 800's; and MIDI thru socket.
• One of the first expander modules produced.
• Not standard rackmount shape - more like chocolate box with controls on top, so if you use the supplied rackmounts it takes up a lot of rack space - and still has to have space at the top for plug access.
• For other details see Poly 800 entry.
• E&MM review: Sep 84

• M500(SP) (Micro Preset)

32-note (F-C) monophonic preset synthesiser with or without speaker. July 1977 - c. 1980
Original price: £291 (1977); M500: £335 discounted to £281 (1979); M500SP: £372 discounted to £312 (1979).
Target price: £40 - £100
Users include: David Ferguson/Random Hold, Eddy Grant, OMD (lead sounds on 'Electricity', 'Enola Gay', 'Souvenir', and sampled sax sound for 'Stand Above Me')

• 6 push-button presets, most with five octave-based settings - so e.g. 'voice' is called 'whistle', 'soprano', 'alto', 'tenor', and 'bass', as you turn the knob. Other presets are synthe 1, synthe 2, brass, string, and wood (short for woodwind). Some parameters change as well as just the pitch; but the 'synthe' presets are simply octave versions, from 2' to 32', except that on 'synthe 2', 4' produces white noise, and 16' pink noise.
• All controls in little angled pod to left of keyboard.
• Two presets are mixable at once (simply by pressing two push-buttons at the same time). You can press more than two down at once for sometimes interesting but anomalous results.
• Variable attack and 'sustain' (actually decay/release) controls, but only seem to affect synthe 2. VCF slider control ('traveller') affects synthe and brass presets. LFO can affect VCO for vibrato on all presets, and VCF for filter modulation on synthe presets (called 'travel vibrato'). Modulation depth and speed controls.
• Random repeat (erratic) and ordinary repeat (regular) switchable, and controlled by mod rate knob. Portamento speed knob, and switch for on and 'momentary' - manual control - a nice touch.
• SP version identical, except for good little built-in speaker on underside.
• Some of sounds surprisingly meaty and versatile. Limitations (e.g. VCF only affecting synthe) can lead to effective real-time control - one part of layer changes, other doesn't.
• Came in two possible colour schemes. Some or all Micro-Presets had cardboard templates which fitted over control surface to give you ideas for further sounds.

• Mono/Poly

4-VCO 44-note (F-C) monophonic/simple polyphonic synthesiser. 1982 - c.1984
Original price: £749 / £695
Target price: £100 - £350
Users include: Geoff Downes, Keith Emerson, Pascal Gabriel, Tim Simenon/Bomb the Bass.

• 4-note polyphony possible, but only one envelope (single or multiple triggering) and one VCF. Better to think of it as a highly versatile monosynth.
• Two LFO's - called MG's - modulation generators. One linked to mod wheel, other linked to arpeggiator; either linked if required to PWM.
• Four VCO's have independent tuning, waveform, octave, and level. Triangle, saw tooth, and pulse width/modulated pulse width waveforms available - though only one set of controls for PWM. Noise also available.
• Two ADSR's, one VCF; portamento, transposition (octave up or down) and arpeggiator controls identical to its contemporary the Poly six. Hold and chord memory function also like Polysix.
• Unison/share is useful keyboard mode: all the oscillators will play whether you've got one, two, or four notes held down. When you've got three, one oscillator stays silent. If you've got four different setups on the oscillators, you'll get unpredictable results in that case - but then different settings on the oscillators are pretty difficult to control anyway - like on the Oberheim Four-Voice. The only exception to this is in Poly Mode with the arpeggiator running, when you can get
• Oscillator sync, cross-modulation, and 'S & X' - both together. Sounds fun.
• Excellent arpeggiator - same functions as Polysix, but with more variation on each of the four oscillators' settings and modulations. Poly mode will cycle through the four oscillators; unison will layer them together for each note. Both very effective.
• Forty-one knobs, twenty switches, 'auto-damp' switch, two performance wheels.
• CV and trigger in and out - trigger with reversible polarity. Arpeggio trigger in as well. Maybe for the first time in a Korg synth, CV is one volt to the octave, not Hz/volt.
• Very variable second-hand prices - look out for a bargain.
• MT retrospective: Nov 88

• MS01

Foot-pedal for MS series, with positive and inverted control outputs, and input and output attenuators.

• MS02

Synthesiser interface to convert between Hz/Volt and Volt/Octave, and positive and negative trigger voltages.

• Highly useful and desirable box for converting virtually any analogue monosynth's input and output to any other's. Work your Minimoog from a Korg Sigma, your SH101 from an MS20.

• MS03

Pitch-to-voltage converter.

• Brave early attempt, similar to the MS20's external input section, to give you the ability to use any monophonic sound source to play a synth. Footswitch options for portamento and for CV hold - to make sure a decaying note doesn't start glitching as it gets quieter and the MS03 can't analyse the note so well.

• MS10

Semi-modular 1-VCO 32-note (F-C) synthesiser. 1978 - early eighties.
Original price: £289
Target price: £90 - £150
Users include: LFO, Juan Atkins, Coldcut, Stephen Hague, The Orb, Youth.

• Similar to MS20: less facilities, only one oscillator, shorter keyboard, no external signal pitch-to-voltage conversion.
• No switches at all: only two click-stop knobs (VCO octave and waveform). All other knobs continuously variable: pitch, pulse-width, portamento time, external signal level, LPF level and resonance, and ADSR and hold controls, pitch and filter modulation controls, and the actual modulation waveform - a real bonus.
• One wheel, for pitch-bend. Design means the modulation level knobs are close to hand, so maybe a modulation wheel wasn't necessary anyway. You can anyway route the wheel output to any of the usual functions like modulation - or VCF, come to that.
• Patch panel on right has fifteen jack sockets plus main audio out. The basic voice algorithm is hard-wired already, so you don't need to patch into this panel to get sounds; but it is there to use if you want to, giving you the versatility of a modular system - you're not constrained by what the designers thought you would want to do in controlling sounds. It came with one patch lead supplied!
• Unfortunately, Hz/voltage rather than 1 volt/octave control voltage, so won't connect up with, say, Roland gear, without an interface box. (Korg's own rare MS02 interface would do the job, as will Kenton's Pro-2 Hz/V optional extra.)
• Claimed by Korg at the time to be "The world's first control-type synthesizer to employ a full patching system". Since it came way after the 2600, for example, this claim seems flawed.

• MS20

Semi-modular 2-VCO 37-note (C-C) monophonic synthesiser. 1978 - early eighties.
Original price: £469 / £453 (1979)
Target price: £150 - £280
Users include: Apollo 440, Blancmange, Vince Clarke, Coldcut, Die Krupps, Front 242, Front Line Assembly, Dave Hewson, Rudiger Lorenz, Neuronium, Nort, Mats Oberg, OMD ('Electricity'), Martyn Phillips, H-J Roedelius, Severed Heads, Switzerland, Phil Thornton.

• Several important advantages over MS 10, as well as more oscillator power, a manual trigger button, and longer keyboard: principally, the pitch/voltage convertor section: a comprehensive input which will take any monophonic audio signal, band-pass filter it to make it manageable, adjust the voltage to make it compatible with the Korg's Hz/V system, and send a CV, trigger and envelope voltage to the MS20. Other synths have an external signal input, whereby you can put another instrument through the VCF and VCA, usually with envelope follower voltage control; but this is much more than that - the signal will control the pitch of the MS20's oscillators. Admittedly, it's difficult to avoid glitching with any real instrument source; but with care decent tracking is possible over a limited range, particularly with something like a clavinet or other keyboard which can easily produce clean monophonic melody lines.
• A budget classic - the poor man's ARP 2600. Probably a good half of the facilities - at a quarter of the price.
• Voltage-controlled high-pass filter with 'peak' (resonance) is a good bonus. Coupled with the low-pass filter, good, interesting filter effects can be achieved even though the 12 dB/octave filters themselves don't hit that Oberheim mark - let alone the Moog standard.
• Envelope generator 1 is interesting. Designed for pitch/vibrato changes, with delay setting time before trigger has effect, and attack and release parameters available - so vibrato, for example, doesn't just come in like on most synths with a delay on the LFO - it can come in (and go out again) subtly. EG2 is the main envelope, identical to MS10's. Both envelopes also available on patchbay at positive and negative voltages.
• Good ring modulator setting, which seems to produce clangy but musical effects with ease.
• 35-socket patchbay; 36 knobs, only four of them click-stopped - i.e. 32 of them totally variable.
• Momentary switch as well as single performance wheel.
• Decent quality hardware; solid, cost-effective construction; seemingly very reliable.
• Patchbay is extremely confusing; but, like the MS10, you don't have to touch it if you don't want to. It's simply an added bonus, for weird explorations into sound, random cross-patching, and so on. It will help it continue to hold a very good price on the second-hand market.
• Twice as generous provision of supplied patch-leads - two, as opposed to the MS10's one!
• MT retrospective: Jun 89

• MS50

1-VCO monophonic semi-modular expander. 1979 - early eighties.
Original price: £399
Target price: £120 - £200
Users include: Par Example, Ryo Kawasaki, Phil Thornton

• Brought out as an afterthought to the MS20 and MS10, and expensive compared with MS10 - so not surprising that it's pretty rare, and correspondingly collectable. It also has things that neither the MS10 or MS20 have, and is an excellent complement to them.
• 1 VCO, 1 VCF, 1 HPF, 2 VCA's, 2 EG's with normal and inverted outputs, pink and white noise, a signal inverter, multiples, ring mod, a meter, a nice little manual envelope trigger (as on the MS20), sample-and-hold, a headphone socket, and, best of all, a voltage controlled LFO (always a good point - it means you can control, for instance, the vibrato with an envelope, and make the vibrato speed change as the note progresses).
• A lot of nice touches, like having sockets for the S/H clock input and output, and having the voltmeter - which looks great, and can be quite useful for checking on both AC and DC signals in your patch.
• Both Hz/volt and volt/octave systems available, so can interface easily with MS10/20 and with, say, Roland synths.
• Unlike the MS10 and MS20, no hard-wired patching at all: you have freedom, but you have to know what you're doing.
• The MS50, like the MS 10 and MS20, can interface with the SQ10 analogue sequencer, which is designed to match the MS50 visually as well as electronically.

• Poly 61

12-DCO 6-voice 64-memory 61-note (C-C) synthesiser. 1983 - 1984
Original price: £995
Target price: £120 - £160
Users include: H-J Roedelius

• A half-way house between the Polysix and the Poly 800. Digital parameter access, more memories, but no MIDI to start with, and a lot less control than on the Poly 800.
• Korg's rival to the Juno 60 (but with two oscillators per note, instead of one.)
• Poor resolution for several crucial parameters.
• 12 DCO's as opposed to Polysix's 6 VCO's - not a good trade-off in any way except for reliable tuning.
• Can't balance two oscillators - all or nothing of DCO2. Volume not programmable.
• Similar arpeggiator to the Polysix and MonoPoly - good and useful. Also similar chord memory and hold facilities - but no unison. Shame.
• Ultra-fast cassette save/load facility - was this technology finally getting practicable just as the MIDI/computer/soundcard revolution was coming along to make it redundant?
• Arpeggio trigger input and 'sustain' pedal input.
• Rotary knobs for joystick bend amount and modulation speed.
• MIDI retro-fit kits available late 1984 onwards (as soon as Poly 61M came out).
• E&MM review: Mar 83

• Poly 61M

Update of Poly 61 with MIDI. 1984 - 1985
Original price: c.£995
Target price: £130 - £170

• Early MIDI, with some omissions and problems - like getting in and out of omni mode. MIDI implementation doesn't recognise pitch-bend or modulation data.
• Otherwise virtually identical to Poly 61 - see above for further details.
• Despite the advantages of a five-octave keyboard and a filter for each voice, very much overshadowed by virtually simultaneous release of Poly 800.

Korg continues next month...

Tubular valves

For those with a desire to be gently massaged by affable sounds and temperate music, perhaps an analogue alternative to the clinical execution of digital audio is sought. Perhaps it isn't. But then, there's no denying that this is an option many studio engineers and sound synthesisers alike have taken up.

It is with the growing demand for analogue processors in mind that Tube-Tech, distributed by Systems Workshop in the UK, have launched the LCA2-B stereo valve compressor and limiter. Building on the standards set by its predecessor, the LCA2-A, the LCA2-B is apparently already proving to be a great success. Improvements made include a slower attack time (from 10ms to 70ms), and an on/off switch on the limiter.

Other products available in the Tube-Tech range are Mid-Range and Program Equalisers, respectively titled the ME-1B and the PE-1C, each offering passive EQ on a varied range of frequency bandwidths. Also available are Tube-Tech's PA-6 Headphone amplifier, which features four outputs, and MP-1A microphone pre-amp with built-in phantom power and DI jack sockets. So, in order to change to a mellower mix, contact Systems Workshop at (Contact Details).

The 100 club

You'd have to be hiding out in a big cardboard box not to notice Gibson Guitars currently revelling in centenary birthday celebrations. Concerts, television documentaries, and now reissues of the classic guitars that made them so famous, have been emerging left, right and centre.

The Historic Collection is a range of classically built and designed guitars, emulating the styles and reputation for quality that made Gibson such a reputable manufacturer to begin with. And if this may seem a little indulgent on the part of a company whose innovations have always meant as much as their reliability, consider the generations of guitarists who have developed playing styles hand in hand with breakthroughs like Orville Gibson's original arched top, Ted McHugh's adjustable truss rod and Seth Lover's legendary Humbucking pickup. Wes Montgomery, Albert King, Les Paul himself... all took steps forward in technique as influential as those of later exponents like Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton.

The range includes Les Pauls, the Flying V, the SG and many of the semi-acoustics which came to be associated with the last word in sophisticated jazz sonority. Made fresh, they are guitars for the Lenny Kravitz generation and its music - beautifully detailed celebrations of former glories. If they can inspire others to match those revolutions of yore with new departures, we'll have the best of both worlds.

Gibson Historic Dealers have been appointed around the world, but the source of it all is The Gibson Custom Division, (Contact Details).