I've made a few recordings with a friend's Formanta EMS-1 in Latvia. He
said it was just laying around an old theatre in Liepaja collecting dust
when he found it. The synthesized strings on the keys are fairly tame,
but the noise-driven, sample-and-hold LFO is an absolute monster!
http://ruskeys.net/eng/base/formanta.php
Another bonus feaure is the fact that the Formanta sounds *completely*
different about three hours after turning it on than when you start.
Let's hear it for non-linearity, which simply can't be emulated on the
computer.
Another friend from Riga occaisionally sells different Soviet/Russian
synths on Ebay. In fact, there seem to be quite a few of them around.
Not the Formanta, it's a rare beast, but if you are looking for a
Polyvox, for example, the going price seems to run between 500 and 700
Euros. Shipping is what would really kill you, though. A Polyvox isn't
too heavy, but the Formanta is approximately the size and bulk of a
small fridge!
best,
derek
Mark Knecht wrote:
Darn those would be fun to play with.
Thanks Alex!
On Tue, 26 Oct 2004 09:40:23 -0400, Dave Phillips <dlphilp(a)bright.net> wrote:
Greetings:
Alex Prokoudine sent this link to some interesting photos and info
concerning Russian (pre- and post-Soviet) synths:
http://ruskeys.net/eng/synths.php
Thanks Alex !
Best,
dp
--
derek holzer :::
http://www.umatic.nl
---Oblique Strategy # 111:
"Lowest common denominator check
-single beat
-single note
-single riff"