![EMS Synthi 100](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/EMS_Synthi_100.jpg)
The EMS Synthi 100 was a large analogue/digital hybrid
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
made by
Electronic Music Studios
Electronic Music Studios (EMS) is a synthesizer company formed in Putney, London in 1969 by Peter Zinovieff, Tristram Cary and David Cockerell. It is now based in Ladock, Cornwall.
Founders
The founding partners had wide experience in both elect ...
, London, originally as a custom order from Radio Belgrade for what was to be the Radio Belgrade Electronic Studio, largely thanks to contact between composer Paul Pignon, then living in Belgrade, and Peter Zinovieff. The synthesiser was designed by David Cockerell and documented in detail in 1971. The cost at that time was £6,500 (about £92,500 in 2020 Pounds).
The last unit built by EMS was number 30. Afterwards, one final unit was built by Datanomics, who bought assets from EMS when the company folded in 1979. The redesigned unit was sold to Gabinete de Música Electroacústica, Cuenca, Spain.
Developed from an initial concept of three
VCS3
The VCS 3 (or VCS3; an initialism for ''Voltage Controlled Studio, version #3'') is a portable analog synthesizer with a flexible modular voice architecture introduced by Electronic Music Studios (London) Limited (EMS) in 1969.
EMS release ...
systems, the analogue modules on their own more closely resemble six VCS3s. With the addition of the 256-step digital sequencer's circuit cards, the card count rises to 85 (28 times larger than a VCS3 by circuit board count), with 12
voltage-controlled oscillator
A microwave (12–18GHz) voltage-controlled oscillator
A voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is an electronic oscillator whose oscillation frequency is controlled by a voltage input. The applied input voltage determines the instantaneous oscilla ...
s and eight
voltage-controlled filter
A voltage-controlled filter (VCF) is an electronic filter whose operating characteristics (primarily cutoff frequency) can be set by an input control voltage. Voltage controlled filters are widely used in synthesizers.
A music synthesizer VCF ...
s Two monophonic keyboards (both keyboards together produce four control voltages and two key triggers simultaneously). The digital sequencer has three (duophonic) layers, 10,000 clock events and 256
duophonic note events. Two 60 × 60 matrixes were used to connect the different modules by using patch pins. The keyboard spread could be adjusted, making it easy to play a tuned equal temperament scale as well as alternative microtonal tunings up to 61 divisions of each semitone.
The Synthi-100 was developed a few years after the first VCS3s. Both filters and oscillators were much more stable in the Synthi-100. There is an oscillator sync function that can sync the 12 main oscillators to each another or from an external source.
The Synthi 100 also had an add-on computer interface known as "Computer Synthi" which contained a
PDP-8
The PDP-8 is a 12-bit computing, 12-bit minicomputer that was produced by Digital Equipment Corporation, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). It was the first commercially successful minicomputer, with over 50,000 units being sold over the model's ...
minicomputer
A minicomputer, or colloquially mini, is a class of smaller general purpose computers that developed in the mid-1960s and sold at a much lower price than mainframe and mid-size computers from IBM and its direct competitors. In a 1970 survey, ...
and 4Kb of
random access memory
Random-access memory (RAM; ) is a form of computer memory that can be read and changed in any order, typically used to store working Data (computing), data and machine code. A Random access, random-access memory device allows data items to b ...
. It featured an
LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
display, twin digital
cassettes
Cassette may refer to:
Technology
* Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback
** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...
, Two 24 × 60 matrix patchboards, and a switch button control panel. Only three were sold.
Also the Vocoder 5000 (Studio Vocoder) was available as a separate module installed into the Synthi 100. It contained a 22 band filter, 22 × 22 matrix patchboard, mic/line inputs, two
oscillators
Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...
and noise sources, frequency shifter, pitch to voltage extractor, and a spectrum display driver.
The first one to be used in the USA was purchased by
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
In September 2016
Engineers Australia
Engineers Australia (EA) is an Australian professional body and not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineering for the benefit of the community. Engineers Australia is Australia's recognized org ...
awarded an
Engineering Heritage Marker to a Synthi 100 that had been restored at
Melbourne University
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
.
Users
The Synthi 100 owned by
Jack Dangers
Jack Dangers (born John Stephen Corrigan, 11 January 1965) is an English electronic musician, DJ, producer, and remixer best known for his work as the primary member of Meat Beat Manifesto. He lives in San Francisco.
Career
Prior to founding ...
can be heard being used extensively on
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
group
Meat Beat Manifesto
Meat Beat Manifesto, often shortened as Meat Beat, Manifesto or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens that was formed in 1987 in Swindon, United Kingdom. The band, fronted by Dangers (the only ...
's album ''
R.U.O.K.?''. Many photos from that album's CD sleeve are close-up photos of the Synthi 100's control panels and displays. It was claimed that his unit was the only one still in working condition at that time.
A Synthi 100 (formally from Melodia Radio) is on display at the National Music Centre in Calgary, Canada. Until recently The Music Department of the University of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon, Canada, also possessed a Synthi 100.
The
BBC Radiophonic Workshop
The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was one of the sound effects units of the BBC, created in 1958 to produce incidental sounds and new music for radio and, later, television. The unit is known for its experimental and pioneering work in electroni ...
already had an informal relationship with EMS which went back as far back as 1964 and were familiar with products being developed.
They took delivery of an EMS Synthi 100 modular system in 1970 which had been modified to BBC specifications,
dubbing it the "Delaware", after the name of the road outside the studio. Their composer
Malcolm Clarke Malcolm Clarke may refer to:
*Malcolm Clarke (zoologist) (1930–2013), British marine biologist
*Malcolm Clarke (composer) (1943–2003), British composer
* Malcolm Clarke (footballer) (1944–2004), Scottish footballer
*Malcolm Clarke (film maker) ...
was one of its most enthusiastic users. One of the more notable scores he produced with the Synthi 100 was the incidental music for the 1972 ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' serial ''
The Sea Devils
''The Sea Devils'' is the third serial of the ninth season of the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 26 February to 1 April 1972. It was written by Ma ...
''.
The first classical electronic music LP album generated exclusively on the Synthi 100 was released by
Composers Recordings, Inc.
Composers Recordings, Inc. (CRI) was an American record label dedicated to the recording of contemporary classical music by American composers. It was founded in 1954 by Otto Luening, Douglas Moore, and Oliver Daniel, and based in New York City.
...
in 1975. Called "American Contemporary-Electronic Music" (CRI SD 335), it featured full LP side lengths of music from
Barton McLean
Barton McLean (born 8 April 1938) is an American composer, performer, music reviewer, and writer.
Life
Barton McLean was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, the son of John and Grace McLean, on April 8, 1938. He graduated from State University of New ...
(Spirals) and
Priscilla McLean
Priscilla McLean (née Taylor; born May 27, 1942) is an American composer, performer, video artist, writer, and music reviewer.
Life
Priscilla Taylor was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, the daughter of business manager Conrad Taylor and school ...
(Dance of Dawn).
The
WDR Electronic Music Studio ordered a Synthi 100 in 1973, and it was delivered the next year It was used by
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...
in ''
Sirius
Sirius is the list of brightest stars, brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinisation ...
'' (1975–77), by
Rolf Gehlhaar
Rolf Rainer Gehlhaar (30 December 1943 – 7 July 2019), was an American composer, Professor in Experimental Music at Coventry University and researcher in assistive technology for music.
Life
Born in Breslau, Gehlhaar was the son of a German roc ...
for ''Fünf deutsche Tänze'' (1975), by
John McGuire for ''Pulse Music III'' (1978), and by
York Höller
York Höller (; born 11 January 1944) is a German composer and professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik Köln.
Biography
Höller was born in Leverkusen. Between 1963 and 1970 he studied at the Cologne Musikhochschule: composition with ...
for ''Mythos'' for 13 instruments, percussion, and electronic sounds (1979–80).
Billy Corgan
William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the lead singer, primary songwriter, guitarist, and only permanent member of the rock band the ...
, longtime frontman of
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...
, is also reported to own one.
The
University of Osnabrück
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
, Germany, has a Synthi 100 variant labelled "Synthi 200" (since 1981). The same variant was bought in 1973 by the
Bulgarian National Radio
Bulgarian National Radio ( bg, Българско национално радио, ''Bulgarsko natsionalno radio''; abbreviated to БНР, BNR) is Bulgaria's national radio broadcasting organisation. It operates two national and nine regional cha ...
for the electronic music studio of Simo Lazarov.
IPEM, the musicology research center and former electroacoustic music production studio of
Ghent University
Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium.
Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...
also owns a restored and working Synthi 100. It was acquired in the mid 1970s. Recently it was used by
Soulwax
Soulwax are an electronic band from Ghent, Belgium. Centred around brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, other current members include Igor Cavalera and Stefaan Van Leuven. They were first noticed after the release of their album ''Much Against Eve ...
, an electronic music band.
In 2017,
Yoshio Machida is an experimental musician, a steelpanist, composer, and visual artist.
Person
A member of ASCAP, Machida studied minimal art, music and film at the Tama Art University under Kuniharu Akiyama, Yoshiaki Touno, Sakumi Hagiwara and Kishio Sug ...
and Constantin Papageorgiadis released an album "Music from the SYNTHI 100". This album was made with IPEM's SYNTHI 100.
Eduard Artemyev
Eduard Nikolayevich Artemyev ( rus, Эдуа́рд Никола́евич Арте́мьев, p=ɨdʊˈart ɐrˈtʲemʲjɪf; born 30 November 1937) is a Soviet and Russian composer of electronic music and film scores. Outside of Russia, he is ...
, Yuri Bogdanov and
Vladimir Martynov
Vladimir Ivanovich Martynov (Russian: Владимир Иванович Мартынов) (Moscow, 20 February 1946) is a Russian composer, known for his compositions in the concerto, orchestral music, chamber music, and choral music genres.
...
used the Synthi 100 owned by Soviet label "
Melodia" for their record "Metamorphoses - Electronic interpretations of classic and modern musical works".
Also Lithuanian composer
Giedrius Kuprevičius
Giedrius Antanas Kuprevičius (born April 8, 1944 in Kaunas) is a Lithuanian composer and music educator.
Life
Giedrius Kuprevičius graduated from Prof. Eduardas Balsys' composition class at the Lithuanian Academy of Music in 1968. From 1966 to ...
for their rock-oratorio "Labour and Bread" (1978) and Estonian composer
Sven Grünberg for the soundtrack of ''Hukkunud Alpinisti hotell'' (''
Dead Mountaineer's Hotel'') (1979) as mentioned in the title sequence of the movie.
Wolfgang Dauner
Wolfgang Dauner (; 30 December 1935 – 10 January 2020) was a German jazz pianist who co-founded the United Jazz + Rock Ensemble. He worked with Hans Koller, Albert Mangelsdorff, Volker Kriegel and Ack van Rooyen and composed for radio, tel ...
has extensively used a Synthi 100, e.g., on his Album ''Changes'' (1978).
Sarah Davachi
Sarah Davachi (born 1987 in Calgary) is a Canadian experimental musician and composer of electroacoustic and minimalist music. She is a pianist and organist.
She is a graduate of the University of Calgary and holds a master's degree in electronic ...
released her album "Vergers" in November 2016 by Important Records centred largely on the EMS Synthi 100 synthesizer.
A Synthi 100, owned by the Greek Contemporary Music Research Center, was restored and exhibited in Athens Conservatoire as part of the
Documenta 14
documenta 14 was the fourteenth edition of the art exhibition documenta and took place in 2017 in both Kassel, Germany, its traditional home, and Athens, Greece. It was held first in Athens from 8 April to 16 July, and in Kassel from 10 June ...
in 2017.
A Synthi 100 has been part of Radio Belgrade's Electronic Studio since the 1970s, but was in a non-functional state for the 15 years leading up to October 4, 2017, when it was restored. It is serial number 4.
The
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
's Synthi 100 has been regularly used in performances and demonstrations since it was restored by Tonmeister Les Craythorn.
"Event: Catch the Synthi 100 streaming live"
by Alex Parade, 10 May 2018, Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne
The Musikhochschule Stuttgart
The State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart is a professional school for musicians and performing artists in Stuttgart, Germany. Founded in 1857, it is one of the oldest schools of its kind in Germany.
History
The school was fo ...
has had a late Synthi 100 since new. It has been in constant teaching use from arrival in 1977 to the present day.
References
{{reflist
External links
Synth Museum article
Article on the restored 'Digitana' model at sonicstate.com
(9.20 MB PDF)
The EMS SYNTHI BLOG
Giedrius Kuprevičius
Facebook
Synthi 100
Recipients of Engineers Australia engineering heritage markers
Analog synthesizers