The Eminent 310 Unique is a home
electronic organ
An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since developed ...
that was built and introduced in 1972 by the Dutch organ manufacturer
Eminent, at the time based in
Bodegraven
Bodegraven () is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality covers an area of of which is water.
The former municipality of Bodegraven also includes the communities Mei ...
, the Netherlands. It was the first organ to include a string section, making it the first commercial
polyphonic
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
string synthesizer
A string synthesizer or string machine is a specialized synthesizer designed specifically to make sounds similar to that of a string orchestra.
Dedicated string synthesizers occupied a specific musical instrument niche between electronic organs ...
on the market.
It is prominently featured on
Jean Michel Jarre
Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompanie ...
's albums ''
Oxygène
''Oxygène'' (, en, Oxygen) is the third studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre. It was first released in France in December 1976 by Disques Motors, and distributed internationally in 1977 by Polydor Records. J ...
'' (1977) and ''
Équinoxe
''Équinoxe'' (, en, Equinox) is the fourth studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released in December 1978 on the Dreyfus record label, licensed to Polydor Records for its worldwide distribution. The albu ...
'' (1978).
The technology for the string section was later released as a standalone instrument, the
Solina String Ensemble
The Solina String Ensemble, also marketed as the ARP String Ensemble, is a fully polyphonic multi-orchestral synthesizer with a 49-key keyboard, produced by Eminent BV (known for their ''Solina'' brand). It was distributed in the United States ...
(rebadged by
ARP as the
ARP String Ensemble
The Solina String Ensemble, also marketed as the ARP String Ensemble, is a fully polyphonic multi-orchestral synthesizer with a 49-key keyboard, produced by Eminent BV (known for their ''Solina'' brand). It was distributed in the United States by ...
for the US market), which saw wide use in popular music.
References
External links
Eminent 310 Salvation Project
{{electronic-musical-instrument-stub
Electronic organs
String synthesizers
Lelystad