Roland "Keyboard Instruments" Catalog, 1976

Roland "Keyboard Instruments" 16 page colour catalog including SH-3A, SH-5, SH-1000 and SH-2000 synthesizers, RS-101 strings instrument, and EP-30, EP-20 and EP-10 combo pianos from December 1976.

Well... time for a bit of a break from the Akai MPC stuff. And I thought, since this year marks the 10-year anniversary of the blog (I know... right?!?!?) I wanted to post something special so I've dug into my archives.

A quick look online didn't bring up any good scans of the English version of the catalog (I did find scans of the Japanese version online), so I figured this was a good candidate.

I love Roland's catalogs from this time period - they did everything right. Always a nice cover image. And highlighting each keyboard's features are large photos turned into diagrams. Each page includes lots of white space and simple, readable fonts.

In particular, I'm really digging those two pages dedicated to the SH-5. It's one of the few synths still on my bucket list.

The synth itself has only popped up on the blog twice... once in a Roland retail price list, and the other is this memorable "Groupies aren't everything" advertisement from International Musician (right).

The other section of the catalog that really got my attention was the half page dedicated to Roland's keyboard accessories. I love vintage accessories and will often go out of my way to hunt them down. Cases, bags, pedals... all of 'em. And now I have my eye on two more - that KS-10 keyboard stand and carry bag.

Un-frickin'-believably... Roland has kept the KS-10 name alive in their KS-10x keyboard stand.  Seriously - over  40 years later!  You can find a better photo of the original KS-10 here. Dang... that's some sweet hardware, don't you think?!?!

I've got a few more catalogs to post... hopefully sooner rather than later. We'll see.

Roland Synthesizer System 100 Model 102/103/104/109 "Let's you start your own Synthesizer studio" brochure, 1976

Roland Synthesizer System 100 Model 102/103/104/109 "Let's you start your own Synthesizer studio" six page brochure from January 1976.

Sure. Call it hopping on the bandwagon. I don't mind.

I've made it no secret that I love the Roland gear - old and new.  So when Peter Kirn wrote of the rumor of Roland's return to modular with a small post that included the history of Roland's modular systems starting with the System 100 on createdigitalmusic.com, I just had to pull this gorgeous brochure from the shelf to share. I think I can say with certainty that no one expected just how deep down the modular hole Roland was going to go. As a Roland AIRA fan, I'm happy. As a modular owner, I'm even more happy. Wallet - not so happy. :)

Back to the brochure....

It has definitely seen better days - but it just adds to the character. I can imagine the original owner flipping through it, dreaming about what it would be like to own a whole synthesizer system in such a compact format. If you want to get a little more intimate with the different parts of the semi-modular System 100, this is still a good reference piece. Interestingly, this doesn't have a lot of information on the basic Model 101 unit itself. This brochure was really created to focus on the other pieces of the "synthesizer studio" - specifically:

• Expander Model 102
• Mixer Model 103
• Sequencer Model 104
• Monitor Speaker Model 109

Remember - the best way to view the hi-res scans is to right-click and select "show image" or whatever the equivalent in your browser might be. 

Back in October 2009 I blogged about Roland's "Build your own synthesizer studio" ad for the System 100 that appeared in Keyboard Magazine in 1977 and mentioned that there was also a write-up that appeared much earlier in the Spec Sheet section of the May/June 1976 issue (yes, there was a time when Keyboard magazine was only published every two months!). Although just a small write-up, it still gives a great overview:

"The System 100 synthesizer is composed of separate component banks: the Model 104 sequencer; the Model 102 expander; the Model 103 mixer; two Model 109 monitor speakers, and the basic Model 101. The basic unit itself includes a VCO, a VCF, an LFO, and an ADSR envelope generator. Other features are a noise generator, a high-pass filter, an audio mixer, and a test oscillator. A 37-note keyboard is standard. The Model 102 expander supplies the performer with a sample/hold circuit, an envelope generator, an LFO, and a VCA. The 104 module is a 2-channel, 12-step analog sequencer (both channels may be linked together for 24-step sequences). List price for the System 100 is $1,950. "

List price $1,950. Not bad at all for everything you got.

Until recently, the only time I had ever played on a System 100 was in a friend's basement a long, long time ago. He had the whole package. And it was a beauty. I remember being fascinated at both the look and the sound.

I say until recently, because just a few months ago I managed to find a System 100 Model 101 unit in my home town. You bet I jumped on the chance. It's in wonderful condition too.And the sound is exactly how I remember it. I've now started the long journey of tracking down the other pieces.

Until then, I can't wait to hook it up to the new Roland modular gear. Yeah... I'm already deep into Eurorack. So you can bet I'm jumping on the Roland modular bandwagon too. :)

Moog 902 Voltage Controlled Amplifier brochure, 1976

Moog 902 Voltage Controlled Amplifier four-page brochure from 1976.

Voltage Controlled Oscillators aka V. C. A.  aka Y. U. M. :)

If you are keeping track - this is the forth brochure in the series I've posted. You can view the other posts by clicking on their images below.

Like all the brochures in this series, the front cover includes a nice close-up shot of the module itself.  The 902 VCA brochure resembles the VCO brochures in that it includes four pages of deliciousness. Flip open that gorgeous cover and you are greeted with the brochure copy on the left and some official looking diagrams on the right. And ultimately, specs on the back page.

One thing I haven't been freaking out about lately is that Moog logo. I love logos. Especially the old-skool logos like Moog, ARP, Sequential and the like. In all of these brochures, that lovely Moog logo is right there at the top.  And the best part is, that Moog logo design is the one still used today. Nice.

But, did you notice that the location of the Moog logo on these brochures isn't constant. It's always on the opposite side that the module photo is on. Module on the left - logo on the right. Module on the right - logo on the left. Interestingly, the one brochure where the logo is on the right is also the only brochure I've posted so far that was printed in 1974 - not 1976 like the rest of them. Not sure where I'm going with that - just an observation. As I post more, we'll see if the pattern sticks.

I've never paid too much attention to VCAs until I really got into modulars. On most "regular" (read: non-modular) synths they usually just kinda sat there, almost invisible, next to an envelope generator or whatnot. They really do get the short end of the stick on most synths.

Comparatively, VCOs have wave form selection buttons, octave knobs and various other doo-dads. VCFs have, at their most basic, cut-off and resonance controls. More advanced VCFs even let you choose the type of filter -low pass, high pass, bandpass...  lucky ducks.

But VCAs... Maybe a volume knob. Waaaah.... waaaaaah.... On an Korg MS20 it's just an image of a triangle. No, really. The Yamaha CS15 has one control to adjust initial volume (besides the modulation controls for LFO and EG).

I guess my point is that its not surprising how little we pay attention to them.

I was lucky that my Moog Modular came with three VCAs, each sitting next to an envelope generator. So, it dawned on me early on how important their role was. More importantly, it dawned on me *before* I started creating my Eurorack modular. It's quite common out there to get a Eurorack system started without figuring VCAs into the equation. 

Aside: speaking of Eurorack, one of my favorite VCA-type modules at the moment is local (to me!) Eurorack module designer Hexinverter.net's Galilean Moons. And yes, I've paired it with his Jupiter Storm module too. Together they are almost too much fun in a box to be legal. He includes some great sound examples on those pages. Check 'em out.

But back to the point. VCAs *are* important, especially as your system grows and you start creating more complex patches. Don't believe me... Just read through this "Do I really need a VCA" thread on Muff Wiggler.

Some great quotes:

• Filch: "The general motto around here is : "You can never have enough VCA's""
• fredguy "I started out not using vca's much and then came to understand what they brought to the party."
• robkramble: "I totally derped and overlooked the use of a VCA as a CV router... "
• Matos: "No, you don't need a VCA. You need many VCAs!  "
• boramx: "i personally think you should have about 2 VCAs per 3u of modules."

And, I'll end this post with one other quote from forum member monobass:

"vcas are the next level shit y'all"

Yup.

Moog 903a Random Signal Generator brochure, 1976

Moog 903a Random Signal Generator two-sided brochure from 1976.

For the last couple of weeks I've been swooned by a series of Moog module brochures. This 903 Random Signal Generator brochure is the third in the series - after blogging on the Moog 921a/b oscillator bank and the Moog 921 voltage controlled oscillator module.

I gotta say, this series is shaping up to become a handsome set of brochures with those lovely front covers. Sweet.

There is one little difference with this latest brochure though. Those first two brochures each included four pages of juicy Moog-y goodness, but this latest 903a random generator module brochure consists of only one two-sided piece of paper. It's not a surprise though - that 903 panel is sparse-city, consisting of just dual white noise and pink noise outputs.  No big dials, switches or flashing lights in the local vicinity.

That may give someone not familiar with noise generators the wrong idea. A noise module is a MUST for any modular. The back of the brochure goes into some good detail on how noise can be used effectively within a patch. Percussive sounds - check! Sound effects - yup!  And of course there's the signal control applications as well like their involvement in creating randomly timed and tuned beep, boop, boop, beep, boops.

Growing up I loved noise. Not the really loud variety of clanging and banging (that came later) but that soothing noise that I find described so well by William Gibson in the opening line of Neuromancer:

"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."

I love that quote. and I also love the sound that often accompanied that screen "color" late at night when a television channel went off the air. SSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH...

It wasn't until I got my Moog modular that I realized there was different "colours" of noise. And even then I wasn't too curious what the differences were for a long time. If you Google the topic you will soon learn there are a wack of different "colours "of noise - and as math is introduced into the equation (pun intended) if you are like me your head will begin to hurt a little bit.

According to Wikipedia, noise tends to be divided into two groups.

The first group are those colours of noise that have precise definitions:

White. Pink. Brown(ian). Blue. Violet. Grey.

In the case of this module, White noise has a "flat" frequency spectrum - "the signal has equal power in any band of a given bandwidth... when the bandwidth is measured in Hz". The example they use is that the sound power between the frequency range of 40Hz and 60Hz is equal to the sound power between 400Hz and 420Hz. Here's the chart for white noise from the Wikipedia page.

Pink noise, on the other hand, is linear in logarithmic space - "it has equal power in bands that are proportionally wide". Using the same example above, there is the same amount of sound power between 40Hz and 60Hz as there is between 4000-6000Hz. Now compare its spectrum chart below to the one for White noise above.

The visuals definitely help. :)

The second group are those with less precise definitions, synonyms for formally defined colours, or have multiple definitions - Red. Green. Black. Noisey White. Noisey Black.

I'm not even going to pretend I know *exactly*what they are talking about, but I get the idea.

I'll let you read the Wikipedia page to find out more info.

My head hurts.   :D

Moog 921A Oscillator Driver/921B Voltage Controlled Oscillator brochure, 1976

Moog 921A Oscillator Driver/921B Voltage Controlled Oscillator four page brochure from 1976.

I knew it had been a while since I last published a blog post, but I didn't realize it has been about a month! Honestly, I have a wack of ads and brochures scanned, but just haven't been able to find the time to find the words. Summer and its ups and downs have gotten in the way a little bit.

But fall is now here! And although its been a pretty rainy one to date, this morning I'm happy to report I'm blogging from my sunny back deck, coffee in hand.

Perfect blogging weather. :)

I've been wanting to start posting this series of Moog module brochures for a while and the 921a/b was an excellent one to start with because there is some great history behind it.

As you may know from previous posts, I'm a big fan of Moog. I'm also an owner of a Modular Moog (see right). Although my modular contains the 901a/b VCO bank - the predecessor to the 921a/b bank - it provides a great back-story to existence of both.

Let's back up a bit. As you can see in my modular's patch diagram (created by Bob Moog himself!), there is both a 901 Voltage Controlled Oscillator as well as the 901 a/b bank that contains one 901a driver that is wired up to control (drive) three 901b VCOs. What's the point of having the 901a/b bank if you could just have 901s?

For a long time I thought the only reasons the 901a/b bank existed was because it was a great way to cram more VCOs into a smaller space. The 901 takes up a lot of room, so getting three or four 901b VCOs with multiple waveforms into the same space really was one convenience of its design. But then I found an even more valuable reason for the a/b driver system a while back when doing some research on my modules.

A PDF article titled "The 901a/b story"  found on synth-werk.com (a company that is building Moog modules!) explains that as the Moog Modular transitioned from a piece of experimental equipment to more of a musical instrument to be found sitting in professional studios and on stage, the 901's thermal instability and older electronic components resulted in problems with tuning. This was fixed to some degree by driving multiple 901b modules from one 901a controller. But, they were still pretty unstable, so Moog eventually replaced the 901 series with the 921 series giving musicians a lot more temperature stability, tracking accuracy and extra functionality.

Great stuff. And so is synth-werks as far I can tell. Definitely going to look into filling that top space in my modular. :)

The brochure/spec sheet is almost as much of a work of art as the 921a/b modules themselves. First and foremost, we get a great close-up of both modules on the front page. Then when you open the brochure up you are greeted with a wealth of knowledge - in fact, pretty much everything you've ever wanted to know about the control panel features and musical applications of the 921a/b. There is even a full page of technical charts and graphs. I'm not even going to pretend I know half of what Moog is talking about there. I'll take their word for it. Finally on the back page we get all the information specs.

I'm a fan of this whole series of module brochures, and you can expect to see more of them soon. But right now its just too nice out. Time to make the most of this gorgeous Sunday. 

Moog Professional Systems Price List, March 1, 1976

Moog Professional Systems Price List from March 1, 1976.

When friend of the blog Micke posted those links to the Moog 1972 and 1974 modular price lists in the comments section of my Moog Synthesizer 35 post, I immediately recognized the 1974 price list as looking eerily similar to a 1976 price list I had on my shelves somewhere. I went over to the Moog section and after a bit of digging finally found this little gem - in great condition too. Nice thick paper. Dark print. Yum.

When I did a cursory comparison, they looked identical (except for the colour), but as I took a closer look the differences started to make themselves clear.

The cover of the 1974 price list and this 1976 price list are pretty much identical, except that the "TM" is missing from the Moog logo that sits in the top right corner - and in fact, its missing from every corner of every page. The design of concentric circles matches the design style used for their product reference sheets from the same time period.

Flip open the list to the inside pages and again - very similar. On the inside-left page, the two paragraphs in the 1974 price list and this 1976 list are identical. No words have been changed. Underneath is the Instrument price lists, and its a little surprising to see just how much prices have gone *UP* in just two years.

For example:
Moog System 15 -  1974: $3,495.00  ----  1976: $3,845.00
Moog system 35 -   1974: $5,395.00  ----  1976: $5,935.00
Moog System 55 -  1974: $8,795.00   ---- 1976: $9,675.00

And remember, those differences are in 1976-dollars. That was a lot of cash back then!

On the inside-right page of the 1974 price list and the 1976 list are modules prices. Again, we see the uptick in pricing in 1976, and we also are surprised with the availability of a few more modules!

• The 928 Modular Sample and Hold
• The 1630 Bode Frequency Shifter

Excellent additions.

Finally on the back of the the 1974 price list and the 1976 list are images of the three different models available and a few selling points for each. Again, all similar between the two.

The most interest difference between these two price lists is right at the bottom of the back page. On the 1974 list is written "Distributed by: NORLIN MUSIC Inc." along with some contact info. This is rather surprising considering that according to the "Bob Moog: A Timeline" page on the Moog Music Web site, Norlin Music purchased Moog Music Inc. from Bill Waytena in 1973, essentially making Moog a sub-brand.

But, by 1976, Norlin finally decided to take advantage of their ownership status and up'd the tagline on that 1976 price list to "Another Quality Product from Norlin".

And just to make it official, slapped that Norlin logo right next to it.

Vako Synthesizers Inc. Orchestron "Your instrument of the future" ad, Contemporary Keyboard 1976

Vako Synthesizers Inc. Orchestron "Your instrument of the future" full page black and white advertisement from the inside back cover of the May/June 1976 issue of Contemporary Keyboard.

This is the second, and much more well-known advertisement by Vako for the Orchestron. It's not without its own issues, but in my opinion a good deal better in terms of design when compared to the previous two-page ad.

First - the bad. Well... everything is a little squished together. Especially the top half. I purposely scanned the ad with all the room around the border to make the point that it really didn't have to be. It reminds me of that photo you would see in your junior high school science book with all the continents pushed together. And like that single land mass, I just keep hoping the different elements of this advertisement will follow the theory of continental drift and float their way across the rest of the page to create some killer white space.

'Cause if we got some white space added in there, we would definitely start to see Vako's new personality begin to emerge in the design. A high contrast look, big chubby black letters in the ad-title and highlighted text that mimicks the font used in the name of the instrument,  and... hey... wait a minute...

(flips through the magazine... ).

Look familiar? Here's an Oberheim Four-Voice advertisement from the FRONT inside cover of the SAME issue of Contemporary Keyboard.  The title font has a few more edges, but there are definitely some familiarities to be found when comparing the two ads.

When designing the look of a company's ads, it's important to find a personality that is unique and then keep it up in order to start building that familiarity between the reader and the brand. Rule of thumb is that if you can cover the logo and the name of the company in an ad, and people can still recognize the company the ad is for, you've done your job.

I'm not suggesting that one company stole the ad design from the other. I just find it interesting to see simlar ad designs develop early on in both Vako's and Oberheim's lifetimes. And from an historical perspective, following it through to see which company won this brand battle (ahem... Oberheim).

But, I have to go back to my original thought - everything is pushed together too tightly, and it keep's Vako's personality from properly executing. I think part of the problem was that call-out box in the top right corner. It kind of looks like it was an after-thought, slapped on to the page outside of the ad to help highlight it, but unfortunately resulting in the rest of the ad getting pushed together in order to fit within the confines of the page.

Don't get me wrong, that call-out box serves a good purpose, playing a pivotal role to help personalize and familiarize the company with readers by including a bit of history on Dave Vankoevering, the owner of the company. It actually contains some really nice behind-the-scenes info about his previous work in the distribution and marketing of synthesizers and his time with none other than Moog!

Speaking of which, I didn't want to spend the whole blog post talking about design, because the technology behind the Orchestron is kind of interesting. I had already taken a look at the Orchestron's Wikipedia page but there wasn't much there on the technology behind the machine. So I pulled out my tattered copy of Mark Vail's Vintage Synthesizers book to see what he knew about the company. There I found three or so paragraphs on the Orchestron in the chapter titled "It Came from the Music Industry" under the section "The Reign of the Proto-Sampler".

According to Mark, both the Orchestron and another instrument called the Birotron, were both instruments "designed to exploit the market [the Mellotron] created". The Birotron was created by Dave Biro, funded by Rick Wakeman, and used eight-track tapes to play back sound. It apparently never made it out of beta testing and only about 35 machines were ever created.

The Orchestron, in comparison, used "laser-optical encoding technology, somewhat like an analog CD" with sounds optically recorded that could then be read by a beam of light. Reading the ad I always got confused about how the heck digital laser CD technology could have made it into an instrument way back in 1976. But back then it was still analog.  LOL.

Anyways,  The sound disks were $110 bucks a piece, the size of phonograph records, and according to the Orchestron Wikipedia page, the highest fidelity came from the outside rings (maybe because the outer edge is spinning faster than the inside?).  A remote scanning unit to read the disks were apparently quite large, and they even designed multiple disk readers to allow for the layering of sounds!

Well, I gotta stop there and enjoy the sun for a bit. More on the Orchestron soon!

Vako Synthesizers Inc. Orchestron "The Instrument of the Future..." ad, Contemporary Keyboard 1976

Vako Synthesizers Inc. Orchestron "The Instrument of the Future..." two page black & white advertisement from page 32 and 33 in the January/February 1976 issue of Contemporary Keyboard.

Like the Wersi Condor I blogged about last Monday, I don't really know much about the Vako Orchestron either. And when that happens, I immediately focus on design.

If anything, this advertisement's design is the *exact opposite* on the Condor.  And although "The Future" is literally written all over this advertisement, the design also seems the exact opposite of the future too. This was only the second or third issue of Contemporary Keyboard magazine, and Vako had chosen to come out of the gates swinging with a two-page advertisement with ad-copy focused on the future of technology. And what do they do, they slap the pictures of the instrument on what looks like pre-clipart of a scroll.

Don't get me wrong - I do get it. The ad-copy is all "It shall have..." and "Its name shall be..." - as if reading off a scroll from the ancient Roman times. But the design for such an advanced instrument just could have been so much more.

The best part of the design of this ad has to be the logo. Vako in that futuristic "V" symbol is great. As is the font used for Orchestron. Futuristic in a 70s sci-fi-kinda way. And, as we can see, Orchestron wasn't just the name of the instrument, it was the name of a division (however small) within the company. Interesting stuff.

After picking apart the design in my head a bit, I decided to find out a bit more about the company. Googling actually brought up a lot more than I thought. And with so much to choose from, I of course immediately focused on artists that used the instrument.

Not surprisingly, one of the most common artist reference is to Kraftwerk. According to many sources, including the Orchestron Wikipedia page:

"Florian Schneider bought an Orchestron Model A during their Autobahn tour in the USA in 1975. On the unofficial live album Concert Classics, recorded during their 1975 tour, the instrument can be heard. Kraftwerk have used the instrument on the albums Radio-Activity, Trans-Europe Express and The Man-Machine."

I found one photo of Kraftwerk performing in Zurich in 1976 on the Wikipedia page for Trans -Europe Express that pretty clearly shows Ralf Hütter (far left) playing an Orchestron (click on the photo to be taken to a larger one on Wikipedia). You can tell its an Orchestron by the distinctively-shaped side panel with the carrying handle. KVRaudio's forum has another photo where they point it out - but its partially obscured by what seems to be another keyboard.  Neat stuff.

There's even a YouTube video of someone playing some Kraftwerk on an Orchestron.

But the most common reference to an artist that used the Orchestron is Patrick Moraz from the band Yes, probably because his custom three manual Orchestron is featured  prominently in the advertisement. Again, according to the Orchestron's Wikipedia page, the image is that of "Model X" - a prototype specifically built for Patrick. According to the page, this keyboard was used on Yes's Relayer album (another Wikipedia link), and  the instrument broke and disappeared after being sent in for repairs. Huh.

I'll leave with this YouTube video of the full Yes album below.

Take a listen if its your cup of tea.

I'm on my second time through while I write this blog post.  :)

Strider Systems Inc. DCS1 "Digitally Controlled Synthesizer" ad, Contemporary Keyboard 1976

Strider Systems Inc. DCS1 "Digitally Controlled Synthesizer" 1/4-page black and white advertisement from page 36 in the November/December 1976 issue of Contemporary Keyboard Magazine.

I'm not convinced that the design of this advertisement couldn't be up for debate, but not today.   :)

There is one thing in particular about the ad that really bugs me... and I'll get to that in a second...

More importantly though, I gotta tell you that Strider did a pretty good job at getting the DCS1 out there considering their ad-budget for CK seemed to include this one single advertisement in this one single issue of CK. But it was a stark year for unique synthesizers like the EML Synkey with its punchcard system of patch storage so the Strider, with its unique features was sure to get noticed.

And to help the DCS1 along, Strider obviously did their promotional leg work early on. A few months before this lone advertisement appeared, readers of Contemporary Keyboard probably got their first glimpse at Strider and the DCS1 in the Spec Sheet section in the July/August 1976 issue, which included all the basic specs of the machine along with one of my favorite tidbits of info - the coveted retail price!

"Strider Digital Synthesizer. The DCS-1 is a digitally controlled synthesizer featuring twelve audio oscillators (20hz to 20khz), four low-frequency oscillators (.08 to 21 hz), and a 49-note keyboard that is fully polyphonic with a programmable split. Also included are contour generators with 64 high-resolution control outputs, three low-pass resonant filters (12 db./octave rolloff)_ with fc and Q contours, and a 10-patch digital memory. A 256-note sequencer with up to four independent sequences is standard, as is tape cassette for bulk storage of patches, sequences, and computer programs. The unit measures 9" high, 48" wide, and 12" deep. It weights 55lbs. Price is $4,500.00. Strider Systems. Box 2934, Norman, OK 7369."

Unfortunately, it wasn't run with a accompanying photo, which would have helped it stand out against some of the other big-gun promos that had got their photos slapped beside/on-top/underneath their promos. The list is impressive - Emu's modular synthesizer, Moog's Polymoog synthesizer and the Synthi Vocoder, who's photo looks to include the whole Synthi system. Impressive.

Luckily, eight or nine months later Strider got another freebie promo. The March/April 1977 issue of Synapse magazine included a blurb about the DCS1 in their "What's Happening" section:

"From Strider Systems, Inc. comes the DCS-1, a computer controlled portable polyphonic synthesizer. Included in the system are 12 audio frequency oscillators, a 48 channel envelope generator, 3 state-variable filters, a 49 key polyphonic keyboard with programmable split, a 16-key digital keyboard with l.e.d. display, a 16-key programmable effects keyboard, 10-patch digital memory, 4 independent 256 note sequences, and a tape cassette for bulk storage of patches, sequences and computer programs."

Not sure if Strider consciously decided to promote other aspects of the machine later in its run - in this case Synapse mentions its portability. Or it could be Synapse picked up on this on their own and decided to include it. Either way, its not in the CK Spec Sheet. Although I guess the weight of the unit is. Still, from a marketing perspective, "portable" sounds better that "55 lbs". A lot better.

There isn't a lot of information sources about the Strider DCS1 out there. Offline, there is Mark Vail's Vintage Synthesizers book. It includes two long paragraphs on Strider's two synthesizers under the heading "Digital Egg Snatchers", describing the section as instruments that stole "digital eggs from the larger instruments and incorporating them into more limited, more specialized, and hopefully more marketable designs" and were the ancestors to the more modern Casio CZs, Yamaha DXs and Korg DWs. I'm not sure "stole" is the right word... but being described as the precursor to CZs and DXs is just down right cool. 

Fortunately, the best resource is online for everyone to see, and is probably *the* best source one could have - scans of the Strider DCS1 brochure from Chris Kann's Flickr photo stream. The five pages of scans include:

• Page 1: Cover with large logo
• Page 2: Technical specifications on the oscillators, envelope generators, filters, manual controls, external inputs and memory
• Page 3: Technical specs continued, including cabinet info and price, including two much better photos that seem to be the same ones from the ad
• Page: 4: "A brief discussion" - now more commonly referred to a FAQ - What is digitally controlled synthesis? How does this differ from "computer music"? Etc...
• Page 5: DCS-1 features including a hand-written note from someone at the company named Ray or Roy!

Excellent resource!

Now about that advertisement, and in particular that one little issue I have with it.

The first thing I notice is the name of the instrument - DCS1. Now I'm a big fan of consistency, and this advertisement clearly doesn't include a dash in the name: DCS1.  No dash. So, I wrote this blog post without the dash. But then I noticed that both the Spec Sheet and What's Happening write-ups do include a dash 0 DCS-1. And although the cover of the Chris Kann's brochure doesn't include a dash in the name, text within the brochure consistently does. Gah.

But, that's probably a personal issue I should deal with. Not everyone else.

But you know what else bothers me. When people write MiniMoog with a double-capital "M".

Double Gah.

Vibronic Music Systems "Synthesizers?" ad version #2, Contemporary Keyboard 1976

Vibronic Music Systems "Synthesizers?" half-page black and white advertisement version #2 from page 37 in the March/April 1976 issue of Contemporary Keyboard.

This third and final advertisement from Vibronic only seems to have appeared once in the March/April 1976 issue of CK. After this ad ran (as discussed in my last blog post that featured the previous version of this Vibronic ad) I learned that owner Ken Fine made the decision that marketing dollars could be better spent by advertising directly to local musicians and educators.

The ad itself borrows the ad-title and photography from the previous ad, but the ad-copy has been reduced considerably, but those few lines carry a lot of history..

"Customized" hybrid systems: In past ads, Vibronic really focused on Moog synthesizers and Moog modifications. But in this advertisement the word Moog is curiously missing. In fact, I learned that Vibronic carried a much wider selection of synthesizers and keyboards than just the Moogs of the time. He recalls the store carry the Moog Sonic Six, Moog satellte (tough to sell), Minimoog, Modular systems, as well as EMS synths and Mellatrons, among others.

"Customized" high-intensity keyboard sound systems: If you recall from the first ad blog post, those customized systems were created by Music & Sound Ltd. And if you recall from my second blog post, they demonstrated those synthesizers to clients through their own customized sound system. Each synth was hooked into a matrix sound system like those found in today's stores, and then fed into a McIntosh amp and large speaker cabinets hung by chains from the ceiling. Not a surprise - adjacent businesses were often complaining about the sound.   :)

Even the company name and address in the ad have some good history behind it. Ken had come up with the name Vibronic by putting together the words "Vibration" and "Sonic", although there were plans to change the name to Vibronix at a future date.

The address in all three ads was actually the store's second location. He originally opened the store in Ardmore, PA, about 10 miles west of Philadephia, at 6 East Lancaster Ave. That is where the futuristic showroom and that first large custom-built sound system were located. Ken recalls that there was a Radio Shack across the street the got a lot of repeat business from Vibronics at the time. In fact, Ken still has a box of all types of cables and connectors that were originally from that store.

The second location was actually Music & Sound Ltd's address, where he moved Vibronic after the first year in operation. His partner, Marc Paturka, had left the company and moving into M&S's location would save money as well as give him more exposure since they were a well-known retailer in those parts. Moving into M&S also allowed Ken to spend more time doing consulting work with studios and schools and keep up his chops as a session player at Sigma Sound and Philly International Records.  Ken continued to own the company Vibronic, but included that "Division of Music & Sound Ltd " above the address in this advertisement as a way of creating a larger company image.

I always jump at the chance to research and talk with people who were deep in the industry during this time period. People like Marco Alpert of E-mu fame and Sequential Circuits advertising artist John Mattos. They usually have some great history to share. And Ken Fine fits nicely into this category. He was surrounded by music all his life - before, during and after Vibronic.

Pre-Vibronic

Ken remembers growing up surrounded by artists in his family. Most were entertainers in some way, always trying to find that balance between art and business. He was primarily a piano player, who then studied at the Philadelphia Musical Academy in the early 1970s. He recalled finding a Moog IIIc in the school's Music department, where students were using it to record compositions. And as an undergrad he had access.  Ken was already fascinated with, as he put it, "the crazy electronic stuff". He became influenced by many electronic artists and their music of the day, including Isao Tomita's Snowflakes are Dancing.

Upon graduation from music school in roughly 1973, he ended up working at an electronics company called Components in Minneapolis, and that's when he started to go out and visit synthesizer factories like Moog and EML. He visited the Moog factory in Buffalo, and it was around this time that he realized he really wanted to sell synthesizers. He began speaking with others in the synthesizer industry like ARP owner Alan R. Perlman (Ken recalls having an ARP synthesizer back then) and this solidified his resolve to get into the business. And after only a year in Minneapolis, he moved back to PA to get to work on that plan.

Vibronic

Finding himself back in PA, he soon found his 23-year-old-self with a new bank loan and a new business partner - Marc Paterka. They had met at the electronic store in Minneapolis, and at the time Marc was a church organist who had been playing in a lot of big cathedrals at the time.

Opening that store in their first location was a busy but fun time. Ken recalls the "high" he felt when buying all those amazing synthesizers for the store. The direct access to a wide variety of rather rare keyboards got him started doing Moog rentals sessions for studios like Sigma Sound, who were always looking for the latest sounds for their R&B artists. And soon the store expanded to offer Moog service and modifications.

Philadelphia Moog Ensemble

Philadephia Moog Ensemble set-up 1

It was during this time that he and his partner also started the Philadelphia Moog Ensemble, an electronic band that played universities and colleges. They did covers from such college favorites as Switched-on Bach and A Clockwork Orange. With just four hands, four parts, and no sequencers - everything was played live. They even cut an album. 

But he ended up spending just as much time demonstrating the gear to students and curious on-lookers after the concerts - and he found he liked the educational side of synthesizers.

Philadephia Moog Ensemble set-upd

Ken started lecturing about electronic music at different schools, and at one point was teaching a graduate class in electronic music.  

Meanwhile, bands from all over the east continued showing up at the store. Educators from schools setting up labs to teach music and sound design also popped in.

But there was a recession back in 1975/76, so sales really began to drop off. At the same time, larger stores started selling more synthesizers, buying bulk from the likes of Moog and receiving  massive discounts. Small boutique synthesizer stores like Vibronic started to feel the squeeze. By 1977, Ken decided a change was in order, and decided to returned to graduate school.

He sold his entire inventory. Ouch. 

Post Vibronic

When Ken first mentioned on the phone that he went back to school, I immediately thought he meant music school. But he decided to take his love of music in a different direction.

Psychology.

Ken became interested in how humans perceive sound, and created what he called a "musical Rorschach test".  Test subjects listened to ten pieces of music - 60 second cuts - and then were asked a series of questions to determine their emotional response. This research led him to expand his interests into biofeedback, pain control, even interfacing people with machines. Gah! Terminator!   :)

But even as graduate school pulled him away from music, he continued to keep one foot in the door, playing in bands and at clubs.  To help pay the bills he also worked part time at Guitar Center, just as polyphonics began to make their rise in popularity and come down in cost. 

In 2000 Ken left his psychology private practice in Florida and Colorado, and decided it was time for another life change. He joined a band and spent four months on a cruise ship.  This led Ken to look into becoming a booking agent. And he soon opened up a new business - Blue Moon Talent Entertainment Agency with a new partner.

Within a year the partner had dropped out, but Ken has continued to grow the roster over the last ten years or so to over 1000 acts, now booking acts for corporate events, banquets and award ceremonies all over the country. 

Ken Fine's current license plate

Before hanging up the phone, I asked Ken if he had anything else to say. Any words of advice. Without even a breathe or skipping a beat:

"Never take your art to seriously. Always have fun making money."

Good advice.

And you can see he practices what he preaches just by looking at his current license plate.  

Vibronic Music Systems "Synthesizers?" ad, Contemporary Keyboard 1976

Vibronic Music Systems "Synthesizers?" half-page black and white advertisement from page 30 in the January/February 1976 issue of Contemporary Keyboard Magazine.

Another gooder from Vibronic.

Where that first "What a combination" Vibronic ad was a lesson in simplicity with a simple line drawing and a few bullet points, this advertisement piles on the content with a large ad-title, a large photo of a large Moog modular, and a large amount of ad-copy. All in a half-page space.

And it's all in the details. The way the keyboard in the photo breaks the border of the ad to catch the eye. And the way the dotted line of the form follows the shape of the photo, also breaking the lines of the ad and catching the eye. Not sure if any of that was done specifically for that reason (often its just 'cause it looks good), but it worked out that way. And it works.

Ken Fine working hard, 1975ish
Notice all that juicy historical
synthesizer goodness hang on the
wall behind him.

In my last blog post, I mentioned that through a few Google searches I managed to track down then-owner Ken Fine, now "head honcho" at Blue Moon Talent Inc. And, after a quick email exchange, we ended up chatting on the phone about his experiences opening the "first synthesizer-only" instrument shop in America. He also sent a few photos my way, including this one of himself at the shop. Excellent!

Although not readily apparent in this photo of ken hard at work (on the phone with Bob?), Ken comes across as a fun and friendly guy. And that personality definitely played a role in the development of that first Vibronic advertisement with its most-excellent t-shirt-ready drawing of a Moog Modular, and this more comprehensive second ad.

I find that smaller companies like Vibronic can get away with a lot more fun and humor in advertisements than larger companies, but there is still that real danger of getting carried away. But Vibronic used humor well, without going over the top.

For example, take a look at the ad-copy in this second ad. "We take the fun of making music seriously."  Not over the top, but you immediately "get" where Vibronic is coming from as a company.  And then you come to the punch line found in the cut-out form section of this ad. In that form are two check-boxes.

• First check box: Send me the free Vibronic Catalog
• Second check box: I want technical expertise. Send Kenny Fine

I wonder how many people checked off that second box. :)

I pointed this second line out to Ken and he chuckled as the memories surrounding this ad started flooding back to the front of his mind, noting that there was a lot of fun and laughter around the shop during this time period.

And how could there not be humor and fun?  Not yet in his mid-20's, Ken was an owner of a 1000 square foot futuristic-looking shop full of big analog monophonic and modular synthesizers, wired together through an audio switching matrix, feeding into a custom-designed sound system that would probably have felt at home in a large auditorium.

His excuse for the large custom PA - so clients could hear that deep Moog sub-bass. I'm sure one note and that bank loan officer understood exactly why he needed this sound system.  :)

This conversation led nicely into one of the topics I was really looking forward to discussing - that drawing of the Moog modular in Vibronic's first ad. That's one nice piece of... er... fun.

Ken loves that drawing too  (why wouldn't he  :), and recalled that it, and the ad, were created by good  friend and artist Linda Chyhai based on a photo of one of the modulars in the store. He pointed out that you can make out her last name in the bottom left corner of the keyboard in the drawing.

Maxi-Korg - another example of
the Baby Teeth font
Photo taken shamefully
from a MATRIXSYNTH 2007 post

She was also responsible for the creation of the awesome Vibronic logo that can be seen in these ads. Without skipping a beat, Ken recalled that the font used was Baby Teeth. We both did a quick Google search while we talked on the phone and... sure enough... there it was. Baby Teeth! The font was designed in the early 70s by Milton Glaser. And you may recognize Baby Teeth from another appearance it made in the early synth world - on the front panel of the Maxi-Korg synth! Hello!

BTW - you may have noticed that the Vibronic logo seen in the office photo is different from the one in the ads. That original Vibronic logo was created by a high school art teacher, who Ken mentioned also created the store sign. 

Another question I asked Ken was how the heck he managed to get his advertisements into the first few issues of Contemporary Keyboard. I had three theories.

1. Cold call from CK sales guy?
2. Through his association with Bob Moog, who was a writer for CK and a guest at the opening of the store?
3. From the 1975 NAMM show that CK happened to attend prior to publishing their first issue?

I was secretly hoping for "3" since I had noticed that the first issue of CK included an article on the 1975 NAMM show. In that article, the CK author mentions that the magazine had a booth there, promoting the magazine before its first publication. And well - that would just be cool if all those little pieces fell into place to create a great little story.

I was quite happy and surprised to learn that "3" *was* the correct answer.  Ken had been there with a few Moog synths and had met magazine editor Tom Darter, who convinced him to sign-up for a 1/2-page advertisement for the first issue. And in the next few as well. He seems to recall paying approximately $500 for the ad in that first issue. There is always a cost to being a part of synth history.

So, why did Vibronic's advertising in CK suddenly stop early in 1976 after only a few ads? Ken realized that his audience wasn't nation-wide and that a national magazine maybe wasn't the best vehicle to reach his customer-base. He decided to focus his marketing and advertising dollars towards local area musicians as well as educators that were also discovering synthesizers and setting up labs to teach sound and music.

In fact for Ken, music and education played a huge role both before, during and after life at Vibronic.

But that will have to wait for the next post.:)