Electronic Dream Plant Wasp "skinny" ad, Contemporary Keyboard 1979

Electronic Dream Plant Wasp "skinny" 1/3-page advertisement from page 56 in Contemporary Keyboard May 1979.

I recently blogged about how EDP's Wasp introduction in North American wasn't exactly a big deal. Especially when you consider how it was introduced in it's home country across the pond with a large full page advertisement along with a full review of the synth. Luckily, it turns out that EDP had bigger plans for Contemporary Keyboard - it was just going to take a couple of months.

After that first rather unknown tiny ad turned up in the February 1979 issue of Contemporary Keyboard, there came a month without a word from the company. Then, EDP, or more likely their exclusive distributor for the Americas - AIM Limited (Bob Gross) - got their act together with the more well known full page "yellow" advertisement in April 1979.

That full page ad appeared just one more time in July, but in between those appearances, AIM decided to run this condensed 1/3-page version of the ad in May and June. And surprisingly, managed to fit EVERYTHING except the list of resellers.

The color of the ad is what really makes it stand out. If you are flipping through CK, that flash of yellow immediately gets your attention. And, since they were trying to squeeze so much information into such a small space (both for the full page version and the skinny version), they were smart to put the image and the price at the top (and top left) of the ad.

I never did know much about the Wasp, or EDP, so I went searching on YouTube for a demo and came across a great video for an E-bay auction. Turns out, its the same Wasp that I referenced in my previous Wasp post concerning the British flag.

Interestingly, the seller updated the description of the video with the final price of the auction - and it looks like this Wasp sold for only $687! Great deal for whoever got it.

Gives me hope there are still good deals on Ebay. :D

Electronic Dream Plant Ltd. Wasp mini ad, Contemporary Keyboard 1979

Electronic Dream Plant Ltd. Wasp synthesizer introductory 1/12th-page advertisement from page 52 in Contemporary Keyboard Magazine February 1979.

Man - what a great summer! Almost forgot to post my blog today! We have our corporate picnic today, looking forward to it. Two words: cotton candy.

Okay... one short blog post (for one short ad), coming right up!

Not really the same big splash of an introduction that was seen across the pond. That one included both a full-page advertisement AND a review of the synth.

Nope - this little addy barely has room for the photo - so readers will find no actual useful information - no price, no functionality, nothing. Boo.

If I was a reader in 1979 looking at that advertising strip at the bottom of page 52, I'd almost be more interested in the "Love Lite" ad on the right. It is the "eye-catchiest jewelry you've ever seen". And the battery is included. Does anyone know if the Wasp included batteries? :)

Luckily, this same issue of CK happened to include the Spec Sheet for the Wasp - and, what I believe is the exact same photo. It includes all the reference information you can shake a stick at, including US price! And you know how much I love Spec Sheets!

"Wasp Synthesizer. The Wasp features two audio oscillators, an LFO, a multimode filter, two envelope generators, a noise source, a two-octave keyboard, and a built-in speaker. the audio oscillators are full-range analog/digital hybrids, with sawtooth and pulse wave-forms. The LFO has square, sine, positive-going and negative-going sawtooth, noise, and random sample-and-hold functions. It can control both the oscillators and the filter. A control is supplied for adding the LFO into the filter in both positive and negative forms. Six C batteries or a 9-volt adapter can be used to power the unit. The keyboard is a touch-plate that works off of capacitance. The envelope generator can be set to repeat. Release is controlled from the decay pot. A headphone output is supplied, as are two 7-pin DIN sockets for interfacing more than one Wasp. The unit weighs about 3 1/2 lbs (1.6 kg). Price is $695.00. AIM Ltd., Box 242, Orange, MA 01364 (U.K. Dist., Rod Argent's Keyboards, 20 Denmark St., London WC2 H8NA, England)."

One of the things I find interesting about this little advertisement is the British flag that appears on the Wasp. This flag doesn't appear on the original UK ad in International Musician and Recording World - so it makes me wonder if only Wasps sold in the Americas were lucky enough to have them.

A quick Google images search seems to indicate that Wasps with the flag are rare, if not totally non-existent. Even this one photo I found in a MATRIXSYNTH auction post, looks like the original flag was peeled off or replaced or something.

Anyone have more info about the flag?

Electronic Dream Plant Ltd. Wasp "Invasion" ad, International Musician and Recording World 1979

Electronic Dream Plant Ltd. Wasp "Invasion" 1-page advertisement from page 95 in International Musician and Recording World January (UK) 1979.

The Wasp has always been on my synth bucket-list. Of course part of that check-off includes finding it at a garage sale for ten bucks. :D

Looking at this "Stand by for the wasp invasion" advertisement always puts a smile on my face. Even when it is August during one of the warmest, driest summers we've had around here in a while. For those not from around these parts - these conditions *always* start to bring out the real wasps when sitting on the deck of your favorite restaurant.

But that won't stop my smile because this is one of the earliest EDP Wasp ads - and one of the best. The image of the synth, with the wasps flying out of the speaker is fantastic. Even the artist's rendition of the simplified front panel with the knobs out of place doesn't bug me. Come to think of it, the casing also looks a lot fatter than Wasps I've seen photos of. There is always the possibility that this image was taken from a prototype (but then again, I like thinking all early ads that have synth photos are prototypes).

The ad-copy is simple, but provides a wack of historical reference information including price (199 pounds!), synth functionality, and even the original exclusive distributors for both the U.K and the Americas. Nice.

As far as I can tell, this ad looks to have only have appeared once in IMRW in that January 1979 (UK)/February 1979 (US) issue. Luckily for readers, and not too surprisingly, this issue also contained a "Synthcheck" review of the Wasp.

Written by Robin Lumley (described as a record producer, as well as a former keyboard player with Bowie, and who today has a fairly impressive Wikipedia page), the article isn't exactly written in what would be considered a normal review style. The opening paragraph of the two page review gives readers an idea of what they are in for:

"Once upon a time, there was a little boy called Adrian Wagner, and he lived in a little cottage in Oxfordshire. One day, in between writing vast and complex albums of synthesizer music, he decided to invent a new synthesizer, and after inventing it, he thought of a little company to manufacture it and sell it to all the boys and girls who liked playing synthesizers. He called the company The Electronic Dream Plant Ltd., and he called the synthesizer the Wasp. And here's where the fairy story ends, and the hardware begins because, dreamed up or not, the Wasp synth, designed and developed by Mr. Wagner, rock star of an Oxfordshire parish, represents a very important development in synthesizers indeed."

After making three more points during the next two painfully long paragraphs - it's cheap, its portable on-stage, and its portable off-stage - even Robin admits "This has been a strange review so far, in that I've been lavish with praise in a fairly abstract way without actually describing the nuts and bolts of the instrument".

Gah. But at least Robin then finally delves into the guts of the synth.

Like most reviews, near the end, Robin compares the synth to the Minimoog - "the overall sounds are a little thin" - but notes that its not really a fair comparison considering the difference in prices. And he finally ends the article with the obligatory "if you play keyboards, do go and buy and Wasp. You'll have fun".

Okay, he does tell one funny (and kinda horrific) story related to the Wasp that I just have to pass on:

"Well, I dropped a Wasp out of the fourth floor window of Trident studios into St. Anne's Court one night, without any damage at all to it, and we then, surprised at its survival, backed a Volvo over it. This caused a few knobs to bend, and one to break, but it still worked faultlessly".

Not really scientific, but full points for creativity.

Oh... rock stars...

EDP Wasp, Contemporary Keyboard 1979

Electronic Dream Plant Limited Wasp from page 26 of contemporary Keyboard April 1979.