Campus Oddities

March 12, 2010

Music maker

The times, they were a changin’, and in 1974, the Department of Music purchased one of the biggest, most complex, and most advanced electronic instruments available.

Electronic Music Studios (EMS) of London produced only about 30 units of the Synthi 100 and very few are said to be in working order. Its construction was loosely based on a combination of three separate systems into one massive synthesizer – it was one of the first analog synthesizers ever made to feature two keyboards (each duophonics so four possible voices could played simultaneously), a three-track sequencer, and two 64 by 64 patchbays with push pin circuitry.

The instrument is even more complicated than it looks, and very few sounds have ever been produced, said Troy Linsley, administrative officer with the department. Linsley attempted to mimic a circuit pattern that someone charted in the Synthi 100’s massive user’s manual, but to no avail. “The combinations are endless,” he added while plugging pins into one of the patchbays.

Linsley said he has looked at selling the Synthi 100, but the market is small. Units sold for about $25,000 in 1974 and internet searches reveal that resale value is about the same today. Some musicians fancy the Synthi 100 and other synthesizers from the late 60’s and early 70’s as collector’s items and for their unique sounds. Linsley also noted that there are rumours that Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins fame owns one of the models.

According to the EMS website, one of the Synthi 100 models (named the ‘Delaware’) was sold to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and it was used to generate sound effects for the BBC’s television shows like Dr. Who and radio shows like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

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