I’ve been having difficulty getting this report off the ground. A Roland System-8 has been standing around here in my studio for months at less than arm’s length, intimidating me with its very presence. There was no way I was going to feel motivated to really and actually examine the thing. A couple of pics here, a couple of sound samples there. Then, dispair. Enough of those fleeting impressions, enough lighting orgies. What followed was the firm intention to just chuck it … not chuck it … chuck it … not chuck it. This went on for a long time.

From today’s point of view, this is about more than just the System-8. The paralysis stems from deeper down. It has to do with the unequivocal turning point the Roland Company has taken. A turning point that the tried-and-true synthesizer enthusiast (and Roland fan of many years) has difficulty just coping with. But the world keeps turning, and so we accept things as they now are. Continue reading →

The bards, those “popstars” of the middle ages famous for their sonorous voices and for their poetic talents, are still widely known today. Walther von der Vogelweide and Oswald von Wolkenstein – names we all recognize (at least here in Europe).

The Vermona ’14 Analogsynthesizer is a bard of modern times. A true individualist on the electronic music scene. This bard doesn’t just sound, it sings! Mind you, synthesizers in the singing category are rare. Oberheim OB-1 and the Moog Prodigy are among the few vintage synths in this field. Vermona Mono Lancet (and Mono Lancet ’15) do sing a little. And that’s about it. The rest of the synths just – sound.

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Summer 2016. We’re on our way through the southern part of Sicilia, softly wistling Morricone’s great tune “Once Upon a Time in the West”. Gorgeous beaches, no, absolutely no shade. But a lot of sand and heat! We’ll be meeting Paolo Groppioni, who is vacationing in this aerea. With him a good friend: the new GRP synth!

The A2 is a true surprise. Not because it’s analog, and not because it can do this and that (it IS analog and it can do a lot), but because it exists in the first place. It’s as simple as that. Having the new GRP R24 sequencer in mind, we’re flabbergasted at the A2, suddendly lying there on the table. The perfect buddy for the sequencer. The same size, even the same housing. Gorgeous!

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Whereas the marvellous Sequential Prophet-5 was called “most sexy synthesizer in the world” (I would equally call Roland’s Jupiter-8 the same), poor Jupiter-4 was the ugly duckling. No one fell in love with it, and as Peter Forrest points it out: “All technology eventually goes cheesy, but the JP-4 went cheesy quicker than most.”

Während jedoch dem Prophet-5 die Bezeichnung “most sexy synthesizer in the world” zustehen dürfte (ich würde an dieser Stelle sofort den Roland Jupiter-8 mit einschließen), wird das “hässlichen Entlein” Jupiter-4 mit viel Glück gerade noch den “blechernen Kaktus” als Preis erhalten. Nur wenige polyphone Analogsynthesizer sehen derart unspektakulär und veraltet aus, oder, um es mit den Worten von Peter Forrest zu sagen: “All technology eventually goes cheesy, but the JP-4 went cheesy quicker than most.” Continue reading →

About …

The Two Voice Pro: not just another synth! To be exact, THE hype American mono/duophon analog synth. The reincarnation of the LEGENDARY Two Voice of 1975. And Tom Oberheim’s personal synth favourite. The modern Two Voice: something for PROfessionals.

Whereby PRO pertains to those little and big differences between the 70’s original and the update of today. The SEM modules haven’t really been changed at all (so we’ve still got that wonderful sound), but in the sequencer- and performance-department, the new Two Voice is a (no, it’s two) giant steps. Continue reading →