Analogue Solutions COLOSSUS

On the face of it, COLOSSUS looks very similar to an EMS Synthi 100. Measuring 170 x 70 x 65 cm and weighing 55 kg in total, the instrument comes – as the original EMS Synthi – close to what we’d call a luxurious fitted kitchen (with weird knobs and jacks). However, no circuit from the Synthi has been cloned or copied. Analogue Solutions prefers to make its own designs.

Let’s start with the most important question: “What does COLOSSUS cost?” Well, a mere 25,000 GBP plus taxes and shipping (about 35,000 Euros all in all). If you live near Calais / Northern France, there may be other way to get the instrument aside from shipping.

For mainland UK, Analogue Solutions would most likely deliver in person, or of course the buyer arranges collection. COLOSSUS will fit into most SUV style vehicles.

The instrument is a serious analogue power house of sound. It comes with 12 VCOs, 8 VCFs, 8 Envelopes, 12 VCAs (in total), 14 LFOs (in total), a couple of sequencers, two keyboards and much more …

All the voice and modulation circuits are 100% analogue. The manufacturer purposely steered away from digital, so COLOSSUS doesn’t have MIDI or USB (there are plenty of MIDI converter boxes out there should you need that facility).

As for sound, we can hardly imagine the variety of wonderful and highly puristic timbres emenating from COLOSSUS. Remember the Analogue Solutions POLYMATH? It produces a terrific “retro” sound with its 4 VCOs and single VCF …

Now extend the Polymath by a factor of three (or four) and add lots of extra modules and performance tools … Such a machine is almost beyond realism.

“There are no gimmicks – this is pure synthesiser. A huge sound enclosed in a solid metal case wrapped in solid hardwood. No expense has been spared to bring this incredible machine to life. Synthesisers like this only come around once in a decade, or possibly a generation.”

(www.analoguesolutions.com)

A quick pre-purchase note: The oscilloscope will not necessarily be the one in the photo’s. Analogue Solutions aimed to use vintage style analogue CRT scopes, but sources of new CRT scopes has dried up, so a digital storage scope will be used for systems after a certain serial number.

Anyway, the alluring thing about COLOSSUS is the idea of getting an All-In-One package. Sufficient VCOs, masses of modulation sources (up to 14 LFOs), all the filters, envelopes, mixers, VCAs, step and digital note sequencers, touch keyboards, joysticks, reverb spirals, the two CV voltage / Audio matrix panels, and so on and so on …

Everything else you need for complex music projects is a recording option … that’s it.