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| Make |
Ems |
| Model |
Synthi AKS |
| Description |
One of the most historically interesting synths we've ever had in the auction: a very very early AKS, one of the three owned and used by Zorch, who recorded at Peter Zinovieff's Putney studio.
Like Dr Zinovieff's own Synthi, this has no Spartanite case. It was manufactured in December 1972 - and bought in early 1973; and bearing in mind the age and provenance, it's quite likely it never HAD a case.
It is being sold on behalf of Avi Nisim, of the psychedelic-trance duo Astral Projection. It has some excellent original mods.
It is sold as is, with any faults as described or un-noticed, and although it is great as it is, it could be even better serviced by one of the EMS tech experts like Lucidsound, or Robin Wood himself. You will need to change the mains plug to the correct one for your country, and if necessary switch the voltage.
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT IT IS LIKELY TO ATTRACT TAX AND/OR EXCISE DUTY WHEN IMPORTED TO YOUR COUNTRY.
Here are some extracts from the very thorough description from the seller - which you can see in full, with good resolution pictures and video, at http://noisedesign.blogspot.com/2010/03/ems-synthi-aks-for-sale-daylight_20.html
This is an early model, white front panel 'EMS Synthi AKS' with a prestopatch bay, produced in december 1972 (acording to it's serial number 4658ks and confirmed by robin wood from EMS) .
currently the synth belongs to avi nisim, a member of the psychedelic-trance duo 'astral projection' based in israel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astral_Projection_(group)
astral projection works together since 1989 and considered to be one of the first psy-trance groups in the world.
while checking the front pannel i found a little logo sticker ,which later was recognized with the group 'zorch' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/zorch
who were pioneers in the british synth music, as britain first 'all synths' group. zorch were the only band ever recorded in peter zinovieff's EMS studio in putney. this synthi confirms as one of the 3 synthi's that were used by the group during the early 70's. this specific one was howard scarr's personal synthi .
cosmetics: considering the synth almost 40 years, and it's history, this synthi looks quite good.
some scruffs and marks on the sides and on the front panel, some marks on some knobs caps,
some of the matrix pins needs a replacement (still available at EMS) . but the overall condition is good, i would say at least 8 out of 10.
electronics: DC power rails were checked and they both at -9v and +12v exactly as they should. power lines are clean and steady. no humming through the synth's outputs. some scratchy knobs ,and one broken (output off) switch lever. all the 3 circuits boards and connections looks clean and the parts looks original. the 3 circuit boards havn't been removed during the check. however, i would guess that it's time to service the synthi, replace/clean some of the knobs, replace some capacitors, fine tuning etc. quite a normal procedure for this equipment at this point. the synthi has some mod's which includes: center zero trapezoid, wave shapers, filter hi/ low, osc 3 frequency switch, and more. the synth functions has been tested (although it's quite impossible to test the endless possibilities and each of every matrix pin hole of that beast...) but i can say that all oscillators, noise source, VCA, filter, ring modulator, reverb, mic input's , outputs, envelope shaper, trapezoid, the meter, the internal speakers and the joystick are all working fine, and everything sounds great and beefy.
the keyboard sequencer is faulty and partially works, it has some cracks and missing some parts on the upper case (see detailed pictures). with the right patch on the matrix, keyboard touch pads are responsive to touch and triggers sounds. the random pad is responsive as well and it triggers some random notes whan touched. but the sequencer doesn't work.
all the mod's that i mentioned above are working and has effect on the sound. the keyboard control and keyboard inverter mod's needs a certain matrix patches (as seen on the stickers on the matrix) which i'm not familiar with, so i'm not quite sure how these mod's supposed to work. it is also impossible to test these mod's without a fully functional keyboard.
during the last 20 years , this synthi was installed in a custom wooden rack ,in astral projection's studio, and it does'nt have the spartanite briefcase.
update:
the 'inverter pin' mod was tested as well, with the kind directions from Mr. Howard Scarr himself. this mod is fully functional and quite amazing. the pin acts like a normal pin , but it actually inverts the signal of where it's positioned (the frequency is controlled by the inverter blue knob), so for example you can output the normal output of osc.3 and at the same time output the filtered- inverted signal of the same osc.3. this opens a whole new world of sounds and possibilities... pure fun!
please note:
the synthi was throughly tested for more then 10 hours, and as far as i know (i own one Synthi Aks myself) it's in a good working order, and physical shape,
however, this is quite an old piece of gear and it will be sold as is, no returns and no refunds.
a great care will be taken when packing and handling/shipping the synthi, and it will be fully
insured.
i did my best to describe the synthi as accurate as possible, for more info, please contact:
ofiroman@gmail.com
some videos
http://noisedesign.blogspot.com/2010/03/ems-synthi-aks-for-sale-some-videos.html |
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| Age |
n/a |
| Weight |
n/a |
| Condition |
Good |
| Location |
Israel |
| Vat |
Not from a VAT-registered business. But VAT / duty may be due if importing from outside your trade bloc. |
| Quantity |
1 item is available from the owner |
| Options |
User manual : No |
| |
Service manual : No |
| |
First owner : No |
| |
Original boxes : No |
| Plug type |
No plug fitted to lead |
| Voltage type |
Internal 110 to 220-240V switchable |
| Status |
Item has been sold or not sold in a previous auction |
| Sale type |
The item is on the auction rooms |
| Ending on |
01/05/2010 |
| Category |
|
| Serial number |
4658KS |
| Sphere reference |
# 7605 |
| Statistics |
Created on : 12/04/2010 |
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Changed on : 12/04/2010 |
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Published on : 13/04/2010 |
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Displayed : 4453 time(s) by members and guests |
| Safety |
All electrical items sold in VEMIA are deemed to be trade sales. No warranty of electrical safety is given or implied. Many items are vintage and would not pass current electrical safety standards. It is the responsibility of the buyer to ensure that items are safe to use in their future environment - if necessary by using the services of a professional. |
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Prices and conditions  |
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The following section gives you the prices as well as shipment and payment conditions associated with the item. Payment is always requested in GBP. Converted price is shown for information and converted with Sphere standard currency rate.
Shipment and Payment links gives you access to an extended description of our rating :
| Start price |
3950 GBP |
| Converted price (1) |
3950 GBP |
| Shipment |
International or local shipment to pay |
| Packing costs |
n/a |
| Payment |
Full pre payment needed |
| Auction bid step |
50 GBP |
| Auction highest bid |
4200 GBP |
| Converted highest bid |
4200 GBP |
| Leader or winner |
ddemay |
| (1) Currency conversion |
Note that conversion rates were last adjusted on 5th October 2022 at 10:56 CET. They are there to give you a rough guide to the bid price in your currency. Please check for a more up-to-date conversion at http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html. The bid price will be the actual price in pounds (GBP) at the moment the auction closes. This will be roughly converted to your currency for your information.
For technical reasons, we are unable to update the conversion from GBP to Euro during the auction, although it has changed by well over 10%. If you are in the euro zone please check the current rate at http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html
Payments from UK and non-Euro currency regions must always be in GBP. Payments to and from Euro currency regions can be in Euros via our French bank.The applicable Euro amount will be the exact amount specified on your invoice or credit note. For more info please see the FAQ about exchange rates. |
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