ARP Solina String Ensemble

(click to enlarge)
The Solina String Ensemble is often thought of as THE String Machine of the late 1970's disco era. It's a multi-orchestral machine with violin, viola, trumpet, horn, cello and contrabass. Instead of attack and decay there are crescendo and sustain controls (which sound more orchestral but are the same thing). Apparently this synth really makes a great string sound, but that's all really... It has gate and trigger outs from the polyphonic keyboard. Completely cased in wood (or wood-like) panels with a clean and discrete layout. It's old, it's vintage, and it's been used by Air, The Eagles, Elton John, Pink Floyd, The Cure, Joy Division, OMD, Josh Wink, STYX, Tangerine Dream, Keane, Japan, and New Order.
33 VISITOR COMMENTS
- Demos & Media
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Video 1 - See and hear it in this YouTube Demo!Audio Clip 1 - Nice vintage string synth demo track, from the Future Music CD, issue 58.
Audio Clip 2 - Individual patch demos, from the Future Music CD, issue 58.
- Specifications
- Polyphony - 16 Voices
- Oscillators - Viola&violin / cello / contrabass / horn / trumpet
- LFO - n/a
- Filter - n/a
- VCA - Sustain (decay) / Crescendo (attack)
- Keyboard - 49 keys
- Arpeg/Seq - None
- Control - CV/GATE
- Date Produced - 1974 - 1981
- Est. Value - $100 - $600
- Resources & Credits
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Images from Audio Playground Keyboard Museum and Tone Tweakers
Errors or Corrections? Send them here.
http://boyeatsdrummachine.bandcamp.com/track/gun-fight
ht tp://boyeatsdrummachine.bandcamp.com/track/planets-stars
http://boyeatsdrummachine.bandcamp.com/track/gun-fig ht
I found the string sound to be smooth but a tad over-hyped. They come in here 22 seconds in:
http://boyeatsdrummachine.bandcamp.com/track/planets-star s
I prefer the string section on the Moog Opus 3. Better flexibility, much more psychedelic in its capabilities, with an easier-to-find 'sweet spot' via the filter.
Superbly cool vintage synth though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-fQzfEOWbE&feature= related
But thought the sound was annoying some got rid of it somehow.
yesterday I recorded old cassette tape into my computer; boy what is that sound ?
So Broad and deep and well nothing that vst plugs can do.
then I remembered "It must be that old Italian stringer I had" - Why didn't i keep it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaNHb3B6bCw