Odd synthy finds. Any of this good? (pix)

[Tyler2000]

So I went to a few shops today. First of all, I went to a shop called Guitar Bob's. It is seriously the only place of it's sort around (ie, actually having synths, drum machines, and old gear in general), but the prices are through the roof. I just wanted to ask what a few of the things I saw were, and if they are worth the dough. Even if only to turn around and sell for profit. Also, if you see something you can't live without I will check the price for you and if you throw me the paypal (and maybe a tip?) I will get it for you and ship to you. Anyway:

Some sort of drum brain


Some sort of Crumar filtery/CV-ey thing


Maestro Phase Shifter


Oberhiem Strummer

Also, at a thrift store I found this amp for $50. Do you think it's worth it. Again, I would probably just sell it for the $$$. I don't need any more amps. I'll start a thread in the buyer's guide with more pix.


(more here: http://www.vintagesynth.org/phpBB2/view ... 281#394281 )

There was this thing too. I don't think it's a music device, but it sure looks cool.

[Synthaholic]

That last pic is testing equipment for cellular gear (cell phones/towers, etc.) Chances are it won't interface with your synths.

[StepLogik]

stay away from that "oberheim" strummer. i had the arpeggiator version of that same box and it was useless.

[carbon111]

Grab that Maestro Phase Shifter if its cheap. IIRC, Oberheim made the boards. It has weird functionality...when all the tablets are down, its like 3 phase shifters in parallel...weirdly cool pedal.

[JUGEL]

stay away from that "oberheim" strummer. i had the arpeggiator version of that same box and it was useless.

how so? I'm just curious because the Strummer seems interesting ... seems really nice for monosynths. Really bad interface? ... or just a crappy arp? Because I remember the arp on OB-8 was really lackluster.

I'd say go for the Maestro as well! Very cool.

So .. how much was the Strummer ??

[Tyler2000]

I'm pissed that I forgot to mark prices.

Anyway, what do you think the phaser is worth? It seems fun, but the tag is at least $195. I think. I can't make out the first digit in the pic. It could just be a $, but I doubt it.

I'll check the strummer price next time I go in too.

[wiss]

Buy them all....i am sure some of its been setting for awhile....offer to buy all the pieces at certain price...remember he paid no more than 1/5th of his asking price for these.

[meatballfulton]

The Strummer was a arpeggiator-like box designed to emulate guitar strumming (doh). It was a commercial failure, never used one so I don't know how well it worked. Nowadays there are workstation arpeggiators that can do this sort of thing, but in the late 80s it was like science fiction.

I can't read the name on that drum brain.

Steiner made brass/woodwind synthesis gear, including the EVI and EWI sold by Akai. I found this info at http://www.patchmanmusic.com/NyleSteinerHomepage.html:

"Nyle Steiner's Masters Touch Photo A / Photo B was manufactured by Crumar in Italy in the early 1980s. It was a remarkably innovative and expressive piece of gear designed by EVI and EWI inventor Nyle Steiner. 25+ years later, there has not been a product like it since. The Steiner Masters Touch is an analog voltage controlled filter with voltage control signals coming from three different sources: breath, bite, and finger motion (the foam rubber pad on the unit labeled "TM"- Touch Modulation). You blow into the mouthpiece which is connected to the unit via two tubes. One tube is connected to the mouthpiece which in turn has an opening in half the tip. The other tube is connected to the mouthpiece but the tip is closed so air does not escape. The open end tube is connected to a breath pressure transducer. The closed end tube is connected to a similar transducer but since it is closed the sensor measures how hard you are biting the mouthpiece. The built-in Steiner two pole analog filter opens and closes relative to breath pressure. The filter can oscillate if the resonance is turned up and the unit is properly calibrated. The Breath Sensor signal is also output as a 0 to 10VDC voltage for controlling CV type synths. Also note that the Masters Touch can be used as a standalone device- without a CV synth connected- with any audio source fed into its audio input. The "bite" control outputs a smaller voltage as you bite and wiggle your jaw. With the Touch Modulation pad, you wiggle or rock your finger and it outputs just enough voltage for expressive vibrato control and bend effects. The Masters Touch also outputs trigger voltages from the breath input (both positive and negative going triggers), so you can trigger most CV type synth envelopes. It has separate CV outputs for breath, bite, and the TM sensor. It also has sensitivity adjustments and four LEDs show breath amount and trigger states. The Masters Touch was a very innovative piece of gear that still has not been duplicated."

[matrix]

What is that drum brain? Do you remember the name of it? I can't make it out in the image. Any chance of getting some better shots of it?

[StepLogik]

stay away from that "oberheim" strummer. i had the arpeggiator version of that same box and it was useless.

how so? I'm just curious because the Strummer seems interesting ... seems really nice for monosynths. Really bad interface? ... or just a crappy arp? Because I remember the arp on OB-8 was really lackluster.

I'd say go for the Maestro as well! Very cool.

So .. how much was the Strummer ??

the arpeggiator version would crash almost 100% of the time. it also had timing slop issues. it was impossible to program, and would frequently lock up while trying to do so. i returned it within about a week of buying it because it absolutely refused to work correctly. there are plenty of horror stories about these boxes out there.

sure was a cool idea, wish it had worked

[Z]

Some sort of drum brain

That's a JL Cooper Sound Chest II. I bought one at a GC tent sale back in the early 90's. Supposedly you could load it with EPROMS from Obie DX, LinnDrum & Simmons. I had a set of DX chips I put in mine. I was hoping to find a dead LinnDrum and rob the chips, but gave up on it. I sold mine on the 'bay around '01 or '02 along with a bunch of other stuff that was not getting used. I think I kept the instructions. I'll have to look in my "file."

Z

[matrix]

Excellent. Thanks!

[hageir]

dibbs on the crumar filter if it's cheap!
I'll give you lovely paypal tip

how much was it?

*edit*
naaaah, it's some sort of a filter to be controlled by a wind instrument controller, found some info here (scroll down)
http://www.patchmanmusic.com/NyleSteinerHomepage.html

[Tyler2000]

That explains the tubes coming out of the bottom.

I'll get those prices, but remember this guy's prices are generally nuts. He is more into guitars/amps, so I think he might not know his shit of synths. However, here is an example: Kawai K3 for $500. Seriouslyl

[Z]

I did find the manual for the Sound Chest II. I scaned the cover an 1st page of 27. If anyone decides to buy it, I can scan the rest. BTW: Page 2 talks about the voice modues: "Each set may be one or two chips each, and may be composed of 2732, 2764 or 27128 EPROMS. ... The sounds are encoded via the 8 bit companding method commonly used. Chip sets for Oberheim or LinDrumm equipment may be installed..."


Z