Is This the First Portable Synthesizer? | Astonishing History of Synthesizers Ep. 4

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Featuring music by Daniel Birch.

More tales from The Astonishing History of Synthesizers:

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My first synth was a Sonic V. I bought it for $700 in 1973/4(?) in St. Petersburg, Florida at a store called Vako Music. It was an amazing instrument, and the perfect entry into the world of synthesis. Two VCOs, two LFOs, ring mod, white and pink noise, external in, it had all the basics and then some. One of my favorite things it could do was allow you to put glide on only one of the oscillators. Having one VCO go straight to pitch while the other one would "slide" to the pitch created an almost human sound and feel. Very few, if any, other non-modular synths available back then could do this. I have had many other synths over the years, but the Sonic V will always have a special place in my heart.

bobparker

I went to John Dewey High School in Brooklyn, NY and recall two salesmen who came to my music class and did a demonstration of a synthesizer. They were from Moog but I do not recall what particular model it was. This was in 1971 or 1972. They wanted the school to buy one for their music department. It didn't happen, probably because of the expense...

robbrown

Technically, at 1:57 the early "portable" Synthesizer llp ("p" for Portable of course") is shown, portable having a different definition in Bob's mind (just as the first portable telephones are so totally different from nowadays). We called them portables from the moment we were unloading the textured empty cases and snapped-on semi-hinged covers. What Bob wanted was easily movable (portable) gig synths less prone to the scratches that the mahogany synths got whenever we repeatedly set them up and took them down after a demonstration no matter how carefully we tried to handle and protect them. Bob thought the performers would embrace the portables ("nothing could be worse than knocking off a dial when unloading just before performing"), but instead everyone seemed to want the appearance of the "studio" synths (as the mahogany synths became known the instant we were unloading the portable cases) and even more, as perhaps best demonstrated by Keith Emerson's extra top tier with the oscilloscope!
I left Moog's in September '68 for college, but I remember Bob saying "I can't imagine anyone will want a Synthesizer that looks like it was designed for a garage band!" Times change...

douglas_drew

Synth history vids are great. Keep up the good work.

entropybentwhistle

Only 9 comments so far. 7 of them on Marc's hair.

VuotoPneumaNN

Nice job by Fess Grandiose once again!

djjohnsimmons

Great story, the Sonic V rules! That one in the photos is strange - that's not the right front panel - the old ones sometimes peel off, so someone's made a new front panel graphic for that one. The Synthi VCS3 is definitely portable and was out in 1969 in the UK, probably not available in the USA until 1970.

briankehew

I can't believe I let a Moog Sonic 6 slip through my hands.... When I used to work at Hickey's Music Center in Ithaca, NY (where, coincidentally, Bob Moog went to school - at Cornell U - and then located right outside Ithaca in Trumansburg) just a few years ago, someone brought in a Sonic 6 in really rough shape. It sort of made some noises, and had the entire manual, but at the time, I was not aware of the value, nor did I have such a passion for synthesizers. Otherwise, I would have made an effort to get it fixed and try to acquire it. I am not sure what happened to it although DAMN, I sure wish I had given it more love!

Anyways, very intriguing and well researched video. Props! :)

Cosmic_Sunrise

Bringing back the New Wave hair-do.. I like it 👍. Much better than man buns

norakat

Content is amazing I'm so thankful for this series - The audio sounds great! The video is a little potato for 2021 but I guess you're a music site not a camera shop =P ( I should say not in the studio, that looks AMAZING - just in that dudes cool vintage living room)

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