[sdiy] History of SDIY?

[Terry Shultz]

We sold Sub-Modules and Modules at Oberheim and E-Mu.

It was assumed that you could cobble up a system if you bought this product.

I ended up repairing a good deal of these projects for folks that did not really have a grasp on solder techniques.

When we built the Audity at E-Mu, the only real customer for the Voice boards were Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream and Patrick Gleason over at Different Fur.

I am sure others would be listed but it was so long ago.

Moog modules were occasionally cobbled together into custom boxes.

Malcolm Cecil and Tonto was an early custom job.

regards,

Terry

> On Jun 14, 2018, at 2:53 PM, el macaco <elmacaco at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I think people that provided kits or pcb’s should be in a separate category, they really made it accessible.
> 
> When I joined I could barely solder, let alone make a breadboard or PCB from a posted schematic.  Tom Gamble’s Electronics got Music kits (EFM) were my start, and if it wasn’t for EXTENSIVE help from one Harry Bissell mostly of list, my efforts and understanding would have been fruitless and  non existent.   He also provided mods and alternative options when the designs could be tweaked to be better or even work.  thanks a million Harry.
> 
> Also there were proper manufacturers of synths that provided some things for SDIY, ARP submodules, Emu I think did something similar.  Charles Cohen told me at a show a long time ago that the extra knobs around his Music Easel were from EML kits that they sold at some time. MOTM kits and the help help Paul Schrieber (sp?) provided even non customers should be mentioned.
> 
> In any case, manufacturers that also provided kits are a big ramp to those wanting to get involved, and seems somewhat contrary to business interests it seems.
> 
>> On Jun 8, 2018, at 2:45 AM, Rob Kam <robkam at gmx.com> wrote:
>> 
>> EMS was formed in 1969 by Peter Zinovieff, Tristram Cary and David Cockerell. David Cockerell was the electronics engineer and computer programmer.
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Synth-diy [mailto:synth-diy-bounces at synth-diy.org] On Behalf Of Richard Wentk
>> Sent: 06 June 2018 11:37
>> To: Oakley Sound <oakleysound at btinternet.com>
>> Cc: Synth DIY <synth-diy at synth-diy.org>
>> Subject: Re: [sdiy] History of SDIY?
>> 
>> Zinovieff at EMS is up there - possibly higher than - Raymond Scott, Buchla, Moog, and Le Caine, because he DIY’d the first private computer music studio in the world.
>> 
>> He had tons of cash from his background and by marriage, and he spent almost all of it on custom hardware and software running on 60s/70s minicomputers. 
>> 
>> Some of the projects were 5-10 years ahead of anything else around at the time. Some are still ahead of a lot of current synth design.
>> 
>> The VCS3 and Synthi 100 were intended to provide an income for the research, and he seems to have drifted into business rather reluctantly. There’s a BBC documentary on YouTube where he describes the VCS3 as a “pathetic little synthesizer” and a Red Bull interview where it’s clear he thinks modular nostalgia is very unimaginative and uninteresting.
>> 
>> When the US distributors stiffed the company and bankrupted EMS, some of his designers - like Tim Orr - had to find work in a hurry. So that’s why there was sudden explosion of magazine articles and kit synth designs in the 70s. IMO it wouldn’t have happened if EMS hadn’t broken the ground.
>> 
>> Anyway - I think of EMS as a unique and very well-funded quirky DIY outfit, and the unacknowledged ancestors of the UK DIY scene, rather than a corporate synth juggernaut in the Roland/Yamaha/Korg/Norlin mould.
>> 
>> Richard
>> 
>>> On 6 Jun 2018, at 09:37, Oakley Sound <oakleysound at btinternet.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Apologies if these three have been mentioned but I don't seem to recall that they have.
>>> 
>>> Tim Orr - The DIY Transcendent synths and many articles in the ETI magazine in late 70s early 80s. As well as working for a time for EMS.
>>> 
>>> Trevor Marshall - ETI/Maplin synths from 1973
>>> 
>>> Charles Blakey - Digisound modular from 1980.
>>> 
>>> All three a big inspiration to me here in the UK.
>>> 
>>> Tony
>>> 
>>> www.oakleysound.com
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>> 
>> 
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