EMS Polysynthi – “Sounds from the Outer Space”
This is one of the few and working EMS Polysynthi, produced between the ’78 and 79 in ONLY 29 exemplars. As far I know the last Peter Zinovieff work.
Space look… totally amazing, its sound is magic!
It’s fully polyphonic with built in analog delay and chorus (both CV/keyboard touch controllable) Two cv-lfo’s with many combinations, modulable also from keyboard aftertouch, filter is very very nice selectable from 2 to 4 poles, envelope follower for external signals and many other features.
For me is one of the best polyphonic synthesizers ever made with unique sound and an incredible look.
This is a small space sounds demo with both the enevelopes auto triggered from one cvlfo.
The EMS POLYSYNTHI
Made in 1979 by the legendary EMS, alledgedly no more then 29 were ever produced. Size-wise, it’s bloody massive, and it really looks the business, despite its multicoloured, toytown style exterior. It houses the first ever (only?) velocity sensitive, aftertouch responsive 100% POLYPHONIC keyboard – if you’ve enough fingers and toes, you can play every single one of its 49 notes at the same time. The keyboard has a totally unique velocity sensitivity and aftertouch implementation – the entire keyboard itself moves as one mechanical piece. And, it has to be said, the Polysynthi also has one of the most difficult to fathom control surfaces ever to appear on any synthesizer!
It uses a switchable bus matrix system to determine, amongst other things, the signal and modulation sources, which can also be variably assigned to velocity and/or aftertouch. This switchable bus system on the Polysynthi is quite frankly bonkers. Furthermore, it has a somewhat standard set of synthesizing functions, but it does have some additional useful abilities too. The two ADSRs onboard are also routable and patchable through the bus system, though take some getting used to, and there’s an external audio input, routable through the filter section and modulation matrix, as well as a fantastic analogue delay line. This delay was the original design for what became the ElectroHarmonix Memory Man, and produces very peculiar and interesting effects indeed, especially with higher feedback settings – you seriously have to watch out for your bass bins when using it.
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