i’ve been researching soviet synthesizers a LOT lately because there’s, like... some synths that’re way cheaper than they probably would otherwise be because nobody has ever heard of them? and it turns out there’s some really cool music makers from that era that i had never heard of before...
take, for example, the Electronika EM-25:
this thing is a really beautiful sounding analog string synthesizer with a lot of flexibility in its three timbral sections (organ, brass, and strings) and adjustable envelopes/vibrato.
like, seriously-- check out how cool it sounds:
but the EM-25 is NOTHING compared to how cool the aelita synthesizer looks
this synthesizer has a lot of complexity and thickness to its sound and could easily fold up into a suitcase-like shape for transportation. sure, you could only hit one key at a time, but with some careful tuning of its three oscillators, there was the ability to get some really spacious and fat sounds out of this device
this demo ep has a lot of pretty obvious external effects, but it helps communicate just how nice and how flexible this synthesizer’s sounds could be:
and then, of course, there’s the greatest soviet consumer synth of all... the Formanta Polivoks:
when i was researching the details on this synthesizer, someone described it in comparison to the Korg MS-20 as a wild animal and-- to be fair?-- that’s exactly what this synthesizer is. the polivoks-- which was manufactured between 1982 and 1990-- is loud and harsh around the edges, but also flexible and smooth when you domesticate it and learn how to work within its complexities. its filter system is infamous for allowing high-pitched squeals and screams with a unique character and there have been a number of knock-offs made so musicians can install the signature polivoks sound in their own eurorack modules.
can you blame them? i mean, just listen to how badass the polivoks sounds:
ok anyway thank you for listening to me talk about synthesizers bye
