The rare fossil (identify this rare synth from a photo of its innards)

Surprise me, who knows what this is :grinning:

It’s half broken unfortunately and i haven’t found any schematic on the web.

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I’ve never seen the innards of a mellotron but that’s what I’m guessing.

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It’s about the right width, but I think it’s something else. If I remember right, the mellotron has a long mechanical drive shaft to power all the individual tape loops simultaneously. I think the keys on the mellotron have some attachments on the back ends of them to push tape readers onto the tape.

This one has me stumped. I need to watch/read more synth repairs.

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Hmm. Figuring this out seems like fun. Maybe a new game.

36 keys
Integrated into a case
Old enough to have a hinge for maintenance/repair
91o02 - PPS-1 (probably unrelated to the midi tape machine)

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If you want to see the innards of a Mellotron, look here

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Yes! That’s the one I saw!

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I can rule a few things out. Too many keys for a mono synth, not a CS-80 because it doesn’t have the spaghetti wiring, no bars or strings so not a clavinet or a Rhodes-style unit. On the positive cues side, what I’m guessing is a discreet transistor oscillator at each key and it’s wrapped in Tolex with a handle and wood 'nards, so I’m going to guess an organ of some kind-perhaps a rare Bontempi?

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Here we go again.

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Farfisa ? . driving me crazy , I have seen these insides before just can’t pinpoint what they are .

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It’s not a Farfisa or Bontempi. I’ll give a hint every day. Hint #1 It’s from 1978.

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Korg Poly Ensemble P? It doesn’t look like the same handle as VSE’s version. (And I totally didn’t just look at every keyboard on this page and compare them to you photo.)

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Yes, 1978 yells Korg to me, although I don’t really know much about their gear around that time except the MS-20 and it can’t be that because that’s a well documented synth.

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You are getting closer. Hint #2 A bit like the Trident but not from Korg.

Met a guy at a party and he told me he has this old defective analog synth. Never heard of the brand before so he sent me pictures some days later and of course I had to have it.

@Maxhirez It’s not in that vintagesynth list

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The real stumper is that there’s no left modulation panel, which says “organ” more than synth, but string machines are in that area too. Arps have a blank or power-switch panel to the left of the keybed and more slider pots to the right. Might have to wait for a few more clues.
Maybe the Siel Orchestra (aka the Arp Quartet) or the Moog Opus 3 with the mod wheel on the panel instead of next to the keybed? All the pics I can find of either of those are either missing Tolex or a handle, but those could easily be after-market.

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Makes mental note: maybe not a Minimoog after all.

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I miscounted. It is not 36 keys. I forgot to count black keys. 61 keys. It’s 61.

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There are similarities between it and the ARP Quadra, but I don’t think that’s it either.

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@Maxhirez: the tolex and handle are original.
@heckseven: It’s very similar to the Quadra in design but no ARP either.

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Okay this is fun, but we need a discord or something for coordination.

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Logan String Melody 2 or 3? Is there a 3? That’s my last guess before the next clue…

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