Synton
Netherlands
Synton was founded in 1973 by Felix Visser after he purchased an EMS Synthi AKS and decided to produce similar equipment with enhanced functionality. The company became a successful manufacturer and distributor of high-end electronic music equipment in the Netherlands during the 1970s and 1980s, serving as one of the principal European importers for E-Mu, Ensoniq, and Fairlight. Synton developed the Syntovox vocoder series and modular synthesizer systems including the System 2000 and System 3000, with the latter used by Bob Moog for synthesis demonstrations after he left Moog Corporation. In 1983, the company released the Syrinx, a monophonic analog synthesizer featuring a distinctive metal touchplate and formant filter. The company went bankrupt in 1989 but reformed in 1997 to create the highly limited and regarded Fénix modular synthesizer, of which only 75 handbuilt units were produced before production ceased in 2000.
