Only about 100 of these were ever built back in 1975, making it one of the rarest hybrids from the golden age of analog synths—a mashup of the legendary Solina String Ensemble and ARP's Explorer monophonic synthesizer crafted in the Netherlands.
Its 49-key organ-style keyboard splits into upper and lower sections, with the polyphonic strings delivering lush violin, viola, trumpet, horn, cello, and contrabass voices via divide-down oscillators and that signature triple chorus from bucket-brigade devices driven by two LFOs. The Explorer side adds a single VCO subtractive synth engine with a resonant 4-pole low-pass filter, one ADSR envelope, and sine LFO, letting you route strings through it or blend the mono lead with bass/cello below or upper strings above. Keyboard modes toggle strings solo, filtered strings, or combined voices, all feeding into a single stereo output with no separate sends—pure 70s workflow in a hefty wooden cabinet.
Owners cherish the fat, immersive string pads evocative of Tangerine Dream and Jarre classics, plus the Explorer's punchy filter sweeps that elevate the ensemble beyond its standalone roots. That said, quirks like occasional ticking in the mono section and highest-note priority on chords keep it authentically vintage, rewarding patient tinkerers who dig the raw character.
