Crumar Trilogy Orchestral Synthesizer

Back in 1981, this Italian gem from Crumar burst onto the scene as a budget-friendly all-in-one orchestral powerhouse, blending polyphonic synth, lush organ, and string sections into a single 49-key beast—perfect for players who wanted cathedral organs, warm pads, and razor-sharp leads without breaking the bank.

At its heart, it delivers 6-voice polyphony powered by CEM chips: six CEM VCFs, VCAs, and envelope generators per voice, with the synth section rocking two syncable oscillators (saw, square, or mixed) plus white noise and that killer alternate saw/square mode for rhythmic bite. A resonant CEM 3320 low-pass filter pairs with a single ADSR envelope, while the organ uses detunable master generators and drawbars (16', 8', 4', 2') for rich, full tones, and strings add ensemble shimmer—all mixable via dedicated volume sliders. Controls shine with a left-side joystick for mod duties, a Glide section offering amount, speed, and four glissando modes, plus a versatile LFO (triangle/square) featuring rare touches like delay time, slope fade-in, and routing to VCA, VCF, or FM vibrato; rear pedal inputs handle release, sync, and filter cutoff too. Housed in a compact plastic-keyboard chassis with sliders and buttons up top, it outputs via separate organ/synth/string jacks or main stereo, storing 8 patches in RAM.

Vintage enthusiasts dig its quirky warmth and versatility for basses, pianos, sci-fi sweeps, and percussive hits, though some note the sounds can feel thin or limited compared to pricier rivals—still, its character keeps it a sought-after collector's piece for that authentic '80s vibe.