EDP Wasp

Back in 1978, this synth pioneered true portability with a built-in speaker and battery power, letting you jam anywhere without amps or outlets—perfect for the punk-era DIY spirit that birthed a swarm of linked-up "insect" instruments.

Its hybrid heart features two digitally controlled oscillators delivering sawtooth, pulse width, square waves, and white noise, paired with a versatile 12dB/oct filter offering lowpass, highpass, and bandpass modes complete with Q control and dedicated envelopes. A single LFO with six waveforms—sine, ramp, saw, square, noise, random—plus sample-and-hold adds movement to pitch or filter, while two envelope generators shape amplitude and filter sweeps. The standout 2-octave capacitive touch keyboard feels quirky and electrostatic, with bend, glide up to 3 seconds, and tune controls; it's housed in a lightweight 7kg plastic wedge (17x13x2.5 inches tapering to 1 inch front) alongside CV/gate, tape interface, headphone out, and line-level 1/4" output that mutes the speaker. EDP's pre-MIDI 7-pin DIN links multiple units for polyphonic tricks via the Caterpillar master keyboard or Spider 252-step sequencer.

Players love its raw, characterful snarls—ripping leads, filthy bass—from Vince Clarke to 808 State, though the finicky touch keys demand practice and the LFO's 1-100Hz range wishes for slower cycles. A timeless oddball still buzzing in studios today.