Electronic Music Studios (EMS) Synthi Sequencer 256

Back in 1971, this beast became one of the very first commercially available digital sequencers, designed by EMS wizard David Cockerell to outpace the competition—Peter Zinovieff even demoed a prototype at the Moog factory, leaving them stunned with its 256-step power.

Housed in a hefty wooden cabinet with a five-octave velocity-sensitive keyboard, it packs a 256-event x 42-bit digital memory across four layers: three main tracks each handling key voltage, velocity voltage, and gate, plus a fourth trigger-only layer for clock control, stops, and resets. You control it via vernier dials for clock rate (up to 4Hz calibrated), sensitivity knobs for center-zero CV inputs (±1.25V range), and mode switches like NEW KEY for flexible playback. Ports include CV/gate, clock/trigger in/out, and a stereo headphone jack, with hybrid analog-digital guts powered at 110-230V—perfect for syncing to VCS3 or Synthi 100 systems.

Vintage EMS collectors cherish its historical punch and rock-solid sequencing for experimental electronic music, though restored units often need trimmer tweaks for stable CV output and octave tracking, and the hefty build demands careful handling.