Born from the same innovative EMS labs that gave us the VCS3 and Synthi series, this 1977 rackmount vocoder distilled the magic of their earlier, massive Vocoder 5000 into a compact powerhouse for making synths talk. It's all about that classic analog alchemy—imposing human speech articulation onto any sound source, from guitars to jet roars.
Housed in a sleek black 2U 19-inch rack (410 x 444 x 87 mm, just 5 kg) with optional tilt-up feet for easy access, it packs 16 analyzing and 16 synthesizing bandpass filters (30 dB/octave cutoff, 20 Hz-18 kHz range) for precise vocoding. Feed it speech via mic (200 mV max into 5.6 kΩ) or line (10 V into 10 kΩ) inputs, pair with its built-in VCO pulse oscillator (0-1 kHz, fixed or AM-modulated), white noise generator, or external excitation—all monitored by dual 7-segment LED bar graphs. Knob-driven controls handle slew/freeze (with fast attack/decay symmetry and optional footswitch), voiced/unvoiced gating, and pause stuffing to fill silences, outputting balanced +6 dBm at 40 ohms impedance. All jacks are sturdy 1/4-inch mono on the rear.
Vintage enthusiasts prize its warm, organic tone and reliability, often comparing it favorably to the Roland SVC-350 for studio and live use—though some note the fixed filter bands lack the per-channel tweaks of its successor, the Vocoder 3000. A true piece of electronic music history that's still sought after today.
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