Electronic Music Studios (EMS) Vocoder 2000

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.