Stringz 'n' Thingz

Back in 1978, this beast emerged as PAiA's largest kit ever, a pioneering string machine born from wild experiments with analog delay lines, top octave generators, and clever pulse-width tricks to mimic violin resonances—stuff that even big names like Moog chased with complex filters.

At its heart, it's a fully polyphonic analog synth with 37 keys, each sporting dual contacts that bus control voltages for precise keying across three octave sections, delivering up to 37 voices from four analog oscillators and a single LFO for subtle vibrato or tremolo on the strings. You've got versatile voicings—a soft-attack string ensemble plus a punchier "piano" mode that's more like a harpsichord to cut through mixes—blended with split and modulation controls for dynamic layering. Velocity and aftertouch sensitivity add expressive nuance, all housed in a compact keyboard chassis you built yourself from the kit.

Synth heads still geek out over its organic string tones and DIY charm, praising the attack/release range that organ makers overlooked, though some note the limited modulation keeps it firmly in vintage territory.