Teisco Synthesizer 110F

Back in 1980, Kawai stepped into the synth world under the Teisco name with this upgraded take on their S60-F, packing dual analog VCOs into a compact chassis that punches way above its weight for fat leads and sneaky duophonic tricks.

It rocks a 37-note keyboard—three playable octaves with a surprisingly nice feel—plus pressure-sensitive pads licensed from ARP for expressive control. Two VCOs deliver sawtooth, square (both), and triangle (VCO1 only) waveforms, mixable with pink and white noise, all feeding a resonant Moog-style ladder low-pass filter, high-pass filter, and full ADSR envelope on the VCA. Modulation comes alive via LFO (for pitch, filter, and EG trigger), portamento, ring modulator, vibrato, and sample-and-hold, with a straightforward panel of knobs, sliders, and blinking lights begging for hands-on tweaking. External input lets you run other sounds through its filters too.

Owners love its raw, characterful analog voice—think gritty basses and wild effects that stand out in a mix—though some note the lack of patch memory means dialing in sounds from scratch every time. It's a quirky gem for anyone chasing affordable vintage vibe without the usual suspects.