11 thoughts on “Elektor Formant Synthesizer Demo”

  1. I'm with you on that point, but be fair, this is way more interesting than some of those 15-minute videos of "I just built this cool Atari Punk Console – now, where's the switch?" However, a bit of a guided tour of the modules would have been a better use of the time. What is a 1 x COM or a 1 x RMF? How does a 1 x twin VCA differ from a 2 x VCA?

    Meanwhile, let's turn our attention to, "It was the first mini analogue synthesizer around with modular construction that could be built at home at an affordable price." Well yeah, if you choose to ignore Doug Shaw's 'Practical Electronics' project of 1975 – and few others that appeared in the USA around this time.

  2. I helped a friend build one, back in the 70's. Days and days of soldering and troubleshooting. This brings up memories, and I suppose that's what it's meant to do.

  3. This demo is perfectly OK, the nearest thing I have heard to a trautonium yet. What you hear is the unusual, why hear the obvious. The Formant can blow away a pile of synths that make a one horse sound. You want unison oscillators for that cutting lead sound you've got it, detune for a massive pad, cross patch for FM. It's a shame you can't hear the potential in this demo, but then that's why so many people dumped their analogues for the DX7. I am one of those that kept theirs, including the Formant, and as mentioned Doug Shaw's PE Synthesiser (with an S not a Z).

  4. This demo is perfectly OK, the nearest thing I have heard to a trautonium yet. What you hear is the unusual, why hear the obvious. The Formant can blow away a pile of synths that make a one horse sound. You want unison oscillators for that cutting lead sound you've got it, detune for a massive pad, cross patch for FM. It's a shame you can't hear the potential in this demo, but then that's why so many people dumped their analogues for the DX7. I am one of those that kept theirs, including the Formant, and as mentioned Doug Shaw's PE Synthesiser (with an S not a Z).

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