This video, via Mears, takes a deep dive into a rare vintage DIY analog modular synthesizer from 1976, the PAiA Model 4700.
“I’ve spent countless hours restoring it, and am very pleased with the results,” they note. “It can produce a wide range of sounds, thick and beefy baselines, pillowy ambient textures, fat analog drums and so much more!”
The video covers the features of the synth, features detailed shots and explanations of the restoration and internal components, and features a variety of audio demos of the 4700’s capabilities.
That brings back memories. A PAiA 2720 modular was my first synth back in 1974.
Great video. I built one back then….a smaller unit though….sounded ok once I worked out the bugs…gave it away…
I loved my PAIA when I was a teen. good stuff! thank you!
Is the PAiA FatMan synth easy to build?
A friend and I pooled our gear many years back, just to wring it out and learn new skills. He had one of those PAIAs. It was like a fussy car you had to tweak all the time, but it still got some love. It never sounded big, but once it warmed up (without emitting spitzensparken), it held its own for amateur wannabe T-Dream experiments.
I built one while I was in high school, circa 1973. Mine was a 2720. I eventually added some 4700 series modules to it. I used to gig with it. I still own it, but i haven’t turned it on in years. When I retire next year, I may restore it. Great video.
I had one of these back in High School (a Paia P4700/J, the one with the optional digital interface on the keyboard). It was okay, but I’m happy to see the video acknowledge the tuning issues on the oscillators. I could never get them calibrated to stay in tune for even the length of that tiny keyboard; it usually could only get a range of 1 to 1 & 1/2 octaves before it became unplayable.
Later in college, I sold the Paia cheap to raise funds for a used MiniMoog. Never regretted that decision for a minute.