From SHOCKERR@aol.comThu May 11 10:47:49 1995 Date: Wed, 10 May 1995 23:55:45 -0400 From: SHOCKERR@aol.com To: analogue@hyperreal.com Subject: SMS Maybe someone can help me. On my way back home from church tonight my girlfriend and I stopped off at a small garage sale in Danville (CA). I found a box with a bunch of knobs on it. Obviously a synth, I pondered the question, ' What would an old lady want with this thing. It's obviously no Hammond it does'nt even have a keyboard.' So, I asked. She informed me that it belonged to her deceased son and that I could have it for $75 dollars, but with no manuals. "With no manuals and no keyboard, I can't offer you more than $50.", I replied. I could see, however, that she attached some sentimental value to this silly wooden box and suddenly I felt shallow. So, I graciously handed her $55 and made my way home. I never heard of this one before so I was'nt expecting much. It says Voice 400 at the top, and SMS at the lower left. I saw it had a CV gate and trigger in the back with a host of other holes that meant nothing to me. So, I slaved it to my MonoPoly and I'll be God damned (excuse me Lord) if it does'nt sound just like a Mini Moog. I'm new to this list and I mostly own digital gear. I'm really just starting to get in to this analog synth thing, so I'm trying to be selective about the synths I buy. Does anyone know anything about this piece, and if so can you tell me more about it. Thanks, Shockerr From void@slip.netThu May 11 10:48:19 1995 Date: Thu, 11 May 1995 00:18:57 -0400 From: M Stevens To: SHOCKERR@aol.com, analogue@hyperreal.com Subject: Re: SMS At 11:55 PM 5/10/95, SHOCKERR@aol.com wrote: >I never heard of this one before so I was'nt expecting much. It says Voice >400 at the top, and SMS at the lower left. I saw it had a CV gate and >trigger in the back with a host of other holes that meant nothing to me. >So, I slaved it to my MonoPoly and I'll be God damned (excuse me Lord) if it >does'nt sound just like a Mini Moog. My good man, either you; a) are making this up, or b) have unintentionally fleeced some poor old granny and got yourself the deal of the century. What kind of shape is it in? I played around with one at Naut Humon's "Bloody Angle Studios Rythm and Noise Compound" or whatever he's currently calling his studio in the heart of scenic Hunter's Point. Naut has a **gigantic** SMS modular system, and the thing you have is it's "little brother", in much the same way the Moog modular stuff begat the Mini. These things are *rare*. I've never seen one for sale anywhere, and I hear they go for a princely sum (you could probably trade it for a couple of 303's...) The analog delay is killer. I seem to remember the filter as being continuously variable between highpass, bandpass, and lowpass. Personally, I thought it sounded *better* than a Mini. Perhaps there's something to this "church" business, after all... Waitaminit. I was pulling your leg. It's a piece of crap. I'll trade you *2* Casio SK-1's for it (one of 'em even works). If it's in really good shape, I'll throw in a Mattel Synsonics percussion synthesizer and a Magical Musical Thing. ****************************************************************** * |\\ /|| * "Life is a well of joy; but where the rabble * * ||\\ //|| * drinks too, all wells are poisoned. I am fond * * || \\ // || * of all that is clean, but I have no wish to * * || \\ // || * see the grinning snouts and the thirst of the * * || \// || * unclean" - Fred Nietzsche * ************************* M Stevens / void@slip.net SF CA *******