Steiner-Parker is probably best known today for its filter design. However, Steiner-Parker also manufactured synths during the golden era of analog synthesis, the 1970s. In '75, they introduced the Synthacon—a three-oscillator analog monosynth that was a competitor to the Minimoog and ARP Odyssey. This particular Synthacon is one of the first runs with the original silver front panel.
What sets the Synthacon further apart from other vintage monosynths are its modulation sources and the wide range of sounds it offers, from traditional vintage leads, pads, and arps to huge analog sound effects.
Even the panel design is different. Most synths have their oscillators placed on the left of the panel, with filters, envelopes, and modulation going from left to right in a pattern representing the signal flow of the audio circuit. The Synthacon's layout flipped this script by placing these controls in reverse order—an unorthodox choice that ultimately gives way to more complex and interesting soundscapes.
The Synthacon has a unique tonality that some would even call chaotic because of its 12 dB two-pole multimode resonant filter. This filter includes bandpass and hi/low pass options, and it's been reproduced by a few Eurorack companies.
With approval and guidance from Nyle Steiner, Arturia even used the filter design in their line of Brute synths. The recreation of this filter continues to be a hot topic on synth forums across the internet.
The seller points out that the unit received a recent tune-up. However, vintage analog synths typically cost as much as a used car, and this particularly rare gem is listed for almost $10,000 on Reverb. Additionally, it's worth mentioning that, at the time of this writing, there's currently another silver-panel Synthacon listed on Reverb for a few thousand less.
In recent news, the original designer of Synthacon, Nyle Steiner, has partnered with musician and synth fanatic Robbie Connolly to engineer a complete recreation of the synth under the name Steiner-Connolly and is said to be available soon for $3500.
So, after an extended absence from the synthesizer hall of fame, it seems that the era of the Synthacon is back.