Find of the Week: An Early EMS VCS-3

This week's Find of the Week is one for the books: it's an early prototype of the EMS VCS 3 analog synth, also known by its nickname "The Putney".

The VCS 3 was first introduced in 1969 by Peter Zinovieff's Electronic Music Studios. Handcrafted, housed in a wooden case, and known for its distinctive patchboard matrix, it was among the first portable synths, eventually making its way onto countless classic rock generator, two input amplifiers, a ring modulator, a low-pass filter and a spring reverb unit. This and early electronic music recordings, most notably contributing the iconic bass sound heard in the intro of Pink Floyd's "Welcome To The Machine".


EMS VCS 3
EMS VCS-3 with Cricklewood Keyboard & Random Voltage Generator.

The synth is equipped with three oscillators—two VCOs and a LFO—as well as a noise particular VCS-3 comes with a matching Cricklewood keyboard and an even-rarer EMS Random Voltage Generator box, which generates voltages at variable random times.

Be sure to check out the full listing for more pictures and details, and to make an offer on this classic museum showpiece.

comments powered by Disqus

Reverb Gives

Your purchases help youth music programs get the gear they need to make music.

Carbon-Offset Shipping

Your purchases also help protect forests, including trees traditionally used to make instruments.

Oops, looks like you forgot something. Please check the fields highlighted in red.