Crumar DS-2

If you know subtractive synthesis then there is no problem here. If not well you might want to try elsewhere because some of the controls are really touchy and can drastically alter the sound where as on other subtractive synths they are not as touchy.

This really is a strange synth. It has a fully polyphonic section that can make some mean organ and synths sounds. I think a good delay pedal would do it the string sound justice. The monosynth section has two lfo's one of which has a staircase and sample and hold wave forms. The dual oscilators are great as well with several waveforms. The twin envelopes are there and they are typical ADSR (one for filter and one for amp). And there is a complete LFO mixer (modulation) section where you can route any of the lfo's or both to Osc1, 2, VCF, VCA, or the pulswidth all at the same time! No arp, no sequencer, only a gate which I heavnt had the time to explore yet. Also has portamento with two modes one which lets you control the rate of the slide. There is a pitch bend but no mod wheel (dont really need it as there are dedicated sliders for modulation purposes [ 5 to be exact])

The sound is excelent. You can pull the late 70's synth leads like no other. Modulation strangeness is incredible. The bass sounds are unique and such a pleasent cross between Moog and Pro One. Basically it has the punch of a Pro One but the smoothness of a Mini. Different and that is the best combination of well known synth sounds I could find to describe the DS-2. The filter screams. The LFO's have a bit of a weird range....a lot of play on the slow cycle, no play on the faster cycles (ie lesser incraments between fast and super fast). But they are excelent and sound really really nice. The polyphonic section is great for adding to the denseness of a sound. The oscilators have a really really nice sound to them. VERY analog. These DCO's kill most other DCO's that I have heard. When I say they are big...believe me...they are up there with most VCO's. They are much bigger and wider than the one's on a Juno 60 or 106. Probably has to do with the fact that these guys are from 1978. Also the noise generator is great. Make percussion with ease. I even got some Clav like sounds out of this guy. Overall the sound is very vintage and strange. I heavn't quiet played an analog this unique.

Do not ever ever ever EVER depend on this synth. Please, if you are looking for a first purchase, go elsewhere. This guy requires work and is highly unpredictable. I got a lower serial number and the LM326N went out on mine which took a year and 42 dollars to track down. When I armed the power supply with this guy the synth worked fully...and then the internal fuses (there are three inside the synth plus one removable from the outside) went down. And then LFO 1 went down. It turns off and then right back on by itself whenever it feels like it. The oscilators are drifting. I cant make it sound the same twice. And I love it.

Good luck. Find a good tech and stick with him. You'll need him.

It is a glorious machine. I will track down another and keep it for parts. I really want to at some point have a fully functional one of these guys and since they are so rare and underused can really really be a great weapon.

lot of space between the buttons, logically almost military styled
if you know how a synth works or want to learn it in a quick way this one is very suitable ,even for live playing this one is my favorite ! minimoog or ms20 non can cope the ease of playing and changing the sound the same time. (a bit like the multimoog)

sounds good,in the below keyboard part a little side effect but not disturbing, more typical. filters great,eg fast enough, sidenoise:no problem
in combination with polysection some sounds almost not obtainable with other synth's and especially not so fast!

due to the overall layout a high score,despite lack of computertime achievements
in its field (electronic synth.sounds) very good

yes
yes (in fact i'm doing actually so,having one at home although for i wouldn't want to miss this synth anymore)
no problems so far on stage (knock wood,tok,tok)

found a service manual on internet, firm no longer exists

bought first one for about 300 euro/dollar, second for spare parts for 90 euro/dollar. but had it fixed for i think the synth deserved it.
if by anyway you can lay hand on one try it or at once buy it .
THIS IS A SYNTHESIZER

Really easy t use and it is very easy to creat lovely baslines, Lead and blipp/blopps,

It has a lovly sounding 4-pole VCF and not one but two LFO's with S&H and staircase waveforms!! The two envelope generators are fast... I mean really fast. No problem making hard baslines and kick drums.

If you are into analog sounds then this is the synth. I have a Minimoog and I think the DS2 has some moogish over it's VCF.

I have heard that this synth is unreliable but ny DS2 works fine.

I will never sell this baby!!

It's an analogue synth (late 70s/early 80s). The two oscillators are digitally controlled. It has two LFOs, a noise generator, a polyphonic section with filters and LFOs and it is heavy (ca. 20 kg). If you know how to use an analogue synth, this thing is easy to use.

The keyboard is quite weak (uneven action, uneven keys), no internal effects, no midi, no sequencer, but a lot of analogue features (polyphonie etc).

nice pad-sounds, fat bass sounds, good lead-sounds.

It goes very easy out of tune, but apart from that, it's quite dependable.

As far as I know, crumar doesn't exist any longer, so no support here.

For the low price an unbelievable Instrument.