New England Digital Synclavier II

Of the vast array of Synclavier gear in the world, I am writing of my 24 voice Synclavier II. It runs release H software with a "C" processor. 24 out of a possible 32 FM mono voices, It's basically a hot rod DX-7 with some Kawai K-5 additive capabilities thrown in. The sounds are unmistakable and recognizable from film, TV, music production all over the planet. The legendary THX sound, the strings, the Michael Jackson Bell. The manual is very techie, and could be a product of NASA. The syncII (synclavier II) is pre-MIDI and can't be retrofitted. Excercise caution when buying one, because there's many variations and modifications. Contact experts like John Hill at Synhouse, or the guys at DEMAS for help. Editing is a snap and usually leads to marathon sound creation sessions.

Depending on patch configuration, some of the more well known sounds take 8 voices per note. This means the basic 8 voice unit is monophonic. With my 24 voice unit I have three note polyphony. This makes the built in 16 track sequencer all but useless. There is a built in chorus effect, but cuts polyphony in half. No MIDI for the sync II. It's available for later versions 3200 6400 9600. The sync II is an ORK (Original Release Keyboard)the beautiful wood cabinet with 61 synth keys (no velocity, no weights, no aftertouch) Let me note that this is just a controller, the heart and soul of the sync II lives in a 6 rack space (front and back) ATA rack case. This contains the power supply, CPU, voice cards, RAM, audio output cards, etc. It's called a DCU and connects to the ORK via a wide flat ribbon cable. There's also a 5 1/4" disk drive used for loading the operating system and patches. The disk drive is remote to both the ORK and DCU. There's alot of pics floating around the web of the ORK on a 4 legged table with the disk drive mounted under the left front. No one seems to picture the large DCU with it. Later releases use the VPK (Velocity, Pressure Keyboard) a 73 note quasi hammer action keyboard which shares components with the prophet T-8. This VPK is just a controller and can cost more than $4000. The old ORK can go for $2000

At the time the Synclavier was king, little else could touch it's sound capabilities. The sync II is more of a curiousity by today's standards. It's fun to play and a natural for sound creation, but not as musically useful as it once was. The pitch bend strip which is very similar to the CS-80, wasn't an option on all ORKs, and sometimes is just a black piece of balsa wood glued to the chassis. While it may look like a pitch ribbon, it might not be one. No continuous controllers or mod wheels, just one knob and a bunch of lighted pushbuttons. The ORK is not velocity or aftertouch sensitive. The factory voices include a bunch of very convincing simulations of orchestral instruments, some nice synthetic stuff also.

There's still parts available from DEMAS. Voice cards crap out from time to time. All in all the sync II is very sturdy and built almost entirely of military spec. parts. Great old pieces of history like this shouldn't be gigged.

I've found John Hill at Synhouse and the folks at DEMAS to be very knowledgible and helpful. They can provide parts and upgrades.

A very inspiring digital synth, it has improved my command of additive and FM programming. It's fun to play, especially when the keyboard has been rebushed with parts from Archive Sound. It lives in my home studio with my Jupiter 8, Memorymoog plus, Polymoog, Hammond B, and big rack of MIDI-oldies. I gig with the Triton pro-x, Motif rack, XV-5050. I wouldn't dare take any of my vintage gear out.