![]() To get around this, the Micro Synthesizer employs a pulverizing fuzz circuit that amplifies the incoming signal to a near-vertical amplitude, then shears off the peaks to fashion a crude square wave. And because the guitar is a much more harmonically complicated sound source than any oscillator, it is notoriously difficult to pipe into the same synth outrigging and expect the same results. ![]() The analog (har har) to guitar would be the strings. ![]() In the realm of synth, an oscillator is the sound source, which can be tuned, adjusted and then processed through a network of outboard operations before it reaches the output jack. There’s just one problem: the oscillator. The manual promises “popular lead synthesizer voicings,” and it’s fair to say that Mike Matthews and company hit the nail on the head. Players equipped with a little more magnetic beef must open the enclosure and fiddle with a trimpot, while futzing with a semi-complicated calibration procedure involving all ten sliders. ![]() As such, the Micro Synthesizer is factory-set to accept and process wimpy pickups. As some Strat aficionados know, Strat pickups made in the late-’70s were somewhat undesirable-in the canon of Strat pickups, these are known as relatively thin and microphonic sounding. It is explicitly stated in the documentation that the Micro Synthesizer is factory tuned to support the output from a Strat. And since this particular model is so rare to find with the manual, there is one particular parameter that is capable of throwing the whole system into peril. interesting (but never bad), but dialing it in is a task in itself. With that said, it’s very easy to make the Micro Synthesizer sound. Each slider function is delineated in great detail, including how they interact with the other sliders. There are two separate octave mix controls, which the manual describes as having extra “harmonic distortion.” A feature, not a flaw, you see.įor being so feature-rich, the manual does not mince words about the degree of difficulty attached to wrangling the Micro Synthesizer. You can completely cut out the dry signal if you want to go full Edgar Winter, or keep it present for a full-bodied tone. Players were given full, expansive control over every parameter of the filter sweep and other synth fixings, including triggering parameters and some rudimentary ADSR functions. With real synthesizer controls, the Micro Synthesizer lived up to its name and then some. Even the Korg X-911, made by an actual synthesizer company, couldn’t muster the same architecture. Nothing out there gave guitarists actual synth controls to play around with. Maestro’s USS-1 pedal, while designed in part with Tom Oberheim, simply squashed together a spate of synth-like effects. However, since these pieces had recently been featured on tons of rock records, guitarists silently coveted that sound. The new wave of lower-cost synthesis was upon us, with the brute strength of bulky synth potency in the rear-view mirror. Roland released the SH-1 and Jupiter 4 Korg released the iconic MS-20. Today’s entry, a V1 Electro-Harmonix Micro Synthesizer, beat all other units to the punch in terms of raw synth power. But part of the fun is figuring out where the pieces fit. In other words, the technological pinnacle of analog synthesis was on the horizon, and guitar synth equipment reflected this. This decade was the exact period of time that Minimoogs and 2600s were being heaved into Dumpsters or pawned for pennies in favor of digital synthesis (us opportunists were recovering them just as quickly). We’ve covered several innovators, including a lesser-known synthesizer device that was released in the early ‘80s. As you by now know, the Cabinet is crawling with curiosities.
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