1950's TUBE "SYNTH" WITH AFTERTOUCH? The JENNINGS UNIVOX

The #antique Jennings Univox a precursor to the mono #synthesizer after a little #repair
Sounds from this video! aswell as the new Megamix (clip played at end is available over on my Patreon :- / lookmumnocomputer
SHOUTOUT TO HAINBACH :- / @hainbach
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Always looking for old gear! to mod or conserve in the "museum of everything else" one day
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[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

Remind you of triggers well maintained broom? :D Samples from this instrument and many more available here! :- www.patreon.com/lookmumnocomputer As for the capacitors. currently it is part of a display of dismantled items from 1930-60's electronic tech, so having the old capacitors in it makes more sense, than recapping now.... then in a year or so maybe ill re cap them. Restuffing caps is a faff ha. but hopefully it makes more sense that in this case for this machine right now it makes sense not to remove those caps, as it would make kids think those poly caps had been around forever.

[@paulevans4334]

That's as cool as fook, what a wonderful little machine.

[@CausticCatastrophe]

When some guy in a shop of curios shouts at you that they have something you might be interested in, be sure to check later that the shop in question is still there and hasnt mysteriously vanished in mystic smoke.

[@Jonathan_Doe_]

The equivalent modern capacitors will probably be a lot smaller, so you could carefully remove the covers from the original ones, and place them over the new ones? A silicone o ring near the base of the cap should keep the old covers in place nicely. You’d have to use caps with a pretty high heat rating though, because the extra casing around them would stop them cooling properly.

[@JaggedNZ]

On the topic of restuffing I recently came across this while looking into the repair of a 1950-60? Marconi Watt meter (and yes I fixed it!) www.radiomuseum.co.uk/stuff.html Looks a lot more efficient that trying to stuff a modern axial into the paper case. Maybe this is a common technique? I'm not really into radio restoration...

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

@@NicverAZ yeah schematics for this are all over the net :) well documented

[@Hainbach]

Good to be back!

[@shoob2000]

always a pleasure to see you peak your head into people's videos, mr. hainbach!

[@dxtxzbunchanumbers]

What a welcome surprise, I did a double-take

[@sklegg]

I would like to hear more about that Proper German Vacuum Tube Bass Drum

[@Beaufort-Wes]

Good to see you here aswell!

[@nanayawberko3212]

Good to have you back

[@NicStage]

I can imagine that shop owner when they decided to buy this thing. They knew they already had it sold. All they had to do was find you. Haha.

[@BertGrink]

Indeed; i imagine the shop owner thinking "I'll just wait for Sam to pass by, then i can shift this thing no probs whatsoever" lol

[@Eazy-V]

*Random **_Hainbach_** pops in, what a magnificient surprise

[@AlexBallMusic]

Putting the "tube" in KZbin.

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

hahaha :D

[@albyboy4278]

@TrashPanda Raccoon YouTchewb much better 😜

[@mfbfreak]

I repair antique radios, and what i usually do - if i am planning to use the thing - is to put all the old caps into a little bag and keep it somewhere inside of the cabinet. Although there will always be solder marks, a historian 100 years later would still be able to re-construct the device the way it was when it left the factory, and see the quality (or lack thereof) of the old components. It's always a bit hard to decide whether to keep it as a museum piece in factory condition, or to refurbish the thing so it can actually be used safely. This is the compromise i choose. For those who wonder about why exactly those caps have to be replaced: capacitors normally block 100% of all direct current. The old paper-wax caps, however, start to leak current. This will cause the tubes to draw more power, which can burn them up quickly, or if you're particularly unlucky burn out the transformer. Also when they're accross a power rail, they can short out the rail, or blow themselves up. The warmer the caps get, the more they leak. It is a nasty feedback loop. The wax caps are always bad, i have literally never seen one that doesn't leak electrically. Tar encapsulated ones are bad in 80% of cases. The ones used in a british made Wireless Set 19 were all good - all measured over 50Mohm of leakage resistance, which is not significant. For electrolytics, things can get worse. They can squirt corrosive liquid all over the internals, and also overload power rails which can roast the transformer and rectifier. But depending on the exact brand and type, they may very well be perfectly usable. Considering the Univox doesn't hum, i would simply check if there's any leakage current, and if it's below 1mA keep them in circuit. The ones in 1945-1955 Philips radios are usable in 50% of cases, the ones from the 60s in almost 90% of cases, some with less leakage than a modern similar capacitor.

[@paulbennell3313]

Yes, the fabled Philips mustards. Didn't notice any inside this keyboard unfortunately but we only got a quick look.

[@blackdog6969]

New bit of knowledge for me. As for keeping the parts to restore to factory in the future, thats a brilliant idea. I'll have to keep that in mind if I ever come across older hardware I want to restore

[@alexanderhuliakov6012]

Just imagine how weird this instrument was for the '50s.

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

iundeed!!! i suppose it was a like cheaper verison of the claviolune! regardless its like looking at an otomatone now i guess haha

[@NikoNoxious]

@@gamejelte1946 o

[@DrewskisBrews]

I suspect there was some inspiration from the Hammond Organ design here. (In terms of the key bed/ contacts design )

[@DarkMetaOFFICIAL]

maan dude.. right? just the fact that these strange new machine thingys like radio.. tv.. and other gear.. could play audio, was so alien to the general public for such a long time

[@ExplosiveDisregard]

"I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet... but your kids are going to love it."

[@PrimitiveInTheExtreme]

What a great find! p.s.: Jam with Hainbach is wonderful.

[@christiantorma2440]

Wenn s nicht so ein unsympathischer Typ wäre ... leider

[@jensalik]

Well, at least now I know what jam I'll be playing in my underground cave when I'm severely disfigured...

[@nunofernandes4501]

Imagine you two on a time machine to 1957, recording one album, coming back to the 21st and finding a 1980s magazine interview of Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider saying your record had been the biggest influence for Kraftwerk.

[@unfinishedmonkeyrecords]

that jam with heinbach was epic, also the style of both musicians coming through... like autism/industrygeek laying the slow low and the adhd/oldjunkman smashing the hyper solo! EPIC

[@superotterboy7937]

The internals are bloody beautiful on this. Love those tubes. Was really surprised at how tidy and clean the speaker cab was inside, was expecting a spaghetti load of components and wire, like you see on some 40s-50s electronics. This thing was miles ahead of it's time.

[@trevord9811]

I love the ingenuity of the after-touch. Such elegant yet simple engineering. Such a lovely piece of history right there.

[@AllDayBikes]

Soon as you said Icky Thump, a lightbulb of familiarity illuminated. 6:41 sounds amazing 7:40 Castlevania vibes strong on this one.

[@ZafroSoundz]

I can imagine Syd Barrett using this, what a great historic piece of kit.

[@olik136]

This thing screams Mr Carlson's lab :)

[@ibanezleftyclub]

Or Uncle Doug.

[@DOCTOR_SONG]

Well i can make house calls

[@graemebrumfitt6668]

Exactly what I thought

[@midierror]

Wow whats a beauty, love your vids! Telstar is such a tune!!!! Shout out to Joe Meek

[@spazimdam]

What a cool old piece of electronica. I would have bought it too Sam. And a jam with Hainbach! Awesomeness.

[@saladdays180s9]

The modern variant and masterpiece IMHO is the Knifonium. I'm traveling and have it with me. I can't stand to be without it. 25 tubes and the most expressive and rich synth I've ever heard. LMNO, if you get to America and wold like to borrow the Knif for a stint, I would be happy to hear you enjoying it. One of your best videos!

[@matthewlister3755]

I love the fact that local shop owners know that you like old electronics. I had a local shop owner contact me about an old Gulbransen drum machine. I bought it in a second because the price was $50 and that money is going back into the local economy. Easy decision to make. As for recapping old electronics I mean, if it's living again, if you're using it in your music, then what's the big deal? You're keeping it out of a landfill and giving it a second life. I just don't see how that's a bad thing. Functionality trumps "Oh I can point at it and say 'That's original!'" any day of the week. Nice jam with Hainbach! Glad to see you guys getting together in these difficult times when no one can see each other. Great video as always.

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

cool on the drum machine !! like i said the purpose of the synth right now is a display in a museum, it can get recapped anytime, but toi show electronic tech of the 50's a display of a recapped univox isnt quite that!

[@matthewlister3755]

@@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER crap that's right! Nevermind then! Now I feel dumb. This is going to make one hell of an addition. Congrats!

[@H2Oredfirefox]

So good to see some people taking care of old instruments whether mechanical electrical or just whatever and they're not sitting in some dumpsite rotting away great video can't wait to see we come up with next

[@RISCGames]

The last time that Jennings Univox was played that madly was never., until now!

[@sebp400]

It's like THe REsidents jamming in a church

[@crywolfe210]

why does this sound so “comfy”! love it!

[@Oialca]

This is absolutely awesome, I clicked to watch because I thought it was the exact instrument Joe Meek played on Telstar.... also happens to be the very first British number one in the US.

[@McTroyd]

Glad that gent got your attention! This is an amazing find. Also glad you don't seem to ascribe to the "ZOMG EVERYTHING MUST STAY THE SAME FOREVER EVEN IF IT EXPLODES!" restoration policy. You and Paul Carlson finally got me on to Patreon, and I couldn't be happier with how the money's being used. 👍

[@xn-triq7607]

It sounds so amazingly warm and kinda fluffy, the bass is just lovely, would love to hear this in person!!!!

[@skriptico]

Sam and his crazy music machines never disappoints! Dagnene secche omo!

[@KevinBaeza]

I don’t understand how you haven’t hit 1million yet... your music hits me hard

[@TotoGuy-Original]

that is pretty damn cool! looking forward to seeing you repair it

[@ystermannexe]

really cool. I love old technology.

[@6u6u7o]

I love when you improvise on these old machines!

[@donkimble]

sounds quite lovely. that will cut through a mix. nice surprise guest!

[@Logiwonk]

Wow that sounds much better that I expected!

[@bryceneal3136]

Forever I was wondering what that sound was in icky thump

[@ecalzo]

Absolutely Amazing Sam .. thank you for letting us see that

[@bricelory9534]

What a remarkable sound! Especially when it clips to modern wave forms....to think this was a 50s instrument especially! Really a surprisingly visionary instrument, honestly.

[@fremenondesand3896]

P.S. Once more this shows just how awesome Reverb makes everything sound.

[@samanthajarosek9756]

Love old tube gear! Sounded great even with the old caps!

[@manimazinani8331]

Did not think I wanted another keyboard, until now... Wow!

[@new-knowledge8040]

WOW. I see the diagram for the 2N3904 NPN transistor in the background. It just blows my mind that these transistors are still being used to this day. I mean the 2N3904 came into the world about 56 years ago. WOW ! But then again, the wheel has been around for quite some time as well, and no one has been trying to turn that into being obsolete.

[@Cesiumswimsuit]

Always nice to have a Hainbach surprise! This Univox blew my mind honestly, the proto aftertouch is a great bit of history

[@drewfinn2]

that has an amazing sound, like a warmer poly but w a roundness and that ohh so flattering 3rd harmonic tube overdrive

[@juschu85]

3:25 That's interesting. In this case, it's actually used as aftertouch with a resolution of a single bit. But it's exactly how normal velocity works in modern keyboards. At least in the ones that I opened and repaired. A microcontroller is measuring the time between closing both contacts and can then calculate the speed, aka velocity, with which the key was pressed down.

[@Kholaslittlespot1]

It sounds really bloody nice!

[@Crackalacking_Z]

The surprise jam was great!

[@bigsby19]

Love it. Dig out your jumper for a jam with Hainbach.

[@bubbie3533]

Hey Sam, good video and thanks for taking us along into a deep dive with this Tube Synth.

[@darkalman]

That's a pretty space age sound coming from something made in the 50's

[@CaalamusTube]

The fifties envisioned "the future" better than it actually turned out!

[@lsswappedcessna]

The clavioline sounds cool as fuck, too. Late 40s. Famous for Telstar, Baby You're a Rich Man, and as a heavily modified, awesome sounding abomination, a lot of Del Shannon songs (Runaway being the most famous)

[@K33f11]

That's flippin wonderful

[@LucyOLastic]

I found one of these on Preston Market, could not believe what I was seeing, looked like an old valve radio with a keyboard, rather special as the keys were bevelled, but most of them had fallen in.... badly wanted it....I ended up buying a 1963 Selmer Clavioline Concert Reverb for £100 with stand and some photocopied instructions with a list of sounds. I had it recapped etc, but pretty soon keys started popping out....I managed to get some recording done with it and attempted to sample it. They sound great put through a phaser! The sub oscillators are great. Loads of different sound combinations of filters, and a slow and fast attack. The vibrato effects not as pronounced as on some earlier models. I bought a service manual and a potted history book from a Byron Elwood in Derbyshire who collects these instruments and has a great website too. You've probably found it already. Mine still needs a bit of work unfortunately, repairs are rather costly.

[@izzzzzz6]

That thing sounds amazing!

[@EarlOfMaladyCrescent]

Before watching this video, I thought synthesizers came out in the 70's & aftertouch in the 90's. Apparently not then! Great work restoring this vintage instrument. Your charisma is out of this world, by the way!

[@xx-bg2dj]

Synths have been around for almost 100 years

[@adamsouza7140]

Indeed, optical synthesizers in the 20s. Beautiful visuals too.

[@asc.k1865]

That....is cool as hell. What a good friend to reserve that old beast for you, Sam! Happy Holidays to you a d yours! Addendum: I've never listened to a synth accordion before. Man how I wish I'd known of all this when I was in music school!

[@chent]

That is so awesome! I think it sounds really cool. I think that synth have been credited for being the first synth used in popular music.

[@MrNoobed]

Ah, you're a Saint. Thank you for all your preservation work

[@b.w.22]

Aw man, what a killer and weird thing! That secondhand fellow deserves three cheers for cottoning you on to that.

[@TestTubeBabySpy]

This goes into my top 100 awesome things I've ever seen!

[@Wazoox]

This is a freaking fantastic find.

[@mikebond9315]

That thing sounds awesome

[@pmgodfrey]

Such a neat synth! I spot some Adam monitors in the back. I love my A7X monitors and Adam sub.

[@franzpeter4551]

Good success with this project.✌️😎

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Man, it is amazing that is working, and a great cameo from Hainbach!

[@summarity]

It would be really cool if there could be something like a virtual museum of everything: 360 photos for walking around, and then being able to play a sampled version of those instruments / contraptions. Maybe a collab with Spitfire's LABS range?

[@Hammerjockeyrepair]

this honestly has to be the greatest sounding "factory" type of synth I have ever heard!!!

[@ABRAHAMLINCOLN-mb8ry]

when Sam unscrewed that box with the speaker in it I was expecting a load of bats escaping ..lol

[@gwendolynnowlan2427]

I still love that spring

[@SpectrumDIY]

That sound pretty cool, could probably make video game sounds with that o.o

[@malfattio2894]

I was working on an old movie projector from the 50s a while back and a giant capacitor that was hooked up to the motor straight up exploded when I had my eye right up against the lens. It was such a loud bang that I had tinnitus in one ear for a few hours after.

[@DeadKoby]

Very cool. I fix/repair old electronics too.... and if it's just for display, leaving it be is fine... if it's going to be played, then service is going to be needed. I know that dilemma.

[@Uuuuuuurrgggggghhhhh]

I really enjoyed this video. Thank you!

[@alexhauptmann298]

Damn, I think I heard somewhere Bruce Haack had one of these. Definitely explains a lot about his sound.

[@timhowes7088]

Awesome to see this! I have one that I'm half way through restoring. It's the Concert Grand model with two rows of tone switches. I'll put up a vid so you can compare (might not be for a couple of months!) All the best with it Sam :)

[@lawriegreen8374]

That is an interesting bit of kit. Thanks for sharing.

[@babahoetep]

Sick! Sounds like a digital cathedral

[@sigilvii]

If you ever make it over to the states, the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention is worth a visit. It's a ways north of Seattle.

[@wudimusic]

omg that Hainbach-accordeon-feature :O

[@mrt7152]

Tubes my world, awesome vid! Also worry about the power electrolyte’s but these you can reform. 2 outcomes are possible or they die while reforming or they come back up to spec. If the capacitors have leakage means they have dc leakage this you can measure just measure behind the cap and if you measure just 1 volt dc than it is broken. If it is a number something like 0,01vdc than they are good. And if they survived 60 years than they wont break now. Good luck! I restore everything tube and audio related, coils transformers everything if you need help just let me know. Cheers!

[@gnarlysoundscapes7210]

That thing sounds amazing. Looks amazing too, on the inside... nothing cooler than vacuum tubes and crusty vintage components. I've always wished synths had clear enclosures so you could admire their pretty circuitry without having to take them apart.

[@WagonLoads]

I made some interesting sounds a long time ago with some TTL chips. I had a 7490 BCD counter configured as a decade counter, and connected the A out to the input of an AND gate and inverted the D output going to the other input of the AND gate. The output of the And gate fed to my amplifier. Adjust the clock input to the counter so that the output of the AND gate is in the audio range. I will let you find out what it sounds like.. Have fun!

[@dykodesigns]

Thate horse impersonation is epic!

[@skaneverdies]

For those who are into this kind of thing, check out the great restoration and performance work that Wally De Backer (Gotye, The. Basics) is doing with the Ondioline!

[@wesess8966]

Basta Music in the Netherlands released an album of mine with this synth serving as the main body of gear used. Look up 'Chick Vekters - Travelogue' on here if you're interested in hearing more of this great machine in action. Great video btw Sam!

[@nullbyt]

Woah that's amazing! Sounds so damn thick

[@Nervejam]

Wasn't expecting a Hainbach jamming session..

[@yesthatsam]

That’s the Sunday jam session I like!

[@essiikaheimonen7825]

That synth has a really cool sound. I wonder if you have played some very early synths, like trautonium or onde martenot? It would be nice to see more stuff about pre-50s electronics

[@bowlerrollercoaster]

Hammond made a Monosynth organ thing to fit under your keyboard back in 1940. It was called the Hammond Solovox. You'd be lucky to find one

[@greentape7817]

at 5:25 it sounds almost 4ms noise swashy, what a cool machine!

[@trevorhaddox6884]

You can do what's called "cap restuffing" where you gut the old capacitors and hide new parts inside. It's a good way to make something look museum quality and be functional too.

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

indeed! i ended up editing that bit out, and yeah when i have time id do that. but if i was to do it for this vid id just have ripped em out and popped new ones in. :D

[@this_connor_guy]

Love that jam towards the end. Great stuff!

[@Metal-Possum]

Fun fact about those old capacitors, using them more is likely to save them, compared to letting them dry out completely and go fizz. Also, power the machine up with a variable power supply, at a lower voltage and increase it in increments if you want to be gentle on them.

[@mattwillis3219]

Hainbach and LOOK MUM teasing a colab!

[@NicolasGarciaLieberman]

Beautiful

[@crunchyfrog555]

Is this the instrument that was used in the Beatles' "Baby you're a rich man"? Sounds like it.

[@Vode_ika]

A little minor correction. All electric organs are synths, and all air powered organs with more than 1 stop are also synths, especially the big ones with many pipes meant to sound like other instruments like flutes or trumpets.

[@Chromaticosomaermati]

Look Mum No Computer playing (excellently) with old tech was already a 10, but when a wild Hainbach jam manifested we all know this went to 11. :D

[@ultraderek]

That’s a neat keyboard.

[@ExplosiveDisregard]

Half way through i though to myself "Jack white would love this thing" and literally seconds later you say its used in Icky Thump. Heck yeah man!

[@josteinskaret1828]

Now that is sick!!! Love it! Thanks so much for all your videos, really enjoy them -