Polivoks - Russian Analog synth from the 80's demo

Here is a demo I made of my Polivoks before selling on ebay to demonstrate the functionality. You can also get a feel for the sound, as I have recorded the audio discretely. No effects, compression, or reverb, AS ALL GEAR DEMO'S SHOULD BE

[@Vaseslav]

best space synth in the world

[@allenray9526]

you probably dont care but if you're bored like me atm you can stream all of the latest movies on InstaFlixxer. I've been watching with my brother these days =)

[@ephraimjake5857]

@Allen Ray yup, have been watching on InstaFlixxer for since november myself =)

[@davidhrivnak]

This is a really great demo of this synth. And thank you very much for not using effects!!!

[@GeekGearSynths]

I agree, there is nothing more annoying than FX all along the demo.

[@IoannisKazlaris]

This is ridiculously vintage, love it!

[@MrBratkenSolov]

I think only Jexus could do a watchable demo of polivoks

[@HowlingMoonCinemas]

GOD!! THAT SOUNDS AWESOME!! LOVE THAT PULSE WAVE SOUND!!

[@MuchoSuavo]

i'm loving the sound of this thing

[@RainyBat]

I absolutely love this one, wish I could actually do something with it

[@SungazerDNB]

great sounding thing

[@EndOfEntertainment]

cool stuff :)

[@fraumullerbackgroundmusic284]

It sounds in Soviet science fiction films!!!

[@scottblacklow7855]

Yes! Pretty sure Andrie Tarkovsky sci fi films from Russia in the 1980s used this synth.

[@DrCranium]

As far as I remember, Tarkovsky made "Solaris" and "Stalker" in 70's, while the production of this synth began in 1983. Yep, "Polyvox" wasn't the only synth produced in Soviet Union, but it definetely was the most produced one as it's predecessors were a piece production.

[@NuclearBoi2nd]

Boris would definitely love this

[@user-qp1gy5ti8y]

Я тоже так думаю

[@oldiesland]

is it nuclear?

[@FatmixRecords]

+oldiesland Absolutely

need a separate suitcase for the Uranium pods

[@stsa4733]

⚡

[@urbannpa]

I meant the U.S. is always telling everyone what to do with their's.

[@adammolot]

Конечно!... В Росси тогда всё было ядерным. :-(

[@KKwammer]

Nice job

[@zourslovenia]

more like an MS 20 than a mini-Moog (the Aelita or the Altair 231 have cleaner filters - 24dB ladder Moog type), this one has certainly 12dB LPF like the Korgs

[@tothviktor4972]

Mick Gordon used this to make music of Doom

[@h92o]

it sounds so Russian --- like that --- not even from the 80's just from Russia --- yeah. just great- has me remembering the things I did my my korg poly61 in the 90's :)

[@KY-qx9ip]

Sounds Very aggressive and brutal . NICE

[@stephendelacruzone]

I never heard it this fat! Holy Jeebus! Great synth!

[@faybiens]

Very nice synth, very well preserved

[@MattGreerMusic]

Played one of these last night. They sound incredibly fat.

[@thejay8963]

Fat and sharp, a perfect combo.

[@jhcmusicii6181]

Nasty in all the ways I like.

[@johnmoore3337]

head phone users 😆

[@GamesAndElectronica]

I decided to put on my DT 770 Pro when browsing through synthesizer videos tonight. :-)

[@YlowX7]

yo that high pitched resonance at the beginning of the video really tickled my ear drums in a bad way.

[@unfa00]

I'd so make some drum'n'bass with this baby...

[@jenne888]

Nice synthesizer Gruss aus Deutschland

[@NotOrdinaryInGames]

MY EARS!!!

[@Ilyasqurmangali]

как же этот экземпляр смачно звучит. у меня не такой приятный звук, хотя и 90-го года выпуска.

[@theeltea]

Может пора ваш экземпляр уже обслужить?

[@TwoLateBlues]

Do you have the design of the plus to make an DIN to Jack adaptator please?

[@KennethBrownComics]

Is the power the same or do you need to get a converter

[@coatlecue]

Now that there is one great sounding synth. Its got an oberheim-y arp-ish type thing going. It does seem to distort perhaps its how it was recorded,but it sounds very hot. Yes. I think I could use one or two of them. Are they regularly made in Russia? What alterations if any were made before being put on the world market?

[@noop9k]

This is probably the most known of many soviet analog synths(see ruskeys.net). Not really rare, and imho overpriced on eBay(but repair and servicing cost money after all). Even I got one. It's VCOs and VCF are quite tricky due to limited choice of components and production technologies in USSR and have characteristics that are quite far from perfect, creating dirty and distorted sound. Btw, some facts mentioned in English articles about Polyvox are actually wrong. There is also a successor, combined with electroorgan, called Formanta EMS-01.

[@noop9k]

And no, they are no longer made. Produced from early 80s to early 90s. But people are still recovering and repairing these. Non-serviced or partially broken units can be really cheap.

[@FroggyFrog9000]

This reminds me of Lapti Nocow vids.

[@KKwammer]

Oh ya

[@iguisard]

can you play chords with this or only single notes?

[@nextlifeonearth]

It has 2 voices of polyphony. So if you want 2 notes, you got em. If you want more, grab some components and a soldering iron.

[@MrQmason]

Is there a software version of this synth ? Never heard of it.....sounds awesome.

[@Ilyasqurmangali]

+MrQmason vk.com/photo-2551764_282771698

[@pinokio514]

+MrQmason y0u-file*narod*ru/free*htm - change * on a dots

[@MrQmason]

thanks

[@claudioricci431]

The Filter (12 db I suppose) seems to have a very powerful built in drive circuit, the sound is strongly distorted. Resonance self-oscillation is not a sinus, is something like a distorted square-pulse wave. The sound is tremendously powerful and fat... but if you want something clean... no way!

[@thejay8963]

Yeah, a cleaner alternative would be a MiniMoog, but, check Ebay, and I think this is a much better option.

[@plays8880]

ACID HOUSE !!!

[@samikalastaja]

There is nice amount of dirt in the sound.

[@Eva_official1]

Does anybody knows how much it cost this synth ? Thank you all.

[@alefantozzi2774]

Eva, maybe it's too late to answer but it's around 900 euros.

[@saintessa]

I got outbid on one, still pondering whether to spend like 600 bucks on one...

[@KKwammer]

This is Owens friend Caden

[@guillaumeboyer5473]

1:08 Dat square 0_o

[@KajitMen]

Кондовое как и все советское, но, наверное, поэтому и популярен данный инструмент

[@theeltea]

В чем кондовость?

[@MaxiUga]

TheLT это он о себе - оговорочка по Фрейду;)

[@urbannpa]

Are there no young entrepreneurs in Russia designing audio gear? I typed in New Russian Synthesizers and got this.

[@user-wh2zb5cm1f]

Russia manufacturers almost nothing it is a terrible place to do business

[@rrrokot]

somasynths.com www.sssrlabs.com

[@toono21]

these are the new ones!

[@theeltea]

@@user-wh2zb5cm1f Are you fuckin' DUMB? There are dozens of Russian synth manufacturers doing business and shipping worldwide.

[@donfernandez3935]

sounds like a meaner ms 20!

[@tracer690]

What causes these to go out of tune so easily and how hard is it to fix this?

[@cubdukat]

+tracer690 It's early 80's analog VCO technology, mixed in with a little bit of Soviet manufacturing. That it even stays in tune longer than two minutes is probably a minor miracle. But what a trade-off: moderate to severe instability for such an obese sound! I think I could live with that...

[@tracer690]

+Larry Wilson Thats crazy, but very interesting. I wonder if there is a way to make them stay in tune?

[@cubdukat]

Probably keeping it cool. Heat causes the tuning drift. The only way the industry solved it was by going to digital control.

[@sahlstrickland1526]

+tracer690 Pianos and guitars need to be tuned all the time also' I would not worry about it.

[@alexeyi76]

+tracer690 This synthesizer has special circuit called "exponential converter" between keyboard and VCO. That circuit is very temperature sensitive. Synthesizer developers knew of it, and added another circuit, that keep chips at constant temperature. So if synthesizer was properly tuned at factory it should not go out of tune. Unfortunately, factory workers often left the adjustment pots in default positions, hence stabilization did not work.

[@Agalachiha]

Если у вас есть соседи, то лучше им не пользоваться

[@user-uf9gg8kb2z]

один холестерин )))

[@elvergalarga4461]

Kinda sounds like an ms 20.

[@moogdome2562]

Brilliant. Glad the Russians did more than spy, drink Vodka, and eat beetroot soup and cossack dance.Love it. I need one.

[@thejay8963]

Totally not racist at all.

[@halvardlund4782]

Come on... play Das Boot...

[@Synthematix]

+Halvard Lund daa, da da da da da daaaaa da da da da daaaaaaaaaaaar, dor dor dor dor dor, dorrr dah dor dah dah dar deeeeeeeeeee...

[@halvardlund4782]

+Synthematix Thanks. Got it now.

[@electrocity5770]

звук да но сделан как китайская погремушка.

[@theeltea]

Нормально сделан. Много китайских погремушек до наших дней дожили?

[@onsesejoo2605]

Another synthesizer than mainly goes bassy blerp, blurp, blaarg instead of proper sound to use in playing melodies and solos.

[@onsesejoo2605]

I'm sorry, but I can't help being irritated on these videos about synths. Too many of them feature "deep bass" or "cool effects" and various say industrial type sounds which are only limited piece of the capabilities. Videos presenting good musical sounds are few and far between. E.g for ARP Odyssey please see song called Grass for Blades watch?v=gL7AqYop2a4 which features extensive solo. Yet you can't find any videos presenting that sound and how to create it.

[@info777info]

+onsese joo good luck trying to get one of these to stay in tune to play a melody, these do abstract sound best dude

[@onsesejoo2605]

Mh, obviously the blatant, stupid answer would be "go and buy a modern synth that stays in tune" but but believe me, I see your point, having sometimes bought a book because it looks great :P

[@michaelbauers8800]

+onsese joo What the hell is 'proper' sound? I am happy my idea of music and synthesizers is not so limited :)

[@onsesejoo2605]

Sure, synthesisers' idea is to be able to synthesise sounds never heard before. What I mean with proper sound is one you can play melodic patterns. If most of the videos I have seen in tuve were to believed, synthesiser would be a bass and or effects instrument useful in very limited purpose.