07 November 2008

Eminent Theatre 310 Unique arrived

Finally we moved the Eminent Theatre 310 Unique from my office to my house. This Eminent is a Dutch build organ with a String Ensemble on the top layer. It was actually one of the first string synthesizers. It was build in 1972 and it is very well knows as the typical 'Jarre' synthesizer. Actually most sounds on his 'Oxygene' album come from this organ run through some phasers like the Smallstone and Mistress from EHX. I have been looking for a good one for a long time and this one was just fully restored. I like the fact that this is a white version which makes it look a bit more modern.

We will move it downstairs in the studio. But it is still a bit moist down there. It is drying up quickly now though so I guess somewhere next week we will do this. I will probably remove the stand on top that holds sheet music normally so that I can put a synthesizer on top of it. Also I need to hook up my smallstone and mistress of course. But for now I'm happy that it finally arrived after a long stay in the office where it has been used in a synth meeting, but last Sunday also in a Jarre fan club meeting.

There is a very nice article about the Eminent 310 on the website from Sound on Sound. You can read it here if you like:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may07/articles/eminent310.htm

13 comments:

Ran Kirlian said...

What a lovely jewel, how fortunate you are ;)

Synth.nl said...

They are quite cheap here in the Netherlands actually. You can pick them up even for free sometimes.

Anonymous said...

Hi Michel!

Vandaag heb ikzelf een Theatre uitvoering gescoord voor noppes :-) Moet m alleen nog "even" ophalen 130km bij me vandaan.

Klopt het dat het apparaat 108x63x100 (bxdxh) is trouwens?

Bedankt!

Lau.

Synth.nl said...

Dat kan wel aardig kloppen ja. Hij past achterin een Ford Mondeo Station in ieder geval :)

Anonymous said...

:-D We gaan snel genoeg zien of het achterin een Focus ook lukt..

Ik zag dat je, net als ik ook, C64 fan bent? Geweldig! Heb je nog iets met die SID's gedaan?

Persoonlijk heb ik de oude SID altijd het betere model gevonden, warmer en vooral, niet op volumeregister geknepen (waardoor samples genekt werden).

Synth.nl said...

Klopt. Niet alleen C64 hoor maar retro computing in zijn algemeenheid. Met de Sids ben ik van plan om een MB-6582 te gaan bouwen.

Anonymous said...

Hier nog 1, ik ben net de zolder aan het ontdoen van allerlei (defecte) retrocomputers (MSX, Sinclair, C64/128/Amiga etc..), maar heb wel een handjevol SID's bewaard :-)

Prachtig "DIY" project die MB! Over prachtig gesproken, ik heb wat van jouw werk beluisterd en dat klinkt verdraaid goed! Maar goed, met een studio zo vol apparatuur dat de wijk plat gaat wanneer je inschakelt ;-)

Synth.nl said...

Dank je wel :) Die stroom valt wel mee trouwens hoor. De hele studio aan trekt 13 Ampere ofzo. En ik heb nooit alles aan. Alleen wat ik op dat moment gebruik. Nominaal doe ik 4-5 Ampere als ik werk ofzo. De wasmachine doet al meer dan de hele studio ;)

Unknown said...

How lucky you are ;)
I'd love to own one too, but it's kinda rare and… it's very heavy :/

Using electronic schematics, maybe should it be possible to make a "new design" for it to be far less heavy and more transportable ? ;)

Anyway… You're lucky. Have fun with it :p

Synth.nl said...

Thanks. But look for a Solina String Ensemble then. Almost the same sound and much lighter.

Anonymous said...

Beg to differ. The Solina string ensemble, although close, does not sound the same as the Eminent 310. I myself am looking into trimming down the Eminent to a "portable" weight and size.

Raluca said...

hey, i was googling about eminent theatre 310 and i found your blog. i have one for sale but its in Romania. anyone interested?

Salesmaster said...

Beautifully restored and the best string sound ever :-)