Wasp Synthesizer Demo

[numanuma20]

I wish the company had thought of a different approach to the wasp. If I had owned the company, I would have not have sold the the Wasp for professional use at all. I would had sold it as an Fx synth like the Korg Montron, as a fun way to add some character to a project for a home studio. Another way I would of pitched this product, would have been to the common man as a fun way to learn how to use a synth, or to kids as a toy. I just think that it is so repulsive how all the cool ideas were th

[Allodiman]

Thanks for posting this video, it brought back some fun memories! I sold mine for £250 back in 1996 to fund another keyboard...I wish I'd kept it now!

[paulwiffen]

Ah this took me back to 1981 when my first job out of Oxford University was as demonstrator/education salesman for the Electronic Dream Plant (Oxford) Ltd who made this fine synth.

[smartwerker]

mod?? 1:15

[gumdrops27]

Id love that thing

[noizy4]

What a great knob you have....

[Asyluminity]

your face @ 0:11

[swankrecords]

the wasp is wicked

[rox2u]

great demo, I didn't know you could actually play these keys. Nice choice of tune, flight of the bumble-bee.

[darcyperkins]

Read in an interview with him once that Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran learned to play synth on a Wasp as a young 16 year old!

[paulwiffen]

@darcyperkins Also Dave Greenaway from The Stranglers and Dave Stewart of Eurythmics had Wasps as their first synths!

[HatredPrime]

I'd buy that for a dollar

[AnthonyDavid94]

This looks like one of these fake guitars they sell in toy stores these days, because of the keys it lacks, y'know what I mean? It sounds good to me tho

[renegadesoundwaves]

one of these would be ace for busking

[peepeevagi]

OH MY GAWD ALTON BROWN! :D

[rockandroel]

lady's and gentlemen: Emerson Lake and Palmer!!

[Racerjen1]

this looks just like the DA Hornet vst plugin

[eidco]

@Racerjen1 That's right. It's because the Hornet plugin is intended to give you a virtual "Wasp". They couldn't name it "Wasp" I suppose for legal reasons.

It reminds of the time I was at the top of a mountain with a beautiful view below and heard a kid say to his dad, "wow, it's just like Google Earth!"

[paulwiffen]

@eidco Actually, I own the only Hornet ever made, it was a prototype which incorporated the Wasp Deluxe, Spider sequencer and a real keyboard and I ended up with it after Electronic Dream Plant (Oxford) went bust. I think the VST plug is called that because it too is more than a Wasp!

[eidco]

@paulwiffen Cool...thanks for that info. You're a lucky guy (or maybe you paid for it with sweat and under-appreciated hard work).

[paulwiffen]

@eidco How did you guess? My last two paychecks from the company never arrived because it went bust. The Hornet stopped working about 1995 but I keep it for nostalgia's sake. Now there are all the virtual recreations, who wants to lug a heavy keyboard around for gigs and it didn't do anything the others didn't...

[hedegaard8]

He sounds like Clint Eastwood.....made me forget all about the synth for a minute....

[triumphadelic]

@hedegaard8 "..this is a WASP Synthesiser, the most powerful synthesiser in the world and will blow your eardrums right out...you're wondering, did I play 5 or 6 octaves, right ? well.. in all this excitement I've clean forgotten myself so you gotta ask yourself, do you feel lucky.......well do ya PUNK ? "

[hedegaard8]

@triumphadelic Haha, something like that!

[triumphadelic]

@hedegaard8 would make a good into to a Daft Punk track that...

[PATISHAH]

nice watch

[Bunechunk]

Whoever bought this got a steal, those mods are cool. Anywhere i can learn to do those mods myself?

[eidco]

@Bunechunk I did these mods so long ago, I can't remember much about them. I did buy the schematics (which you can now download online after a little searching). I then just figured it out by some bold experimentation. I think it started out of frustration with the stupid pitch bend knob. Good luck.

[HolyKatana]

I love the Wasp. I have daHornet, and while it's great, it just doesn't compare to the real deal. Extremely underrated synth.

[audibleobsession]

The terrible terrible things I would do for a Wasp! Great demo video btw, the only good one I've seen on YouTube!

[boogster123321]

hey man great video, really cool synth ill be sure to look for them on ebay when they're on there. great playing btw

[KaslarProductions]

such a unique little synth..... great mods you have done there...... it should have yielded loads more just for the fact you modded it so nicely. thank for sharing this video (◕_◕)

[cassieNO1fan]

sounds amazing, I want one.

Wud mike up the speaker ,lol.

[OMGSpiderMonkey]

I like the filter on the wasp. It uses a CMOS chip instead of an op-amp, so you're literally "abusing" the chip.

[KaslarProductions]

I would never get used to those keys

[derekrevell]

Loved the video, I'm wondering if those mods detracted from the selling price, even though they musically improved the Wasp, I have a Wasp but totally unmodified, and in immaculate condition, I've even got the original User and Service Manual, maybe you should have sold through Peter Forrest's VEMIA auction in the UK.

[chinkogakusaizo]

I used to see this piled up etc at this secondhand music instrument store that I used to go in NottingHillgate like 25 years ago.(was usually seen with little spider sequencers).I should have bought one and owned it to experience the sound that it makes.Great demo of a great british synth.

[MoveOverCasanova]

forget the ems synth -

the wasp is THE synth!!!

how easy is it to get on ebay and what price-level??

[anoteoftruth]

I can't even begin to explain how cool this synth looks... Would love to get one.

[009relic1]

just got the WASP emulator. It's great!

[009relic1]

keep a watch on ebay. new WASP emulator coming soon for under $20. it's called the VESP. bad ass!!!!

[ManOnASilverMountain]

"Hear the full QUALITY!" yeah right., IT'S A WASP!!!!!!!!! Quality is not a factor.

But dude, you are way cooler than the synth. Great keyboard work!

[eidco]

You're cracking me up over here! Thanks so much.

[dermot51]

how much did u flog it for

[Biopharmer]

Oh man, sounds so cool though. I can't believe it only sold for $687. I would love to get Doepfer's wasp filter. I would love to get anything by doepfer, but I don't have any doepfer gear. I want to build my own A100 system soon though.

[warchild1976]

anyone see that grow mushrooms dvd sounds like the same guy

[chsgdss]

***** VERY COOL *****

[plasmaforce11]

what a phat little dude this one is xD i'd toy with it for a bit for sure

[rouncer81]

this synth probably is better than you think - there would be better ones but this could make some good modern techno i guarantee you

[Biopharmer]

Is there anyone today making a mini synth with a real analog synth keyboard these days?

[meginis8]

Why would you ever want to sell something like this? it is so cool sounding. If you showed me that on the street, id have you follow me to the ATM so i could buy it.

[eidco]

LOL, that's very funny. I guess after having it for 20 years, I extracted all the cool it could give me...so I'd thought I'd let someone else have a go at it!

[kharlos84]

@meginis8 hey dude, do you still have the synth?

[freectee]

This would be even more wonderful with real keys!

[anstonian]

I've seen theses for sale, at ridiculous prices here in the Uk. £ 500+. They were manufactured by, EDP or, Electronic Dream plant. The Later version. Looked more like a contemporary synth at the time, with, real keys, and wood side panels. They also produced, the Gnat, a budget version, and a sequencer. You could bye theses, apparently, in supermarkets, and Mail order catalogues. LOL .

[recordmasta001]

looks cheap and nasty

[catbirdtree]

Touch sensitive wailing synthesizer...nice! They were out in the late 70s and I should have grabbed one right up instead of a Les Paul copy. No such thing as 'very' unique, I must pendantically insist. Was that The Flight of the Bumble Bee, you daft git? :)

[eidco]

"No such thing as 'very' unique"...I like that. It made me look back to see if I was guilty...nope.  And "pendantically" [sic]...you're crackin' me up.

Bumble Bee?...yeah, sort of...or "The Flight of the Wasp", if you will. Daft git?...I'll take that as a compliment.

[eidco]

Oh, I get it...I said "very unique" in the video! I was looking in the comments. My bad. Busted.

[catbirdtree]

Yes you are! Both guilty and daft. Triple pedanticly (super sic) . And yes, you did ought to take it as a compliment! Cos that's how it was meant, by crickey. I've just got back from the jungle in Santa Marta, (in this here Colombia) and am feeling daft as a brush miself. Por la sombrita, amigo!

[khyropia]

when did it come out?

[eidco]

I don't remember exactly when it first came out, but I was using it on the John Davidson TV show which ran from 1980-82. I think it was released within that time period.

[Pythonpathan]

That thing is the absolute most sickest bad ass synth I've ever seen! Are they ever going to reissue or reproduce these in the future? Or are they only available second hand? Nice playing btw!

[supernort]

I've got one - doesn't work though - I need it fixed - does anyone know of anywhere that fixes them?

[conversefamily]

i would be intrested in buying one would u be intested in sellling

[eidco]

Yes, I would...but you're about 11 months too late. See the description information.

[supernort]

how much for a broken Wasp?

[eidco]

Well, a couple years ago I saw one (not working) sell for $1200. That's why I expected my customized Wasp in perfect shape to sell for a lot more. I was wrong.

[Wolliom]

Where can I find a Wasp Synth? I can't find any ;__;

[viggetheman]

At around 4:35 the sound was really cool.

Like an electric organ or something.

5/5*

[agapefriend04]

hey John (Peter from Vancouver here) - did you EVER imagine that you're little sales pitch for the WASP would be viewed over 6000 times!!! - Buy it back!! and make some more vids! - cheers mate - peter

[fredbasset64]

Amazing! I've got two of these AND they both work!

There is a pre MIDI link connector on them and they sound even more amazing (albeit sometimes weird) when you link them together.

I was going to Ebay them but then the credit crunch hit so I decided to wait a while.

However, having found this YT vid and the obvious following for this cult instrument, any silly offers will be considered!

[eidco]

FYI, about a year ago, Wasps were selling on eBay in the $1200 range...even in a non-working condition. That's why I had such high hopes for mine with its custom mods. My auction closed on Oct 4, the economy tanked around the 1st. Bad timing for sure.

[GJmusique]

$1200??? You must be kidding.. OK, it's a cool little thing, but I wouldn't pay more than 300 bucks for it. You can get an ARP Odyssey for less than $1200 if you know where to find them. Thanks for the awesome video though, it sounds VERY funky! :-)))

[eidco]

Someone who really wants a Wasp doesn't want it because it's like an Arp Odyssey, he wants it because it ISN'T like an Arp Odyssey. The Wasp is unique. There's never been anything else quite like it (lightweight, battery operated, built-in speaker, flat touch keyboard) and there probably never will be again.

You won't pay that much for it, but there are people who will. The trick is timing, and mine was off.

Thanks. I'm glad you liked the video.

[Drittkladden]

I'm glad that FL-Studio (Music Program) has an inbuildt Wasp-Synth. It's fun to play with, but it's not as fun as the real thing, probably. Never owned one.

[AliobotQ]

Is it really modeled after the synth..?

[Drittkladden]

Well it's not an excact copy but you get to have a hell lot of fun with it.

I just learned how to use it, to make Electro/House with it.

All you need is a Wasp =)

You should try

[mooghammondb3]

What did it sell for?

[eidco]

A disappointing $687.

[hansblooey]

Bauhaus

[YpsiSynth]

These thing sound sweet!

Better than a MOOG on my opinion...

Yah.. I said it!

[zalamandantoise]

Turned the volume up as the intro came in, cuz I liked what I heard, then suddenly... "HELLO!"

[eidco]

Sorry about that.

[DagGirl]

Oh man, I think I broke one of those haha.

I would LOVE one. I played a bit with the emulator version on Fruity Loops way back when.

[kingofpsychedelia555]

nice, ive got a microkorg, wish i had anologue synths like these.

[acidcrystal]

Top stuff matey, especially to hear 'the bumblebee' played on an authentic WASP. .

I saw your auction a while back , but couldn't afford to bid. Shame as I've wanted one of these for years!

I did however find a DIY wasp kit on the web, so I might treat myself to one..

thanks again!

[ADzArt]

Love this clip - I wish I still had mine, I created a grunge heavy dark distorted guitar lead.

And some dark deep 2 oscl bass sounds that I used on most of my tracks in the 1980's.

[myradioshow]

interesting

[ColorfulSundays]

sounds very nice.

[agapefriend04]

a further comment... John - do you think such a product (now cheaper to produce) might be commercially viable? - p

[eidco]

Peter,

Thanks for your comments. I think there's a dwindling group of analog fans (I know it's digital internally, but I'm talking about all the knobs :^). Today's generation are used to pushing a button and having instant gratification, and not just a single note but a whole sequence or loop.

You're right, I should have kept it...but only because my timing was way off and there weren't enough buyers willing to bid it up. C'est la vive.

[agapefriend04]

John - thanks SO much for this remarkable demo! As a Brit (now living in Vancouver, BC) I owned one of these when they first came out in the UK... what a unique product (then and now)!!

I think you should have kept the WASP led the world wide community of WASP users...

I really enjoyed your vid John!

peter

[filthyftw]

Not interested in buying but you sure do no how to play it and very nice sounds to.Kinda curious why you would wanna sell it specially since u did some cool mods to it.

[eidco]

Thanks for your compliments. The Wasp has been a bit of a novelty and I haven't really used it in almost 20 years. These days I use computer-generated sounds for my needs. Since the Wasp has been a collector's item, I decided to let someone buy it who can enjoy it more than I do.

The eBay sale is over with and I was disappointed that the Wasp went for only $687, when previous Wasps have sold for over twice that amount. My timing was bad as we were hit by an economic crisis during the sale.

[Gb13b9]

I love the disappearing hands at 3:30 !

[eidco]

Thanks Gb. I wanted to cut out a bit of needless sounds so I did a crossfade. It was a happy accident.

2 days left folks! Don't be outbid in the last few seconds.

[eidco]

I'm beginning to feel unloved...one week and no comments?  (Maybe I'll be sorry I asked!)

Thanks for watching, anyway. The auction is posted and bidding has begun!

John