Crumar Composer analog paraphonic synthesizer demo

Bob Weigel of http://sounddoctorin.com reviews the capabilities of this very rare analog divide down synthesizer from 1983 or so. One of the few machines built with a breath controller transducer inside so you just plug in hose. Phatt sounding monosynth. Nice organ presets and bbd leslie simulator. Polysynth and string section also can be mixed in. Only seen serial numbers in the 200's and these are so rare on ebay not sure how many were built. If anyone ever has info let me know. Visit the site for a virtual studio tour with sound clips from many of the synths there including Akai AX80, AX60, AX73, ARP Pro-Soloist, Axxe, Omni, Alesis D4, DM5, Crumar DS1, Multiman, Performer, Trilogy, Composer, Bit One, Casio CZ-1, SK-1, HT-700, Farfisa VIP345, Fender Chroma Polaris, Kawai SX-210, K1m, K5m, XD-5, K5000R, Korg Sigma, Delta, Lambda, LP10, Mono/Poly, Polysix, Poly61, Poly800, DW8000, DSS-1, DSM-1, Wavestation EX, Karma, Kurzweil K1200pro, Moog Polymoog, Opus 3, Memorymoog, Oberheim OB-8, Octave Cat, Peavey DPM SI, Roland SH2000, SH3a, Jupiter 4, Juno 6, Juno 106, MKS30, MKS10, MKS7, MKS-70 w/PG-800, JV-1080 w/ kb's of 60/70 exp, Sequential circuits Prophet 600, Prophet T8, six-trak, multi-trak, Siel OR400, DK600, Expander, DK70 keytar, DK80, Yamaha CS60, CS15D, CS20M, PC1000, DX7, DX21, CS2x, S03, and the mighty Conn Electric band! :-)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Crumar
• Composer
• analog
• vintage
• synthesizer
• keyboard
• hammond
• emulator
• monosynth
• polysynth
• paraphonic
• improvisation
• solo
• instrumental
• music
• sounddoctorin

[buchla300]

I had one for a while and it was quite cool. Like most things Crumar, it was a bit iffy build quality wise but had some good sounds in there.

Also had a Spirit for a while, which was a killer synth but again, let down by dodgy pots and stuff like that. I do have a soft spot for Crumar synths though.

[sounddoctorin]

@buchla300 I just finished up another one. Someone trashed it out with a lot of cig burns on the mod panel ...I was able to sand down the other panel and the right got some water damage/rust that I had to work down that edge and repaint some stuff. But it sounds sweet now! This one for some reason affects the vcf with the breath where my other didn't. way cool!

[johnanthonyp]

I've got one consigned to the loft for about 20 years now. I played a lot of gigs with it. The organ sound is fabulous. I had no idea it was so rare.

[sounddoctorin]

@johnanthonyp Yeah I'm not seeing much variation in the serial numbers and they sure don't come up a lot. I'm thinking maybe 4-500.

[wasabijazzz]

what do you think about the crumar organizer 2? Same as the the crumar t2 right? I am thinking about picking one up. Does it have a good hammond sound? Thanks

[sounddoctorin]

Paul Haugen has in our storage a T2..haven't listened yet but yeah I've heard good things about them. We also have an organizer 2 manual thing here. Hope I can get it out soon and test it. They're a couple years older than the composer at least but more organ focused so I imagine there are some good usable sounds particularly with a leslie I've heard.

[christsminstrel]

That's a classic synth for sure. Its capability to layer sounds makes it great. That organ sound would be great on a fiilm soundtrack. It's why I hope that I will eventually get my Crumar Orchestrator back from the shop. These are underrated classic synths.

[cagnacciocane]

@wasabijazzz the organizer 2 (I own two of them) is good to get some hammond like sounds: in fact it has two sets of drawbars and many percussion options available. Each key has a set of contacts, one for each drawbar, just like in a hammond. It is a bit different and brighter than my Hammond L100, but it is based on the same principle of additive synthesis

[petitemoineau]

Love your gear, great studio, thanks for the cool and useful video.

[tonyvoid]

thank you for a good demo on this.i have one too. (as well as T1,and an orchesrtator) I'll make a demo too. when I finnish cleaning the contacts on it again.

[johnanthonyp]

@sounddoctorin . Hey thanks for the rapid response. It's rusty-I lost the vocoder reed thingy and case over time- if it was a racehhorse I don't think the final decisiion would be the stud farm. But it has a lot of sentimental value and carries memories for me ( some of the gigs were disastrous but I could very easily lunch out on them when shared). Anyway, thanks for the info. You're doing a sterling job, my friend.

[jaroslorenc]

Koncertní mašina.