”Probably the most powerful and equipped monophonic designed and built at the time, the MCS70 was an innovation project: very easily the progenitor of the monophonic with memories (which can even be recalled in 5 milliseconds), made even before the first integrated circuit memories were available on the market, double filter, complex modulation routing, keyboard with infrared sensors which erased the mechanical problems.
Lorenzo
Absolute stability of the oscillators guaranteed by the best analog components ever produced, in that same period used only by Buchla and Roland. An unknown and obscure masterpiece of Italian engineering that has stood the test of time and technological evolution for almost 50 years.
But to better understand what we are talking about it is best to take a look at the specifications on the brochure:
It was a totally futuristic machine and Maggi thought big, so for the promotion he had the idea of creating a recording project that would produce an LP made entirely only with the MCS70: an authentic demo to be used as a promotional campaign for his creature, in view of the fairs of the following year.
Maggi contacted his friend Romano Musumarra from the group “La Bottega dell’Arte” and who was already under contract with EMI.
Musumarra introduced Maggi to the label, which accepted the proposal, granting his studies in Rome for only 4 weeks and suggesting Claudio Gizzi as a member to be added to the project, given his classical training and greater experience.
The two musicians took care of the composition of one side each, Gizzi the A side and Musumarra the B side, while Maggi himself took care of the programming of his synthesizer and thus Automat was born, a synth pop / dance album that has become a myth among fans and insiders.
At least two successful hits were drawn from the disc, one of which in particular, Droid, was subsequently used for a myriad of television themes in Italy and abroad (in Brazil, thanks also to the use that the Globe Network made of it, it became a hit from the charts): no surprise that it is still a cult record, which inspired many of the current revivalist synth bands.
Automat Album booklet
Automat complete (1978)
Jean Michel Jarre, who received a copy of Automat directly from Mario Maggi in 1978, was particularly impressed:
“During the Musikmesse, I met Mr. Cavagnolo. He invited me to Paris to present my MCS70 in a series of lectures. Cavagnolo had been contacted by Jarre a week before for other matters, so he had his phone number. The first meeting Cavagnolo organized for me after the event was in private with Jarre”.
Jarre was so astonished by the MCS70 that he wanted to buy one instantly.
The MCS70 had received so much praise that Maggi was now making plans for large production…but just then the Prophet 5 came out, which, due to the 5-voice polyphony (although according to those who have been able to examine both machines, the needle of the scales of quality was definitely in favor of the MCS), unfortunately, KOed the glorious MCS on the start, even if Maggi will later take an act of good moral revenge on the Prophet, but we will talk about it later.
Maggi’s description of his creature is interesting:
“MCS70 was a programmable monophonic synthesizer project, built at a time when there were still no microprocessors, it was built entirely with discrete logic and it was the year that the first microprocessors were arriving. Making software for new components was an adventure, there were no development systems, much less low cost.
After several years of building conventional synths only, with non-storable programs, in 1972 I realized that I could develop a fully programmable version of a synthesizer. I had to do without a microprocessor and without anyone’s help. As far as I can remember, I wrote the codes on a DIGITAL PDP 11 minicomputer.
It was the first programmable monophonic synth in history, with double filter; one of the two worked as low pass 24 db and high pass, always 24 db; the two filters could be connected in series or in parallel, three oscillators, one of which with the possibility of linear FM and, simultaneously, AM. The second modulator was used as a modulator for FM and oscillator 3 as an AM modulator; then there were two envelopes.
When I was presenting the MCS70 model, Tom Oberheim came to the Jen Electronics booth where I was staying and took a look inside the machine and was impressed because it was the first programmable synthesizer, fully programmable I mean, that was around.
He did something like that but it was a partial programmer, affecting only part of the parameters, the others still had to be repositioned by hand.
The MCS70 sounds, especially those in linear FM, were particularly new for that period, also because it was a synthesis between complex waveforms, not between simple sinusoids as would have happened years later with the Yamaha DX7.
The keyboard was four octave. Only one was released, which was then sold to Patrizio Fariselli from Area (if you want to hear it, you can listen to an album called Tic Tac).
The same instrument was also used to make the Automat album with Romano Musumarra, where I took care of all the programming and every sound came from my synth, including chords and electronic drums. Accidentally, the only outside help came from using one of the first Sequential Circuits sequencers, because I still hadn’t prepared one for the MCS70.
I recently heard from Patrizio and he confirmed to me that the instrument is still in his hands, jealously guarded, and it didn’t seem at all willing to give it back to me…”
Area – Tic & Tac (1980)
It seems that later the MCS 70 was also used in “Magie d ‘Amour” 1980 by Jean Pierre Posit, one of the stage names of Claudio Gizzi himself, and in other records of which we are not aware, however, before ending up in Fariselli’s arsenal and getting honored on “La torre dell’alchimista”, the song that opens the album “Tic & Tac”, and then later put to rest due to the dissolution of the Area project.
Jean-Pierre Posit – Magie D’Amour (1980)
Fariselli himself talks about it in his interview published on Musical Instruments, in the number 243 of June 2001:
“I remember the day when my Arp Odissey broke irremediably, it must have been 1975, before a concert in Rome: sound check in the afternoon, I turn it on and it doesn’t work anymore. Frantic round of phone calls and they suggest that I go and find a person who maybe could do something.
So it was that I met Mario Maggi, one of the greatest keyboard designers. He immediately realized that there was nothing to do for the Odyssey, because an essential part had to be replaced, and he showed me the machine he was designing, the prototype that I still own today and which is called MCS70. Prototype and the only remaining example, which I bought immediately because it was just a fantastic monophonic synthesizer, let’s imagine a Minimoog to the nth degree.
The quality of the components was excellent and above all it had 64 memories, which represented an absolute novelty at the time. Let’s think of the terrible work that both Paolo Tofani and I had to do in every situation, that is, having to calibrate and find certain sounds that had to be reconstructed each time, allowing us to develop no more than four or five sounds in concert. Suddenly I had 64 stored sounds available! ”
From what we learn from the interview released by Maggi to the Amazona.de website (https://www.amazona.de/interview-mario-maggi-der-elka-synthex-erfinder), of MCS had to be made at least 10, which had to be destined to various studios in Rome, and that the price at the time was about six million lire, so we hope to see someone else emerge soon!
Very recently the good Patrick published a post on his facebook page where he announced that his legendary MCS is in technical assistance preparing to be back in action soon, which can only make us happy. He also released three photographs of this mythological machine, of which images were unfortunately in short supply until now. Here they are:
UPDATE February 2020:
The MCS 70 has finally been restored to perfection thanks to the specialist Marco Molendi who, in collaboration with other operators, has released a first demo video that analyzes the construction structure and the sound capabilities of this splendid and impressive machine:
MCS 70 Restoration
Here are some audio tests made by Andrea Manuelli during the restoration of the MCS70 carried out by the great restorer and technician Marco Molendi:
MCS 70 Restoration Backstage
Marco Molendi and Patrizio Fariselli
Patrizio Fariselli – Andrea Manuelli – Marco Molendi
And here it is, finally back in action:
Patrizio Fariselli Trio – Caterpillar
The Syntar
Immagine di Daniele Marziali VSMI
The Jen GS-3000 Syntar is probably the integrated version of the monophonic guitar synth, of which Maggi spoke referring to the one still in his possession, the one presented at Musik Messe in 1978.
While it was designed specifically for use with the electric guitar, some keyboard players have had a conversion made to play it with a controller keyboard. Logically, in the case of this synth, there was no program storage and for the “presets” you had to rely on a series of boards to be superimposed on the panel, in which the various parameters of the sound you wanted to obtain were marked.
For a more in-depth description we have decided to re-propose the text on the Suono Elettronico website:
“The Jen Syntar can be used with any guitar to which the custom pickup supplied by Jen is applied, for single coil or humbucking measures.
The pick-ups are fixed to the guitar with double-sided tape, a convenient system because you don’t have to drill the body of the guitar, however, the fixing with the tape seems not to be sufficiently stable.
The pick-up is supplied with double-sided adhesive tapes of different thicknesses, for choosing the correct distance from the strings.
The pick-up is quite high and this forces the guitar strings to be raised a little.
The “Pitch to voltage converter” is a bit slow in the transition between distant frequencies but sufficient for a good use of the device.
A series of rear adjustments (to be calibrated with extreme care) allows you to adjust the signal coming from each string.
Six red leds indicate which string the synthesizer is controlling, a green led indicates the presence of the gate signal. When this does not turn on, the six input signals will have to be re-calibrated.
There is a lack of a “Sample and Hold” (the circuit that keeps the frequency stable even when the signal level supplied by the string drops below the minimum required for the synthesizer to function).
This also indirectly limits the use of the envelope generator, however, leaving the instrument a good versatility.
There are two VCOs with triangular waves, sawtooth, symmetrical square and three asymmetrical squares. Very convenient is the octave switch that allows the guitarist to place the synthesizer above and below the frequency produced by the string.
The two oscillators have separate volume controls.
An LFO (low-frequency oscillator) has a triangle wave, sawtooth, inverted sawtooth, square with two asymmetrical squares.
It can control VCO (vibrato), VCF (wha-wha), VCA (tremolo). It can be excluded using the footswitch supplied.
The filter (VCF) is equipped with frequency, cut and resonance adjustment, its performance is in line with the rest of the equipment.
The Syntar has two three sub-event envelope generators: attack, release, sustain. They separately control the VCF and the VCA allowing good freedom in the generation of sounds, even if partially limited by the lack of the “sample and hold” circuit.
The Syntar is not equipped with presets or memories.
The instrument is equipped with a hard case which also contains the accessories.
The tone in general is satisfactory, it is a pity that, lacking an input for the normal guitar pick-ups, it is not possible to mix the sounds of the instrument with those generated by the synthesizer.
The Syntar is monophonic despite the presence of two oscillators, is equipped with a “glide” and has two outputs: one for the amplifier and the other for the headphones, with convenient separate volume controls, the precedence of the strings for the frequency control is towards the highs. “
Jen Syntar by Maggi
Two Syntar’s demo.
-The article continues in the third part:- the Synthex–
