Get as close as possible to the real EMS thing with these best VCS3 and Synthi clones. Hardware, software and modular: all the bases are covered.
Best VCS3 and Synthi Clones, Replicas and Inspirations
In 1969, an upstart synthesizer company from Putney, London called Electronic Music Studios released a modular synthesizer called the Voltage Controlled Studio 3. Both of these rather unwieldy names were soon shortened to EMS and VCS3. The brainchild of Peter Zinovieff and David Cockerell (among others), the VCS3 was surprisingly compact for the time and, with its three oscillators, filter, unique trapezoid envelope plus pin matrix for sound routing, it offered almost limitless sound-shaping possibilities for those brave enough to take the plunge.
Many did – and the VCS3 was soon followed up by the Synthi A, which put the VCS3’s circuits into a suitcase, and the Synthi AKS, which added a membrane keyboard and sequencer. The AKS was a hit as well, famously being used by Pink Floyd on Dark Side of the Moon. For more on EMS and their other instruments, please see this earlier article.
Best VCS3 and Synthi Clones: A No-Clone Zone?
For being such famous and desired instruments, the VCS3 and Synthi remain oddly clone-resistant. Unlike the Junos and Moogs of the world, EMS’s creations still retain something of a sense of mystery. Perhaps this is because of their famously (infamously?) wild internal circuitry which made them extremely hard to keep in tune. But that’s all part of the fun of them – and it makes them particularly suited to experimental sounds, hence why the BBC Radiophonic Workshop loved them.
Clones, replicas and inspirations do exist, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that very few of them are one-to-one remakes like we’ve come to expect in these 21st-century days. They also tend not to be cheap. Behringer has promised both a faithful VCS3 and an AKS Mini but as of publication, there’s been no mention of a release date.
That being the case, here are the best VCS3 and Synthi clones on the market today.
Best VCS3 and Synthi Clones: Hardware
Although few and far between, some of the best VCS3 and Synthi clones are hardware reproductions.
Of all of the various instruments that are EMS-like, one of the closest to the original Synthi form is Pin Electronics’ Portabella MKIIIe. Although the pin matrix uses a different construction than the original and the synth includes a standard pre-calibrated CV/gate interface, in other ways it’s extremely similar. Online reviews say it’s 99% authentic and harnesses that wildness that you want in a Synthi clone. If the €6599 (excluding VAT) sticker price is too steep for you, take a look at the company’s Portello Synthi, a compact portable system based on Synthi 100, Putney and Portabella modules. It’s €3299 (excluding VAT). Both are housed in suitcases and are available directly from Pin Electronics.
If the experimental spirit of the VCS3/Synthi is more important to you than a slavish reproduction of the sound, consider Erica Synth’s Syntryx II. Thoroughly modern with MIDI and LED buttons instead of pins in the routing matrix plus some surprising functions like built-in piano roll sequencer and stepped modulation sources, it’s still 100% analog in signal, giving you the best of classic and modern worlds.
Best VCS3 and Synthi Clones: Modular
You wouldn’t necessarily think it by just looking at them but both the VCS3 and Synthi are 100% modular synthesizers. They won’t make any noise until you patch something on the pin matrix. In that way, it makes sense that some of the best VCS3 and Synthi clones would be found in the Eurorack realm.
Erica Synths has taken inspiration from the modulation section of the EMS Synthi and dropped it into the Fusion Modulator, a “complex, all-analog modulation source with lots of distinct features,” according to the company. It includes two functionality-inspired looping envelope generators plus simultaneous unipolar (0V-10V) and bipolar (-5V-+5V), VCA, noise generator and sample and hold circuits.
Analogue Systems makes two Eurorack modules with EMS DNA. First up is the RS-500N Synthifilter. Made under license from EMS, it is the original company’s filter and can be switched between pre-1974 and post-1974 filter type and response settings. Also under license from EMS is the RS-510N Synthishaper trapezoid generator featuring Attack, On, Decay, Off and Trapezoid output level.
Best VCS3 and Synthi Clones: Software
Some of the best VCS3 and Synthi clones are actually software. These may not give you the tactile experience of waggling that famous joystick or dropping pins into the matrix but they will get you a close approximation of the sound at a fraction of the price.
My personal choice for EMS sounds is Synthi V from Arturia. It has all of the parameters of the original plus an advanced section with effects, a function generator, deeper control over the pin matrix’s behavior, and more.
If the idea of a single VCS3 leaves you lacking, check out XILS 4 from XILS-Lab. An emulation of the prototype-only VCS4, this beast features two interacting VCS3 units plus a polyphonic version of the EMS Synthi Sequencer 256 (which itself came from the Synthi 100).
Lastly, you can’t buy this on its own anymore but IK Multimedia Syntronik 2 Max features as part of its collection the VCF3, a sampled recreation of the VCS3. It might not give you as much control over the parameters as some of the other versions here but you do get a lot of other famous classic synths in the package.
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