September Stock List is Out! plus: Synthfest! Grampian Update! Superb Tape Echoes!

Last Of The Summer Whine (a vintage sonic harvest)

Welcome to September's mailout - packed full of ripe juicy vintage goodness [enough already - Ed.]. We're delighted that Moog have 'reissued' the Model D and hope it'll persuade people to part with their old 70s Minimoogs with unstable oscillator boards and unforgivable lack of Midi. We take them in, carefully restore/service them and find them loving new homes. See below for news of our latest acquisition, but please don't buy it yet - we never seem to get to spend enough time with these fabulous old synths... 

We've yet to hear/play the new Model D, but hope that we'll get a chance at Synthfest in Sheffield on Saturday October 1st - a celebration of all things synth/modular that's being organised by our friends at Sound On Sound. Should be a lot of fun - come visit us on the Soundgas stand where we'll be recreating the chaotic atmosphere of our office studio and making all manner of noises with whatever gear we have to hand (maybe we'll be able to bring an early Mini for a head to head with the new Model D, if one hangs around long enough). If you enjoy our Instagram feed, then you'll know what to expect...

While we're on the subject of classic synths, September should see the arrival of the Synth Prof-restored Yamaha CS-80 which we're selling on consignment. We already have several interested parties, but do get in touch if you have £15k plus earning next to nothing in your bank account (or pension fund) - we feel a classic synth is a much more enjoyable way to invest money..

In other news, we've been selling Eventide H-949/910 Harmonizers as fast as we can service them - they may be available in plug-in format now, but nothing beats the sheer joy of hands-on control of these crazy boxes - firm office favourites.

For those of you who missed out on our recent sealed bid auction for a Grampian Type 636 Reverb, we have another one - possibly two - coming in soon. If you registered your interest for the previous auction, you'll be informed as soon as we have another available. 

As ever, see further down for a few highlights of recent arrivals, and of course the link to the freshly-minted new stock list is immediately below.

Soundgas: bringing you the very best vintages..

Synthfest!

Sound On Sound are organising this new event and have very helpfully put it just up the road from us in one of the bastions of British electronic music, Sheffield. It seemed rude not to attend, so we'll be there with a stand packed with some of our favourite vintage pieces, as well as several new effects (including the Clouds Hill Floppy Disc Delay). If you're coming then you'll have a chance to hear and try some of the more unusual pieces from our collection, as well as some stone-cold classics. We'll have gear to buy as well, but our primary business there is going to be contributing our unique take on gear to this great new event, and allowing people to get their hands and ears on some amazing gear. But if you're not there you won't be left out as we post a steady stream of Instagram/Facebook videos, hooking up all the boxes and creating demos on the fly throughout the day. Visit the Synthfest site now to see a full list of what's happening.

Grampian News!

After the interest generated by our auction of one of these elusive machines last month we have tracked down another. It's currently with the tech so that's NOT it in the picture above (that's one of our studio Grampians). We're hoping to have it back soon - once it lands we'll get some demos done and do a special mail out alerting people (if you registered interest in the previous unit we'll be contacting you direct). It will again be sold by sealed bid auction. If you want to know more about the history, mythology and sound of the Grampian then read Tony's blog post here.

Echo Beach

All four of the classic tape echoes you saw at the top are just back from a visit to our tape tech - click on the images above to go to the listing for each. All are in excellent condition. If you're new to what we do then our main echo engineer is an ex-BBC tech with more than 20 years experience working on these machines, frequently going out on tour looking after gear for some heavy-hitting musicians. We put them back to factory spec, or beyond where improvements can be made (e.g. adding self-oscillation to a Roland RE-501). We then test them to make sure they reach our sonic standards, and soak-test to flush out hidden problems with ageing components. That's why (unlike most other dealers) we guarantee our machines. See all our tape echo listings here.

Lexicon PCM 42

A stone cold classic and big office favourite - never fails to raise a smile. Fully serviced and tested. Available now - we have another on the way so get in touch if this one's sold. Read more...

Don't call it a come back...

This is our latest Minimoog just arrived and waiting for service - should be ready by the end of this week. You may be aware (just possibly, although they kept it very quiet) that Moog have recently reissued a very carefully re-created and well-received version of the iconic Model D. While the reviews have been positive, we feel similarly about synths as we do about guitars and amps (and many other things too). We just love the sound and feel of older instruments - they may require more attention and be less roadworthy, but they have soul. This is a shining example - as soon as we started playing it, it just oozed creamy warmth and goodness. So if you're like us and prefer to own an original, mid-seventies, early-oscillator machine then this one will be fully serviced and restored within the next few week or so. Please get in touch for more information.

Wallace 25W Amp & Cab

This is a curiosity, but a superb-sounding one with some history. It's a Wallace, but according to the owner, was built later in Jim Wallace's career - we suspect following his 'retirement' to the Isle Of Wight (which is where it's come to us from). Read more...

Dallas Rangemaster 2x10

Another unusual commission sale amp: a very rare 2 x10” 12w combo with tremolo by Dallas Amplification (later became Dallas Arbiter/ Sound City/Vox Sound Limited). Mid 1960’s. Extremely good condition. Small amount of wear on the corners, some repair to the grille and some chrome missing from grilles. Completely original including R&A elliptical speakers and footswitch. Read more...

Dallas Scala

Classy-looking, uncommon amp from the early 60s in exceptionally clean condition. Serviced and sounding very good. Read more and hear the demo...

Clouds Hill Update

If you saw the last mail out you'll know that we are very excited about the machine above. A remarkable new piece of kit that brings something new to the world of analogue echo effects, and through clever use of an easily available recording medium (the humble 3.5" disc). We initially received two of the initial limited hand-tooled pre-production machines which both sold almost immediately. The good news is we have one more available to buy now - brand new and unopened - this is the very last one of only ten 'double digit' serial numbered machines.
We are now taking pre-orders for the 20 full production units that should be available very soon. If you want to know more then you can read all about it and see demos here.