Electronic Music Studios
Electronic Music Studios (EMS) is a registered trademark of the first English synth - Studios .
The studio was founded by Peter Zinovieff. In 1969 the company presented the VCS 3 synthesizer, the first inexpensive and at the same time portable analog synthesizer. The name was derived from the English term Voltage Controlled Synthesizer (German: "voltage controlled synthesizer"). The VCS 3 is based on the modular principle. The core module of the instrument were three oscillators , which is what the "3" in the name suggests. The tones generated by three oscillators are determined in their pitch by the modulation voltage that controls them . This can be done either continuously using a potentiometer or using a separate keyboard. Additional modules are filters , ring modulators , envelope and low frequency generators.
The first rock groups to use the instrument were Tangerine Dream and The Who . On the LP Who's Next , the VCS 3 takes on a special function: in the song Won't Get Fooled Again , it is used less for sound generation than for sound manipulation. You can hear a Hammond organ , which generates the basic sound , which is alienated by the filters and the low-frequency generators of the VCS 3 and triggered with an impulse. The VCS 3 is also known from the Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon .