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The arrival of our rare and quirky Polyvoks synth was the result of several months of negotiation. After a journey from Russia to Poland, it was to travel with a man as luggage by coach to the U.K. where we would meet him. We had to trust that it was in good condition. |
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The synth was given a complete overhaul by David before it was even switched on - which was lucky because there were some metal parts floating freely on two of the circuit boards! It is now a shining example of Russian synth technology from the 1980s. |
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Like some other Russian monosynths, the Polyvoks is loosely based on the Minimoog although the sound bears no comparison. All labeling on the synth is in Cyrylic. The internal circuitry is very basic by western standards and the synth certainly has absolutely no finesse - but surprisingly, it does a very good impression of an ARP synth with one oscillator set to Pulse wave. The case of our Polyvoks is made from a very low grade 3mm Aluminium. So low grade in fact - that the plastic moulded parts of the front panel actualy keep it from bending! Rumour has it that these synths were made in a weapons factory and some of them had bullet proof cases, also that the control knobs were originally made for missile guidence systems The main features are listed below. |
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