Ken Stone/1973 classic Serge
Ken Stone's observations of his 1973 classic Serge led him to conclude that there were not as many module designs to choose from at this time as there were later, as there is significant repetition on this unit, and some "standard" modules are conspicuous by their absence.[1]
Background
This Serge synthesizer was assembled by Warren Burt, originally for the Center for Music Experiment (CME) at the University of California, San Diego, and was imported into Australia to be used at the Clifton Hill Community Music Centre. It was later acquired by Rainer Linz, and used in a number of performances of Stelarc.[1]
As is typical of these early Serges, this one is "cased" in a simple wooden frame. In fact, when he first received it, the panels were held into the frames by washers clamped under screws, at least one panel was no longer secure. A feature of this synthesizer that separates it from most Serge synthesizers is that it is equipped with 3.5 mm jacks instead of banana jacks. The 3.5 mm jacks were used because Roger Reynolds at CME felt that banana plugs would be too flimsy and prone to bad connections. By the time Ken received this instrument, barely any of the 3.5 mm jacks were still operational due to bending of their contacts, and corrosion build-up. Being open-frame jacks, they were repairable.[1]
Overview
The panels
For specific details where available, about individual Serge modules follow the links in the image descriptions below.
 Panel 1. Left to right: Negative Slew, Programmer and multiples, Programmer and multiples, Peak and Trough |
 Panel 4. Left to right: Peak and Trough, Dual Processor, Envelope Generator, Envelope Generator, Positive Slew, Negative Slew |
 Panel 2. Left to right: Multiples, Dual Sequencer, Envelope Generator, Peak and Trough |
 Panel 3. Left to right: VCO, VCO, VCO, Comparator and Schmitt Trigger, Tripple wave-shaper, Dual Mixer, Multiples |
 Panel 6. Left to right: Multiples, Filter (VCF), Filter (VCF), Ring modulator and Gate (VCA), Gate (VCA), Gate (VCA), Dual Mixer, Bi-directional router, Hi gain amps/multiples |
CC-BY-NC
Readers are permitted to construct these circuits for their own personal use only. Ken Stone retains all rights to his work. Serge Tcherepnin retains all rights to his work.
See also
References
- ^ a b c Classic Serge by Ken Stone, 1999, with permission of the author - archived
External links
- Egres - The unofficial Serge web site
- Serge modular owners group
- CGS Synth discussion group, for discussion of locating parts, modifications and corrections etc.
- Original Serge kit instructions