Nyle Steiner and Robbie Connolly are reviving the Steiner Synthacon Synthesizer from the 70s with new features, it’s ready for pre-order.
The Moog Minimoog, Roland SH-101, TB-303, and Prophet 5 are synth classics. But in the heyday of analog synthesizers, many instruments were released that never really made it into the limelight. One of them was the rare Steiner Synthacon from the 70s.
An obscure vintage analog monophonic Synthesizer with a similar feature set as the famous Minimoog but with a very special sound. To buy an original you have to dig deep into your pocket these days. But there is good news: the original developer Nyle Steiner has teamed up with Robbie Connolly to bring this fascinating instrument to the market.
Steiner Connolly Synthacon
Synthacon is an official reissue of the Steiner-Parker Synthacon Synthesizer from the 70s. It is a rare monophonic Synthesizer with a special feature set and sound. It has three oscillators, where VCO1 gives you sawtooth and sine while VCO2+3 gives an additional pulse. Plus, it has a white and pink noise generator. A structure that we know from a world-famous mono synth from Asheville.
Then, the oscillators + noise go straight into a 2-pole resonant multimode (low/band/highpass) filter. No ladder or SEM filter is used here, but the unique Sallen Key filter. Unlike a Minimoog, this filter doesn’t lose any volume when resonance is increased.
Modulation side, you get two envelopes (ADSR, trigger), an LFO, and a sample & hold processor. The latter was of the highlights of the original, as many synths from this period (Minimoog…) didn’t have this feature. Further, there is also portamento.
According to Steiner and Connolly, the Synthacon is designed to be a faithful, full-size reissue of the original, recreated under the direction of the original designer. They use discrete components and through-hole technology to recreate this rare 70s synth.
In addition to the original feature set, the developers have expanded the Synthacon (2022) with modern functions. This includes MIDI, a FATAR keybed, and other minor new features.
Many classics have been revived in recent years. I’m glad to see that such a unique, rare Synthesizer is now coming back. And better in collaboration with the original developers.
The Steiner Synthacon is available now to pre-order for $3,000 USD. The developers don’t have a website, but you can contact them at support@steiner-connolly.com for details.
More information here: FB
have you reached out to Nyle and Robbie to confirm this by chance?