Uploaded April 2017 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Download HERE:
zardonic.net/files/286758/zardonic-polivoks-samplepack.zip
Source: http://polivoks.pro/reviews-and-examples/249/
BRIEF HISTORY OF SOVIET SYNTHESIZERS, THE POLIVOKS AND POLIVOKS REISSUE
It's impossible to study the history of electronic music without understanding the genius of Lev Sergeyevich Termen, inventor of the first mass-produced electronic instrument, the Theremin, as early as 1920 and merely three years after the establishment of the Russian SFSR, just before the establishment of the Soviet Union. He also invented the world's first drum machine, the Rhythmicon, and even burglar alarms and covert listening devices used by the USSR for espionage which preceded RFID technology used to this day in our credit and debit cards. It comes as no surprise then, that the USSR saw the birth of visionaries like Vladimir Kuzmin, who created the first voltage controlled analog synthesizer of his country: the Polivoks. From 1982 to 1990, a total of 100,000 units of the instrument were manufactured in the Formanta Radio Plant in Kachkanar, 127 miles (205km) north of Yekaterinburg, making it one of the most popular vintage synthesizers to date due to its unique sound, history and extraordinary industrial design.
But the curtain dividing the East and the West was not lifted until the early nineties, following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the dissolution of the Eastern bloc and the end of the Cold War. Before then, Moog had no idea they had a Russian contender ready to take over the vintage instrument market, especially considering the poor management and marketing that led the legendary Dr. Bob Moog to leave his own company before it was forced to bankruptcy and ceased to operate. It seemed like the perfect timing for a rare synth of this calibre to catch the attention of Western artists. To this day, the Polivoks remains one of the most sought-after vintage instruments and an essential part in recordings by Franz Ferdinand, Rammstein, Goldfrapp, Coil and Exile, not without having played its role in the Synthpop, Euro Disco and Eurodance movements and even making it into the Doom 2016 game soundtrack composed by Mick Gordon.
However, it is not only difficult to find and own one of these units in mint condition, but also painful to ship, carry, service and maintain if you do. There is also the voltage difference factor, the lack of MIDI which is a standard in any modern studio environment (back then, the technology was barely making its entry in the synthesizer market in December of 1982 thanks to the groundbreaking work of Dave Smith, but for previously mentioned reasons it was not yet available in the USSR), the DIN audio inputs and outputs (as opposed to standard 1/4" audio jack cables), and the parameters being all in Russian and Cyrillic script.
These limitations led to several hardware recreations by Eurorack synthesizer manufacturers. Given the high demand of the Polivoks sound, visionary engineers Alexey Taber and Alex Pleninger joined Vladimir Kuzmin in 2016 to recreate the unit in a compact, light Desktop format which lowers the weight from 45lbs (20kg) to less than 7lbs (3kg), with MIDI input and output, allowing integration with MIDI controllers and modern DAWs. It also includes standard 1/4" jack inputs and outputs, CV/gate inputs for several parameters, ring modulation and pulse width modulation, vastly expanding its possibilities.
Only 100 units of the Reissue were manufactured, with owners including Zardonic as well as Christian Lorenz of Rammstein and jazz legend Sergey Letov. For more information on how to get the samplepack and if you're looking to buy one of the last few remaining units, check out www.polivoks.pro and you might still get it in time!
___________________________________________________________
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Download HERE:
zardonic.net/files/286758/zardonic-polivoks-samplepack.zip
Source: http://polivoks.pro/reviews-and-examples/249/
BRIEF HISTORY OF SOVIET SYNTHESIZERS, THE POLIVOKS AND POLIVOKS REISSUE
It's impossible to study the history of electronic music without understanding the genius of Lev Sergeyevich Termen, inventor of the first mass-produced electronic instrument, the Theremin, as early as 1920 and merely three years after the establishment of the Russian SFSR, just before the establishment of the Soviet Union. He also invented the world's first drum machine, the Rhythmicon, and even burglar alarms and covert listening devices used by the USSR for espionage which preceded RFID technology used to this day in our credit and debit cards. It comes as no surprise then, that the USSR saw the birth of visionaries like Vladimir Kuzmin, who created the first voltage controlled analog synthesizer of his country: the Polivoks. From 1982 to 1990, a total of 100,000 units of the instrument were manufactured in the Formanta Radio Plant in Kachkanar, 127 miles (205km) north of Yekaterinburg, making it one of the most popular vintage synthesizers to date due to its unique sound, history and extraordinary industrial design.
But the curtain dividing the East and the West was not lifted until the early nineties, following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the dissolution of the Eastern bloc and the end of the Cold War. Before then, Moog had no idea they had a Russian contender ready to take over the vintage instrument market, especially considering the poor management and marketing that led the legendary Dr. Bob Moog to leave his own company before it was forced to bankruptcy and ceased to operate. It seemed like the perfect timing for a rare synth of this calibre to catch the attention of Western artists. To this day, the Polivoks remains one of the most sought-after vintage instruments and an essential part in recordings by Franz Ferdinand, Rammstein, Goldfrapp, Coil and Exile, not without having played its role in the Synthpop, Euro Disco and Eurodance movements and even making it into the Doom 2016 game soundtrack composed by Mick Gordon.
However, it is not only difficult to find and own one of these units in mint condition, but also painful to ship, carry, service and maintain if you do. There is also the voltage difference factor, the lack of MIDI which is a standard in any modern studio environment (back then, the technology was barely making its entry in the synthesizer market in December of 1982 thanks to the groundbreaking work of Dave Smith, but for previously mentioned reasons it was not yet available in the USSR), the DIN audio inputs and outputs (as opposed to standard 1/4" audio jack cables), and the parameters being all in Russian and Cyrillic script.
These limitations led to several hardware recreations by Eurorack synthesizer manufacturers. Given the high demand of the Polivoks sound, visionary engineers Alexey Taber and Alex Pleninger joined Vladimir Kuzmin in 2016 to recreate the unit in a compact, light Desktop format which lowers the weight from 45lbs (20kg) to less than 7lbs (3kg), with MIDI input and output, allowing integration with MIDI controllers and modern DAWs. It also includes standard 1/4" jack inputs and outputs, CV/gate inputs for several parameters, ring modulation and pulse width modulation, vastly expanding its possibilities.
Only 100 units of the Reissue were manufactured, with owners including Zardonic as well as Christian Lorenz of Rammstein and jazz legend Sergey Letov. For more information on how to get the samplepack and if you're looking to buy one of the last few remaining units, check out www.polivoks.pro and you might still get it in time!
___________________________________________________________
Join the Zardonic Zealots! Follow and Subscribe:
FACEBOOK: http://bit.do/ZardonicFB
TWITTER: http://bit.do/ZardonicTwitter
INSTAGRAM: http://bit.do/ZardonicInsta
ITUNES: http://bit.do/ZardoniciTunes
SOUNDCLOUD: http://bit.do/ZardonicSoundCloud
WEBSITE: http://bit.do/ZardonicHome
MAILING LIST: http://bit.do/ZardonicMail
YOUTUBE: http://bit.do/ZardonicYT
