The Synare was a series of electronic drums made by Star Instruments in the mid 1970s through the 1980s. The Synare was a drum synthesizer, meaning it was essentially a synthesizer, but instead of being controlled by a keyboard, it was triggered by hitting rubber pads which were pressure sensitive.
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Four rubber rectangular pads connected to a main module with one oscillator producing pulse and sawtooth waveforms. It also had a white noise generator, Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO) with triangle and pulse waveforms, a mixer and a low-pass filter with Resonance and Cutoff controls. It also had an envelope generator with attack, decay, sustain, and release. Made from 1975 to 1981.
This model was manufactured from 1976 to 1982 and was Star's flagship model. This was very much like the Synare 1, with one oscillator with sawtooth, and pulse waveforms, white noise generator, etc. But this had assignable functions, ie. routing the LFO to control certain parameters at once. The LFO also added a sawtooth waveform You could also select a wide range of octaves for the pitch to sound at, along with a fine tune function. A major adjustment was the introduction of a fairly advanced sequencer with different patters, and the ability to change patterns and octaves. You could also adjust the speed and the note(s) sounded by the sequencer. This model features 16 pads instead of the previous four. Retail price in 1976 was $1,395.00. This high price has made the Synare 2 very rare.
Noted for its 'flying saucer' appearance, this was the first affordable model for most musicians. As well as the ability to be run on batteries, the model featured 2 oscillators with no variable waveforms, a white noise generator, as well as a sweep function, which could be used up or down to to achieve a descending 'booming' sound which was used extensively in disco records of the era. Oscillator 1 was the noise generator with a 'tune' function. The Amplifier section had volume, attack, and decay controls. This model also had a low-pass filter with cutoff, resonance and decay controls and was manufactured from 1977 to 1982.
Virtually the same machine as its predecessor, but with more flexible modulation controls. Manufactured during the same time as the Synare 3.
Very similar to its predecessor, but with an actual drumhead rather than a rubber pad. Had modulation route and depth controls. Made from approximately 1979-1983. Very rare.
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