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Chapter 14 EVOC 20 PolySynth 173
Peter Zinovieff’s London-based company “EMS” developed a standalone—and
altogether more portable—vocoder. EMS are probably best known for the “Synthi AKS”
and VCS3 synthesizers. The EMS Studio Vocoder was the world’s first commercially
available machine, released in 1976. It was later renamed the EMS 5000. Among its
users were Stevie Wonder and Kraftwerk. Stockhausen, the German “Elektronische
Musik” pioneer, also used an EMS vocoder.
Sennheiser released the VMS 201 in 1977, and EMS released the EMS 2000, which was a
cut-down version of its older sibling.
1978 saw the beginning of mainstream vocoder use, riding on the back of popularity
created through the music of Herbie Hancock, Kraftwerk, and a handful of other artists.
Among the manufacturers who jumped into vocoder production at this time
are: Synton/Bode, Electro-Harmonix, and Korg, with the VC-10.
In 1979, Roland released the VP 330 ensemble/vocoder keyboard.
The late 70s and early 80s were the heyday of the vocoder. Artists who used them
included: ELO, Pink Floyd, Eurythmics, Tangerine Dream, Telex, David Bowie, Kate Bush,
and many more.
On the production side, vocoders could (and can still) be picked up cheaply in the form
of kits from electronics stores.
From 1980 through to the present, EMS in the UK, Synton in Holland and PAiA in the
USA were, and remain, the main flyers of the vocoding flag.
In 1996, Doepfer in Germany and Music and More joined the vocoder-producing
fraternity.
Throughout the 1990s, a number of standalone software-based vocoders have appeared.