The EK6, from Italian design company Excelsior.Launched in 1979, it comes from a period when pure analog sound was being matched with digital control.
Having a digitally scanned keyboard solves tuning problems, and the tuning and span on the EK6 are rock steady. Otherwise it can be compared to other well known keyboards of the period especially the Roland SH1000 or SH2000. The EK6 has a line of preset selectors along the top panel and these include Trombone, Trumpet, Vibraphone, Bass and Popcorn (SH1000 know where I'm coming from!). On the left of the same panel are variable controls for various modulation types - apart from Vibrato the EK6 unusually includes Tremolo (volume variation). Since the LFO's speed goes up to almost audio frequencies, some unusual ring modulation-style effects can be produced.
The EK6 also has White Noise (switchable to Pink Noise), and the variable Resonance on the filter can be switched in and out. Variable length Portamento (glide).Vibrato, Tremolo and Wah at variable speeds.
The chipsets are:
Oscillator; 741, 74221, 74174, 7483 Keyboard Encoder; 4532, 4042, 4030 ADSR/Filter; 4023, 4016, LM1458, 2N3350, CA3080 Preset Bank; CD4016.
Released: 1979 | 
Listings