Synthstuff Elka X705 Space Organ
From the diary of a Synth-a-holic
22 December 2015 – Last saturday I had a wonderfull time when I played in the Italian region of Marche, which was – in the 1960s and 1970s (and well into the 1980s) the epicentre of the Italian electronic musical instrument industry. Apparently there were more then 20 manufacturers/factories in this area at one point. Among them Farfisfa, Gem, Crumar and the illustrious ELKA. The area was (or still is) known as the “Italian Silicon Valley of musical instruments”. Most of them are gone now, and there is little left of this once mighty Italian organ and synthesizer industry.
So back in Holland today I was excited to pick up the ELKA X705 dream combo space organ for cheap, probably f*cked up my leg carrying it but its cool. I made a little movie with my studio assistant Jimi Elektrovolt playing it. This thing has a lot of whistles and bells, 2 string synths (including brass), a monophonic synth, a drum section (which you don’t hear in this movie) and a double drawbar organ with some dreamy organ sounds. Such a wondrous oddball instrument only the Italians could make!
Update many years later: It ended up in Cosmic Force’s studio in Utrecht around 2017 , I had to make some space, wonderful as it is…its just a bit too big and cumbersome.