Electronic Music Studios

Electronic Music Studios (EMS ) is a registered trademark of the first British synthesizer studios.

Founded in the studio of Peter Zinovieff. 1969 presented the company with the VCS 3 synthesizer the first affordable and also portable analog synthesizer. The name was derived from the English name Voltage Controlled Synthesizer ago ( German: " voltage-controlled synthesizer "). The VCS 3 is configured in the modular principle. Core module of the instrument were three oscillators, what the " 3" in the name implies. The sounds generated by three oscillators are determined in their pitch of the modulation voltage which drives it. This can be done either continuously by means of a potentiometer, as well as by a separate keyboard keypad. Other modules are filters, ring modulator, envelope and low frequency generator.

The first rock groups who used the instrument were Tangerine Dream and The Who. On the LP Who's Next VCS 3 assumes a special function: In the song Will not Get Fooled Again it is less used for the sound generation than for sound manipulation. You can hear a Hammond organ that generates the base sound that is distorted by the filter and the low- frequency generators VCS 3 and driven with a pulse. It is known also from the VCS 3 Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon.