The Solina String-Ensemble came out 1973 and was the first “stand alone” electronic string ensemble – the original “string machine”. It was a portable, cutdown version of the string ensemble, which was a part of the Eminent 310U organ. It sounds different to the Eminent 310U, although quite similar. It uses “divide-down” organ technology, is full polyphonic and has a very characterful sound.
The Solina was a great success in the seventies and was used by many artists on many recordings. The String-Ensemble was developed and produced by Eminent in Holland. ARP bought the rights to sell it under their name. Outside the USA the “ARP STRING-ENSEMBLE” is known as “SOLINA STRING-ENSEMBLE”. For the US market, ARP just put ARP-stickers on it…
Many manufacturers tried to copy it (Logan String Melody, Elka Rhapsody, Crumar Multiman, Farfisa String Orchestra, Jen String Machine, Siel Orchestra, just to name a few). Indeed, every organ manufacturer had one to offer…
but the Solina remains the best (or at least one of the best) with its fat, unique and charming sound.
USERS:
Edgar Froese (Tangerine Dream) used it on many records (Green Desert, Aqua, Le Park, Underwater Sunlight, etc.), Herbie Hancock (Secrets), AIR (Moon Safari), Mike Oldfield, Richard Wright / Pink Floyd (Shine On You Crazy Diamond), Elton John (Song for Guy), Nick Straker (A walk in the park), Geoff Downes / Buggles (Video killed the radio star), the Bee Gees and the Carpenters (on live performances) …
By the way: Jean-Michel Jarre never used this one on his recordings. He used the Eminent 310U, which sounds different.
Duration : 0:7:14
Yes, heard him …
Yes, heard him talking about it recently
that was an arp …
that was an arp OMNI i think
Was this string …
Was this string machine used by Bernard Sumner in Joy Division’s song “Atmosphere”?
Cool thanks for the …
Cool thanks for the reply. It’s a great sound. Never gets old!
That’s an ON/OFF …
That’s an ON/OFF switch to interrupt the battery current, to save battery power.
What’s the switch …
What’s the switch on the top right of the Small Stone for?
four octaves are …
four octaves are enough… if you want to go higher, you take the “violin” preset. It is 1 octave higher than “viola”.
I really dig that …
I really dig that string sound
I’ve done something very similar on my D-50, although not as “lush”.
I wish the Solina had 61 keys instead of 49 :-p Maybe a DIY project could add these 12 more keys
the Solina can not …
the Solina can not substitute a Eminent 310. These two machines sound different and they have different features. But some sounds can sound similar.
Can this be used in …
Can this be used in place Emienten 310’s String Ensemble ? Are the sounds a lot different ? My 310U Takes too much room
fucking sounds so …
sounds so awesome. can get cheesy with the wrong setting and single notes
Thanks… yes – …
Thanks… yes – such kind of sounds I wanted to play like on the “green desert” album. Edgar Froese used the Solina a lot – on many albums.
Some of the things …
Some of the things you’re playing almost sound like something Tangerine Dream did on their “Green Desert” album. There’s a lot Solina String sounds on that album. I also liked the Jarre sounds at 4:50. Very nice.
yeah
that was …
yeah
that was Polymoog, the only lead instrument of KW during the Computerworld era
a polymoog probably
a polymoog probably
mh…The main …
mh…The main melody of the song computerwelt is played by a stringmachine na-na na-naaaaa.
It sounds like a solina with the inbuild chorus turned of or modified. I allwasy thought its a solina? I probably read that somewhere.
It’s definately a string machine.
If not, what is it then?
Yeah! Just what I …
Yeah! Just what I was thinking.
LOL))))))
maybe in …
LOL))))))
maybe in ‘The Mix’ also?
LOL, why do you say …
LOL, why do you say that?
@ biglebowski :
…
@ biglebowski :
kraftwerk uses a solina string ensemble on computerwelt…
I am tired of guys …
I am tired of guys listing JMJ equipment and trying to recreate all the nuances of his sound.
he killed the minipops-7 and the quijada.
Very ‘A clockwork …
Very ‘A clockwork orange’ at the beginning in the korova milk bar with the phaser!!
I knew you’ll say …
I knew you’ll say this))
This sound comes from Farfisa organ, the only polyphonic organ ever used by band. Ralf Hutter played it on stage from 73 to 75. The same sound can be heard on live recordings of Kraftwerk ‘74-75. ‘Autobahn’ was their last album to use Farfisa.
You’re wrong – …
You’re wrong – listen more carefully to the track “Mitternacht”. That’s a Solina with ENSEMBLE switched off. I’m playing such kind of sounds also in my video.
Kraftwerk never …
Kraftwerk never used string synthesizers. The only ARP used on ‘Autobahn’ was Odyssey (for some car noises)