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Description
Altair 231 is an almost identical copy of the famous Moog Minimoog, made in the former Soviet Union. Biggest difference in sound is caused by different brand of components: Russian equivalents are used everywhere.
The oscillator board is based on the older version. However, the Russians were clever and used multi-turn potentiometers for the scaling controls. Result: Synth stays in tune better. The Russians didn't seem to have reverse log pots. Because of that, the resonance control was wired backwards and a regular logarithmic pot was used instead. Other than that, the synth seems to be very robust and easy to service - the real Mini schematics come for good help when comparing the component numbers etc. It sounds like a Mini! I heard a Mini with the newer oscillator board and I think that's the reason for minor differences in sound between it and the Altair.
It is a monophonic 3 OSC analog synthesizer. Synth has 4-oct keyboard (F-C) with velocity (sensitivity assign to vibrato effect). The synthesizer has based on 3 VCO (osc. No.3 can work as the modulator), 1 VCF (lowpass 24dB/oct)with ADSR, 1 VCA, 3 LFO, noise generator (white/pink), portamento, memoryloop. It has an EXTERNAL INPUT allowing to use FILTER and GENERATORS with external audio INPUT.
OSCILLATORS section: - osc 1,2,3 registers - 2", 4", 8", 16", 32", LF - osc 1,2,3 waveshape select - triangle, saw, square, pulse, sine - osc frequency - freq 1..3, freq 2, freq 3 -linked to keyboard pitch on/off (osc 3 ONLY) MIXER: - osc 1,2,3 on/off, level - ext input level, on/off - noise generator level, on/off - noise mode switch: white/pink MOD section: - portamento on/off, rate; - mod mixer knob: balance between modulated by OSC3 and noise, depth amount; - pitch wheel (glissando)
FILTER: - mod on/off - cutoff, resonance, brightness - attack, decay, sustain - keytrack on/off
AMPLIFIER: - attack, decay, sustain - key hold memory on/off Next - global section: main volume, phones volume, phones out (5din), A-440Hz tone on/off, power. Connections :
Audio OUTPUT, Audio INPUT on standard 1/4''jack, pedal input on 5-Din socket , power wire connection (220/240V), fuse (0,5A) .
The oscillator board is based on the older version. However, the Russians were clever and used multi-turn potentiometers for the scaling controls. Result: Synth stays in tune better. The Russians didn't seem to have reverse log pots. Because of that, the resonance control was wired backwards and a regular logarithmic pot was used instead. Other than that, the synth seems to be very robust and easy to service - the real Mini schematics come for good help when comparing the component numbers etc. It sounds like a Mini! I heard a Mini with the newer oscillator board and I think that's the reason for minor differences in sound between it and the Altair.
It is a monophonic 3 OSC analog synthesizer. Synth has 4-oct keyboard (F-C) with velocity (sensitivity assign to vibrato effect). The synthesizer has based on 3 VCO (osc. No.3 can work as the modulator), 1 VCF (lowpass 24dB/oct)with ADSR, 1 VCA, 3 LFO, noise generator (white/pink), portamento, memoryloop. It has an EXTERNAL INPUT allowing to use FILTER and GENERATORS with external audio INPUT.
OSCILLATORS section: - osc 1,2,3 registers - 2", 4", 8", 16", 32", LF - osc 1,2,3 waveshape select - triangle, saw, square, pulse, sine - osc frequency - freq 1..3, freq 2, freq 3 -linked to keyboard pitch on/off (osc 3 ONLY) MIXER: - osc 1,2,3 on/off, level - ext input level, on/off - noise generator level, on/off - noise mode switch: white/pink MOD section: - portamento on/off, rate; - mod mixer knob: balance between modulated by OSC3 and noise, depth amount; - pitch wheel (glissando)
FILTER: - mod on/off - cutoff, resonance, brightness - attack, decay, sustain - keytrack on/off
AMPLIFIER: - attack, decay, sustain - key hold memory on/off Next - global section: main volume, phones volume, phones out (5din), A-440Hz tone on/off, power. Connections :
Audio OUTPUT, Audio INPUT on standard 1/4''jack, pedal input on 5-Din socket , power wire connection (220/240V), fuse (0,5A) .
Images
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Videos
Search YouTube for the Altair Estradin 231Technical Specifications
Type: Analog
Synthesis: Subtractive
Oscillators
Oscillators: 3
Waveforms: Pink Noise, Pulse, Saw Up, Sine, Square, Triangle, White Noise
Osc Modulation: Envelope, Glide / Portamento, Keyboard, Knob, LFO, Mod Wheel, Pitch Wheel
Envelopes
Envelopes: 2
Evelope Paramerters: Attack, Decay, Sustain
Filters
Filters: 1
Types: 24dB Slope (4-pole), Low Pass, Resonance
Filter Modulation: Envelope, Keyboard, Knob, LFO
LFO
LFO: 1
LFO Parameters: Noise, Saw Down, Sine, Square, Triangle
Polyphony & Tuning
Polyphony: 1
Timbrality: 1
Tuning: Standard
Modes: Mono
Case
Case: Keyboard
Keyboard: 49 keys
Controls: Knobs, Switches, Mod - Wheel, Pitch -Wheel
Display Type: LED
Dimensions (WxDxH): 745 x 350 x 185 mm
Weight: 11 kg / 24 lbs.
Connections
Audio Output Connections: 1/4" Phone Jack, Mono Out
Inputs: 1/4" audio input
Power: 220V AC
Production
Year Released: 1983
Year Discontinued: 1984
Patch Sheet
Pricing
Used Price: $800 - $1,200 - convert
Shopping
References & Sources
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