Editing EMS VCS 3 (section)

==History==
{{multiple image |align=right |direction=horizontal
 |header = VCS 3 variations
 |caption1 = Synthi VCS&nbsp;3 with <!-- printed --> logo:<br/> "The Putney (VCS&nbsp;3)"
 |image1   = EMS_Putney_VCS_3.jpg       |width1=150
 |caption2 = Synthi VCS&nbsp;3 II with <!-- printed --> logo:<br/> "The Synthi (VCS&nbsp;3) II" 
 |image2   = EMS_at_MIM_Synthesizer.jpg |width2=156
}}
The VCS 3 was created in 1969 by [[Peter Zinovieff]]'s [[Electronic Music Studios|EMS]] company. The electronics were designed largely by [[David Cockerell]], and its distinctive appearance was the work of electronic composer [[Tristram Cary]]. It was one of the first ''portable'' commercially available synthesizers, in the sense that it was housed entirely in a small wooden case, unlike synths from American manufacturers such as [[Moog Music]], [[ARP Instruments|ARP]] and [[Buchla]], which had large cabinets and could take up entire rooms.

The VCS 3 cost just under £330 in 1969. Some people found it unsatisfactory as a melodic instrument due to its inherent tuning instability.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Reid |first=Gordon |date=November 2000 |title=All About EMS, Part 1 |journal=[[Sound on Sound]] |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov00/articles/retrozone.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173436/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov00/articles/retrozone.htm |archive-date=2016-03-03}}</ref> This arose from the instrument's reliance on the then current method of exponential conversion of voltage to oscillator frequency—an approach that other companies also implemented with fewer tuning issues. However, the VCS 3 was renowned as an extremely powerful generator of electronic effects and processor of external sounds for its cost.{{according to whom|date=May 2013}}

The first album recorded using only the VCS 3 was ''The Unusual Classical Synthesizer'' on Westminster Gold.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/krakatack/unusualstuff |title=unusualstuff - krakatack |website=Sites.google.com |access-date=2020-04-12}}</ref>

The VCS 3 was popular among [[progressive rock]] bands, and was used on recordings by [[Franco Battiato]], [[The Moody Blues]], [[The Alan Parsons Project]], [[Jean-Michel Jarre]], [[Todd Rundgren]], [[Hawkwind]], [[Curved Air]], [[Brian Eno]] (with [[Roxy Music]] and as a solo artist or collaborator), [[King Crimson]], [[The Who]], [[Gong (band)|Gong]], and [[Pink Floyd]], and many others. The VCS 3-generated bass sound at the beginning of Pink Floyd's "[[Welcome to the Machine]]" forms the foundation of the song, with its other parts heard in response. Two VCS 3s and a Sequencer 256 were featured in the 1978 film 'The Shout'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pinelectronics.com/2007/07/31/ems-vcs-3-the-shout-1978/|title=EMS VCS 3 "The Shout" 1978 &#124; Pin Electronics}}</ref>

[[Image:EMS VCS3 Mk II routing matrix.jpg|thumb|220px|The routing matrix on the VCS 3]]