The late Florian Schneider’s personal items are being auctioned off, a Sennheiser VSM-201 Vocoder included.
Own Kraftwerk’s Vocoder
Ever wanted to be a robot? Now you can, or at least your voice can, if you buy the exceedingly rare Sennheiser VSM-201 Vocoder that’s going up for auction next month. Not only is the vocoder rare on its own, but when you factor in the fact that it was owned by Kraftwerk co-founder, the late Florian Schneider, the mind boggles at how special this piece of gear is.
Florian’s Sennheiser VSM-201 Vocoder · Source: Julien’s Auctions
The uber-rare vocoder is part of the Florian Schneider Collection, an auction happening at Julien’s Auctions, a music and celebrity-specialist auction house. The collection contains more than 450 artifacts “from the life and career of Florian Schneider,” including personal items like suits and shoes, some gorgeous Bauhaus-era vintage furniture, and even a pair of lederhosen! But of course, the reason we’re all here is the gear.
Here are some highlights:
Sennheiser VSM-201 Vocoder
The big-ticket item in the collection is this VSM-201 Vocoder from Sennheiser. This unit from the late 1970s has no serial number and “has been removed from its wooden enclosure and modified with a metal rack mount casing, presumably for live use,” according to the listing. While it’s not known if this is the model that the band used on Man Machine and Computer World, it’s still a Kraftwerk vocoder.
The starting bid is $5,000, and Julian’s estimates it to sell between $20,000 and $40,000.
EMS Synthi AKS
Florian used this EMS Synthi AKS to process his flute (his original instrument) in Kraftwerk’s early Krautrock period. “According to notes from the Florian Schneider Estate,” says the listing, “this was the first synth acquired by Kraftwerk in around 1972 and is the only EMS Synthi that Florian owned, and was used at Kraftwerk’s Kling Klang studio.”
Florian’s EMS Synthi AKS · Source: Julien’s Auctions
The starting bid is $4000 with an estimated finishing price of $15,000 to $20,000.
Korg PS-3100, Dynacord Echocord Super, and More
There’s a lot more in the collection, way more than I have space to write about here. Some others worth getting excited about include a Korg PS-3100 (in custom metal housing), a PS-3200, a Dynacord Echord Super tape echo that Florian used to process his flutes, a 1930s Volks-Trautonium, tons of test equipment, and even some modern Doepfer gear.
Florian’s Dynacord Echocord Super tape echo · Source: Julien’s AuctionsFlorian’s Korg PS-3100 · Source: Julien’s Auctions
Then there’s this one that caught my eye: Two Hand-Built MIDI Devices with Matrix Switches & Phoneme Keyboard with Stand. Schneider loved playing with voices (hence the vocoder), and you can see that here. Hand-built by the man himself, these were in use at Kling Klang and worked with Robovox and Votrax speech synthesis chips. The controllers used Doepfer CTM64 MIDI boards, with the one on the right outfitted with a phoneme keyboard with 40 keys.
Florian’s hand-made phoneme and speech synthesis MIDI controllers · Source: Julien’s Auctions
Thank You, Florian Schneider
I spent way too much time going through the collection this morning. I actually got pretty emotional looking at his suits and shoes, and other personal items. His music had such a profound effect on me at a young age, and did more than probably anyone else to turn me on to synthesizers. And multiple times in my life, too. I remember hearing “Trans Europe Express” for the first time in a movie theater waiting for Sid and Nancy to start when I was 14, and experiencing industrial sounds for the first time.
Take a look at the collection yourself, starting here. It’s a real insight into the man and his music.
The Florian Schneider Auction takes place on November 19 in Nashville, Tennessee. You can bid online, in person, or over the telephone. Visit the auction site (link below) to find out more.
If you’re interested in a vocoder but can’t afford Florian’s Sennheiser, check out Thomann* for some.
Affiliate Links
Behringer Vocoder VC340
Customer rating: (120)
$389.00 / £339.00 / 399.00€ at
Arturia MiniFreak Vocoder
Customer rating: (2)
$585.00 / £529.00 / 599.00€ at
Behringer Vocoder VC16
Customer rating: (6)
$94.00 / £82.00 / 96.00€ at
Waldorf STVC
Customer rating: (14)
$733.00 / £662.00 / 749.00€ at
More Information
The Florian Schneider Collection auction site
Kraftwerk homepage
All about Kraftwerk
All about synthesizers
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