cherry audio elka-x
Cherry Audio
Elka-X $59
The latest vintage synth re-model to enter Cherry Audio’s lineup revisits an oft-forgotten European classic from the early 80s, the legendary Elka
> There have been some fine examples of synths over the last 50 years that have been created by smaller companies. Brands such as the Oxford Synthesiser Company and EMS produced models away from the American and Japanese spotlight. Staying with European underdogs, Cherry Audio now visit the heart of Italy, where Elka became respected producers of keyboards, organs, and the odd synth.
The ‘X’ factor
The Elka Synthex was Europe’s answer to the large polys of the early 80s; while it was intrinsically analogue, it garnered a number of features, such as state variable filtering and cross modulation, which meant that it gave the early digital machines a good run for their money. It’s a difficult and expensive machine to find as a secondhand prize, which makes the appeal of a good plugin version all the more enticing.