Electronic Dream Plant Ltd. Wasp synthesizer introductory 1/12th-page advertisement from page 52 in Contemporary Keyboard Magazine February 1979.
Man - what a great summer! Almost forgot to post my blog today! We have our corporate picnic today, looking forward to it. Two words: cotton candy.
Okay... one short blog post (for one short ad), coming right up!
Not really the same big splash of an introduction that was seen across the pond. That one included both a full-page advertisement AND a review of the synth.
Nope - this little addy barely has room for the photo - so readers will find no actual useful information - no price, no functionality, nothing. Boo.
If I was a reader in 1979 looking at that advertising strip at the bottom of page 52, I'd almost be more interested in the "Love Lite" ad on the right. It is the "eye-catchiest jewelry you've ever seen". And the battery is included. Does anyone know if the Wasp included batteries? :)
Luckily, this same issue of CK happened to include the Spec Sheet for the Wasp - and, what I believe is the exact same photo. It includes all the reference information you can shake a stick at, including US price! And you know how much I love Spec Sheets!
"Wasp Synthesizer. The Wasp features two audio oscillators, an LFO, a multimode filter, two envelope generators, a noise source, a two-octave keyboard, and a built-in speaker. the audio oscillators are full-range analog/digital hybrids, with sawtooth and pulse wave-forms. The LFO has square, sine, positive-going and negative-going sawtooth, noise, and random sample-and-hold functions. It can control both the oscillators and the filter. A control is supplied for adding the LFO into the filter in both positive and negative forms. Six C batteries or a 9-volt adapter can be used to power the unit. The keyboard is a touch-plate that works off of capacitance. The envelope generator can be set to repeat. Release is controlled from the decay pot. A headphone output is supplied, as are two 7-pin DIN sockets for interfacing more than one Wasp. The unit weighs about 3 1/2 lbs (1.6 kg). Price is $695.00. AIM Ltd., Box 242, Orange, MA 01364 (U.K. Dist., Rod Argent's Keyboards, 20 Denmark St., London WC2 H8NA, England)."One of the things I find interesting about this little advertisement is the British flag that appears on the Wasp. This flag doesn't appear on the original UK ad in International Musician and Recording World - so it makes me wonder if only Wasps sold in the Americas were lucky enough to have them.
A quick Google images search seems to indicate that Wasps with the flag are rare, if not totally non-existent. Even this one photo I found in a MATRIXSYNTH auction post, looks like the original flag was peeled off or replaced or something.
Anyone have more info about the flag?
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