“Up for your consideration is this vintage Triadex Muse synthesizer and amplifier set.
They’re both “New Unused In The Box” and below you’ll find a demo video along with the photos.
We don’t have the patch cords that connect the Muse to the amplifier to test the operation of the amplifier,
so the amp wasn’t tested and is being sold along with the Muse in “as is” condition.
These rarely seen Muses seem to show up here in the Boston area more frequently than anywhere else in the country, due to their close proximity to
MIT and Brookline, MA. where they were manufactured.
The Muse is probably the rarest, strangest, best-looking vintage synth ever mass-produced; it cost $300 in its and looks like something
Dieter Rams would have designed for Braun in the sixties.
The Muse had, in its day, impeccable geek credentials; It was designed by two famed MIT professors, Marvin Minsky and Edward Fredkin.
At the time, Minsky was moonlighting on the movie set of ‘2001 A Space Odyssey’, teaching Stanley Kubrick about Artificial Intelligence as he
created Hal.
Ten years later, Edward Fredkin would create the Fredkin Prize, to be awarded to the creators of the first computer to win the
World Chess Championship.
He paid out the award to IBM’s Deep Blue in 1997.
The Triadex Muse is the first digital musical instrument and was produced in 1972.
It is an algorithmic music generator: it uses digital logic circuits to produce a sequence of notes based on the settings of various parameters.
Since the Muse was designed as a composition tool, not a synthesizer, there is no control over the timbre of the sound;
rather, the front panel controls affect the melodies that are generated.
The exact logic behind the composition engine is rather technical, and not exactly intuitive, but the manual explains it all in depth.
The four small sliders in the lower-left control Volume, Tempo, Pitch, and Fine Pitch.
The switches to either side are used to start and stop the sequence, or to step through it note-by-note.
Of the eight larger sliders on the right, four control the musical intervals used (labeled A, B, C, and D),
and four control the theme (labeled W, X, Y, and Z).
A rest can be substituted for the lowest note by flipping a toggle switch.
The tempo clock can be slaved to that of another Muse, allowing for multi-part compositions.
The cosmetic condition of the units are in excellent condition as they’ve only been taken out for this demonstration.
The original instruction manual, papers, & tags are included with the Muse and amplifier.” Click here to visit listing on eBay
“Vintage 1972 Triadex Muse Analog Sequencer Synthesizer (Model MUSE-1) 01081-118. Condition is Used.
“1972 TRIADEX MUSE 1st Digital Synthesizer MIT 100% OPERATIONAL W/ Speaker(RARE). A music industry relic and collectible. Museum worthy. A music collectors must have!
“The Muse (synthesizer ONLY) by Triadex Inc., 1972
