Vintage Synth Explorer Forums

Aside from the RMI KC-II, I don't know specifically which synths Todd used on
Hermit of Mink Hollow. The album was released in April '78 which means it was
recorded in Jan/Feb '78 --at the latest.

Considering this I think we safely can say there's no Prophet 5 on that album for
the simple fact that it didn't exist yet on the market. You have to remember that
the Prophet was still a barely working prototype when first shown at the NAMM
show in January 1978.

However, it's possible that Roger Powell's gear was available to Todd, so he may
have used some of that stuff, eg the Probe/Oberheim SEM 6-voice setup. Another
possibility could be that he multi-tracked his EMS VCS3 for the synth chords featured
on some of the tracks. Todd also had a custom-built guitar synth using E-mu modules,
so that's yet another possibility.

What do you think of the possibility that Todd owned or used a CS-80? Some of the sound characteristics lead me to think of it but who knows...

It's of course possible that Todd owned a CS-80 but I don't think so. Anyway, I'm pretty sure
none of Utopia's contemporary albums feature any CS-80.

The lead sound was Todd singing in a microphone through some sort of fuzz. Took me years to figure it out. It was proven on his Todd live concert a few years ago.