Steiner-Parker

Steiner-Parker

Also known as: Steiner, Steiner Parker

Unclaimed

Steiner-Parker was a small synthesizer manufacturer based in Salt Lake City, Utah, founded in the mid-1970s by Nyle Steiner along with Dick Parker. Active from roughly 1975 to 1979, the company produced a short but influential run of analog instruments before dissolving at the end of the decade.

The brand is best known for the Synthacon, a monophonic analog synthesizer pitched as an alternativ...

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Steiner-Parker was a small synthesizer manufacturer based in Salt Lake City, Utah, founded in the mid-1970s by Nyle Steiner along with Dick Parker. Active from roughly 1975 to 1979, the company produced a short but influential run of analog instruments before dissolving at the end of the decade.

The brand is best known for the Synthacon, a monophonic analog synthesizer pitched as an alternative to the Minimoog and ARP Odyssey. Its standout feature was Nyle Steiner's 12dB-per-octave multimode filter, which offered low-pass, high-pass, and band-pass modes and could self-resonate without the volume drop typical of the Moog ladder filter. Steiner-Parker also built the SynthaSystem, a modular synthesizer that shared circuitry with the Synthacon and offered a wide range of voltage-controlled modules.

Though only several hundred Synthacons were ever produced, the company's design work has had a lasting influence on synth design. The Steiner-Parker filter circuit has been adapted in numerous later instruments — most notably the Arturia MiniBrute, whose filter was designed by Yves Usson under guidance from Nyle Steiner. Steiner himself went on to develop the EVI (Electronic Valve Instrument) and the EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument), and the Synthacon has since been reissued as the Steiner-Connolly Synthacon, a faithful through-hole recreation built under his direction.

Steiner-Parker has 5 products cataloged on Equipboard, including Modular Synthesizers and Synthesizers. Their gear is featured by 5 artists, with the strongest followings in Electronic, Rock, and Pop. Notable users include Aphex Twin, Martin L. Gore, and Herbie Hancock.

Artists Who Use Steiner-Parker

Aphex Twin uses 1 Steiner-Parker product

Aphex Twin

Music Producer · Universal Indicator

Martin L. Gore uses 1 Steiner-Parker product

Martin L. Gore

Singer, Guitarist · Depeche Mode

Herbie Hancock uses 1 Steiner-Parker product

Herbie Hancock

Keyboardist · The Headhunters

Richard Souther uses 1 Steiner-Parker product

Richard Souther

Keyboardist

Harold Schroeder uses 1 Steiner-Parker product

Harold Schroeder

Keyboardist · Doo‐Dooettes

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