A May 1978 NAMM report says Star Instruments showed its new Synare 3, establishing public trade-show presence by then. An October 1978 review documents a set in use; a May 1979 notice describes the optional Synare 3 sequencer. These witnesses do not establish an exact announcement day, first retail delivery, production end, or worldwide price.Sources (5)
The machine in the record
Joy Division / “Atrocity Exhibition”.
Stephen Morris recalls sending a Synare III through a fuzz box for the noises on “Atrocity Exhibition”. A compact electronic drum voice becomes something far less obedient: a source of texture and unease inside one of Joy Division’s most disorienting recordings.
Read An interview with Stephen Morris — Disorder & Other Unknown Pleasures ↗More records in the archive
The machine keeps turning up.
Pink Fink / Frightened Love
Pink Fink lists a Synare 3 among the instruments used for the Frightened Love single.
Read Pink Fink / Frightened Love ↗
Touch Sensitive / In Paradise; “Robot Love Song”
Touch Sensitive says a numbered pair of Synare 3 units made it onto every track of In Paradise and names Synare disco toms on “Robot Love Song”.
Read Touch Sensitive — In Paradise ↗
Stephen Morris / Joy Division / Insight
Morris says he used his Synare III sound on Insight.
Read An interview with Stephen Morris — Disorder & Other Unknown Pleasures ↗
xex / xex:change
The archival xex:change release credits Alex Zander with drum machines and retains the Synare 3 in the equipment list for the band’s 1981 reel-to-reel work.
Read xex / xex:change ↗A played percussion synthesizer, not a pattern machine
The October 1978 review identifies the Synare 3 as a Star Instruments product made in Connecticut and describes four identical, flying-saucer-shaped units played as a kit. Each is a stick-activated sound source, so the base instrument creates a percussion voice when struck rather than supplying preset rhythms or an internal step pattern. This distinguishes it from a drum machine even though the Museum includes it as a pivotal electronic-percussion instrument.
Public evidence before the retrospective dates
The May 1978 NAMM report calls the Synare 3 new and describes a five-unit synthetic drum demonstration.
Voice architecture and a battery-powered pad
The period review describes two oscillators, filtering and sustain/output controls in the compact pad format; the service manual identifies the product as the Synare 3 and supplies a technical record for repair. This establishes a synthesised, adjustable voice, not a fixed sampled kit. Circuit interpretations, component substitutions, restoration modifications and clone schematics remain separate modern work and are not treated as original production specification without direct manual support.Sources (2)
The optional sequencer belongs beside the drums
A May 1979 news item says Star introduced a sequencer that could link with Synare 3 drums, remembering one to four 32-note sequences up to ten seconds each and preserving note intervals and dynamics. It is a separate companion, not a function built into every Synare 3.Source (1)
Stephen Morris and the sound on Insight
Stephen Morris remembers using his Synare III sound on “Insight,” the closing track on Joy Division’s . The account brings the small pad out of the equipment list and into the record: an adjustable electronic voice folded into one of post-punk’s defining albums. was released on 15 June 1979, and Morris’s recollection names the Synare III on “Insight.”
A documented modern album use
In a 2025 interview about In Paradise, Touch Sensitive says he found a sequentially numbered pair of Synare 3 units and that they made it onto every track of the album. He separately identifies Synare disco toms on Robot Love Song. This is unusually direct artist testimony for the exact model and gives the Synare 3 a specific later recording context.Source (1)
On record
- Touch Sensitive — In Paradise; “Robot Love Song”. Touch Sensitive says a numbered pair of Synare 3 units made it onto every track of In Paradise and names Synare disco toms on “Robot Love Song”. Source ↗
- Stephen Morris / Joy Division — Insight. Morris says he used his Synare III sound on Insight. Source ↗
- Stephen Morris / Joy Division — Atrocity Exhibition. Morris recalls putting a Synare III through a fuzz box for the noises on Atrocity Exhibition. Source ↗
- xex — xex:change. The archival xex:change release credits Alex Zander with drum machines and retains the Synare 3 in the equipment list for the band’s 1981 reel-to-reel work. Source ↗
- Pink Fink — Frightened Love. Pink Fink lists a Synare 3 among the instruments used for the Frightened Love single. Source ↗
Sources
- The 1978 NAMM Western Market Convention
- Synares, Tama Octobans, Pearl 900s Stands
- News
- Synare 3 Repair Manual — original file currently unavailable
- Touch Sensitive — In Paradise
- An interview with Stephen Morris — Disorder & Other Unknown Pleasures
- Joy Division — Unknown Pleasures (Collector’s Edition)
The visual archive
Further visual evidence.
Sources for images shown earlier (6)
- Ultravox ↗
- Touch Sensitive — Liveschool interview ↗
- xex — xex:change ↗
Release date not stated on source page · xex / release artwork via Bandcamp · Official Bandcamp release-page artwork (Open Graph image) - Pink Fink — Frightened Love ↗
2014-10-31 · Pink Fink / release artwork via Bandcamp · Official Bandcamp release-page artwork (Open Graph image) - Joy Division — Closer ↗
1980-07-18 · Joy Division / release artwork via Apple Music catalogue · Release catalogue and retained front artwork - Joy Division — Unknown Pleasures ↗
1979-06-15 · Joy Division / Warner Music UK release artwork via Apple Music catalogue · Release catalogue and retained front artwork
Additional visual sources (2)
Original publications and related image sources.
- Star Instruments Synare 3 NAMM material ↗
1978 · Star Instruments · Synare 3 NAMM-era brochure PDF - Synares/Tama Octobans/Pearl 900s Stands ↗
Oct 1978 · Sound International · Two Star Instruments electronic drums, including a unit clearly marked SYNARE 3, from the contemporary Synare 3 review.