The Ondioline - Technical Manual

This technical manual was originally written by the inventor of the Ondioline, Georges Jenny, as a series of installments in the French magazine Toute La Radio from September 1955 to February 1956. It was subsequently collected into a single volume in 1957 due to high demand for more information about this unique electronic musical instrument. Original French copies are now exceedingly rare.

The manual provides a wealth of information about servicing Ondiolines, including schematics and photos of the instrument and its various modules, as well as critical details about the function of key components and assemblages. It is an indispensable guide for technicians interested in understanding the inner workings of what is arguably the most advanced monophonic keyboard instrument of its time.

After specialist translation from French to English, this new edition has been exactingly recreated by designer Mike Buffington to match the original document to the very last detail. All typefaces were meticulously matched, while rare and unique ones were drafted by sampling the original French document. The layout has been refined to follow every nuance of the original’s flow. Even the advertisements have been translated and recreated.

For electronic music enthusiasts and collectors of ephemera, this document is also a beautiful window into the period before the solid-state revolution, when the use of tube electronics was at a high level of creative experimentation and refinement.

More information at www.ondioline.com and www.jean-jacquesperrey.com