A portable analog synthesiser with a flexible semi-modular voice architecture, initially made in 1969 by Peter Zinovieff's EMS company. The electronics were largely designed by David Cockerell and the machine's distinctive visual appearance was the work of electronic composer Tristram Cary.

The VCS3 was more or less the first portable commercially available synthesizer - portable in the sense that it was housed entirely in a small, wooden case, unlike previous machines from American manufacturers such as Moog and ARP which were housed in large cabinets and were known to take up entire rooms. It was fondly acknowledged to be somewhat hopeless as a melodic instrument (due to its unreliable tuning); however, it is renowned as an extremely powerful generator of electronic effects and processor of external sounds.