It's a peculiar, droning sound, heard primarily in sci-fi television and counterculture music genres of yesteryear. Covered with multicolored buttons, blinking lights and patched up cords, this strange object appears to be straight out of an episode of the "Twilight Zone."

The source? A vintage instrument. It's a trip back to the past – at least, it was for one repairman.

KPIX Television broadcast operations manager Eliot Curtis told CBS San Francisco he recently volunteered to repair a custom "analog music modular instrument" for the music department at Cal State University East Bay. More commonly known today as a synthesizer, the instrument reportedly "fell out of favor" after Cal State acquired it in the 1960s. There, it sat in a storage closet for decades. That is, until Curtis recently examined the synthesizer's inner mechanics at home in his workshop.

During the process, he told CBS he noticed a "crust or crystalline residue" stuck under one of the knobs. He sprayed a cleaning solvent on it and thought nothing of it. About 45 minutes later, he began to feel a "strange, tingling sensation."

"It felt like I was tripping on LSD," Curtis said.

Chemical testing identified the substance to be just that. Curtis' trip lasted for nine hours. Luckily, his wife was there to supervise.

Here's where things get even more interesting: CBS revealed the synthesizer had stronger ties to west coast counterculture than previously speculated. The instrument is actually called a "Buchla Model 100," developed by Berkeley resident Don Buchla in the 1960s. Buchla was an experimental electronic music composer and a friend to Owsley Stanley, the Grateful Dead's sound engineer. CBS reports Stanley was also known for making "the purest LSD to ever hit the street."

Was someone hiding their stash in the synthesizer and forgot all about it? Were they using the substance for creative purposes while tinkering with the instrument? We can only speculate.

The device has since been cleaned and is back at Cal State for music students to study.

Read the full story and interview with Curtis at CBS San Francisco here.

Amanda Bartlett is an SFGate editorial assistant. Read more of her stories or send her tips at amanda.bartlett@sfchronicle.com.