Synth Wizards Episode 7: Syntars, Keytars & Orphicas

Published on Jun 1, 2019 Syntaur

"Keyboardists have wanted to go portable for way longer than you might have thought! Come along with Syntaur’s Sam Mims as he chases the fascinating history of the keytar, or strap-on synthesizer, and talks to some of the people who made these inventions happen. And watch the Syntaur crew bring a smashed Roland keytar back to life!"

Synth Wizards 7 Behind the Scenes: Strawberry Fields on Tubon/Mellotron

Published on Jun 1, 2019 Syntaur

"Sam and Eddie show you how the Strawberry Fields Forever audio for Synth Wizards Episode 7 was created."

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Note the Moog Liberation contains the guts of the Realistic MG-1 made by Moog for Radio Shack.

RIP George Duke - DreamWeaver

The legendary George Duke has passed away. Pictured here is George with the Clavitar [image via Legacy Recordings]. It was his main instrument when performing live for much of his early career.  It was featured on the album cover "Dream On" released in 1982 (pictured below).

He was very active in the music and synth community and featured numerous times here on MATRIXSYNTH.  He was on the recent NAMM 2013 Panel discussion on MIDI.  He performed in the 2009 Bob Moog Foundation benefit "Waves of Inspiration: The Legacy of Moog" (featured here and here).  Below is an image with Michelle Moog-Koussa and the Bob Moog Foundation's comments on his passing.

via wikipedia: "George Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013)[2] was a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He had worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music. He first made a name for himself with the album The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio. He was known primarily for thirty-odd solo albums as well as for his collaborations with other musicians, particularly Frank Zappa."

You'll find Goerge Duke's official website here: http://www.georgeduke.com.

He had just released a new album "DreamWeavers" dedicated to his late wife who passed away in July, 2012.

"ARTISTS ARE DREAMWEAVERS
We take tangible and intangible elements from the known world and combine them with elements from the spiritual world in order to reach deeper levels of understanding between the two. We spin undeveloped yarn of ideas into reality - it is the ultimate act of creating something from nothing in this world. In short, we are the storytellers and conduits of possibilities. The best of us are those that weave deeper levels of yarn thus giving the fabric more depth. That doesn't necessarily mean that more complexity is better for many times the simplest fabric conveys the strongest meaning. The important thing is intent, message, execution and honesty of design and in that I have always tried to hold my stead. Thus my musical fabric is diverse with multiple levels. That is the way of life and definitely the way I roll, so enjoy the ride … as Cannon used to say - 'Ahoom'.." click here for more.

Pictured: Michelle Moog-Koussa with George Duke via The Bob Moog Foundation on Facebook

"We are saddened by the sudden passing of jazz legend George Duke, and we extend our deepest condolences to his family. He was taken too soon. The world needs more people with the kind of big talent and big heart that George shared so generously.

The photo below of Michelle Moog-Koussa and George Duke was taken on November 6, 2009, at the Museum of Making Music during the exhibit "Waves of Inspiration: The Legacy of Moog". George performed a benefit concert that evening to an enraptured audience."

George Duke - Reach Out

Uploaded on Apr 14, 2009 JedYuseco01·361 videos

"Put your hands together for George Duke,Louis Johnson,Steve
Farrone and Paul Jackson and the GD Band for a seriously slammin'
set live in Tokyo in 1983. A fantastic journey back to a time when REAL musicians played REAL funk before studio created groups and overly choreographed boy bands took center stage."

George Duke Studio Tour 2013

Published on May 23, 2013

"Fusion, funk, and rock keyboard legend George Duke gives us a tour of his home studio, 'Le Gonks West.' Look for a major feature in Keyboard soon on his upcoming new album 'Dreamweaver.'"

George Duke - Shine On

Uploaded on Aug 3, 2009 smoothworld01·228 videos

"From album "DREAM ON" 1982.　

George Duke:Vocals,A.Piano,Fender Rhodes　
Byron Miller:Bass　
Leon "Ndugu" Chancler:Drums　
Michael Sembello:Guitar　

Jerry Hey,Gary Grant:Trumpet　
Bill Reichenbach:Trombone　
Larry Williams:Tenor Saxophone"

George Duke - DreamWeaver

Published on Jun 25, 2013 concordrecords·323 videos

"Order on Amazon: http://smarturl.it/DreamWeaver_amzn

OUT OF DEVASTATING PAIN COMES DREAMWEAVER FROM KEYBOARDIST/COMPOSER/ARRANGER/PRODUCER GEORGE DUKE

Out of devastating pain comes DreamWeaver, the new disc, which GRAMMY Award-winning keyboardist/composer/arranger/producer George Duke considers his "most honest album in several years." The making of DreamWeaver occurred after his wife, Corine, passed away. Struck with grief, he found it difficult to work during that period. "I didn't feel like creating any music, which was odd, because normally that's the easiest thing for me to do," he says, "Sometimes, I would walk into the studio and say, 'Nah. It's not going to happen.'"

Duke's mojo returned while on a Capital Cruise. During the first couple of days, he didn't play any music, but did check out some of the other bands. "By the third day, something happened," he remembers. After returning to his cabin around 4 a.m. from listening to music, inspiration ignited. "I went back on the deck and watched the sun come up. A couple of songs started coming to me; I got out my pen and paper, and started writing."

With the assistance of an illustrious cast of musicians that includes bassists Christian McBride and Stanley Clarke; singers Teena Marie, Lalah Hathaway, Rachelle Ferrell, and Jeffrey Osborne; guitarist Paul Jackson, Jr. and the late Jef Lee Johnson; among others, DreamWeaver, set for release July 16, 2013 on Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group, finds Duke emphasizing more instrumentals than in the past as well as concentrating more on his mastery on various synthesizers.

Like the bulk of Duke's discography, DreamWeaver accentuates eclecticism with 15 tracks that range from swinging jazz and sweat funk to gospel-inflected pop and sensual R&B ballads. As the title implies, Duke likens mixing all of the idioms to weaving a sonic fabric. He also compares that stylistic dynamism to life. "Everything is in transition -- from hot to cold, from life to death," he philosophizes, "I wanted to incorporate that kind of thing and include a lot of things that are a part of my life."

The disc begins and ends with allusions of nothingness, starting with the title track, a sparse etude, and finishes with "Happy Trails," a misty ballad that was at first just dedicated to Duke's wife, but later gained more emotional poignancy because of the sudden passing of Johnson, whose distinctive guitar work fades out the conclusion. In between, the disc unfolds with the evocative, mid-tempo modern jazz composition, "Stones of Orion," showcasing Duke's crystalline piano improvisations along with longtime collaborator Clarke on upright bass; the feisty 15-minute workout, "Burnt Sausage Jam," a track that Duke refurbished from his 2002 Facing the Music sessions with Johnson, McBride, and drummer Lil' John Roberts; the frisky gangster-leaning groover, "Round the Way Girl;" the feet-friendly burner, "Jazzmatazz;" and the heartfelt ballad, "Missing You," another direct tribute to Duke's wife."

You'll find a number of posts featuring George Duke here. RIP DreamWeaver. You were a true inspiration us all.

Roland Jupiter 8 Vintage Analog Synthesizer

via this auction

See Perfect Circuit Audio (RSS) for more.

SN 151383

"Roland Jupiter 8 Vintage Analog Synthesizer Mod with Interface."

Update: Clavitron Interface? Anyone know what this is? No mention of a Clavitron on http://120years.net/

Update: it could be a typo for the Clavitar. Credit goes to Michael Junck on FB on this one.

CLICK FOR MORE »

The Clavitar, The Moog Liberation, and the first Keytars

via this auction

Anyone know when the Clavitar was released? Here's a pic of George Duke in 1980 with one.

BTW, on the last page of the current September issue of Keyboard magazine (with Devo on the cover) is a one page feature on "Keytars Past and Pressent." I was under the impression that George Mattson's Performance Music Systems Syntar (1980) was the first keytar, before the Moog Liberation (1981). It looks like Roger Powell's Probe may have preceded it in 1977. Anyone know if it was just a controller or if it had a built in synth like the Syntar? Jan Hammer apparently also had a newer Probe, which you can see in this video and this video. Before everything was the Orphica from 1795.

Roger Powell image via audioholics

Orphica image via realsamples where you'll find a sample set of it. This might be a newer model though. The image or the Orphica in Keyboard looks much older and more like a mini harpsichord with neck attached.





Update via plaztec in the comments: "The Probe, as invented by Powell (& Jeremy Hill) and refined by Jan Hammer in the area of the pitch & mod wheels (note the left-hand sides of their respective keyboards are quite different, Hammer preferring the Minimoog-style wheels), was a controller and not a self-contained synthesizer. Both had custom rigs; Powell had a bank of Oberheim SEMs, IIRC - and Hammer the same, blending the SEM sound with the Minimoog in order to get his signature lead tone. Jan also experimented with a cruder, squarish remote in order to get the placement and angle of the wheels exactly right for him, prior to the building of his custom Probe. IMHO, those two guys in their heyday were, and remain, the single most credible-looking and compelling rock keyboardists to use remote keyboards on stage, especially considering the musicians they shared the stage with..."

Update via Jimmersound in the comments: "There's also info on the Probe in this Synapse issue."

George Duke

flickr by Neil Vance

"On the Davis Clavitar Controller.

1980 - 'The 'full-dress' remote keyboard for all single voice lead synthesizers.'"

Jeff Beck - Blue Wind

YouTube via CloudFROST. Lync keytar. via Josh.

"Jeff Beck, Jan Hammer and Simon Phillips playing the classic song "Blue Wind" from Jeff's album "WIRED" 1976"

Update via va69nm: "Hell no! that's Jan playing his custom Probe controller, originally developed by Roger Powell for his gig with Utopia...arguably the original 'keytar,' with respect to Mattson's Syntar and George Duke's Clavitar. Hammer's controller was custom-wired to his Minimoog/Oberheim SEM rig that, per Hammer's own marketing of the day, "sounds a lot like a guitar." Powell's Probe had a different, smaller pitchbend/mod wheel array, whereas Hammer's was modeled with his fondness for the Minimoog's spacing & setup. Hammer played (as did Gary Wright & Steve Porcaro) with a strap-on, cutaway Mini keyboard and experimented with the angle of the pitch wheels by housing them in a separate, adjustable, squarish assembly mounted in place of the traditional pb/mod wheels, until the optimum angle was found; this placement was then implemented permanently on Hammer's probe. Hammer's signature Lync purported to be modeled after his Probe, but the Lync is a MIDI controller, not hardwired analog. Don't take my word for all this, Google is a powerful tool :) Kudos to Jan ( and to Roger!) for going above & beyond, innovating a style of playing remote keyboard and holding their own in rock bands while still looking credible and not gimmicky, that has yet to be equalled, IMHO..."

Keytars! On KAADA WRONGROOM

click here for more images on KAADA WRONGROOM.

Top down (fill in the gaps):
Weltmeister Basset
?
MOOG Liberation
?
Yamaha KX5

I've seen the two I can't ID before, but I forget...