MJ's "Beat It" - The Untold Story by Tom Bähler

video upload by

"It's my pleasure to re-unite with my old friend Tom Bähler who generously tells us all the details of his experiences with Michael and Quincy during the making of 'Beat It'. This untold story is a result of Tom contacting me after seeing one of our videos about how to make the gong sound on 'Beat It'.

He felt it was time to fill-in some blanks in the timeline about how and when things happened and to also share some of his most intimate, inspiring moments about the creation of the song. In this segment we'll tap into a little bit of history about the Synclavier and how this game changing synthesizer got into the hands of Michael. Then you'll find out how the infamous gong sound was discovered, that it was slightly altered and who actually played it on the record. Tom is a gifted storyteller who colorfully weaves relevant and fun anecdotal sidebars in the process of describing the historical facts. He tops off this segment with the back story about Michael's incredibly drawn out search to find the perfect sound to play on the 4th beat of each bar in "Beat It". Michael had the sound in his head but needed to discover what instrument could make it. The first thing I saw when I (Anthony) arrived to play on the album was Michael hitting drum cases with 2 x 4's, but I never knew about the events leading up to that day. Now we all will. I hope you enjoy this special interview and rare opportunity to hear these personal stories directly from Tom Bähler, a living legend. And stay tuned to Anthony Marinelli Music for the other segments with Tom about Working with Michael, Working with Quincy, Arranging for "We Are the World" and writing what some consider to be their favorite song by Michael, 'We are the World'.

0:00 Introduction to Tom Bahler
1:33 Discovering the Synclavier
3:16 The Gong Story, Michael & Bruce
9:48 Copyright
12:35 Michael's Search for the 4th Beat of "Beat It"
19:40 Michael & Quincy Speaking in Colors
20:18 Conclusion"

Why We Bleep with Synclavier Digital

video upload by mylarmelodies

"The story behind the creation, collapse and rebirth of the greatest sampler of all time, featuring Cameron Jones and Craig Phillips of Synclavier Digital. 🎙✨ // Please consider supporting production of Why We Bleep on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mylarmelodies

THANKS TO SPONSORS
▶︎ https://www.signalsounds.com/ - for all kinds of gear
▶︎ https://www.thonk.co.uk/ - for easy synth DIY, new customers can take advantage of the offer code before October 31st 2023.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it!

MORE ON SYNCLAVIER:
▶︎ Synclavier Digital: https://www.synclavier.com/"

Stand by Me: The Sounds Made for the Film

video upload by

"In this video, Anthony tells the story surrounding the musical score from (1986) hit film Stand by Me which features an All-Star cast that incudes River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, Casey Siemaszko, John Cusack and Richard Dreyfuss.

We learn that the first version of the film was titled The Body, named after the novel by Stephen King. The film's director, Rob Reiner intuitively changed the film's name to Stand by Me after licensing the rights to the song with the same name written by Ben E. King along with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The name change was made only one week before the film's delivery date. With little time to spare, the musical score was re-created using the sounds and melody from the song and performed on the Synclavier Digital Music System using it's on board sequencer/recorder and employing a sound modeling technique unique to the Synclavier called "Resynthesis".

Anthony describes "Resynthesis"as creating synthesizer sounds based on samples analyzed by the computer that use cross fades of back-to-back wave tables. "Resynthesis" gives you the tonal character of the original sampled sound with all the benefits of a synth (e.g less memory, same length across the keyboard, more editing capabilities...) Along with Brian Banks, Anthony programmed all the sounds and replayed the entire score in this way after the original score by Oscar Winning composer Jack M. Nietzsche was abandoned. The film's director Rob Reiner was present throughout the scoring process. The duo had just completed work programming and performing Jack's score for the John Carpenter Oscar Nominated film Starman.

In this video you'll hear the actual sounds used in the film that Anthony loads from the original 5.25" floppy disks (that still work perfectly after being in storage for close to 40 years). The final score used a core instrumentation of resynthesized versions of a flute, stand up bass, bowed wine glasses and piano. There was no DAW in existence so all the tracks were input into the Synclavier's internal sequencer/recorder and locked to picture using the latest feature SMPTE time code. With this set up, everyone could watch the film while the music was being recorded.

Anthony also states the importance of a good film or a good song. It's all the difference in the potential of your work as a programmer, arranger or performer. He advises to step back and really listen to what you are creating to find the emotion in the sounds.

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major.

https://www.discogs.com/release/19915...

Instagram: https://instagram.com/anthonymarinell...

Website: www.anthonymarinelli.com"

Product Specialist Kevin Maloney - Full Interview

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"In this video, I visit and talk with former New England Digital Synclavier Product Specialist Kevin Maloney while surrounded by his two Synclavier Digital Music Systems.

Together, we present a complete history of the Synclavier with a stories and examples of how we used it on some massive hit records and films.
First, we listen to a track on the the original blue vinyl record titled 'The Incredible Sounds of the Synclavier II Demonstration Record'
that was the original source sound for the intro to Michael Jackson's 'Beat It'.Kevin's talks about sitting next to Michael while working on the Bad" album.He'll show us a complete breakdown of the components that make up the "Smooth Criminal" bass sound and a recreation of the sampled drum part.Then you'll see, in real time, how Synclavier's unique sequencer can drastically and quickly manipulate (or even transform) the recreated "Smooth Criminal" track.Kevin tells us how he worked closely with producer Quincy Jones to create the intro to "We Are the World". Quincy wasn't satisfied with silver bells, so Kevin turned silver bells into gold bells. Quincy said, he wanted to “send out bells to call all the people of the world to come and hear this song”. We delve into the Synclavier's one-of-a-kind ability to analyze samples (recordings of instruments or sounds) in order to create a series of short frames that each consist of a static wavetable. By cross fading the frames the user is able to recreate the complexity of a sample with a synthesizer sound. This process is called Resynthesis. The user is now able to manipulate the synthesizer sound in many more ways than can ever be done with a sample. We then heavily distort some vocal sounds that were generated using Resynthesis to show the level of control that is possible. We take a look at some preset sampled sounds from the original Synclavier Orchestral library including the string sounds used by Mark Knopfler in Rob Reiner's "The Princess Bride". Anthony talks about how he created a flute sound generated from Resynthesis and later used it to perform practically every cue in the film "Stand by Me" which is another Rob Reiner hit. We take you through the evolution of the Synclavier that includes: The Synclavier I, the Synclavier II with it's original keyboard, the addition of the velocity and polyphonic keyboard, The expanded track sequencer, the addition of more buttons and secondary functions accessed by double clicking the buttons to send them into "blinking mode". BTW - These buttons were originally designed for the B-52 bomber.

We cover MIDI, SMPTE, polyphonic sampling voices and more memory (at a cost of $4500 per megabyte) that were available to add to your system.

We highlight the reason why the Synclavier cost so much and how New England Digital managed to integrate cutting edge 3rd party technology that all worked perfectly together in one unified music system. Finally we review the far more accessible versions of the Synclavier like the Synclavier V by Arturia, Synclavier Go! and Synclavier Pocket! and the most recent addition to the family - Synclavier Regen which actually has unlimited FM synthesis and sampler voices along with the long awaited... resonant Multimode FILTERS!!! The evolution of Synclavier is filled with a plethora of breath-taking features that were nowhere to be found on any other single instrument and it includes a discography of legendary proportion. It's also a history that's deeply personal to me because it ran parallel with my evolution as a composer, songwriter, arranger and programmer. The Synclavier is alive and well in 2023!

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Website: www.anthonymarinelli.com"

MJ’s “Beat It” Intro Breakdown on Synclavier

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"In this video Kevin Maloney and I demonstrate how the intro sound on “Beat It” from Michael Jackson’s Thriller album is constructed on the Synclavier II using four partial timbres from the FM synthesizer engine playing all at once (with heavy chorusing). The sound can be found on preset bank 2, entry 5 named 'Pop Tune Intro' on factory preset disk #3. The sound first appeared on the recording titled:
'The Incredible Sounds of Synclavier II Demonstration Record' released by New England Digital in 1981. The preset was later played by Tom Bahler on his Synclavier II for the “Beat It” recording with only Tom, Michael and engineer Bruce Swedien in the room. Tom was the person that introduced Michael and Quincy to the Synclavier. We also point out that the sound can be in your hands today using various released inexpensive versions of the Synclavier.

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major.

Website: www.anthonymarinelli.com"

You can find additional posts in this series here.

How to Synth Breakdowns by Anthony Marinelli Music

video uploads by Anthony Marinelli Music



Also see: How to make the Baby Be Mine MiniMoog Bass from Michael Jackson's Thriller

And earlier: Bill Wolfer: It's the 50th Anniversary of my Minimoog! for another Minimoog used on Thriller.

"In this series Anthony breaks down some of the most icons synthesizer patches that he programmed for Michael Jackson’s Thriller

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major."

Playlist at the time of this post:
How I Programmed the Baby Be Mine “warble” Mini Moog Lead on Michael Jackson’s Thriller
How I programmed the Baby Be Mine MiniMoog Bass on Michael Jackson's Thriller
How I Programmed The Bass On Michael Jackson's PYT
How I Programmed the Theremin Sound On Michael Jackson's Thriller
How I Programmed Michael Jackson's "Thriller" Bass on my Tonus ARP 2600
How To Program The Synth Lead From The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights"
How to program the synth bass from Tyler, the Creator's "Igor's Theme"
How I Programmed The Synth Opening On Michael Jackson's Thriller: Prophet 5 Pt.1
How I Programmed The Synth Opening On Michael Jackson's Thriller: Jupiter 8 Pt.2
How To Make The Synth Bass from "Da Funk" by Daft Punk
How To Make Any Imaginable Kick Drum Sound
How I Create Dubstep on Analog Synths (without a computer)
How I Process my TR-808 Drum Machine with OTO EFX Pedals
How To Program The Synth Riff From Prince's 1999
How I Programmed The Synth Opening On Michael Jackson's Thriller: The Synclavier Pt.3
War Games: The Sounds I Made For The Film

1988 Original Box Set of Manuals for the New England Digital Synclavier

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

This one was spotted and sent in via M Me.

"New England Digital Synclavier Sampling Editing Sounds 1988 Manuals Boxed Set of 4

Manuals look unused; case box is in excellent condition

From an estate with items from a studio associated with Stevie Wonder in Los Angeles

Includes these 3-ring binders:
Sampling and Sound Editing
Organizing and Storing Sounds
Sequence Editing
Memory Recorder
10" x 10" x 8" "

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New England Digital Synclavier II

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"Synclavier II stereo 16 voice FM synthesizer in very good condition. The package comes with the ORK keyboard, the floppy drive with the boot up disc, the Winchester hard drive with loads of sounds, a Kennedy tape drive for sample to disc, a sample to disc module, the Apple Mac computer running the termulator software, and factory owners manuals.

I have always been fascinated by the lore of this instrument. It has definitely held up to its legendary history - it is capable of sounds unavailable anywhere else and is really fun to explore.

Now, the fine print: I bought this instrument in April, 2021 as a fully functional 16 voice FM system, and it works flawlessly. The unit comes with a sample to disc module, and tape drive to sample to, BUT the current operating system DOES NOT support those features. I am also selling a Synclavier VPK keyboard on a separate listing because it is not supported on this software release. There is plenty of support for this instrument, and obtaining an updated software release should be very easy, I just have not pursued it as I am downsizing my studio and need to sell most of my collection. Just keep in mind that while this Synclavier comes with these added features, you are buying a 16 voice stereo FM synth. It is being offered at the price that I have invested, so keep that in mind if you want to make an offer."

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Synclavier Regen INHALT Factory Patches Demo

video upload by INHALTVIDEO

"As a young guy I used to marvel at records that featured the Synclavier. It was the ultimate ephemeral instrument; both a source of confusion as to what it exactly was and a source of endless inspiration via the records that occupied my fascination. It also cost $500,000 US dollars in the mid 80s if you got a fully specced one.

Fast forward to 2023 and at the heart of my Los Angeles studio (Infinite Power Studios) is a fully loaded Synclavier PSMT tower. Both a workhorse sequencer, astounding sampler and superbly organic FM synth, it is my purest joy to work on it daily. Few instruments have moved me the way that the Synclavier has. To my ears, there's something complete and done about what it sounds and moves like.

Enter the Regen. I was invited to contribute patches to the latest venture that Cameron Jones and other former NED/Synclavier developers have created. It is an immense honor for me to be involved with such individuals who have shaped and shifted music so deeply, that I am still beside myself that it actually happened. Here is a long audio demo of some of the patches I have contributed to the new Synclavier Regen factory timbre library.

As always, no additional fx processing was used. This is pure Regen piping out of its dual XLR balanced outputs straight into Pro Tools HD."

Synclavier Regen Demo

video upload by Paul Schilling

"A selection of my factory presets for the Regen, with the Hydrasynth set to MPE mode. I was thrilled to be able to work on this wonderful machine.

Plenty of examples of MPE poly-aftertouch. A couple of movie references are thrown in. :)

I like the ease with which you can throw together additive, subtractive and sample layers with this interface, and mold them in various ways. The Regen can sound very warm and organic, as well as a wide digital-sounding spectrum.

All reverb in this demo and other things that sound like FX (chorus etc.) are coming from the Regen."

NED Synclavier® PSMT Flagship Digital Workstation/Synthesizer Owned by Jam & Lewis

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"This flagship studio system was originally custom built for Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for installation at the infamous Flyte Tyme recording studios in Minneapolis. It has a rich history of making hits including including being featured extensively on recordings by Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Boys II Men, Human League and many other hit makers from that era. When Flyte Tyme closed, the current owner purchased the system and relocated to Nashville. Expert Synclavier technician Steve Hills was flown in from Synclavier Europe to completely go through and refurbish the system including updating software and expanding the already massive sound library.

The system has been an operation in Nashville ever since with tech support being provided by Synclavier Europe/500 Sound. This is one of the most powerful Synclaviers ever built by NED. Only two in this category were produced. The other was for world renowned producer Trevor Horn.

This is a very deep and complex system. Like many synths from the 1980s, this is still a very powerful and viable tool for music production, post and sound design. This is the undisputed CHAMP of FM synthesizers, and a sound designer's dream. The surface has yet to be scratched with this monster synthesizer/workstation. The massive sound library included is worth the price of admission alone. Please don't hesitate to ask us questions.

Original price tag when new was over $500,000. We strongly encourage pickup here in Nashville, otherwise buyerwill be responsible for freight. We will help facilitate freight service via a reputable music industry courier like Rock-It, etc.

SYSTEM INCLUDES:

Synclavier PSMT
Fully loaded memory
Fully loaded 32 sample voices
Fully loaded 16 FM voices with composite FM out
Full 32 channels of Direct to Disk (16 panable)
16 Winchester barracuda drives for DTD in custom separate NED blue flight cases
Midi option 8x8
Lock to SMPTE (frame accurate to 100,000/sec
Lock to pulse
CV in
32 XLR out output matrix for PSMT tower
32 channel custom ELCO to Male XLR output breakout snake for Direct To Disk System
Sample to memory option
Original NED Drives
Additional Winchester with huge custom library
New mains power supplies NOS
Full original NED blue flight cases for entire system
Original Pericom Terminal with op manual
Additional Apple 2 with NED start up NED custom start up for easy one key boot
Editview
VPK control software
Original refurbished VPK near mint condition
New VPK ribbon cable by Synclavier Europe
Additional ultra rare VPK remote with new ribbon extension cable by Synclavier Europe
Additional ultra rare DTD digital meter bridge
Original “R2-D2” custom 9600 style NED roll around dolly/terminal stand for Apple computer w computer rack and custom keyboard/trackball
All Original NED operation manuals"

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NED SYNCLAVIER II - Handmade Miniature 1/6 scale

video upload by Ronaldo Lopes Teixeira ROLT

New England Digital Synclavier 2 Printer 1122

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via this auction

Additional Tone Tweakers Listings, also on Reverb

"New England Digital Synclavier 2 Printer 1122. This printer came in with a Synclavier 2 system we're planning to keep for our studio, but we have no need for the printer, so we figure we'd pass it along to someone who needs it to print music or for the collector who wants it to complete their Synclav system. We've never seen another one of these for sale on its own so it seems they're very hard to find.

As you can see from the pics, it's in beautiful physical shape. We bought it from the original owner who said the system worked fine when he last used it, but that was a long time ago and we have found through tons of experience that we can never go by what someone else tells us about a piece of gear (as you’ve probably realized too if you’re buying vintage gear from other sellers). It currently powers on and seems like it could work, but is untested, so we're selling it as is, with no guarantees whatsoever. Paper not included, and at the very least, we're guessing you'll probably need to replace the ink cartridge, cause when does a 40 year old ink cartridge still work?"

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Synclavier Sample Library

video upload by rootstudio

"The Synclavier sample library brings you the sound of the very first digital synthesizer that was commercially available. The library includes the original factory presets and additional sounds. More info: https://root-sounds.com

If you want to know more about this historic instrument, check out this Video:" [3rd video here]

New England Digital - Synclaver 3200 (32-voice polyphonic sampler)

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via NOISEBUG Reverb

Note auction links are affiliate links. See the site's privacy policy for more info.

"Here we have a fully functional NED Synclavier 3200 Sampler Sequencer. It is fully functional and includes the Apple iMac withe the Termulator software to run the machine. It is controlled via MIDI input and the Termulator GUI. This system has no VPK though I can tell you where to find one.

It has 32-Voices, 8-Multichannel Outputs, 28MB RAM, 9 GIG SAMPLE Drive (full of sounds), DDV non-panning voices, 100khz sampling, D70 Time Compression / Expansion card and 5.25" floppy for to boot from. Also, has a large road case so I can feasibly be shipped."

Jon Appleton: A Tribute

video upload by CatSynth TV

"We pay tribute to composer and electronic music pioneer Jon Appleton who passed away on January 30, 2022. He founded the Dartmouth Electronic Music Studio and later the graduate program in digital music, where we was a teacher and mentor to many composers and musicians over the year. He was instrumental in creating the Synclavier synthesizers from New England Digital, and raised the profile of electro-acoustic music in the United States through societies like SEAMUS and his numerous teaching residencies. We at CatSynth send our thoughts to his family, friends, and colleagues.

To learn more about his life and legacy, please visit his website https://www.appletonjon.com/"

Jon Appleton: In His Own Words

video upload by Jon Appleton

"An interview with composer Jon Appleton filmed at his Vermont residence.

Made with Void Engineering www.voidengineering.com"

Music for Synclavier and Other Digital Systems: With Jon Appleton, Composer


You can find additional posts mentioning Jon Appleton here.

New England Digital synclavier II Owned by Malcolm Cecil

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via The Malcolm Cecil Reverb Shop

Note auction links are affiliate links. See the site's privacy policy for more info.

"This New England Digital Synclavier II System is owned by Malcolm Cecil

This NED system and keyboard is being sold as is. It comes with the Synclavier II keyboard as well as rack unit with midi inputs/outputs and Sample to disk units. There are some proprietary cables needed to fully test this unit so we are unable to fully perform diagnostics. The rack units appear to be in pretty good shape cosmetically and come housed in the blue road case in which these NED systems were known for. This will likely require someone who is knowledgable in operating these units and it is very possible some repairs will need to be done. The keyboard itself is fairly dusty and will likely need to be cleaned internally as well. There are also a few sticky keys.

All items in The Official Malcolm Cecil Reverb Shop ship fully insured with delivery confirmation and an embossed Certificate Of Authenticity."

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1985 NED SYNCLAVIER 3200 System

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via this auction

"NED Synclavier II 3200 system with VPK keyboard, iMac G4 with Synclavier Software, Monitor, Mouse, keyboard, Flightcase for the keyboard and all the connection cables. 110V. The Mainframe has an internal hard drive with an extensive sample library for quick loading times. The system comes with 16 outputs and midi IN - OUT module installed in the mainframe. 16 Voices polyphony upgraded to 32mb of memory, start up floppy and some diagnostic discs..."

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Synclavier II 2 ORK FM Synth Keyboard Controller

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"Synclavier 2 ORK. This is the original keyboard for Synclavier 2 FM synth from the late 70s and early 80s. It will work with a PSMT or 9600 tower via Synclavier 3 software. The ork has been fully restored with brand new keyboard bushings, a complete overhaul of the wood, and has been throughly cleaned."

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NED SYNCLAVIER VPK & KORG M1 Handmade Miniatures 1/6 scale

video upload by Ronaldo Lopes Teixeira ROLT



KORG M1 Handmade Miniature 1/6 scale

See the miniature label below for more.