Optigan Panoptigon- Production Unit Pics

via Optigan.com

"Happy 2019, Optigoners!

We’re happy to announce that the PANOPTIGON – the new Optigan/Orchestron disc-playing hardware developed by our associate Robert Becker & his company Quilter Labs – will finally be available in an initial limited quantity production run of 25 units for US customers in 2019. (The initial run are not approved for Europe due to additional requirements that will be addressed on the next build.) Click on the thumbnails above to see the official flyer and photos of one of the first production units. We don’t have a release date yet, but it will be in the coming months. An official demo video will be ready soon, but in the meantime you can view a demo of the prototype unit from last year [posted here]

Quilter Labs will be showing the first two production units at NAMM this year, so if you’re attending, be sure to stop by their booth – number 4144 Hall D.

We’d like to encourage all of you to purchase the Panoptigon from this site (optigan.com) when it does become available. The Panoptigon was developed with Pea acting in an informal advisory role, but optigan.com will only be a dealer, rather than a partner, which means the only way we earn any cut is via sales commissions. In other words, if you hear about it from us, and decide to buy it based on our involvement/endorsement, but end up buying it direct from the factory, we will receive no commission. Either way, the price, delivery time, and service will be the same. MAP for the Panoptigon is $3999.

To this end, we will be offering an informal pre-sale for folks who are keen to reserve one of the initial batch of 25 units that will be offered for sale (10 of the initial run are already spoken for as of this posting date). Please send us an email if you’re interested in placing a pre-order, and we’ll get the ordering details to you as soon as we’re ready.

Along with the public launch of the Panoptigon, our entire back-catalog of discs will become more readily available on demand, so no more waiting around for bulk order deals as we’ve had to do in the past. The Panoptigon will play all vintage Optigan/Orchestron discs as well, but we’re also likely to remaster the vintage Optigan disc titles in order to add the strobe patterns that unlock additional features for discs that have them.

OK! That about covers it for now. See you at NAMM!"

CLICK FOR MORE »

Depeche Mode - NEW LIFE - Played on Realistic Moog MG-1 Synth

Published on Jan 10, 2019 peahix

Peahix is one of my synth heroes. His creations never cease to amaze me. He also runs optigan.com.

"I resurrected an old Cubase file I created originally to record a version of this track for my Yamaha CS01II synth, in order to test out this Moog MG-1 I picked up for $100 at a garage sale. All the sounds (drums too) were generated by the MG-1. I didn't spend alot of time dialing in the patches or the mix for this one, just sort of got it ball-parky. I did a bit of a better job overall w/ the CS01II version, which you can hear and read about here: [below]

Anyway, the Moog was MIDI'd up to Cubase via a Kenton Pro-Solo, and it seemed to work nicely with that. Neat little synth!"

Yamaha CS01II plays NEW LIFE by Depeche Mode

Published on May 9, 2011 peahix

"Download this with better sound quality here: http://snd.sc/iD5jmD

The Yamaha CS01II is the first real synthesizer I ever owned. I got it when I was about 14 years old, back in 1985 or so. I noticed that I could get reasonable approximations of most of the sounds from Depeche Mode's "Speak & Spell" album with it, but at the time I didn't have the means to make decent multi-track cover versions, even after I got a 4-track.

Recently I was studying the Depeche Mode 5.1 surround mixes, and realized that I could clearly hear all the distinct parts of alot of the songs, including "New Life." I also realized that most of the sounds in "New Life," which heavily featured the ARP 2600, were fairly simple. So I decided to throw together a version of it using just my trusty old Yamaha CS01II as the sole sound source (including the drums), just to see how close I could get to the original.

This version has no vocals at all, but otherwise it comes pretty close to the original. The actual musical arrangement is 100% accurate. The sounds themselves are of course only approximations, and most of them don't have the same level of timbral detail as the ARP originals. I sequenced the whole thing in Cubase via a Kenton Pro Solo going into the custom CV/Gate inputs on my CS01II, recording each monophonic line in one at a time (20 tracks in all). Cubase provided the reverb and EQ, otherwise it's all CS01II."

Found 8mm Film - 1950s Xmas Kids + Bonus Sea Sausage

Published on Dec 20, 2018 peahix

"8mm film found at a garage sale. Music is Johnny Largo At The Optigan (http://optigan.com/shoptigan/music-cd...). Scanned w/ Moviestuff Retro Universal."

"This CD contains all of the known promotional recordings that Mattel produced for the Optigan. Basically there were two different cassettes that were distributed at different times: one containing 1/2 hour of Christmas standards, and one containing a 15 minute “tour” of the Optigan, featuring voiceover work by Mike LeDoux. For anyone who is interested in hearing how the Optigan sounded in the best of all possible circumstances, this CD is a must. Johnny’s arrangements and performances are remarkable!

A specially customized Optigan was used for the recordings which minimized hum and buzz, but this CD proves once and for all that the Optigan, even at it’s very best, was still an incredibly noisy and lo-fi instrument!! Bottom line: I don’t want to hear any more complaints about scratchy discs!! ;)”

Rare Optigan 15 Disc Lot W/ Book

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

Update: If you can find an Optigan for iOS at ioptigan.com, thanks to co-creator, Stefan Stenzel of Waldorf fame.

via this auction

"15 original Optigan discs, all in great shape, ready to use. Comes with book, box, sleeves, and of course the discs. Book and box show normal wear from age. Discs look mostly unused. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. Thanks

Discs:

Bossa nova style

Polynesian village

Movin’!

Pop piano plus guitar 4/4

Latin fever

Folk and other moods guitar 4/4

Guitar in 3/4 time

The blues sweet and low 4/4

Banjo sing along 4/4

Waltz time 3/4

Nashville country

Rollin’ easy 4/4

Singing rhythm 4/4

Big top marching band

Romantic strings 3/4 time"

CLICK FOR MORE »

New 2018 Optigan Disc - SAMBA! w/ Marimba on Keyboard

Uploaded on Feb 24, 2018 optigandotcom

"http://optigan.com/shoptigan/new-opti...

From the depths of the Optigan master tape archives comes this previously unreleased SAMBA jam, paired with a Marimba keyboard scale that similarly went unused back in the 70s. Though we have previously released the marimba sound for Orchestron, it's making its first Optigan appearance on this disc. Oddly enough, the Samba session did not include any percussion specials, so rather than using the more generic latin percussion found elsewhere in the master tape archive, we hunted down some nice public domain samba percussion loops which pair nicely with the vintage tapes. So get onboard those jets to Brazil!!

Also: NEW!! iOptigan for iPad/iPhone!! https://www.ioptigan.com/"

And:

"For a very limited one-month time period only, from now until March 25th 2018, we’re offering an opportunity to buy discs from our back-catalog. Normally we’re not able to keep these titles in stock, because historically the vendor that makes the raw discs has required a minimum order of 25 copies of any given title. Since our cost for these copies is quite high, and it’s an extremely niche market, we can’t afford to buy them in large quantities and remain thousands of dollars in the red while the orders slowly trickle in. BUT, over the course of a year we typically reach a point where there are enough total requests for discs across all the various titles that the vendor is willing to take an order without requiring the usual minimum number of copies for each title. This all has to happen in one fell swoop, so we’re limiting the time frame in which folks can place their orders. Once the deadline passes, we’ll order only as many copies as we have actual orders for. It will then take a month or two to get all those copies fabricated and sent out. Your patience is appreciated! Unfortunately, we cannot offer any sort of bulk discounts or other types of custom orders beyond what is offered in our store. In the past we’ve experimented with different bundle pricing schemes, etc, so the prices set for those bundles will remain in effect. All discs will ship with the printed jackets exactly as pictured on the product page for each item.

Shop the store and place your orders here: http://optigan.com/shoptigan/new-optical-discs/"

See @ NAMM! PANOPTIGON Prototype - New 2018 Optigan / Orchestron Disc Player

Published on Jan 22, 2018 optigandotcom

"This is a brief run-down of the main features of the PANOPTIGON, a prototype MIDI-controlled Optigan/Orchestron disc player (suitable for stage or studio) built by Robert Becker. Those attending Winter NAMM 2018 can see and play this unit for themselves at Quilter Labs - Booth 15120. Note that this unit is a PROTOTYPE / Proof-of-Concept unit, and does not necessarily reflect the design and/or feature set of any future production model. At this time, we cannot provide any estimates on pricing or availability- the unit is still in the R&D phase.

The Panoptigon will play vintage Optigan/Orchestron discs from the 1970s as well as the new line of discs made by optigan.com since 2008. Our new line of discs provide additional functionality, as they have strobe lines printed on them which allow for automatic tuning, transpose, pitch bend, and even mechanical vibrato. Vintage discs were never printed with such strobe lines, and thus are not compatible with these extended features, but will otherwise play nicely and sound better than ever. All the lo-fi you love, presented in the hi-fi you need!

The unit comes with an onboard DSP effects processor, which provides reverb as well as other basic effects such as flange.

Control is via MIDI- in this case, a basic MIDI controller keyboard.

The audio heard in this demo is direct from the unit, with no additional post-processing applied. The slight distortion you hear when the reverb is turned on is an artifact of Youtube's horrible audio compression.

For more information about the Optigan and Orchestron, please visit http://www.optigan.com"

The PANOPTIGON was first featured here on MATRIXSYNTH.

Mattel Optigan Model 35011 Repair by James Bennett

Published on Jun 28, 2017 James Bennett

"Something a bit different. In the vein of repair videos I like to watch, I was advised to actually document one about this project.

A friend's 1973 Optigan which amazingly he managed to find in England, and pretty locally at that. In our studio for a service.

I'm getting over a cold, so apologies for my heavy breathing!

More lighting required..."

This one in via Atomic Shadow.

iOptigan - Optigan for iPad & iPhone - Demo Song - BEEBO - Optiganally Yours

Published on Nov 29, 2017 optigandotcom

iTunes: iOptigan - Stefan Stenzel

"Pea Hicks of optigan.com and Stefan Stenzel of Waldorf present... iOptigan!

PLEASE NOTE: if you're listening to this demo on a mobile device, you may have trouble hearing the keyboard part in the right channel, due to a YouTube quirk. For best results, please listen on a regular PC.

This is a demo of iOptigan running on an iPad Air. The music is 'Beebo' by Optiganally Yours, which is an old song that appeared on the album 'Spotlight On Optiganally Yours.' The disc used is 'Big Organ & Drums.'"

iOptigan - Optigan for iPad & iPhone - Demo Song - PATIO - Optiganally Yours

Published on Nov 28, 2017

"Pea Hicks of optigan.com and Stefan Stenzel of Waldorf present... iOptigan!

Now available in the iOS app store!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iopti...

PLEASE NOTE: if you're listening to this demo on a mobile device, you may have trouble hearing the keyboard part in the right channel, due to a YouTube quirk. For best results, please listen on a regular PC.

This is a demo of iOptigan running on an iPad Air. The music is 'Patio' by Optiganally Yours, which is an old song that appeared on the album 'Spotlight On Optiganally Yours.' The disc used is 'Bossa Nova Style.'"

New Prototype Optigan/Orchestron Disc Player - Sound Demo

Published on Nov 14, 2017 optigandotcom

"Robert Becker has been making steady progress (in his spare time) on his new Optigan/Orchestron disc player, which we hope will be put into production at some point. There's still lots of work to be done, bugs to iron out, things to be fine-tuned, code to be optimized, etc, but it's currently playable (via MIDI), and the basic sound quality is quite good, so we figured we'd post a few informal/noodly sound clips of it in action. These are direct/unprocessed recordings from the unit, some featuring the onboard reverb. Sorry, no live video of it being played at this time. We don't cover ALL the features/functions in these sound demos, as some of them aren't quite working yet, but you can get an idea from looking at the photos what sort of things it will be able to do. Also, currently we cannot field any requests for pricing/availability, so please don't ask! We know alot of you will be interested in obtaining of one these, but at this time we simply can't give any estimates on that front."

Like an optical record player! Which, essentially the Optigan was/is.

iOptigan - MIDI Chord Detection Modes Tutorial

Published on Nov 7, 2017 optigandotcom

iTunes: iOptigan - Stefan Stenzel

"Another iOptigan tip, until we finish the user manual: there are three triggering modes for the chord buttons, selectable in the settings.

"MIDI G#0-E2 for Chords" lays out all the chord buttons in a chromatic mapping. Priority was placed on fitting everything with the keyboard scale on a standard 61-note keyboard, so the layout isn't very intuitive, but it gets the job done. Chords are at the lower end of the keyboard, SFX tabs at the upper end.

"MIDI Chord Detection I" is a more intuitive mode, which allows the user to simply finger the desired chord in the low octave of the keyboard. Playing a C maj triad produces the C maj chord. Playing a C min triad produces the C min chord. etc.

"MIDI Chord Detection II" allows for more extended chords to be played using the time-honored Optigan technique of playing two chord buttons at once to approximate more complicated chords. There's alot of trial-and-error involved with this, and results vary depending on the disc, but if you finger, say, a Cmaj7 chord on the keyboard (again, in the low octave), iOptigan will play the C maj and E min chords simultaneously. Try fingering other extended chords to see what you get, and you'll likely stumble upon some unexpectedly pleasing combinations!"

iOptigan - Optigan for iPad & iPhone - Demo Song - midori2tree - Optiganally Yours

Published on Nov 2, 2017 optigandotcom

iTunes: iOptigan - Stefan Stenzel

"Pea Hicks of optigan.com and Stefan Stenzel of Waldorf present... iOptigan!

Now available in the iOS app store!

PLEASE NOTE: if you're listening to this demo on a mobile device, you may have trouble hearing the keyboard part in the right channel, due to a YouTube quirk. For best results, please listen on a regular PC.

This is a demo of iOptigan running on an iPad Air. The music is "midori2tree" by Optiganally Yours, which is an old song that appeared on various compilation albums. The disc used is "Rollin' Easy.""

1975 Photo Essay - How to Make an Optigan Disc

Published on Apr 14, 2017 optigandotcom

"I had some Optigan odds & ends sitting around and decided to mash them all up into one video. The slide show is from a photo album that Mike LeDoux (the guy in charge of making all the original Optigan discs) put together in 1975 in order to, basically, show his corporate overlords at Miner Industries / Opsonar (this was in the post-Mattel era) why they still needed to keep him, since he was their only employee on the west coast. The idea was to show them how complicated his job was, and that they couldn't simply "hire some other guy" to do the work at their plant on the east coast. Needless to say, it was a hell of alot more difficult to make an Optigan disc back then as it is now! Though it's still pretty tricky...

The audio is a variety of things from cassettes found in Mike's archives:

First off is the only Optigan radio spot that I'm aware of.

Next is a series of demos made during the sessions that Art DePew arranged and conducted for Optigan. These are all big band recordings, and resulted in discs such as Champagne Music, Big Band Beat, Swing It, and Dixieland Strut. During the sessions, they had a bit of fun jamming on the basic arrangements, and that's what you're hearing here. Some of these arrangements never got used on any Optigan discs, so we may issue them at some point if there's sufficient demand.

Lastly is the audio only from a Dec. 21, 1972 broadcast of the Dinah Shore TV show. Her guest was Barry Goldwater, who gets roped into attempting to play an Optigan. I'd love to see the actual clip, but I've yet to find it anywhere. If anyone finds it, let me know!"

Optigan / Orchestron / Talentmaker - The Optical Organ Toolkit

Published on Mar 24, 2017 optigandotcom

"This is an informercial for a downloadable sample library of Optigan, Orchestron, and Talentmaker loops. More info in the video and at http://optigan.com/shoptigan/soundwar..."

Vako Orchestron Optical Disc Playback Sampler

Published on Mar 24, 2017 optigandotcom

"Here's a demo of all 8 original discs that were made for the Vako Orchestron (we're now starting to make new discs- see http://www.blogtigan.wordpress.com). This keyboard, which is adapted from the Mattel Optigan, was introduced in 1975 by Dave VanKoevering. It was intended to be a competitor to the Mellotron, but it never really took off. Kraftwerk was a very early adopter of this instrument. I've included little examples of some of the well-known parts Kraftwerk used their Orchestron for back in the day.

My Orchestron is in fairly average working condition. You'll note that I had a bit of trouble with one of the high F keys. Also, note the substantial level of radio interference, which I've muted during disc changes.

Anyone interested in more information about the Orchestron and related instruments can find lots of stuff at my website, www.optigan.com.

Also, to purchase a sample CD with all the Orchestron sounds (as well as Optigan and Talentmaker sounds), please visit here:

http://www.optigan.com/shoptigan.html

Sound was recorded direct to a Zoom H2."

Update:

Optigan / Orchestron Master Tape Vault feat. "Kraftwerk Choir" Tape/Demo

Published on Apr 13, 2017 optigandotcom

"Since there's been some interest this week, here's a quick video of the Optigan/Orchestron master tape vault, ie my library closet. Sorry for my incoherent rambling. Highlighted is the tape containing the famous Orchestron Vocal Choir sound that Kraftwerk used during the mid-late 70s on several albums/songs. Here I demonstrate probably the most recognizeable Kraftwerk Orchestron bit, the sustained chord from "Uranium." New Order later sampled this chord from the Kraftwerk record and used it in "Blue Monday."

You can get this and all the other Optigan/Orchestron sounds, both recorded from the instruments/discs themselves and also in their pristine studio-quality versions from the master tapes here:

http://optigan.com/shoptigan/soundware/

Also, you can see me demonstrating an actual Orchestron with this choir sound (though I get the Uranium chord wrong) in this video: [above]

Lastly, if you own an Optigan or Orchestron, we reissued this choir sound on disc:

http://optigan.com/shoptigan/new-opti...

http://optigan.com/shoptigan/new-opti..."

Optigan Recordings by Johnny Largo

Published on Mar 22, 2017 optigandotcom

"These are demo recordings of the Optigan made by in-house musical director Johnny Largo (aka Johnny La Padula - see http://optigan.com/info/optigan/emplo...). Much of this material has not previously been heard, having languished on the original studio master tapes for 45 years. This will give a good sense of what the Optigan can sound like in the hands of a true professional, as well as serve as a general demonstration for the various discs. Sorry, I don't have recordings of Johnny demonstrating every last disc that was released, but I've posted what I do have."

Such a trip. For those not familiar with the Optigan it was like an optical record version of the Mellotron. The discs were like large clear flexi-disc with waveforms drawn on them. The Optigon would then play the waveforms as you played its keyboard. The Optigan was released in 1971. You can find previous posts on the Optigan via the label below, and of course you can find a ton of info on http://optigan.com.

Optigan 35011

Published on Mar 5, 2017 keyboard resource

New 2017 Optigan Disc - DARKSOPHONE - Feat. Pall Jenkins

Published on Feb 14, 2017 optigandotcom

via optigan.com

"We have a new Optigan disc! From indie rock veteran Pall Jenkins (The Black Heart Procession, Three Mile Pilot) come the haunting sounds of DARKSOPHONE, featuring musical saw, Marxophone, skeletal guitar and heavy drums. Since the saw and Marxophone both have limited ranges, we’ve split the keyboard, placing the saw on the lower half and the Marxophone on the upper half. For those unfamiliar with the Marxophone, it’s a zither-like instrument that is played with a series of keys, which bounce metal hammers onto the strings for a repeated dulcimer effect. The musical saw is played with a bow, and each note has an organic vibrato and other articulations. The sparse guitar chords lend themselves to combining chord buttons for extended harmonies. The drums feature patterns in both 6/8 and 4/4. Trying slowing the disc all the way down and/or playing it backwards with the reverb cranked up for some spooky late-night shoe-gazing!"

New 2016 Vako Orchestron Disc - DREHORGEL Released

Uploaded on Oct 25, 2016 optigandotcom

"Now taking pre-orders! Place your order at http://optigan.com/shoptigan/new-opti...

A new release in our line of Vako Orchestron discs, DREHORGEL. It's unlikely that there will be sufficient demand to do a second run of 25 of these discs, so your best bet is to buy as many of these as you need while you can!

DREHORGEL is a newly recorded sound for the Orchestron. It's a small, hand-cranked street organ that plays punched music rolls, similar to a calliope. The drehorgel featured here is owned by Pat Quilter of Quilter Labs. For our disc, we chose the unique "trill" sound of the drehorgel, which produces repeated notes. Great for playing creepy circus type music!

PLEASE NOTE: This disc WILL NOT play properly in an Optigan! They WILL play, but the sounds will NOT be mapped correctly to the keyboard- they will be mapped mostly haphazardly across the chord buttons. Please don't order this disc expecting to easily use it in an Optigan. In the future we will be porting the Orchestron sounds to the Optigan- please be patient! :)

Stay tuned for more Orchestron discs, both new and remastered titles!"

New 2016 Vako Orchestron Disc - DREHORGEL

Uploaded on Oct 25, 2016 optigandotcom

"Now taking pre-orders! Place your order at http://optigan.com/shoptigan/new-opti...

A new release in our line of Vako Orchestron discs, DREHORGEL. It's unlikely that there will be sufficient demand to do a second run of 25 of these discs, so your best bet is to buy as many of these as you need while you can!

DREHORGEL is a newly recorded sound for the Orchestron. It's a small, hand-cranked street organ that plays punched music rolls, similar to a calliope. The drehorgel featured here is owned by Pat Quilter of Quilter Labs. For our disc, we chose the unique "trill" sound of the drehorgel, which produces repeated notes. Great for playing creepy circus type music!

PLEASE NOTE: This disc WILL NOT play properly in an Optigan! They WILL play, but the sounds will NOT be mapped correctly to the keyboard- they will be mapped mostly haphazardly across the chord buttons. Please don't order this disc expecting to easily use it in an Optigan. In the future we will be porting the Orchestron sounds to the Optigan- please be patient! :)

Stay tuned for more Orchestron discs, both new and remastered titles!"