Panoptigon plays Optigan Surf Rock Disc

Published on Mar 21, 2019 optigandotcom

"Here's another demo improvisation on the Panoptigon, this time featuring the Optigan Surf Rock disc. Be sure to listen in stereo, as this one features the typical Optigan hard-panning between the chords/drums on the left and the keyboard on the right. Apart from the Panoptigon's onboard hall reverb, no other effects or EQ were applied."

Panoptigon Plays Optigan Symphonic Strings Disc

Published on Mar 20, 2019 optigandotcom

"Another Panoptigon demo, this time featuring the Optigan Symphonic Strings Disc. This demo features the onboard hall reverb, with no additional processing."

Panoptigon Plays Orchestron Vibraphone Disc

Published on Mar 19, 2019 optigandotcom

"Another Panoptigon demo, this time featuring the Orchestron Vibraphone disc played back at various manual pitch settings. The playback speed of the Panoptigon has a much wider range than a vintage Optigan or Orchestron. This demo features the onboard hall reverb and delay effects, with no additional processing. Also heard is the reverse mode."

Panoptigon OSCILLATIONS Disc Demo

Published on Mar 12, 2019 optigandotcom

"Here's a demo of the very first disc in the new PANOPTIGON disc format! Oscillations will be included in the basic 'starter set' of discs that comes with each Panoptigon. Panoptigon format discs will only be playable on Panoptigon- not on vintage Optigans or Orchestrons! We wanted to make a very basic, broadly-applicable sound akin to the Optigan "Big Organ & Drums" disc. This seemed a good opportunity to present a simple analog synthesizer type sound, since the Panoptigon disc format features 60 tracks, and is mapped to allow for a full 60 keys of chromatic tones. Think of it as a 'Super Orchestron' disc with essentially 5 octaves instead of 3. Various typical raw analog waveforms are mapped across the keys, with the notes slowly pulsing in and out in different phases, producing a breathing, organic effect that's particularly well-suited to all of the Panoptigon's onboard effects. Apart from the Panoptigon's hall reverb, no other effects or EQ were applied in this demo."

Mattel Optigan with 12 Discs - Model 35012 Mediterranean

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

via this auction

"The Optigan has a unique sound which is attributed to the optical discs containing pre-recorded backing tracks and unique lead tone for the keyboard portion. Each disc has five accompaniment tracks which can be triggered. Usually a beat, various instrumental accompaniment & often more percussion. Each disc is loaded with unique and very musical content.

Includes Twelve Discs! Original discs are rare and very sought after- so this is a rare opportunity to pick up a stack of them along with a sweet Optigan!

Pop Piano Plus Guitar
Guitar in 3/4 time
Dixieland Strut
Latin Fever
Gay 90s Waltz
Bluegrass Banjo
Sleigh Ride
Majestic Pipe Organ
Movin
Hear and Now
Big Band Beat
Classic Guitar

Playing condition:
Working - the keyboard works great, all but two keys play (the highest and lowest) are not making sound. A couple of the 'chord organ' buttons on the left side are intermittent but this is something that can be repaired with contact cleaner.

More about the Optigan:
If you are not familiar with the Optigan, the sound is not 'hi-fidelity' but is very unique and is loved by many admirers familiar with what it does!"

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Panoptigon plays Ghost Riders In The Sky w/ Optigan Darksophone Disc

Published on Feb 15, 2019 optigandotcom

"Veteran indie rocker Pall Jenkins provided the spooky sounds for our Optigan Darksophone disc, and we thought it'd be fun to do a quick demo of this disc playing Ghost Riders In The Sky on the Panoptigon. The keyboard is split between two different melodic sounds- Marxophone and Musical Saw. Be sure to listen in stereo, as this one features the typical Optigan hard-panning between the chords/drums on the left and the keyboard on the right. Apart from the Panoptigon's onboard hall reverb, no other effects or EQ were applied."

Panoptigon plays Philip Glass - Einstein On The Beach - Orchestron & Optigan Discs

Published on Feb 15, 2019 optigandotcom

"While Panoptigon isn't particularly suited to overdubbing entire arrangements with itself, we thought it'd be fun to do a quick excerpt from Philip Glass' Einstein On The Beach (Train 1), since all the basic sounds required already exist on Orchestron / Optigan discs. Heard here are the Orchestron Flute, Saxophone, Solo Female Voice, and Pipe Organ discs, as well as the organ sound from the Optigan Nashville Country disc. The Flute disc was pitch bent an octave up to simulate the piccolo called for in the score, and the bass line of the Pipe Organ disc was pitch bent an octave down to get the low notes needed. A bit of reverb was added to the mix, but there was no EQ or other processing applied. You can find info about pre-ordering a Panoptigon here: http://optigan.com/2019/01/panoptigon..."

Oddly enough the following just went up:

Philip Glass on His Collaboration With Aphex Twin | Red Bull Music Academy

Published on Feb 15, 2019 Red Bull Music Academy

"The celebrated composer Philip Glass recalls meeting a young Richard D. James, AKA Aphex Twin, in New York City and collaborating with the producer on a handful of tracks and combining their unique approaches. #composition #aphextwin

Watch the full lecture - [below] - to hear Philip Glass wax nostalgic on his time spent in Paris, musical tradition, collaborations with Aphex Twin, David Byrne and Ornette Coleman and the art of performance.

It’s hard to overstate the influence of New York City composer Philip Glass. Along with Steve Reich, his minimalist compositions transformed the world of classical music and, eventually, popular music in general. Glass’ early epiphanies occurred in Paris during his time in the mid-’60s studying under Nadia Boulanger and in New York when he heard Steve Reich’s “Piano Phase.” These events helped set Glass on a course toward the repetitive, dramatic, and conceptually rigorous style that has become his trademark. Throughout the ’70s Glass refined his work, resulting in career-defining compositions like Music In Twelve Parts and Einstein On The Beach. In the process, he became a popular sensation, a serious composer who wasn’t willfully obscure or too difficult to understand. Glass’ stunning soundtrack work for films like The Thin Blue Line and The Hours, and a symphony based on David Bowie’s album Heroes, has only elevated his standing as one of America’s most popular living composers.

Red Bull Music Academy is the educational pillar of the Red Bull Music program. It is a global institution that for 20 years has been committed to fostering creativity in music by collaborating with those who are shaping our musical landscape and creating spaces for music makers to learn and immerse themselves."

And the full interview from 2015:

Philip Glass on Working with Aphex Twin, David Byrne and Koyaanisqatsi | Red Bull Music Academy

Published on Jul 22, 2015 Red Bull Music Academy

Panoptigon plays Optigan Vox Humana Disc

Published on Feb 14, 2019 optigandotcom

"Another Panoptigon demo, this time featuring the rare vintage Optigan Vox Humana disc. The choir sound heard on this disc is the same as heard on the Orchestron Vocal Choir disc, famously used by Kraftwerk in the 70s. This demo features the onboard hall reverb effect, with no additional processing."

Panoptigon plays Orchestron Vibraphone & Drehorgel Discs

Published on Feb 14, 2019 optigandotcom

"Another Panoptigon demo, this time layering two of our Orchestron discs- Vibraphone & Drehorgel. This demo features the onboard hall reverb effect on the Vibraphone, with no additional processing."

Panoptigon plays Orchestron Piano Disc

Published on Feb 13, 2019 optigandotcom

"Another Panoptigon demo, for a rainy day in SoCal- this time an improvisation on our Orchestron Piano disc. This disc can't really be played like a typical piano sound you might find on most keyboards, due to the unique constant-looping playback characteristics of the Orchestron. We placed each individual note at a position on a 16th-note grid, which produces a sort of windchime effect when you hold down chords. This disc isn't very well suited to playing melodies, but you can always try! This demo features the onboard hall reverb, with no additional processing. Also heard are the reverse, vibrato, and pitch bend effects. You can find info about pre-ordering a Panoptigon (which comes with our remastered edition of this Vocal Choir disc) here: http://optigan.com/2019/01/panoptigon..."

Panoptigon plays Giant Steps & Yakety Sax on Orchestron Saxophone Discs

Published on Feb 12, 2019 optigandotcom

"Another Panoptigon demo- this time a a comparison of a vintage Orchestron Saxophone disc with our remastered edition of the same disc. The vintage disc plays a midi file of Coltrane's Giant Steps, while the remastered disc plays a midi file of Boots Randolph's Yakety Sax. The reverb is onboard the Panoptigon, and there's a bit more applied in Giant Steps. Note that Yakety Sax has a fair amount of pitch bends, which are achieved on the Panoptigon by mechanically changing the rotation speed of the disc. Also note the fair amount of clicky noises when playing rapid passages like this. These sounds are a by-product of the unique way the Panoptigon produces sound, and were present on the vintage Optigan and Orchestron as well. This is an inherent and characteristic sound of these instruments. Both midi files were downloaded from the web. You can find info about pre-ordering a Panoptigon (which comes with our remastered edition of this Vocal Choir disc) here: http://optigan.com/2019/01/panoptigon..."

Panoptigon plays Kraftwerk URANIUM with Vintage Orchestron VOCAL CHOIR Disc

Published on Feb 11, 2019 optigandotcom

"Another Panoptigon demo- this time a rendition of Kraftwerk's URANIUM, using a vintage Orchestron Vocal Choir disc, including the onboard hall reverb. No other external effects, EQ, or processing were added to the Panoptigon signal. The disc used here is identical to the disc used by Kraftwerk on the original 1975 recording made with a Vako Orchestron. Synthetic speech generated by a web app. You can find info about pre-ordering a Panoptigon (which comes with our remastered edition of this Vocal Choir disc) here: http://optigan.com/2019/01/panoptigon..."

Panoptigon plays Vintage Orchestron PIPE ORGAN Disc

Published on Feb 11, 2019 optigandotcom

"Another Panoptigon demo- this time an improvisation using a vintage Orchestron Pipe Organ disc, including the onboard hall reverb. You can find info about pre-ordering a Panoptigon here: http://optigan.com/2019/01/panoptigon..."

Laurie Anderson - Optigan / Panoptigon 2010 One-Off Disc Demo

Published on Feb 11, 2019 optigandotcom

"This is a historical oddity that was never intended for public consumption, but in honor of Laurie Anderson's Grammy Award for LANDFALL (which prominently features Robert Becker's heavily modified "Optigan Pro"), we thought it'd be fun to share this and get in a quick Panoptigon demo at the same time (http://optigan.com/2019/01/panoptigon...). When we lent Laurie the Optigan, we thought it'd be fun to put some of her own sounds on a one-off disc for her to mess around with. We pulled drums & musical loops for the chord buttons, and short spoken phrases for the keyboard. This demo is just some spontaneous noodling, which was recorded in multiple MIDI passes and then dumped live to audio. The video was shot during the actual audio recording, so you can see the disc speed up, slow down, and go into reverse in time with the audio. Maybe not Grammy material (OK, decidedly not!), but a geeky curiosity nonetheless! Congrats, Laurie & Kronos!"

NAMM 2019 Floor Walk and Awards Handout

Published on Feb 1, 2019 sonicstate

"Sunday AM is when we hand out the awards, and usually we just take the photos, this year we decided to combine a floor walk with the awards. Contrary to most award ceremonies, this one is not at all organized.."

The Panoptigon Updates Classic Optigan, Vako Orchestron

Published on Jan 30, 2019 Synthtopia

"At the 2019 NAMM Show, Quilter Labs introduced the Panoptigon, an optical sample playback device, based on the rare Optigan and Vako Orchestron instruments of the 1970's."

NAMM 2019 Panoptigon

Published on Jan 27, 2019 sonicstate

"We're just really glad this exists. A personal favourite. Expensive, crazy and lovable, but brilliant"

Some history in this one.

NAMM 2019: Gamechanger Audio Motor Piano - Poly Synth Madness...

Published on Jan 27, 2019 sonicstate

"A weird concept that we're looking forward to see develop..."

Mechanical electo motors with optical discs for oscillators. Reminds me of the Optigan & new Panoptigon. 12 voice polyphony.

The Panoptigon with Quilter Labs at NAMM 2019 | Reverb

Published on Jan 26, 2019 Reverb

"The Panoptigon is inspired by the Optigan, a 70's invention originally sold by Mattel, which used an optical disc to sample prerecorded music. However, this new Panoptigon incorporates a host of modern features and brings a lo-fi, physical vibe to synthesized sounds."

Panoptigon Plays KRAFTWERK's "Franz Schubert" on Vintage Vako Orchestron VIOLIN Disc

Published on Jan 19, 2019 optigandotcom

"This is a demo of the PANOPTIGON- the new Optigan/Orchestron disc playing instrument by Quilter Labs, developed in association with optigan.com.

Kraftwerk is undoubtedly the most famous user of the original Vako Orchestron, which can be heard on all their albums from the late 1970s. Most notable is their use of the VOCAL CHOIR disc, but they also made good use of the VIOLIN disc, heard on such tracks as 1977's "Franz Schubert." We painstakingly transcribed the two Orchestron tracks from the original recording and created a sequence in Cubase, which then played back the parts via MIDI into a Panoptigon loaded with a vintage VIOLIN disc just like Kraftwerk had. The left/right channel parts were then recorded in two seperate passes as audio back into cubase, and mixed with a soft synth plug-in recreating the repeating arpeggio pattern. A bit of reverb was added, but otherwise what you're hearing is the direct signal from the Panoptigon.

Please visit http://www.optigan.com for more information about the availability of the Panoptigon, as well as remastered editions of all the original Orchestron disc titles that Kraftwerk used on their albums!"