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.

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."

Jan Hammer on TOTP2

YouTube via Xylaquin.

Jan Hammer with Fairlight and...

"Clip of Jan Hammer playing Crockett's Theme on TOTP2"
Update via va69nm: "That ain't no Lync - that's Jan's custom Probe remote keyboard :)"

Oberheim SEM Based DIY Synthesizer

via David Rogoff on Facebook
"couple of pictures from freshman year of college. This was a home-made synthesizer using a case I did the woodwork and plexiglass faceplate for. It used an Oberheim SEM inside, along with my keyboard electronics.
There are two wheels visible - the usual pitch/mod, plus a third wheel on the side next to the other two for filter mod. The idea was based on Jan Hammer's wearable Probe keyboard (weighed a ton!)."

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..."