Synth Spotting with Art of Noise

Art of Noise Live 1984

YouTube Uploaded by wksufreshair on Nov 17, 2009

Art of Noise - Close to the Edit (live)

Uploaded by couchtatty on Apr 4, 2009

These in via Pea Hicks of http://www.optigan.com/.
lots of fairlight action, ppg, memorymoog, etc.

ARP 2600 Pro-Soloist Synth Synthesizer Demo Records

via this auction

"Notes: Guaranteed original press. Set of two 70s era demo records for Arp keyboards. One is a one-side flexidisc featuring demos of the 2600, Odyssey, 2500, etc. Narrated by Roger Powell, with excerpts from The Who, etc. The other is a 2-side vinyl 7" demonstrating the Pro-Soloist. No narration, just musical examples. The flexidisc is fairly scuffed up, but listenable. The other disc is very clean, about VG++."

This one spotted and sent in via Pea Hicks (peahix).

Electric Independence: Vince Clarke and the Temple of Synth

via Pea Hicks and Matt Musick of Motherboard.TV. Click here and scroll for prior posts.
"The new episode of Electric Independence documents a visit to Vince Clarke's incredible home studio that features more analog gear than, well, probably anyone we've ever encountered. The founding member of Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and Erasure is enjoying the country life in Maine but still cranks out the jams, or as he likes to put it 'making something from nothing.'"
Vince Clark of Depeche Mode, Yaz/Yazoo and Erasure.

Vince Clark's studio synth list via here:
ROLAND SYSTEM 700
ROLAND 100M
ROLAND JP8
ROLAND JP4
ROLAND MKS80
ROLAND SH1
ROLAND VP330
ROLAND JP8000
ROLAND JUNO 60
ROLAND JUNO 106
ROLAND SUPER JX
ROLAND D550
ARP 2500 MODULAR
ARP 2600
PPG WAVE 2.2
WALDORF MICROWAVE
WALDORF PULSE
MOOG MODULAR
MINI MOOG
MOOG SOURCE
EMU MODULAR SYSTEM
PROPHET 5
PRO ONE
OSCAR
SYRINX
KORG MS20
KORG MS10
KORG 700
KORG M1
KORG DVP
SERGE MODULAR
POLYFUSION MODULAR
OBERHEIM XPANDER
OBERHEIM SEM SYSTEM
RSF KOBOL
SYNTHI VCS3
SENNHEISER VOCODER

Yamaha CS01II plays NEW LIFE by Depeche Mode

YouTube Uploaded by peahix on May 9, 2011

"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. Cubase provided the reverb and EQ, otherwise it's all CS01II."

via Pea Hicks of http://www.optigan.com/

Interview with Ralph Dyck, Godfather of the Roland MC-8

via Pea Hicks

"Recently I’ve been in touch with Ralph Dyck, the man responsible for cobbling together a home-brew sequencer that eventually served as the basis for the design of the Roland MC-8. I’ll be posting lots of photos, music and technical documents that Ralph has been very generously emailing me. This is all very important stuff in the history of programmable sequencers. First off, we’ll start with a brief email interview. All photos are provided by Ralph Dyck, all music is copyright Ralph Dyck and registered by SOCAN Canada."

You can find the full interview on the Roland MC-8 Micro-Composer blog here. Check out the DIY modular.

Canon for 2:09AM

Canon for 2:09AM by peahix
"A little canon I wrote for my Yamaha CS01II analog synth."

via Pea Hicks of optigan.com

Optigan TRIPLE HEADER - Radioaktivox / Mod Rock / Minimalism

"In response to requests for copies of our earlier Optigan discs, Optigan.com is proud to offer our first TRIPLE HEADER disc pak! Three discs, sans their original printed jackets, bundled together in a single printed jacket (echoing the generic design of the original Optigan Triple Header pak), and offered at a discounted bundle price.

In this pak, you get our first three disc releases: RADIOAKTIVOX, MOD ROCK, and MINIMALISM. If you missed out on any of these titles in their original print run, or if your cat peed on your copy, or if you just want spares, now's your chance!

Now available for pre-order

Cheers!
Pea Hicks
http://www.optigan.com"

Vintage Rheem Kee Bass Monophonic Bass Synthesizer and Stool

via this auction [note the stool is not part of the auction - see update below]

"This is a vintage Rheem Kee Bass bass synthesizer. This was made in the 60's, and is basically a 2 octave analogue organ that just plays bass notes. It is a monophonic unit with high note priority. Has several keys including mellow/bright, fuzz, sustain/percussion (sort of like a traditional pedal) and decay, as well as a bass boost. Unfortunately it doesn't have the power cord, so we have been unable to test it. It does come with its original cover."

And and excuse to check out Devo's Whip It!.

Update: Image below of a Rheem stool to sit on while you play your Rheem Key Bass! Note this is not part of the auction. This one was spotted and sent in via Pea Hicks of Optigan.com.

Synth stool.

CLICK FOR MORE »

New 2013 Optigan Disc - WURLISCAPE

Published on Apr 13, 2013 optigandotcom·15 videos

"New 2013 Optigan Disc - WURLISCAPE! Now taking pre-orders at http://www.optigan.com! Please excuse the noodly nature of this demo recording- it's just a simple improvisation to demonstrate the sounds on this disc.

WURLISCAPE represents the next evolution in the Optigan disc concept we starting with Pianoscape and Vibrascape. This disc is not intended for playing "tunes," rather it's a sort of ambient arpeggiator of sorts (with the sounds of a familiar vintage electric piano on the keyboard), paired with a repository of previously unreleased vintage drum and percussion loops from the original Optigan master tapes spread over the chord buttons (well, except for a few of the chord buttons, which have bass patterns- but we'll get to that later).

The keyboard features a series of simple two-note rhythmic patterns that, when combined, can create complex arpeggiated chords. All patterns comprise only "white" notes, which means that since the Optigan keyboard stretches from F to F, everything is more or less in the F-Lydian mode (aka C Ionian mode). This ensures that most combinations of patterns will produce a harmonically consonant composite pattern, though the harmonic possibilities remain vast. The layout is thus:

White keys:
1st octave: patterns in 5ths, all perfect except for B, which plays a dim 5th (B-F)
2nd octave: patterns in 4ths, all perfect except for F, which plays an aug 4th (F-B)
3rd octave: patterns in 3rds, F, G & C are maj, A, B, D, & E are min

Brown keys:
Patterns are on the note 1/2 step lower than the key itself, ie the F# key plays an F pattern, G# a G pattern, etc.
1st octave: patterns in perfect octaves
2nd octave: patterns in 7ths, F & C are maj, G, A, & D are min
3rd octave: patterns in 6ths, F, G, C, & D are maj, A is min

Rhythmically, the patterns are arranged such that playing any three chromatically adjacent notes produces a complete composite rhythmic pattern in 8th notes. Other combinations of notes will produce less complex composite sub-patterns.

It's important to note that we don't intend for the player to actually memorize this system of patterns- one should approach this disc experimentally, trying out different pattern combinations until you find something you like.

Most of the chord buttons have drum/percussion loops of various types, but the F, C, G, D, A, and E maj chord buttons have single-note bass patterns on those corresponding notes. This is to help fill out the low end of the harmonic spectrum. The decision to feature a variety of drum/percussion loops expands the versatility of this disc for those who simply wish to use the Optigan as a lo-fi drum machine.

Audio arranged, produced, and mastered by Pea Hicks
Disc design and mastering by Robert Becker"

NEW 2011 Optigan 2-Disc Style-Pak - STRINGS

YouTube via optigandotcom | January 22, 2011 |

"Now taking pre-orders at http://www.optigan.com/content/shopti...

Optigan is proud to present our first 2-disc Style Pak release, STRINGS, offered at a 2-for-1 price! The two discs are individually titled CHAMBER STRINGS and SYMPHONIC STRINGS. This is a very utilitarian sound set for the Optigan, featuring the "Violin" and "String Ensemble" keyboard sounds previously only available on the Orchestron, each with matching string pads on the chord buttons. There are no drums or other rhythmic effects- just lush, lo-fi stringy goodness. Please excuse the inept noodling of this sound demo!

A special note about the chords: for these discs, we've decided to put proper A and E major chords on their respective chord buttons, which in turn renders most of the diminished chord buttons incorrectly labeled. To compensate, we've put the A and E dim chords on the SFX 4 and 5 tabs. Also, SFX tabs 1-3 are Fsus4, Csus4 and Gsus4 respectively.

Music produced, edited, and mastered by Pea Hicks.

Disc creation software, disc production cover artwork and jacket layout by Robert Becker

Cover artwork by Robert Becker


LEFT HAND: String chords.

RIGHT HAND: Strings.

SPECIAL EFFECTS SWITCHES: 1. Fsus4, 2. Csus4, 3. Gsus4, 4. Adim, 5. Edim."

http://twitter.com/#!/optigandotcom

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.""

Yazoo - DON'T GO - Re-created w/ Moog Voyager OS

Published on May 3, 2015 downsampling

"This video demonstrates and documents Pea Hicks‘ Sequential Circuits Pro-One synth patches, inspired by the work of Vince Clarke on Yazoo’s Don’t Go. [posted here]

I make it with a Moog Voyager Old School.
HH, Clap = Miami Drummachine, Snare = XBase09.

Thanks to peahix

justforfun :-) downsampling.de"

elka synthex noodlings

via Pea Hicks http://www.myspace.com/peahix
"scored an elka synthex on craigslist this week and have been noodling around with the neato onboard sequencer, if y'all wanna have a listen. this is all real-time sequencer playback. drums on the last two tracks are courtesy my e-mu drumulator, which is driving the elka sequencer. a bit of an odd procedure to get these two to sync up- the results can be a bit unpredictable."








mp3s mirrored here

NEW 2009 Optigan Disc - MOD ROCK!

NEW 2009 Optigan Disc - MOD ROCK! from Pea Hicks on Vimeo.
"It's a mod, mod world and you know you're a mod rocker. Now you can prove it to your friends and family when you play the Optigan Music Maker with the new Mod Rock program disc.

Press the buttons with a left finger. What is that you hear? Drums, organ, guitar, bass! Who would have believed it? And it's you playing it! Wow! And wait till you see what you can do with your right hand!

You'll enjoy the Mod Rock program disc even more when you use it to play the contemporary songs that you'll find in the Optigan Music books. Pick some up today!

MOD ROCK is the first in our series of Optigan discs newly mastered from the original source tapes. There are many sessions on the tapes that were never made into Optigan discs back in the 1970s. MOD ROCK was actually made into a prototype disc, but for some unknown reason it was never released. Two copies of the original prototype are known to exist.

This disc is not a simple "photocopy" of a prototype disc- it's been completely remastered and recreated from scratch. The disc comes in a full-color jacket featuring artwork created by Mark Crafford especially for this disc.

The initial edition is limited to 25 copies. If there's sufficient interest beyond this initial run, we'll proceed with a second printing, but there's no guarantee on this, so get your copy while you can!

To order, please visit shoptigan.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=3876420

For more information, please visit blogtigan.wordpress.com or optigan.com"

Kraftwerk Rockpalast 1970

Published on Mar 26, 2014

Update: looks like the video was pulled. You can now find it here with a second video.

Kraftwerk with a Tubon

From the Rockpalast Archive
Mixed Media Show
Soest, Germany
Winter 1970

0. Intro
1. Stratovarius
2. Ruckzuck
3. Heavy Metal Kids
4. Improvisation 1

via Pea Hicks on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

VINTAGE MUSIC MATE SYNTHESIZER KEYBOARD?

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

via this auction - learn how to sell on eBay here.

Anyone know what this is?  The listing states that it is working but not much else.  Sequential Circuits had this MusicMate, but this does not appear to be that.  This is the first Music Mate post.

Update via Pea Hicks of Optigan.com in the comments: "I had one of these about 10 years ago. It was meant for school use. It's essentially a mini divide-down electronic piano. Polyphonic, but with just one bland timbre."

Update2: a couple of pics of the instruction sheets added below.

CLICK FOR MORE »

The Jets - Private Number

YouTube Uploaded by TheJetsVEVO on Oct 5, 2009

"Music video by The Jets performing Private Number. (C) 1985 Geffen Records"

Some synth spotting in via Pea Hicks.

NEW 2010 Optigan Disc - PIANOSCAPE

YouTube via peahix — May 18, 2010 —

"Now available for pre-order at http://www.optigan.com/shoptigan/inde... is our brand new Optigan disc: PIANOSCAPE! When we've reached 15 pre-orders, we'll go to press with the limited run of 25 discs.

The dusty old Winter spinet piano we recorded for this disc is the very same piano that Pea Hicks learned to play on, and is also the source of the photos on the jacket cover and in this video. This demo recording is just a quick improvisation to give you an idea of the overall sound possibilities of this disc. Toward the end, we've flipped the disc over so you can hear with it sounds like running backwards. Here's the blurb from the back of the jacket:
**************
They said it couldn't be done, but we've done it! We've brought the sound of a spinet piano to the Optigan Music Maker in a way that is both musically captivating and strangely haunting. You'll enjoy creating your own piano soundscape by merely pressing a few buttons and playing a few keys.

Now we're going to test your creativity! Try playing this music program disc with an of the Optigan Music Books. Give up? Next, try holding down as many of the keys as you can. Ah, that's nice. Now it's your turn to challenge your friends and family to create their own piano soundscape. Pianoscape!

Playing tips:
The attack of the keyboard piano tones are staggered across a 16th-note grid, such that by playing chords with your right hand, a windchime-like arpeggio effect is achieved. A drum loop is provided to help with your timing. The bass notes are staggered on a 1/2-note grid, and the chords on a 1/4-note grid.

Optigans equipped with a spring reverb will provide the most haunting sound, which is further enhanced by inserting the disc upside-down for backwards play."

QUILTER PANOPTIGON Now Available

Some pics and details via Noisebug, who also as it listed on Rerverb here. Be sure to check out the pics with the cool transparent brown dust cover.

"The Panoptigon represents the culmination of years of research and development that carries an awesome vintage instrument into the modern era. Redesigned from the ground up, the Panoptigon empowers the artist with MIDI, modern effects, and a deeper and more thorough feature set than ever dreamed of before.
The original Optigan program discs came in many popular styles, and our new disc mastering system has enabled us to create and release never-issued discs from the master tapes rescued and preserved by Pea Hicks. In addition, we have mastered original discs, some of which go much further in exploiting the cyclical nature of the playback loop, resulting in loop libraries with endlessly entertaining combinations.

Maximum Polyphony: 60 Voices (Tracks)
Current Draw: 650 mA , 24V
Dimensions (W x D x H): 17.6" (447 mm) x 16.75" (425 mm) x 5.25 (133 mm) without cover
17.6" (447 mm) x 16.75" (425 mm) x 5.50 (140 mm) with cover
Weight: 13.4 lbs. (6.08 kg) without cover
15.1 lbs. (6.85 kg) with cover
Accessories: Dust cover, PS24 Power Supply, AC Cord, Disc Starter Pack, Owner's Manual
Connectors: MIDI (IN, THRU)
Headphones (3.5mm)
Audio Output x 2 (1/4" phone): LEFT-MONO SUM, RIGHT-TRS STEREO
Output Impedance: 1 kOhm
24 VDC Power (5.5mm barrel, 2.5mm pin, tip positive)
SYNC IN (3.5mm), SYNC OUT (3.5mm)
Power Supply PS-24 (24 VDC, 3A)"

CLICK FOR MORE »