"Deep Space" (Vangelis Tribute, original Space Ambient music with Oberheim OBX8 M and Roland A50)

video upload by Phil and the Synths

"It's already more than two years that Vangelis left us! RIP!
This tribute was entirely created using the Oberheim OBX8 desktop, controlled using the Roland A50 with polyphonic aftertouch !
Custom sounds were used.
External effects (Shimmer and Delay) were provided using the Eventide H90.
Images were from Storyblocks.

Headphone recommended"

What is a Yamaha TX7 and why you should buy one over a DX7

video upload by Ian Dixon

Spotted this one in the previous listing and decided to post it separately. The video is from Mar 16 this year.

"If you are looking for classic 80s vintage synth sounds, then you are instantly going to think of the Yamaha DX7. It's one of the most iconic and influential synths of all time and used on countless eighties hits. Think A-ha, Kenny Loggins, Phil Collins and Brian Eno. However, before you hit ebay or Reverb searching for the DX7 you should consider its little brother: the TX7.

UPDATE: The demo song is now availbe on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/track/0oFIli...

The TX7 is a desktop module version of the DX7. It has the same sound engine as its big brother, with 6 operator / 32 algorithm FM and 12bit Digital to Analog converters.

In this video I look at what the TX7 can do, how you can edit sounds on a TX7 and why should look at a TX7 over a DX7.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:27 What is the difference between the TX7 and DX7
02:44 Sound Demos
05:26 Editing sounds on a TX7
07:31 Conclusion
08:57 Demo song"

Cherry Audio Releases Pro Soloist Synthesizer

video upload by Cherry Audio

The British Stereo Collective - "Ghosts in the Machine," featuring Cherry Audio's Pro Soloist

video upload by Cherry Audio

""Ghosts in the Machine" by The British Stereo Collective. ALL sounds (including percussion) were played by hand exclusively on Cherry Audio's Pro Soloist virtual instrument. No other synths were used in this recording.

Composer, artist, and producer Phil Heeks of The British Stereo Collective draws his inspiration from classic 70s/80s TV theme compilations, film soundtracks, and sound effects LPs of the era. Read more about Phil's various projects and links to his work at https://cherryaudio.com/videos/excerp..."

Introduction to Cherry Audio's Pro Soloist - Hosted by Tim Shoebridge

video upload by Cherry Audio

"To get users up and running with Pro Soloist, Cherry Audio and Tim Shoebridge of Sound Mangling have again teamed up to create an introductory tutorial video walking users through the extensive features of this iconic virtual synthesizer instrument."

Cherry Audio Pro Soloist: A detailed demo/tutorial of a prog rock and 1970s classic

video upload by CatSynth TV

"We take a detailed look at the new Pro Soloist from Cherry Audio, a recreation of the ARP Pro Soloist that became in mainstay in 1970s prog rock as well as a featured instrument in funk, electronic music, and more. We look at the features from the original, including the front-panel "paddle" presets and the unique touch sensor effects. We then take a deep dive below the hood into the enhanced features for directly editing the individual modules and parameters of the underlying synthesizer architecture (including the resonators) and explore the onboard effects section. Finally, we look at a few of the factory presets, including banks from INHALT and Vintage Vibes by James Dyson.

This instrument was developed in collaboration with Mark Barton, who was also behind the Novochord and Solovox instruments that we at CatSynth have enjoyed.

To find out more, please visit cherryaudio.com

"Pro Soloist is the latest in Cherry Audio's roster of ultimate 'what if?'
virtual instruments. Featuring the precision crafted and circuit-modeled DSP designs of award-winning developer Mark Barton, Cherry Audio's Pro Soloist goes beyond emulating the treasured, preset-based monophonic analog synth originally released by ARP in 1972. Pro Soloist not only exactingly reproduces the expressive controls, 30 infamous presets, and the unique underlying architecture of this prog rock classic, it breaks it out of its cage by making it fully programmable and expanding it with full polyphony, splits and layers, a mod matrix, integrated studio-quality effects, and more."

00:00 Introduction
00:25 History of the Arp Pro Soloist
01:23 Overview of the Cherry Audio Pro Soloist
02:21 Original front-panel presets
08:35 Global controls
09:35 Touch Sensor Effects
16:00 Edit Mode
16:59 VCO
18:59 VCF
21:53 Resonator bank
23:53 Modulating the resonator bank with the mod matrix
26:45 Effects panel
34:46 Multi-layer mode
38:08 Factory Presets
42:18 Vintage Vibe expansion bank
43:44 Conclusion"

Press release follows.

"Cherry Audio releases the highly anticipated Pro Soloist, the latest in its growing line of authentic classic synth emulations. This Pro Soloist breaks out of its cage with fully programmability, expanded polyphony and dual layers, an arpeggiator, a mod matrix, studio-quality effects, and more.

PRESS RELEASE - November 21, 2023: Cherry Audio is thrilled to release the highly anticipated Pro Soloist, the latest in its growing line of authentic emulations of classic synthesizers. Featuring the precision-crafted and circuit-modeled DSP designs of esteemed developer Mark Barton, Pro Soloist goes far beyond reproducing the expressive controls, 30 presets, and the unique architecture of this 1972 classic. Most significantly, Cherry Audio breaks Pro Soloist out of its cage by making it fully programmable and expanding it with full polyphony, splits and layers, an arpeggiator, a mod matrix, integrated studio-quality effects, and more.

Early analog synthesizers were a mystery to most working musicians. In 1972, ARP Instruments released the Pro Soloist, one of the first commercially successful preset-based synthesizers. Pro Soloist featured a revolutionary electronic design and feature set, most notably its innovative "touch sensor" keyboard (now commonly known as aftertouch), where pressing a note harder introduces changes to the sound, allowing highly expressive playing. The Pro Soloist was a hit with acts as varied as Tangerine Dream, Gary Numan, Herbie Hancock, Styx, Prince, Parliament, and Vangelis. Perhaps best remembered was Tony Banks, who amplified the Pro Soloist's legendary presets in epic keyboard solos for the legendary band Genesis.

Cherry Audio has received countless requests to reproduce this oft-forgotten gem — one of those came from frequent collaborator Mark Barton (GX-80, Novachord + Solovox, Miniverse, and others). With unparalleled attention to detail, Mark has created an authentic reproduction of the analog signal path along with the 30 original presets, and together we have substantially expanded the Pro Soloist's capabilities. Cherry Audio has added a dual-layer voicing architecture, with 16 polyphonic voices per layer, that enables two different presets simultaneously, with independent panning for rich stereo timbres and complex sounds. Pro Soloist also includes a split keyboard mode and a brilliant “Last Note” option that effectively simulates polyphonic aftertouch using monophonic-aftertouch controllers.

Pro Soloist's distinctive three-panel interface makes clear that this is far more than a preset synth. Cherry Audio has precisely recreated the look and sounds of the original paddle presets in its main Performance mode panel. In Edit mode, we've exposed all of its unique analog synthesis architecture parameters, most notably, the fully-variable, five parallel bandpass filter "Resonator Bank," key to the Pro Soloist's realistic acoustic orchestra timbres. Additionally, we've revealed the LFO and ADSR/AR envelopes and elevated the sound design possibilities with a "Super Wave" oscillator and a robust six-slot modulation matrix. The Arp/FX panel rounds it out with a syncable arpeggiator and a dozen studio-quality effects for distortion, phaser, flanger/chorus, echo, and reverb.

In short, Cherry Audio has elevated the Pro Soloist from a bare-bones monophonic lead synth into a massive, polyphonic powerhouse beyond anything imagined 50 years ago.

Pro Soloist also features 450 presets created by an extraordinarily talented team of sound design veterans, including James Terris, INHALT, Drew Schlesinger, Huston Singletary, and Mark Barton. More captivating sounds are available in the Vintage Vibes Preset Pack (sold separately) by James Dyson. With additional touches such as Cherry Audio's acclaimed MIDI mapping functions, highly optimized DSP for optimal performance, and a visually immersive interface, Pro Soloist will satisfy both vintage synth aficionados and today's music producers.

A mint condition and serviced Pro Soloist can easily fetch $2,500 or more these days, and its unique architecture makes MIDI retrofits impossible. Cherry Audio is thrilled to introduce this virtual and expanded Pro Soloist at the jaw-dropping price of only $49 (list $69), obtainable now from cherryaudio.com and authorized resellers worldwide. Pro Soloist is also available as part of Cherry Audio's new and comprehensive Synth Stack 4 collection. This ultimate sonic package includes all 22 of Cherry Audio's virtual instruments to date at an unbelievably affordable price, on sale for a limited time.

Pro Soloist is available in AU, VST, VST3, AAX, and standalone formats for Windows (7 or above, including Windows 11) and macOS (10.13 and above), including native support for Apple Silicon. A free 30-day demo is available. Visit cherryaudio.com for additional product details, system requirements, videos, and an extensive collection of awe-inspiring sound demos."

Prophet Rev 2 Famous Song Patches

video upload by Creative Spiral

"Demo of sound designs on the Prophet Rev 2 Synth - inspired by famous songs from Led Zeppelin, The Cars, Phil Collins, Prince, Rush, Pink Floyd, Journey, Radiohead, Daft Punk, Muse, Michael Jackson, Tears for Fears, and more.

In addition to the couple dozen patches shown here, there are several more famous song patches, and around 100 more patches, included in the VCM Volume 2 Soundset. The soundset uses voice modeling techniques to mimiq the behavior of vintage synths, and better capture the character of the sounds... I have many videos on the topic of voice modeling, if you want more info, or examples - it uses the same general methodology of the latest generation of Vintage Knob controls on Sequential synths, but with finer control over each parameter.

To purchase this VCM ++ Volume 2 Soundset, or for more information: https://sounddesign.sellfy.store/p/vc..."

Prophet Rev2 Soundset VCM ++ Volume 2 Patches

video upload by Creative Spiral

Patch list below.

"VCM ++ Volume 2 is here! This sound set takes advantage of the latest O.S. update for Prophet Rev2, with tons of new Vintage Voice Modeling Sounds, Binaural Stereo Stacks and Advanced Motion Patches. Available on Sellfy here:

VINTAGE VOICE COMPONENT MODELING (VCM)
A few years back I did a bunch of research and analysis on vintage synths from the 1970s through 2000s, to understand what gives classic/vintage synths their lush character and organic warmth. I published info on my findings at http://www.VoiceComponentModeling.com, and released a patch bank for the Prophet Rev 2 (as well as other soundsets for other synths in the past few years). This new soundset (VCM ++ Volume 2) is the latest release, harnessing the techniques I've been working on the past few years.

LATEST O.S. for PROPHET REV2
This sound set takes advantage of the latest Prophet Rev2 firmware released a few months ago, which fixed some issues with the Gated Sequencer Key Stepping, along with several other minor bugs. This O.S. (1.1.5.9.9) is the latest stable release, and highly recommended for usage with these patches. They would technically work with previous O.S. versions, but not sound as good. Go get the latest O.S. for free on the official Sequential Rev2 forum. Note: It's technically a beta, but with Seq, their Betas are the same as release versions after they've been out a few months. They are the most stable, bug free versions.

NEW CAPABILITIES WITH UPDATED O.S.
Now that the Key Stepping of the Gated Sequencer works fully on stacked patches, there are some new capabilities that the Prophet Rev2 has.

Firstly, it can now pull off stacked/layered patches with Vintage Voice Modeling on both layers, with correct voice stepping. This allows for huge sounding vintage stacks, emulating double tracked or binaural stereo sounds, with tons of organic, vintage character through per voice modeling (VCM).

Second, the excellent gated sequencer / modulation sequencer can now be used in key stepping mode for stacked/layered patches. This provides the Rev2 with incredible syncopated motion capabilities, unmatched by virtually any other synth on the market. By combining two layers of Arpeggio motion, with strategically planned Osc Frequency Modulations, Cutoff jumps and other modulations, you can create incredibly rich animated motion that can be played up and down the keybed in any key. The resulting patterns that are created are extremely unique, and by targeting octaves, perfect fifths, and perfect fourths, along with staggered timing/reset points, you can create semi-procedural, intelligent melodies and multi osc harmonies that respond to your playing.

Third, the above two capabilities unlocked with the latest O.S. can be mixed/matched. For example, there are many patches in the soundset and demo, which have a pad, brass or string sound with vintage voice modeling on one layer, combined with an advanced motion arp on the second layer, for rich motion patches, with a fundamental organic, vintage style based underneath.

0:00 PAD-S Pulsimatic VCM
1:11 SPL ZepInTheLight VCM * Led Zeppelin
2:25 PAD Cars Drive VCM * The Cars
2:35 KEY Cars Drive Pluck VCM * The Cars
3:12 ARP PAD HorizonGlow VCM
4:22 KEY EP Everything3 VCM * Radiohead

CLICK FOR MORE »

Sequential Joins The Focusrite Group — A Message From Dave Smith

video by Sequential

"It’s with great excitement that I announce that Sequential is joining the Focusrite Group of music and audio brands.

We're now part of a family made up of some of the best and brightest companies in the music instruments and pro audio industries: Focusrite, Focusrite Pro, Martin Audio, Optimal Audio, ADAM Audio, Novation and Ampify Music. We’re in good company!

But don't worry — we’re not going anywhere. It’s business as usual for us and we'll be a separate entity from the other brands in the group. I’ll continue to lead our engineering and product development and work with the Sequential design team into the future. If anything, I'll have more time to make amazing synths!

- Dave Smith"

And the official press release:

Focusrite PLC Acquires Sequential® in Landmark Industry Development

Legendary Synth Brand Founded by Dave Smith Joins Focusrite Group

San Francisco, CA and High Wycombe, UK — April 27th 2021 — In a joint statement, Focusrite Group and Sequential LLC today announced that Focusrite plc, a leading global creator of music and audio hardware and software products, has acquired Sequential LLC, the respected American synthesizer manufacturer led by legendary electronic instrument designer and Grammy® winner Dave Smith.

Both companies stand to benefit from the synergy created by the acquisition. The Focusrite Group will add the venerable Sequential line of instruments to its already-impressive portfolio of products, which includes the acclaimed Focusrite, Focusrite Pro, Martin Audio, Optimal Audio, ADAM Audio, Novation, and Ampify brands. Sequential will benefit from greater resources to expand its global markets and future R&D efforts.

Sequential’s Dave Smith said, “With Focusrite, we’ve found an ideal home and a perfect cultural and technological fit. Phil Dudderidge and his team have a long history of quality, vision, and focus on what musicians and audio professionals really want. We’re excited to join such an industry powerhouse and contribute to our mutual success. I expect great things.”

Sequential has been a leading force in the resurgent popularity of analog synthesizers over the last decade. Its instruments, which include the Prophet® 5 Rev4 polyphonic synth, Pro 3® hybrid monosynth, and Prophet X Samples + Synthesis keyboard, are known for their versatility, ease of use, and excellence of sound. They are a mainstay of performing and recording artists and can be seen and heard on countless stages and recordings.

Focusrite Founder Phil Dudderidge commented: “We’re excited and pleased to add Sequential’s instruments and pedigree to Focusrite Group’s portfolio of world-class audio and music production tools. Dave Smith’s history as an innovator speaks for itself. From his creation of the world’s first fully programmable polysynth, the Prophet 5, to his co-invention of MIDI, Dave has literally changed the world of music several times. We’re looking forward to continuing his history of innovation and expanding the global market for Sequential’s instruments.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Sequential has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Focusrite plc. Sequential’s day-to-day operations and product development remain unchanged and will continue to be guided by Dave Smith and his team.

Tim Carroll, CEO of Focusrite Group, remarked, “Sequential is a premium analogue synth brand with a big stake in music creation. The products are exceptional and the company is run extremely well, and the passion of the people at Sequential aligns perfectly with our Focusrite Group ethos. It’s tremendously exciting to be able to bring Sequential into the Focusrite family, further the incredible journey that Dave Smith started, and keep growing together.”

via Sequential

And via Novation:

Legendary synth brand Sequential joins the family

Sequential and Novation will grow together under the same parent company.

We’re over the moon to announce that our parent company, Focusrite plc, has acquired Sequential, the synth brand founded and led by legendary synth designer and Grammy winner, Dave Smith.

If you’re new to the name Sequential, you’ll definitely have heard the synths: Dave Smith is the pioneer that designed the world’s first fully programmable polysynth, the classic Prophet® 5, and he co-invented MIDI, which transformed electronic production and changed musical history. Today, countless artists still count on Sequential instruments to bring life and an undeniably rich and organic feeling to their musical creations, spanning every genre.

Before your mind goes wild conceiving the ultimate Novation x Sequential product mashup, it’s safe to say that Sequential and Novation will continue to operate independently, as separate entities under the Focusrite Group umbrella. Dave Smith will remain at the helm of Sequential, leading engineering, product development and mentorship of Sequential’s new breed of designers.

So, it’s business as usual, and we’re extremely excited to grow together, inspire each other, and together fuel the future of forward-thinking music!

Phil's Rev2 Jam-torials with the Sequential Rev2

Published on Mar 20, 2019 Phil's Rev2 Jam-torials

Playlist:

1. Episode 1: Some Percussive Exploration on the Prophet Rev2

Foolin around with some percussive patching on the Rev2.

CLICK FOR MORE »

EMS SYNTHI HI-FLI PROTOTYPE 1 of 10 *Serviced* David Gilmour Guitar Synth

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

via this auction

"A very rare prototype Synthi Hi-Fli, dating from 1972, in excellent condition following a full overhaul by EMS earlier this year.
One of only ten pre-production units made in 1972. David Gilmour reputedly still owns two of them…

Ultra-rare prototype EMS Synthi Hi-Fli – this is a knob-twiddler’s dream of an effect and the ultimate in hens’ teeth: your guitar will never sound the same again.

Different sound and spec to a standard Hi-Fli – this is the second such unit we’ve had and it broke my heart to sell the last one (I’ve been a committed HiFli nut since I bought my first one many years ago and have always had at least one in the studio ever since).

The prototypes don’t have the growl function, which was introduced about 18 months later. Production Hi-Flis all have the Buzz switch, but only the first ten prototypes had the Fuzz switch, which adds some interesting colouration to the up and down-octave sounds.

Ten production prototype Hi-Flis were made in 1972 but a redesign quickly followed the launch at the Frankfurt Fair to try to reduce the factory cost (the prototype design is not especially ergonomic for a guitar player to use – you have to lean back somewhat to access the pedals underneath the main unit). This original design features a removable aluminium pole which plugs into the underside of the main console and the top of the base unit, acting both as a stand and a conduit for power and signal connections (pole not included with this unit). The heavy-duty nylon-dipped base houses the power supply and sturdy twin pedals.

Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd is reputed to still have two of these original units, which, according to Phil Taylor were first used for the Dark Side of The Moon tour that started in May 1973 at Earls Court. Opinion is divided as to whether a Hi-Fli featured on the DSOTM recordings: I can only say that it certainly sounds like it did.
Number one in Analogman Tom’s list of rare guitar effects from his excellent book.
Used by David Gilmour – see this Gilmourish blog for further details – he bought a prototype in 1972 and from what he recalls it was “very, very expensive”; Gilmourish also suggest it was used during the recording of Dark Side Of The Moon

CLICK FOR MORE »

SynthFest UK 2019 Sound on Sound Videos

Published on Oct 7, 2019 Sound On Sound magazine

1. Yamaha 45 Years of Synths - SynthFest UK 2019
2. SynthFest UK - Phil Oakey Talks Synths and more...
3. ASM Hydrasynth - SynthFest UK 2019
4. Analogue Solutions - Colossus - SynthFest UK 2019
5. Modal Electronics - Argon8 - Synthfest 2019
6. Korg NTS1 & Volca Nubass - SynthFest UK 2019
7. Loci Modular Stand - SynthFest UK 2019
8. Korg Kross 2 88 MB - SynthFest UK 2019
9. KMA Cirrus - SynthFest UK 2019
10. Roland Fantom - SynthFest UK 2019
11. Roland JU-06A - SynthFest UK 2019
12. Roland Jupiter-Xm - Synthfest UK 2019
13. KMA Logan - SynthFest UK 2019
14. Roland MC707 & MC101 - SynthFest UK 2019
15. Expert Sleepers ES-9 - SynthFest UK 2019
16. Presonus - Eris 8XT - SynthFest UK 2019
17. Presonus - DC Coupled Outputs on Interfaces

See the SYNTHFEST UK label below for more.

Synth Spotting with Pete Townshend of The Who

via Pete Townshend's Instagram @yaggerdang

Cameron Jones, mentioned below, is the co-creator of the Synclavier. Curious about that new mac-based program. Cameron recently worked on the Synclavier iOS app and the Synclavier KNOB.

"Between tours I spend a lot of my free time trying to improve my various studios. I have a number of spaces (only one large studio big enough for bands) and each one has a different focus. Recently, after getting inspired by the Eurorack world, and by being able to carry small devices on the road - like Akai MPC Mini, Volcas and Digitakts etc - I realised I’d neglected my larger modular synths that I am damned lucky to have and even luckier to know how to operate. So here’s where I left things with my ARP2500 (restored by the wonderful Phil Cirocco of CMS) and MOOG 35 before I sadly packed my leaving trunk to go on the road. Two months!!! Spiders will move in. The sharp eyed among you might spot the controller and keyboard for my Synclavier 9600 and Direct to Disk system. This has also recently been revived because Cameron Jones created a new Mac-based computer program to run the old towers. Steve Hill’s installed it for me. Cameron also worked with Arturia to create the Synclavier V. This is a fine development of the old FM system. The three stringed things on the wall are all by Collings. Love their boxes. .

This one was sent my way via bÖsch @fabmass

Update: you can find a video of it here. Embedding is disabled otherwise I'd embed it in this post.  Thanks to @Precarsious_333 for the link!

Synth Jams by Jay Hosking

Published on Jul 26, 2019 Jay Hosking

Spotted the first video in the playlist above on discchord.com. The Playlist contains 21 videos. You can use the player controls to skip around. Descriptions for each are below. All videos feature various gear so you should be able to get an idea of some of the capabilities of each featured. You can check out Jay Hosking's music at https://jayhosking.bandcamp.com/.

Note, more will likely get added over time. The following playlist is as of this post:

1. Jam w/ Vermona PERfourMER MkII, Elektron Analog Rytm MkII, OTO Bam, Styrmon Big Sky, Fugue Machine

A live, semi-improvised performance, all on hardware, and inspired by some pretty tough news that has me sentimental.

I loved the Elektron Analog Four MkII so much that I picked up the Analog Rytm MkII. My feelings on the Rytm are mixed. On the one hand, it's missing that spontaneity and spark of units like the Arturia DrumBrute Impact and Teenage Engineering OP-Z, with no readymade performance effects, roller bar, or global randomization, and a slower workflow. On the other hand, I really like its analogue sound engines, any unused tracks can be converted into impressive analogue mono synths, it does beautiful things to samples, and like all Elektron boxes it integrates the effects into the sequencer really nicely.

As for the Vermona PERfourMER MkII, I'd been pining over it for ages, and it was fun to finally tinker with it. The Perfourmer definitely excels in the mid- and high- range, and I love how the independent voices making really interesting voices for chords.

Vermona PERfourMER MkII + OTO Bam — Three synths (left chord note, right chord note, melody)
Vermona PERfourMER MkII + Strymon Big Sky — Bass chord note synth
Elektron Analog Rytm MkII — Drums, samples, sample melody, punchy bass
Fugue Machine (iOS) — Sequencing
IK Multimedia iRig Pro Duo — MIDI out from iOS

Written and performed within a 24-hour period, and uploaded as is, with only a little sidechain compression on the Perfourmer (to emphasize the sound that the Rytm was already making), and compression/limiting on the master.

https://jayhosking.bandcamp.com/

CLICK FOR MORE »

RIP Mark Hollis of Talk Talk

Published on Jul 13, 2011 exDrBob1

Mark Hollis of Talk Talk passed away today at the age of 64. He was one of my favorite musicians. I wasn't expecting to put a post up as it's synths only on the site, but I remembered there was some single synth spotting in the video for their first hit single above.  It appears to be an Oberheim OB-Xa with the 120 preset expansion badge on the front right. The OB-Xa was released in 1981 and the song came out in 1982 (not sure when the video came out though). You can also see some Simmons drum triggers. Synth spotting aside, I am going to miss him. I never got to see Talk Talk live. Apparently he stopped touring and pulled out of the music scene to spend more time with his family and to raise his kids. I heard he said he couldn't tour and be a good father at the same time so he chose to be a good father. Much respect to that. Below is a live concert from 1986. Some synth spotting there as well.

Talk Talk Live at Montreux 11th July 1986

Published on Jan 12, 2013

"Talk Talk Live on 11th July 1986 at the Jazz Festival in Switzerland. The show was part of a tour that started in April 1986 to promote the band's recent album The Colour of Spring, and was to be their only appearance at Montreux.

The extended line-up for the 1986 tour consisted of Hollis, Webb and Harris, plus John Turnbull (guitars), Rupert Black and Ian Curnow (keyboards), Phil Reis and Leroy Williams (percussion), and Mark Feltham (harmonica). Most notable among these concerts was this appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival, released on DVD in 2008 as Live at Montreux 1986.

Running order as follows...

00:00:00 Presentation
00:00:44 Talk Talk*
00:03:59 Dum Dum Girl**
00:07:44 Call in the Night Boy**
00:14:36 Tomorrow Started**
00:22:20 My Foolish Friend°
00:26:50 Life's What You Make It***
00:31:45 Does Caroline Know**
00:39:51 It's You**
00:43:49 Living in Another World***
00:51:40 Give It Up***
00:57:26 It's My Life**
01:05:02 I Don't Believe in You***
01:10:26 Such a Shame**
01:18:55 Renée**"

Orbital's Paul Hartnoll shows us how he keeps the classic sound of rave alive

Published on Dec 3, 2018 FACTmagazine

"Earlier this year rave pioneers Orbital - the British electronic duo made up of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll - returned with their first studio album in six years, Monsters Exist.

Whilst preparing for a string of live dates in the US and UK, Paul took the time to show us how he keeps the classic sound of rave alive with a combination of state-of-the-art samplers, classic synths and vintage gear."

Synths featured in order: Waldorf Quantum, Sequential Prophet X, EMS VC3S Putney, Roland Jupiter-6, Arturia MatrixBrute, Sequential Prophet-6, Access Virus, Novation Bass Station II, Novation Peak, MacBeth M5N.

In The Air with the Novation Peak

Published on Sep 30, 2018 Tim Shoebridge

"Continuing my personal torture to determine if one of my poly synths is surplus to requirements, here is a video looking at simple polyphonic patch creation with the Novation Peak."

And with the original synth, the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5:

Synth Sounds of Phil Collins "In The Air Tonight" | Reverb Synth Sounds

Published on Dec 7, 2017 Reverb

"Can you feel it coming? William Kurk takes on this Phil Collins classic by exploring the rhythms and tones that make this jam an instantly recognizable classic using both vintage drum machines and modern software. Welcome to the #SynthSounds of... Phil Collins."

An ARP 2500 in Eurorack Format?

CMS 1004 demo - The Pearlman Oscillator and T-mixer Published on Sep 24, 2018 Phil Cirocco

"This is a quick preliminary demo of the new CMS 1004 Pearlman Oscillator. This VCO is a faithful reproduction of the massive VCO circuit from the ARP 2500, shrunk down to euro rack format. An analog CRT oscilloscope shows some of the unique and interesting waveform combinations available. discretesynthesizers.com"

CMS is going eurorack with the CMS 1004T (ARP 2500) - Pearlman Oscillator and T-mixer

This is huge news. Not only the ARP 2500 1004T oscillator in eurorack format, but CMS entering the eurorack market as well. Phil Cirocco of CMS is known as the ARP specialist in the US. He works on vintage ARPs as well as designing his own synths, most recently the CMS 2607. Be sure to see the CMS label at the bottom of this post for more.

Pearlman, of course refers to ARP's founder Alan R. Pearlman.

Curious if CMS plans a full blown ARP 2500 in eurorack format. Imagine that. :)

ARP 2500 pictured below for reference, via this post.

CMS 2607 live 2 track demo - "Ruination"

Published on Sep 29, 2017 Phil Cirocco

"This is a quick demo I quickly made using:
6 CMS 2607 rack mount synthesizers, 2 Roland MPU-101 MIDI converters and 1 TR-808 analog drum machine (upgraded by CMS).
The 2607 is an updated and miniaturized version of the ARP 2600. I only had approx 1 day to record this and some photos before I disassembled the rack. The customers were waiting for their instruments. Go to discretesynthesizers.com for more info. The synths are mounted in a vintage Emcor rack cabinet similar to those used in vintage sci-fi movies and TV."

See the Phil Cirocco label below for more. See here for more details on the CMS 2607, an ARP 2600 on steroids.

Pain by Sound of Science (feat. John von Ahlen)

Published on Jul 26, 2017 rezfilter

New track from Analogue Solutions Tom Carpenter, and Jason Huffman.

"Pain & Remixes EP available on iTunes now!

Pain EP Remixes by Sound of Science (feat. John von Ahlen)

Synths featured:
Pro One, Korg 770, Waldorf XT, Wasp, Waldorf Wave, AS Modules, AS Telemark, RSF Kobol, EML400

Tracks:

Pain (original)
Pain (Mind Your Faith Remix) by Chad Glenn
Pain (Introvert Rework) by Introvert
Pain (Johnery Doo Mix) by Simon Forsyth
Pain (Adam et Eve Mix) by Chad Glenn

Sound of Science is a transatlantic duo comprising Tom Carpenter and Jason Huffman.

Tom is the man behind Analogue Solutions and has been building synthesizers for over 15 years. He has supplied synths to people such as Trent Reznor, Martin Gore, Vince Clarke, Phil Oakey, Daniel Miller, and many more. The designs are directly influenced by his love of electronic music.

Jason is an analogue synth wizard, composer and a lover of all things that make noise. He also produces the legendary Rezfilter videos (see YouTube) that highlight these excellent synthesizers. Together they have pooled their years of combined experience of songwriting and sound design to produce real songs using real synthesizers.

Vocals & Lyrical support by John von Ahlen: [ PARRALOX, SOUND OF THE CROWD, THE TENTH STAGE ]

John has been writing and producing music for over 15 years. His production/collaboration credits include Big Brother Australia, Delta Goodrem, Olivia Newton-John, Gina G, Belinda Emmett, Rove Live (TV Theme), skitHouse (TV Theme), Queer As Folk, The Wog Boy (Soundtrack), Tabula Rasa (Soundtrack), Johnny X, Mr Jones, Craig Heath, Real Life, Angelspit and Tankt."

Moog Sub-37 meets Sequetron & Waldorf streichfett

Published on Dec 21, 2016 Phil Tipping

"New toy (it's that time of year!) festooned with knobs so ideal opportunity to show how Sequetron macros can simplify some command sequences. In this example, the Noise Level knob and Glide Type button are used to switch the sub-37 keyboard between multiple synths, allowing concurrent looping & live playing. More info & downloads at http://www.philizound.co.uk"

EMS Synthi AKS Just Serviced at CMS by Phil Ciccerro

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via this auction

Interesting side view of the Synthi.

"EMS SYNTHI AKS. Recently serviced by Phil Ciccerro at CMS Discrete Synths. Had over $1400 work done. I did all the work he recommended. I am also including the briefcase. Its larger than the original, with plenty of customizable space for ext speakers, sub, patch bay, accessories, etc

The speakers are not installed, but the power amp for the speakers come through the custom 1/4' output jacks. I have tried them with various speakers. They drive pretty loudly.

There is one pot that spins, and probably needs replacement, (its a common pot. I need to skeak with Phil, because there are a few small issues, like the pot, and the Right input (for prossesing external signals like Todd rundregren used for guitar etc, doesn't seem to get the hi Z signal. It could be made really nice, with some silk screen refurb on the panel. I also have the keyboard on a separate listing. The last time I checked on another Synthi (Squids Aks) it worked, so im confident it works fine. I don't have the jack to try it. Also its been weirdly modified with a see through window. This Synthi could be made "DELUXE" in a bigger briefcase with some nice patched or installed in the case speakers, maybe a small external Sub, and patch points for speakers, inputs, an effects insert, or send, maybe a bigger reverb tank, so much could be done to make it super cool. We have always talked about making a "DELUXE" AKS. This is a good opportunity for that. Also the Samsonite, Samite briefcase come up on occasion, for around $800, so please figure whatever you may pay for a complete synthi, I would minus about $2000, for the case, a new pot, and some touch up."

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Yamaha to Host Rare Vintage Synth Exhibit at NAMM

Pictured: Yamaha's first synth, the SY-1.

"Yamaha to Exhibit Rare Vintage Synthesizers From 40‐Year History at the 2015 NAMM Show

BUENA PARK, Calif. (January 6, 2015)—Yamaha today announced that it will exhibit around a dozen rare vintage synthesizers at the 2015 NAMM Show, the largest musical instrument trade show in North America, to be held January 22‐25, 2015 in Anaheim, California. This showcase, which celebrates Yamaha’s 40th anniversary of manufacturing synthesizers—a milestone reached this year— plans to include analog synthesizers like the SY‐2, CS30 and a special guest or two, the gorgeous GS1, the DX7, which was one of the most commercially successful synths of its day, and the rare VP1—a polyphonic physical modeling synthesizer. Some of the models will be playable. Yamaha introduced its first synthesizer, the SY‐1, in 1974 after decades of research and development and established a high technological benchmark when it released the CS80 polyphonic synthesizer in 1976. The company made musical history in 1983 when the DX7 debuted as the most commercially successful electronic keyboard of its time. This keyboard, which helped shape the sound of popular music in the 1980s, relied on frequency modulation—the leading‐edge technology of the time. By the end of the decade, Yamaha synths evolved from performance instruments to full‐fledged music workstations. The rise of music production synthesizers helped spur the home recording revolution by providing arrangers with a single tool to orchestrate almost any combination of musical instruments with ever‐more realistic tone generation. Yamaha helped develop the use of

sampled—or recorded—tones, along with physical modeling that went beyond sound by recreating instrument behavior as a mathematical model. Building on years of experience and distilling all of Yamaha’s technical innovations into one synth, the Motif series, introduced in 2001, evolved into an industry leader by offering great sound, computer integration and the ability to create sophisticated musical performances with ease. To celebrate the anniversary, Yamaha released the latest iteration of this series, the Motif XF, with a special edition white finish—the only Music Production Synthesizer on the market available in this color. The model offers an exclusive 40th Anniversary Premium Contents Pack that includes FL512M flash memory expansion, a USB drive with content from vintage Yamaha synthesizers and more than $1,000 in rebate offers on Yamaha products and third party soft synths, editors and sound libraries. Beyond hardware, Yamaha became an early adopter of digital technology. Earlier this year, the company launched www.yamahasynth.com, a new community for Yamaha synthesizer users. The site features a forum where members can interact with Yamaha’s product experts including the legendary Phil “Bad Mister” Clendeninn, Yamaha Synthesizer artists and other enthusiasts, along with resources to help all players get the most out of their instrument and download sounds directly into their synthesizers. 'Yamaha has long mastered the art of drawing on past technologies to improve on future synthesizer models,' said Nate Tschetter, marketing manager, Music Production, Yamaha Corporation of America. 'We continue to make high‐quality synthesizers for every stage of one’s musical career from the bedroom studio to the sold‐out stadium.' For more information, visit the Yamaha Booth at the 2015 NAMM Show in the Anaheim Marriott Hotel, Marquis Ballroom, January 22‐25, 2015, or http://4wrd.it/yamahasynth."