MJ's "Beat It" - The Untold Story by Tom Bähler

video upload by

"It's my pleasure to re-unite with my old friend Tom Bähler who generously tells us all the details of his experiences with Michael and Quincy during the making of 'Beat It'. This untold story is a result of Tom contacting me after seeing one of our videos about how to make the gong sound on 'Beat It'.

He felt it was time to fill-in some blanks in the timeline about how and when things happened and to also share some of his most intimate, inspiring moments about the creation of the song. In this segment we'll tap into a little bit of history about the Synclavier and how this game changing synthesizer got into the hands of Michael. Then you'll find out how the infamous gong sound was discovered, that it was slightly altered and who actually played it on the record. Tom is a gifted storyteller who colorfully weaves relevant and fun anecdotal sidebars in the process of describing the historical facts. He tops off this segment with the back story about Michael's incredibly drawn out search to find the perfect sound to play on the 4th beat of each bar in "Beat It". Michael had the sound in his head but needed to discover what instrument could make it. The first thing I saw when I (Anthony) arrived to play on the album was Michael hitting drum cases with 2 x 4's, but I never knew about the events leading up to that day. Now we all will. I hope you enjoy this special interview and rare opportunity to hear these personal stories directly from Tom Bähler, a living legend. And stay tuned to Anthony Marinelli Music for the other segments with Tom about Working with Michael, Working with Quincy, Arranging for "We Are the World" and writing what some consider to be their favorite song by Michael, 'We are the World'.

0:00 Introduction to Tom Bahler
1:33 Discovering the Synclavier
3:16 The Gong Story, Michael & Bruce
9:48 Copyright
12:35 Michael's Search for the 4th Beat of "Beat It"
19:40 Michael & Quincy Speaking in Colors
20:18 Conclusion"

10 Distortion Techniques: Every Synth Needs This

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"Get ready for some sonic devastation as I demonstrate some of my favorite efx pedals and techniques that deliver filthy synth sounds capable of cutting through even the thickest wall of amplified guitars! I'll show you 10 different color palates with hands-on examples ranging from tasteful overdrive, distortion, fuzz all the way to full meltdown clipping. A little of these flavors added to your synthesizer instrument will help you create more inspiring sounds and also help you require less work to bring you final mixes together. I truly believe that every synth needs a drive circuit as much as it needs filters, reverbs and delays. After watching this video I hope you'll be inspired to grab some analog distortion pedals and start discovering what I did, that I can't live without them."

00:00 Introduction
00:51 Minimoog External Input Feedback Loop
03:49 ARP 2600 Internal Preamp Distortion
07:27 Distorted LFO's
09:46 Moogerfooger MF-104M Pedal Drive Circuit
15:08 Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal Pedal
18:14 Boss FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz Pedal
20:59 Mutron III Input Gain as Distortion Pedal
25:07 Vintage 1965 Fender Showman Amp
28:09 Joyo American Sound Pedal
32:09 Arturia Minimoog with Moogerfooger MF-104S Plug-ins

*🎹 THRILLER SYNTH GIVEAWAY 🎹* ✅ Visit https://www.anthonymarinellimusic.com... to find out how to enter ✅

🏆 Want to win the same model synthesizer used on *Thriller* to make the _iconic_ 🐸 "Froggie" Bass sound? ⏰ Hurry because the giveaway ends October 30th! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

ARP 2600 Custom Mods

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"It's my pleasure to show you the custom modifications I had installed on my ARP 2600 back in around 1979. In this video I'll discuss why I believed it was necessary to drill holes into the synthesizer for what I considered to be essential features and/or improvements to the design. I say essential because I was using the instrument to perform on live feature film recording sessions and live concert events. I needed to have preset octaves, preset intervals, longer release times, separate keyboard gates and more patching capability to be more effective in those mediums. Quick sound changes we required! Remember this was at a time when synthesizers did not have the ability to recall sounds via some sort of internal memory. I had to remember all the patches myself and use the modifications to immediately morph my sound changes in real time. I also had to get pretty good at creating patches without hearing the synth and hoping that I was close when I needed to start playing. Those were some golden years to be performing electronic instruments. It was easy to mess up but it definitely taught us some skills. I hope you enjoy seeing the mods in actions and hearing some of the accompanying stories!"

0:00 - 1:28 Introduction
1:29 - 2:49 Octave Switches
2:50 - 4:26 Preset Voltages Up and Down
4:27 - 6:14 ADSR Envelope Generator 10x Length
6:15 - 8:12 AR Envelope Generator Separate Gate
8:13 - 10:15 Multiples
10:16 - 11:02 Recap

Meet Anthony Marinelli's 1969 Moog IIIc Modular Synthesizer. It’s what started it all.@RosenSound !

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

Anthony Marinelli's Favorite Eurorack Module

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"I have to tell you about joystick modules because they've changed my ability to perform expressively on synthesizers that don't have expressive keyboards or sophisticated built-in controllers. A joy stick allows the user to expressively send control voltage signals according to varying positions of a stick. You can also use it to mix up to 4 different audio signals to create morphing complex sounds from simple sources. I'm demonstrating this type of controller using the Intelijel Planar which is a relatively inexpensive Euroack solution that can be integrated into many types of setups. In this video, I've integrated it with my ARP 2600 and show you how to control filter brightness and vibrato at the same time with one hand movement. It would otherwise be impossible to simultaneously change these two parameters while playing the keyboard with your other hand (without the joy stick). I've added some efx pedals to the sound to achieve a vocal quality that pairs well with the joystick modulations. There are many more uses for this expression controller, so stay tuned for more advanced applications and musical examples in upcoming videos.

THRILLER SYNTH GIVEAWAY

Giveaway link : https://www.anthonymarinellimusic.com...

Want to win the same model synthesizer used on THRILLER to make the iconic FROGGIE BASS sound? Visit the above link to find out how to enter. Hurry because the giveaway ends Oct 30th!

00:00 - 00:23 - Musical Example
00:24 - 01:36 - Introduction to Demonstration
01:37 - 02:11 X-plane
02:12 - 03:12 Y-plane
03:13 - 04:08 VCA Envelope
04:09 - 05:33 Adding EFX Pedals
05:34 - 06:37 Summary

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major.

Website: www.anthonymarinelli.com"

How Anthony Marinelli Programmed the Lead Synth on Michael Jackson’s PYT

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"In this video I'll show you a simple technique that I use to breakdown a sound when I need to re-create it. The most important weapon you have for programming a sound is your listening skills. I always take a deep breath before getting started. Quieting my mind in this way usually helps me understand what I'm hearing better. This example is a very simple one oscillator patch so it's a great one for try out this technique. The flutey lead from Michael Jackson's P.Y.T. is a cool counter line that enters for the 1st time in the 2nd verse of the song. It really gives the second verse a lift, almost floating feeling over a very funky groove. The waveform is a triangle wave which has a minimal amount of harmonic content. That's one main reason why it can be up in the mix and not interfere with the lead vocal. I used a Minimoog to create the sound for the track, but you can make this sound accurately on almost any synth including plugins. A lot of the personality of the sound comes from the performance including the use of vibrato via the pitch wheel. Experiment with playing the vibrato in a similar way as Greg Phillinganes (the original performer). This will help you understand the level of nuance that is possible. He's the master of it. And always remember the most important thing about any sound is when it occurs in the song and what notes are being played. Who is playing it doesn't hurt either, so be sure to interject your own thing into everything you do!

THRILLER SYNTH GIVEAWAY

Giveaway link : https://www.anthonymarinellimusic.com...

Want to win the same model synthesizer used on THRILLER to make the iconic FROGGIE BASS sound? Visit the above link to find out how to enter. Hurry because the giveaway ends Oct 30th!

00:00 - 00:30 Intro
00:31 - 01:08 How to breakdown a sound
00:09 - 01:32 Oscillators
01:33 - 01:59 Filter
02:00 - 02:33 Envelope
02:34 - 03:30 LFO/Vibrato
03:31 - 03:36 Conclusion

In this series Anthony breaks down some of the most icons synthesizer patches that he programmed for Michael Jackson’s Thriller

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major.

Website: www.anthonymarinelli.com"

“Tom Sawyer” Legendary Synth Intro

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"I've Always wanted to breakdown the opening bass sound to 'Tom Sawyer' by Rush. The introduction is so memorable that it sticks with us as much as the verse and chorus of the song. I'm using an Oberheim OBX which is the same model synthesizer used by Rush. Because of this, I can achieve a very close match compared to the sound on the album. In this video, I will show you the precise oscillator waveforms, modulations, filter and envelope setting so you can re-create this sound on almost any synth you have. Most importantly, the skills you learn on this channel about how to breakdown the sounds you hear on famous recordings will help you tailor any preset into a perfect fit for the records you are making. Also, I hope you are experimenting with merging all the tips and techniques from my other videos with the info you learn from breakdowns like this. Putting that together will bring you a step closer to being able to create any sound you hear in your head See you next time, Anthony

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major."

Website: www.anthonymarinelli.com

Rob Rosen Reveals His Ultimate Synth Collection

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

A look inside the Yamaha CS80, the 14th ever made Sequential Prophet-5, a Rev 1, and a Roland Juno-106, touching on some of the evolution of analog synthesis technology over the years.

"I hope you enjoy this rare opportunity to visit with my close friend Rob Rosen for a deep dive into his ultimate vintage synth collection. Together, we’ll see inside some of the rarest synthesizers of all-time and learn from this master technician how synthesizers have evolved, what makes them tick and why synthesizers make such cool sounds!

I consider Rob’s shop @Rosen Sound ground zero for anything relating to synthesizers. It’s also the biggest wonderland of vintage synths in perfect working order that you’ll ever see .

Rob is a self-taught technician and is now the world leader for repair, restoration, custom manufacturing and sales of vintage synthesizers. He’s also quite an accomplished musician programmer and keyboard player as well."

Chapter Time Stamps:
00:00:01 Intro Anthony on the street in Burbank, CA
00:01:55 Entering Inside Rosen Sound
00:02:06 Meeting “P” from Chromeo and The Rosen Sound Team
00:03:06 Rob shows us his personal work space
00:11:42 Montage of Synths - Start
00:12:35 Montage of Synths - End
00:12:36 Anthony and Rob in “The Cabin” - a wonderland of vintage synths
00:13:42 Anthony explains and demonstrates features on the CS-80
00:20:36 CS-80 “Under the Hood” in-depth tour by Rob
00:53:31 Prophet 5 “Under the Hood” in-depth tour by Rob
01:12:50 Anthony Demonstrates some of the Juno 106 sounds
01:19:27 Juno-106 “Under the Hood” in-depth tour by Rob
01:28:54 One-of-a-Kind Oberheim Modular 8 Voice System tour by Rob
01:35:31 Anthony asks Rob 20 Questions about Synthesizers
01:39:09 Rob asks Anthony some Questions about Synthesizers
01:49:47 Bass Shootout: 1973 Moog System 55 VS ARP 2600
01:54:54 Shoot Out Conclusion and Bass Tips

Synth Bass on Steroids: The Power of EFX Pedals

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"In this video, Anthony reveals one of his personal favorite trade secrets. He shows us how to transform any synth bass sound into a synth bass on steroids by using various combinations of 5 different guitar efx pedals including the Electro Harmonix Big Muff, MXR MX-134 Stereo Chorus, Musitronics Mu-tron Phasor II, MXR MX-118 Analog Delay and A/DA Flanger. He illustrates the difference and importance between the wet sound (efx only), the dry sound (no efx) and mixing the wet and dry sound together. By running both of these sounds into a mixer, you have the option to add as much special personality from the wet sound without losing the energy and definition of the solid dry bass sound. You can then add as much of the wet sound as you prefer, much like adding spice to your food. Think of each pedal as a spice from a different part of the world. When you get the spice balance between wet and dry just right, you’ll create a sound with a unique personality. This is one of the special powers that comes from using EFX pedals with synthesizers and a sure fire way to create synth bass sounds on steroids.

CHAPTER TIME STAMPS
:00 intro
:16 Electro Harmonix Big Muff (silicon fuzz)
1:37 MXR MX-134 Stereo Chorus
2:58 Musitronics Mu-tron Phasor II
4:19 MXR MX-118 Analog Delay
5:32 A/DA Flanger
6: 53 Summary

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major."

Website: www.anthonymarinelli.com

MJ’s Thriller Frog Bass - The Search

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"In this video, Anthony begins a light-hearted search to uncover the mystery of the 'Frog Bass' sound that occurs during the break down section of Michael Jackson’s song - 'Thriller'. He’ll discuss why it was recorded, who played it and what the instrument was. Quincy and Michael were always looking for unusual ear-catching sounds during the making of Thriller. Since Quincy was a world class composer, arranger and orchestrator it made sense that he would want to introduce a new sound later in the song to keep the listener surprised. This bright edgy sound is much like adding a bassoon double to a contra-bass part in traditional orchestral music. It adds more presence to the bass part and makes it pop out of the speakers. Anthony meets with his long time friend Steven Ray (co-host of Michael Jackson’s Thriller Album Stories in the Room podcast) to hear his story about the “Frog Bass”. Steven tells us that Quincy had a Casiotone CT-401 and brought that instrument into the studio along with possibly some other portable Casio keyboards to record the “Frog” preset. Anthony also heard that James Ingram may have suggested the sound or it could have been Rod Temperton that had the idea. We know for sure that it was played by Michael’s keyboardist Greg Phillinganes. Anthony confirmed this with Greg, but he was unsure of the actual keyboard model. The search to find more information about this zany sound will continue on this channel until we have exhausted conversations with everyone that was in the room during the making of Thriller. The lesson here is that interesting sounds are all around us and don’t always require expensive vintage synthesizers or even today’s state-of-the-art plugin instruments. Sometimes what we need is sitting right in front of us. And when we use our imaginations in this way, we may stumble upon something remarkable for decades of listeners to ponder.

In this series Anthony breaks down some of the most icons synthesizer patches that he programmed for Michael Jackson’s Thriller

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/anthonymarinell...

Website: www.anthonymarinelli.com"

Product Specialist Kevin Maloney - Full Interview

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"In this video, I visit and talk with former New England Digital Synclavier Product Specialist Kevin Maloney while surrounded by his two Synclavier Digital Music Systems.

Together, we present a complete history of the Synclavier with a stories and examples of how we used it on some massive hit records and films.
First, we listen to a track on the the original blue vinyl record titled 'The Incredible Sounds of the Synclavier II Demonstration Record'
that was the original source sound for the intro to Michael Jackson's 'Beat It'.Kevin's talks about sitting next to Michael while working on the Bad" album.He'll show us a complete breakdown of the components that make up the "Smooth Criminal" bass sound and a recreation of the sampled drum part.Then you'll see, in real time, how Synclavier's unique sequencer can drastically and quickly manipulate (or even transform) the recreated "Smooth Criminal" track.Kevin tells us how he worked closely with producer Quincy Jones to create the intro to "We Are the World". Quincy wasn't satisfied with silver bells, so Kevin turned silver bells into gold bells. Quincy said, he wanted to “send out bells to call all the people of the world to come and hear this song”. We delve into the Synclavier's one-of-a-kind ability to analyze samples (recordings of instruments or sounds) in order to create a series of short frames that each consist of a static wavetable. By cross fading the frames the user is able to recreate the complexity of a sample with a synthesizer sound. This process is called Resynthesis. The user is now able to manipulate the synthesizer sound in many more ways than can ever be done with a sample. We then heavily distort some vocal sounds that were generated using Resynthesis to show the level of control that is possible. We take a look at some preset sampled sounds from the original Synclavier Orchestral library including the string sounds used by Mark Knopfler in Rob Reiner's "The Princess Bride". Anthony talks about how he created a flute sound generated from Resynthesis and later used it to perform practically every cue in the film "Stand by Me" which is another Rob Reiner hit. We take you through the evolution of the Synclavier that includes: The Synclavier I, the Synclavier II with it's original keyboard, the addition of the velocity and polyphonic keyboard, The expanded track sequencer, the addition of more buttons and secondary functions accessed by double clicking the buttons to send them into "blinking mode". BTW - These buttons were originally designed for the B-52 bomber.

We cover MIDI, SMPTE, polyphonic sampling voices and more memory (at a cost of $4500 per megabyte) that were available to add to your system.

We highlight the reason why the Synclavier cost so much and how New England Digital managed to integrate cutting edge 3rd party technology that all worked perfectly together in one unified music system. Finally we review the far more accessible versions of the Synclavier like the Synclavier V by Arturia, Synclavier Go! and Synclavier Pocket! and the most recent addition to the family - Synclavier Regen which actually has unlimited FM synthesis and sampler voices along with the long awaited... resonant Multimode FILTERS!!! The evolution of Synclavier is filled with a plethora of breath-taking features that were nowhere to be found on any other single instrument and it includes a discography of legendary proportion. It's also a history that's deeply personal to me because it ran parallel with my evolution as a composer, songwriter, arranger and programmer. The Synclavier is alive and well in 2023!

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Website: www.anthonymarinelli.com"

Synclavier Under the Hood Tour

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"We discuss the basic hardware and software components, how to boot up the system with a 5.25" floppy disk and some special features that were later added. Remember this is an early computer and it's physically a lot bigger than what you would expect to see today. You'll see how it's built and connected together by ribbon cables with big connectors. Also the available memory was a lot less than what we have come to expect today. The early floppy disks held no more 128 kilobytes of data and the early internal 5 megabyte hard drive sold for $20,000. Here is a list of the features in this system:

-additive synthesis
-FM synthesis with 32 voices
-5 MB Hard Drives
-monophonic sampling
-8 channels of MIDI
-filter switches
-SMPTE sync code
-2 floppy disk drives

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major.

Website: www.anthonymarinelli.com"

MJ’s “We Are the World” Synclavier Intro

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"In this video Kevin Maloney and I demonstrate how the intro to 1985 Grammy winning song “We Are the World” (written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson) was constructed. The synthesizer sounds on the original recording were programmed by Kevin on the Synclavier II Digital Music System using its FM synthesizer engine. We break down the patches for all the featured sounds in the intro including a special sound described by the song’s producer Quincy Jones as “Golden Bells”. This sound was created to “send out bells to call all the people of the world to come and hear this song”. The music, lyrics, performances and production were a worldwide commercial success. The song topped music charts throughout the world and became the fastest-selling U.S. pop single in history. "We Are the World" received a Quadruple Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America, becoming the first single to be certified multi-platinum. The promotion and merchandise helped raise more than $63 million at that time for humanitarian aid in Africa and the United States.

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major.

Website: www.anthonymarinelli.com"

MJ’s “Beat It” Intro Breakdown on Synclavier

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"In this video Kevin Maloney and I demonstrate how the intro sound on “Beat It” from Michael Jackson’s Thriller album is constructed on the Synclavier II using four partial timbres from the FM synthesizer engine playing all at once (with heavy chorusing). The sound can be found on preset bank 2, entry 5 named 'Pop Tune Intro' on factory preset disk #3. The sound first appeared on the recording titled:
'The Incredible Sounds of Synclavier II Demonstration Record' released by New England Digital in 1981. The preset was later played by Tom Bahler on his Synclavier II for the “Beat It” recording with only Tom, Michael and engineer Bruce Swedien in the room. Tom was the person that introduced Michael and Quincy to the Synclavier. We also point out that the sound can be in your hands today using various released inexpensive versions of the Synclavier.

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major.

Website: www.anthonymarinelli.com"

You can find additional posts in this series here.

1st Look At MJ's "Smooth Criminal" Bass

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"This is our first look at the bass sound on 'Smooth Criminal' from Michael Jackson’s Thriller album. In this video, former New England Digital (N.E.D.) product specialist Kevin Maloney explains how he sampled a muted piano on the Synclavier that was later used as the key ingredient in the actual bass sound for the final recording session. Michael was looking for something unusual from Kevin and the piano sample performed out of range on the keyboard perfectly fit the request. Kevin breaks down that piano sample and demonstrates how some other components were later added for support such as a sampled Minimoog bass sound. A mock up of Synclavier drum samples similar to those used on the final version of the song are included in this video as accompaniment. Kevin also shows off some sequencer and sampling tricks that are particularly unique to the Synclavier.

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/anthonymarinell...

Website: www.anthonymarinelli.com"

You can find additional posts in this series here.

MJ’s “Beat It” Intro - Real Sound & Story

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"In this video Kevin Maloney demonstrates how the intro sound on “Beat It” from Michael Jackson’s Thriller album was inspired by the blue vinyl LP titled The Incredible Sounds of Synclavier II [embedded below and previously posted here - you can find pics of the record and included brochures here. There's currently one on eBay for $259.95 here]. Kevin and Anthony Marinelli show you how the sound was programmed and performed in the studio for Michael to use on “Beat It”. This video also contains the story behind the sound and highlights how far Michael would go to satisfy his appetite for unusual sounds.

In this series Anthony breaks down some of the most icons synthesizer patches that he programmed for Michael Jackson’s Thriller

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/anthonymarinell...

Website: www.anthonymarinelli.com"

The Incredible Sounds of Synclavier II (1981)

video upload by VCO8

"This is the full 24 minute blue vinyl record from 1981."

See this post from 2020 featuring an image of the vinyl and the brochures that came with it.

Blue Thunder: The Sounds I Made For The Film

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"In this video I breakdown the FM Synclavier sounds/sequences I made for the 1981 movie Blue Thunder, Staring Roy Scheider & Malcolm McDowell.
https://archive.org/details/Hollywood...

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work 'In the Family Way', written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major.

https://www.discogs.com/release/19915...

Website: www.anthonymarinelli.com"

MJ's Billie Jean Bass - It’s 4 Instruments!

video upload by

See How to Synth Breakdowns by Anthony Marinelli Music for more.

"In this video I demonstrate how the bass sound on 'Billie Jean' from Michael Jackson’s Thriller album is actually 4 different instruments playing at the same time. I’ll show you how I programmed 3 different synthesizer instruments for the album (originally performed by Greg Phillinganes) and the 4th instrument (electric bass guitar originally performed by Luis Johnson) is demonstrated by Ernest Tibbs.

In this series Anthony breaks down some of the most icons synthesizer patches that he programmed for Michael Jackson’s Thriller

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major."

How to Synth Breakdowns by Anthony Marinelli Music

video uploads by Anthony Marinelli Music



Also see: How to make the Baby Be Mine MiniMoog Bass from Michael Jackson's Thriller

And earlier: Bill Wolfer: It's the 50th Anniversary of my Minimoog! for another Minimoog used on Thriller.

"In this series Anthony breaks down some of the most icons synthesizer patches that he programmed for Michael Jackson’s Thriller

Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major."

Playlist at the time of this post:
How I Programmed the Baby Be Mine “warble” Mini Moog Lead on Michael Jackson’s Thriller
How I programmed the Baby Be Mine MiniMoog Bass on Michael Jackson's Thriller
How I Programmed The Bass On Michael Jackson's PYT
How I Programmed the Theremin Sound On Michael Jackson's Thriller
How I Programmed Michael Jackson's "Thriller" Bass on my Tonus ARP 2600
How To Program The Synth Lead From The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights"
How to program the synth bass from Tyler, the Creator's "Igor's Theme"
How I Programmed The Synth Opening On Michael Jackson's Thriller: Prophet 5 Pt.1
How I Programmed The Synth Opening On Michael Jackson's Thriller: Jupiter 8 Pt.2
How To Make The Synth Bass from "Da Funk" by Daft Punk
How To Make Any Imaginable Kick Drum Sound
How I Create Dubstep on Analog Synths (without a computer)
How I Process my TR-808 Drum Machine with OTO EFX Pedals
How To Program The Synth Riff From Prince's 1999
How I Programmed The Synth Opening On Michael Jackson's Thriller: The Synclavier Pt.3
War Games: The Sounds I Made For The Film

Synclavier Digital's Regen Gets Wider Release

video upload by Synclavier Digital

Regen Tutorials


Regen Quickies


You can find additional posts featuring demos of the Regen here.

Press Release follows:

"Synclavier Digital releases regenerated Synclavier® II trailblazer as timeless Regen desktop synthesizer bolstered by present-day DSP developments

NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA: soft-launched late last year to widespread critical acclaim at the Synthplex® synthesizer expo and electronic music festival hosted at the Marriott Convention Center in Burbank, CA, USA with pre-orders opening for fulfilment in 2023, timeless synthesis product manufacturer Synclavier Digital is proud to announce wider availability of Regen — released as a desktop synthesizer that is, in short, a real regeneration of New England Digital’s seminal Synclavier® II digital synthesizer that took the pro audio industry by storm when introduced in its initial incarnation in 1980 (evolving beyond that to blaze more technological trails with polyphonic sampling and, ultimately, DAW — Digital Audio Workstation — capabilities well before that term was invented, even), extended and enhanced to take advantage of the increased computing power available today to make it as compelling in a modern setting as the prohibitively pricey original did during its time (finding favour with top-tier film composers, record producers, and recording artists), while the considerable cost and size reductions associated with Regen’s present-day design criteria conversely position it well within reach of (almost) anyone — as of June 29…

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