The Oberheim Xpander from 1984

video upload by Alex Ball

"A look at the Oberheim Xpander from 1984.

This hybrid synthesizer was designed by Marcus Ryle and Michel Doidic with input from Doug Curtis and it boasts some surprising features for the time. In this video we take a closer look.

The information for this video was garnered from the following interviews:

GForce Bright Sparks: [below]

Ken Flux Pierce Interview: [below]

GEOSynths Interview: [below]

0:00 Intro Jam
0:58 Talk 1
1:31 Demo 1: Beach Comb
2:16 Talk 2
3:09 Demo 2: Faux Seq
3:52 Talk 3
4:30 Demo 3: Eff Em
5:04 Talk 4
5:59 Demo 4: Wobble 5
6:23 Talk 5
6:51 Demo 5: Judder
7:16 Talk 6
8:34 Demo 6: ALX
9:09 Talk 7
10:34 Multi Demo 1: Zone Call
11:55 Multi Demo 2 : Fond
13:54 Talk 8
15:56 Outro Jam"

Bright Sparks - Tom Oberheim

video upload by GForce Software

"After the 2015 release of our Bright Sparks Documentary & Album collaboration with I Monster, while we were elated at the critical acclaim the project received, we always felt it would have been enriched by the inclusion of one person in particular, Tom Oberheim."

See this previous post for the full description.

The SynthSummitShow ep 31 Marcus Ryle (line 6, Oberheim, Alesis)

video upload by Ken Flux Pierce Fluxwithit

Not seeing the date on this one, but clearly before Marcus joined the new Oberheim.

"Live Stream interview with Marcus Ryle co founder of Line 6 , who has worked with a wide assortment of legendary companies starting with Oberheim synthesizers, Alesis, and more."

GEOSynths Synth Show - Ep157 - Special Guest - Marcus Ryle

video upload by

"Having originally worked for Oberheim in the early 80’s and being Instrumental in the design and development of some classic Oberheim Synths, Marcus Ryle is no stranger to the world of Synthesizers and Electronic Music Equipment. He later went on to co-found “Fast-Forward Designs” who were responsible for some really ground-breaking technology with Alexis, such as ADAT Multi-Track Recorder, Quadra Synth and Effects. Marcus also co-founded Line 6, which developed a whole range of DSP Products for Guitarists, especially the POD range, which were extremely successful and graced many Stages and Studies alike.

Of course, Marcus is very accomplished Synth Player, Sound Designer and Session Musician with a Studio complete with some of the very best Classic Oberheim Synthesizers. Now, we have the honor of chatting to him about the latest Oberheim Product, taking the very best of the OB range into the fantastic OB-X8. We’ll be finding out about his history with Oberheim and others, his Music and of course the OB-X8 Project and beyond…"

Bright Sparks - Tom Oberheim - Bonus Scene. Oberheim Musicians

video upload by GForce Software

"During the filming of the Bright Sparks - Tom Oberheim documentary, we discussed interactions with seminal Oberheim users such as Joe Zawinul, Oscar Peterson and Lyle Mays. In this bonus footage, Tom and Marcus impart a few great stories from those halcyon days, including the real story behind Lyle's 8-Voice ending up in Tom's possession, plus Marcus' reaction to being asked to demo the Oberheim System for Oscar Peterson.

Bright Sparks - Tom Oberheim full documentary: [previously posted here]

The Bright Sparks Instrumental album is available from: imonster.bandcamp.com/album/bright-sparks-instrumental"

Bright Sparks - Tom Oberheim

video upload by GForce Software

"After the 2015 release of our Bright Sparks Documentary & Album collaboration with I Monster, while we were elated at the critical acclaim the project received, we always felt it would have been enriched by the inclusion of one person in particular, Tom Oberheim.

On the instrumental version of the Bright Sparks album, I Monster had created a bonus track, Beneath The Planet Of The Oberheim and while we'd reached out to Tom Oberheim and asked him to appear in the accompanying documentary, for various reasons it wasn't possible.

Then in Feb 2021, after the release of our OB-E 8-Voice emulation, we got the chance to talk with Tom whereupon our second question was 'Can we persuade you to be filmed for a new Bright Sparks Chapter?'

Tom agreed and while covid put our plans on hold temporarily, we carried on communicating, and in October 2021 we sat at the UK end of a zoom call while cameraman Sam Graydon filmed Tom in the comfort of his California home. Additionally, ex-Oberheim engineer (and industry icon), Marcus Ryle, joined us from his studio and imparted his experience of working at Oberheim in the 80s and how, over 30 years later, he was pivotal in Tom regaining the use of his name and logo.

The result is a new Bright Sparks chapter dedicated to Tom Oberheim. A fascinating journey through the life and career of one of the most revered synthesiser pioneers, whose work has graced the tracks of everyone from Joe Zawinul to Stevie Wonder, Lyle Mays, Jam and Lewis and countless others.

Camera - Sam Graydon.
Edit Producer - Jeff Boult.
Executive Producer - Dave Spiers for GForce Software.
Artwork - Jarrod Gosling
Animation - Luke Highet
Photos - Dave Spiers, Ian Legge, Robert Rosen, Marcus Ryle, Tom Oberheim & Sequential Circuits
Music - I Monster (Bright Sparks Instrumental). Jeff Boult. Dave Spiers.
Archive - Internet Archive. Prelinger Archives.

Huge thanks to: I Monster's Dean Honer & Jarrod Gosling, Chris Macleod, Marcus Ryle, Jill Oberheim, Susan Wolf, Hugo Brangwyn, Graeme Rawson, Jerome Meunier, Robert Rosen, Alex Abajian, Ian Legge, Kent Spong, Les Pressure and David Gibbons.

www.oberheim.com
www.gforcesoftware.com
www.imonstermusic.com"

Bright Sparks

Alan Pearlman - Philip Dodds & Close Encounters (Bright Sparks Outtake)

video by GForce Software

"In an outtake from the Bright Sparks Documentary, ARP founder Alan R Pearlman talks about Philip Dodds and the story behind the use of the ARP 2500 on Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.

Originally released in December 2015 to critical acclaim and created to compliment the I Monster album of the same name, Bright Sparks documents the human stories of eight musical instrument pioneers, - Robert Moog (Moog), Alan R Pearlman (ARP), Don Buchla, Harry Chamberlin, The Bradley Brothers (Mellotronics), Adrian Wagner (Electronic Dream Plant), Peter Zinovieff (EMS) and Ken Freeman.

'An engrossing and fascinating documentary that pays tribute to the modest but amazing innovators who changed the face of electronic music' Vince Clarke

https://www.gforcesoftware.com/blog/b... www.imonstermusic.com
Alan Pearlman Foundation: https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org"

You can find additional Bright Sparks Documentary posts here.

Update: see this post for the actual order invoice for the 2500.

ARP's Dennis Colin - Ladder Filter & Hyperphase Pedal (Bright Sparks Outtake)

video by GForce Software

"An outtake from the Bright Sparks Documentary where ex-ARP engineer (and the creator of the SEM filter) Dennis Colin talks about how the Ladder Filter was the inspiration for his lauded and obscenely rare Hyperphase pedal.

Sadly, Dennis passed away just after we filmed him at his home in New Hampshire, but his legacy lives on in the ARP 2500, ARP 2600, Aries 300 and the legendary Oberheim SEM filter.

Originally released in December 2015 to critical acclaim and created to compliment the I Monster album of the same name, Bright Sparks documents the human stories of eight musical instrument pioneers, - Robert Moog (Moog), Alan R Pearlman (ARP), Don Buchla, Harry Chamberlin, The Bradley Brothers (Mellotronics), Adrian Wagner (Electronic Dream Plant), Peter Zinovieff (EMS) and Ken Freeman.

'An engrossing and fascinating documentary that pays tribute to the modest but amazing innovators who changed the face of electronic music' Vince Clarke"

You can find additional posts featuring Bright Sparks here.

Dennis Colin - Significant Events (Bright Sparks Outtake)

video by GForce Software

"A fascinating and touching outtake from the Bright Sparks Documentary where ex-ARP engineer Dennis Colin recalls two of the most significant events of his life.

Dennis was a joy to film and listen to and even though his health was poor, his mind was super sharp. Sadly Dennis passed away shortly after we recorded this at his home in New Hampshire. However, his work lives on in the ARP2600, Aries 300 Modular and the legendary Oberheim SEM filter.

Originally released in December 2015 to critical acclaim and created to compliment the I Monster album of the same name, Bright Sparks documents the human stories of eight musical instrument pioneers, - Robert Moog (Moog), Alan R Pearlman (ARP), Don Buchla, Harry Chamberlin, The Bradley Brothers (Mellotronics), Adrian Wagner (Electronic Dream Plant), Peter Zinovieff (EMS) and Ken Freeman.

'The result is a documentary that isn’t merely well informed, it’s definitive.'
Gordon Reid (Sound On Sound Magazine)

https://www.gforcesoftware.com/blog/b...
www.imonstermusic.com
Alan Pearlman Foundation: https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org"

You can find additional posts featuring the Bright Sparks documentary here.

Bright Sparks Documentary - B Side

video by GForce Software

"The B Side of the critically acclaimed Bright Sparks Documentary focuses on the British electronic music pioneers, including the original Mellotron makers, Les, Norman and Frank Bradley, EMS's Peter Zinovieff, Electronic Dream Plant's Adrian Wagner & Chris Huggett, and String Ensemble inventor, Ken Freeman.

Includes contributions from I Monster's Dean Honer & Jarrod Gosling, Peter Zinovieff, Chris Cross, Daniel Miller, John Bradley, Karl Hyde, Ken Freeman, Fred Gardner, Will Gregory, Dean Honer & Jarrod Gosling"

You can find additional GForce Bright Sparks posts here.

Bright Sparks Documentary - A Side

video by GForce Software

"The A Side of the critically acclaimed Bright Sparks documentary, created in conjunction with the I Monster album of the same name, focuses on US based electronic music pioneers, including Bob Moog, Don Buchla, Alan R Pearlman and Harry Chamberlin.

Includes contributions from Herb Deutsch, Michelle Moog-Koussa, I Monster's Dean Honer & Jarrod Gosling, Adrian Utley, Daniel Miller, Billy Currie, Karl Hyde, Alessandro Cortini, Will Gregory, Dennis P Colin, Alan Pearlman."

You can find additional GForce Bright Sparks posts here.

GForce Intros RE STRINGS for Reason w/ Billy Currie Interview & Freeman String Symphonizer Overview

Published on Apr 11, 2017 GForce Software

"RE-STRINGS is our Rack Extension version of the award winning VSM and contains a selection of its most popular and iconic String Ensembles including: ARP Quadra, Crumar Multiman, Elka Rhapsody, Eminent 310, Freeman String Symphonizer, Godwin String Orchestra, Hohner K4, Junost 21, Korg Lambda, Korg PE2000, Logan String Melody II, Mellotron Violins, Moog Opus III, Roland VP330, ARP Solina, Technics KN200, Yamaha CE-25 & Yamaha SS-30.

With it's dual layer capability, it's possible to load the classic string ensemble sounds from years gone by or create your own hybrid ensembles.

Legal Notice
All musical instrument manufacturer and product names are trademarks of their respective owners and in no way associated or affiliated with GForce Software Ltd. The trademarks of other manufacturers are used solely to identify the products of those manufacturers whose sounds and technical data were studied for this instrument. All names of instrument inventors have been included for illustrative and educational purposes only and do not suggest any affiliation or endorsement of GForce Software Ltd."

Billy Currie talks String Synths, VSM & RE-STRINGS

Published on Apr 11, 2017 GForce Software

"During the process of creating patches for RE-STRINGS Rack Extension, we talked with Billy Currie about his use of String Ensemble keyboards over the years and how the Elka Rhapsody and Yamaha SS-30 contributed to some of Ultravox's classic tracks.

Billy also talks about how valuable the VSM and RE-STRINGS libraries are to him and how they've been used in his latest album, Doppel."

Freeman String Symphonizer

Published on Apr 11, 2017 GForce Software

"A brief walkthrough of the Freeman String Symphonizer, invented by Ken Freeman, sounds from which are in both VSM and RE-STRINGS.

The Further Adventures of K.FREEMAN and his Incredible Machine of a Thousand Strings courtesy of I Monster - BRIGHT SPARKS album. www.imonstermusic.com

Ken Freeman footage courtesy of BRIGHT SPARKS Documentary
http://brightsparks.movie"

via Propellerhead

"50% OFF Release Offer! 2 weeks.

The modern, polyphonic string synthesiser was invented in 1970 by Ken Freeman, a British keyboard player and engineer who discovered that if you layered two notes then detuned and slightly modulated one a pleasant ‘chorused’ sound resulted. Over the next 10+ years Ken’s initial discovery spawned an industry that saw the manufacture of more than one hundred ‘string machines’ and multi-keyboards.

Although viewed by some as a one-trick-pony or a poor man’s polysynth, string machines had so much character they’ve graced tracks by artists as diverse as; Lonnie Liston Smith, Air, Pink Floyd, The Cure, Parliament, Herbie Hancock, Camel, Joy Division, Jean-Michel Jarre, Thomas Dolby, Tonto’s Expanding Head Band, Genesis, Toni Tone Tony and countless others.

Product details
Based on our award winning Virtual String Machine (VSM), RE-STRINGS comprises 67 individual sample sets from a plethora of classic analogue string ensembles including the ultra rare (and first) Freeman String Symphonizer, the highly coveted Solina, the eminently desirable Eminent 310, the highly-lauded Logan String Ensemble, plus several other classic (and not so classic) string machines.

Each sample set spans 49 notes (4 octaves), each individually sampled and looped, plus RE-STRINGS contains a 700+ patch library created by respected patch designers including legendary string machine user and keyboard maestro, Billy Currie.

With Dual Layer capabilities - each layer comprising of a Lowpass, Bandpass & Highpass Resonant Filter Section, Two Envelope Generators, Pitch or Filter LFO, Dynamic control including filter aftertouch - if you want to create your own hitherto unrealised hybrid combinations of classic and evocative string ensembles, it’s a cinch. Finally, global vintage style Ensemble & Phaser effects are provided, allowing you to hone your sound to evocative, retro, string ensemble perfection.

RE-STRINGS includes string tones from the following classic instruments ARP Quadra (1978) Crumar Multiman (1975) Elka Rhapsody (1975) Eminent 310 (1972) Freeman String Symphonizer (1973) Godwin Model 749 String Concert (1980) Hohner K4 (1977) Junost 21 (c 1986) Korg Lambda (1979) Korg PE2000 (1976) Logan String Melody II (1977) Mellotron (1963) Moog Opus III (1980) Roland VP330 (1979) Solina String Ensemble (1974) Technics KN200 (1982) Yamaha CE-25 (1983) Yamaha SS30 (1977)"

BRIGHT SPARKS: New Synth Documentary Ignites Funding for Bob Moog Foundation

Follow-up to the Something's Coming teaser.

"Help Bright Sparks Synth Documentary Ignite Funding for Bob Moog Foundation Projects

'An engrossing and fascinating documentary that pays tribute to the modest but amazing innovators who changed the face of electronic music' - Vince Clarke

Last week Bright Sparks, a film project which documents the stories of a number of iconic electronic music pioneers and companies, was released in conjunction with the I Monster album of the same name.

Featuring eight of the most influential companies, Moog, Buchla, ARP, Chamberlin, Mellotron, EMS, EDP, and Freeman, the feature length documentary includes interviews with many of the legendary personnel involved in the development of the instruments including Peter Zinovieff (EMS), Ken Freeman (Freeman), Herb Deutsch (Moog), Alan Robert Pearlman (ARP), John Bradley (Mellotron).

The film is available via download only.

The creators of Bright Sparks, recognizing Bob Moog's seminal contribution to modern synthesis, are generously supporting the Bob Moog Foundation with 100 downloads of their movie as a means of raising funding for our educational project, Dr. Bob's SoundSchool, and our Archive Preservation Initiative.

Make a $25 (or more) donation to the Bob Moog Foundation by December 31, 2015 and receive a download code for Bright Sparks as a thank you for your support!

Exploring the human stories of success and adversity behind these early companies and instruments, the film captures the passion of these engineers who were driven to design something in much the same way as any artist or musician is driven to create.

You can see a trailer to the movie here. [embed above]

Join Bright Sparks in supporting our important work and get rare insights into the world of synthesizer and keyboard innovators that won't get anywhere else. Donate $25 or more here. We will send you a download code with simple instructions when you make your donation.

Many thanks to Dave Spiers, Chris McLeod, and I Monster, the team behind the Bright Sparks project, for your wonderful support of our projects and for your excellent documentation of electronic music history.

'Electronic music has been around for long enough to deserve its own historians and archaeologists. Dave Spiers is right at the top of the list: this loving and exhaustive study sets a new standard in instrument research, unravelling the tangled webs that lead to innovations' - Brian Eno"

Something's Coming

Something's Coming from Bright Sparks on Vimeo.

New synthesizer documentary? Some amazing synth spotting in this one.