RIP Mike Pinder of The Moody Blues & Streetly Electronics' Mellotron

video upload by Beat-Club

I heard the news on Marty Willson-Piper's Music of the Daze.

Mike Pinder was the keyboard player and a founding member of The Moody Blues. Prior to that he worked on the manufacturing of the first Mellotrons in the UK. According to mellotronics.com, "Streetly Electronics are the original UK manufacturer of mellotrons and world experts in the instrument."

via Wikipedia:

"Between 1962-63 Pinder worked for 18 months as an engineer at Streetly Electronics, in Streetly, Birmingham, a factory manufacturing the first models of Mellotron in the UK.

In May 1964 Pinder left Streetly Electronics to co-found The Moody Blues with Ray Thomas, Denny Laine, Clint Warwick and Graeme Edge."

His impact becomes clear when you read the following from Music of the Daze:

"This from my friend Nicklas Barker, guitarist, singer and composer from Swedish proggers Anekdoten. He is also a connoisseur of the Mellotron:

'Very sad, imagine if he had not started working at the Mellotron factory and done something else before joining The Moody Blues and introducing the glorious Mellotron string sound to a wider audience through Nights in White Satin. What would have happened then? No King Crimson? He was also friends with John Lennon and introduced the Mellotron to him. No Strawberry Fields? Mike Pinder was the first, and the impact of his use of the Mellotron changed music history. He was also the greatest Mellotron player ever. Just listen to Out and In from To Our Children’s Children’s Children. He was the wizard of the astral orchestra.'"

via mellotron

"Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues and the Mk II"


Mike Pinder describes how the mellotron works

video upload by reversengr

"Mike Pinder describes how the mellotron works in the fabulous 'Live at Isle of Wight Festival (1970)' You really should buy this DVD, it's not only a great documentary but a wonderful concert film as well. The sound is surprisingly good, you will enjoy it."

Update via Atomic Shadow:

"Here's the Moody's live on French TV. You can really see/hear what Mike Pinder contributed to the sound of that band. Without him and the MK 2, they would have just been another guitar band. It's startling how much they sounded like the records live!"

The Moody Blues - Full Concert - French TV Special 1968 (Remastered)

video upload by BrunoSamppa

"Audio and Video Remastered by BrunoSamppa - Support me on KO-FI http://ko-fi.com/brunosamppa
CHAVE PIX: brunovideopix@gmail.com

1. Tuesday Afternoon 00:01
2. Nights in White Satin 04:54
3. Legend of a Mind (Part 3) 09:36
4. Bye Bye Bird 12:42
5. Fly Me High 17:33
6. I've Got a Dream 24:12
7. A Beautiful Dream 27:36
8. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood 31:49
9. Peak Hour 35:18
10. Nights in White Satin (Reprise) 41:38"

FEEDBACK by Ultraviolet Light

This one is in via Todd Barton who co-curated the release.

"Cassette label Ultraviolet Light is ecstatic to announce Feedback, a compilation of new works from Todd Barton, Dan Deacon, Dani Dobkin, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Doug Lynner, Toshimaru Nakamura, Sarah Belle Reid, Ryan Gaston, Jimmy Joe Roche, and Keith Fullerton Whitman. Each track utilizes some form of acoustic feedback, no-input mixing or recursive patching techniques as the central compositional principle.

Closed circuit and acoustic feedback have been prominent features within experimental electronic compositions for well over 50 years. In 1968 Steve Reich made extensive use of audio Feedback in his work “Pendulum Music”. David Tudor and Alvin Lucier incorporated feedback systems in many iconic compositions. Much of John Cage's interest and questions of noise and its relation to music could be seen as an extension of concepts explored when artists introduce feedback into their performances and recording. Arguably the most prolific and influential artist who integrated feedback into her compositions is the French composer Éliane Radigue.

Feedback is released as a 300-copy limited edition cassette with 4-color risograph printed artwork by Never Brush my Teeth. A digital download card is included with each cassette. 60% of the digital sales of the album will be donated to Earth Justice annually.

Curated by Todd Barton and Jimmy Joe Roche.

Available here on Bandcamp: https://ultravioletlight.bandcamp.com/album/feedback"

PM Foundations ER-808 Drums Prototype Demo Number 1

video upload by Randy Piscione

"Quick first demo of the prototype PM Foundations ER-808 Drum Machine. This is a build-it-yourself, Eurorack-based drum machine based on the sounds of the Roland TR-808. Oberheim FVS, Kurzweil K2600XS, and two PM Foundations reSEMbles make up the rest of the band. The chords might be recognizable. Bit more history here:"

The beat goes on

video upload by John French

Additional ER-808 posts

Luftrum 24 - Soundbank for TAL J-8

video by Luftrum1

"Luftrum 24 is a soundbank for TAL J-8 covering a wide range of genres from synthwave to 90s French house to ambient, electro funk and synthpop. All presets you hear in the demo vid above, is straight out of the box with no external processing of any kind.

The presets range from soaring mono leads to dreamy pads over funky dark basses and delicate synth keys and are inspired by a broad range of synth-driven artists and duos such as Daft Punk, John Carpenter, Vangelis, Perturbator, Steve Roach and The Midnight.

The set also features 40 presets designed by Code Elektro, a critically acclaimed synthwave sci-fi artist from Denmark, whose music best can be described as a hard mix between Carpenter Brut, SURVIVE and Tangerine Dream.

LUFTRUM
Website https://www.luftrum.com"

How To Synth Up the E.T. Theme

Espen Kraft

"Who else loves the E.T. soundtrack?
I've always felt strongly connected to this score and imo John Williams is a musical genius and he has the ability to connect what we see on the screen to the music he makes for it in a very emotional way. Very inspiring.

Support this channel on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/espenkraft

I wanted to make a little "synth" thing of the classic E.T. theme and mix that with some orchestral sounds, like the french horns.

Gear used:
Roland JX-8P - synth sounds
Roland Alpha Juno 2 - synth sounds
Roland S-10 - Bass
Yamaha DX7s - Electric Piano
Drums are coming off different drum machines
Orchestral sounds coming from Kontakt."

Mellotron MK VI - RARE! Owned by John Frusciante from the Red Hot Chili Peppers ( Mahogany Brown )?

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

via this auction

"Custom made by Mellotron for John Frusciante from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

This was serviced my Markus Reisch, who made this instrument, from Mellotron early 2019 at my studio.

This is serial number 003 and only a total of 8 of these were made in mohogany. Mellotron confirmed that is the only Mellotron ever made that has an amber light. The item will ship in 2 ATA cases for both Mellotron and the tape voices. Negotiable.

This comes with 18 different voices:

A. Flute B. Rock Guitar C. Organ
A. 3 Violins B. MK II Brass C. Tenor Sax
A. Acoustic Guitar B. Piano C. Vibraphone
A. Trombone B. Muted Brass C. Mandolin
A. Hammond Organ B. Harpsichord C. Tibia Organ
A. French Accordian B. Accordian C. Church Organ"

CLICK FOR MORE »

New Korg Prologue Digital Analogue Polyphonic Hybrid Synth Coming to NAMM?

Update3: Full details including video are now up here.

Update: and we have an image via John in the comments. Also via Patrick in the comments: "'Digital engine' is a better translation. It looks like it offers a complete polyphonic analog voice plus a user-editable digital synthesis engine under the hood. Exciting stuff from Korg, even with the inevitable "single LFO, single VCF, no on-board sequencer" complaints."

Update2: more pics in via @synthjam via John in the comments.

---

This one spotted and sent in via Soviet Space Child.


Note it is auto translated from French, so read between the lines. Original French below. This is all speculation of course. We will find out soon enough. NAMM is next week.

"A 49-key, polyphonic analog polyphonic synthesizer and the 61-key, 16-channel version, which can be described as a "hybrid" synth by integrating a digital motor into the center of its fully analog circuit.

Close cousin of KORG's already famous Minilogue and Monologue, the prologue is a complete and fully programmable polyphonic analog synthesizer. Hormone boosted version, it is distinguished from these predecessors by a keyboard with large keys, a polyphony of 8 or 16 channels (depending on the model) and a new engine
digital sound (the multi-engine) greatly expanding the sound and customization possibilities. As you will understand, the prologue range includes two models: the 8-channel version of 49 keys and the 16-channel version of 61 keys. Let's find out more in detail what lies beneath this beast ...

Analog power

The prologue takes again the powerful analogical circuits which made the strength of its predecessors (Minilogue and Monologue), and thus proposes an incomparable quality of sound as well as an astonishing presence. More than 11000 electronic components have been used for its manufacture! The prologue is composed of 2VCO, 1VCF, 2EG, 1VCA and 1LFO. It also features the famous built-in oscillator allowing you to create unique waveforms to refine your harmonies and create breathtaking sounds. Add to that a bipolar low-pass filter and powerful distortion and you have a powerful analog palette to create deep bass, powerful leads, and the beautiful pads that are expected of a polyphonic synthesizer. Also note that the prologue is bi-timbral, and allows you to play two different programs simultaneously.

Despite its analog power, the prologue retains its ease of use and intuitive interface worthy of the latest KORG synthesizers. You will find on the panel the easy selection of channel modes (POLY, MONO, UNISSON, CHORD ...), the powerful arpeggiator, or the simplified selection (and sortable) of the 500 programs.


The freedom of digital

The ingenuity of the prologue goes beyond its analog design. Indeed, by adding to the original 2 VCOs a third MULTI ENGINE digital oscillator, KORG is exploring new experimental sites. This new engine, adding digital and FM waveforms, can be combined with analog VCOs to extend the sound potential of the prologue far beyond that of a traditional analog synthesizer. The noise generator, the VPM oscillator and the high-quality digital effects (modulation and delay / reverb) bring you complex metallic sounds and harmonics that you never thought possible.


Another novelty, and not least, this new engine MULTI ENGINE offers a USER mode that allows you to load oscillator programs of your own creation (and yes!) You can develop on the dedicated software (available in early spring 2018 ). There are sixteen slots for this parameter.

KORG manufacturing quality

Many waited for a Minilogue with big keys. In the end KORG did better, but still listened to users' comments. On the prologue, you'll find Japanese keyboards of 49 and 61 notes, with big keys, that offer the same feel and expression as the high end KORG keyboards.
Beyond the keyboard, KORG has really paid attention to the details of the overall design. The body of the prologue synthesizer offers a black aluminum panel, wooden side panels and metal potentiometers highlighting the beauty of the instrument that will be as comfortable on stage as in the studio.


The first copies of this powerful synthesizer should arrive in France in March. The price of the 8-way model should run around 1500 € and we are talking about 2000 € for the 16-channel version."

Original French:

"Prologue, le nouveau synthé analo hybride de KORG


Synthétiseur analogique polyphonique 8 voies de 49 touches et la version 16 voies de 61 touches, que l'on peut qualifier de synthé «hybride» de par l'intégration d'un moteur numérique au centre de son circuit entièrement analogique.

Proche cousin des déjà célèbres minilogue et monologue de KORG, le prologue est un synthétiseur analogique polyphonique complet et entièrement programmable. Version boostée aux hormones, il se distingue notamment de ces prédécesseurs par un clavier à grandes touches, une polyphonie de 8 ou 16 voies (en fonction du modèle) et un nouveau moteur
sonore numérique (le multi-engine) élargissant considérablement les possibilités sonores et de personnalisation. Comme vous l'aurez compris, la gamme prologue comprend deux modèles : la version 8 voies de 49 touches et la version 16 voies de 61 touches. Découvrons plus en détails ce qui se cache sous cette bête...

La puissance analogique

Le prologue reprend les circuits analogiques puissants qui ont fait la force des ses prédécesseurs (minilogue et monologue), et propose donc une qualité de son incomparable ainsi qu'une présence étonnante. Plus de 11000 composants électroniques ont été utilisés pour sa fabrication ! Le prologue est composé de 2VCO, 1VCF, 2EG, 1VCA et 1LFO. Il dispose également du fameux oscillateur intégré vous permettant de créer des formes d’ondes uniques afin d’affiner vos harmonies et de créer des sons époustouflants. Ajouter à cela un filtre passe-bas bipolaire et une distorsion puissante et vous disposez d'un palette analogique puissante pour créer des basses profondes, des leads puissants, ainsi que les magnifiques pads que l'on attend d'un synthétiseur polyphonique. A noter aussi que le prologue est bi-timbral, et vous permet de jouer simultanément deux programmes différents.

Malgré sa puissance analogique, le prologue conserve sa facilité d’utilisation et l'interface intuitive digne des derniers synthétiseurs KORG. Vous retrouvez ainsi sur le panneau la sélection facile des modes de voies (POLY, MONO, UNISSON, CHORD...), le puissant arpégiateur, ou encore la sélection simplifié (et triable) des 500 programmes.

La liberté du numérique

L'ingéniosité du prologue va au-delà de son design analogique. En effet, en ajoutant aux 2 VCO originaux un troisième oscillateur numérique MULTI ENGINE, KORG explore de nouveaux terrains d’expérimentation. Ce nouveau moteur, ajoutant des formes d'ondes numériques et FM, peut être combiné avec les VCO analogiques pour étendre le potentiel sonore du prologue bien au-delà de celui d'un synthétiseur analogique traditionnel. Le générateur de bruit, l'oscillateur VPM et les effets numériques de haute qualité (modulation et delay/reverb) vous apportent ainsi des sons métalliques et des harmoniques complexes que vous n'auriez jamais cru possibles.

Autre nouveauté, et pas des moindres, ce nouveau moteur MULTI ENGINE propose un mode USER vous permettant de charger les programmes d'oscillateur de votre propre création (et oui !) que vous pourrez développer sur le logiciel dédié (disponible au début du printemps 2018). Seize emplacements sont prévus pour ce paramètre.

La qualité de fabrication KORG

Beaucoup attendait un minilogue avec grandes touches. Au final KORG a fait mieux, mais à quand même écouté les remarques des utilisateurs. Vous retrouvez sur le prologue des claviers japonais de 49 et 61 notes, à grandes touches, qui offrent la même sensation et expression que les claviers haut de gamme KORG.
Au delà du clavier, KORG a véritablement porté attention aux détails sur le design global. Le corps du synthétiseur prologue offre donc un panneau en aluminium noir, des panneaux latéraux en bois et des potentiomètres en métal soulignant toute la beauté de l'instrument qui sera aussi bien à l'aise sur scène qu'en studio.


Les premiers exemplaires de ce puissant synthétiseur devraient arriver en France courant mars. Le prix du modèle 8 voies devrait tourner aux alentours de 1500€ et l'on parle de 2000€ pour la version 16 voies."

Left: mock image of a Polytron that originally went up with the post before the Prologue image came in.

New Synthrotek Kontact Mic Demo Video - Sound Study Modular

Published on Oct 8, 2016 synthrotek

http://www.soundstudymodular.com/samp...

"The Kontact MIC is a lo-fi theme park. It’s a microphone preamp with a piezo contact mic built into the panel.
The creative applications are endless: finger percussion/rubbing/scratching, guitar input (works surprisingly well with just a little lofi crunch), acoustic sources to CV, etc.

The PCB fibreglass has quite a nice rough texture – rubbing it with a finger or a plectrum creates quite a wide range of sounds. The back of the panel is plated to expand the surface area of the contact mic. The mic will also pick up all the physical sounds in your modular – patching, cables rustling, switches, fingers on knobs – without picking up airborne sounds i.e. the sound your modular is making. At very high sound levels will pick up vibrations from the speaker output and start to feedback.

The module will work with both DIYed contact mics made from inexpensive piezo transducers, off the shelf contact mics (often called Piezo Pickups) made for guitars and violins which you can pick up for ten bucks from Amazon or eBay or more bespoke mics like the popular Jez Riley French models (including hydrophones!) which are firmly aimed at Sound Designers.

It is an easy way to bring environmental noise and feedback into a modular system, inspired by the early days of electroacoustic music in Paris and Cologne, and by the contact microphone and phonograph cartridge experiments of John Cage, Gordon Mumma, Robert Ashley and Nicholas Collins.

Features:
Piezo mic soldered to the backside of the front panel
Mic preamp
Input jack (switches off the piezo mic when used)
Gain knob
Output jack
Black panel
This is an open hardware project by Sound Study Modular, and covered by a Creative Commons Attribution Share-a-like license."

En Mode Masculin Féminin

Published on Jul 5, 2013 RADIOKLOW·87 videos

Details via Marc-Henri including synths for each part:

"I am very happy to share with you this film and this music, as a tribute to the creations of a young artist in haute couture, William Kerney, 'present on Facebook), who is only 18 years old and student in term year of my the high school where I teach. I composed the music and the film was built from various sources : movies and photos shot by me and members of the team who worked on this project. Photographers, assistants, hairdressers, cosmeticians, models are all students at Lycée Edouard Herriot of lyon, France.

William Kerney conceived himself all the gowns and hats, from the basis skteches to the final production, including the sewing of every clothe and worked one year on this project.

The film begins with the collections he created during the first semester of 2013, and goes on with the fashion parade he presented around his theme of masculinity and feminity, at Lycée Edouard in may 2013, during the Week of Performing Arts of this high school. It is followed, after the end credits by a bonus consisting of two interviews in french. The first one with William Kerney and his assistant Tristan Fiancette, the second one with me as a teacher of philosophy at Lycée Edouard Herriot, teacher in charge of Culture Life in this high school composer of this music, editor of this film and author of some of the images it contains, just after the fashion parade.

All sounds on Virus TI were created by me. Sounds of other real or virtual instruments are patches of these instruments : mainly Roland Phantom XR - orchestra and voices and piano expanding cards of the SRX series : SRX-02 : "Concert Piano" and SRX-O6, "Complete Orchestra" and SRX - and also feminine choirs from Voices of Passion by Eastwest. At the end of the composition he created a special sound on Alchemy by Camel Audio and played it myself (see below) during the final part of the composition : it is not a sequence nor an automatic pulsation.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Electronic Sound Artist Laetitia Sonami, a Documentary on Kickstarter

via Kickstarter where you'll find additional details and can help fund the project.

"the ear goes to the sound: the work of Laetitia Sonami is a film portrait of the French born, Oakland based electronic sound artist Laetitia Sonami. Sonami, a student of the pioneering sound composer Eliane Radigue, is perhaps best known for her Lady’s Glove instrument, which controls sounds and mechanical objects with gestures of the hand. I hope that this film will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of women working at the intersection of technology and art.

This documentary offers an intimate look at one of the most extraordinary, yet underappreciated electronic sound artists of today, and is structured around an intricate combination of performance and in-studio demonstration. The film features interviews with acclaimed composers John Bischoff, Maggi Payne, Eliane Radigue, and writer Melody Sumner Carnahan, and includes never-before-seen and rare performance footage from the early 1990’s to the present..."

Update: also see http://sonami.net/ladys-glove/

Mungo State Zero French Horn

Published on Jan 7, 2016 Stringy-Bark Tree

"John from Mungo Enterprises demonstrates a brass patch on the State Zero polyphonic modular. By coincidence someone was rehearsing on a french horn in another room which served as an ideal reference."

GillesParenteau Virtual Symphony (Bach Cello Suite #1 and Ave Maria)

YouTube Uploaded by MrGillesParenteau on Oct 21, 2011
Two additional videos below.
"Thanks to my son Michael Parenteau for the filming,to my wife Carmen and my son Christopher for their help, to Kasper Naef for the mechanical engineering, to John Tucker for the sound mixing and producing and to Roland Canada for their continuous support.

Gilles Parenteau new YouTube video on a quest to reintroduce the art of playing the organ.
For more info go to: gillesparenteau.com

"A 2000 year-old tradition worth saving."

Mozart called the pipe organ: "the king of all instruments."
Gilles Parenteau may use electronics instead of pipes but keeps the tradition of playing the organ alive by playing with both feet and hands and not using any pre-recordings so that his performance remains 100% live.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Gorillaz & ondes Martenot, glassharmonica, cristal Baschet

YouTube via theondes

"Thomas Bloch: http://www.thomasbloch.net -
Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz, "The Good, The Bad and The Queen" leader) works in his studio (London) with music supervisor David Coulter and French multi-instrumentalist virtuoso Thomas Bloch (ondes Martenot, glassharmonica, cristal Baschet) who he has played as well with Radiohead as with most prestigious classical soloists and orchestras in the world) during the preparation of his first opera : "Monkey: Journey to the West", in April 2007.

Thomas Bloch informations: http://www.thomasbloch.net
Damon Albarn informations : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Al...
David Coulter informations : http://profile.myspace.com/davidcoulter
"Monkey: Journey to the West" informations : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey:_...

Other names : Ones Martenot (Catalan), Ondas Martenot (Spain, Portugal), Martenot waves (English), Onde Martenot (Italy), Fale Martenota (Poland), 0™0Û0...0˚0fi0Î0»0Œ (Japan) - wrong name : Martinot / armonica de verre (France), Armonica de vidro, orgue de verre (France, Belgium), crystal harmonica, crystal armonica, glass organ, crystal organ, Armónica de cristal (Spain), Armonica a bicchieri (Italian), glasharmonika (Germany, Denmark, Sweden), glassharmonika (Norway), Harmonika szklana (Poland), 0¢0Î0‚0À0´ (Japan), close instruments : glass harp, glassharfe, glass harfe, harpe de verre, verrophon, verrophone, seraphim, verres musicaux, musical glasses"

Ondes Martenot / Messiaen 4° Feuillet Inédit by Thomas Bloch

YouTube via theondes

"Thomas Bloch: http://www.thomasbloch.net - Olivier Messiaen "4ème Feuillet Inédit" played by Jean-François Zygel (piano) and the French multi-instrumentalist Thomas Bloch (glassharmonica, ondes Martenot, cristal Baschet) who has played as well with Radiohead, Gorillaz as with most prestigious classical soloists and orchestras in the world, during a french national TV program ("La boîte à musique de Jean-François Zygel - spéciale Noël"). December 21, 2007

Thomas Bloch: http://www.thomasbloch.net
Jean-François Zygel informations : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-fra...

Ondes Martenot /virtuosistic Formule by Thomas Bloch-TV 1999


"Thomas Bloch: http://www.thomasbloch.net - "Formule" is one of the most virtuosistic piece written for solo ondes Martenot, composed by and played here by the French multi-instrumentalist Thomas Bloch himself (ondes Martenot, glassharmonica, cristal Baschet) who has played as well with Radiohead, Gorillaz, John Cage as with most prestigious classical soloists and orchestras in the world (Milano Scala, Paris opera...).
A short excerpt of the piece taken from a TV program recorded in Paris Musée de la Musique. June 8, 1999.

To hear and see the complete work, a more recent version played live at the Barbican Center (London) was added recently on youtube:

Live ondes Martenot in Barbican (London) by Thomas Bloch



"Video recorded live in the Barbican Center, London (October 2007)."

for more videos including the Glass Harmonica see theondes YouTube channel.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

"Continuum performance by Randy Kerber, music by John Williams
Randy Kerber writes: As far as the synths used with the Continuum, I used a Reaktor 5 ensemble called Steampipe 2, and I also used a simple modular CV synth made by Analogue System. Using the continuum in mono mode alone, the instrument is so wonderfully expressive that I was very happy to have it in my arsenal. In respect to timbres used with the continuum: A string cluster(polyphony made possible by a Pitch Shifter plug-in from Logic 8)which started from very, very soft and crescendoed to fortissimo. A low pad with modulated filter cutoff(Y-axis). A filtered sawtooth wave in heavy reverb and multiple delays doubling woodwinds at times and french horns in one instance.

I'm very excited about working more with Reaktor. I am quite encouraged by the myriad of possibilities, both
from the program and certainly from the continuum.

I look forward to more music with your fabulous controller." You can find the audio here.

The First Guitar Synth Ever?

Ultra Rare 1970s Ovation Condor Hammond Synth Guitar
"These Guitars are about as rare as hens teeth - I've found one on a french Guitar collectors internet site and a bit about them from Ovation, so here goes...

First thing to say about this Guitar is it looks absolutely immaculate; this guitar is over 30 years old but looks as though it could have been made a year ago. There are no noticeable scratches dings - ANYTHING. I am lead to believe that it is the world's first synth Guitar - a little piece of History.

The Guitar itself is basically from the Tornado / Condor range of epiphone which was made from 68-72 as part of their ill-fated thunderhead series, doomed to be priced out of the market by the Japanese Guitar explosion. The styling is 335 esque with a bit of Supro thrown in; fully bound (binding is in A1 condition), including the 'F' holes. I can only find one other Tornado (that's the regular model - no synth bits) on Ebay in Europe and that's up for sale at about 900 pounds...

Everything looks to be fully original, from the pickups, neck, hardware, electrics and the synth fitting.

With regards to the synth fitting, I don't have any means of testing it but as the guitar has been kept in such excellent condition, I can see no reason why it won't work. It was originally designed to go with the Hammond 'Innovex' synth unit, one of which was used by John Entwistle of the Who. Going to struggle to find one of these, huh? Well, I just so happen to have one of these up for sale too..."
images via this auction and this auction

Analog Lab X-32

Remember the Analog Lab X-32

Click here for a few more shots sent my way via John of The Microtonal Synthesis Web Site and The Wavemakers Synthesizer Web Site.

Update: You can find some mp3s and the french manuals here. Also courtesy of John.

Synthwood Custom Prophet T8

"A little history: This was the last Prophet T8 made by Sequential Circuits. There was no wooden keyboard made for it and it was either given or sold to an SCI employee.

Later the case was taken to a machine shop where the front end was rip sawed off and the wheels were placed inside of the case. It was necessary to keep the wheels plugged in so that the modulation section would work properly. If you have a T8 with a keyboard that is far beyond repair, this can be done for you."

Title link takes you to more shots on Synthwood. Reminds me a bit of the Rhodes Chroma Expander.

Synthwood specializes in:
Synthesizer Woodworking
Specializing in replacement wood parts for Classic Analogue Synthesizers
Custom design for modular synth cabinets, cases, side or end bells and conversions and modifications
Beautiful and exotic woods: Koa, Mahogany, Black Walnut, English Chestnut, Maple and more
Tasteful finishes (French polish, Linseed Oiling and blends)
Tapered black stainless finishing screws included

Update via Stephen in the comments:
"I've got an update for this. John Bowen confirmed that my T-8 was used on the bench at Sequential and that Stanley Jungleib ended up with it during the Yamaha liquidation. Stanley sold it to person in the Bay Area who then sold it to a friend of mine in 1989. I had known about the 'keyboardless T-8' since 1992 and eventually coaxed my friend into selling it to me just last year. My father finished the case earlier this spring and I updated the ROMs to rev 3.8 (they were 3.7)."