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.

Prophet X User Samples Examples (Fairlight, D50,Synclavier,Film Clips)

Published on Feb 17, 2020 EverettDudgeon138

"A quick video showing some of the User Samples I've put in my Prophet-X.

I highly recommend you go to www.cyborgstudio.com for some delicious food for your Prophet-X.

The samples I'm showcasing in this video are as follows:
1.) Roland D-50: Digital Native Dance
2.) Roland D-50: Soundtrack
3.) Roland D-50: Time.
4.) Roland D-50: Slap Bass
5.) Roland D-50: Fantasia
6.) Synclavier II: Bell Gong (Beat It)
7.) Fairlight CMI: Arr1
8.) Fairlight CMI: Various Rhythms
9.) Fairlight CMI: Orch5 and Orch6
10.) Opening Narration from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"
11.) Chainsaw Sound Effect
12.) Nails On Chalkboard Sound Effect"

https://www.sequential.com/product/prophet-x

Synclavier II FM Harmonics + Eventide H3000 Crystal Echo's

Published on Nov 10, 2018 100 Things I Do

"I wanted to try adding and subtracting harmonics in real time on the Synclavier II. I do this normally on the V as the limitations of processing power in my original Syncalvier II with its B processor stops it from working as smooth in real time. So, the trick here is to know where the limitations are and try and avoid them (big value jumps being the main one).

While I liked the sound I thought I would also go back and reinvestigate the Eventide H3000 Crystal echos patch. This was used heavily for so long in everything everyone did, and these days the type of effect is built into many reverbs. But, how does the original stand up today ? :D"

An Interview with Barry Schrader

Hi everyone! As you know Barry Schrader will be giving his farewell concert at CalArts on September 26. The following is the beginning of my interview with him. I opted to post the questions and answers as they come in.  New QAs will get a new post so you do not miss them and they will be added to this post so we have one central post for the full interview. This should make it easier for all of us to consume in our busy lives, and it will allow you to send in any questions that may come to mind during the interview process.  If you have anything you'd like to ask Barry, feel free to send it in to matrixsynth@gmail.com.  This is a rare opportunity for us to get insight on a significant bit of synthesizer history, specifically with early Buchla systems, and I'd like to thank Barry for this opportunity. Thank you Barry!

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Synths in TV and Film

Note: some of the videos below have been pulled from YouTube, but I'm keeping mention of them up as a reference that they are out there.

Let the page load before scrolling - it's a long one.
Be sure to see the Synth Movies list and see the Synth Movies and Synth TV and Film labels for more.

1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Synths: ARP 2500 played by Phillip Dodds, head of ARP Engineering, Yamaha CS-?.


2. Fame Synths: ARP 2600, MOOG Minimoog

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Sequential Circuits Prophet T8

Title link takes you to shots via this auction.

Note that in the last shot below those are not separate voice boards. That's one giant board. you can see the traces go through each voice section.

Details:
"This rare 8 voice (16 oscillator) synth has the latest 3.8 eprom update, as well as midi, polysequencer, polymod section, 76 note weighted action keyboard with attrack and release velocity, and aftertouch (polyphonic pressure). Same keyboard as used on the Synclavier. The T8 holds 120 patch/programs. It will split or layer programs or play all 16 oscillators in unison. This T8 was hard calibrated several years ago and autotunes perfectly in tune across the whole keyboard. Every key is pearly white (or black), sits even and works correctly with exception of one key which only needs counter weight adjustment. This one key does work completely with respect to all functions like velocity, AT, RV. There are slight variations in response between keys which is typical for the T8."

IK Multimedia Introduces Syntronik 2

"Syntronik 2 sets the new standard in modern virtual synthesizers. IK’s advanced sampling techniques, combined with a hybrid sample and modeling synthesis engine, power a comprehensive collection of rare and sought-after synths with stunning sonic accuracy and the deepest editing.

This is a massive update to the previous release, adding 11 new synths, exciting new, advanced, and much-requested functionality, and a huge number of all-new presets for the 22 original synths taking advantage of all these new features."

"Syntronik 2 features

33 powerful synths with familiar panel designs and easy-to-use controls

A collection of 54 iconic hardware synthesizers and string machines

Multi-sampled oscillators for ultimate authenticity

4 classic types of circuit-modeled filters to shape sounds

DRIFT™ technology for realism of subtle oscillator variations

Mix and match oscillators with filters for new original sounds

True 4-part synth to create rich sounds with Multis and splits

4 dynamic arpeggiators and new step sequencer for complex rhythmic textures

71 high-quality effects derived from T-RackS, MixBox and AmpliTube

More than 200 GB of sounds with disk streaming and over 5,500 presets

Browser search by category or keyword to find sounds in seconds

Optimized resizable interface and “lunchbox-style” effects panel

Load Syntronik sounds into SampleTank 4* for more expandability

Works as a 64-bit plug-in or standalone instrument for Mac/PC

Fully functional free Syntronik CS version also available"

New models.


The CATO captures the distinctive analog sounds of the Octave Cat SRM and its SSM filter. The pure-analog tonality of this synth is huge, and its modulation capabilities allow for truly unique and stylized timbres. Able to create gigantic Moog-style basses, the CAT can also go in its own sonic direction with its clever oscillator sync implementation.

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Synclavier Regen // The 7 stages of ownership

video upload by Starsky Carr

"It's not like other synths... it's part of music history... it's complex.. it's unique... it sounds amazing... it's a thing. I've had this for a few months now, and created a couple of tracks, made a patch bank, tried re synthesis, samples, additive synthesis, single cycle samples... whole sessions and complex partials.

Here's a rundown of my experience, what it is, how it works and how to get the most out of it. We go through a number of phases
Fascination and intrigue, confusion, understanding, discovery, exploration, acceptance before finally landing on enjoyment

https://patreon.com/starskycarr
https://starskycarr.com"

Interview with Kim Ryrie & The History of Fairlight

YouTube Uploaded by DEQXAUS on Nov 25, 2010
Segment on the history of Fairlight begins at 1:47
"Kim is interviewed by audio industry journalist Edgar Kramer. In this part Kim talks about his personal history with speaker design, music synthesis and the founding of Fairlight Industries, and the longstanding quest for true 'being there' speakers. For more information go to deqx.com"

via Nino via Volken

via Wikipedia: "The Fairlight CMI (Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, and based on a dual-6800 microprocessor computer designed by Tony Furse in Sydney, Australia.[2][3] It rose to prominence in the early 1980s and competed in the market with the Synclavier from New England Digital."

Festa In Soffitta - '80s Italo with Emulator, Juno-60, Memorymoog and DMX

YouTube Uploaded by SynthManiaDotCom on Dec 10, 2011

"People ask me to post more Italo Disco synth demos, so here you go. A song in the typical early/mid '80s style.
E-mu Emulator: orchestra hit, Synclavier
Roland Juno-60: synth bass, synth strings
Moog Memorymoog: synth brass, syn vox
Oberheim DMX: drum machine"

Driscoll Modular

Update: Some comments with additional info from Ken below. Click on comments at the end of this post.

Wow. Josue Arias sent this to me. You can put this on the list of the rarest of the rare. I'm not one to benchmark rarity against, but I've never seen or even heard of one of these before. The only thing that comes up on Google is this site with a brief reference of the Driscoll. The Analog Heaven archives come up dry as well.

Josue refers to the Driscoll as a Driscoll/Serge modular. He states, "the 'serge' part is just because the similar modules in it (Slope generators, Random voltages, cv processors, Analog shift register,...) and because my system even have a serge 5 stage sequencing programmer!, but driscoll designed the same functions than the serge modular using another electronic aproach and design, so is not a clone(!)"

The Driscoll was built in the 70s by Australian composer/designer/engineer Julian Driscoll. Josue, believes the original Driscoll was a 10-12 panel system.

As for the sound?
"The sound for this synth is incredible, its really "organic", it sound like creatures more than electronics : ) I have it next to my 4 panel serge and I really like the driscoll sound a lot more."

http://www.cyndustries.com/bugmusic/17.mp3

"All the water drops/woodblocks/marimba/rithms, comes from the driscoll. I think it show the organic qualities. I`m ataching you a couple of photos but they are from my old studio"

Wow. Thanks for sharing this Josue.

Update:
Josue gave me the ok to post the following thread. Thanks Josue!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I`ve found some of the conversaions I had with australian composer
Warren Burt, He used the Driscoll and even it have a CD now for sale
made with it!:

"Hello Mr. Burt,

I`m Josue Arias, a musician and sound engineer from Madrid(SPAIN)
I just got the old Segemodular tape from 1983, and I`ve found you have
a nice piece there called "You want, maybe, something a little intense
diatonic?"

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