TONTO Week: Malcolm Cecil, A Tribe Called Red, and The National Music Centre in Calgary

The Story of TONTO Published on Jan 22, 2014 National Music Centre

"The Original New Timbral Orchestra (TONTO), the world's largest analog synthesizer, has found a new home at the National Music Centre in Calgary, Alberta. This is the story of how TONTO went from a dream to a reality, and then found a new life and home at NMC."

Note the above video is from January 22, 2014. You should all be familiar with TONTO.

Update: It has come to my attention that John Leimseider has passed away. He was scheduled to give a TONTO Demonstration with Malcom Cecil on Nov. 17 per below. The demonstration will remain scheduled with Malcom Cecil, however the Synthesis 101 course on Nov. 14 has been canceled.

Details on the event:

TONTO Week puts "holy grail of synthesizers" in the spotlight from November 14-18

Week of activities to feature TONTO co-creator Malcolm Cecil, A Tribe Called Red, Phantom of the Paradise screening, and more

(Calgary, AB — September 13, 2018) After years of careful restoration, the National Music Centre (NMC) will commission one of the crown jewels of its music and technology collection, The Original New Timbral Orchestra (aka TONTO), during TONTO Week from November 14-18.

To commemorate this milestone, NMC will host a week of music programming timed to coincide with Alberta Electronic Music Conference (AEMCON), running concurrently at Studio Bell during TONTO Week. NMC Members receive discounted or free admission to all TONTO Week events (not including AEMCON conference passes), so purchase your membership online today at studiobell.ca/members. Individual tickets are available at nmc.ca/whats-on. AEMCON conference passes are available at albertaelectronicmusic.com.

Members of A Tribe Called Red will be the first musicians to create new music with the legendary synthesizer, and they’ll demo TONTO during a public workshop and incorporate the instrument into an evening Studio Bell After Hours set. “After seeing TONTO for the first time back in 2014, I knew that I had unfinished business at the National Music Centre,” said 2oolman of A Tribe Called Red. “I have been waiting patiently ever since to get my hands on that instrument.”

Malcolm Cecil, one of the co-creators of TONTO, will be in attendance to deliver demonstrations and lectures on the history of the instrument. NMC will also host a screening of the cult classic film, Phantom of the Paradise, in which TONTO appeared, and other activities associated with the instrument.

TONTO is one of the world’s largest analog synthesizers. Created by Malcom Cecil and Robert Margouleff in 1968, its creation marked the first attempt at making a universal language for different synthesizers to communicate with each other, which was a revolutionary achievement. Under the band name Tonto’s Expanding Head Band, Cecil and Margouleff released the highly influential album Zero Time. The album demonstrated the rich, layered sounds of the massive synthesizer and attracted significant attention.

Used on multiple Stevie Wonder and The Isley Brothers albums in the 1970s, TONTO helped shape albums by a long list of notable artists such as Minnie Riperton, Joan Baez, the Doobie Brothers, Quincy Jones, Randy Newman, Bobby Womack and more, and was prominently featured in Phantom of the Paradise.


“I needed to find a home for TONTO that would survive me and where it could be used,” said Malcolm Cecil after NMC acquired the instrument in 2013.

“We made a promise to Malcom to ensure that TONTO would be used again in the creation of new music and that its legacy would live on,” said Adam Fox, NMC’s Director of Programs. “It took several years to properly restore the instrument, and now it’s finally ready to enter its next chapter. We couldn’t be more excited to hear where NMC’s Artists in Residence take TONTO next.”


TONTO WEEK SCHEDULE

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TONTO Rides Again

Update via the comments:
TONTO's Expanding Head Band
Updates via AH: Malcolm Cecil says:
"TONTO's Expanding Head Band will be performing live at the Big Chill Festival on Saturday, August 5th at 9:30 PM the Sanctuary stage. The festival is a 3 day affair held at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire, about 2 1/2 hrs drive north west of London. The closest big town is Gloucester. They are expecting 33,000 people to show up - 5,000 will spend the whole 3 days camping there. More detailed info on how to get there is on www.eastnorcastle.com and the full festival info is available at: link.

TONTO will not actually be there - way too big and expensive to ship for a one hour performance - I am creating a "Virtual TONTO" and will play live over pre recorded backing tracks with a specially prepared visual show with hundreds of pics of TONTO and Poli Cecil's art pieces.

The TONTO CD with an additional never before released track will be available at the festival. Those who can't attend but want the CD can email me mcecil[]hvc.rr.com"

Malcolm Cecil in regards to this recording:
"It is unauthorized.

I have mixed emotions about it. Its like seeing your mother in law drive over the edge of a cliff :-) in your brand new uninsured Rolls Royce :-( I am gratified that more than 1100 people have downloaded it in 9 months and that half of the people who found it download it. On the other hand I am just about to re-release the CD with an additional never before released track to coincide with TONTO's live performance at the Big Chill in England on August 5th. TONTO will not actually be there - way too big and expensive to ship for a one hour performance - but I am creating a "Virtual TONTO" and will play live over pre recorded backing tracks with a specially prepared visual show with hundreds of pics of TONTO and Poli's (Mrs. Cecil's) art pieces."

Original Post:
"If you are too young to remember those halcyon days, back when all computers were water cooled, and the Future was Now, then you probably do not even know what a multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer is.

TONTO is an acronym for "The Original New Timbral Orchestra": the world's first (and still the largest) multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer, designed and constructed by Malcolm Cecil. As an analog synthesizer, TONTO was capable of creating virtually any sound. Its warm, fat bass sounds were particularly noteworthy and still cannot be recreated by the current breed of MIDI digital synthesizers and samplers. (See more at link)

With Robert Margoleff, Malcolm produced two LPs - "Zero Time" and "It's About Time" - as "TONTO's Expanding Head Band". I think that "Zero Time" is the best. While I have had the vinyl since forever, the CD is out of print.

I was lucky and persistent enough to find a chap with a copy of the remastered compilation CD, "TONTO Rides Again", and he burned me a copy. I took this and ripped it to WAV with Winamp Pro. Then, I converted to FLAC with dBpowerAMP."

Title link takes you there.

Malcolm Cecil's TONTO Coming to Town - Live Event

"B2Art and EARS (The Analog Lab) present KiNo block

Poet of Sound and Image KiNo in Exhibition and Live Performance

New Vague: Invasion from Within

June 3 - 29, 2011

Featuring performance version installation of the world's largest synthesizer, TONTO

and two-dimensional works by artists Bill Alpert, Bartus Bartolomes, Scott Alger, Astolfo Funes and Marjan Denkov.

New York, NY - Poet of Sound and Image KiNo will unleash a programme of sonic and visual ephemera in line with his psychedelic live musical performances for the month of June at the World Monuments Fund Gallery (15 East 27th Street.) The landscape will be punctuated by two-dimensional works from artists Bill Alpert, Bartus Bartolomes, Scott Alger, Astolfo Funes and Marjan Denkov.

KiNo uses images, sounds and words to comment on the fundamental aspects of human beings and their behavior. With unwavering intimations of conscience, his work strives to stimulate the emotional intelligence of his audience. During his 27 day residency, KiNo will present a universe of sound, film, and live installation.

"Sonic wizard" Jeff Blenkinsopp (Pink Floyd, Vangelis, The Secret Machines) invented an analogue processing device especially for KiNo known as the KiNo Live Rig. This one of a kind machine will join forces with the world's largest synthesizer, T.O.N.T.O. (The Original New Timbral Orchestra). Created by Malcolm Cecil (credited for electrifying Stevie Wonder), the performance version of TONTO will be installed at the gallery. For video footage of TONTO, click here. [embed below]

Nine special sets of KiNo's original music and sonic pieces will be performed throughout the month, combining the forces of the KiNo Live Rig and TONTO. A treasured special-guest lineup includes the following artists (for more information on them, click here):

Malcolm Cecil ("Godfather of electronic music")
Andy Rourke (The Smiths)
Joe McGinty (Psychedelic Furs)
DJ Jonathan Peters
Jesper Kyd (composer: Hitman, Assassin's Creed)
Ilhan Ersahin (Wax Poetic)
Juini Booth (Sun Ra/McCoy Tyner)
Kenny Wollesen (Tom Waits)

####

Please RSVP for the June 3 opening by clicking the link below.
*RSVP CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT, JUNE 2*
www.poetofsoundandimage.com/rsvp


For the full programme and more information visit: http://www.poetofsoundandimage.com/junecom

Curated by Belen Moreno Bosch & Ana Rita Dà Piedade &
Produced by Jeff Blenkinsopp, Ana Rita Dà Piedade and KiNo"

TONTO & Stevie Wonder

YouTube Uploaded by analoghell on Aug 2, 2006

"Documentary extract talking about TONTO's collaboration with Stevie on 4 classic 70's records. CD of classic TONTO now available on www.tontosexpandingheadband.com"

See the TONTO label below for more.

Malcom Cecil Has Passed Away

Another synth legend has passed away. Anyone that regularly visits this site should know who he is.

via The Bob Moog Foundation

"It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the passing of the legendary creative genius, musician, engineer, producer, and synthesizer pioneer, Malcolm Cecil, shown here with his creation TONTO (The Original New Timbral Orchestra, created in 1968). Malcom's son Milton informed us that he passed away at 1:17am this morning after a long illness.

Bob Moog and Malcolm had a deep mutual respect and affection for each other, remaining lifelong friends after working together to assure that the Moog components of TONTO were properly integrated into the system. Our hearts are heavy with the loss of such a monumental contributor to the Moog legacy and a truly stellar, generous, kind human being. Our love goes out to his family and friends.

You can see Malcolm talking about TONTO in this video from the National Music Centre | Centre National de Musique, where TONTO now resides:"

Malcolm Cecil on Creating TONTO

video by National Music Centre

"TONTO is an acronym for The Original New Timbral Orchestra. It was created by Malcom Cecil and Robert Margouleff in 1968 , and marked the first attempt at creating a universal language for different synthesizers to communicate with each other, which was revolutionary at the time.

Now housed at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, TONTO is being used for a new generation of artists to create music.

Support music in Canada by donating to the National Music Centre, a registered charity. Your donation directly shapes the future of Canadian music by providing music education programs, world-class artist development programs, and one-of-a-kind opportunities for collaboration. Learn more: http://bit.ly/SupportNMC"

And via Wikipedia:

"Malcolm Cecil (born 9 January 1937) is a British jazz bassist and Grammy Award-winning record producer.

Born in London, Cecil was a founding member of the UK's leading jazz quintet of the late 1950s, The Jazz Couriers,[1] before going on to join a number of British jazz combos led by Dick Morrissey, Tony Crombie and Ronnie Scott in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He later joined Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner to form the original line-up of Blues Incorporated.

He later joined Robert Margouleff to form the duo TONTO's Expanding Head Band, a project based on a unique combination of synthesizers which led to them collaborating on and co-producing several of Stevie Wonder's Grammy-winning albums of the early 1970s."
You can find numerious posts featuring Malcom Cecil here, and TONTO here.

TONTO Arrives at the NMC Calgary Alberta, Canada

"National Music Centre acquires TONTO, world’s largest synthesizer. Credit: Chad Schroter-Gillespie."

This one in via Greg on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge.

The National Music Center in Calgary Alberta is the new home of TONTO

"TONTO was the first and the largest, multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer. This means that it was one of the first synthesizers capable of producing many tone colours with different voices simultaneously.

TONTO was created by Malcom Cecil and Robert Margouleff in 1968 and marked the first attempt at creating a universal language for different synthesizers to communicate with each other, which was revolutionary. TONTO remains the largest analog synthesizer in the world."

Check out the full post at the NMC site here.

Is it the world's largest synthesizer considering modular systems can be endless in size?  It depends on how you look at it.  It is interesting to think of it as a single massive synthesizer. As for possible contenders, my first thought was Benge's studio, the old Aliens Project SynxsS studio (interview here) as well has Hans Zimmer's bookshelves of modulars, but their modular systems are effectively separate.  Are there others?  If you focus on sheer number of modules in one exclusive system there's Billy Corgan's Ichabod which consists of all Mattson modules and the recent Siggi's Super Formant Synthesizer.

"Malcom Cecil, co-creator of TONTO. Credit: Chad Schroter-Gillespie."

The following is a track featuring Tonto by Malcom Cecil & Margouleff from 1971.

Malcom Cecil Releases iTonto for iOS

iTunes: iTonto - malcolm cecil

"iTONTO the App, documents the Engineering and Design of “TONTO”, The Original New Timbral Orchestra.

DISCLAIMER: iTONTO is not a functional iOS recreation of TONTO.

TONTO is one of the most important innovations in musical history. TONTO is the first synthesizer of popular music and is displayed and described in great detail within the App. This historic instrument, the invention of Grammy winning Malcolm Cecil, helped influence American cultural and musical history and is one of the most recorded instruments of all time.
The App includes detailed photos of the front and back of each panel with drill down and zoom capabilities, circuitry and schematics, personal comments, hand drawn notes in design, and stories about TONTOS history. Collaborations include Steve Wonder, Billy Preston, Gil Scott Heron, Little Feet, Doobie Brothers, George Harrison and The Isley Brothers. TONTO is on over 160 albums including 2 of Rolling Stone’s top 100 best selling albums of all time.

TONTO – The Original New Timbral Orchestra uses the principle of analog subtractive synthesis to create multi-timbral polyphonic sounds.The heart of a subtractive synthesizer is its filter. TONTO has a compliment of fourteen filters: two full MOOG 904 band-pass filters,
two Arp Low Pass filters,
four Oberhiem SEM filters;
two Cecil/Serge dual filters;
one ARP 1040 multi function filter
and one Cecil Custom low pass filter.
It also has 39 oscillators; 22 envelope generators;
18 VCA’s and many more modules,
including processors, sequencers and controllers which can be patched to create at least fourteen discrete “voices” – each with it’s own unique timbral quality and all of which are able to be controlled simultaneously. As its name implies, it is truly an integrated orchestra of new timbres.
Optimized for iPhone 6, IOS 8.0 or better."

CLICK FOR MORE »

DIY ELECTRONICS SYMPOSIUM: Workshops, Silver Apples with Malcolm Cecil on TONTO, Electric Golem with Trevor Pinch on DIY Modular

via Trevor Pinch: "This Saturday March 30 at Cornell Schwartz Center for The Performing Arts we are putting on a cool event which we are calling a 'DIY Electronics Music Symposium'. It will feature panel discussion on DIY electronics (starts 2pm), workshops where you can build your own gear, and a concert (starts 8pm) featuring, Silver Apples, Malcolm Cecil with TONTO, Electric Golem (with Trevor Pinch on DIY Modular [see this post]) plus more.

I know it's short notice but any synth heads in the area might want to check it out. As far as we can tell TONTO and Silver Apples have never been on the same bill together."

Details:

"DIY ELECTRONICS SYMPOSIUM:

SATURDAY MARCH 30
An afternoon and evening celebrating innovation in electronic media,
///TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER:
the legendary Simeon Coxe of Silver Apples and Malcolm Cecil of Tonto's Expanding Head Band,

The afternoon symposium will commence with a panel discussion led by Science and Technology Studies professor Trevor Pinch followed by demonstrations of various home made electronic instruments including the largest synthesizer in the world, The Original New Timbral Orchestra. Doctoral candidates Taylan Cihan (Music), Laewoo Kang (Information Science) and Owen Marshall (Science and Technology Studies) will then lead a DIY Electronics workshop allowing participants to create and keep their own small electronic instruments.

~challenge the politics of expertise~
~explore motivations for innovation~

In the evening from 8-11 a musical and visual 'happening' will be put on with Tonto's Expanding Headband, Silver Apples, The Electric Golem, First Atomic Lunar and more to perform.


__S_C_H__E__D__U__L__E_

2PM-3PM

Panel Discussion Chaired by Trevor Pinch
featuring: Malcolm Cecil, Simeon Coxe, Jeff Perkins, Park Doing.


3:30pm-5:30pm

DIY Electronics Workshop and Demonstrations
-Circuit hacking, bending and creating your own instruments from parts. All materials provided for limited number of participants
provided by Cornell Electroacoustic Center, led by Taylan Cihan, Owen Marshall, and Leo Kang

____________________________________

8PM-11PM
MULTIMEDIA PSYCHADELIC PERFORMANCE

*Silver Apples
*Tonto's Expanding Head Band
*Electric Golem
*First Atomic Lunar
*100% Black

feat DJ Andris Balins

Visual media provided by Jeff Perkins, Park Doing, Leo Kang

The events are free and open to the entire Cornell Community.
Contributions are encouraged to support opening acts.


Made possible by The Cornell Council for the Arts, The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Cornell Electroacoustic Music Center, The Society for the Humanities, The Science and Technology Studies Department, and the SAFC."

See the TONTO & Trevor Pinch labels below for more including videos and pics.

Steve Austin Battles Bigfoot To A Synthesizer Soundtrack by Tonto's Expanding Head Band

Published on Nov 3, 2014 Jay Calloway

"Secret agent Steve Austin, the bionic Six Million Dollar Man, battles Bigfoot---who turns out to be a part-android alien creation! The music is 'Cybernaut' by Tonto's Expanding Head Band. I don't own anything---neither the film footage nor the music. (The government owns this. It's classified Above Above Top Secret.)"

For those not familiar with Tonto's Expanding Head Band, via wikipedia: "Tonto's Expanding Head Band was a British electronic music duo consisting of Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff. Despite releasing only two albums in the early 1970s, the duo were (and still remain) influential because of their session work for other musicians (most notably Stevie Wonder[1][2]), extensive commercial advertising work and the unique warmth and personality of their work."

And of course, see the TONTO channel label for more specifically on the TONTO modular system.

TONTO [The Original New Timbral Orchestra]

via Music Marketing Inc. on Facebook

"TONTO [The Original New Timbral Orchestra], the first and largest, multi-timbral polyphonic analog synthesizer in the world, was famously used by Stevie Wonder on all his early 70s albums. Essentially, it was a massive combination of modular synths from Moog, Oberhiem, ARP, EMS, Roland and others. Originally made for record producer Robert Margouleff, Tonto has changed owners several times and currently resides in a studio in upstate New York. When you are this BIG they call you TONTO!"

See the TONTO label below for more. You can watch a video tour of TONTO here.

TONTO RIDES AGAIN

via Malcolm Cecil, via the world of next tuesday.

You can find Tonto Rides Again and more at Malcom Cecil's Tonto's Expanding Head Band.

"All the tracks from "TONTO RIDES AGAIN" are available on that site remastered by me from the original analog mixes and issued as a Collector's Limited Edition CD. TONTO has never sounded better.

Peace,
Malcolm Cecil"

Be sure to see all posts mentioning TONTO here.

TONTO - New Flickr Shot

From Flickr:

"This is the legendary and mythical TONTO modular synth setup, owned by old school synth nerd / producer / tape op Malcolm Cecil. It was featured on alot of Stevie Wonder's best music, including the track, "Superstition". There are ARP, Oberheim, Serge and Moog modules in TONTO, and even some created by Malcolm, himself. If you are a synth geek, and you've never heard of TONTO, consider yourself a synth geek in training, and class is in session. It is rumoured by Malcolm himself that TONTO contains a very large amount of spare wire from an Apollo space shuttle."

Check out the words TONTO in the middle, above the keyboard.

The Original New Timbral Orchestra

YouTube via haledrix | November 23, 2010 | 8 likes, 0 dislikes

"Malcolm Cecil - one half of TONTO's Expanding Head Band - shows you around The Original New Timbral Orchestra. Called TONTO for short, this super synthesiser was used on Stevie Wonder's classic albums from the early 1970s, namely Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions and Fulfillingness' First Finale. TONTO also appeared on albums by The Isley Brothers, DEVO, Gil Scott-Heron, George Harrison, Jeff Beck, Steve Hillage, Billy Preston and many more."

Follow-up to Stevie's Wonder Men - BBC Radio on TONTO.
Also see the TONTO label for more. This one in via rustyanalog aka Richard Lainhart.

Invasion From Within — Malcolm Cecil - Tonto & KiNo [HD]

Invasion From Within — Malcolm Cecil - Tonto & KiNo [HD] from KiNo on Vimeo.

"Video Trailer 1 for the upcoming KiNo Exhibition at the World Monuments Fund Gallery — OPENING NIGHT on June 3rd. The Exhibition runs throughout the month with daily live performances by KiNo and 9 different sets of music.

For full schedule of live performances:
poetofsoundandimage.com/​june [Update: new link]

The gallery landscape will be punctuated by two-dimensional works from artists Bill Alpert, Bartus Bartolomes, Scott Alger, Astolfo Funes and Marjan Denkov.

9 special sets of KiNo's original music and sonic pieces will be performed throughout the month, combining the forces of the KiNo Live Rig* and TONTO.

A treasured special-guest lineup includes the following artists:

Malcolm Cecil ("Godfather of electronic music")
Andy Rourke (The Smiths)
Joe McGinty (Psychedelic Furs)
Jesper Kyd (composer: Hitman, Assassin's Creed)
DJ Jonathan Peters
Ilhan Ersahin (Wax Poetic)
Jonathan Haffner (Bill Friser)
Juini Booth (McCoy Tyner/Sun Ra)


Curated by Belen Bosch & Ana Rita Da Piadade.
Live Production by Jeff Blenkinsopp.
Exhibition Production by Ana Rita Da Piadade, Jeff Blenkinsopp & KiNo"

Also see: TONTO Video by The Analog Lab
And the TONTO label below for more.
via KiNo

TONTO Pics

via Erick

"My friend Doug Milford got the chance recently to meet with Malcolm Cecil and tour the studio. Doug's brother, who passed away in the late 80s, was named Kim Milford. If you poke around on the web, you'll find that Kim Milford sang with Jeff Beck for a period. And he also did a lot of acting in theater, Broadway, films, television, as well as music composition before his untimely passing while still in his 30s.

Kim had recorded some songs at the TONTO studio (lamentably, none with synths I'm told), and Doug was visiting Malcolm to track down some of the old master reels. Luckily for us, Doug snapped some great photos of the famous TONTO synth. You can see a lot of it very close up"

You can find aditonal pics here.

"The Original New Timbral Orchestra designed and built by Malcom Cecil. The TONTO features such synths as:

2 Moog Series III Modular Synthesizers
2 Arp 2600s
Serge Modules
4 Oberheim SEMs

and many more…

www.tontosexpandingheadband.com

www.theanaloglab.com"

follow-up to: Invasion From Within — Malcolm Cecil - Tonto & KiNo [HD]

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Behringer to Clone TONTO?

These spotted and sent in via Soviet Space Child.

More teasers from Behringer. Wouldn't that be interesting. TONTO? Curious if it would come with non working modules as a clone of TONTO prior to any restoration. Humor aside, it is possible they are looking at Moog modules based on the other pics below. 5U, eurorack, or both? Who knows...

P.S. If you are not familiar with TONTO, see here and scroll.

CLICK FOR MORE »

RIP John Leimseider

Update: "A memorial and celebration of life will be held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, this Sunday, September 30 at 5:00 pm in Studio Bell’s Performance Hall (850 4 Street SE).

More info can be found here.

Pictured: John Leimseider on the right with Malcom Cecil from this recent post on the upcoming event, TONTO Week.

It has come to my attention that John Leimseider has passed away. John was the head synth technician at the National Music Centre in Calgary, Canada, and previously the Cantos Music Foundation. He was recently scheduled to give a presentation on TONTO with Malcom Cecil on Nov 17 as part of TONTO Week. Please note, that talk is still scheduled to go on with Malcom Cecil. According to NMC, "TONTO was one of the last major projects of JL’s, so this event has much more significance now that he’s gone. But there will be an enormous void without him."

John Leimseider's influence spread far beyond the museum. Many of you visiting MATRIXSYNTH likely know him. I unfortunately never had the opportunity to meet him in person, however I remember seeing him engage on both the Rhodes Chroma and Yamaha CS80 lists. I still have some of those threads. I was hoping to one day make it out to the National Music Centre and meet him in person.

Below is a short playlist featuring John including his work at the NMC, an introductory video on the Roland System-8 from Roland, a video for The Moog Legacy featuring John, and a fun video featuring Neil Diamond's band paying a visit to the NMC, invited by none other than John Leimseider. He will be sorely missed by the synth community.



Playlist:
National Music Center Mini Doc [be sure to listen in stereo - you can only hear John on the left channel to start]
First Impressions of the Roland SYSTEM-8 with John Leimseider
Virtuality: The Moog Legacy, by Amin Bhatia [John Leimseider comes in at 1:58]
Quarter Note Video Tweet: Neil Diamond's band visits the NMC collection [keep an eye out for John]

You can find a handful of posts mentioning John Leimseider in the archives here. He worked on quite a few synths sold by individuals over the years. It's neat to think each one of those synths were touched by him at some point, and the work he did on them will live on.

"The Chromed TONTO" - MASSIVE Live Modular Synthesizer w/ P-Thugg from Chromeo

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

Like a modern day TONTO - "The Chromed TONTO"

"Discover the unbelievable as Anthony and co-host Rob Rosen, synth tech to the stars, team up with special guest Patrick Gemayel, also known as P-Thugg from electro-funk duo "Chromeo," to unveil and construct the world's largest touring synthesizer - a towering 18 feet long and 8 feet tall, featuring 6 keyboards, all fully CHROMED! Dive into an epic unboxing and building session, culminating in an electrifying improvised synth jam.
In this captivating video, witness the step-by-step assembly of four colossal custom chrome modular synthesizer towers, drawing inspiration from iconic sources like Stevie Wonder’s TONTO synth, 1984 Bang & Olufsen speakers, and Seventies space-age furniture. Crafted and chromed by the legendary Roger Arrick from Synthesizers.com, these towers house cutting-edge modular synths with a unique behind-the-modules patching system, ensuring seamless performances with quick sound changes and full MIDI compatibility for patch cord free audience views.
Delve into the meticulous live performance setup of P-Thugg and his duo mate David Macklovitch (aka Dave 1), showcasing their mastery of Ableton Live and AbleSet for music playback, set lists, and lighting cues. Experience the behind-the-scenes magic as you join the conversation with the funk maestro "P" in his warehouse, where dreams of a chromed synth spectacle turned into reality. Don't miss out on this unforgettable journey into the heart of electro-funk innovation!

00:00:00 Intro (music)
00:00:55 Meet P-Thugg
00:01:11 Building the Modules / Jam 1
00:02:53 The MIDI Keyboards
00:04:53 Building the Tiers / Jam 2
00:06:33 Custom system by Synthesizers.com (https://shop.synthesizers.com)
00:12:15 Custom Tuner Module
00:13:10 Synthesizer Tuner Hack
00:14:10 Modular and Poly Synth Output Configuration
00:15:50 Look Mum, no patch cords - Hard Wired Presets
00:17:34 Culmination of a Modular Dream / Monster Polyphonic Dream Next
00:19:07 Building the MIDI / Jam 3
00:22:44 Fully Built Instrument (after 3 hours setting up)
00:24:05 Preset Patching System
00:29:47 Bypassing the Preset Patches
00:30:21 Switching Presets on Stage
00:33:40 Spontaneously Programming Sounds on Stage
00:34:42 P-Thugg's Favorite Sound
00:35:25 Presets Switch between Live Panel Settings
00:36:39 Re-creating the Album in a Live Setting
00:37:35 Changing The Face Panel
00:40:09 Patching the MIDI Polyphonic Synthesizer Keyboards
00:43:15 Tuning Drifting Oscillators - Custom Tuner Module
00:43:51 Connecting All 4 Modular Instruments
00:45:59 Cleaning the Chrome
00:46:35 MIDI Interface Routing
00:48:47 Moog Modular Flexibility with Minimoog Speed
00:49:14 Front Panel Tour
00:51:20 Overriding the Presets with Patch Cords / Multi-Mode Filter
00:53:34 AbleSet by Leolabs - Set Lists, MIDI Patch Changes, Ableton Live Playback connection (https://ableset.app)
00:56:10 Ableton Light Cues
00:57:02 DAW Software - Cubase, Pro Tools, Ableton Live
00:57:50 Adapting the Show to the Song
00:59:37 Chromeo's Mission
01:01:20 Conclusion
01:01:47 Logo (music)"

EMS PITCH TO VOLTAGE CONVERTER

via this auction

"EMS Pitch To Voltage Converter, perfect to add to your Synthi or VCS3. Also interfaces with other modular/cv synths. Fully functional but missing the front panel 'reference tone' switch (an easy repair and the switch can be ordered from EMS - the ref. tone is currently set to 'off') and comes with mini-Bulgin power lead. The module is internally switchable between 110V and 220V.

Previously owned by Malcolm Cecil and formed part of TONTO. "Tonto is an acronym for "The Original New Timbral Orchestra," the world's first (and still the largest) multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer, designed and constructed by Malcolm Cecil. Tonto featured on albums from Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Bobby Womack, The Isley Brothers, Gil Scott-Heron and Weather Report, as well as releases from Stephen Stills, The Doobie Brothers, Dave Mason, Little Feat and Joan Baez, Steve Hillage". More info here

from the original spec sheet -

CLICK FOR MORE »

Playing With… TONTO, the World’s Largest Synthesizer | Red Bull Music Academy

Published on Jun 18, 2019 Red Bull Music Academy

"Canadian artists Softcoresoft, Debby Friday and Korea Town Acid try their hands at using The Original New Timbral Orchestra, TONTO, the first and largest multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer in the world.

Created by Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff in the late 1960s, TONTO was used on recordings for Stevie Wonder and Gil Scott-Heron and in 2013 was acquired by and moved to the National Music Center in Calgary, Alberta where this session was filmed during the RBMA Bass Camp Calgary 2019.

Red Bull Music Academy is the educational pillar of the Red Bull Music program. It is a global institution that for 20 years has been committed to fostering creativity in music by collaborating with those who are shaping our musical landscape and creating spaces for music makers to learn and immerse themselves."

YOUTH by KiNo & Video with Jeff Blenkinsopp & Malcom Cecil's TONTO

YOUTH from KiNo on Vimeo.

KiNo and his producer Sonic Wizard Jeff Blenkinsopp [Pink Floyd insider]

KiNo Live Rig from KiNo on Vimeo.

The above is a video on KiNo's live rig featuring Jeff Blenkinsopp & Malcom Cecil's TONTO. You might recall the suitcase sized rig Jeff refers to from this previous post on KiNo's Kickstarter campaign. KiNo is working on an new concept single called YOUTH.

About KiNo
http://poetofsoundandimage.com/9

Details on YOUTH via Facebook (be sure to click through for a gallery of pics):

"Written, demoed and performed in New York.
In production: Los Angeles, New York, With contribution from Nyc, Roma, Istanbul, Paris, Korea.

I got on to making YOUTH, ever since the Gezi Park events in Istanbul broke out the mass movement of young people, among them my friends, mostly apolitical creatures lunging protests against their mobster government led by a cunt. YOUTH is a concept/single that I wasn't planning on embarking on until I secured some sort of backing. But, I found myself in the thick of it, thanks to my friends who have been demonstrating incredible tactics of subversion, to expose, expose and disarm their oppressors in the government and the media. It has been an intense period of pounding successful resistance coordinated on facebook and twitter. I couldn't escape the net of solidarity. They are young people getting some results. So, I couldn't resist turning to YOUTH. It's my reaction, a unifying (re)action in fact to connect the dots on what has been happening across the globe for quite sometime, created by the organic, non-idealogical energy, the sole capacitor of change, bearer of subversion and crafty people of liberty, the youth! As a poet, instead of sticking labels on people, I must help remove them to remind the essence of a human being unadulterated by nationality, religion, language and ideology. The concept-single is all about this. It's form is in the ubiquitous cross-cultural language of image, sound and word. And it is being made as we speak, with many collaborators contributing. It's an exciting time to focus and inspire each other, the bolt of awareness is conducting in a very fast pace. We all know what's in progress. We are the current face of change.9, Los Angeles"


Also see the KiNO and TONTO labels below for more.