Alesis A6 Andromeda demo

YouTube via baward — September 09, 2009 — "2002 European Alesis demo video. Features Brian Kehew of Moog Music."

Mellotron Mk.II

via Brian Kehew:
"Two good friends of ours were getting married, and asked Roger Manning and I (the Moog Cookbook) to play the wedding. It's not something we would normally do, but these would really good friends. We decided to surprise them by doing the show in tuxedos and space helmets, on a Mellotron Mk.II. This Mk.II is one of a few made in black, originally came from Graham Nash of the Hollies.

In order to prepare, I did some demos of the tunes, and have some mp3s of this. As you may have seen the LEFT side of the MkII is all rhythm parts and "fills" (instruments that superimpose over the rhythms.) The RIGHT side keyboard has all the main sounds you know from Mellotrons. I've added a custom set of sounds on the right, but what you hear is mainly stock sounds; basically what a 1964 Mellotron demo performance would be like, but with more modern songs. It's only a 2-track recording (left and right) without editing, just played live, but that does show how cool the Mellotron sound was when played as intended. If people like these, I have more to hear sometime..."

1) California Dreamin' (Mamas and the Papas)


2) The Model (Kraftwerk; featuring bits of JMJarre's "Magnetic Fields" inserted)"


mp3s and wma's here

Early Moog Modular Filter Bank Identified

See the top red update from Brian Kehew dated 1/6/12 in this post.

Con Brio ADS 200R Vintage Synthesizer

YouTube via therealretrosynth.

"Brian Kehew demoing the only Con Brio ADS 200R in existence at the Vintage Computer Festival at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View California."

Update: if you remember in this prior post I noted that someone mentioned the Con Brio was not producing sounds on its own. Devo just left the following comment:
"Just wanted to clarify... The sound that was heard of the Con Brio at the VCFX this weekend WAS indeed coming from the synth itself. It is true that the synth isn't 100% functional (yet), but the parts that need to be made "whole" still, are the connection from the keyboards to the "brain" (mostly), which will be sorted out soon, hopefully. The sounds that were heard consisted of existing sequences on the original 8" floppys, coupled with existing sound-patches from the same orig. disks (of which, the OS is derived). BTW: the Con Brio sounds as good (or, dare I say, BETTER) than it looks. Awesome! I hope this info helps. Much kudos to all (past and present) involved! "

The First Moog Ever

via Bubba Ayoub on Facebook

"I saw the first Moog ever today. IT WAS AWESOME."

"The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. It was in the Mini Moogseum at the Museum of Making Music a few years ago though."

Curious what impact moving the Bob Moog Archives to Cornell will have on the formation of the Moogseum. Click here for all posts mentioning the Moogseum.

Update:

New pics via Brian Kehew.

They are owned by the Henry Ford museum of American innovations.

Fifty Years of ARP: The 2500 in 2020 (a synthposium) Part Three - Composers & Producers + Concert

Alan R. Pearlman Foundation

Moderator:
Brian Kehew

Panelists:
David Baron, Producer and Composer
Pablo Garreton, Composer and Performer
Don Slepian , Composer and Performer
Asha Tamarisa , Composer, Performer and Educator

Live Concert from Pablo Garreton

Last Q & A, closing remarks.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org/f...

Fifty Years of ARP: The 2500 in 2020 (a synthposium) posts

MOOG - A Quilt by Jan Myers

"Myers-Newbury herself revealed that the origin of the name is from the Moog synthesizer, an electronic keyboard instrument invented by Dr. Robert Moog in the 1960s. She says, "I recall that Moog synthesizers had vertical bands of colored lights (white and red, mostly) that run up and down as the music changed. Maybe I am imagining this.... but that's what I remember."

more details here. via Brian Kehew

SAVE THE DATE! The ARP 2600 Synthposium: 50 Years of the 2600

via The Alan R. Pearlman Foundation

"SAVE-THE-DATE: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH

THE ARP 2600 SYNTHPOSIUM

A hybrid in-person/online event and fundraiser celebrating 50 years since the release of the very first ARP 2600. The day will feature live performances, panel discussions, special guests, synthesizer clinics, a cocktail reception, and more!

The in-person segment of the SYNTHPOSIUM and fundraiser will take place at The Record Co., a community recording and rehearsal space for musicians in the Boston area. With its brand new facilities and impressive array of equipment, The Record Co. has partnered with us to house seven ARP synthesizers, shipped from around the world, that are available for public use.

The online event will be streamed live via several different sources.

Tickets and Information
We want to ensure everyone's safety, so tickets will go on sale two weeks before the September 18 event, so we can plan as accurately as possible.

Visit our Facebook Event page or the event page regularly for updates.

All proceeds will benefit the Alan R. Pearlman Foundation. The Foundation's mission is to celebrate the legacy of inventor, musician, entrepreneur and engineer Alan R. Pearlman by making his innovative inventions publicly accessible, and inspiring future generations to imagine and create.

OUR GUEST SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

David Baron
Phil Cirroco
Lisa Bella Donna
David Friend
Jennifer Hruska
Brian Kehew
David Mash

THE ARP 2600...
To call the ARP 2600 an influential synthesizer is a grand understatement. When first produced in 1971, the 2600 presented musicians with the power of a full-fledged modular synthesizer, but with "normalled" connections allowed anyone to play without knowing how to program. It was educational, powerful, and flexible... And it sounded phenomenal. The 2600 can produce amazing sonic textures, leads, basses, sound effects, and just about any other sound you can imagine.

Early adopters such as Edgar Winter, Pete Townshend, Joe Zawinul and Stevie Wonder helped popularize the 2600 in a musical context. Stevie even had a customized 2600 with the controls labeled in Braille. The 2600 is also famously known as the voice of Star Wars' R2-D2, being played by sound designer Ben Burtt.

And with the reintroduction of the 2600 by Korg, as well as Antonus and 2600 VSTs such as Time wARP, Cherry Audio's CA2600 and Arturia, a whole new generation of musicians can now experience the endless possibilities of this incredible synthesizer. LEARN MORE"

Moog CP-251 Control Processor Applications

YouTube via MoogMusicInc
"An overview of the Moog CP-251 Control Processor, featuring Jordan Rudess and Brian Kehew."

Harald Bode Exhibit - Brattleboro Vermont

Full details at the Brattleboro Reformer here

Some excerpts for the archive:
"St., presents a new exhibit, "Harald Bode, A Lifetime for Sound," which opens to the public on Saturday, from 1 to 4 p.m., and runs through summer.

"A Lifetime for Sound" is a retrospective of physicist Harald Bode and his contributions to electronic music. This is a 50-year survey in image and sound recordings, documenting the contributions of Bode, one of the great pioneers of electronic sound.

Harald Bode (1909-1987) was an electronic musical instrument design pioneer. His career spanned 50 years of innovation. In 1937, he built his Warbo Formant electronic organ which had capabilities similar to those found in modern synthesizers....

In 1960, Bode presented his Modular Synthesizer and Sound Processor at the Convention of the Audio Engineering Society. With this landmark presentation, he ushered in the era of the analog modular synthesizer. Bob Moog was in attendance and inspired by Bode’s concept of the modular sound studio. This led to the development of the Moog Synthesizer...

The Bode (Moog) Vocoder (1977) was a particular success and is noted for its unique sound. It can be found on hit records of the era including the 1979 Lipps Inc., megahit, "Funkytown." Among the many artists who purchased the instrument were musician Michael Boddicker, who used it on Michael Jackson’s 1982 record-breaking album, 'Thriller.'"

If anyone out there goes to this, send in some pics!

via Brian Kehew

Update: two links to pics and articles via haraldbodenews in the comments:

one
two

Pictured: "Rebekkah Palov, Exhibition Designer, walking through the exhibition with Caspar Abocab via Skype."

Vintage Moog Synth & Swag Spotting at the Kohoutek Festival 1984 @ Pitzer College

Gary Vodvarka
Published on Aug 4, 2016

Check this out. The first band has lots of Moog swag including the elusive painters hat/cap, t-shirts, and of course the synths. Curious if it they were sponsored by Moog. You can also spot a Roland Strings RS-202 I believe, and an Oberheim OB-8. Don't miss the "Have You Had Your Moog Modified Today" shirt. Thought that was pretty cool/interesting considering. It meant there was enough of a focus on modding your synths to market it.

The second band appears to have a Yamaha SK30. P.S. Almost thought the announcer said "Rik Ocasek and his band". :)

This one in via Brian Kehew.

Early Bob Moog - the "Max Brand Synthesizer"

YouTube via klubmoozak.

"bob moog prototype max brand synthsizer"

via Brian Kehew

"The Bob Moog Foundation have recently connected with the people working with Max Brand's early modular synth. Built in the late '60s, Brand had emigrated to America from Germany and asked Bob to design him a synth. Brand's idea was to make a Moog modular that had features of the Mixturtrautonium he had played in Germany. It took some time, but Bob created a unique synth for Brand.

Soon, there will be a CD compilation of modern artists creating music with the old Max Brand Moog. Also included will be a few of Brand's own works on the synth (1970s). I was not familiar with him before this contact, but I really think his music is among the best of the experimental-side composers of the Eletctronic Music era. It's pretty out-there, but full of good sonic ideas and he had good control of the synth, unlike a lot of early musicians."

MAX BRAND synth


"early synth built by BOB MOOG between 1967-1969 for the austrian composer MAX BRAND (1886-1980). Please note that this video is intended to show the machine - the included audio track does NOT demonstrate it's capabilities - most of the audio being heard on this video is not even from this machine! Video by Ulrich Kühn"

Live From Waves of Inspiration. The Legacy of Moog

via the Museum of Making Music:

"Live at the Museum of Making Music plus your chance to get an autographed Bob Moog Foundation 2010 Calendar

We're here in Carlsbad, CA enjoying the opening weekend of our first full exhibit of Bob Moog's Archives, Waves of Inspiration. The Legacy of Moog., at the Museum of Making Music. Last night the museum opened its doors for a private opening for its members. The response was enthusiastic and everyone was impressed with the depth and breadth of materials displayed. Tonight we're thrilled to attend a musical celebration of the public opening of the exhibit with synth legends Keith Emerson and Erik Norlander.

You can join us tomorrow by streaming the discussion Conversations in the Key of Moog with Brian Kehew (The Moog Cookbook, The Who) and Larry Fast (Synergy, Peter Gabriel). Just visit the www.MuseumOfMakingMusic.org at 1:00PM PST (4:00PM EST) to see the live video.

To celebrate the occasion, we're giving away two of our brand new 2010 Bob Moog Foundation calendars that have been signed by several of our "rockstar" guests this weekend. To get one of these calendars for free, all you have to do is spread the word about the live talk tomorrow on your Twitter or Facebook pages and send us an email letting us know.

Enter now:
Comment on our Facebook page
Tweet us on Twitter

Then email us at info moogfoundation.org with a link to you post.

That's it!

Winners will be selected at random from all participants and notified via Facebook or Twitter."

follow-up to this post.

Alesis Andromeda A6

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

"Also included is the optional PCMIA card is loaded with the following sound banks which are also downloadable from the Alesis website in the event the patches become corrupt.

Rob Papen’s Program Bank
Klaus Peter Rausch’s Program Bank
Pim Schilperoort’s Program Bank
Joerg Huettner’s Program Bank
Brian Kehew’s Program Bank"

CLICK FOR MORE »

COMPUTER ORCHESTRA - Peter Zinovieff of EMS Before EMS

COMPUTER ORCHESTRA

via BRITISH PATHE. via Brian Kehew. Click the image for the video.
"No title - Computer composes music. Putney, London.

M/S Peter Zinovieff walking to shed at bottom of garden and going inside. Interior shots showing shed filled with electronic equipment. C/U Zinovieff pressing keys, pan to instrument with keyboard for computing. C/U machine typing information. M/S Zinovieff pressing keys. C/U as he looks at printout. M/S of him in front of masses of equipment. C/U as he operates equipment which shows mass of switches and dials. C/U of waveform on screen. The strange electronic music created starts at this point. Camera zooms back to show the dials and flashing lights. C/U more dials and switches. M/S oscilloscope showing waveforms. C/U panel showing mass of plugs. C/U Zinovieff operating equipment. C/U the oscilloscope. C/U mass of switches. C/U a footage counter. C/U Zinovieff. C/U switches, pan to more. C/U recording tape. C/U lights. M/S Zinovieff operating the equipment."

NAMM: Bob Moog Foundation Highlights Legacy and Synthesizer History in Three Events at Winter NAMM 2010

"The Bob Moog Foundation will be co-sponsoring three events at winter NAMM 2010, which takes place in Anaheim, CA on January 14-17, 2009 at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Main Showcase on NAMM Floor Highlights Items From Moog Exhibit – From January 14-17, the Bob Moog Foundation, in collaboration with the NAMM Museum of Making Music, will feature dozens of items taken from their exhibit Waves of Inspiration:The Legacy of Moog in the main showcase on the floor of the convention center. Of particular note, an extremely rare Eaton-Moog Multi-Touch Sensitive keyboard will be on public display for the first time. Numerous vintage instruments, photographs, articles and project notes will also be on display. The full exhibit runs at the Museum through April 30, 2010.

An Evening Celebrating The Legacy of Vintage Keyboards Through Documentary Film - On Friday night, January 15th, from 6-8pm in the Avila Room at the Anaheim Hilton, neo-symphonic synthesist Amin Bhatia and documentary filmmaker Dianna Dilworth headline an evening exploring the evolution and impact of vintage keyboards. Amin Bhatia will be joined by Michelle Moog-Koussa, Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation for a question and answer session followed by a screening of a short documentary on the making of his innovative realization of Bolero Electronica, for which he used over 70 synthesizers covering 75 years of evolution in synthesis in music. The documentary features rock legends Steve Porcaro and Patrick Moraz and Roland Founder Ikutaro Kakehashi.

Following Bhatia, Dianna Dilworth and Markus Resch of the Mellotron Archive will screen Mellodrama: The Mellotron Movie which explores the rising and falling fortunes of the Mellotron – the first musical keyboard to “sample” the sounds of other instruments – from its birth in a California garage in the 1950s, through its dominance on concert stages in the 1970s, through its almost religious cult of followers in the 2000s. From the Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields” to Black Sabbath to Kanye West, Mellodrama traces a 50-year odyssey of musical invention, revolution, betrayal, and rediscovery.

Panel Discussion To Explore the Impact of Bob Moog's Work on the Music Industry Past, Present and Future as Interpreted though Museum Exhibit - On Sunday January 17th from 3-4pm in the Idea Center at NAMM, The Bob Moog Foundation and the NAMM Museum of Making Music will present a panel discussion in celebration of the premiere exhibition Waves of Inspiration: The Legacy of Moog. The discussion will involve industry and musical luminaries in an exploration of the impact of Bob Moog's work on the music industry as it relates to the exhibition at the NAMM Museum of Making Music public display through April 30, 2010.

The discussion will be moderated by Museum Curator Tatiana Sizonenko.

Panelists include:
* Dominic Milano (former Editor: Keyboard Magazine)
* Craig Anderton (Senior Editor: Harmony-Central.com, Senior Editor: EQ Magazine, Contributing Editor: Keyboard Magazine)
* Herb Deutsch (collaborator on first Moog synthesizer)
* Larry Fast (Synergy, Peter Gabriel)
* Brian Kehew (Moog Cookbook, The Who, Exhibit Advisor)
* Michelle Moog-Koussa (Executive Director, the Bob Moog Foundation)

Links:
www.moogfoundation.org
www.museumofmakingmusic.org
www.aminbhatia.com
www.diannadilworth.com"

Rare Vintage ONCOR TOUCH Guitar Synthesizer

via this auction
"Vintage Orignal ONCOR Touch Guitar Synthesizer
with Input Pedal/ Cords and Controller Wah pedal
This guitar is very rare.
ONCOR SOUND,INC
Salt Lake City, Utah U.S.A.
serial 000187"
via Brian Kehew
"These had trigger "strings" and separate switches across the fretboard. Don't know how they sound..."

Sold For: check back

Resynator Documentary Kickstarter Launches

Follow-up to this post. The Kickstarter campaign is now live here. Click through for full details including the different pledge levels.
Some info captured for the archives here on MATRIXSYNTH:


"Hi, my name is Alison, this is my story about finally connecting with my dad through a synthesizer from the late '70s. I know it’s weird, stay with me…

When I was 23, I began working for Grace Potter as a tour assistant. Grace is my hero and one of the most talented humans I’ve ever met. Over the years of touring and being around musicians constantly, it would come up in conversation that my dad invented a synth, but I didn't know anything else about it - I truly didn't even really understand what a synthesizer was. Eventually when we had a few weeks off tour in 2014, I flew to Indiana to get it.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Brian Kehew Explores Rare Hockman Photos

Full article with more pics at the Bob Moog Foundation.

"Bob working with a Minimoog and the one of the new "Accessory" line - the Sample and Hold controller, which connected to the Minimoog to generate random and stepped voltages."

The Digelius DIMI Music Instrument, Computer, Synthesizer, Studio, Rabbit

Brochure scan in via Brian Kehew. This is the first time Digelius has been featured here on MATRIXSYNTH. The following is the description from the scan followed by some info on the man behind Digelius, Erkki Kurenniemi.

“DIMI IS A MUSIC INSTRUMENT. DIMI IS A COMPUTER. DIMI IS A SYNTHESIZER. DIMI IS A MINIATURE ELECTRONIC MUSIC STUDIO. DIMI IS A RABBIT.

The essential part of the digital instrument DIMI is an integrated circuit memory which is capable of storing an almost endless variety of musical structures.

The digitally controlled sound generators can be operated either by manual instructions from the keyboard or by instructions stored in the memory.

Any manual instruction can be recorded into the memory by touching the R-key. The selective erase function permits flexible editing of the stored program.

The interplay between manual and stored instructions results in a music instrument with possibilities not surmised earlier.

* MOS integrated circuit content addressable memory, 100 words 16 bits each.
* two sound generators, eight octaves chromatic scale
* vibrato unit, amplitude variable in eight steps and several frequencies
* two external general purpose inputs
* two selectors for eight sound sources
* two attenuators, seven steps six decibels each and off
* two banks of eight octave band pass filters
* three modulators
* rhythm generator, 48 different durations or tempi
* all parameters are digitally controlled and thus programmable
* contains about 250 integrated circuits
* dimentions 40x40x15 cm
* price 15 300 Fmk (about 3750 US$)

Digelius Electronics Finland Oy
Huvilakatu 24
Helsinki 15
Finland”

Some info on Erkki Kurenniemi via Wikipedia:

"Erkki Kurenniemi (born July 10, 1941 in Hämeenlinna, Finland) is a Finnish designer, philosopher and artist, best known for his electronic music compositions and the electronic instruments he has designed. He is considered one of the leading early pioneers of electronic music in Finland. Kurenniemi is also a science populariser, a futurologist, a pioneer of media culture, and an experimental film-maker.

Kurenniemi completed the majority of his instruments, electronic compositions and experimental films in the 1960s and 1970s. Between 1962 and 1974, he designed and constructed ten electronic instruments and studio devices when he was working as a volunteer assistant at the Department of Musicology at the University of Helsinki, and as designer at Digelius Electronics Finland Oy, founded in 1970. In addition to the Musicology Department, Kurenniemi also worked as assistant and senior designer at the Department of Theoretical Physics from 1962 to 1973. Kurenniemi earned a Bachelor of Sciences degree in 1968.

He subsequently worked as a designer of control systems for industrial robots at Oy W. Rosenlew Ab (1976–1978), and as a designer of industrial automation and robotic systems at Nokia’s cable machinery division (1980–1986). He also worked as a specialist consultant and Head of Planning at the Science Centre Heureka in Vantaa, Finland (1987–1998).

Kurenniemi received the Finland Prize of the Ministry of Education and Culture in 2003.[1] In 2004, he was elected honorary fellow of the University of Art and Design Helsinki.[2] 2011 Kurenniemi received Order of the Lion of Finland medal from The President of Finland Mrs. Tarja Halonen."

Update via Unknown in the comments: There's an article on Erkki Kurenniemi in the September 2013 issue of Sound on Sound (available online here). Definitely worth checking out.

Pictured: "Erkki Kurenniemi's first instrument was the Integrated Synthesizer. Completed in 1967, it used pin-matrix programming on a huge scale."