SYNTH GEMS 1 - Exploring Vintage Synthesizers

In the mid-1970s, organs were everywhere from homes and churches to theaters and clubs, and Yamaha was constantly expanding its popular Electone organ line by experimenting with new ways to generate sound. The flagship Electone that debuted in 1975, though, was something special. Designed for organ repertoire and laid out somewhat like an organ, it wasn’t an organ in the traditional sense: it was the world’s first selfcontained polyphonic synthesizer, a nearly-half-ton monster with a roar the world could never have imagined. It was called the GX-1, and it showed the way to the future of electronic music.

The OSCar is a monophonic synthesizer like no other. While certain critical elements of its sound structure – specifically the VCF and VCA – remain all-analog, it takes advantage of microprocessors and digital control to create entirely new waveforms impossible with conventional analog oscillators. In addition, many special performance features are available to store with each programmed sound, all taking advantage of the OSCar’s processing power. Even among the unique designs in this book, the OSCar stands out. Designed by Anthony Harrison-Griffin, its chassis seems to ‘float’ between two huge rubberized side panels, with recesses for audio connections and even a place to store its power cable. Sections of the front panel are separated not by actual rubberized walls – visually impressive.

The Fairlight CMI from 1979 is designed to be a computer and a musical instrument simultaneously – deeply programmable yet playable. Hundreds of artists used the CMI for sound design, live performance, and album creation. Peter Gabriel actually credited individual CMI sounds such as Saxy, VOC 1/VOC 2, and Jaw as separate instruments in the liner notes of his fourth album Security. Kate Bush exploited it in her groundbreaking albums in the early 1980s. Jean-Michel Jarre began exploring its capabilities with his album Les Chants Magnétiques, and extensively on the later Zoolook. Perhaps the most famous CMI of all was in the studio of ZTT Records, where producer Trevor Horn used it to create albums by dozens of artists – most significantly The Art Of Noise.

The PS-3100 from 1977, was Korg’s attempt to build a fully polyphonic synthesizer, and not content with any sort of shortcuts, the PS-3100 had a full synthesizer voice board for each of the 48 notes on its keyboard. As powerful as the PS-3100 is, its architecture is taken even further in the PS-3300, which was released in the same year. It combines three PS-3100 voice architectures that all play in unison every time a key is pressed. Later came the PS-3200, a two-card-per-voice version with 16 slots for user programs. The PS-3100 and its siblings represent an extraordinary approach to polyphonic synthesis, one put to use by many well-known artists, past and present: Keith Emerson, Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Yellow Magic Orchestra, Vince Clarke, Matt Black of Coldcut, and Aphex Twin.

Moog Sonic V & Sonic Six, Korg miniKORG 700, Crumar DS-2, Yamaha CS-80, RSF Kobol, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, ARP Quadra, Fairlight CMI, Roland Jupiter-8, Gleeman Pentaphonic Clear, E-mu Systems Emulator, Casio CZ Series, Oberheim Matrix-12, Ensoniq ESQ-1 & SQ-80, Oxford Synthesiser Co. OSCar, Waldorf Wave, Clavia Nord Lead, Korg Prophecy & Alesis Andromeda A6.