Keyboard Mag Jan 1995 edition: "20 Instruments that shook the World..."

[Delaware Dave]

One of my favorite editions.  This edition (I think Jim Aiken was involved in the article) gives the view of the 20 impact instruments.  Here's the list in no specific order:

 

(before the synthesizer)

Hammond B3

Mellotron

Hohner Clavinet

Wurlitzer Electric Piano

Rhodes Electric Piano

 

(Early Monophonics)

ARP 2600

Minimoog

E-mu Emulator

Ensoniq Mirage

Akai S900

 

(Drum Thing)

Linn LM1

Roland TR-808

 

(Polyphonic Era)

Sequential Prophet 5

Oberheim OB-8/DMX/DSX system

PPG Wave

Yamaha CS80

Korg M1

Korg Wavestation

Roland D-50

Yamaha DX7

 

Interesting choices ....  I would have thought that the CP70/CP80 would be on this list somewhere. Shouldn't the Jupiter 8 be on here somewhere?

 

How many of these instruments really didn't shake the world?

[Baggypants]

They've missed off the Hohner Melodica?!

[CHarrell]

6 minutes ago, Delaware Dave said:

(before the synthesizer)

Hammond B3

Mellotron

Hohner Clavinet

Wurlitzer Electric Piano

Rhodes Electric Piano

 

I always thought the piano was overrated anyways!

[K K]

Shook the world ?

 

 

[jerrythek]

On 9/12/2023 at 2:03 PM, Delaware Dave said:

One of my favorite editions.  This edition (I think Jim Aiken was involved in the article) gives the view of the 20 impact instruments.  Here's the list in no specific order:

 

(before the synthesizer)

Hammond B3

Mellotron

Hohner Clavinet

Wurlitzer Electric Piano

Rhodes Electric Piano

 

(Early Monophonics)

ARP 2600

Minimoog

E-mu Emulator

Ensoniq Mirage

Akai S900

 

(Drum Thing)

Linn LM1

Roland TR-808

 

(Polyphonic Era)

Sequential Prophet 5

Oberheim OB-8/DMX/DSX system

PPG Wave

Yamaha CS80

Korg M1

Korg Wavestation

Roland D-50

Yamaha DX7

 

Interesting choices ....  I would have thought that the CP70/CP80 would be on this list somewhere. Shouldn't the Jupiter 8 be on here somewhere?

 

How many of these instruments really didn't shake the world?

I don’t think the CP-70 was all that monumental. Can’t think of anything I would remove in favor of it. 
 

the monophonic list should be split for the last three entries, which are samplers. 
 

Jerry

[Old No7]

On 9/12/2023 at 2:38 PM, K K said:

Shook the world ?

< pipe organ >

 

Oh yeah -- those 64 footers will DO it!!

 

Did'ja know the largest pipe organ has just shy of 18,000 pipes?!?!

 

Old No7

[Dave Bryce]

On 9/12/2023 at 11:03 AM, Delaware Dave said:

(Early Monophonics)

ARP 2600

Minimoog

E-mu Emulator

Ensoniq Mirage

Akai S900

 

 

Looks to me more like two monophonic synthesizers and three polyphonic samplers. 🤔

 

dB

[Delaware Dave]

1 minute ago, Dave Bryce said:

 

 

Looks to me more like two monophonic synthesizers and three polyphonic samplers. 🤔

 

dB

Blame Jim Aiken for the screwup.

[Dave Bryce]

35 minutes ago, Delaware Dave said:

Blame Jim Aiken for the screwup.

 

Not sure I’d call any of those three samplers “early” either, if I were writing this list in 1995.  They’re not really that near to the first two chronologically.  I’d think they’d be more at home in the Polyphonic Era category…

 

I’m a bit surprised at Jim over this.  He always seemed to me like a stickler for details.

 

I could also probably make a decent argument that the MPC60 belongs in the Drum Thing category.  Drumulator/SP12 too, perhaps? 

 

dB

[Floyd Tatum]

On 9/12/2023 at 11:09 AM, CHarrell said:

I always thought the piano was overrated anyways!

I thought that at first too, then I realized they were only talking about things that were electro-mechanical or electronic.  I know the CP70 used electricity, but it was more of an amplified acoustic piano, I think.

 

[jazzpiano88]

On 9/12/2023 at 1:03 PM, Delaware Dave said:

I would have thought that the CP70/CP80 would be on this list somewhere.

 

Yeah that's a glaring miss, given that it was on the stage of nearly every band (big time and small time) needing live 'piano' on stage at the time for about 10 years.

It'd be interesting to know how many were sold, but it's huge!

 

They may not have really shook the recording world as much as the keyboardist's live music world

[jazzpiano88]

1 hour ago, Floyd Tatum said:

On 9/12/2023 at 1:09 PM, CHarrell said:

I always thought the piano was overrated anyways!

I thought that at first too, then I realized they were only talking about things that were electro-mechanical or electronic.  I know the CP70 used electricity, but it was more of an amplified acoustic piano, I think.

 

Yes.  It was good enough.

Roland's MKS-20 came out about the same time the CP70 ceased.   I would add that to the list for acoustic piano emulation.

[Floyd Tatum]

32 minutes ago, JazzPiano88 said:

Yeah that's a glaring miss, given that it was on the stage of nearly every band (big time and small time) needing live 'piano' on stage at the time for about 10 years.   It'd be interesting to know how many were sold, but it's huge!   They may not have really shook the recording world as much as the keyboardist's live music world.

I had to play a CP70 in a touring band I played with in the early 80's.   I hated it.   It felt sort of like a piano, but the sound was very metallic, it had no "wood" in it.   I'm probably in the minority, just giving my $0.02 worth. 

[Motif88]

Agreed, I loved my MKS-20, KS-88 combo.

[ProfD]

Back in 1995, I'm figuring that list list was based on KB-type/based instruments that shook the world in terms of impact on live performance, music production and recordings and for some...units sold. 

 

The Korg M1 and Yamaha DX7 shattered the record book when it comes to units sold.  Those two KBs inspired several ROMpler derivatives too.

 

Up through present, the most popular KB sound on recordings is some type of piano (acoustic or electric). 

 

Musicians have to be able to schlep a piano whether it's in a ROMpler or digital piano (DP) or software.

 

Like every other electromechanical (Rhodes, Wurli, RMI, etc.), the CP70/80 was Yamaha's answer to a portable piano.

 

IMO, the CP70/80 wasn't a great instrument.  It was convenient at the time.

 

Synths and samplers were crucial to new styles of music in the forms of New Wave and Hip-Hop respectively.😎

[jerrythek]

22 hours ago, Delaware Dave said:

Blame Jim Aiken for the screwup.

Aikin. 
 

 

[jerrythek]

On 9/12/2023 at 2:03 PM, Delaware Dave said:

(before the synthesizer)

Hammond B3

Mellotron

Hohner Clavinet

Wurlitzer Electric Piano

Rhodes Electric Piano

 

(Early Monophonics)

ARP 2600

Minimoog

 

On 9/12/2023 at 2:03 PM, Delaware Dave said:

(Sampler City)

E-mu Emulator

Ensoniq Mirage

Akai S900

 

(Drum Thing)

Linn LM1

Roland TR-808

 

(Polyphonic Era)

Sequential Prophet 5

Oberheim OB-8/DMX/DSX system

PPG Wave

Yamaha CS80

Korg M1

Korg Wavestation

Roland D-50

Yamaha DX7

I went back to the issue and Jim did break out the samplers (see above). And in the introductory write-up he mentions choosing to leave out the CP-70 in favor of others to keep the list to 20 (it was their 20th anniversary year). 

[Synthaholic]

I think the Odyssey should be there. Most people didn't have the 2600 and the Odyssey brought the Arp sound to the masses. Although I can't really say it shook the world.

 

Synclavier and Fairlight and the first Kurzweil sampler are fairly monumental innovations.

 

The Elka Rhapsody/Arp Omni/Crumar Orchestrator string synths put a lot of studio string players in the bread line.

23 hours ago, jerrythek said:

Aikin. 
 

 

Take some ibuprofin.

[Dr Mike Metlay]

It is certainly an interesting list, and I don’t agree with everything. There are a few things on there that I don’t consider earthshaking at all, in the sense that they did not fundamentally change how keyboard music was made. By the same token, there were some important omissions.
 

For example, I would put the Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and Clavinet all in the same slot. They were all part of the movement that put traditional keyboard instrumentss on stage anywhere. I have no idea which one came first, but that one really should get the credit. The Rhodes?

 

Minimoog is, of course, obvious, and I definitely agree about the 2600. It was the world’s first practical semi modular synthesizer, and the first one that was designed both for performance and education in an affordable package.
 

(I personally believe that ARP doesn’t get nearly enough credit in the synth world, it always seems to be in Moog‘s shadow, which is a real disservice. However, I would put the Solina on this list rather than the Omni. But I digress.)

 

The sampler that shook the world was the Fairlight. Everything else was a cheap imitation to put sampling in more hands. One could argue that the Mirage deserves to be on the list. MAYBE.

 

For rhythm machines, absolutely the MPC60 should be there. It helped launch an entire genre of music composition. A lot of EDM people would argue for the TB-303, but I think that’s a little bit too focused.

 

As for polyphonic synthesizers, most of these are OK, if only for the sheer brute force of market impact. They did have worldshaking impact in other ways… The DX7 destroyed the concept of programming your own patches, and the M1 destroyed the expectation of having a front panel once and for all. Shitty but definitely earthshaking.

 

The Wavestation and the PPG strike me as being machines that were popular at the time this article was written. They were just facets of the larger digital synthesis revolution begun by the DX7. 
 

just my five Lindens’ worth. Since writing my book, I think about this stuff all the time.

 

mike

[HammondDave]

Don’t forget that the Mellotron is really an analog sampler… and it did shake the world (at least for this once very young musician seeing King Crimson live in 1969)

[Dr Mike Metlay]

7 minutes ago, HammondDave said:

Don’t forget that the Mellotron is really an analog sampler… and it did shake the world (at least for this once very young musician seeing King Crimson live in 1969)

which is why I didn’t dispute the fact that it was on the list. 😁

[stoken6]

On 9/16/2023 at 7:37 PM, Dr Mike Metlay said:

the M1 destroyed the expectation of having a front panel once and for all.

An interesting observation. If we hono(u)r the M1 with the loss of the front panel, in 20 years' time will we credit Nord for its return? Roland with the JD800?

 

Cheers, Mike.

[jerrythek]

On 9/16/2023 at 2:37 PM, Dr Mike Metlay said:

The Wavestation and the PPG strike me as being machines that were popular at the time this article was written. They were just facets of the larger digital synthesis revolution begun by the DX7. 
 

just my five Lindens’ worth. Since writing my book, I think about this stuff all the time.

 

mike

Great observations Mike. And I agree with the above perspective. There was not enough time yet to really measure the impact of those two. And from todays vantage point I wouldn’t include them. But what to replace them with?

 

I think the advent of multiple synthesis engines is something that should be noted, but does that mean the Synclavier (as it developed into)?  The Korg Oasys was a strong entry, but didn’t sell in enough numbers to impact the players… but it did throw down a strong gauntlet…

[TJ Cornish]

2 hours ago, jerrythek said:

Great observations Mike. And I agree with the above perspective. There was not enough time yet to really measure the impact of those two. And from todays vantage point I wouldn’t include them. But what to replace them with?

 

I think the advent of multiple synthesis engines is something that should be noted, but does that mean the Synclavier (as it developed into)?  The Korg Oasys was a strong entry, but didn’t sell in enough numbers to impact the players… but it did throw down a strong gauntlet…

I loved my OASYS - unfortunately it died via the CPU heatsink clip breaking off and shorting something on the system board.  I played it exclusively for 9 years. The Kronos added the piano engine, but the control surface of the OASYS was far better than the Kronos.

 

I think it’s interesting - the price tags of some of the early stuff on these lists was pretty steep - the OASYS at $8K in 2005 had nothing on the $250K Synclavier - a system so expensive even Michael Jackson took pause at the cost and slimmed down some things for touring. What we can get these days for $3K-$5K is pretty fantastic.

 

Is there a market for an OASYS-like moonshot in 2023? Not sure, but if I could be wowed, you could get $7500-$10K out of me. It would take motorized faders and enough processing power to not have to scrimp on effects chains or polyphony - maybe a DX1-like dual Kronos in a box…

[ProfD]

4 minutes ago, TJ Cornish said:

Is there a market for an OASYS-like moonshot in 2023? Not sure, but if I could be wowed, you could get $7500-$10K out of me. It would take motorized faders and enough processing power to not have to scrimp on effects chains or polyphony - maybe a DX1-like dual Kronos in a box…

The OASYS was KB workstation with DAW-like capabilities back in 2005.

 

As software and computers cover so much of that territory, I don't believe there's a market for a KB workstation ($7,500-$10k range) in 2023.

 

The Roland Fantom comes close and is the best of all worlds. The Fantom functions as both a standalone KB workstation and it also has DAW integration. No motorized faders.😁😎

 

 

[TJ Cornish]

1 minute ago, ProfD said:

The OASYS was KB workstation with DAW-like capabilities back in 2005.

 

As software and computers cover so much of that territory, I don't believe there's a market for a KB workstation ($7,500-$10k range) in 2023.

 

The Roland Fantom comes close and is the best of all worlds. The Fantom functions as both a standalone KB workstation and it also has DAW integration. No motorized faders.😁😎

 

 

Agreed on the Fantom - my current main board is a Fantom 7 which has supplanted the Kronos in my live work due to the great control surface (LED ladders on sliders and rotary encoders) as well as the easy song chain mode. Unfortunately there are some big holes in the Fantom as well; my main gripe is the horrific internal LFO timing (only the IFX LFO actually syncs to MIDIClock, the internal LFOs are 'close-ish' but drift).

[Dr Mike Metlay]

On 9/23/2023 at 3:25 PM, stoken6 said:

An interesting observation. If we hono(u)r the M1 with the loss of the front panel, in 20 years' time will we credit Nord for its return? Roland with the JD800?

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

The JD-800 was first, in 1991, and I documented the triumphant return of the front panel in its chapter of my book. The Nords were featured in a later chapter, on their own wonderful merits.

 

mike