Let's see your 70's rig

[DaveMcM]

Going through old storage boxes is fun! Found this photo of my old rig.  This was my small rig. Normally I had a second Mellotron under the Crumar T3 Dual Manual and a Korg Poly-Ensemble S above. Behind me was a Hammond M3 and a second Leslie 145. And on top of the Yamaha CP30 was a Minimoog and ARP Odyssey. I ran the T3 through an Electro-Harmonix LPB-1 before going to the Leslie pre-amp pedal because well, why not? And I had upgraded one of the Mellotrons to use 1/4 tape and created custom tapes using a Teac 2340 4-track reel to reel deck. Those were the days. To think all of this can be accomplished with one or maybe two keyboards these days is pretty amazing. But not nearly as much fun!

 

[eric]

Killer rig! I love seeing these kinds of photos. Did you regularly move this around for gigs? How did you protect and move the gear and what kind of vehicle transported it? Roadies? Thank you for sharing.

[DaveMcM]

4 minutes ago, eric said:

Killer rig! I love seeing these kinds of photos. Did you regularly move this around for gigs? How did you protect and move the gear and what kind of vehicle transported it? Roadies? Thank you for sharing.

I had a Dodge stretch van. It was a manual transmission with '3 on the tree' (let's see how many folks know what that means) and the engine compartment was between the two front seats. Crazy. The T3 and the CP30 both had lids so were sort of built into cases. I had hard cases for the synths and heavy padded custom leather covers for the Mellotrons. Custom quilt covers for the Leslies and believe it or not, Wurlitzer made a gig bag for the EP-200. After paying for everything there was nothing left over for Roadies  so it was mostly just me. But I wouldn't trade those times for the world.

[Stokely]

That's only about 6 times larger (based on number of instruments, 7 if the hammond counts as 2 keyboards!) and probably 10-20 times heavier than my current normal rig    My Omega pro stand is the oddball being somewhat heavy but I hate flimsy keyboard stands.

[mcgoo]

Love the rig and the pic! I dare ya to rename this thread "Let's see your 70's rig!" so the rest of us old farts can pile on with similarly awesome pics of nostalgia. 

[DaveMcM]

2 minutes ago, mcgoo said:

Love the rig and the pic! I dare ya to rename this thread "Let's see your 70's rig!" so the rest of us old farts can pile on with similarly awesome pics of nostalgia. 

Done 👍 I suppose I am an old fart at this point. But if you ask my wife she'll say I have the mind of a 13 year old. 🤣

[Canoehead]

I learned to drive in a Chevy 3 in the tree half-ton.  I will always remember that reverse was ‘back n up’😀

[Threadslayer]

But could you downshift on a hill without the clutch?

[DaveMcM]

10 minutes ago, Threadslayer said:

But could you downshift on a hill without the clutch?

On my SAAB Sonett II with freewheeling engaged, yes. Never tried it in the van though.

[SamuelBLupowitz]

1 hour ago, mcgoo said:

Love the rig and the pic! I dare ya to rename this thread "Let's see your 70's rig!" so the rest of us old farts can pile on with similarly awesome pics of nostalgia. 

I have a collection of gear that could constitute a 70s rig, but my personal 70s rig involved two parents in school who hadn't met each other yet. 🤣

[Bosendorphen]

This was my rig from 1979 through 1981 - Our guitarist is updating a song list on my Roland MP600 electronic piano (which was quite new at the time with a weighted action!). I ran it through an MXR chorus box. To the right is a Farfisa Matador organ (through a Mutron phasor) with a Korg Mini-Korg on top (which I'd run through a tape echo).

 

As the 80s wore on I'd acquire a Crumar Performer, Korg Polysix (which I still have), Korg DW-8000 and Ensoniq SDP-1 sampled piano. Then became a Kawai fan with the K1 and K4 (which I still have and used at recent gigs).

[bjosko]

I got the Crumar performer as a replace for my broken Elka Rhapsody string. I was a bit disappointed, ordered unheard on recommendation. Today, you can download it from free from the new Crumar if you are into Raspberry Pi .

[Bosendorphen]

5 minutes ago, bjosko said:

I got the Crumar performer as a replace for my broken Elka Rhapsody string. I was a bit disappointed, ordered unheard on recommendation. Today, you can download it from free from the new Crumar if you are into Raspberry Pi .

Yeah, I wasn't super fond of it but I got it from our ex-guitarist as a deal. I used it for a few years before replacing it with the Polysix. Then again, I did try to use it as imaginatively as I could and got some interesting results with the modulation and resonance controls.

[SteveCoscia]

My 1979 rig.  Moog Prodigy, Fender Rhodes, Lowery LSO & Univox Multiman.  It was a versatile rig for the time.

 

Eventually the Univox Multiman was replaced by the Crumar Orchestrator - I always thought the Univox sounded better.  The Prodigy was a killer - best value for $325 brand new.  Funtimes.

 

[DaveMcM]

21 minutes ago, Bosendorphen said:

This was my rig from 1979 through 1981 - Our guitarist is updating a song list on my Roland MP600 electronic piano (which was quite new at the time with a weighted action!). I ran it through an MXR chorus box. To the right is a Farfisa Matador organ (through a Mutron phasor) with a Korg Mini-Korg on top (which I'd run through a tape echo).

 

As the 80s wore on I'd acquire a Crumar Performer, Korg Polysix (which I still have), Korg DW-8000 and Ensoniq SDP-1 sampled piano. Then became a Kawai fan with the K1 and K4 (which I still have and used at recent gigs).

Very cool. My very first keyboard was a Farfisa Mini Compact through a Gibson 1X12 guitar amp. I ran my EP200 through a Maestro Phase PS-1 which sounded great. On the top left of the Crumar T3 is a Univox EC 80 Tape Echo.

[SteveCoscia]

3 hours ago, DaveMcM said:

Going through old storage boxes is fun! Found this photo of my old rig.

 

Dave, I wouldn't have recognized you from that photo.  You looked different when we worked at Ensoniq. 

 

How many years between this photo and your start at Ensoniq?

[The Real MC]

2 hours ago, DaveMcM said:

I had a Dodge stretch van. It was a manual transmission with '3 on the tree' (let's see how many folks know what that means)

 

My first vehicle was a 1976 Dodge pickup with manual "3 on the tree" transmission.  Sold the truck long ago, last I knew it is still going.

 

70s rig?  I'll play.

 

This was the high school garage band days before we started gigging.  Panther combo organ on the right.  ARP Omni II (not mine) and PAiA modular stacked on the Rhodes stage piano.  At this young age I made some DIY stuff.  On the floor is a wooden box that contained a mixer built out of the Craig Anderton "Electronic Projects For Musicians" book.  I bought the kits from PAiA and built my own case with keyboard to house them.  In the 2nd picture you can see how I stacked keyboards on the Rhodes - I simply flipped the lid around to make it a "tier" and made "adapters" (the light colored wood pieces) with latches to hold the "tier" in place.  I gigged it like that for three years before replacing the Rhodes for a Kustom 88 electronic piano.  That device to my left is the head of a Standel amp, under that is the case for the power amp.  I ditched the original large 4x12 cabinet and built a pair of cabinets each with two speakers from the original cabinet.  That Standel was a good amp for keyboards, loud and clean.

 

[The Real MC]

Not mine, but this is Tony Banks' rig in the 1970s.  Pic by Tony himself.

[DaveMcM]

24 minutes ago, SteveCoscia said:

 

Dave, I wouldn't have recognized you from that photo.  You looked different when we worked at Ensoniq. 

 

How many years between this photo and your start at Ensoniq?

Around 20 years I suppose.

[The Real MC]

40 minutes ago, SteveCoscia said:

 

 

 

Glad to see I wasn't the only one nuts enough to stack my Rhodes on the organ.  You just place the front legs on the rear then extend them to reach the floor. 

I still have that Hammond Porta-B - that's a screaming organ.

[Threadslayer]

27 minutes ago, The Real MC said:

This was the high school garage band days before we started gigging.

Did you happen to work on a dairy farm in high school? (referring to the custom stool you're sitting on).

[AWkeys]

This is great! Thanks for sharing, everyone!

[DaveMcM]

3 minutes ago, Threadslayer said:

Did you happen to work on a dairy farm in high school? (referring to the custom stool you're sitting on).

That's great. I didn't notice that until you pointed it out.

[David Emm]

DaveMcM: you made your own Mellotron tapes? Back THEN? I'd label you as one of my heroes if I didn't think your sanity was debatable 😁 Its even more of an accomplishment when you consider the "Skeletron" G-Force uses to perfect new sets for M-Tron Pro. I love the instrument, so I'm impressed. Exactly what custom tapes did you make? Or need? 

 

Viewing most of the rigs here brings one word to mind forcefully: HERNIA! I've had a couple of friends who roadied for pros and they all have Tales of Hate for B-3s, Mellotrons and CS-80s. I only had to haul a Korg workstation around in a pre-wheeled SKB case. Their cases can brush off a nuke, but without wheels, it can feel like a hauling job for the Hulk. I'll bet Wakeman would have loved handing his pissy 'tron to the Hulk instead of just setting fire to it. RICK SMASH!! ⚡

[ABECK]

My 70s rig had wheels for easy transport to my various household gigs.

[Dave Keys]

Wow this is amazing stuff. We players of today stand on the shoulders of giants. 

[DaveMcM]

30 minutes ago, David Emm said:

DaveMcM: you made your own Mellotron tapes? Back THEN? I'd label you as one of my heroes if I didn't think your sanity was debatable 😁 Its even more of an accomplishment when you consider the "Skeletron" G-Force uses to perfect new sets for M-Tron Pro. I love the instrument, so I'm impressed. Exactly what custom tapes did you make? Or need? 

 

Viewing most of the rigs here brings one word to mind forcefully: HERNIA! I've had a couple of friends who roadied for pros and they all have Tales of Hate for B-3s, Mellotrons and CS-80s. I only had to haul a Korg workstation around in a pre-wheeled SKB case. Their cases can brush off a nuke, but without wheels, it can feel like a hauling job for the Hulk. I'll bet Wakeman would have loved handing his pissy 'tron to the Hulk instead of just setting fire to it. RICK SMASH!! ⚡

Making tapes wasn't really all that difficult, just time consuming. As long as you made sure each note was in tune while recording and you left enough leader between each note, it was then just a matter of cutting them apart and stringing them up making sure to have the attack portion located right at the playback head of each note. Hmm, come to think of it, it was kind of a pain in the !@#$. As for my own tapes, I had done an assortment of guitars, acoustic and nylon. Bass guitar, my old pump organ (easy t here  ) and sound effect stuff. The 1/4" tape kit consisted of a new tape guide and a contraption to give four detents for the head block since you had four tracks instead of the original three.

[DaveMcM]

2 hours ago, The Real MC said:

 

My first vehicle was a 1976 Dodge pickup with manual "3 on the tree" transmission.  Sold the truck long ago, last I knew it is still going.

 

70s rig?  I'll play.

 

This was the high school garage band days before we started gigging.  Panther combo organ on the right.  ARP Omni II (not mine) and PAiA modular stacked on the Rhodes stage piano.  At this young age I made some DIY stuff.  On the floor is a wooden box that contained a mixer built out of the Craig Anderton "Electronic Projects For Musicians" book.  I bought the kits from PAiA and built my own case with keyboard to house them.  In the 2nd picture you can see how I stacked keyboards on the Rhodes - I simply flipped the lid around to make it a "tier" and made "adapters" (the light colored wood pieces) with latches to hold the "tier" in place.  I gigged it like that for three years before replacing the Rhodes for a Kustom 88 electronic piano.  That device to my left is the head of a Standel amp, under that is the case for the power amp.  I ditched the original large 4x12 cabinet and built a pair of cabinets each with two speakers from the original cabinet.  That Standel was a good amp for keyboards, loud and clean.

 

 

I had built a PAIA 4700 Series as well. I think I still have a module kit that I never started hidden away in the dark recesses of the basement. It was always fun to open a new kit to find that various components had been switched out due to stock issues. The included components never quite matched the instructions.

[mcgoo]

 

 

My rig, 1979 - 83. Counterclockwise from my right side: Aeolian Melodigrand Piano, Multimoog, Rhodes 73 Stage, Paia Strings & Things, Minimoog, Hammond Porta-B, ARP (Solina) String Ensemble, Multimoog.  Notice the Solina routed thru the Multi's filter input. I still have one of the Multimoogs and the Mini. That was at Slater Center at Purdue University. Aaaah, to have the gear again. To be that young.... and that thin! 😞

 

[mate stubb]

My trusty B-2 got me through most of the 70s. In '79 I bought a CX3 as soon as they came out. 

 

B-2 and Hohner Pianet.

 

B-2 and Pianet in custom case plus EML 101

 

plus a Clavinet 2

 

Lost the Pianet and EML, added E-MU modular, E-MU poly, and Rhodes. Had a Baldwin ElectroPro before the Rhodes.