Dave Bryce Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 When was the first time you heard of or became aware of a "synthesizer..."? I vividly remember holding that album cover of Switched-On Bach...listening to the record, looking at that picture of that fabulous looking modular Moog (that was a IIIC, wasn't it? Kevin?) and softly reading the word out loud...almost tasting it. What a cool-sounding word...my life changed that day... What was the first synth you ever saw? Played? Owned? dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joegerardi Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 Switched On Bach for me too. I was swept aqway by the sounds. But it was Tarkus that really got to me, that firat synth run in "Eruption." That G-F-G-Bb, G-F-G-C run just wiped me out. That's when I knew "I gotta get me one of THESE!" The synth on the cover of Switched On Bach was a Moog IIIP, the "portable" version of the IIIC. First synth I ever saw (in the flesh) and played was an EMS Synthi A. We had it at out high school in a new class called Synthetronics. Then we got the AKS. First synth I ever owned was an Arp 2600. (Thanks, Dad!) Setup: Korg Kronos 61, Roland XV-88, Korg Triton-Rack, Motif-Rack, Korg N1r, Alesis QSR, Roland M-GS64 Yamaha KX-88, KX76, Roland Super-JX, E-Mu Longboard 61, Kawai K1II, Kawai K4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham English Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 My first real synth (excluding a cheap casio) was a Roland alpha-Juno 2. Still got it and use it regularly. Has killer bass tones. I remember naievly thinking that all filter sweeps were done with pitch bend. I just had to have a keyboard with pitch bend because I though it could do anything and everything http://cwm.ragesofsanity.com/s/ez/ezpi_blush.gif ++ Graham English ++ Ear Training, Songwriting Tips, and Music Theory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steadyb Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 Bandstand East - a small music store in Bellevue, WA. Up until then I had only played acoustic piano and various home organs. I walked into this store, mostly guitars and amps in front, and through the door into the keyboard room and...wow!!! Prophet-5's, Jupiter-8's, Arps, Crumars, on and on. I'd never seen anthing like it. A side note... about 3 years prior, some friends at school who had a band, found out I played piano, and immediately tried to recruit me, saying, "you should get a Mini Moog!!!", and I thought to myself, why get a Mini Moog, I should wait until I can afford a "full size" Moog. I had no idea what they were talking about. ...but eventally I did. steadyb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 Yup...switched on Bach and Tarkus. I took a "Poetry of Folk and Rock" mini course in high school in 1971 and convinced myself that if I tripped on Orange Barrels every sat. night and listened to Tarkus that I would be given the meaning of the album and would, thus ace the course. I got a D, but, to this day I think that if the teacher would have tripped with us he would have understood what I was talking about. I believe it, that is, until I read what I wrote back then and realize that it doesn't make any sense. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif I had a minimoog, ARP Axxe, Unicord, and an MS20 mostly at the same time, but I can't remember what order I bought them in. Talk about a tuning nightmare after bringing those guys in out of the cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steadyb Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 I'd never seen anthing like it. (...what the #$&!!?) Also, may I add, I'd never seen ANYTHING like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 I remember seeing this documentary or some kind of show like 60 minutes, only it wasn't that, but they were talking about this new gizmo called a "Moog Synthesizer"...and it was HUGE, and had all these cords and dials and knobs and stuff. And it made these weird sounds. Then I remember hearing this new song on the radio a couple of years later called "Lucky Man" with this weird growling bagpipey sounding thing at the end, and someone said, "That's that there newfangled Moog synthesizer", and then seeing ELP on some concert show and there was Keith Emerson with this wall of dials and patch cords in front of him. Then, of course, Switched-On Bach. Then, seeing a band called PFM live (backing up Foghat). They had a wall of knobs and patch cords. Then, seeing Todd Rundgren's original Utopia, and they had a wall of knobs and patch cords. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksoper Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 Those old enough probably all heard synths without realizing it, for instance Eric Siday's Maxwell House jingle--remember the singing percolator? The RCA Mark 5, I think. My first synth awareness was Switched-On-Bach, followed closely thereafter by the first ELP album. I learned synth programming on a Moog IIIP while still in high school, for which I am still grateful. The first synth I owned was a Cat, by Octave Electronics, later Voyetra. (I used to invite girls over to my dorm room by saying, "Wanna see my Cat?" They were less than impressed.) I remember as a youth in the early 70's having three serious goals: 1) Drive a car on the Bonneville Salt Flats, 2) Play a Moog Synthesizer, 3) Get laid. If one can define success as having attained at least two of three childhood goals, than I am a success. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve44 Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 gosh, I'm a younggin on this forum. I grew up in the 80's, and even though the 80's are known for synth stuff, I was never impressed by anything I heard, in fact I didn't even realize they were synths half the time. I think I've been hooked since the crappy Yamaha keyboard I had when I was 5. I still remember when we bought it, it was a hundred bucks which seemed like so much money to me in 1983.. Actually I had a dream about it the other night, a fantasy dream where it wasn't the shitty fm synth it was but actually had 6 knobs on it! I remember when I was first getting into synths that some musician told my mother I should get a DX7. I thought that thing was ugly and sounded horrible. Funny, I still do. The first synth I fell in love with was the Matrix-6. I learned all about synthesis with that baby and I still revere it. I can't wait to get home and get the power fixed on it and run in my old patch tapes and pull those huge levers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 I´m 26, so I am too a child of the 80's. I grew up in Mexico, just south of Arizona, so my interaction with real music stores was only when we came shopping North of the border. Like most of you guys I took organ/piano lessons as a kid, and was getting bored. Until I saw Keith for the first time. In a video, that is. ELPowell's "Touch and Go" was all It took. I knew nothing about this guys past. He might as well have been a glamour rock band like the others. But to be surrounded by so many keyboards... wow. The I listened to a song called "Subdivisions" on college radio. It took me months to find out the name of the band and get a copy of the album. After that, I got hooked, so I started a subscription for this weird, unknown magazine (at least here) around '86... and the rest is history. My first axe: a Yamaha DX100. I was 11 or 12 at the time. Worst nightmare? trying to get my little 4 operators to sound fat. I thought, "hey, I should definetly go with SIX operators, that should be fat enough. I mean, everyone looves the DX7..." So I got one. Man, was I disappointed. I'm sure the guy at the store ran it through tons of effects, but I swear it sounded fat. I grew up in the 80's, but I HATED how everything sounded DX7-thin. I craved analog, even though i didn't even KNOW the difference. So I started a self appointed journey into the past, discovering old, progressive (progressive what? what is it that progresses?) rock bands from the 70's. I would rather listen to any of those old albums than any newer stuff, like electronic or techno. Other heroes from the beginning: BonJovi's David Bryan http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/redface.gif, the keyboardist from the band Europe, Depeche Mode of course... memo ps: I've still got both yammies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthfoolsynthfool.com Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 Dave, In answer to your question, I think it was a IIIp shown on the album cover, but a modified IIIc used for the recording. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 My first contact with synth was from television in 70ies of a program about Bob Moog and his synths. That blew me away. Around 80 we started a band and my first synth was a Roland SH-5 wich was amplified with an amp from an organ called philinette (if my memory serves me correct) The SH-5 was a big unit hosed in a coffing with lid. It used to go out of tune sometimes, and we're not talking about small changes, it could drift about an octave up and down! Cool to see someone had Mic Michaeli from Europe (the band) as a favorite. I saw a gig with him last year. He plays in a coverband called White Purple and from that you can see what kind of songs they play. He looked very tired, if you know what I mean. But he sure can play rock keyboard and B3!! ------------------ --Smedis,-- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 Oh, I forgot. Do you know that Bob Moog received the Polar Music Price this year. http://www.polarmusicprize.com/ ------------------ --Smedis,-- This message has been edited by smedis on 03-16-2001 at 06:47 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Martin Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 I remember in junior high school, I the high school jazz band came over and did a concert. They did a version of Fanfare for the Common Man, similar to the ELP version. Truthfully, I don't know what gear the keyboardist had, though I remember tracking him down to find out what a synthesizer was all about. I had been playing piano all my life, but this experience changed me forever. I still have back issues of Keyboard Magazine dating from that time. I started saving money right away. I was very lucky to get a great deal on my first keyboard a Korg Polysix. I paid $300.00 for it, and I still have it to this day. ------------------ Mike Martin Kurzrep@aol.com Kurzweil Music Systems www.kurzweilconnection.com -Mike Martin Casio Mike Martin Photography Instagram Facebook The Big Picture Photography Forum on Music Player Network The opinions I post here are my own and do not represent the company I work for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murph Posted March 17, 2001 Share Posted March 17, 2001 Two major experiences: Hearing the opening to Rush's 2112 for the first time on my buddy's incredible home stereo. I thought there was going to be an earthquake! Second: seeing a cover band in the early 80's doing "Riding the Storm Out" by REO Speedwagon. Cheesy, I know, but I was an aspiring guitarist, and keyboards were for making the sound effects, like 2112. Hearing the synth so loud and having it be the focal point for the song was one of the coolest experiences of my musical youth. Then there was the Musical Youth video... Bill Murphy www.murphonics.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wormhole Posted March 18, 2001 Share Posted March 18, 2001 The first all synth albums i remember hearing are Tomita's Planets and Bermuda Triangle. What's funny is that i had always liked the opening piece from another album of his Snowflakes Are Dancing but never knew what it was. I grew up listening to it as the opening music for the PBS Star Hustler show. When I finally heard it on album it was the clincher and I knew I would have to get a synthesizer, so i went out and found a Moog Rogue. I didn't know anything about it but everything on the extensive liner notes on the Tomita albums was Moog so i figured i couldn't go wrong. Well not quite the same as the modular monster he had but still alot of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 Well, I played dozens of different synthesizers over the years, and also there was a very similar thread a few months ago, so I'll keep it short. It was about 1971 or '72, and I saw on the newspaper that a leading Italian rock group, the New Trolls, was going to perform that night on TV, that being the first performance in my country with the Moog Synthesizer, a new musical instrument. I was about 13 at the time, a piano student that also played organ. So I watched the show: They played in somewhat of a Led Zep style, but with a progressive-oriented keyboard player and an Emerson-sized modular Moog. That same year I went to see ELP live, bought "Pictures at an Exhibition", and started *building* a synth with the help of an electronic magazine and a friend. Shortly later I played a Minimoog for the first time. Then at 15 I heard the Weather Report live for the first time, and that was it... I knew I didn't want to be just a pianist anymore. (Mm, keep I short, did I say?..) marino Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b3fiend Posted April 23, 2001 Share Posted April 23, 2001 When ELP released "Lucky Man", I KNEW I wanted to be a part of that new synth sound after all those years of classical... Hooked on Bach came soon after. When I was old enough to work, I Bought a Yamaha CS-40M Dual-Mono with the first 6 Months wages. God I miss that synth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthetic Posted April 23, 2001 Share Posted April 23, 2001 I can't remember the first synth I saw in a picture, but the first one I saw in person was a Roland Juno 60. It was in the back of an organ shop in the mall (remember those?). I hadn't played a keyboard in a long time (I had organ lessons as a kid but stopped them at some point). I was humiliated, because I really wanted to play that thing but I couldn't remember how. All I could do was play with the spacy sample-and-hold effects. That day was a big turnaround for me, because I started woodshedding and got my chops up to the point where I could start buying and playing synths. I don't think I've seen one since, I wish I knew what they really sounded like. Of course, the next phase was drooling on pictures of Fairlights and Matrix 12s in Keyboard magazine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Zeger Posted April 23, 2001 Share Posted April 23, 2001 Originally posted by smedis: The SH-5 was a big unit hosed in a coffing with lid. That was my 1st synth too - loved it. I had that and an early Roland electronic (not electric) piano, EP-30 perhaps - what a piece of crap. You know the type: 61 keys, switches for Piano 1/Piano 2/Harpsichord 1/Harpsichord 2 and of course Tremolo. Moved up to a Rhodes 88 and an ARP Odyssey, and I'm glad I still have both in mint shape. I practically wore out a copy of Switched On Bach, along with a Walter Carlos pop record on which he played arrangements of Eleanor Rigby, What's New Pussycat, Pomp & Circumstance (re-titled "Pompous Circumstances"), and more. I think that was titled "Walter Carlos By Request". This first synth I saw was a Moog Sonic Six at a jr. high school in my city (not the one I attended). I think it was like a Micromoog built into a hardshell case. They used it as a band and orchestra instrument! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Jones Posted April 24, 2001 Share Posted April 24, 2001 It was the D50. Saw it in a music store. Played it and damn I was hooked. I had been a pianist for years prior to discovering the Roland. Then was out of touch for 15 years before getting back into the keyboard genre. And then I found Mr. Kurzweil and being the tweaker that I am I am hooked again! DAMN!!! MIKE "I may be a craven little coward, but I'm a greedy craven little coward." Daffy Duck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus Lozada Posted April 25, 2001 Share Posted April 25, 2001 Originally posted by Dave Bryce: When was the first time you heard of or became aware of a "synthesizer..."? dB I was still a kid when my favorite cousin played to me a tape from a Japanese guy called Tomita... "Hey, check this guy's music... he plays "organs", like you do...". "Pictures on Exhibition", man. How great work. Why none in this forum talks about Tomita? I guess he was my first inspiration. "OXIGENE" from Jean Michel Jarre came later, then Vangelis... GusTraX@yahoo.com Músico, Productor, Ingeniero, Tecnólogo Senior Product Manager, América Latina y Caribe - PreSonus at Fender Musical Instruments Company Instagram: guslozada Facebook: Lozada - Música y Tecnología www.guslozada.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pim Posted April 25, 2001 Share Posted April 25, 2001 I was twelve years old, it was back in '73 or so. The older brother of a friend of mine played a record with car sounds. It was Autobahn from Kraftwerk. We found out these sounds were made with electronics. SYNTHESIZERS! It didn't hurt at all, I liked it immediately! ------------------ -- Pim -- www.dancewave.nl My Music I always wondered what happened after the fade out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JingleJungle Posted April 26, 2001 Share Posted April 26, 2001 To me it was PinkFloyd's "Dark Side of The Moon"...That's (nineteenseventywhat??)when I started dreaming of wanting a) to play guitar... b) to learn how to "make" records... c) learning how to create all those "funny sounds"... My first 'board was an Ensoniq EPS16+ and I've now got more keys and racks than frets... "JJ"Paul JingleJungle ...Hoobiefreak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted April 26, 2001 Author Share Posted April 26, 2001 Originally posted by GusTraX: Why none in this forum talks about Tomita? I guess he was my first inspiration. I am a Tomita fan as well... I actually wrote a program for Andromeda called Tomitarpeggiator. Alesis made me change the name, though, because they were afraid that he might sue them. Wimps. I forget what it's called now - it's in Preset bank 1, program 60. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Zeger Posted April 26, 2001 Share Posted April 26, 2001 Originally posted by Dave Bryce: I am a Tomita fan as well... dB I referenced him in a "MIDI Rules" post: <<< Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Tony Banks, Jan Hammer (pre-Miami Vice), Walter Carlos, Isao Tomita, Josef Zawinul, Herbie Hancock (pre-RockIt), Brian Eno, Stevie Wonder gee, if they only had MIDI they could have made great music with synthesizers true talent transcends technology >>> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus Lozada Posted April 26, 2001 Share Posted April 26, 2001 Now I know I'm not alone... http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif Anyone knows a good web site about Isao Tomita? Thanks guys ! Have a great day GusTraX@yahoo.com Músico, Productor, Ingeniero, Tecnólogo Senior Product Manager, América Latina y Caribe - PreSonus at Fender Musical Instruments Company Instagram: guslozada Facebook: Lozada - Música y Tecnología www.guslozada.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicaL Posted April 27, 2001 Share Posted April 27, 2001 Mini Moog; circa 1977. Peace Albert Gear: Yamaha MODX8, Mojo 61, NS2 73, C. Bechstein baby grand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis122761 Posted April 27, 2001 Share Posted April 27, 2001 I remember getting to a party and someone had an album playing. Everyone was getting "right" and the album was Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Center of the Earth album. This album was followed by ELP's Brain Salad Surgery, and I don't think life has ever been the same. On listening to ELP's Toccata, my mind has been on synth's evermore. 9 years of piano lessons and 18 synth's + counting later, I still cant' play like Rick or Keith, but I am sure having fun. I like it. I love it. I want more of it. I've owned APRs, MOOGs, Rolands, Yamahas, Korgs, Alesis, etc...I still do! I'm down to 5 synths and still rockin' in the free world. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzzz Posted April 27, 2001 Share Posted April 27, 2001 Well, this is weird, but my first exposure to a synthesizer was a huge modular, it MUST have been a Moog, on a Shafer beer commercial around 1967-68 ("Shafer, is the, one beer to have, when you're having more than one") with someone, looking almost like a mad scientist, playing the Shafer theme and turning knobs and pulling patch cords....I was transfixed!!!! This led to SOB, a Moog album by Dick Hyman, a copy of an ARP Oddysey manual, "Funeral for a Friend," then Brain Salad Surgery (bye Elton!) and finally convincing my dad to lend me the money for a Minimoog in 1974. I sold it in 1980 to help pay for college, wow was THAT stupid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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