Dan South Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Aja's mostly a "live" album, but there's quite a bit of synth scattered throught. "Home At Last" has a synth horn section break and then a sort of synth slide whistle lead. The end section (drum solo outro) of the title track features interesting overdubbed synth parts. "Josie" sounds like it has some ARP Solina/String Ensemble going on. Anybody know what keyboards Fagen used? The liner notes just say "synthesizer." The Black Knight always triumphs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeebus Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 I've been told it was a Nord Lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b3keys Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 The nord lead wasn't even released when Aja was made. Fender Rhodes, minimoog were used Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Originally posted by b3keys: The nord lead wasn't even released when Aja was made. He knows. It's a running joke. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbobus Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 This is funny! Aja is in my CD player right now...No clue, clavinet, Rhodes, piano, synth (???). The phaser must be MXR. Record was made in 1977, so we're in the haydays of Moog and ARP here (I guess that's why Lord Jeebus has put in the eye wink). http://www.bobwijnen.nl Hipness is not a state of mind, it's a fact of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Fortner Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 There's a sound on the Motif ES, "Wood Panel," that with a little tweaking is very close to that analog-synth-meets-harmonica lead Fagen is known for (Hey 19, IGY) I've been told there was a breath controller involved in the original, which leads me to think some kind of Yamaha synth (CS80? GX1?) but I've also heard it was an ARP Pro-Soloist. Anybody know for sure? Stephen Fortner Principal, Fortner Media Former Editor in Chief, Keyboard Magazine Digital Piano Consultant, Piano Buyer Magazine Industry affiliations: Antares, Arturia, Giles Communications, MS Media, Polyverse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Klopmeyer Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 No, though I've always liked the little break in "Home at Last" with the parallel 5th sound (right before the harmonica-ish solo). - Jeff Marketing Communications for MI/Pro Audio My solo music and stuff They Stole My Crayon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Zeger Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Was there a Donald Fagen interview in Keyboard from the late '70s/early '80s? Maybe there's mention of his synths there. Something tells me he might have used an Oberheim 4 voice for some of those synth parts. It's seems like Aja/Gaucho preceded the Yamaha breath controller. Rather than a breath controller, maybe some of those parts were done with a wind controlled synth, like the Steiner Parker EWI/EVI or the Lyricon. I know Tom Scott played a Lyricon only on "Peg". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botch. Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 On the DVD "Making AJA" Donald and Walter are sitting at a mixing desk and demonstrated a wheezy, obnoxious (their words) synth line that doubled a brass line on one of the tunes, but they never mentioned what it was. Where's Gas, I bet he'd know if anyone. Botch "Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will www.puddlestone.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Loving Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Maybe the harmonica-ish solos are Fagan's melodica? "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llarion Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Originally posted by Botch.: On the DVD "Making AJA" Donald and Walter are sitting at a mixing desk and demonstrated a wheezy, obnoxious (their words) synth line that doubled a brass line on one of the tunes, but they never mentioned what it was. Where's Gas, I bet he'd know if anyone.I have that DVD; it's an Arp... (Omni, perhaps?) I'll hafta look again... Cheers! Phil "Llarion: The Jazzinator" Traynor www.llarion.com Smooth Jazz - QUESTION AUTHORITY. Go ahead, ask me anything. http://www.llarion.com/images/dichotomybanner.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Originally posted by Botch.: Where's Gas, I bet he'd know if anyone.Botch, I don't know off the top of my head. I've looked all over for the answer to this question. I've got the DVD too. It's frustrating, but I'll keep looking... I've got a call in to Donald and Walter, but it must be the that it's not a toll-free call to get back to me... my phone hasn't rung. I'll keep trying! Is There Gas In The Car? "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunny Knutson Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Maybe we should ask Roger Nichols. I don't know if he was involved with that record at all, but he might know what was used. Anybody know how to get ahold of Gary Katz? Or Donald, himself? https://bunny.bandcamp.com/ https://theystolemycrayon.bandcamp.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dementia13 Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Go to the Logic-Users Forum on Yahoo and look for a guy named Jordan who has a Music Producers forum, I'm not sure if it's on Majordomo or what server. Roger Nichols lurks on that group, or at least used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksoper Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Years ago I was asked to program a Prophet 5 for a young lady whose synth skills were suspect. Her band was covering "Hey Nineteen" and she needed the harmonica sound. I was able to get it balls-on perfect. This is not to say that it really was a Prophet on the recording, but it's my guess. k. 9 Moog things, 3 Roland things, 2 Hammond things and a computer with stuff on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangefunk Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 They used an Arp ProSoloist (monosynth) for a lot of the sounds, in fact they multitracked it so it could sound chords.. They did a special on them on UK TV a year or so ago, they went back in the studio and relistened to the tracks and mixes in isolation...whilst talking about the songs themselves really good show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABECK Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Originally posted by ksoper: Years ago I was asked to program a Prophet 5 for a young lady whose synth skills were suspect. Her band was covering "Hey Nineteen" and she needed the harmonica sound. I was able to get it balls-on perfect. This is not to say that it really was a Prophet on the recording, but it's my guess. k.I remember reading a Keyboard article from around 1994 - I believe he said they did in fact use a Prophet 5 for that sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeebus Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Originally posted by ABECK: Originally posted by ksoper: Years ago I was asked to program a Prophet 5 for a young lady whose synth skills were suspect. Her band was covering "Hey Nineteen" and she needed the harmonica sound. I was able to get it balls-on perfect. This is not to say that it really was a Prophet on the recording, but it's my guess. k.I remember reading a Keyboard article from around 1994 - I believe he said they did in fact use a Prophet 5 for that sound.Since the design of the Nord was based on the Prophet 5, my original joke could have actually been a contender. Interesting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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