Retro Thing

Retro Synth Ads

Retro Synth Ads is a blog full of scanned synthesizer ads from the 1980s. I'm ashamed to admit how much I looked forward to seeing new ads for instruments I could only dream of owning as a teen.

Mr. RetroSynthAds writes, "Growing up, synthesizer advertisements were the only way for me to find out about new synths. Gear advertised in magazines such as Keyboard Magazine and Electronic Musician. Its not that my local music shop didn't have knowledgeable staff, I was just scared of them until I was in my late teens. Please join me in my infatuation with vintage synthesizers, drum machines and sampler advertising."

Retro Synth Ads [via Matrixsynth]

Tom Oberheim's New Synth Expander Module

Thirty-five years after releasing the original Synthesizer Expander Module, Tom Oberheim has announced an updated version of his first instrument. The new SEM includes a MIDI interface, while retaining its old analog charm. It includes the same versatile 12 dB/octave filter design as the original along with dual oscillators, triangle LFO and a couple of simple ADR envelope generators.

Tom Oberheim and the new SEM from stretta on Vimeo.

The Oberheim SEM [background in the photo] was introduced in 1974. The little monophonic synth was envisioned as a voice expander to fatten other instruments (or for use with a sequencer). It quickly gained popularity thanks to its simple front panel, reasonable price and decent sound. By combining multiple SEM modules into a single unit, Tom Oberheim created a series of 2-voice, 4-voice and 8-voice polyphonic keyboard instruments. There was even a little programmer module that could be used to store the knob settings. Oberheim went on to create some stunning polyphonic analog synthesizers and the DMX drum machine, which became a staple of early hip-hop.

The new SEM should be available later this year for under $1000.

The Sound Lab Ultimate Analog Synth

It takes a lot to get me excited about music gear these days, but Ray Wilson's Sound Lab Ultimate modular analog synthesizer kit is amazing. This instrument is the followup to his original Sound Lab mini-synth. It features three musically accurate oscillators, white noise generator, active mixer, a 12 dB/Octave lowpass filter, envelope generator, dual low frequency oscillators and more.

The $130 "Deal Clincher" kit includes the PC board, two faceplates, three axial compensators (to keep the oscillators in tune as the temperature changes) along with a Wall Wart power supply board. You can order nearly all of the other project components directly from Mouser for just over $225.

This definitely isn't a beginner's project, but anyone with a bit of kit building experience should be able to assemble this incredibly cool instrument in only a few evenings.

Music From Outer Space Sound Lab ULTIMATE synth kit [via Matrixsynth]

related:
PAiA: Affordable DIY Synthesizers
Build An Analog Synth With A Screwdriver
Join The "Synth Module Of The Month Club"

Rolf Harris Rocks The Stylophone

A very young Rolf Harris recorded this exuberant Stylophone demo record in the late sixties. It's amusing to hear him marvel over a virtually unplayable little instrument that sounds suspiciously like a tuned duck fart. Of course, kids love fart sounds, which ensured massive popularity throughout most of the known universe.

The Stylophone fad didn't last long after parents discovered the bloody thing didn't even have a volume control. Upon being woken by electrofarts several weekends in a row, fathers throughout Britain started a grassroots campaign to smash and hide the buzzy little boxes when their little darlings were otherwise occupied with matches and the neighbour's Persian kitty.

Luckily for us, a couple of dads gave their Stylos to the drug-addled musicians living in the squat across the street. These future pop stars managed to tease a few tuneful bleeps out of their newfound toys, ensuring an irrational cult following that lasted over three decades.

Things reached such a fever pitch that Ben Jarvis - son of one of the original inventors - released an updated version in 2007. He learned from his father's mistakes and incorporated a volume control, headphone jack and two additional tones which I affectionately call 'helium duck' and 'deep duck.'

I'm counting on one of you to incorporate the Stylophone into 2010's biggest hit single, ensuring that decades of future music lovers continue to covet this cheerful electrobleep machine.

1960s Stylophone Demo Record

Strap On A New Roland Keytar

Everyone besides Roland is calling their new AX-Synth a keytar. Roland is referring to their new baby as a "shoulder synthesizer". I've never liked the word keytar either. It invokes the idea that what we used to call "ghost" or "solo" keyboards are inherently dorky. I may be biased because as a keyboard player I've always thought they were pretty cool, even though there have only ever been a dozen or so commercial models - a clear indicator of the lack of popularity of the keytar form factor.

The new Roland updates 2002's AX-7 model (and 1991's AX-1 before that) by including a lot more controls, USB style MIDI, and - here's the biggie - onboard sounds. This is pretty unusual as most keytars are MIDI controllers only, relying on an attached sound source. It's cool to be able to pick up the AX-Synth and start playing right away, though it makes me wish they'd gone that extra Casio step and included an on-board speaker.

As a professed keytar fan (I've still got my Casio AZ-1 as proof!), why am I not running out to get one? I'll have to wait and see if they release anything a little less iPod. Seriously, does every advanced piece of electronics have to be toilet porcelain white? Roland's other keytars were a glorious red. When the keyboardist creeps out from behind his racks of gear, he's doing it to get noticed with a hot red red axe, people.

The main reason I really won't be adding the Roland to my arsenal is the exorbitant price. The AX-Synth looks like it'll command over a thousand dollars US which is a lot of money for a keytar or a shoulder synthesizer or whatever they want to call it. I guess that Roland isn't counting on selling too many, or they feel that anyone extraordinary enough to want to play the most modern keytar ever is also happy to pay an extraordinary price as well.

More info on the AX-Synth at musicradar.com
Pick up a keytar on Ebay

related:
Roland AX-7

Own A Classic Gibson SG Guitar For Only $699

Gibson now offers their USA SG Special -- a simplified version of the axe wielded by the likes of Angus Young, Tony Iommi and Robby Krieger -- for only $699. It seems the big changes from its more expensive bretheren are a downgraded pair of humbucker pickups, basic dot inlayed neck and simpler finish.

"Wicked SG attitude, in a simplified no-frills package. That’s the essence of Gibson’s SG Special. Hands down, it’s the best combination of features and value in Gibson’s iconic SG line-up. It delivers the same power and intensity, without all the non-essentials. Here’s the same dynamic, slim mahogany body and hair-trigger quick neck, combined with dot inlays, silk-screened logo, a pair of Gibson’s hot 490 humbuckers and a deluxe gig bag. The result is one rockin’ powerhouse of a guitar. Built to withstand the harshest elements."

Excellent. I've always wanted a powerhouse guitar that could withstand the fury of a harsh Siberian winter.

Gibson SGs - At Unbelievable New Prices

"Bohemian Rhapsody" - A Concert For Codger Computers

It always makes me smile when someone uses retro computer hardware to create music today. Normally this is in the form of a Game Boy chiptune, or perhaps squeezing more than two notes of music out of an Atari 2600. It's seldom the actual hardware making the musical sounds happen.

Thanks to the untiring efforts of YouTube author bd594, he has harnessed the motor sounds of a scanner, floppy drive innards, and old Atari & TI computers to creak and buzz out a very credible version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. These aren't manipulated and sampled sounds (though the author does mention doing some multitracking to thicken the chords), the song comes from the noises of the actual hardware.

I find the sound oddly reminiscent of an automatic fairground organ, or some Victorian era mechanical music machine. The way that the gear mildly drifts in and out of tune, the fragile nature of the sync, even the actual timbres of the music itself sounds much more ancient and charming than a pile of 80's scrap computers should. It's all terribly clever, and infectiously smile-inducing. And yes, there's a devil put aside for you too.

[via matrixsynth]

related:

8 BIT: Video Game Documentary
A brand new chipsynth
Free Commodore 64 inspired software synth

Brand New Fairlight CMI T-Shirts

The Fairlight Computer Music Instrument was the first digital sampling instrument, capable of recording snippets of real sound and playing them back at different speeds. For better or worse, it profoundly shaped pop music in the 1980s.

Fairlights are still expensive as collector's items, but rabid fans can own a t-shirt with the original logo for under $20. The new shirt was created by Joe, a Fairlight mailing list contributor. He explains:

"I had been looking for a t-shirt with the old (Series I/II(x) era) Fairlight logo for a while, but couldn't find any. I found shirts with Roland, PPG, etc. logos, but no Fairlight. So, I made my own!

When I replaced the CRT in my IIx monitor, I put the logo part of the front piece of the enclosure on a scanner and scanned it. I loaded that into Photoshop and cleaned it up, then used Illustrator to trace it. I sent the resulting .eps file to Spreadshirt. For the printing technology used on these shirts, they only accept vector art with a maximum of 3 colors. That was perfect for this logo. The stylized "F" is cyan, and the text/frame is either black or white, depending on which shirt you pick.

Note that I have the commissions for all of these set to $0. I'm not making any money on them. I wanted a couple of shirts for myself, then thought that maybe others would like them, too."

Here's a photo of Fairlight co-founder Peter Vogel and his daughter wearing some original Fairlight schwag.

Fairlight Logo Shirts

Arcanely Beautiful Boehm Soundlab Synthesizer

The Boehm Soundlab analog modular synthesizer was an odd beast. It was offered as a kit or fully assembled in 1983, at a time when musicians were head over heals in love with microprocessors, FM synthesis and digital sampling.

The Soundlab didn't include MIDI, couldn't play samples and was only monophonic. The base unit -- with case, 4 octave keyboard, rear panel connectors and modular plug panel -- cost 648 Deutschmarks. An amplifier & speaker module cost 48 DM, and separate VCO (oscillator), VCF (filter), VCA (amplifier) and VCA/ADSR envelope and LFO modules sold for 149 DM each -- roughly $750 for a reasonably equipped system.

This quirky portable sound machine didn't sell very well. However, it's still a brilliant platform to learn the essence of analog synthesis and was probably quite popular in schools and university labs. The sound circuitry is based on the same Curtis chips incorporated in some of the best analog synths of the 1980s (Dave Smith still uses Curtis ICs in his modern instruments). Besides, the Boehm Soundlab evokes a Doctor Whovian charm that makes it eminently collectible.

If you'd like a better look, Matrixsynth posted a link to scans of the original user/construction manuals and sales brochure (German only).

Casio Keyboard/Tape Copier/Shortwave Radio

We've talked a lot about convergence, the oft nutty combo of various useful devices into one quizzical device. We've also shared a few holy grail collectible Casio keyboards. So here's an item that's both. The Casio CK-500 is not a boom box as widely mis-reported on the net. It's a regular flat-laying Casio keyboard that happens to sport dual tapedecks and a radio receiver.

The keyboard is nothing special - it's the same guts as their MT-68. It's got those same lovable analog "blip blip" rhythms that you fell in love with on the organ at your grandma's. The tones aren't anything really remarkable either, though the built in mixer to adjust the volume on the various automated parts of your performance are a nice touch. To get started, just hit a punch-button to dial up your instrument sound, then select between a dozen rhythms and auto-accompaniment styles.

The real eye-catcher here is the dual-well stereo tape deck. The A & B decks are switched from where you might expect them to be, but you can still easily dub tapes (though not with a single touch as many decks of the era). The buttons ka-chunk satisfyingly into place - no servos here! Another interesting aspect is that the radio features AM, FM, and shortwave. So if you've got six D cells tearing a hole in your pocket, you can bring the CK-500 along on your boat or while you're DXing around the country, and not miss any of the thrills of shortwave radio.

I'd play you something nice, but the power supply isn't in a cooperative mood. I realize that the keyboard is in its 20's, but c'mon... I have much older Casio gear that's never had a problem. It looks like you can't play along to a tape as the selector slider is mutually exclusive of those two options. I would imagine that you can record your keyboard performance onto a cassette, but it's too bad to not be able to jam along to your favorite tunes on the radio or on a tape.

It's actually not too bad an idea. If the tape decks worked as they're supposed to, you'd be able to build up layers of sound by playing along with music you'd previously recorded. It worked for the Beatles...  I could also use a little more real-estate in the keyboard area, but I guess that this gadget was really intended for smaller hands than my own. Smaller hands with an interest in shortwave, I hasten to add.

Today my fear would be that some record company somewhere would find a way to show that your playing along with the radio, or dubbing your keyboard performance on top of a commercial tape will cost them millions of dollars. If some of those folks had their way, we'd be headed for a future with no "record" button, so I guess that I'll just hang on to my CK-500 a bit longer.

related:
Rare Casio double-decker sampler + keyboard
Casio SK-1 sampling keyboard... in pink!
Kermit The Frog - SK-1 Sampling Keyboard

Music From Sand

Many musicians perform with antique instruments -- a Stradivarius, a vintage Steinway or perhaps a ratty old Fender Strat. Diego Stocco puts them all to shame with his latest sound design experiment, an entire track of tuned sand noises.

He explains, "I had some sandbags in the backyard that I used in November during a rainy day. I was moving them to a different spot when I heard the noise of the sand. I thought that maybe I could try a new sound design technique so I bought some piezo film transducers and started to experiment with them.

The entire track is created only out of tuned sand tones. No additional sounds or waveforms. I emphasized the inner notes of the sand grains and mapped them on a sampler as a series of instruments. The grooves are all played live with various techniques, including taping two piezo films to my fingers.

I'd like to dedicate this work to Mike Oldfield. When I was a child I listened to his music and it opened my mind. That experience triggered my life passion to create the means to access sounds we've never heard before."

We're anxiously waiting to see if he continues the series -- Music From Molten Magma, perhaps?

The official Diego Stocco site
More of Diego's work [Behance Network]

Muzix81 Computer Music System From Socialist Hungary

Greg Lőrincz writes, "Here's everything I could find out about the most advanced computer based sequencer / sampler / audio processor / audio interface from the early 80s (OK, the CMI Fairlight and PPG Wave were more advanced, but Muzix81 cost a fraction as much).

In 1981, Hungarian musician and physicist Andras Szalay visited Sinclair in Cambridge where he bought a Sinclair ZX81 kit and built a computer at home. He designed an interface called the Composer, the first part of the powerful Muzix81 system, in 1982.

Remco Electronic Sound FX machine

The Remco Electronic Sound FX machine was based on the Texas Instruments SN76477 analog sound effects chip. This little late-1970s integrated circuit generated square and noise waves that could be modulated to create all manner of bleeps, bloops, buzzes and auditory insanity. It's perhaps most famous as the sound chip used in the arcade version of Space Invaders.

Several toy makers seized on its simple design and $3 price tag, but Remco went a step further by using it to create a bizarre battery-powered sound effects machine capable of generating an enormous range of parent-repellent sounds. The booklet includes pages of bizzare patch settings, although it would be much more fun to muck around without guidance. I suspect more than one impressionable kid graduated from this box to a full fledged musical synthesizer.

There's one on eBay right now at a stratospheric price [via Matrixsynth]
Experimenting With A Sound-Effects Generator [Popular Electronics, May 1980]

Classic RCA Type 77 Mic Knockoffs

If you look at album covers from the 50's and 60's, you'll often find artists crooning into an RCA Type 77 microphone. It's one of several microphones who's silhouette has become iconic of recording, and even of music itself. The 77 deserves its reputation, but it also got what it didn't deserve, loads of cheap knockoffs.

Pictured here is my Olson M-102. As you can see, it's rather lovely. When people see this mic on my desk they really, really want to record with it. The problem is that, like so many other Type 77 knockoffs, it sounds just awful. The knockoffs retailed for anywhere from US $15-30 in the 1950's. While the RCA original is a fine recording instrument, the cheapies mostly had inexpensive mic elements built in. Perhaps the lack of quality went unnoticed in some of the home recording gear of the day (to be fair, the mics were intended for the ham radio and PA market), but today these copies bring nothing of the vintage sound that people go for.

The upshot is that a smart buyer can pick one of these up pretty easily starting at $10 (I think that mine was actually $6). At the same time, I've seen these knock-off versions go for unreasonable sums because the buyer doesn't realize what they're getting into. So be careful. If you're looking for a good-looking prop microphone to put on a desk, this is perfect. I've heard of some folks buying one of these mics cheaply, then adding their own new electronics inside to build a custom microphone who's sound is worthy of its outer good looks.

Just remember to take care when you search for "vintage microphone" on Ebay. I've linked to a list of the knockoff models which will aid you in your search. You can sing our praises later. Just promise that you'll use a better microphone, okay?

List of good looking knockoff mics (scroll to bottom)
See what Ebay's got this week in "vintage microphones"

Mike Walters Does It Again: Yamaha Keyboard + Heathkit = Mike-O-Wave

Mike Walters has performed all kinds of audio alchemy under the guise of Mystery Circuits. Using electronic toys and outmoded keyboards as his starting point, he finds new ways of shorting out those mini battery-powered brains to create oddly random audio. There are lots of people devoted to the pursuit of "circuit bending", but Mike manages to create instruments with both performance and aesthetics in mind.

Check out the Mike-O-Wave (I had to say it out loud before I got the joke...) demo video Mike posted on YouTube.  This newest instrument fits the guts of a Yamaha PSS-140 toy FM synthesizer into an old Heathkit Experimenter enclosure. The soft-touch control panel is very low tech: a laminate sandwich of office labels and construction paper! A grid of tactile switches control the keyboard's original functions, as well as some well known mods found on the internet.

Mike has been on these pages before with his all Walkman Mellotron, and I've seen the circuit-bent keyboard that he built for Devo in action. He seems to premiere a couple new instruments every year, so let's all look forward to what's in store for 2009!

related:
The Art of Circuit Bending Book
New circuit bent electro gadgets By Mike Ford
Chronovalve circuit bent instruments