
Rise of the Synthesizer - BobbyVsTheDevil
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/rise-of-the-synthesizer/
======
tommyd
There's a great BBC documentary on the synthesizer and it's role in the rise
of electronic music (in Britain particularly) in the 70s/80s called Synth
Britannia, worth a watch if you like this sort of thing!
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK1P93r9xes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK1P93r9xes)

Also on Netflix is a documentary film called I Dream of Wires about modular
synthesizers, which I'm yet to get round to watching but is supposed to be
very good.

Really must have a play on my synthesizers again, they've been gathering dust
while I've been focussing on other things but a good synth really is a joy to
play with.

~~~
mixmastamyk
I saw "I Dream of Wires" on netflix. I enjoyed it, and grew up in those days
so have a fondness for the sounds.

But there was one thing I didn't quite get, which it didn't explain, just
glossed over, is why people got so obsessed with synths. It assumed you
already know why. I've always tinkered with things, but don't get it. Perhaps
because I never had access to one. Commodore 64, yes, soldering iron, yes,
modular synth, no.

~~~
dmicah
The majority of people never had access to a hardware modular either, unless
they were involved with an experimental music program in a University. For the
younger generation now interested in hardware modulars, software modulars may
have been a gateway. I think enjoying modular synthesis isn't that different
to enjoying programming more generally, people like to explore and see what
new things they can create.

~~~
bbgm
I've been into synths and sound design for a while. But even for someone like
me, the last few years have been amazing. Two years ago I had a lot of
software and controllers. But now you can get high quality analog keyboard
synths at great price points (e.g a Moog Sub37 or an Arturia Microbrute), and
Eurorack has made modular synthesis cheaper and more accessible than ever
before. It's a great time to be into synths.

------
hluska
I learned to solder when I was in grade 8. At first, it seemed kind of stupid
and I really didn't have all that much to solder. But then I became an adult
and developed a problem with synthesizers. I bought a broken Juno 106 on eBay,
got it shipped, opened it up (because hey, it was already broken) and was
excited to find that all I needed was a soldering iron. A few minutes later
and holy bass...

Years later, I moved into a smaller place and had to part ways with most of my
synths. Sadly, my 106 was a casualty (since a Juno 106 is basically an
eviction notice with a keyboard attached), but I sold it to a wicked musician
who made some amazing sounds with it.

I still miss that instrument. I hate spelling fat with a 'ph', but the Juno
106 can only be described as phat...

~~~
buffoon
The Juno 106 is absolutely glorious.

Not everyone's type of music but this track is basically a Juno 106 pad,
strings and lead demo and my angry driving music:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsLYwR9Jp-Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsLYwR9Jp-Y)

I myself drive a Korg Triton which I paid equiv $90 for because it was broken.
Turned out to be a shorted cap in the power supply that took 10 mins with a
multimeter to find.

------
w1ntermute
Giorgio Moroder (mentioned in the article) reflects on the synthesizer's rise
in the song _Giorgio by Moroder_ , from the latest Daft Punk album (Random
Access Memories):

> I wanted to do an album with the sound of the '50s, the sound of the '60s,
> of the '70s and then have a sound of the future. And I said, "Wait a
> second...I know the synthesizer – why don't I use the synthesizer which is
> the sound of the future?" And I didn't have any idea what to do, but I knew
> I needed a click so we put a click on the 24 track which then was synched to
> the Moog Modular. I knew that it could be a sound of the future but I didn't
> realise how much the impact would be

[http://genius.com/Daft-punk-giorgio-by-moroder-
lyrics/](http://genius.com/Daft-punk-giorgio-by-moroder-lyrics/)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhl-
Cs1-sG4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhl-Cs1-sG4)

------
dreamfactory2
Punks didn't exactly reject synths and certainly not on grounds of
'authenticity'. Suicide were a notable punk band who used them, while Magazine
and Joy Division were big synth users and barely post punk. The reason they
weren't emblematic with the first wave of punk was entirely down to cost -
they were seen as a millionaire's instrument and therefore tasteless and
decadent. Once Roland started mass producing, synths became far more popular
with post punk bands and spawned an entire movement, from Cabaret Voltaire to
Depeche Mode.

~~~
hugh4
Rejecting something because you can't afford it, and then claiming it's
because it's "inauthentic", sounds fairly punk to me.

~~~
dreamfactory2
As I said, it was on grounds of general inaccessibility, not inauthenticity -
the point was to make far more thrilling and relevant music by abandoning the
overwraught playing, equipment, and production which had become the norm from
the mid 70s. At that point, synthesizers were largely associated with
millionaires noodling away in expensive studios and not part of the equation
for a bunch of teenagers starting a band. The minute these bands started doing
albums and synths started getting mass produced by Japanese firms, they began
to pop up in the music from about 1978, just a year after the first crop of UK
punk albums.

------
ssalazar
> Because they relied on audio samples rather than sounds that were designed
> from scratch, the Kurzweils were known as additive synthesizers.

This is absolutely incorrect- this describes a wavetable synthesizer, which is
what the early Kurzweil's were. An additive synthesizer works by adding
individual sine waves together of various amplitudes and frequencies.

~~~
ctdonath
There was an additive synth, but it wasn't Kurzweil and there was only one
model I knew of and saw advertised only once. With 128 sine waves to set, it
could do everything but required everything to do something.

~~~
brianmckenzie
There were two (hardware) additives synths, both from Kawai - the K5 and the
K5000 series. I have the K5000S, and it is relatively difficult to program.

It sounds like nothing else out there, don't think I'll ever get rid of it.

------
gtani
Recently the major names have reissued the Arp Odyssey and MS20 (by Korg),
roland's recreations of select juno/jupiters, and the Moog mother. Very
exciting time to be a knobby/CV synth hobbyist. Before this, there were a
select few inexpensive knobby synths that people sought out if they couldn't
budget for bigger Moogs: Radias/MS2000, jp8000 and 8080, maybe an SH 201, etc.

------
byron_fast
For those who would like a glimpse of synth sounds in their hands, for the
Nintendo 3DS:
[http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/EsVE_ldkt5IaTlJYN7iqans...](http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/EsVE_ldkt5IaTlJYN7iqans9kQaKZgAx)

~~~
pdkl95
If you want a full modular synth to play with, with a built-in tracker and an
outstanding UI, I suggest trying Sunvox[1]. It is free (as in beer) for a huge
number of platforms.

[1]
[http://www.warmplace.ru/soft/sunvox/](http://www.warmplace.ru/soft/sunvox/)

------
dharma1
Mmm, analog synths. Any other gearslutz regulars on HN?

For a nice "plug-in" like DAW integration of hardware synths, check out
[http://ctrlr.org/](http://ctrlr.org/)

~~~
jakobloekke
Gearslut hang-around and long-time synth collector here. Is it just me, or
does this story make Yamaha silently seem like the coolest big-co ever!?

~~~
S_A_P
Also a KVR/gearslut hanger-outer. As a side note I've recently gotten into
collecting vintage samplers. I just picked up a Roland S-550 for a hundred
bucks. These things are just MSX pcs with a fancy case. I have been chatting
up a guy who has done some cool stuff bringing these things back in date.
[http://llamamusic.com](http://llamamusic.com) great guy and very great stuff
he is doing. These samplers used to cost 2-3000 in the late 80s and it's a
shame to let them rot.

~~~
jakobloekke
I used to drool over those adverts of the Roland S-line samplers with computer
monitors and mouse attached, back in the early nineties. They looked so
futuristic and magical to me! :) I haven't got any of them in my current
collection – but I do have an Akai S5000 (which is almost vintage) and an Emu
Emax (which definitely is!).

------
vitd
Ha! I never noticed that Wendy Carlos' album was produced by "Trans-electronic
Music Productions, Inc." As a kid I never made the connection.

~~~
kyberias
I don't get it.

~~~
chipsy
She's trans.

~~~
kyberias
Ok, I knew that but couldn't connect. Silly me. Thanks.

------
2sk21
Brings back happy memories. I built a few of the modules of the Elektor
Formant synthesizer in the early 80s. I got as far as building a VCO and VCF
but ran out of money then.

------
urlwolf
Another KVR and gearslut forumite here.

------
fredfoobar42
Nice to see DEVO get a shoutout too.

