This is a great video showing the breadth and depth of the SynthEast 2025 show - and includes a brief chat with me & Paulee discussing Synth Evolution and the two new volumes of Synth Evolution I debuted at the show. (at around 12mins).
Blog entry
Two new volumes of the Synth Evolution A6 Zine series - now available!
I was very proud to launch the two new volumes of the Synth Evolution A6 ‘Zine’ series at this year’s SynthEast 2025 event, organised by Robin Vincent of Molten Media and Electronic Sound magazine!
NEW: Synth Evolution A6 Zine Volume 3: Modern Classics
Modern Classics showcases a selection of the most interesting, impactful, and—arguably—best synthesizers of the past two decades. The synths in this book celebrate the vast range of sonic possibilities now available to musicians and producers. From analogue wonders to extraordinary digital creations, from tightly designed monosynths to open-ended polyphonic beasts, each one is more marvellous than the last!
BUY NOW: velocitypress.uk/product/modern-classics-synths/
NEW Synth Evolution A6 Zine Volume 4: Modular Greats
The modular resurgence of the past 25 years has been a wonder to behold. Where musicians were once chained to their DAWs, we are now liberated once again to wire, patch, and modulate in the real world, choosing from a mind-boggling array of options.
Modular Greats celebrates the fusion of art, logic, science, and serendipity in modular synthesis, highlighting ome of the best-selling, most creative, and most impactful modules of the 21st century. Featured manufacturers include Make Noise, Mutable Instruments, TipTop Audio, Intellijel, Rossum Electro-Music, Doepfer—and many more!
A ‘Desert Island Modular’ section features module choices from scene favourites Robin Vincent, Steve Davis, Panic Girl and more.
Talking of SynthEast it was great!
Highlights of the show were:
Friday night - a brillant film about Berlin in the 1980s (B Movie) and a fascinatingly fun chat between John Foxx and Adam Buxton about John’s childhood, early art-school experiences and career with Ultravox and beyond. (With a nice shout-out for the Roland CR-78, drum machine fans!)
Saturday - exhibition day. Always a blast; met loads of great people and really enjoyed the hourly sets performed by the likes of Gaz Williams, Steve Davis and Paulee Bow.
Saturday - evening gigs. Lovely comeback set from SeeFeel (Warp 1990s key band), and support from the lovely modular music of Loula Sharpe.
Sunday - Although there is a modular workshop, I didn’t attend that, but it’s great for those wanting to explore and learn more about the world of Eurorack and modular.
A few random snaps below (featuring John Foxx, Rob Puricelli’s beautiful DX1, and my stand with the new ‘merch’, SeeFeel Live, the front garden - and a sexy ReVox PR99 Mk3!
Articles for Sound On Sound!
I need to write more regular blog posts, that’s for sure!
In the meantime, here’s a record of my semi-regular articles for Sound On Sound - the world’s best recording magazine!
Enter the world of alternative tuning systems maybe reinvent music!
A great sounding and innovative dynamic saturation plugin.
Live 12's synth is pretty awesome.
The perfect man-machine symbiosis!
Ableton's granular synth is great - thanks again Mr Henke for this creative tool!
An article on harmonic generation through saturation, distortion and related techniques.
How to bring variety and interest to your music by getting hands on.
Drum Machine Podcast for Sound On Sound
I’m proud to share with you all my first podcast episode for Sound On Sound on the history of the drum machine:
https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/drum-machine-history-podcast
From the earliest pre-transistor efforts to replicate a drum kit to the latest developments, this is a fascinating story of how this electronic instrument category has influenced musical culture and reflected the technological developments of each era.
I cover early analague drum machines, sampling drum mahines, of course the 808 and 909 - and much (much) else.
Best thing is that there are about 50 audio clips inllustrating the sound of key instruments and songs that used them!
Enjoy!
Musée de la musique, Paris
I was lucky enough to visit the Musée de la musique in Paris recently and of course lapped up the electronic music instrument collection.
In addition, they have five floors of wonderful instruments from the earliest spinnets and harpischords to early woodwind, brass and world instruments of every type. Anyone who’s interested in music would get something from a visit!
An Épinette - from 1522 - very early harpishcord style instrument. The decoration on these early instruments (of which the museum has several, is breathtaking). As we know, the look of our hardware lends an ineffable quality to how we approach the art of music!
A wonderful example of an Ondes Martenot from 1930. Note the mock keyboard - the notes are triggered using the touch-strip above it. Sound is produced using the heterodyne effect - the difference in frequency between two very high frequency vacuum tubes resulting in a tone in the audio range.
Hammond B3 Model A (1935). Laurens Hammond cracked the secret of making a musical insturment from tonewheel technology - rotating disks in a magnetic field to generate waveforms. The technique dates from the late 19th century (in a 200 tonne instrument, the ‘Telharmonium’), but Hammond made the first commercially successful range. Still sounds great to this day!
Moog Modular - 900 series modules (1964) One of Robert Moog’s earliest modular synths based on the 900 series of oscillators, filters and more. A beautiful looking instrument and along with Don Buchla was the earliest to commercialise the new transistor technology in service of music making.
The Syn-Ket (1963). A less well known transistor and valve based synthesizer designed by Paul Ketoff. As early as the earliest Moogs and Buchlas, but wasn’t a commercially available instrument. It might well qualify as the earliest portable synth! This was built for composer John Eaton (who also worked with Robert Moog over a period of several decades on other novel synth control methods).
Moog Percussion Synthesizer (1971). An intriguing drum synth made by Moog, but never released.
EMS VCS3 (1969). British firm Electronic Music Studios (EMS) made the powerful and successful Voltage Controlled Studio No.3 to fund their ground-breaking digital studios in Putney, London. The VCS3 is nick-named ‘The Putney’.
The Gmebaphone (1973). Extraordinary space-age looking ‘spatial processing’ unit from Italy.
Electroacoustic Studio (1950). Pierre Henry’s equipment from the GRM studios, Paris. Worth noting the rivalry between GRM’s tape based ‘musique concrete’ approach and the Cologne studios’ ‘electronic oscillator’ approach. To the extent that Pierre Henry eventually did allow a synth oscillator to be used in his studios, he directed that it should not be used to make music with directly - you were only allowed to record the tones to tape, and then manipulate them…
New England Digital Synclavier I (1979). This is the first series Synclavier - when it was ‘merely’ a digital additive synth, not a sampler. I was surprised at how ‘modular’ the units are - screwed in blocks of electronics. The Synclavier II looked much less ‘garage project’!
There are plenty of other lovely instruments - claviolines, ondiolines, theremins, electric violins and other delights. I highly recommend it. There’s nothing like being in the presence of these wonderful instruments. The only shame is that you can’t actually play them…the only downside of these literal ‘museum pieces’!
https://philharmoniedeparis.fr/en/activity/exposition/26625-collection-permanente
Book Launch report - 23rd Nov 2023
My book launch took place on 23rd November, to celebrate the launch of my two new zines - ‘Vintage Synths’ and ‘Drum Machines & Samplers’. Check Velocity Press for online ordering details - or your local book / record shop!
DJ Tom F
DJ Tom F kicked the evening off with a selection of cool electronic synth vibes covering synth based tracks from 90s classics of Underworld and Hardfloor to … modern stuff I didn’t recognise, but liked a great deal!
Oli Freke - Synth Talk
Then I gave a great talk* covering the entire history of synthesizers, samplers and drum machines, with over 70 audio samples in only 40 minutes. *this could come under the category of ‘in my opinion! :-)
Quite a challenge to cover everything I wanted to, and in reality couldn’t cover it all. But was pleased with the reception it got and was great to highlight some of the key moments in synth evolution with the corresponding audio. This is something you can’t do on posters or even in a book!
DJ Rob Vanden
Rob played great sets in between my bits and later in the evening covering some great tunes in the Autonomic and Drum’n’Bass genres.
Next time he promises us a Live Modular set! :-)
Oli Freke - Live Set
Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos or live footage from my actual gig that I played later that evening. I really must remember to ask someone to do that for me next time! But not to worry - the above video is that live performance, one take, with live SH-101 and Moog Prodigy, and plenty of live Ableton loop manipulations.
Is always nice to get the rig out there and playing live, doesn’t happen often enough. (Book me now!)
The visuals I’d prepared, but completely forgot to show on the night; few too many other things to organise and worry about!
It was a great evening and I’d like to say a huge thanks to everyone who came down that night and bought books, talked synth and generally hung out with me and fellow synth fans!
Synth Evolution on BBC National Radio!
A quick humble brag from me to say that I was on BBC 5Live Drive Time last week, as part of their ‘Synthpop September’ celebrations (Synthtember?). I was asked to give a brief history of the synth o
Click the image below to listen!
It’s a very brief interview of only a couple of minutes, but was great to be asked - I do know a thing or two about the synth, after all!
And yes, it was a classic case of I needed to be somewhere that night, so it was done from the back of a cab en route. So very glamorous! (Except I made us late for our destination as we had to pull over for the duration of the interview and a good few minutes beforehand, so both travelling companion and cab driver were pretty cross with me! All worth it in the name of Synth Fact Dissemination!
Me on da radio!
Click to hear me covering synth history in brief!
Can AI replace me?
I wondered if my Synth Evolution project would be under threat if OpenAI & the Dall-E service could generate the beautiful hand-illustrated synth images I make. (Laboriously, and by human hand!).
Luckily it turns out - no, no it can’t.
I used the phrase ‘an outline illustration of a Moog Minimoog synthesizer in black and white’ and this is what we got:
I mean, they’re quite pretty, but if you actually wanted an illustration of a Minimoog, it’s completely useless!
So, think I’m safe for a while!
Chat-GPT because of course...
Well, of course I had to ask Chat GPT to tell me the history of synthesizers from the early hardware machines to the latest digital instruments to see how good and/or accurate it would be.. This is what it said:
“The history of the synthesizer dates back to the early 20th century, when inventors such as Thaddeus Cahill and Leon Theremin developed early electronic instruments. However, it was not until the 1960s that the modern synthesizer began to take shape.
The first true synthesizer was the RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer, which was built in 1957. It was a massive, room-sized machine that used vacuum tubes to generate sound. However, it was not until the development of the first modular synthesizers in the 1960s that the technology became widely available.
The first modular synthesizers were built by pioneers such as Robert Moog, Don Buchla, and Serge Tcherepnin. These early systems consisted of separate modules that could be connected together to create a custom sound synthesis system. They were typically controlled with patch cords, which were used to route signals between the various modules.
The 1970s saw the rise of polyphonic synthesizers, which were capable of producing multiple notes at once. These instruments used digital technology to store and recall patches, making them much easier to use than the early modular systems. The most famous example of a polyphonic synthesizer from this era is probably the Prophet-5, which was introduced by Sequential Circuits in 1978.
The 1980s saw the introduction of digital synthesizers, which used digital signal processing (DSP) to generate sounds. These instruments were capable of producing a wider range of sounds than their analog counterparts, and they were often more affordable as well. The most famous example of a digital synthesizer from this era is probably the Yamaha DX7, which was introduced in 1983.
In the 1990s and 2000s, synthesizers became increasingly integrated with computer technology. Software synthesizers became popular, allowing musicians to create and manipulate sounds entirely within their computer. However, hardware synthesizers have remained popular as well, with companies such as Roland, Korg, and Mo”
And there it ended, mid-’Moog’. The thing seemed to have crashed or frozen, so I’m not sure how much further it would have got.
But, you know, it’s pretty amazing. Nothing there is ‘wrong’ as such. It is indeed a reasonable overview of the history of the synthesizer. If you were a non-expert and wanted a quick ‘Wiki’ style summary, I think you’d have got the gist.
Of course, as synthesizer enthusiasts, we could note that some people consider the Hammond Novachord (1948) the first true synthesizer (but it’s also true the RCA gave us the word synthesizer). And we could point out the synopsis misses the the analogue monosynths of the early 70s, how they were so much more compact and affordable than the great modular beasts of the 1960s.
And very possibly it would have gone on to note the rise of the Eurorack modular scene of the last twenty years as well.
For the full and detailed story I tell in my book, (‘Synthesizer Evolution’, (Velocity Press, 2021)), I’m not so sure it would be possible; or you’d have to ask it so many prompt questions (and fact checking) you may as well write it yourself in the first place.
But as a brief dabble - I’m suitably impressed!
2022 Round-up
A slightly belated round-up of Synth Evolution activities from 2022. (Had a bit of flu at the end of last year which somewhat knocked me for six, hence the delay.)
Sill, last year was quite productive, now I look back at it - so a big thanks to all Synth Evolution customers whose support, interest and purchases keep me motivated to make and sell the best synth related products I possibly can. I love you all!
POSTERS
A refreshed set of colours to my best-selling core product - the Greatest Hits of Synth poster - now in blueprint blue, racing green, alongside re-prints of the black and white versions. I do love the green version! :-)
I was hugely honoured to be asked by the Alan R Pearlman Foundation to design the 50th Anniversary poster for the beyond-legendary ARP Odyssey. I was only too happy to oblige, basing this design on a vintage advert, but updating it with some great quotes from selected artists, musicians and producers declaring their love this instrument. A lovely project to work on and resulting in a splendid celebration of this classic synth:
I branched out into posters featuring a single synth for the fans of any one particular synth. Available in A4/A3 sizes or as digital downloads, I can produce these to order to feature any of the 500 or so synths I have illustrations for!
T-SHIRTS
Following 2021’s highly successful and enjoyable ‘World Cup of Synths’ collaboration with ‘We Are 1 of 100 T-shirts’, I approached them with a new idea focussing on synth oscillators. I think we came up with super-cool designs celebrating both the synths themselves in a novel and - splendidly nerdish way!
Did I mention we got a cease and desist from Moog Music by not thinking through the implications of using the Moog logo? Whoops! Luckily we got permission from the ARP Foundation to use the logo on this glorious artifact below:
https://weare1of100.co.uk/clothing/all-t-shirts/t-shirts/oscillator-champion-2022-oli-freke/
We also made a splendid ARP Odyssey t-shirt to accompany the poster:
https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org/product/50-year-odyssey-tee-shirt/
Calendar
Following of from the collaboration with the Alan R Pearlman Foundation with the Odyssey’s 50th Anniversary poster, it was great to see the illustration used in their 2023 Calendar - available to purcahse right now for the year ahead…
SYNTHfest uk
The first in-person SynthFestUK since lockdown took place in October 2022 and it was wonderful to catch up with old friends and make new ones after a two year hiatus. As ever Synth Evolution hosted a stand and sold plenty of books, posters, mugs and t-shirts. Thanks to all those customers and it was great to chat with everyone there, customer or not. I was able to slip away to see Paul Wiffen’s splendid talk featuring the Elka Synthex (Jarre’s laser harp) and the E-Mu 50th anniversary talk by Tony Wride of Exclusively Analogue.
Synth Evolution stand at SynthFestUK 2022
synthtrax.net
I created a Wiki site to log all the verifiable uses of synths in every track ever made. Yes, that was a bit crazy ambitious, but it’s up and running and I had some enjoyable research sessions fleshing out the Moog Minimoog, ARP 2600, Roland Jupiter 8, and many more. Check it out, and help out - it’s an open Wiki and I would welcome any dedicated collaborators :-)
Music
As well as all the Synth Evolution products and activities, I also produce electronic music with synths (unsurprisingly!) In 2022 I released three techno EPs which I think get the balance right between hardness, funk, groove, melody, arrangement and is in-keeping with the genre’s heritage. Well, I would say that of course, wouldn’t I?
2023
So, what about 2023 then? Well, all things being equal, it’d be great to create a new poster or two. I haven’t really thought what that could be yet, but I’m sure it will be some combination of hand-illustrated vintage synthesizers combined with a view of their place in musical and tech history.! I’d also love to follow up 2020’s Synth Evolution book, and I have some ideas that could similarly grab the imagination of synth fans everywhere. And of course, bang out some more banging techno! Hopefully get to do some PAs too…watch all these spaces, and more!
New T-shirts Available! Champion Oscillators!
'The results are in! The synth community have spoken and pronounced the ARP 2600 as their favourite oscillator! Second and third place were extremely close - The Roland SH-101 and Moog Minimoog only differing by two votes, but the SH-101 just nudges it.
Order your favourite(s) now from WeAre1of100 T-Shirts:
Buy Now!
Thanks to everyone who took part, debated the options and their merits - it was a lot of fun to watch the vote unfold. And because it was so close... we're offering the top three to pre-order!
Completing the vote ranking, the Roland Jupiter 8 was in fourth place, and Yamaha DX7 closed it out in fifth. A commentary on the enduring popularity of vintage analogue compared with still-hard-to-program digital FM synthesis, perhaps?
So, the screen-printing presses will roar into action after pre-orders close in around 7 days for these triumphant designs.
Stay tuned! (oscillator puns for the win!)
Champion Oscillator T-shirt Comp - you decide!
One lucky entrant will win one of the latest range of t-shirts to be created in Synth Evolution’s latest collaboration with 1of100 T-shirts! But first we have to decide which designs we’re going to make!
Introducing the Champion of Oscillators t-shirt competition!
Go here >> https://twitter.com/weare1of100/status/1569398470389243905 <<
After last year's World Cup of Synth which named the Roland TB-303 the greatest synth of all time comes weare1of100 T-shirts latest collaboration with Synth Evolution: Champion Oscillators Competition.
This time we take a deep dive into the beating heart of any synthesizer - the oscillator.
What is a synth but a sound-generating tool, and what exists in each and every single synth that makes that sound? The oscillator! Over the years there have been analogue oscillators, digital oscillators, FM oscillators and more. Not only are they the sound source, but to enable their control they have been represented in many ways on the front panel, and each of those case designs are miniature works of art in our opinion!
Synth Evolution and 1of100 T-shirts have selected five of the finest synths and created t-shirt designs from the control panels. It's fascinating to see how the design and evolution of synth is reflected by the type of waveforms available and the era of graphic design from which it dates.
There is definite truth to the idea that beauty of form comes from clarity of purpose!
The synths chosen are:
ARP 2600: the earliest synth on the list (1971). The Model 2600 was ARP's breakthrough synth following the limited production run Model 2500. Being a semi-modular synthesizer, each of the three oscillators can be patched to output one of two waveforms - sawtooth and pulse. These can be modulated by four sources, as shown by the four arrows (for Pitch, S/H, Envelope, Oscillator 2). The design is a classic of 1960s’ functional screen-print design, and is replicated three times on the synth itself for each of the three oscillators.
Moog Minimoog: The next classic on the list is the first and greatest monosynth of the 1970s, the Minimoog. Unlike the ARP, it's a fully wired beast (no patch cables here!), so the oscillator selector is a simple rotary dial to enable the choice of waveform. There are six to choose from - which is several more than the usual two or three - and are: Triangle, Tri/saw, Sawtooth, Square, Pulse 1, Pulse 2. Worth noting is that at the heart of each of the Minimoog's three oscillators is a basic sawtooth generator with waveshaping circuits for the different waveforms. it’s also noted for overdriving the filter input giving it its legendary sound. Again the design itself is a simple functional affair, enabling the user to easily select the desired sound.
Roland SH-101: A 1980s take on the monosynth. By now components had miniaturised and were more power efficient -to the extent that the SH-101 could be run from batteries. The SH-101's oscillator design feature Roland's standard graduated faders and this portion of the oscillator features the octave selector (still measured in 'organ pipe’ foot-lengths), the pulse-width selector and pulse-width modulation sources.
Roland Jupiter 8: the first polysynth on the list, the Jupiter 8's oscillators strip things back to the classic selection of triangle, sawtooth, variable pulse and square wave. Cross-modulation from VCO2 can be added, again through use of one of Roland's distinctive faders with the detailed graduations. Each of the eight voices of the Jupiter 8 had the benefit of two oscillators making for a ground-breakingly rich sound that's still sought after today.
Yamaha DX7: Unlike the previous four synths, the DX7 featured the breakthrough digital technology of frequency modulation. The DX7's oscillators don't generate 'analogues' of waveforms, they calculate interactions between multiple of them and are known as 'operators'. As such, each DX7 voice can be made of up to six of these 'operators' and each can modulate the other in various configurations of 'carriers' and 'modulators'. This design shows just one of the 32 configurations (algorithms) that these six operators can be arranged in.
We think any of these designs would make for a great t-shirt, but we can't make all five of them (sadly!). Therefore we invite you to vote for your favourite(s) on Twitter. The top two will then be made into T-shirts for purchase. We can't wait to see which will top the the Oscillators challenge!
Vangelis RIP
It’s impossible to try and cover this incredible musician’s life and works in one inconsequential blog in one random corner of the internet, but as an electronic musician, synth obsessive and electronic music fan, I can’t let the passing of this uniquely gifted individual go unmentioned.
For me - Vangelis was one of my main portals into both the joys of electronic music and of music itself. His albums were on constant repeat in my formative years (along with Jarre and Kraftwerk), and his ability to create warmth, emotion and depth from (mainly) electronic instruments inspired me to follow in that musical direction. And I’ve also enjoyed playing his music on the piano and synths, as much as listening to the recorded work, and will always do so.
To have touched so many people with one’s music must be the goal of any musician, and Vangelis has touched more millions that I can imagine. He may be gone, but his music lives on.
Vangelis
SynthTrax - all the tracks featuring the synths
So, I’ve kicked off a new project; one which can never be completed and is crazy to even contemplate - a database logging all verfied examples of specific synths in famous tracks (or not so famous). Here it is:
There will be a page for each synth, with a brief description of that synth, and then a list of notable artists who’ve used it on particuarly notable songs - eg, everyone knows that Herbie Hancock used the ARP Odyssey on his classic track ‘Chameleon’ - so that’s at the top of the page under ‘Archetypal use’ of the synth.
Then there’s embedded YouTube vids linking to the exact place where the synth can be heard. Eg - here’s Chick Corea solo’ing on his Odyssey:
Chick Corea trading licks with Bill Connolly
Below that is a short table of songs with YouTube links.
But the true madness of this idea lies in the database itself - an ever expanding log of ‘everything’. And here that is:
The key point about all this is that it is not yet another cheap listacle of ‘famous songs that use X’. In my experience - and this is true even of Wikipedia - most of these citations are completely unverified; there’s no link to the source or verifiable reference. So we’re just left with a load of recycled ‘internet common knowledge’, which is unreliable, could be wrong, and doesn’t add much to our pool of knowledge.
The SynthTrax database will be different. Every entry must be accompanied by a verifiable reference so that we can be as sure as possible that the synth was used on that track. The references I’m currently considering acceptable are:
Sleeve notes
Quotes from interviews in reputable journals
Videos or photographs
Advertisements (up to a point – paid promotion doesn’t guarantee usage on a song/album)
Of course, even these can be wrong on occasion, but it’s better than blindly repeating a random claim off some music forum!
Why do this at all, eh? Well, good point. I guess it’s because I love synths and the sounds they make; but even the best synthesizer is only really meaningful in terms of the music that musicians make with them. And I personally find it fascinating to see how the various synths influenced the music scene of the time, and this project will reflect and highlight that. (And even a short time into this process, I’ve already discovered some great music that I’d previously overlooked. ‘George Duke, where have you been all my life??!’ (Notable Minimoog virtuoso!)
For example - I’ve started with the Moog Minimoog and ARP Odyssey, the best selling monosynths of the 1970s. So, unsurprisingly the best example songs feature funky (funky) basslines and searing lead solos usually in a rock or funk band context. But when I come to do the Yamaha DX7, things will have morphed into mainstream pop and soul and heavy use of that electric piano sound!
So I hope to share that process of discovery of great music, and a deeper understanding of how synths shaped and influenced music history.
One last note - this is a bonkers project, and one that should probably be made an open-source project, just as ‘Who Sampled Who’ is; ideally I need someone who knows how to manage databases properly too! The Notion one I ‘m using is fine, but it would be better to have the grid behind the scene and have nicer web front end to it. Enquire within if you’re interested!
Now go and check it out!
Synth Evolution - Live!
https://velocitypress.uk/events/tape-leaders-x-synth-evolution/
Come to The Social on Monday 8th November to hear author Ian Helliwell discuss his new book with me. ‘Tape Leaders’ is an exciting compendium of British tape and synthesizer composers, and the night will kick off with a documentary film on the subject by Ian - and close with a live techno set from me! (Expect some vintage synths to be doing the business!)
“Celebrating the launch of Tape Leaders and the first anniversary of Synth Evolution, we present an evening of books, films, talks and live music at The Social.
Doors open at 7 pm and for the first hour you can hear the Tape Leaders compilation that features 15 tracks of mainly unreleased early British tape and synthesizer works.
Tape Leaders author Ian Helliwell has a back catalogue of over 150 short films, and at 8pm he’ll show a selection of them that highlight his use of electronic music. The content of his films includes abstraction, direct animation, found footage, collage and documentary – all of which will be seen in this programme.
At 9 pm Ian Helliwell will be in conversation with Synthesizer Evolution author Oli Freke.
Oli Freke will then close the night by performing a live techno set blending his collection of vintage synths with modern modular equipment to create an evolving mix of electronic beats, bleeps and melodies. With a nod to early Detroit and modern styles, it should get any floor moving.”
Mixmag Article - 10 Most Influential Synths of all time
I’ve just written a lovely long article about the ten most influential synths of all time for esteemed dance magazine Mixmag. Some synths are the ones you might expect - TB-303, Alpha-Juno, and some you might not… the RKA Sound Synthesizer MKII from 1957? Why? You’ll have to read the article to find out!
https://mixmag.net/feature/the-10-most-influential-synths-of-all-time
SYNTH WORLD CUP - THE STATS!
Everyone knows the best thing about a World Cup is poring over the stats. Here are the final results from last week’s Synth World Cup, which received over 3,000 votes, to enjoy.
(Full report on this link: https://www.synthevolution.net/blog/2021/3/9/synth-world-cup-the-finals)
Synth World Cup - The Finals!!
We have a winner!
The Roland TB-303 has been crowned the 2021 winner of the inaugural Synth World Cup!
And we have a Synth World Cup t-shirt to celebrate!
All the synths from the quarter finals now available on a Special Edition 1 of 100 t-shirt - buy yours now!
WeAre1of100.co.uk/t-shirts/synth-world-cup-2021/
Moog Minimoog Model D
v
Roland TB-303
The finals saw the meeting of two quite different monosynths. On the one hand was the solid favourite - the Minimoog. Launched in 1970 it was immediately hailed as a breakthrough synthesizer. Most synths prior were huge modular beasts the size of cabinets. The Minimoog minituarised these into a form factor that sounded just as good, but was portable and much more reliable. It’s been a classic for over fifty years and helped popularise synthesizers and electronic music over the course of the 1970s.
By contrast, the Roland TB-303 arrived at a time when the monosynth was a standard instrument in bands, and good polysynths were also becoming more widely available. Launched in 1981, the now familiar legend of the 303 played out: it was a flop at launch, only to be picked up cheaply by Chicago house music producers. The track ‘Acid Tracks’ by Phuture was then released in 1987 to change the face of dance music forever.
The battle then was between a solid synthesizer that could slot into all kinds of electronic music, from funk, pop, rock, avant-garde and pure electronic music, and one that could really only do one thing - but was a thing that no other synth can truly do, and was responsible for one of the most significant music revolutions of the late 20th century.
In the end it was the 303, the acid-house instigator, that took the crown. Not a result that I think many would have predicted at the start of the championships, but is certainly the result we have, and one that will continue to provoke debate for some time to come!
The final poll and result on Twitter: https://twitter.com/weare1of100/status/1370303071969017856
The story of the Synth World Cup
Thirty two synths started the competition on Monday - all the expected heavy hitters were there - the Minimoog, the Prophet 5, the CS-80, the Jupiter 8, alongside some quirky left-of-centre entries to ensure balance and fairness - the Octave Cat, the Oscar, the Crumar Bit One (!) amongst them.
Round 1 soon saw the sorting of the wheat from the chaff - going through were the ARP Odyssey, Minimoog, DX7, Juno 106, Jupiter 8, ARP 2600, Korg MS-20, Synclavier, D-50, Prophet 5, SH-101, M1, Moog Modular, TB-303 and Fairlight CMI. No real surprises there - classics all, with their places assured in history regardless. Admittedly, this was at the cost of some that might have been expected to get through - no CS-80, despite Vangelis’ best efforts on Bladerunner in 1981.
There was little love for those revolutionary analogue-modelling synths of the 1990s, the Access Virus and Novation Supernova. At the time these were a revelation of polyphony, sound and reliability. But not so fashionable now, clearly. Perhaps they didn’t have enough of an ‘identity sound’ to fall in love with or the unpredictable ‘charm’ of real analogue.
Bye-bye also to most of the quirky mono synths - OSCar, EMS VCS-3, Octave Cat, Korg Mono/Poly. So far, nothing too shocking! (Though I was sad not to see the Buchla Music Easel get through, representing as it does a more experimental approach to electronic music making).
Round 2 got a bit more serious and proved that analogue will always beat digital for a place in people’s hearts. The DX7, for all its digital shimmer and impact on launch in 1983, couldn’t hold a candle to the Minimoog. The D-50 - the DX7’s digital successor in 1987 - lost decisively to the comparatively poorly specified SH-101. The Prophet 5 easily dispatched the later digital workstation Korg M1 with two thirds of the vote.
And the Jupiter 8 made short work of the Synclavier. (Yes - the Synclavier did help kick start the sampling revolution, but it was ridonkulously expensive and out of reach of normal people. One 16MB card, for example, would cost you £15k!). The other super-expensive early sampler, the Fairlight CMI, lost decisively against the Moog Modular.
Match 3 between the Juno 106 and the ARP Odyssey was harder to predict, and I personally thought that the warm analogue polyphony of the Juno would see off the more limited Odyssey. But I was wrong - there’s clearly a lot of love for the Odyssey out there! Korg MS-20 vs ARP 2600 was quite close - 43% vs 57% to the ARP in the end; both very capable semi-modular synths, separated by a decade; the unruly model 2600 getting more appreciation in the end. And finally the TB-303 said goodbye to the EMS VCS-3 - farewell plucky UK semi-modular!
Quarter Finals
It was now time to make some hard choices with some definite ‘matches of death’. By co-incidence there were two matches featuring two synths from the very same company. So ARP fans had to choose between the 2600 - voice of R2D2! - and the Odyssey - a great little monosynth which has featured on many a great track (Stevie Wonder’s, ‘In the City’; Herbie Hancock’s ‘Chameleon’, amongst them). But it went quite decisively in favour of the Odyssey - 65% to 35%. Again - I think this was a bit of an upset! The 2600 was a legendary semi-modular that went through three iterations - the ‘blue marvin’ amongst them. Despite The Edge using one to get his legendary guitar tone with it’s filters and onboard spring reverb, it just wasn’t enough!
Similarly, Roland fans had to choose between the TB-303 and SH-101 - and yep, the 303 got its way with a similar margin of success. The other two quarter finals saw Moog dominate. The Minimoog and Jupiter 8 couldn’t have been closer - it was 51% to 49% in the Minimoog’s favour. A hard - ney, impossible - choice to be sure. By amazing co-incidence, the fourth quarter final also saw a Moog monosynth (the modular) up against another classic early 80s polysynth - this time the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5. Again the mono beat the poly - and the Modular went through fairly comfortably - 54% to 46%.
Semi-Finals
After the heart-wrenching decisions of the previous days voting, the semi-finals were real crunch time: two Moogs against each other - the original Moog Modulars vs the later simplified hardwired Minimoog. It had to be the Minimoog really, and indeed it was, with a winning margin of 20%. In the second semi-final, the ARP Odyssey’s luck had run out - and it was fairly decisively crushed by the TB-303 - 71% to 29%. To be honest, I think the Odyssey had a bit of lucky route through the World Cup - I’m not sure it should really have come ahead of those great poly synths, the Jupiter 8 and the Prophet 5 in the quarters for a start! But that’s the fun of a World Cup and the hard choices we have to live with!
THE FINALS
Two monosynths pitted against each other. Who would have predicted that? One is responsible for 30 years of genre-busting dance music, and the other was instrumental (pun intended?) in convincing the world that synths were real musical instruments and had a place in popular music as well as in the emerging electronic music scenes.
In the end, the world’s love affair with acid-house and respect for the machine that drove won the day! Well done Roland TB-303!
My favourite Tweet from the competition was the one below from Hardfloor - I wonder which way they voted?!
THE EIGHT SYNTHS FROM THE QUARTER FINALS
TO NOW FEATURE ON A BRAND
NEW SPECIAL EDITION 1OF100 T-SHIRT!
Roland TB-303 (1982)
Analogue / Mono / 1 VCO
The machine that kick-started the acid house revolution in 1986 with Phuture's, 'Acid Tracks’, debuted by DJ Ron Hardy at The Music Box, Chicago. Not many one-oscillator monosynths with only two waveforms have single handedly formed the back-bone of dance music for over thirty years…
Moog Minimoog Model D (1970)
Analogue / Mono / 3 VCOs
One of the most iconic synths ever made; offering the essence of Moog’s modular synths in a 'mini' hardwired form. Gary Numan cites hearing one at the Spaceward studio in the mid-1970s as being the moment that changed The Tubeway Army into a synthesizer focussed band. Another great example - Parliament, ‘Flashlight' (1978).
Moog Modular (900 series) (1964 - 1970)
Analogue / Modular / 3-7 Oscillators
Between 1964 and 1970 Moog Instruments made a series of modular synthesizers using the 900 series of oscillators, filters, LFOs and more. These had a profound effect on the development of electronic music and the use of synthesizers in popular music, starting with Wendy Carlos' 'Switched on Bach' (1968).
ARP Odyssey (1972)
Analogue / Mono/Duo / 2 Oscillators
A relative simple, but powerful monosynth that could be used in duophonic mode. Used by many musicians over the years including Peter Powell for the iconic Dr Who theme tune in 1980.
Roland Jupiter 8 (1981)
Analogue / 8 note polyphony / 2 VCOs per voice
One of the classic polysynths of the analogue era and still much sought after today for its rich analogue tones and playability. Queen, 'Radio Ga Ga' (bassline, pads)
ARP 2600 (1971)
Analogue / Monophonic / 3 oscillators
Contributing to ARP's dominance of the 1970s synth market, the Model 2600 was a powerful synthesizer that came with a built-in reverb and sequencer. Was the 'voice' of R2D2 as performed by sound designer Ben Burtt.
Moog Modular (900 series) (1964 - 1970)
Analogue / Modular / 3-7 Oscillators
Between 1964 and 1970 Moog Instruments made a series of modular synthesizers using the 900 series of oscillators, filters, LFOs and more. These had a profound effect on the development of electronic music and the use of synthesizers in popular music, starting with Wendy Carlos' 'Switched on Bach' (1968).
Roland SH-101 (1982)
Analogue / Mono / 2 VCOs + sub
A relatively simple, but great sounding and influential monosynth of the 1980s. Put to great use on the track 'Voodoo Ray' by A Guy Called Gerald (1988).
Synth World Cup - Semi-Finals!
DAY 4 of the SYNTH WORLD CUP
SEMI-FINALS!
The last two days have seen the thirty-two starting synths whittled down to just eight over rounds one and two. They will now face each other in the four quarter-finals. Which will reach the semi-finals?!
Vote now: https://twitter.com/weare1of100
Semi Final 1: Moog Minimoog Model D vs Moog Modular
Semi Final 2: ARP Odyssey vs Roland TB-303
Previous rounds and all synth info here:
https://www.synthevolution.net/blog/2021/3/3/vintage-synth-world-cup
The quarter finals saw the Minimoog just beat the Jupiter 8 and it couldn’t have been closer - 50.5% v 49.5%. The classic mono / poly divide - some people like chords and some people like basslines in equal measure.
Quarter Final 2 saw a surprising upset - two ARPs facing each other - and the Odyssey, amazingly, beat the 2600. This was a surprise to me, at least. The 2600 was the first major ARP instrument released and was a breakthrough semi-modular that influenced a generation. Whilst the Odyssey was a more conventional monosynth (more accurately a duosynth). I guess I feel the 2600 was more groundbreaking for its time, whilst Odyssey represents a more standardised form. Obviously it sounds great though, and demonstrably has many fans out there!
Quarter Final 3 saw another major monosynth, the Moog Modular, beat another classic polysynth, the Prophet 5. Another tough choice, but you all went for the original modular synthesizer that kicked off the electronic music revolution in 1964. Fair enough!
Quarter Final 4 was Roland v Roland, and probably no surprise to see the acid house legend TB-303 beat the equally classic SH-101. As fine as the SH-101 is, it isn’t single-handedly responsible for multiple genres like acid house, acid techno, acid trance, etc…
So - some equally tough choices for the semi-finals - get voting!
EIGHT SYNTHS FROM QUARTER FINALS
TO NOW FEATURE ON A BRAND
NEW SPECIAL EDITION 1OF100 T-SHIRT!
SEMI FINAL 1
Moog Minimoog Model D (1970)
Analogue / Mono / 3 VCOs
One of the most iconic synths ever made; offering the essence of Moog’s modular synths in a 'mini' hardwired form. Gary Numan cites hearing one at the Spaceward studio in the mid-1970s as being the moment that changed The Tubeway Army into a synthesizer focussed band. Another great example - Parliament, ‘Flashlight' (1978).
Moog Modular (900 series) (1964 - 1970)
Analogue / Modular / 3-7 Oscillators
Between 1964 and 1970 Moog Instruments made a series of modular synthesizers using the 900 series of oscillators, filters, LFOs and more. These had a profound effect on the development of electronic music and the use of synthesizers in popular music, starting with Wendy Carlos' 'Switched on Bach' (1968).
SEMI FINAL 2
ARP Odyssey (1972)
Analogue / Duophonic / 2 Oscillators
A relative simple, but powerful monosynth that could be used in duophonic mode. Used by many musicians over the years including Peter Powell for the iconic Dr Who theme tune in 1980.
Roland TB-303 (1982)
Analogue / Mono / 1 VCO
The machine that kick-started the acid house revolution in 1986 with Phuture's, 'Acid Tracks’, debuted by DJ Ron Hardy at The Music Box, Chicago. Not many one-oscillator monosynths with only two waveforms have single handedly formed the back-bone of dance music for over thirty years…
Synth World Cup - Quarter Finals!
DAY 3 of the SYNTH WORLD CUP
QUARTER FINALS!
Day 4 - semi-finals are here: https://www.synthevolution.net/blog/2021/3/9/synth-world-cup-semi-finals
The last two days have seen the thirty-two starting synths whittled down to just eight over rounds one and two. They will now face each other in the four quarter-finals. Which will reach the semi-finals?!
Vote now: https://twitter.com/weare1of100
Quarter Final 1: Moog Minimoog Model D vs Roland Jupiter 8
Quarter Final 2: ARP Odyssey vs ARP 2600
Quarter Final 3: Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 vs Moog Modular
Quarter Final 4: Roland SH-101 vs Roland TB-303
Previous rounds and all synth info here:
https://www.synthevolution.net/blog/2021/3/3/vintage-synth-world-cup
THESE EIGHT SYNTHS TO NOW FEATURE ON A BRAND
NEW SPECIAL EDITION 1OF100 T-SHIRT!
QUARTER FINAL 1
Moog Minimoog Model D (1970)
Analogue / Mono / 3 VCOs
One of the most iconic synths ever made; offering the essence of Moog’s modular synths in a 'mini' hardwired form. Gary Numan cites hearing one at the Spaceward studio in the mid-1970s as being the moment that changed The Tubeway Army into a synthesizer focussed band. Another great example - Parliament, ‘Flashlight' (1978).
Roland Jupiter 8 (1981)
Analogue / 8 note polyphony / 2 VCOs per voice
One of the classic polysynths of the analogue era and still much sought after today for its rich analogue tones and playability. Queen, 'Radio Ga Ga' (bassline, pads)
QUARTER FINAL 2
ARP 2600 (1971)
Analogue / Monophonic / 3 oscillators
Contributing to ARP's dominence of the 1970s synth market, the Model 2600 was a powerful synthesizer that came with a built-in reverb and sequencer. Was the 'voice' of R2D2 as performed by sound designer Ben Burtt.
ARP Odyssey (1972)
Analogue / Duophonic / 2 Oscillators
A relative simple, but powerful monosynth that could be used in duophonic mode. Used by many musicians over the years including Peter Powell for the iconic Dr Who theme tune in 1980.
QUARTER FINAL 3
Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 (1978)
Analogue / 5 note polyphony / 2 VCOs per voice
The first polyphonic synth with full patch memory, an incredible sound, and relatively affordable for the time. It's great hard-sync sound can be heard on the The Cars, 'Let's Go' (1979).
Moog Modular (900 series) (1964 - 1970)
Analogue / Modular / 3-7 Oscillators
Between 1964 and 1970 Moog Instruments made a series of modular synthesizers using the 900 series of oscillators, filters, LFOs and more. These had a profound effect on the development of electronic music and the use of synthesizers in popular music, starting with Wendy Carlos' 'Switched on Bach' (1968).
QUARTER FINAL 4
Roland SH-101 (1982)
Analogue / Mono / 2 VCOs + sub
A relatively simple, but great sounding and influential monosynth of the 1980s. Put to great use on the track 'Voodoo Ray' by A Guy Called Gerald (1988).
Roland TB-303 (1982)
Analogue / Mono / 1 VCO
The machine that kick-started the acid house revolution in 1986 with Phuture's, 'Acid Tracks’, debuted by DJ Ron Hardy at The Music Box, Chicago. Not many one-oscillator monosynths with only two waveforms have single handedly formed the back-bone of dance music for over thirty years…