Awash in a Sea of Synthy Goodness
I know previously I said I'd be talking about the new PC I'm building, but instead, I'm gonna talk about another hobby of mine...Synthesizers. And so as not to create a mega-post, which I'm sure this would be, I'll break it up into chapters, with each chapter being a separate post. Don't want to bore you too much all at once, eh. Here we go then.
I've always been fascinated by synthesizers. My first contact was back in the early/mid 70s at a local music store a friend of my Dad's owned
Here it is, the Roland SH-1000, Roland's very first synth. It doesn't look like much by today's standards, but back then it was big news, mainly because of its compact size and relatively low price. The presets sounded crappy, but it was great for tweaking. My favorite thing was to create sound of a 'copter in flight. I never did own one, but I got to mess with it as much as I wanted. I was sooo bummed when he closed the shop.
My second foray into synth-land was via a Wurlitzer organ my Ma bought for me with the intent that I would learn to play and make it a career, a fact I didn't learn about until years later. Apparently, she took the time I spent at the music store and the Wurlitzer store in Southland (local mall) as a desire to play professionally. No, I just liked messing with the organs, especially the ones with built-in synthesizers. So naturally when she asked if I'd like to have an organ, I said "sure". And so we ended up with this...
This is a Wurlitzer 4037(I think) with an Orbit III synthesizer on the top row. This one's missing the cassette tape deck, but otherwise it's just like the one we used to have. If you thought the SH-1000 looked limited, the Orbit III was even more so, with just as cheesy presets as the Roland. But, it was a synth and I learned all the possible ways to make sounds with it, which didn't take too long. To justify the money Ma paid for it, I did take organ lessons for awhile and learned a few pieces, including my fav organ piece, Bach's "Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor". Unfortunately, I never did learn "Teco Teco". OK, onward.
In 1986 I moved into my own apartment. One of the things I wanted to do was buy a real, honest-to-goodness synth. By pure luck I wasn't too far from a music shop that carried all kinds of electronic goodies, most of which were too rich for my blood. However, I did come across a cute little number that, hopefully, would satisfy my drumming desires (I like drums, too).
This is the Roland TR-707 Rhythm Composer. In simpler terms, a drum machine. These are normally used in conjunction with other electronic instruments, like synths, but can be used on its own to create all kinds of rhythms using actual sounds of various percussion instruments. It was cool but isn't the same as playing the real thing. I ended up selling it. In retrospect I should've kept it and used it when I got my next synth, but I was still learning and didn't realize I could do that.
And speaking of my next synth...
Isn't she a beauty! this is the Fender/Rhodes Chroma Polaris (even the name sounds impressive). I picked this up in '87 at the same store I got the TR-707, This was my first REAL synthesizer, and what a monster it was. You should've seen me cart this thing home on the bus; not fun. Outside of that this was an awesome instrument. I held on to it for a few years before selling it shortly before I moved. Today, these are considered somewhat rare as F/R only made two synthesizer models.
Enough for now. To be continued...
I've always been fascinated by synthesizers. My first contact was back in the early/mid 70s at a local music store a friend of my Dad's owned
Here it is, the Roland SH-1000, Roland's very first synth. It doesn't look like much by today's standards, but back then it was big news, mainly because of its compact size and relatively low price. The presets sounded crappy, but it was great for tweaking. My favorite thing was to create sound of a 'copter in flight. I never did own one, but I got to mess with it as much as I wanted. I was sooo bummed when he closed the shop.
My second foray into synth-land was via a Wurlitzer organ my Ma bought for me with the intent that I would learn to play and make it a career, a fact I didn't learn about until years later. Apparently, she took the time I spent at the music store and the Wurlitzer store in Southland (local mall) as a desire to play professionally. No, I just liked messing with the organs, especially the ones with built-in synthesizers. So naturally when she asked if I'd like to have an organ, I said "sure". And so we ended up with this...
This is a Wurlitzer 4037(I think) with an Orbit III synthesizer on the top row. This one's missing the cassette tape deck, but otherwise it's just like the one we used to have. If you thought the SH-1000 looked limited, the Orbit III was even more so, with just as cheesy presets as the Roland. But, it was a synth and I learned all the possible ways to make sounds with it, which didn't take too long. To justify the money Ma paid for it, I did take organ lessons for awhile and learned a few pieces, including my fav organ piece, Bach's "Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor". Unfortunately, I never did learn "Teco Teco". OK, onward.
In 1986 I moved into my own apartment. One of the things I wanted to do was buy a real, honest-to-goodness synth. By pure luck I wasn't too far from a music shop that carried all kinds of electronic goodies, most of which were too rich for my blood. However, I did come across a cute little number that, hopefully, would satisfy my drumming desires (I like drums, too).
This is the Roland TR-707 Rhythm Composer. In simpler terms, a drum machine. These are normally used in conjunction with other electronic instruments, like synths, but can be used on its own to create all kinds of rhythms using actual sounds of various percussion instruments. It was cool but isn't the same as playing the real thing. I ended up selling it. In retrospect I should've kept it and used it when I got my next synth, but I was still learning and didn't realize I could do that.
And speaking of my next synth...
Isn't she a beauty! this is the Fender/Rhodes Chroma Polaris (even the name sounds impressive). I picked this up in '87 at the same store I got the TR-707, This was my first REAL synthesizer, and what a monster it was. You should've seen me cart this thing home on the bus; not fun. Outside of that this was an awesome instrument. I held on to it for a few years before selling it shortly before I moved. Today, these are considered somewhat rare as F/R only made two synthesizer models.
Enough for now. To be continued...