Synclavier I

The Synclavier System was an early digital synthesizer and sampler, manufactured by New England Digital. First released in 1975, it proved to be highly influential among both music producers and electronic musicians, due to its versatility, its cutting-edge technology and distinctive sound. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (512x653, 98 KB) Summary Author: Jean-Bernard EMOND, Take in June 20, 2005. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (512x653, 98 KB) Summary Author: Jean-Bernard EMOND, Take in June 20, 2005. ... For other uses, see Synthesizer (disambiguation). ... An AKAI MPC2000 sampler Playing a Yamaha SU10 Sampler A sampler is an electronic music instrument closely related to a synthesizer. ... New England Digital Corp. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... In the music industry, record producer designates a person responsible for completing a master recording so that it is fit for release. ... An electronic musician is a musician who composes or plays music from synthetic sounds generated with synthesizers, samplers, drum machines or music sequencers. ...

First developed at Dartmouth College, the Synclavier was one of the first synthesizers to completely integrate digital technology. It used FM synthesis as well as sampling in order to create sounds, which were stored on large, magnetic disks. It was often referred to, by New England Digital and others, as the "tapeless studio," due to one's ability to compose and produce an entire song, solely on the Synclavier. Synclavier Systems were expensive - the highest price ever paid for one was about $500,000, although average systems were closer to about $200,000 - $300,000. Although this made it inaccessible for most musicians, it found widespread use among producers and professional recording studios, and it competed in this market with other high-end production systems, such as the Fairlight CMI. Dartmouth College is a private, coeducational university located in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. Incorporated as Trustees of Dartmouth College,[6][7] it is a member of the Ivy League and one of the nine colonial colleges founded before the American Revolution. ... Frequency modulation synthesis (or FM synthesis) is a form of audio synthesis where the timbre of a simple waveform is changed by frequency modulating it with a modulating frequency that is also in the audio range, resulting in a more complex waveform and a different-sounding tone. ... The Fairlight CMI (Computer Musical Instrument) was the first digital sampling synthesizer. ...

For the price, users got a system with custom parts, built by hand, all to the highest specifications available. Users enjoyed most of the abilities of modern PC "virtual" sound studios - recording, sequencing, playback, and disk storage. All were integrated seamlessly with the hardware, with a high degree of parallelism built into the electronics (for example, two digital to analog converters for each stereo channel of sampled sound, with analog volume control) to avoid the issues of digital mixing artifacts, latency, and heavy CPU usage that are concerns of modern PC-based studios. In these respects, the Synclavier system still surpasses modern methods. In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC or D-to-A) is a device for converting a digital (usually binary) code to an analogue signal (current, voltage or charges). ...

Two generations of the Synclavier System, the Synclavier I and the Synclavier II, were produced. Synclavier II boasted upgraded sampling capacity and memory, as well as a velocity- and pressure-sensitive keyboard. This tends to be the more commonly found, as most Synclavier I owners upgraded after the release of the Synclavier II.

New England Digital went out of business in 1991, and the Synclavier is no longer manufactured. It is, however, still in use in the recording industry, particularly among soundtrack composers and sound designers.

Notable Synclavier users

• a-ha - the album " Hunting High and Low " ( 1985 )
• Paul Simon - on Simon's 1983 album Hearts and Bones, Tom Coppola is credited for Synclavier for the following tracks: "When Numbers Get Serious," "Think Too Much (b)," "Song About the Moon" and "Think Too Much (a)," and Wells Christie is credited with Synclavier on "Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War." On his 1986 album Graceland, Paul [Simon] is credited under "Synclavier" for the following tracks: "I Know What I Know" and "Gumboots"
• Laurie Anderson - her 1984 album "Mister Heartbreak" includes visual depictions of Synclavier sound waves in the liner notes
• Chuck Hammer - Guitarchitecture recordings 1983 - 1986, and recordings with, Nile Rodgers, Duran Duran and rehearsals with Laurie Anderson
• The Cars
• Genesis - Most musicians using the Synclavier kept it in the studio. Genesis used the instrument in arena shows, which is a high accomplishment as the Synclavier is huge and power to arena stages is typically very noisy.
• Duran Duran- programmed by Chuck Hammer
• Bob Boilen - Used during production of the 'whizbang' audio track for the Smithsonian Museum of American History
• Sean Callery
• Herbie Hancock
• Jean-Luc Ponty - particularly on The Gift of Time, and presumably most of his 1980's albums.
• Alan Silvestri - in producing the score for the 1980's sci-fi film Flight of the Navigator
• Wally Badarou - keyboardist for Robert Palmer and others.
• Producer Trevor Horn - used the Synclavier on records by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Yes, and Grace Jones, among others
• Michael Jackson - particularly on his 1982 album "Thriller", programming by Steve Porcaro, Brian Banks and Anthony Marinelli. The famous gong sound at the beginning of "Beat It" comes courtesy of the Synclavier.
• Brian Mendelsohn- The Simpsons soundtrack composer, who also used it on "The Simpsons Sing The Blues"
• Pat Metheny - American jazz guitarist
• Producer Daniel Miller - founder of Mute Records, who used it on many Depeche Mode records
• Sting- primarily on "Russians", and other tracks from "dream of the blue turtles"
• Producer Mike Thorne - used the Synclavier on records by Siouxsie & The Banshees, Soft Cell, Marc Almond, and Bronski Beat, among others
• Brian Banks and Anthony Marinelli - film composers
• Frank Zappa - composed his 1986 Grammy-winning album Jazz From Hell on the instrument, and whose posthumous two-hour Civilization, Phaze III was allegedly around 70% Synclavier-made
• Akira (film) - Made in 1988. The behind-the-scenes documentary The Akira Production Report features the Synclavier as one of the main tools for the film's soundtrack composition.
• Stevie Wonder - In an episode of The Cosby Show, Stevie records different snippets of the Huxtables on to his Synclavier.
• Neil Young - Used Synclavier extensively on his 1980s albums.
• Gary Rydstrom - used the Synclavier for sound design, as seen in a bonus featurette on the Monsters, Inc. DVD
• Howard Shore, film score composer - pictured with a Synclavier on the cover of Berklee Today, Fall 1997 [1]
• John McLaughlin used it on Adventures in Radioland
• Information Society used it on their Peace and Love,Inc. album in 1992
• Monolake
• Chick Corea - used the Synclavier on Elektric Band albums and live performances as well.
• Martin Rushent - used the Synclavier at his 'genetic studios' with various artists including The Human League, Hysteria (Human League album).

a-ha is a Grammy Award-nominated band from Norway. ... Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, half of the folk-singing duo Simon and Garfunkel who continues a successful solo career. ... Laurie Anderson (born Laura Phillips Anderson, on June 5, 1947, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois) is an American experimental performance artist and musician. ... Chuck Hammer, a guitarist, guitar synthesist, and digital film composer recorded work with Lou Reed and David Bowie. ... The Cars were an American rock band, fronted by Ric Ocasek, that emerged from the early punk scene in the late 1970s. ... Genesis is an English rock band formed in 1967. ... Duran Duran are an English pop group notable for a long series of popular singles and vivid music videos. ... Chuck Hammer, a guitarist, guitar synthesist, and digital film composer recorded work with Lou Reed and David Bowie. ... Bob Boilen is the director of the NPR show All Things Considered and the host of All Songs Considered. ... The National Museum of American History is a museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution and located in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall. ... Sean Callery is a Emmy winning film and television composer best known for writing the theme to the action/drama 24, a TV series for which he also composed 2 full soundtracks. ... Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an Academy Award and multiple Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist and composer from Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Hancock is one of jazz musics most important and influential pianists and composers. ... Grappelli (left) and Jean-Luc Ponty (right). ... Alan Silvestri (b. ... Sci-fi is an abbreviation for science fiction. ... Flight of the Navigator is a 1986 Disney science fiction film about a boy, David, who is somehow transported in time eight years into the future without aging. ... Wally Badarou (born March 22nd 1955 in Paris) is a musician from Benin. ... For other persons of the same name, see Robert Palmer. ... Trevor Charles Horn, born July 15, 1949 in Durham, England, is a British pop music record producer, songwriter and musician. ... Frankie Goes to Hollywood (FGTH) was a UK New wave band that was popular in early 1980s. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Grace Jones (born Grace Mendoza on May 19, 1948, in Spanish Town, Jamaica) is a model, singer and actress. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... Steve Porcaro is a keyboardist and composer who was an original member of the rock/pop band, Toto. ... Patrick Bruce Metheny (born August 12, 1954 in Lees Summit, Missouri) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. ... The Normal is the recording artist name used by English film editor Daniel Miller, who is best known as the founder of the record label Mute Records. ... Mute Records is a record label formed in 1978 by Daniel Miller primarily to release his own single, T.V.O.D./Warm Leatherette, under the moniker The Normal. ... Depeche Mode (pronounced ) are an electronic music group that formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex, England. ... This article is about the musician. ... Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band that formed in 1976. ... Soft Cell is a Synth-Pop duo formed during the early 1980s. ... Marc Almond (born Peter Mark Sinclair Almond on 9 July 1957 in Southport, Lancashire, England) is a popular English singer, songwriter and recording artist, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell. ... Bronski Beat was a popular British synth pop trio of the 1980s. ... Brian Glen Banks (September 28, 1970 in Mesa, Arizona), is a retired professional baseball player who played infielder in the Major Leagues from 1996-2003. ... Frank Vincent Zappa[1] (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, musician, and film director. ... Cover of Jazz From Hell (1986) Jazz From Hell is a jazz-rock instrumental album from Frank Zappa. ... Civilization, Phaze III is a double CD by Frank Zappa. ... Akira ) is a 1988 Japanese animated film co-written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo based on his manga of the same name. ... Stevie Wonder (born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13, 1950, name later changed to Stevland Hardaway Morris),[1] is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. ... This article is about the musician. ... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... Gary Roger Rydstrom is an award winning sound designer who began his career at Skywaker Sound, Northern California in 1983. ... Sound design is a technical/conceptually creative field. ... Monsters, Inc. ... Size comparison: A 12 cm Sony DVD+RW and a 19 cm Dixon Ticonderoga pencil. ... Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is an Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy Award-winning Canadian composer, best known for composing the scores to The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and films of David Cronenberg. ... John McLaughlin John McLaughlin (aka pinyon)(born January 4, 1942), also Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is a jazz fusion guitar player from Doncaster, Yorkshire in England. ... Adventures in Radioland is an album by The John McLaughlin headed group Mahavishnu that came out in 1986. ... This biographical article does not cite any references or sources. ... Monolake is an electronic music act based in Berlin. ... Armando Anthony Chick Corea (born June 12, 1941) is a multiple Grammy Award winning American jazz pianist/keyboardist and composer. ... Chick Corea Elektric Band, led by renowned pianist Chick Corea, is one of the most critically acclaimed jazz fusion bands of the past two decades. ... Martin Rushent is an English musician and record producer. ... The Human League are an award winning, Grammy nominated British synthpop/New Wave band formed in 1977 who, after a key change in line up, achieved great popularity in the 1980s. ... Hysteria is an album recorded by English synthpop band The Human League. ...

External links

• Steve Hills's What Makes The Synclavier So Special And Different?
• Brian George of Demas: The owner of Synclavier hardware company http://www.synclavier.com/
• Yaking Cat Music Studios The maiden Synclavier site created by & for users
• Frank Zappa composing on the Synclavier (on Youtube)