Moog Interface newsletter, Vol. 2 June 1981

Moog Interface newsletter, Volume 2 June 1981.

Yup - another one. So far I've posted four - the one above and these three (click on images to go to their respective blog posts):

With even more to come!

And like those others, I plan to keep the tradition going with another Top 10 list.

Top 10 reasons this newsletter is awesome!

10. There are EIGHT keytars in photos scattered about in this thing. EIGHT!!!!!

9. That Gary Wright interview!  That dude loves his Moogs. And Moog loves that photo - I've seen it re-purposed in a number of different places during this time period.

8. Question 2 in the Input/Output section contains some great historical details on the Canadian dealer for Moog during this time period - Nuco!

7. Also from the Input/Output section: The kit costs for retrofitting a Prodigy with CV/Gate interface jacks ($20/$30 depending on serial number).

6. The Interface logo font! So spacey! Always happy when I see that.

5. The photo and reference to the 10,000th Moog Prodigy rolling off the production line in the bottom corner of page 2. I love synth production quantities almost as much as other historical info.

4. The announcement of the Moog Rogue on page 3 with its scheduled unveiling at the Chicago Summer 1981 NAMM show. Great historical timeline info!

3. That classic photo of DEVO with five keytars. Enough said.   Get it? "Enough said"! Its a DEVO song! "Stop and let me tell you what tomorrow holds for you..."

2. Rock Wehrmann's "Music With Computers" article. Rock worked at Moog from around 1977-1983, eventually ending up managing advertising and marketing at Moog and was involved in the design of the Source, the Rogue, the Opus 3, Taurus 2, the Radio Shack Concertmate (MG-1), and the Liberation! Great little interview with him on the Moog Foundation site. A good read.

1. The Minimoog retrospective on page 1. So much great history jam-packed into that one article.

So, grab a cup of coffee and read through the newsletter. It's a gooder!

Poly Keyboard Interface Freedom 1 pre-MIDI remote keyboard controller introductory ad, Keyboard 1981

Poly Keyboard Interface Freedom 1 pre-MIDI remote keyboard controller introductory full page black & white advertisement from the February 1981 issue of Contemporary Keyboard Magazine.

Here's a rare quirky beast. Quirky enough that it made it into the "Mutants and Missing Links" section of Mark Vail's Vintage Synthesizers book alongside such notables as the Paia Oz, PMS Syntar and Gleeman Pentaphonic.

At first glance, this advertisement could almost be mistaken for an early Sequential Circuits Inc. Prophet 10 advertisement (see right) - also running in CK around this time period. And although it definitely ISN'T a Prophet-10, it could probably control one. See, the Freedom 1 was a pre-MIDI remote keyboard controller, allowing a musician to remote control a number of synthesizers through one keyboard. With MIDI coming up in less than two years, this thing unknowingly had a limited life span.

The advertisement only seems to have appeared once in CK (?) as a heads-up to interested readers that they could find out more information about the Freedom 1 at the 1981Winter NAMM running in February at the Anaheim Convention Center.

I realize this was pre-Internet, but I almost feel that PKI tried to cram too much information into the advertisement. or maybe its just too wordy. Or maybe it just looks disorganized because of the company names scattered randomly across the top so close to the ad-title. Bah. It's still too early on a Sunday morning to think about.

If it's also too early to read through the ad-copy in your part of the world, luckily a small Spec Sheet accompanied the ad in the same issue, summing up the advertisement quite nicely.

"Poly Keyboard Interface. The Freedom 1 is a remote controller that will drive a number of keyboard instruments simultaneously. It is also light enough to wear around your neck. The unit is radio-controlled, so no patch cords are needed to interface it with other keyboards. Electronic and electromechanical keyboards can both be interfaced. It has a 5-octave keyboard, a 6-channel sequencer, an 8-channel mixer, and pitch and mod wheels. It weights 15 lbs (6.8 kg). Poly Keyboard Interface, 710 S. 13th St. Grover City, CA 93433."

6-channel sequencer? 8-channel mixer? Okay, maybe it is time to get some coffee in me so I can take another look at that ad copy.

Eventually caffeine successfully hit my cerebral cortex and brain stem and I could concentrate enough to read through the ad. And I'm quite surprised. Not at what was included in the ad copy, but what wasn't. According to the Spec Sheet, this beast had a six-channel sequencer, but its not directly mentioned in the advertisement at all. There is mention of "tracks", and the ability to have a program selection "sequenced into memory". But no mention of things like the number of notes available in memory - the number one question of any sequencer.

Another cool thing about the Freedom 1, but yet not directly mentioned in the ad is that it's light enough to wear around your neck. KEYTAR!!!! The ad does mention that weights only 15 pounds and runs on a 9 volt. But why not actually say it. 25 words of ad-copy and they don't actually say its wearable. Lost opportunity.

The ad does get into some specifics. For example, I'm really digging the Freedom 1's wireless abilities. Cordless is where I want my keyboards to be at some point in the future.  I purchased a used M-Audio's MidAir25 wireless MIDI controller and although I haven't hooked it up yet, I think it will be cool to be able to move a small battery-operated two-octave keyboard around the studio without having to worry about cables getting in the way of everything.

I really dig a company that will add a little bit of humour into their ads, and PKI does just that.  Things like "Look, mom!-No Cords" or apologizing to roadies since it comes with an antennae hookup for remoting the keyboards from the sound truck.

Speaking of which - I'm a little confused. If a band is going to lug around quite a few cool looking analog synthesizers around the country, why wouldn't you want them on stage with you? Isn't that what being a keyboardist in the 70s and 80s was all about? Unfortunately, whenever I picture a musician surrounded by keyboards, I think of Rick Moranis in that one SCTV skit about Tex and Edna Boil Organ Emporium, where Tex leaves Edna Boil and she has try-outs to replace him.

And so I leave you with this... in particular the gear pr0n from 1m41s to 2m36s - brilliant stuff  :)

Yamaha "But it's just the beginning" DX7 and KX5 ad, Keyboard 1985

Yamaha "...but it's just the beginning" DX7 synthesizer and KX5 MIDI controller full page colour advertisement from the back cover of the January 1985 issue of Keyboard Magazine.

Summer time! And I'm spending the majority of it outside in the extremely nice weather we are experiencing in my part of the world during this fine Canada Day long weekend. It's Sunday morning and the thermometer is already creeping into the mid-20s Celcius, the 70s for you Farenheit folks.

But before I start Celebrating Canada Day by sliding in to my thong speedo (not), slathering coconut oil all over this delicious body (not), and start drinking sugar-free mohito mix and rum (okay, that's a possibility), I thought I better get this rather interesting Yamaha DX7 and KX5 blog post ready to rock.

"Interesting", you ask? Sure, it's got a nice large photo of the two star performers taking up a good two-thirds of the page and an ad-title taking up another third, but that hardly counts as "interesting".

But, its actually the timing of this ad that's interesting. The more I researched into this advertisement, the more I started thinking it wasn't just an ad to promote Yamaha's new keytar, but really also a bit of a delay tactic.

Hear me out.

The first Yamaha FM ad (DX9 and DX7) started running in July 1983, only lasting two months. And it included that wonderful tagline:  "The performance is about to begin". Then, Yamaha pushed out their flagship, feature-rich, name-dropping madness of a 2-pager that kept that tagline going. That ad also lasted only two months appearing in the September and October 1983 issues.

Then, everything goes quiet for three months on the DX front until suddenly, out of the blue, that  awkward "Special Announcement" advertisement from Yamaha pops up in February 1984. Awkward, with a splash of pouting.

And after that one-off...DX DEAD SILENCE. For like, almost a year.

No kidding. 11 months of silence. And then finally this DX7/KX5 advertisement popped up in January 1985.

Looking back in my mind, I could have sworn that Keyboard Magazine as well as everyone else and their mothers were going bat-shit crazy for the DX7. I thought I recalled being flooded with advertisements and promotions and cheerleaders all bombarding me DX propaganda.

Researching it now though, I realize that there was almost a whole year in Keyboard Magazine WITHOUT a Yamaha DX advertisement. I'm shaking my head in disbelief. Was all that hype really just mid-80s viral marketing and buzz at its finest? Yamaha letting everyone else build up the DX line for them? I seem to recall my local synth store was talking the 7 and 9 up like a storm. But, apparently my recollection isn't cracked up to what I thought is was. :P

If that was the case - good work, Yamaha! Nothing like earned media and some great buzz.

Although I love keytars, I'm going to ignore that part of this ad's message and comment on the other, less noticeable (and maybe just in my mind) purpose of this advertisement. Delay, delay, delay.

Just read through the ad-title and ad-copy again and you will notice that only a 1/4 of this advertisement is actually about the new KX5. The rest is all about what's still to come:

"But it's just the beginning"

"But wait folks, this is just the first act. There's more coming for the DX7. A whole series of products that will make the most amazing synthesizer ever heard into the most amazing music system ever heard."

"In the meantime, why not visit your Yamaha dealer and check out the instrument that started it all - the DX7."

For me, as a reader of Keyboard, after such a long silence this January 1985 advertisement would start generating a whole new level of buzz - dangling the KX5 as an example of everything great that is still to come. I was probably walking into my Yamaha dealer on a weekly basis to be the first to look at the new gear.

But it wouldn't be there yet.

And then I probably saw this ad again in February and again ran down to my local store.

Nothing.

And then March...

And then May....

And then... September? WTF?

It's September and Yamaha is still telling me to hold onto my hat and wait for this next generation of Yamaha products.

Just to be clear let me repeat the timeline -  Yamaha introduces the DX7 in July 1983 and advertises it for four months until October 1983. Then, there isn't a DX ad (except that Special Announcement) until January 1985 that runs for TEN MONTHS telling me to wait a bit longer. That's October 1983 to October 1985.

Okay, I do realize I'm being a bit of a douche-bag to make my point. I'm betting that the first of those new products (spoiler alert - TX7 and QX7) were probably already in stores.

But if the TX and QX were already in stores, then replace this ten-month-old ad with *THAT* advertisement already.

And, don't forget that Yamaha had a lot of other products that also needed to get their advertising time in magazines such as Keyboard, so that could delay any new ads as well.

But, again, if that was the case, then why keep running this ad at all? 

I can't help that the conspiracist  in me wants to think that something was up and those two products (and others) were delayed a bit longer than expected.

I got no data to back that up.

Yet. :D

Well, the thermometer just hit 30 Celcuis in the sun - and it's only 11:15 am. Whoo whoo!

Time to slip on the thong speedo and start enjoying the day.

Hope you all had a happy Canada Day!

Moog Liberation "Is coming..." pre-launch ad, Contemporary Keyboard 1980

Moog Liberation pre-launch 1/2-page advertisement from page 52 in Contemporary Keyboard June 1980.

Update: added to the Moog interactive advertising timeline.

I've come to love pre-launch advertisements. The Sequential Circuits Pro-One series of pre-launch ads were simple but fun, and the Korg Sigma pre-launch ad was just gorgeous looking. Pre-launch ads usually just run in one issue, and I'll never think one month of advertising is enough for a magazine audience in the 70s or 80s, but I can't deny their appeal.

I love them so much I've created a new blog label called "pre-launch".

And the Liberation's simple but effective pre-launch advertisement doesn't disappoint either. I can't help but compare it to Moog's earlier Minimoog "KISS" (Keep It Simple, Stupid) ads - this September 1979 "When you've got the sound" colour ad, and this July 1979 "You know what this is" black and white ad (it doesn't even include a logo!). Simple. Effective.

This time, its the outline of the Liberation that is the focus of the ad. And any keyboardist even remotely (no pun intended) familiar with some of the more recognizable custom "keytar" instruments that had already been developed and played by Powell and others, would know what type of instrument Moog was about to launch. But, I wonder how good Moog was at keeping the actual specs of the Liberation a secret. I would have to think that prior to the Internet... pretty good.

I didn't cover any of the specs in my first Liberation ad blog post because the stats are pretty well documented on the Web. A simple Google search will bring up the familiar results:

• Vintage Synth Explorer Liberation page
• SynthMuseum.com Liberation page
  
• Moog Liberation Wikipedia page

And of course, if you want photos, look no further than a Google Images Search. And, really, all you need is this rather recent June 2011 MATRIXSYNTH auction post. It includes a wack of great close-up colour photos of the instrument, front panel and back. Just look at the shiny flashes of color on those controls!

Beautiful. Drool.

Lots more photos of other Liberations on MATRIXSYNTH too.

Wait a tick! I just noticed something that I had never clued into before... the logo-type font on the back of the Liberation in that MATRIXSYNTH auction post looks *nothing* like the Liberation logo-type font used for the word "Liberation" in this pre-launch ad or the Tom Schuman "Treat Yourself to FREEDOM" ad.

Here's a good photo of the back on the Liberation from that MATRIXSYNTH post.

Gah! I crave consistency!

But, even more interesting - Tom's Liberation definitely has that 60's style logo-type on the back panel - not that typical Moogy-looking font.

I did a quick scan through Google Images, and can't find a photo of a Liberation with the 60's style logo. Either Tom is playing a pre-production model or there are a few rare production Liberations with the old 60's style logo-type floating around out there.

Either way - Boo to the change! The Liberation was meant to be a fun instrument. And a fun instrument should have a fun 60's style logo! They should have kept it.

If you've seen one of these special Liberations (or own one!), please let me know.

End note: I just realized why exactly I get a little confused by Tom Schuman's photo in that other Liberation ad. He really does remind me of that guy from one of my favorite early 80's shows when I was a kid "The Greatest American Hero" - William Kat. I think Tom just needs to trade in the feathered hair for a perm.

And, if you look at the T.V. show's intro, six seconds in you get to a familiar shot:

Look familiar? Remember that Syntar brochure cover...?

Hmmm. I'm starting to see connections everywhere.

Enough blogging for today :D

Moog Liberation, Contemporary Keyboard 1980

Moog Liberation 1-page advertisement from page 43 in Contemporary Keyboard July 1980.

Update: added to the Moog interactive advertising timeline.

Let's face it - 1980 was the year of the Keytar. Sure, independent designs and ideas started popping up years earlier, but it was around 1980 when the gates really opened in respect to advertising and promotion.

Just how popular? Flip the page this ad appears on and you see a large photo of Roger Powell playing his custom-designed Probe (which, I still maintain is an awful name for a car, keyboard or anything for that matter). And earlier is this issue is another keytar manufacturer's ad.

Two keytars are top-of-mind for me, and probably for most keytar history buffs, when 1980 is mentioned: George Mattson's (of Mattson Mini Modular fame) wicked looking Syntar, and of course, Moog's very... er... Moogy-looking... Liberation.

Jump forward more than thirty years later, and we somehow get to a point where this advertisement has become almost as iconic as the Liberation itself. You see it everywhere. e-Bay auctions. Scans online. It's probably safety-pinned on to the back of someone's satin jacket somewhere in the world.

For me, this ad has both a lil' bit o' good and bad in it. No, seriously - since first coming across this advertisement, that open-mouthed look on Tom Shuman's face has been permanently burned into my cranium. And the chest hair doesn't help either. What was it with Moog and body hair back in the day?!?!

I personally would rather have seen an up-close photo of the front-panel controls, although marketing gurus would probably argue that because a user can control other synths with the Liberation, a control shot isn't as important as trying to communicate the unique performance aspects of the machine - ie: standing along side a guitarist at the front of the stage. And they would probably be right. :)

But, there is one aspect of this ad that is unquestionably spot-on: the 60's-psychedelia-inspired "Liberation" logo-type. In fact, the whole "Freedom" campaign theme (including ad-copy!) fits so well with what the Liberation is all about, that the photo of Tom in a sweater, collar and slacks comes across as a little out of place for me. Where are the flowers and rainbows :D

With regards to the Liberation, Moog really did use every vehicle possible to promote it. Magazine advertisements and promotional literature, NAMM promotions with the Liberation strapped around a mannequin (page 36 in Vintage Synthesizers by Mark Vail), and of course, their Moog Interface newsletter.

In the September 1980 newsletter (fresh back from Chicago's NAMM show), The Liberation makes multiple appearances, including the big front page article that introduces readers to the technical aspects of the keyboard, including a nice line drawing of the front panel. Interestingly, Moog also mentions that "the Liberation is definitely a performance oriented instrument although it will lay flat on top of other keyboards". What? Why dirty the waters? This thing is meant to play over the shoulder. Stay on message! Stay on message!

In addition, page 2 has a photo of DEVO playing Liberations, as well as a mention for "Moog Mobile Wizard" Tom Schuman (star of this ad) and another mention of Liberation user Ronnie Foster. And page 3 has a photo of The Motel's keyboardist Marty Jourard in the Moog factory with a Liberation leaning against a Moog Modular.

Moog keeps the promos going in the December 1980 newsletter with a photo of Ronnie Milsap and a mention that he is on tour with the Liberation on page one. Page two has a question asking which Bob in DEVO is playing the Liberation on their appearance on Midnight Special (answer: Bob 2). Page 3 has a photo of two member's of Kenny Roger's group playing Liberations.

With a lot of this promotion occurring within a three month period, it's safe to say that awareness of the Liberation was a success.

Nice work, Moog!

Korg Poly 800, Keyboard 1984

Korg Poly-800 synthesizer two-page and one-page advertisements from the inside front cover (and/or page three) in Keyboard Magazine starting in February 1984.

This was the first Korg ad to feature the Poly 800 - and Korg obviously wanted to hit the press with a loud synthesized bang. And as far as I'm concerned, they *almost* did everything right.

First, they kept the marketing campaign running for an extended period of time. The two-page version of the ad ran in that costly front-of-mag advertising space for a full six months - from February to July '84. Then, they switched it up with a one-page version of the ad for the August and September '84 issues of Keyboard for a total ad run of eight months. Then, after a bit of a break, Korg brought back the one-page version of the ad to page three of Keyboard from July to November '85.

Next, the layout it top-notch - well balanced, bright, with adequate white space. The ad contains a nice centre-fold photo of the instrument with the name of the instrument in big fat letters. Even the rather long winded tag-line is well placed and comes with a dash or wordplay.

Also, unlike a lot of introductory synthesizer ads that feature a HUGE photo and little or no ad-copy, Korg made sure to use those two pages of space to get a fair bit of synth info about the Poly 800 out to the masses. They give details on the eight voices, 64 programs, 50 parameters of control, the polyphonic sequencer, noise generator, on-board chorus, 4-way joystick (awesome!), MIDI and even the headphone jack.

If that isn't already enough of a feature buffet, Korg also let readers know that the keyboard also doubles as a 13-pound keytar! Although, I do think they could have used a better photo of Chuck Leavell rockin' out on his Poly 800. Not only does the one hand position look a little uncomfortable, but Chuck himself looks like he is having an awful hard time trying to lift that thirteen-pounder. Don't get me wrong, I respect his musicianship, but I think Korg was smart to not try and cram that photo into the one-page version of the ad. Just sayin'.

And finally, to put the icing on the cake, Korg even advertises a price. All this for "less than $800". Normally, I would have suggested going with the ol' psychological $799 price tag, but providing a number that lines up the price of the instrument with it's name is another small win for Korg.

The only thing Korg seemed to have missed out on with this product launch was the lack of any promotion in the Spec Sheet section of Keyboard. If there was one, I never came across it. But that's small potatoes with this smooth launch.

For real Poly 800 fans, the most awesome surprise about the instrument was still to come. The month after this ad stopped running in 1984, the October '84 Spec Sheet section of Keyboard let readers know that they could also strut around on stage with a reverse color keyboard version of the synth:

"Korg Synthesizer Keyboard. A limited edition of the Korg Poly 800 with a reverse color keyboard is now available. All other features of the Poly 800 remain unchanged: 64 memory positions, 256-note sequencer, MIDI, and six-segment envelopes are standard. Price is $849.00. Korg, 89 Frost St., Westbury, NYT 11590."

Korg even had the balls to charge an extra 50 bucks for the privilege of sporting those reverse keys around your shoulders! Worth every penny.

I happened to come across a reverse key version of the Poly 800 a long while back at my local music store. It was just sitting there all lonely. So, ten minutes and $99 later, it was at home, strapped around my shoulders, and plugged in.

Quite honestly though, back then, it just didn't do it for me at first. I thought there were just too many limitations. I was a bit of a synth-snob back then.

But over time, the more I played with it, the more fun it became. The chorus adds good movement to bass sounds without being too noisy. And combine that the noise generator together with the organ-like DCOs (each with its own extended envelope!) and you can start coming up with some great sounds. I use it a lot as a sample source for my chiptunes. It can almost sound Nintendo-ish sounding.

My GF came over and saw it on the floor as I was trying to take a picture for this blog post, so I just had to try it on for her. The next thing you know, we were trying to emulate Chuck's pose from the ad. The results....? About as uncomfortable as getting an open-mouth kiss from your drunk aunt during a family reunion.

Chuck must have very flexible wrists and knee joints of steel... :D

End note: And yes, that is a Green Lantern pillow on the chair behind me. It rawks almost as much as my reverse colour keyboard Poly 800.

Performance Music Systems Syntar Series I brochure, 1980

Performance Music Systems Syntar Series I four-page brochure from approximately 1980.

I was reading through my RSS feeds when I came across MATRIXSYNTH's October 4th post entitled "The Syntar Turns 32".

Whaaaaaat?

I wasn't going to pass up that click-through! Or miss this great opportunity to take a well-earned break from the Oberheim love/fixation I've been feelin' lately to upload something really special to me - this Syntar brochure.

That MATRIXSYNTH post is a must read for anyone even remotely interested in the history of the first "all enclosed keytar synthesizer". Heck, or if you are just interested in keytars in general. In particular, the post includes two great YouTube videos featuring an overview of the Syntar and showing it in action, and a link to Carbon111's most excellent Syntar page.

Read through Carbon111's Web page to get a good introduction to Syntar's creator George Mattson. You'll find some great historical information surrounding the history of the Syntar straight from George.

For me, one of the highlights of that Web page is the photo of the table top version of the Syntar called the S.W.A.N. (Syntar Without A Neck). And as icing on the cake, look for the S.W.A.N. logo on the instrument - drawn by George Mattson himself. Excellent!

I came across this brochure through an email exchange with George Mattson, who generously offered to send over a few brochures he had kept over the years. After finally convincing him to *at least* let me pay postage costs, the care package arrived. And it didn't disappoint.

Not only did George include this Syntar brochure, but some other brochures and tech sheets as well. I don't want to ruin any future surprises, but let's just say that at one point in time he was an independent factory rep for EML... :o)

In our email exchange, George also mentioned that he bought EML circuit boards to build the proof of concept Syntar.

"Ugly thing, stainless steel control panel and a 3.5 octave keyboard. It weighed 25 lbs. I painted the panel blue and used dry transfer lettering for the control legends and circuit board layout tape for the graphic lines.

I actually hired and paid EML to design the circuits for the Syntar. I didn't have time to do it. I was busy trying to figure out how to build the rest of it."

And many of those EML-designed Syntar circuits were revamped for his current line of "Phoenix Series" modules for his Mattson Mini Modular, with other circuits not found in the Syntar designed new by George.

But back to the brochure for a second, because this thing is seriously sweeeeeet.

The black and white beauty includes a great cover photo of a woman peering out of the door of her car at the night sky, with a Syntar beaming light down like an alien space craft. And the Star-Trek-like font used throughout the ad fits this theme perfectly. George mentioned that the brochure came out around 1980 when sci-fi movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind were burning up the screen - hence the theme. Also, the volkswagon in the photo belonged to the photographer!

Inside the brochure you will find a nice photo of the Syntar with some great creative brochure-copy, and on the flip side is my favorite - all the technical reference information along with two close-up photos - one of the front panel controls, and another of the Syntar's neck with all of the performance controller features. And there are a lot of them.

Finally, the back page includes more information on the Syntar's features and it's quality, as well as some of the additional accessories available.

I know I usually have more to say - but really, I think MATRIXSYNTH and Carbon111 have all the Syntar information you could shake a keytar at. So, if you haven't clicked on the links above, go check 'em out now. And there is also a good interview with George Mattson posted on electronicmusic.com.

Also, make sure you check out George's current offering - the Mattson Mini Modular.

One word - Ichabod.

Happy 32 years, Syntar! :o)

Roland family of products, Keyboard 1983

Roland family of products advertisement including SH-101, JX-3P/PG-200, System-100M, MC-4/MTR-100, Jupiter-8, Juno-6/60, Jupiter-6 and MC-202 from page 14 and 15 of Keyboard Magazine July 1983.

Finally!

The Roland 'We Design The Future' tag-line had been showing up in Roland's brochures for months now, but up to this point, their advertisements were still mostly designed around it's 'Understanding Technology Series' ads like those created for the TB-303/TR-606 or Jupiter-8. Black backgrounds, strong colours, and lots of text. Their recent Juno-6 and Juno-60 ads started to mutate away from that design, but I'd still be inclined to classify them as such.

"What?" you say? Where is the tag-line? You can see it at the bottom of the ad in the purple-coloured bar. Yes, it's small. Really small. Almost an afterthought. And unfortunately, I think this is the last advertisement to use the tag-line.

Roland decided to pull in a few other common design elements found in those brochures by using a textured background and an accent piece (in this case a tile pattern background and spheres), but I have to say I miss the brochure's slick photo with mood-lighting. A really nice family photo done in that style would have looked sweeeeeet! Instead, it looks like Roland decided to comp together an image using a few effects that I would guess got onto the wish-list for Photoshop 1.0.

This advertisement was a first for Roland in one other important way too. They mention MIDI!

And so we get to the whole point of this ad. As mentioned in a recent brochure blog post for the TB-303, TR-808, TR-606 and CR-8000/5000, Roland had been pumping out A LOT of DIN-sync technology for a while now. They had a lot invested in it. And then along comes MIDI, and Roland has to convince current owners of Roland gear that the gear they just bought is not going to be obsolete in a year. And more importantly, they have to convince future owners that they are looking out for their future as well.

The ad title text handles this perfectly.

"Roland presents its product line for 1987. The nice thing is, it's available today!"

Interestingly, they make no mention of MIDI in that title or in the opening paragraph. Its not until the reader gets to the JX-3P text that MIDI is mentioned - and a definition is included next to it - "a new system of interface developed for computer-controlled instruments".

A year from now, and ALL synthesizer ads will feature the word MIDI heavily in either the title or ad-copy. I pulled out the July 1984 issue of Keyboard just in case someone called me out on that statement, and sure enough, MIDI has pretty much taken over. Heck, Roland's own ad title in the July 1984 issue was "Enter the world of MIDI".

But jump back to July 1983, when MIDI is just getting it's feet wet, and Roland is smart to stay firmly on the fence for now. By promoting both their own protocols as well as MIDI, they let readers know that no matter when they buy from Roland, the gear will be compatible one way or another.

And it wasn't just Roland that was playing the waiting game. Many companies either hadn't included MIDI in their gear yet, or if they had, they didn't say too much about it in their ads. The July 1983 ad for Garfield Electronic's Doctor Click (the godfather of sync) didn't include MIDI yet. Neither did Octave-plateau Electronic Inc.'s Voyetra-8 ad.

There was one exception... :o)

The ad for Sequential Circuit Inc.'s Prophet-600, the first commercially available MIDI synthesizer. Their ad has a large call-out box extolling the virtues of MIDI. And no wonder - SCI was heavily involved in MIDI's development. Nice!

I'll post that ad in the near future.

End note: This has always bugged me. Why did Roland pick 1987 as the 'future'? There is a design rule-of-thumb that says never to use even numbers. So maybe the thinking was that '84, '86, '88 would be out of the question. '85 is probably too close. And '89 is too close to '90.

Hmmmm... still bugging me.

Roland SH-101 brochure, 1982

Roland SH-101 brochure from 1982.

I know that the first thing I think about when it comes to making music with an SH-101 is hard liquor.

Wait. What?

Most of the Roland 'We Design the Future' brochures that I've come across from around this time period feature a front image that includes a stylish photo of the instrument(s) along with some mood lighting and an accent piece - something like plexi-glass cylinders, gray tiling, or even glass marbles such as can be seen on the cover of the Roland Rhythm Machines brochure (303, 606, 808...) I just blogged about.

But the photographer Roland hired for this photo shoot decided that nothing screams monophonic mini-keytar synth like wood flooring with what looks to be a bottle of J.D. in the background.

I'm not complaining - I'm a big fan of Jack. It's just an interesting choice.

According to the print info on the back page, the brochure came out only a month after the Roland Rhythm Machines brochure (see link above) . And like that brochure, this one also pulls in other Roland gear so the reader can get an idea of all the compatibility options available in Roland's gear-world - in this case some nice clean diagrams (with photos!) of the pre-midi sync options available with the TB-303 and TR-606, as well as cv/gate control options with the CSQ-600/100 and MC-4.

As for the synthesizer itself, it's tough to say whether or not Roland really knew what they were trying to achieve with the SH-101. On the one hand they wanted to shrink the hell of out it. But on the other hand, unlike the 303 and 606 that took shrinkage to a whole new level, Roland also wanted the SH-101 to be a performance machine - one that you could pull over your shoulder, slap on the optional MSG-1 controller, and give your guitarist a run for his money at the front of the stage.

And, in the end, it looks like Roland really pulled off that balancing act well. Julian Colbeck sums in up best in his Keyfax series of books:

"...the SH-101 clearly demonstrates Roland's change of attitude to what it thinks we need in this type of instrument. It's goodbye to all the 50 million routing permutations and modulation applications that were offered on the early SH models and hello simplicity, hello end-product controllers. By end-product controllers, I mean all those things you can do with a basic sound once set up. Not only does the SH-101 have a vastly expanded performance panel, but there's a multi-mode arpeggiator and even a small sequencer."

You just have to look at the excellent reference information included in this brochure to get an idea of what Julian is talking about. Those inside two pages are packed with great info, along with a really really large front panel shot of the SH-101 itself.

Roland was definitely changing things up from it's earlier synthesizers. We're talking a full monophonic synth (plus sub osc), arpeggiator, sequencer, two-and-a-half octave keyboard, great performance control, and a modulation grip/keytar option.

Now, pack all that into nine-pounds of multi-coloured goodness and give it a list price of just under $500 - that's quite the deal.

Compare it to the competition of the time to get a good idea of just what a great job Roland did.

The Moog Liberation (Wikipedia), has a full-size 3.5 octave after-touch keyboard with an internal monophonic synthesizer (and poly organ). But had a list price of $1395 at the time, and has been described by more than a few as bulky and heavy.

Sequential Circuit's Remote Prophet (Vintage Synth Explorer) brought the price point down to just under $900, had a four octave keyboard and was relatively light weight, but only worked with the Prophet.

The Yamaha CS-01 put Roland to shame in the shrinkage department (Vintage Synth Explorer). $295 got you a monophonic synthesizer with breathe-control and a very small, thin, and light weight package. But it's 32 mini-keys probably made it too small for professional multi-octave solo-riffs.

I think if you take the best of each of these machines, you pretty end up with an SH-101.

And I like it.

Casio AZ-1 Remote Keyboard Brochure, 1986 (est)

Casio AZ-1 Remote Keyboard brochure from approximately 1986.

Its been so warm and sunny outside, that I thought I would jump a decade into the future from my previous posts and write about an ad or brochure that reminds me of summer. And keytars definitely make me think of summer for some reason. Maybe it was the bright fashions of the time?

So... meet Blane. Well, from the ears down.

Yellow blazer with rolled up sleeves. Check!
Thin tie with music note pattern. Check!
Stripy pants. Check!
Keytar. Check!

It must be 1986. Or 2010.

My GF started calling him Blane in homage to the character of the same name from the movie Pretty in Pink ("His name is Blane? Oh! That's a major appliance, that's not a name").

I'm almost more tempted to think that Duckie would have been more likely to have played the AZ-1 on a stage somewhere in his mid-20s, but Blane (from the movie) resembles much more closely the dude on the cover of this brochure. And you just know this guy's gear (and clothing) was paid for by daddy.

Of course, in the movie, Blane turns out to be a great guy and ends up bagging the girl in the end. I've never been sure how I felt about that come-back by Blane, and I get the same unsure feeling when I start thinking about the comeback keytars are currently making.

If you don't believe that keytars are making a comeback, you just have to look at the rumor-recently-turned-fact that Rock Band 3 will feature a keytar. Or that, unbelievably (or maybe totally predictably), Roland had continued to manufacture the AX-7 keytar as late as 2007, and then in 2009 released the AX-Synth keytar.

A quick 'keytar' search on MATRIXSYNTH will also give you a good indication of keytar-love.

And calling it a 'comeback' may be a bit of a stretch too. Createdigitalmusic.com posted an article back in 2005 called 'Keytar lives: Roland's AX-7', and you just have to browse through the comments to realize keytars have been drooled over by a certain segment of the keyboard-playing population for quite some time.

And, I have to admit the keytar does have a great deal going for it.

1. Devo used one.
2. Howard Jones used one.
3. I'm pretty sure Thomas Dolby used one.
4. Um.... er... did I mention Devo used one...?

Those facts alone are enough for me to buy into the keytar experience this second time around. And maybe even a third time around in another twenty years.

But even before we started to see the recent influx of keytars in pop culture, there seemed to have already been the rumblings of a backlash.

Synthtopia published an article online back in November 2008 called 'Proof That Herbie Hancock Is The Only Guy Ever To Look Cool Playing The Keytar', with a follow-up article the next month called 'More Proof That Herbie Hancock Is The Only Guy Ever To Look Badass Playing The Keytar'. And those photos, and other photos like them, tend make a strong argument (photos of Devo, Thomas Dolby and Howard Jones excluded of course).

Also, a Facebook group called 'Expose the Great Keytar Conspiracy!!!', created by Dante and Jonnie Stone, currently contains 93 members at the time of this writing. The title of the group includes three exclamation marks, so you know the Stones must mean business. But, one look at the member's photos, and you realize that its looking more and more likely that this Facebook page might have been created out of shear jealousy and spite. Just guessin'.

And if the people in that Facebook group are jealous of anyone, its probably the guy in the YouTube video below. He created his keytar out of Commdore 64.

Or maybe this guy shredding on his keytar.

I'm still officially on the fence about the keytar. Although, I'm sure the millisecond that I try one out in my local Long and McQuade music store, I'll be transported back to 1986 faster than John Cusack in Hot Tub Time Machine.

Like for sure. Totally.