Sequential Circuits Inc. Prophet-5 "The Completely Programmable Polyphonic Synthesizer" reference brochure - 1980

Sequential Circuits Inc. Prophet-5 "The Completely Programmable Polyphonic Synthesizer" reference brochure (spec sheet) from approx. 1980.

Four pages of comfy, warm Prophet-5 goodness. What's not to like when your eyeballs can be sun-bathed in hip retro-font front-cover goodness, awesomely bright and sunny up-close and personal photography and, best of all - lots of tropical, beachy, sand-in-your-toes, reference informa... eeeer....

So, re-reading that above paragraph, one might guess that my part of the world may be going through an unprecedented looooong stretch of snowy, blizzardly, winterly coldly-cold weather.

Yes, COLDLY-COLD.

And after that stupid ground hog bolted back into his hole after seeing his shadow a week or so back, I'm trying desperately to incorporate fuzzy, warm thoughts into everything I do as I eagerly await the return of the warmth of Spring.

But back to the Prophet-5 - and one of the things I love most about it (and other Prophets too). Which is to say that there is something to be said for a clearly laid out front panel. Design is design is design - whether you are talking about the white space in an ad so it can be clearly read and processed, or a logically organized front panel with high-contract controls and labels that are easy to see and reach for when needed.

As I get older and have less time to actually hunker down and play in the studio, I find that when I do have time to work on music I tend to reach for gear that will give me quick access to sound editing - and that usually means keyboards with knobs. And a clearly and logically laid-out panel helps keep me in the zone while i'm doing this.

Compare that nice, simple Prophet-5 front panel to say... a Roland JP8080. I love my JP8080. Its fun. Its powerful. And it has a great sound. But, like most gear in the studio that I can't bring to the bedroom with me (I know you do it too!), I don't get to play on it a lot. And when I do have a hankering for some smooth Roland bubbly goodness, I reach over to the front panel and... [SCREEEECH!]

Yup. I'm suddenly out of the zone. I have to look around to figure out where everything is again. My brain has to take time away from music making to re-learn that front panel display.

To be clear, this isn't necessarily a JP8080 problem. It has to pack a lot of controls into a relatively small 19-inch rack space. All I'm saying is that the less I'm in the studio, the less and less I reach for this piece of kit. So, yeah - this definitely isn't a JP8080 problem. This is a "me-problem" of not spending enough time in the studio. :)

Well, enough complaining. I'm old.

Although there is no date stamped anywhere on this Spec Sheet, I've dated it 1980 for the simple fact that the font panel photo includes the cassette interface found standard on the Rev. 3 Prophet-5s in the top-right corner.

I did a quick search and found this great video (well... audio) of the Prophet-5's original factory program interface cassette. This is the DATA cassette, so I don't recommend listening to it unless you really like the sound of 90's dial-up modems. But, I couldn't resist posting due to the fact that the background of the video looks really really warm and sunny.

Hurry Spring, hurry... faster Spring, faster.

Big Briar Inc. Model 500 Theremin Controller "Space-Controlled Music" ad, Keyboard 1984

Big Briar Inc.'s Model 500 Theremin Controller "Space-Controlled Music" black and white 1/4-page advertisement from the bottom-left corner of page 60 in the May 1984 issue of Keyboard Magazine.

"Space-controlled music"! Why does the Theremin always get thrown in to the "space" bucket?!?!

Scratch that. I know exactly why... hee hee  :)

If you recall from my last blog post, I touched upon (pun intended) Big Briar's Model 331 Touch Plate. A great alternative controller, especially for live performances. I'm trying desperately to hunt one down as we speak.

But another even more nifty alternative controller from Bob Moog's Big Briar Inc. around the same time period (and one that I would also love to get my greedy, dirty little paws on) is the Model 500 Theremin Controller.

Take the coolness and interactivity of the original Theremin, strip out the audio circuitry, and replace with two control voltage outputs for pitch and volume. Actually... not just for pitch and volume. More on that later.

A quick search of the Web found one of the earlier spec sheets for the Model 500 on Spheremusic.com's Web site for one of its auctions for Big Briar's 1982 controller pamphlet and blueprints. Click on that first big image and it will allow you to scroll through the other pages, including an image of the Model 500 page. This page has some great reference info on the 500, including the fact that it came with options for digital outputs and a line-operated power supply.

Image from the Buxton Collection.
Click to view Web page.

The actual design of the Model 500 Theremin Controller looks to have changed quite a bit between that 1982 pamphlet and the 1984 ad. From what basically looked like a block of wood to something that more closely resembled the sleekness of the Model 331 touch plate. Although I couldn't find any good quality colour photos of Model 500 during my quick Google search, I imagine it looks much like that gorgeous photo of the Model 331 found on that Buxton Collection Web site I linked to last week (see image at right).

Design aside, its those control voltage outputs I love most. Let me repeat that, and maybe yell it - CONTROL VOLTAGES!!!

So, as the ad states, you can connect this baby to your favorite synth (such as a lovely Moog Modular synth) and start controlling "pitch, volume, brightness - any parameter that can be voltage controlled".   According to the pamphlet, there was also the addition of a gate signal "that goes on as the right hand begins to approach the pitch antenna, thus making it convenient to squelch the tone when no musician is near the controller."

Squelch! Excellent!

What this all does is open up Theremin-like control to a much wider range of sound. Any waveform you can create with your synth can be theremized (so too is a word! And if it's not, that shizzle needs to be trademarked pronto).

All this brings me to another reason I'm stoked about this ad.  NAMM has just concluded, and one of the products that stood out for me and my close circle of online synth-nuts was Moog's new Theremini.

Damn! That's the spaciest-lookin' Theremin yet! That thing would look as good in my studio as it would on the set of Star Trek's control room.

And the best news is that, like the Model 500 Theremin Controller, the Theremini opens up a whole new range of sounds to the user by including "a powerful sound engine derived from Moog's award winning synthesizer, Animoog"! PLUS you get pitch-correction for us beginners, pitch CV out, and a mini-USB jack for MIDI.

MoFo! Are you kidding me? Do I have to punch you all in the neck to show you how excited I am.

*This* has just taken #1 spot on my "next piece of kit" list.

Big Briar Inc. Model 331 Touch Plate "Greatest Invention Since The Wheel" ad, Keyboard 1983

Big Briar Inc.'s Model 331 Touch Plate "Greatest Invention Since The Wheel" black and white 1/4-page advertisement from page 85 in the December 1983 issue of Keyboard Magazine.

So, one of the main reasons I've been taking a break from blogging was that I was finally feeling the pull of the studio. But, after six or seven months I've finally started to feel the pull back to the blog. Creativity, in and out of the studio, is a fickle thing. I find I need a spark to help initiate that pull...

...something that gets me exited...

And this time, that excitement - the pull back to blogging - started as a seed that was planted back during the holidays while I was researching some hardware interactive design ideas for a studio  project. That, of course, led me to Google, which then led me to Microsoft Research's Bill Buxton's collection of input and interactive devices.

According to the About page:

"Bill Buxton is the author of Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design. A Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, he has a 30-year involvement in research, design, and commentary around human aspects of technology. He was a researcher at Xerox PARC, and Chief Scientist of Alias Research and SGI Inc."

Well Bill, your Web site is the bee's knees and I want you to be my friend. Seriously - your Web site makes me cry - mainly because I want all those toys. I am a *big* fan of calculator/digital watches and that page alone made me pee a little. Now add Nintendo gloves, Etch-a-Sketch, Kraft System Joysticks... the list goes on.

With that in mind, you can imagine how excited I became when, under the touchpad section, I found some really nice up-close-and-personal photos of Big Briar's Model 331 Touch Plate.

And Bill's note underneath:

"This is a reminder that makers of electroacoustic instruments have been making touch sensors for years. This one was made for me by Bob Moog of Moog Synthesizer fame."

Heck yeah!

It was then that I recalled seeing this Big Briar ad while flipping through the December 1983 issue of Keyboard to find that Synthony holiday ad with the hand-drawn groovin' Santa Clause that I posted on Christmas.

This is one of the earlier Big Briar ads in Keyboard that Bob Moog created for his then not-so-new company, and it looks to have appeared only twice - in the December and January issues. Earlier ads mostly featured Synton equipment, with the name Big Briar appearing as the distributor near the bottom of the ad (see ad at right).

This ad is a great exercise in the benefits of size and colour. As gorgeous as that touch plate looks in black and white, the small footprint of the ad (1/4 page) and lack of colour really don't do the Model 311 justice. I think the wood grain and pop of blue that can be seen in Bill Buxton's photos would have really helped sell this thing. Or at least help keep it front-of-mind.

I also love the fact that Bob Moog would build these touch plates in all shapes and sizes. Really large touch plates would have made for some great live performances, just as the touch-screens of iPods and iPads, and now larger and larger touch-screen MONITORS, are now appearing more and more often on stage.

Now *that* gets me excited.

Synthony Music's "Have a synthsational holiday! (Santa will)" ad, Keyboard 1983

Synthony Music's "Have a synthsational holiday! (Santa will)" quarter page black and white advertisement from page 20 in the December 1983 issue of Keyboard Magazine.

Taking a break from the rum and eggnog to bring you this piece of lovely history.

You know how much I love hand drawn artwork in my retro synthesizer advertisements! And this one pretty much sums up this holiday season! And I really am hoping that this is what Santa is doing on December 26 (look for the calendar date in the ad) - rocking out on Keyboards now that he's played (and wrecked) his toy train set while his rain deer peer through the window in obvious wonder and delight. :)

 Its a great piece of artwork and goes well with some of the artwork I've posted in the past. You can just check out the label "artwork" on the blog. Like many of those others, this one belongs on a t-shirt. Or if anyone can knit me a Christmas sweater with this image I would be very grateful.  :)

A quick Google search brought up the Synthony Music Web site, or what has now become "Synthony Music's Synth & MIDI Museum". On that home page was link to a letter from the founder of the company - Bill Cone (or as he called himself... the Zoo Keeper).

The company originally started 1982 with the goal to "provide the best products available, technical assistance, guidance, and a forum for those brave enough to embrace the then new technology in music." Unfortunately, they closed their doors in early 2004 after nearly 22 years in the business. The online museum does provide some good info, but was last updated back in 2010 according to the museum's home page. Still a great resource.

Time to get back to the rum and eggnog.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone.

Retro!

Army Brat biofeedback headband MIDI interface ad, Keyboard 1985

Army Brat Biofeedback Headband MIDI interface 1/6-page black and white advertisement from page 116 in the July 1985 issue of Keyboard Magazine.

There isn't much that could have pulled me out of my blogging semi-sabbatical, especially during this cold, cold December. But this little gem managed to get me out of the studio and into the office where the lonely scanner sits.

One word... or three, depending on how you look at it.

WTF.

From the beginning of the ad:

"NEW!! 'MIDI YOUR MIND?'
NOTHING LIKE IT
NOVEL!!
ABSOLUTELY"

Only an Army Brat with access to certain sensitive files, would be crazy enough to do this."

And lets not stop there... the ad continues...

"In 1969 a Special Army Intelligence Group in collaboration with the C.I.A spent 15 years and millions of dollars developing a project based on para-kinetic theories. Even though they did succeed in the design of a device capable of linking a man, with electrodes taped to his temples, to an instrument instantly sampling his impulse and converting waveforms to voltage, some Senate sub-committee labeled the whole project "Questionable", and it ended up on a defense scrap heap."

Even with all the questionable use of capitalization and commas, I tend to believe this young army brat. :)

Remember - this was 1985. MIDI had only been around for a short period, but the technology was moving fast. The smaller ads at the back of Keyboard that were historically promoting perfect-pitch, piano-tuning and vocal-eliminator boxes were slowly being overrun by a new wave of start-ups pushing MIDI software, patches and RAM cartridges for synths like the DX-7.

But this biofeedback system must be a one-of-a-kind for the time period - in Keyboard Magazine anyways.

Just look at the drawing of the dude with the headband and headphones (not included according to the ad), as well as the "black box" with what looks to be an antenna sticking out of it.

 (Note to self - make that my Facebook profile pic.)

I did some really quick Web research and found a reference to another MIDI-biofeedback system from the late 80s called BioMuse in an online article titled "A Brief History of Biosignal-Driven Art" by Miguel Ortiz:

"Towards the end of the 1980s, the advent of digital signal processing systems and the wide availability of powerful personal computer systems made it possible for researchers to further develop the existing techniques for biosignal analysis in real-time applications. In 1988, California-based scientists Benjamin Knapp and Hugh Lusted introduced the BioMuse system (Knapp and Lusted 1988), which consisted of a signal-capturing unit that sampled eight channels of biosignals, which were then amplified, conditioned and translated to midi messages. The sensors were implemented as simple limb-worn velcro bands that were able to capture EMG, EEG, EOG, ECG and GSR signals. The BioMuse system, facilitated not only the analysis of the signals, but also the ability to use the results of the analysis to control other electronics in a precise and reproducible manner that had not been previously possible (Knapp and Lusted 1990)."

So, I'm guessing the only logical conclusion I can come up with is that Knapp and Lusted were obviously avid readers of the back half of Keyboard and must have come across this advertisement by Army Brat. How else could they have created their BioMuse system without the help from the CIA and Army Intelligence?

And its even more surprising considering that Army Brat was trying to keep the whole thing on the down-low.

From the end of the ad:

"We're trying to keep as low a profile as possible, but don't know how long we'll go undetected. GET IT NOW!!!"

Talk about high-pressure sales tactics.   :)