Moog PianoBar "Fall in love with your piano all over again!" brochure, 2003

Moog PianoBar "Fall in love with your piano all over again!" two page colour brochure from approximately 2003.

Well, here's a rare beast - a Moog PianoBar brochure!

I haven't run into this particular piece of literature anywhere online that I can remember - just in my local music store in the early- to mid-2000's.  My "guy" at the store knew I had a Moog Modular, Minimoog and Taurus pedals and would often put other Moog literature aside for me, including this brochure. This is the same awesome dude who gifted me his Sequential Circuits belt buckle, among other things. I've been frequenting that store for what must be over 35 years - and he's still there. And still a great guy.

Anyways, enough personal nostalgia.

If you aren't familiar with the PianoBar... um... that makes two of us. Sure, I'd heard of it. But never bothered to do any actual in-depth research into the thing. Then recently, I was hanging out in the Moog Fan Club Facebook group and one of the members posted some up-close-and-personal photos of the device in its carry-case. Serial number 0009 no less! Wowza.

Now, is that gorgeous, or what?!?!?!

Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah...I'm not familiar with the PianoBar. So, I pulled this brochure out of my archives. And that led me to become even more curious, so I did some research and this is what I've found out so far...

According to a 2005 Sound on Sound magazine review article on the PianoBar, it was "Moog, in concert with Buchla" that came up with the piano-to-MIDI converter. A New York Times 2016 article celebrating the life of Tom Buchla seemed to corroborate this by indicating that Buchla consulted with Moog to begin manufacturing the PianoBar in 2002.

But, I'm also finding references in forums indicating that it was more a Tom Buchla innovation that was then marketed by Moog.

For example, in the MusicPlayers forum under the question "What ever happened to the Moog PianoBar", member "The Real MC" commented "To be fair, the PianoBar was actually a Buchla product. Buchla gave it to Moog to sell."

Also, A CDM post from September 2005 indicates that "the device is actually the brainchild of synth legend Don Buchla, not Bob Moog as you might assume."

In any case, I dig any occasion where Moog and Buchla team up.

The brochure itself provides plenty of detail into how the PianoBar operates.

"What makes the PianoBar unique is the revolutionary, patented Scanner Bar, which sits ever so slightly above the piano's keys leaving the touch and feel wonderfully unaffected.  The Scanner Bar is less that 1/2" thick and rests against the fall board out of the way of the flying fingers. It contains sensor for each key that use infrared to detect their motion. The Pedal Sensor rests underneath the piano's pedals to register their motion. The Scanner Bar and Pedal Sensor work together to capture the full range of your expressive touch - from resounding chords to delicate passages."

How unique was it? That Sound on Sound article I mentioned earlier provides some great historical perspective for us by listing a few competing products.

"Approached in the right spirit, the device opens doors that hitherto simply weren't accessible to the piano player, unless you had the ultra-expensive Bösendorfer or Steinway systems, or the less expensive, yet still pricey, Yamaha Disklavier system. All these, of course, are built into the piano and therefore not transferable, unlike the Piano Bar. The ability to extend the sonic palette of your humble Joanna is, if not mind-blowing, pretty marvellous."

Pretty f**king unique.  :)

So, I was gonna stop there, but I've had a glass of wine and my ribs have another hour in the oven before I transfer them to the bbq for the finishing touch. So, lets keep this boat rockin'.

According to Electronic Musician's June 2004 review of the PianoBar by Allan Metts, the cost of the PianoBar was $1,495. And in the end, gave the device these ratings:

FEATURES 4.0
EASE OF USE 4.5
QUALITY OF SOUNDS 4.0
VALUE 3.5
RATING PRODUCTS FROM 1 TO 5 

PROS: Accurate piano tracking with no significant latency. Easy, noninvasive setup. Capable sound set.
CONS: Pedal Sensor moves too easily and needs height adjustment. No MIDI SysEx dump capability. Cable attaches only to the left side of the Scanner Bar.

That 2005 Sound on Sound review I keep referencing listed it at a UK price of 899.99 pounds, along with this:

Pros - The only viable device to let virtually any piano output MIDI.
 - Opens up all kinds of sound-layering possibilities.
 - Relatively straightforward to install if you're lucky.
 - Very fast triggering with no dicernable latency.
Cons - Can be fiddly to install and calibrate, depending on your piano.
 - Some piano actions are too far gone to make the Piano Bar usable.
 - Very dependent on the mechanics and tuning of your piano.

And remember that 2005 CDM post I referenced earlier? It indicated that Moog had a sale on the PianoBar at one point bringing the price down to $995.00 US!

"...Moog Music this week is introducing its “Be the First” promotion. Be the first, second, or third person in your U.S. metro area (Moog has identified 364), and you can get the PianoBar for as little as US$995. (You also have to be a school teacher, gigging musician, or someone else who can convince other people to buy them, so you can’t get the discount and take it to your cave — the Phantom of the Opera is totally disqualified.)"

A September 16, 2005 Synthopia article provided even more details on the price structure of the sale:

"If you are the first school, teacher, gigging musician, church, or studio to purchase the Moog PianoBar and are in position to share your enthusiasm for the product, your purchase price will be $995, a $500 savings off the published price. If you are the second qualified person in the metro area, your price will be $1095 – a $400 savings. If you are the third qualified person, your price will be $1195 – still a $300 savings!"

A common reference that come up when I started researching the PianoBar was Bruce Hornsby. Seems he was a big fan, and in a September 2009 interview with Keyboard Magazine it's explained that Bruce used it to play softsynths from the piano:

"You’ve been using the Moog Piano Bar to control soft synths from the piano and expand your sound palette beyond piano and voice, like on the new song “Invisible.” What is it about the combination of acoustic and electronic timbres that you find so alluring?

It all stems from the fact that I always hear an orchestra playing in my head. Not on all the songs, but often on ballads, like “Mandolin Rain,” “Here We Are Again,” and “Continents Drift.” If I’m playing bluesy, you’re not going to hear any MIDI, because I’m not hearing an orchestra in that stylistic setting. But “Invisible” is a perfect example of dialing in the Bob Moog. I’ve done a lot of solo concerts over the years where I’d show up in a new town to a piano supplied by Steinway. But it wasn’t MIDI’ed, so originally I’d put a Korg M1 on top, playing it with one hand and the piano with another. I used the sound “Overture,” which I came to find out that my old friend Bruce Springsteen used as well."

"Dialing in the Bob Moog." I like that phrase 0- going to have to start using it.

You can see the PianoBar in action in this excellent Spectrasonics YouTube video. Note that that lovely Moog PianoBar logo on the right side of the keyboard bar in a few shots.

Even more "legit", here's a 2003 Moog demo of the PianoBar. Audio not as good, but the coolness factor is through the roof:

Time for me to "Dial in the Bob Moog" on my modular.

Steinberg Cubit "Visual Song Processing" advertisement, Keyboard 1989 / Cubase "Buy it! Boot it! Love it! " advertisement, Electronic Musician 1990

Steinberg Cubit "Visual Song Processing"full page colour ad from page 65 in the May 1989 issue of Keyboard Magazine and Steinberg Cubase "Buy it! Boot it! Love it! Or your money back!" half page black and white ad from page 112 in the March 1990 issue of Electronic Musician Magazine.

I don't do it often, but today I have two scans. And for good reason!

I had actually scanned each one separately a while back and written little bits to form into future blog posts, but then this morning I noticed a tweet from Steinberg announcing it was Cubase's 30th anniversary. And I thought... heck - that's a bandwagon worth jumping on! So I went back, checked, and sure enough... this Cubit advertisement first showed up in the May 1989 issue of Keyboard Magazine

(Aside: That May 1989 issue of Keyboard Magazine isn't just exciting because of this initial Cubit ad. Its also the now-legendary CYBERPUNK issue.)

It wasn't just on this side of the pond that Stenberg was rolling out its successor to Twenty Four  III (aka PRO24) sequencing software - Cubit was being rolled out in Europe in magazines such as Music Technology  and Micro Music with large three page advertisements as well. Check out Mu:zines for those ads!

But the Cubit advertisements lasted for only a few months before Steinberg shut them down. The reason? According to Cubase's Wikipedia page, a trademark issue was forcing Steinberg to change the name.

And better for it too!

Well, it didn't take long for that name change to happen. How do I know? Well, for one, the Cubase ad includes quotes from three different 1989 magazine reviews - and those aren't the only reviews that came out soon after the Cubase name change. 

Music Technology magazine out of the UK was one of the first with their review. It was actually a two-part review that ran in the August and September 1989 issues running in at over 8000 words. And the reviewer Nigel Lord still didn't manage to cover all of Cubase's features.

In his verdict, he writes: 

"Quite honestly, this is the most impressive piece of music software I have yet encountered for the ST. And I certainly cannot conceive of it being possible to develop a more sophisticated sequencing package for that machine. As with most genuinely worthwhile designs, the transition from well-crafted tool to creative instrument is quite seamless - the features which give it a claim to both these titles being universally well thought-out and meticulously presented. Not only that, but it's a delight to use and one of that increasingly rare breed of technologically advanced designs which positively encourage the user to experiment and get to grips with it."

Not bad. Not bad at all. 

Sound on Sound's review also came out in their August 1989 issue. And I gotta say after reading David Hughes' verdict, we are starting to see a pattern...

"I like this program a lot. Cubase is a natural successor to Pro24 and I would strongly recommend Cubase to any existing Pro24 owners, who should remember that they can save quite a substantial amount of money if they take part in the part-exchange scheme that Steinberg are offering. I would also recommend this program to those musicians looking for a fully professional system with the potential for expansion. Cubase has this in abundance. I've used the review package for over a month now and Steinberg will find it difficult to prise it out of my hands. I feel that I've written some of my best music with Cubase, and consequently don't want to lose a single note of it. I enjoyed the sheer depth of this product. You simply won't exhaust the possibilities in a single night. It will take a great deal longer than that, I promise you."

Keyboard Magazine's October 1989 review by Jim Aikin was a little more low-key, but still very positive. In addition to the quote used in the Cubase ad I scanned, we get a little bit of software sequencer history along with Jim's conclusion:

"The impact made last year by C-Lab's Notator has forced other Atari sequencer developers to put some muscle in their hustle. With Cubase, Steinberg proves that they're up to the challenge; it's fully competitive with anything that Notator has to offer, except in the area of notation printout - and let's face it, that's not Notator's strong point either (me: Ouch!). Dr. T's KCS Level II still leads the pack in terms of sheer editing power, but its user interface is starting to look a bit long in the tooth, though there have been some strong enhancements in version 2.1..."

Interestingly, the ads for Cubase took a while to get into magazines. I'm not sure if this is because Steinberg had spent their 1989 marketing budgets on the earlier advertisements, or maybe they were just waiting for the Mac version slated to come out in early 1990 to be closer to production? 

No matter, because according to Steinberg's earlier Twenty Four software advertisement, there was already a base of 30,000 users. And many of those 30,000 users would have read those early positive reviews or started to see the software pop up in music shops.  

And the proof is in the pudding - or whatever that saying is.  30 years later Cubase is still going strong. 

Roland TR-505 drum machine "The first step..." brochure, 1986

Roland TR-505 drum machine "The first step in forming your own personal music system" four page colour brochure from October 1986.

Well, its May the 5th.

5/05.

505 day.

Sure, it's not as flashy as 808 day. Not as bouncy as 303 day. Not as Latin-y as 727 day. But dammit if I'm gonna ignore the baby of the Roland XOX family today.

Plus, its been a while since I've blogged. For good reason though - I'm getting ready to demolish my house. Everything is getting packed up as we speak. Bubble wrapping synths and drum machines. Boxing thousands of old synth magazines and brochures. And trying to figure out what to do with 10 Commodore 64's. No kidding. Its slow going. But its happening.

But I jut had to take some time out to post this lovely Roland TR-505 brochure.

The layout of the brochure follows the format of all those other lovely Roland brochures - like these two for the TR-909 and TR-808 (click on images to view corresponding blog posts and full sized scans).

        

Same large lettering on the front page with a ton of white space around it. And a gorgeous, artsy-esque image below. This time, Roland chose to use a dark slate rock formation as the backdrop, and included two of the 505's siblings, the TR-707 and TR-727, to help pump up the TR-505's cred. This wasn't an accident (more on that later).

Flip the page and Roland gets directly to the point with a title that makes it clear who the target market for the TR-505 is.

Newbies and the price-conscious.

Hey, everyone has to start somewhere.

The intro also hits directly at the intended audience with words and phrases like "economical" and "extremely affordable price". And to drive home the point that you are getting lots of value for the money, Roland makes sure to highlight the large number of sounds, large memory and full MIDI implementation found on the TR-505.

Roland references the TR-707 and 727 early on when hyping up the sounds on the 505. Smart move, as its a great way to suggest that what you are getting is the best of those two worlds in one small package.

And guess what... turn to the back page and there they are again. Sure, its a great way to cross promote a few other Roland products (standard fare in these brochures), but also to again make that connection in reader's minds between the the 505 and its bigger brothers. Nice work!

Now... do I have to address the obvious question?  How did the 505's sounds stack up to the 707 and 727. Well, the logical thing to do is plug in all three and hit record on the video camera. But unfortunately all three drum machines are bubble wrapped and wedged into big carrying totes at the moment. So, that will have to wait until next 505 day.

So, I tried to do the next best thing, which was Google it and read a couple of forum comments on the topic. And well, you can guess how that went. Hint: humans are mean SOBs.

So, in the end I loaded up Reason and got my sample packs out. I compared the 505 and 707/727 sounds from two different sample packs, in case any samples in any given sample pack weren't recorded properly. In the end, there wasn't any perceived differences between samples in the different sample packs.

Here's my thoughts*:
*you have a right to your wrong opinion  :)


Bass drum:  ounds are different. The 505 bass drum has less low end than the two 707 bass drums.

Snare: 505 snare is definitely different than the two 707 snares. But all three have some punch to them. And definitely belong to the same family of sounds.

Low, medium and hi toms: Definitely different between the two machines. The 707's toms were longer, with a bit more natural hollowness (for lack of a better word) to them.

Rim shot: Surprisingly, almost exactly the same - with the 707 slightly lower in pitch.

Closed hi-hat: Definitely different. 505 slightly lower in pitch. But both work great to cut through a track.

Open hi-hat: Very similar. Surprised by that.

Low conga: 727 conga slightly longer and lower in pitch than the 505.

High conga: 505 and 727 similar in sound, with 727 slightly higher in pitch.

Timbale: The 505 timbale sounds slightly similar to the 727 high timbale sound, but is a shorter sample with less high-end at the beginning on the sound - less "snap". The 727 low timbale has no comparison.

Cowbell: There are hi and low cowbells on the 505 and only one on the 707. All three sound different, but are pleasing to my ears. I love cowbells!

Hand clap: The 505 and 707 hand claps sound similar, but are definitely not the same samples. The 707 might be slightly beefier and I prefer it.

Crash cymbal: The samples are different, with the 505 having a bit more "crashiness" up front before tailing off. The 707 has more of a steady tail, if that makes sense.

Ride cymbal: Very different samples - you can even see it in the wave form. The 707 ride has much more "ting" at the beginning of the sound than the 505 does, and a lot more body to it as well. I prefer the 707 sample.

Of course, there's a tambourine sound on the 707 that isn't included on the 505. And there are a lot of the 727 sounds that aren't included on the 505 including hi and low bongo, hi and low agogos , cabasa, maracas, short and long whistle, quijada and star chime.

But I think that Roland did a decent job of selecting to include congas and timbales sounds on the 505. Sure, they could always have added more... but remember -  the 505 was created with cost in mind.

Enjoy 505 day, every one!

Casio LZ-1000 synthesizer "Why would you let your friends choose any other synthesizer" ad, Keyboard Magazine 1998

Casio LZ-1000 phase distortion and sample playback synthesizer "Why would you let your friends..." full page colour advertisement from the inside front cover of the April 1998 issue of Keyboard Magazine.

Let's face it... Casio knew a good thing when they saw it.

And *everyone* was as happily surprised as Casio when David Schwimmer finally got the chance to show off his virtuoistic chops on a Casio CT-460 in his hit TV docu-drama "Friends" in 1997.

Blessed with a peerless technique, David's repertoire on the show was wide-ranging, taking in everything from Merzbow and Beethoven, to Coltrane, Parker and Monk, not to mention his own masterful transcriptions and other compositions. It was, perhaps, his sense of spontaneity and impeccable timing that only comes from years of training that made his live performances on "Friends" so fresh and exciting for the studio audience, America and the world.

Knowing a good thing when they saw it, Casio quickly made an endorsement deal with David and upgraded his gear. Within a few short months you could find David's trademark smile and I-don't-care-if-my-music-is-too-loud shrug on every magazine rack in Liechtenstein, Tuvalu and Saskatchewan for months to come. And, of course, it could also be found in this Casio LZ-1000 advertisement which Casio paid good money to place strategically on the inside front cover of Keyboard Magazine for over two years.

Casio and Schwimmer were a perfect fit - an awesome sounding keyboard with some of the latest "Moo", "Bark", "Ding Dong" and "Pew Pew!" sound samples recorded to date, paired with a light-up keyboard that let new users play along with some of David Schwimmer's latest and greatest hits that came pre-programmed with the internal sequencer.

Utilizing some of the latest Internet technology, owners of the LZ-1000 could dial-up to AOL and connect directly with Casio to download Schwimmer's latest hits twice a year. Casio's state of the art sample compression algorithms allowed users to download the package of songs, including the Schwimmer's personally recorded 16 bit/44.1kHz samples, in under six hours and averaging less than $200 in telephone and AOL fees.

I managed to catch his set in Chicago at the 2005 Lolapalooza festival. His set began quietly, with David lingering over just a few short samples, avoiding the urge to head straight for the shredding post-punk that dominated his playing style during that time period. By the fifth hour, the intensity started to build, unleashing explosions of raw energy on the audience of campers next to the festival.

I bought his t-shirt. Who wouldn't?

Casio kept the AOL service running for over 20 years until the endorsement deal unfortunately and suddenly collapsed at the 2017 Amsterdam Dance Event in Belgium where David unexpectedly took his music in a new, totally acoustic direction.

Keyboard Magazine's Jim Aikin concluded his review of the LZ-1000 in the July 1998 issue, stating "...It works, but what's with all the animal sounds?", before giving it a solid 8 out of 10. Coincidentally, Jim also reviewed Schwimmer's newly released electro album "Coffee with Friends" in the same issue asking a similar question.

Here's a great look back at David's authentic and expressive playing style that captivated viewers around the world.

What an inspiration.

Propellerhead ReBirth (RB-338) Techno Micro Composer "Believe the unbelievable" brochure, 1997

Propellerhead ReBirth (RB-338) Techno Micro Composer "Believe the unbelievable" four page colour brochure from 1997.

Full disclosure - I'm a huuuuuge Reason fan. I have a great auto-load template set up that opens with two TBL3 303 emulators, and two Kongs - one with 808 sounds and one with 909 sounds. Great for when I'm on the road. Or in bed.

So, you can't be surprised that I was a huge ReBirth fan way back when as well. It was such a game changer. So much fun.

But I was a little surprised when I came across this brochure, along with about 200 others that I got for free (from a guy who knew a guy). Reading through it brought back some great memories. If you have any recollection of using this software, it's definitely worth the eye-ball time.

The brochure itself is amazing looking - the scans of the front and back cover do not do the shiny silver colour justice. The cool design is top notch with lots of space. Just the way I like 'em.

And did you catch the TWO logos? I'd forgotten how close Propellerhead and Steinberg were. Steinberg first partnered with Propellerhead for their Recycle music loop editing software. And the success of Recycle helped keep that partnership going, with the money made helping fund the development of ReBirth.

But, according to a 2013 speakhertz.com interview with then Propellerhead CEO Ernst Nathorst-Böös, that partnership ended with Reason.

"...it fairly quickly became clear to us that the cultures of the two companies were very different. They were distributing our products, among other things, and did a great job of it. But when Reason came around, we decided that it was important for us to also handle those aspects of our business ourselves."

Remember, Steinberg already had Cubase. Sure, two very different DAWs, but still competitors.

"They had Cubase and we had ReBirth. When Reason came out, it just seemed like the natural thing to do to end the distribution relationship. But we kept working together on making our products work well together, using ReWire and REX technologies."

Ernst speaks highly of Steinberg throughout the interview. It's a good read for anyone interested.

One interesting observation I made while looking through this version of the brochure is that Propellerhead never directly references the TB-303 or TR-808 in the brochure copy. In the introductory paragraph they write about "a silver box" and "303 sound". Later on they reference "two silver synths and a black drum machine". And in the Functions Overview section they reference "two bass line synthesizers, one 'analog' drum machine".

Its not until the legalese section on the back page that they tell us what we already know (and love!)...

"ReBirth RB-338 software synthesizer is a new, original product that simulates the sound of the discontinued Roland products TB-303 and TR-808. However, the product is in no way connected with Roland Corporation."

This apparent policy to avoid direct comparison with Roland's gear changes in future ReBirth promo material...

Stay tuned!