Please Send Lots of Money For Analog Synths

After our final Tech Forum session before the mid-semester break, I can unequivocally say I have fallen in love with the sound of analog synth. Whilst always maintaining a particular love for a nice tube amplifier as opposed to digital modeling, and being able to frequently distinguish the difference between analog and digital synthesizers on recordings, I don't think I had a proper impression of how amazing a high-quality analog synthesizer could sound when you were both in the same room whilst it was being played.

The first synthesizer to utilize a keyboard as a controller was created by Robert Moog and demonstrated at an Audio Engineering Society convention in 1965. Taking sometimes hours to set up, things had come a long way by the time the 80's hit, which if I recall correctly was roughly the time that the 2 main synths we played with were from.

The first thing that struck me as the first note was played in the Analog Studio was the Vanstone-sized, thick, enveloping tone of the sound emanating from this relatively small machine. The next was the incredible versatility of sound – one twist of a dial to alter the sine wave, or filter cutoff, or any of the other multitude of parameters – would result in a startlingly different sound, from piercing and crystalline to dark, soft and murky.

I have a friend who writes and produces trance music under the name Systembot, that swears by analog synths in the creation of his music. There has always been a discernable difference between his sound and that of many other commercial electronic artists of today (the type that get airplay on stations like Fresh FM) – a thick, warm and complex sound as opposed to the cold and soulless digital production of much modern trance music. Some of the modern digital modellers create a very convincing replica of the sound of a particular synth, but there still seems to be that can't-put-your-finger-quite-on-it something that isn't there. I think there's still quite a long way to go in authentically replicating the sound of a real, tangible live instrument.

Check out Josef Skrzek shredding.....on a moog!

The MiniMoog Model D from 1971

The Synergy of Sight and Sound

On The 27th of March we were given a presentation by several students who were currently enrolled in the Con's Diploma in music technology. I found Luke Digance's project particularly interesting, the exploration of synergy between audio and visual art and real-time manipulation of both.
The link between visuals and music is in many cases inseparable in the music world today - ask a person what images a certain piece of music conjures up in their heads and you'll often get all kinds of vivid descriptions of scenes, colours, characters and all sorts. Particularly in the image driven world of popular music, today's prevalance of so many different formats of media allows musicians to explore an aspect of their music that has become almost as important in some genres as the music itself.
Bands such as Tool, pictured below:



have used visuals as an intrinsic part of their performance since their very early days. The photo above is taken from one of their live shows and it's safe to say if you were a fan present at that show that the visuals would leave an indelible image in your mind that would from that point onward be associated with their music, and perhaps a particular moment where the music and visuals peaked. Sure, music alone can be just as powerful but if the visuals are planned and controlled by the band it allows them to have a much larger influence upon the colours and feelings associated with their music, taking the performance to another level of complexity for the senses to absorb. This is also seen in their music videos, most of which are claymation and have central themes and colours running through them that seem to complement the Tool sound.

Stinkfist, from Tool's "Aenima" album:


I'd be very interested to see the next performance by Luke and check out his 6-channel sound panning, adding another dimension to the experience...