Synthesizers Part 3

The 1980's.  Ah, the big snare sounds, reverb on absolutely everything and of course synth-pop.  Here's where the synth not only played it's place in music, but took over in many cases.  Bands emerged that were fully synth based, even for live shows.  The live show factor indicated just how far technology had come.  At last synths were stable enough to consistently produce a sound, and they could also store your own sounds, which could be recalled at the touch of a button.

There is one synth that stands out amongst all others from the early 80's is the Yamaha DX7.  This synth incorporated two things that made a difference.  It was digital, not anologue and it used a new type of synthesis called FM, frequency modulation.  It also had MIDI included which was a big plus considering it's reasonable price.  The DX7 became the biggest selling synth of all time.

You would be better off asking which pop star hasn't used a DX7 rather than who has.  They are still used today to create unique sounds.  Big users during the 80's included, Phil Collins, U2, The Cure, Level 42, Herbie Hancock, Depeche Mode, Stevie Wonder and the list goes on...

So, with the almighty DX7 in place, what could another manufacturer do to get some sales?  Well, the one thing that made the difference to everybody was MIDI (what is MIDI?).  Finally synths could talk to each other and to computers, not that computers were much to speak about in the early 80's.  You could now run a show from your keyboard and program very tricky musical phrases.  Suddenly every instrument had it.

MIDI opened up new markets to the manufacturers.  People who couldn't play a note, were all of a sudden able to programme them!  "Look mum, I can make music!"  So, you didn't have to make the best synth in the world, you just had to fill a small niche.  Let's make a synth that does drums only!  Let's make a synth that does orchestral sounds!  Let's make a synth that does great, luscious ambient pads!  And that's what happened.  You also had a range that tried to emulate a whole set of instruments.

It was also that synths were digital now.  They relied on miro chips, and it opened a whole new world of possibilities as they were much more powerful than analogue synths.

There were some classics though.  Rolands TR808, drum module.  Phil Collins used it almost every song. Rolands JX series.  I remember when I first heard it.  I thought it was a real violin sound!  Now it make me laugh, it's horrible!  Korg produced a huge range of affordable synths and introduced the 'wave synthesis', which allowed several sounds at once.  You could have an drum sound mixed with a pad, all from one key.

Into the 90's it seemed there was more of the same, except that each synth was smarter at doing its job.  Computers had also come a long way and they combined to create a way of working that is still a fundamental part of the recording process.  Computers became the 'command central' of synths.  You could have a bank of synths, each with sixteen sounds.  You could edit each note, change sounds, adjust tempo, pitch, velocity of the note strike and a heap of other parameters.

The one thing this did to the recording process was to slow it down and make us look a little too closely at things that didn't really matter.  In the late 90's as computers became more powerful, you could start running a synth inside the computer.  I mean, it has a CPU that can generate the sounds, so why not use it.  All you need is a 'master' keyboard.  It doesn't need to actually make any sound though, it just a way of playing all the synths you have in your PC.

That's where we are today.You can still buy a synth in keyboard form, but you would also be able to buy it as a 'software synth'.  Everything happens in the PC.

It is truly amazing for someone like me who's first experience of a synth was with patch cords and a small keyboard, to see what they can do now.  You can have a serious number of synths in your PC, capable of a staggering number of sounds.  All crystal clear, delivered straight into your audio software for mixing.  Not only that but there are communities of people on the web that create new sounds and post them so you download and instal.

Some say you can't beat an old analogue synth.  I think that was true five years ago.  Not now.