Tangerine Dream - what synth is this?

[dblondin]

What is playing the chuffy staccato sequence that starts about 2 minutes into this track and comes and goes throughout? I'm not even sure if it's analog or a sample of some sort.


There is something similar in this track, only slower in tempo:


And who do you guess programmed it? I'm thinking Chris Franke, as I've heard he handled a great deal of the sequenced stuff for TD back then. But I wouldn't know for sure.

[philip]

Im intrested here to know what sequencer did they use for that usually?

[shaft9000]

sounds like his typical Moog modular sound on Thief. PWM pulse VCO waves into moog904 LPF into moogCP3 mixer is that sound; for Thief it seems to have been run through some foggy phaser(Moog rack?) and of course the ever-present delay (usually set to dotted8th-note or straight-8th length).
Chris Franke's sequencers were often custom-built so if it's tough to say exactly what he used but i know the thief stuff can be readily done on any .com/MOTOM/5U with enough sequencing modules.
The parts on Thief can be sequenced using a Moog 960(or clone by .com, MOTM, Moon etc) for CV steps, a switch to change rows and extend the line longer than 8 notes, and clock divider. to get the fast staccatos a technique known as 'ratcheting' is employed: on a specific step, a gate is sent to the clock divider that triggers the ampEG at 2x or 3x of the root tempo, and on that step only.
It's the sort of thing that fixed-architecture synthesizers are not often if ever able to do convincingly.... why people buy modulars.

m intrested here to know what sequencer did they use for that usually?

... re=related

for 'Love...' they were well into a hybrid digi-analog sound by then.
i want to say PPG, but....Micke you want to jump in here?

a lot of that tune is in the arrangement and mixing; using delays and fx. the sequence is only a few notes and nothing more, so most anything that can do ties could do that pattern.

[philip]

some kind of custom sequencer.

[dblondin]

Thanks for such detailed info on that gear. To me, that particular sequence sounds a bit different than other things from that era. And from your description the gear is the same. So I'm not sure what it is. Maybe just Michael Mann's influence creeping in.

An MC8 was in use on Risky Business. And custom ones, maybe even the one in that video.

Christoph Franke: "That soundtrack was a case of too many chefs in the kitchen. After doing everything with Fender Rhodes and strings, we stumbled upon a minimal kind of thing, like Steve Reich or Philip Glass. It was a new way of drawing a romantic theme, which we still get credit for today. The Roland MC8 sequencers -- which were new then -- were central to this, as a lot more of our melodies could be programmed. And we built our own sequencers. Sequencers in the early days could only handle six or 10 notes. Suddenly, we had sequencers which could deal with 64 notes, which meant that our music had much more structure."

Source: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1995_ar ... ream2.html

[Syn303]

Tangerine Dream used custom sequencers built by Helmut Groethe. They also used EEH CM4 Sequencers.

Chris Franke's Modular Rig (80's)


EEH CM4 Digital Sequencers Used by TD (80's)

[waveterm]

EEH CM4 Digital Sequencers Used by TD (80's)

This is not an EEH CM4.

This is the Groethe sequencer.

WT

[john909kid]

Love TD... my favorite band of all time.. er well music up to 87 anyway.

Here's a pic of the EEH CM4 sequencer. Both Edgar and Johannes were using these for the Poland Dec 83 concert, and for some other shows around that time.

[suitandtieguy]

like this?

the sounds are different but the sequencing is as close to identical as you're ever going to get:

[ppg_wavecomputer]

"Diamond Diary" is a Prophet 5 for sequencing. Franke had it modified with individual audio outputs (each run separately through a Big Muff Pi) and more elaborate CV/Gate interfacing.

There´s also lots of Prophet 5 and Oberheim OB-X factory patches on that album (like that ascending sync sweep at the beginning of DD).

Johannes still refuses to sell me his CM-4.

Stephen

[dblondin]

Thank you Stephen for that awesome inside info. This thread makes me smile. Anyway, I've found doing this on modular (euro) to be rather complex but approachable. The sequencing, ok, got it. But achieving those F*CKING huge sounds and flowing arrangements that TD was putting out in droves those early days...man. I'm not still listening to TD except on rare occasions but every time I pop one of their albums in I'm just blown away and drooling with my jaw down. Thank you STG for posting that sequence - which inspired me to find more info about the gear and I found a great TD-like performance of you on the Archangel! I'm getting interested in that kit. I hope to check that out at Knobcon!

[Mooger5]

This tape must be shared. Enjoy!

[ppg_wavecomputer]

Very nice. This gives further evidence that they used the PPG340/380 (those two CBM monitors stacked behind Froese in the Sobornost video belong to the 340/380 system) a lot for additional sequencing at that time.

Stephen

[Micke]

Sure, the PPG 340/380 was definitely part of Froese's setup, at least during the European tours (fall 1980 to early 1981).

[suitandtieguy]

This tape must be shared. Enjoy!

HOLY s**t.

this is my favourite TD track ever.

thanks for posting this.