Blink-182 say they are using analog keyboards from the 60's on their latest album. No specific models mentioned.

I especially like "Not My Slave".

If you like the ARP Omni or String Ensemble check out the Yamaha SK series. These combine strings, drawbar organ, and mono or poly synths which can be layered in various combinations.

Claviolines have high-note priority keyboard triggering which, depending on how you play it, can make a difference in how authentically it can be emulated by a synth. Some examples of high-note priority synths are Yamaha CS series monosynths, Korg 700S and MS series, and some Roland SH models. The C...

I think the Yamaha CS-15 is a closer comparison to the Korg MS-20. The CS-30 is far superior in nearly every way. I certainly wouldn't replace a CS-30 with an MS-20. Maybe as an addition to your setup an MS-20 would make some kind of sense. Personally, I consider the CS-15 to be a much better instru...

The ARP Odyssey is good for drones as well as other ARP's such as 2600 and Axxe.

Jan Hammer used to run his solo synth through a guitar amp when recording music for Miami Vice. So it has been done by a serious professional with good results. Don't know what mikes he used, but Shure SM57's are used a lot for miking guitar amps. I think he used Legend guitar amps.

Memorymoog Voyager Old School.

I had the good fortune to be able to spend several hours with a notable Mellotron player this past weekend. That would be John Hawken. His musical history goes back to the Star Club in Hamburg around the time the Beatles were there when he was with The Nashville Teens. They had a major hit with "Tob...

Some Multi-Timbral instruments have what is called dynamic voice-allocation which means you don't have to assign a specific number of voices to a part or MIDI channel. The number of voices is automatically assigned according to how many notes are actually played within the polyphony limits of the sy...

The Vocal Choir was the first disk I tried on the Orchestron. It was so fuzzy and indistinct sounding that I asked if it was a Flute. The rep indignantly replied "That's a Vocal Choir!" I said "Oh."

In the 70's we were all looking for the best sound quality. There were advances always being made in recording and stereo equipment. I was looking for an instrument that sounded as good as or better than a Mellotron without the technical problems. This quest for the ultimate sound quality caused man...

The Chamberlin was fairly common in Southern California in the 60's and 70's. Many of the Hollywood studios had them. Occasionally you would see a local band using one on stage. The earlier models were not tunable which limited there appeal somewhat. There was a Prog band in Orange County called Air...

Mike Pinder was the first to replace the Mellotron left-hand keyboard accompaniment tapes with straight instrument sounds. Later he commissioned the recording of new tapes for his Mellotrons which were first used on the Every Good Boy Deserves Favour album from 1971. 10CC made custom tapes for their...

The Nord definitely does the best Vox and Farfisa replications out there, but if you can't afford the price check out the Casio WK-3800. I got one of these brand new for 299.99 on a Black Friday sale at Sam Ash. It has a dedicated Drawbar organ section that does really good Hammond emulations, but w...