The great thread of electronic/synthesizer soundtracks

Micke · Post by **Micke** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:37 pm

MrFrodo wrote:These are from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, even though they weren't used in the film. Can any of you ascertain just what kind of gear was used for these songs?

In 1984, when this song was recorded, David Frank's setup included a Minimoog, Oberheim system (OB-Xa, DMX, DSX), Memorymoog,
PPG Wave 2.3 (I think)), DX-7 and DX-1. I'm sure some of that stuff made it to this track.

MrFrodo · Post by **MrFrodo** » Sat Feb 23, 2013 4:34 am

Wow, I thought the DX1 wasn't on the market until the following year.

Micke · Post by **Micke** » Sat Feb 23, 2013 6:48 pm

Actually, the DX-1 was released around the same time as the DX-7 and DX-9 in 1983. I don't think it was available outside of Japan until
1984 though. The DX-5 on the other hand came out in 1985.

The mighty DX-1 was also used in some movie soundtracks eg 2010: Odyssey Two (David Shire, 1984), Phantasm II (Fred Myrow &
Chris Stone, 1988) and Paperhouse (Hans Zimmer, 1988).

However, its most famous use is probably on Dire Straits' "Money For Nothing" where it provides the 'metallic" stab chords.

MrFrodo · Post by **MrFrodo** » Sun Feb 24, 2013 5:00 am

Wicked cool stuff, Micke. I sometimes consider the DX-5, even though it's probably not as versatile as the DX-1.

To your knowledge, did Harold Foltermeyer use either of those synths for his Beverly Hills Cop score?

Micke · Post by **Micke** » Sun Feb 24, 2013 5:42 pm

No, Faltermeyer used a DX-7 (among other synths) on BHC. He added a TX-816 to his setup in late '84/early '85 and a Synclavier for BHC 2 (1987).

As far as the DX-5 is concerned, it's one of the synths featured on the soundtracks to Runaway Train (1985) and Labyrinth (1986).
It provides the slap bass sounds in the following cues:

UK synthesist/session keyboardist Dave Lawson did the synth work. Dave played on everything that Trevor Jones did up to 'Sea of Love' (1989).
Then started again on 'GI Jane' (1997).

MrFrodo · Post by **MrFrodo** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:49 am

Awesome stuff< micke. Leave it to you.
Do you research this stuff for a living?

iProg · Post by **iProg** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 1:35 pm

MrFrodo wrote:Wicked cool stuff, Micke. I sometimes consider the DX-5, even though it's probably not as versatile as the DX-1.

To your knowledge, did Harold Foltermeyer use either of those synths for his Beverly Hills Cop score?

He used the Moog 15 for the famous bass line.

Micke · Post by **Micke** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 2:15 pm

MrFrodo wrote:Awesome stuff< micke. Leave it to you.
Do you research this stuff for a living?

No, this is just a big hobby for me

Micke · Post by **Micke** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 2:19 pm

iProg wrote:
MrFrodo wrote:Wicked cool stuff, Micke. I sometimes consider the DX-5, even though it's probably not as versatile as the DX-1.

To your knowledge, did Harold Foltermeyer use either of those synths for his Beverly Hills Cop score?
He used the Moog 15 for the famous bass line.

The Axel F bassline is a stack of Moog 15 + Oberheim OB-8. Faltermeyer told me so himself. Some sources out there
claim it was the Jup-8 but that's not true.

Based on info provided by Faltermeyer, here's a gearlist for Beverly Hills Cop and Thief of Hearts (both from 1984):
Moog 15
Roland system 700
Roland TR808
Linn LM-1 & (modified) Linndrum
Yamaha DX-7
Roland Jupiter-8
Oberheim OB-8
Roland JX-3P

MrFrodo · Post by **MrFrodo** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 5:45 am

A classic 80s arsenal. How many people DIDN'T use a DX7 and either a Prophet or an OB?

What part of the LinnDrum was modified to your knowledge, Micke? Was it the tuning function?

Micke · Post by **Micke** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:50 pm

I don't know in what way the Linndrum was modified. However he did use stock sounds, but highly compressed and timed.

Esus · Post by **Esus** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 7:23 pm

Just watched Alone In The Dark (1982), and really liked Renato Serio's score. It sound like a combination of electronic/orchestral, but I'm not sure. Very little info on the Web about Serio. Micke, do you have any info on him?

Micke · Post by **Micke** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 8:46 pm

Esus: No, not much I'm afraid. I don't think I've heard any of Serio's scores before (and he seems to have done quite a few).
His unreleased score to Alone In The Dark sounds interesting though: