Hours of Vintage Synth Test Recordings...

Discussions about anything analog, digital, MIDI, synth technology, techniques, theories and more.
Post Reply
User avatar
HideawayStudio
Supporting Member!
Supporting Member!
Posts:1397
Joined:Fri Jan 09, 2009 10:41 pm
Real name:Dani Wilson
Gear:163 tubes in a large wooden box!
Band:Shortwave
Location:UK
Contact:
Hours of Vintage Synth Test Recordings...

Post by HideawayStudio » Tue Mar 30, 2021 7:37 pm

I wanted to share a playlist that has been growing ever longer of test recordings I've been making over the years of resurrected kit for private clients having landing on the bench often for major TLC. The figure makes me feel worn out just looking at it but its now totalling well over 500 including some very rare wonders including some of my own like the infamous Novachord 346 which is now 82 years old and still in the land of the living!:

https://soundcloud.com/hideaway-studio/ ... age-synths

User avatar
Vxster
Moderator
Moderator
Posts:464
Joined:Fri Sep 24, 2004 7:20 pm
Location:Luton, UK

Re: Hours of Vintage Synth Test Recordings...

Post by Vxster » Tue Mar 30, 2021 10:03 pm

There's some great stuff there, Dan. I could spend ages going through it!

User avatar
madtheory
Supporting Member!
Supporting Member!
Posts:5646
Joined:Mon May 01, 2006 12:45 pm
Real name:Tomas Mulcahy
Gear:Wurlitzer Opus 1536, Model F, Morovdis Arpeggiator, Maplin My First EQ, Jeff Wayne Thunderchild rack, Thermostat, Buck Owens' Moog.
Location:Cork, Ireland
Contact:

Re: Hours of Vintage Synth Test Recordings...

Post by madtheory » Wed Mar 31, 2021 11:39 am

Oh wow thanks D.A.!

User avatar
KayBur
Newbie
Newbie
Posts:21
Joined:Tue Mar 23, 2021 4:23 pm
Real name:Kay Burton

Re: Hours of Vintage Synth Test Recordings...

Post by KayBur » Wed Mar 31, 2021 3:31 pm

Great music tracks! You are well done and doubly well done for deciding to share the fruits of your labors with the community!

clubbedtodeath
Expert Member
Expert Member
Posts:1057
Joined:Fri Apr 10, 2009 12:12 am

Re: Hours of Vintage Synth Test Recordings...

Post by clubbedtodeath » Thu Apr 01, 2021 12:14 pm

You won't be surprised I went straight for the Novachord!

Beautiful tracks - thank you for sharing.

CyberStien
Newbie
Newbie
Posts:3
Joined:Sat Apr 10, 2021 4:21 pm

Re: Hours of Vintage Synth Test Recordings...

Post by CyberStien » Sat Apr 10, 2021 6:35 pm

Very very cool.

hypnos96
Newbie
Newbie
Posts:1
Joined:Mon Apr 26, 2021 11:54 am

Re: Hours of Vintage Synth Test Recordings...

Post by hypnos96 » Mon Apr 26, 2021 11:55 am

so nice :D :o :)

User avatar
HideawayStudio
Supporting Member!
Supporting Member!
Posts:1397
Joined:Fri Jan 09, 2009 10:41 pm
Real name:Dani Wilson
Gear:163 tubes in a large wooden box!
Band:Shortwave
Location:UK
Contact:

Re: Hours of Vintage Synth Test Recordings...

Post by HideawayStudio » Tue May 11, 2021 1:13 pm

awwh.. many thanks to all of you for your kind comments - there are a great deal more to follow - there is a never ending stream of beasts reaching my workshop bench and it only seems to be growing as all our beloved kit just gets older... :giveheart:

User avatar
HideawayStudio
Supporting Member!
Supporting Member!
Posts:1397
Joined:Fri Jan 09, 2009 10:41 pm
Real name:Dani Wilson
Gear:163 tubes in a large wooden box!
Band:Shortwave
Location:UK
Contact:

Re: Hours of Vintage Synth Test Recordings...

Post by HideawayStudio » Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:34 am

Been working very hard on undertaking major repairs resurrecting a burnt out 1983 Fairlight CMI Series IIx and after a great deal of fault finding and component replacement the beast is back up and running on all 8 of her channel cards.

I added the latest test recording to my Secret World of Vintage Synths playlist - the beast going through her paces whilst testing out the realtime controllers and delayed vibratos following major overhaul - in this case the foot controller is mapped to the filter cutoff...



The playlist itself is here now with well over 100 test recordings from my workshop from recent years:

https://soundcloud.com/hideaway-studio/ ... age-synths

User avatar
desmond
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts:930
Joined:Tue Oct 11, 2005 12:32 pm
Contact:

Re: Hours of Vintage Synth Test Recordings...

Post by desmond » Mon Aug 30, 2021 10:07 am

Nice Dan! Must be great to bring these things back to life!

Sounds like a 1980s John Carpenter score... 8-)

User avatar
madtheory
Supporting Member!
Supporting Member!
Posts:5646
Joined:Mon May 01, 2006 12:45 pm
Real name:Tomas Mulcahy
Gear:Wurlitzer Opus 1536, Model F, Morovdis Arpeggiator, Maplin My First EQ, Jeff Wayne Thunderchild rack, Thermostat, Buck Owens' Moog.
Location:Cork, Ireland
Contact:

Re: Hours of Vintage Synth Test Recordings...

Post by madtheory » Tue Aug 31, 2021 1:12 pm

We are lucky to have someone like you around to maintain these wonderful instruments Dani. Can I ask what effects processing was added to the CMI there?

User avatar
HideawayStudio
Supporting Member!
Supporting Member!
Posts:1397
Joined:Fri Jan 09, 2009 10:41 pm
Real name:Dani Wilson
Gear:163 tubes in a large wooden box!
Band:Shortwave
Location:UK
Contact:

Re: Hours of Vintage Synth Test Recordings...

Post by HideawayStudio » Tue Aug 31, 2021 1:38 pm

madtheory wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 31, 2021 1:12 pm
We are lucky to have someone like you around to maintain these wonderful instruments Dani. Can I ask what effects processing was added to the CMI there?
:giveheart: Ah thanks, it is an obsession for sure - but then again, I'd never find the strength if it wasn't....

The number of times people have asked this question regarding several of my recordings now.. truth be known I am almost scared to divulge this one for fear of sending prices sky high but the stock "String Reverb" patch in the little Roland VM-3100 digital mixer has been my go-to reverb for live improvs and test recordings for many years now - there is something about it I find just works with a lot source material. I just set the decay time to what I require and pretty much leave the plethora of other parameters alone.

It would actually be interesting to know what the roots of the reverb section are - I think they may be derived from the Roland RSS (COSM?) era but its hard to know if the FX subsystem has been lifted out of another product (they often are in similar products). Whatever.. I like the sound of it and TBH my interest in pre-IR based digital reverb technology has very much been rekindled in recent years - in fact, I have a QuadraVerb on the bench at the moment I'm revisiting for the first time in 20 years! :D
Last edited by HideawayStudio on Thu Sep 02, 2021 10:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
madtheory
Supporting Member!
Supporting Member!
Posts:5646
Joined:Mon May 01, 2006 12:45 pm
Real name:Tomas Mulcahy
Gear:Wurlitzer Opus 1536, Model F, Morovdis Arpeggiator, Maplin My First EQ, Jeff Wayne Thunderchild rack, Thermostat, Buck Owens' Moog.
Location:Cork, Ireland
Contact:

Re: Hours of Vintage Synth Test Recordings...

Post by madtheory » Tue Aug 31, 2021 2:03 pm

Ah, the Roland reverbs are great. Even the very restricted one in the D-50 does some interesting things.
HideawayStudio wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 31, 2021 1:38 pm
I have a QuadraVerb on the bench at the moment I'm revisiting for the first time in 20 years! :D
Me too! It's getting a new display. Such a well thought out box with a great sounding reverb all its own style. I had it in the rack for the resonator. I must confess though, that I made and purchased IRs of it so it doesn't get plumbed in to the system any more. It's too noisy and recall in a plugin is way more convenient. The main reason though, was the new Resonator in Ableton. Finally, playable with a keyboard!

Post Reply