Keyboards

Let me start this out by saying, I am not a musician, I am an enthusiastic listener.

In reading reviews on this site I have noticed that although I have been listening to music for a long time and am an expert in what I like (limited of course to what I know because I can't know I like something unless I have heard it) I do not know technical things about instruments that are often noted. What I am interested in now, why I am unsure, is how to tell different types of keyboards that I am listening to. Perhaps a non-musician won't be able to do this but if some of you are willing to indulge these questions from one who is unitiated in these mattters, maybe I can get some help here.

Mellotron - I have read about the mellotron opening to Watcher of the Skies and know the song and the opening well. Does mellotron commonly sound similar to the sound in Watcher of the Skies or does it sound different through a multitude of different set-ups like an electric guitar? Is mellotron the dominant electric keyboard in Supper's Ready? Can I get a couple of other well known examples to compare and see if I can recognize that particular instrument in other songs? Are there certain artists or songs that exclusively or almost exclusively use mellotron.

What king of organ/keyboard does Deep Purple use on the Machine Head album?

The church organ sound seems obviously recognizable. Is that sound commonly simulated on synthesizers? Didn't Rick Wakeman use actual church organs to lay down studio tracks?

What keyboards are your favorites and what songs typify what you like?

I realize this is a sprawling thread and may seem stupid to some or many of you, but I would appreciate any rules of thumb or other insight you care to offer.

arcer wrote:

 
with a lot of sounds it's kinda like trying to identify the
particular guitar a player used when recording a
song. Very difficult unless you actually see the player
in action (like seeing David Gilmour
uncharacteristically using a Gibson Les Paul junior
or similar on Brain Damage from DSOTM when he is
always associated with Fender Strats)

I swear blind that on the making of Dark side of the moon' film Dave was actually using a Danelectro guitar...i'm positive,well worth re-checking.

In general though...
Mellotrons were early 'sampling' technology. Tape
loops were made of say a string section or a flute
and when a key was pressed the tapes would play,
either faster or slower to alter the pitch to the note
being depressed. Normally took you can hear wow
and flutter on these tapes - a very distinctive warble
in the sound. You can hear this on the flutes on
Strawberry Fields by the Beatles, The strings on
Watcher and the choirs on Supper's Ready/Cinema
Show.
In genereal the mellotron sounds used in prog were
strings, choirs, flutes and brass. Listen for that
warble. Also with mellotrons, a depressed note
would only sound for a finite time, leading to a
distinctive playing style in which no notes are held
indefinitely, this is another key to the sound.

Fender Rhodes electric piano/Wurlitzer - Wurlitzers
are the ones used by Supertramp - have a listen to
the sounds on Crime of the Century etc and these
are characteristic Wurlys - often put through an effect
called a phaser which swirls the sound. Rhodes
pianos sound more bell like and can be heard to
good effect on Yes' relayer album and on a lot Gentle
Giant tracks.

Hammond B/C3 - The big grungey sound of a
hammond is a characteristic prog sound. But again
these had controls with which you could colour the
sound. These were drawbars which you could move
to add treble, bass, brightness, etc to emulate the
various stops on a real organ - you could go for a
more 'brassy' sound or a more 'flutey' tone. What is
distinctively Hammond though is the Leslie speaker
cabinet most people played them through. This
featured a rotating tweeter at the top which created a
Doppler effect which gives the Hammond its
characteristic swirling pulsing sound. listen for that
sound, Jon Lord's work will give you great clues, he
used it brilliantly. Child in Time and the intro to Lazy
from Made in Japan will pretty much take you through
the gamut of Hammond tones!

Synths - This is where it gets complicated. There
were so many. Wakeman used Moogs and Korgs a
lot, Jean Michel Jarre used a lot of ARPs. Actually
JMJ is a good place to start identifying the sounds
because there's nothing else going on - the ARPs
are very distinct in that dreamy string-like sound he
gets (again they seems to have been put through a
phaser).
The sounds you hear on Pink Floyd's On the Run
from DSOTM are made with a VCS3.

Again look at the film for the making od DSOTM...You will  see Roger Waters recording the mentioned track with the EMS synths,there actually 'SYNTHI-AKS' not 'VCS-3' as stated on the album packet.Essentially the same machine,'Synti-AKS' is in a siut case,type case,where as the 'VCS-3' is in a nice sit up & beg solid wooden cabinet...

Rush used Moogs and Oberheims - its an Oberheim
you hear on Tom Sawyer, a Moog you hear on
Xanadu.
There were so many synths out there and they were
so editable in their sound (twist a controller and the
sound changed completely) that its very hard to
postively identify any sounds. Liner notes are always
a good guide. Read what the keys player used,
separate out the hammond, pianos, mellotrons etc
and there you have the synths (if they're listed)
It's a minefield but really enjoyable (at least to nerds
like me to find out)
Wakeman - Moogs, Korgs MS20, Hammond,
mellotron etc
vangelis - yamaha CS80 & the rare Sequential circuits 'Prphet 10' (A double keyboard 'Prophet 5'
JMJ - Arp 2600, Mellotron etc
Tony Banks - Tons of mellotron, Moogs? ARP
Rick Wright - Hammond, Rhodes, Clavinet, not clear
on the synths - I would guess a Yamaha String
Machine or an ARP on Shine On??/


There is a synth museum website where you can
audition sounds from the various machines. I can't
remember the url but a google search should get
you there. Failing that try some of the software
companies who have been emulating classic synths

Korg, Arturia, Native Instruments, GMedia etc - have
a look at their websites and you'll find recreations of
the most important 70s synths and you can hear
demos of them which will give you an idea of what
they sounded like

Hope this of some use in your quest and happy
listening and identifying

arcer wrote: Raymon, with a lot of sounds it's kinda like trying to identify the particular guitar a player used when recording a song. Very difficult unless you actually see the player in action (like seeing David Gilmour uncharacteristically using a Gibson Les Paul junior or similar on Brain Damage from DSOTM when he is always associated with Fender Strats) In general though... Mellotrons were early 'sampling' technology. Tape loops were made of say a string section or a flute and when a key was pressed the tapes would play, either faster or slower to alter the pitch to the note being depressed. Normally took you can hear wow and flutter on these tapes - a very distinctive warble in the sound. You can hear this on the flutes on Strawberry Fields by the Beatles, The strings on Watcher and the choirs on Supper's Ready/Cinema Show. In genereal the mellotron sounds used in prog were strings, choirs, flutes and brass. Listen for that warble. Also with mellotrons, a depressed note would only sound for a finite time, leading to a distinctive playing style in which no notes are held indefinitely, this is another key to the sound. Fender Rhodes electric piano/Wurlitzer - Wurlitzers are the ones used by Supertramp - have a listen to the sounds on Crime of the Century etc and these are characteristic Wurlys - often put through an effect called a phaser which swirls the sound. Rhodes pianos sound more bell like and can be heard to good effect on Yes' relayer album and on a lot Gentle Giant tracks. Hammond B/C3 - The big grungey sound of a hammond is a characteristic prog sound. But again these had controls with which you could colour the sound. These were drawbars which you could move to add treble, bass, brightness, etc to emulate the various stops on a real organ - you could go for a more 'brassy' sound or a more 'flutey' tone. What is distinctively Hammond though is the Leslie speaker cabinet most people played them through. This featured a rotating tweeter at the top which created a Doppler effect which gives the Hammond its characteristic swirling pulsing sound. listen for that sound, Jon Lord's work will give you great clues, he used it brilliantly. Child in Time and the intro to Lazy from Made in Japan will pretty much take you through the gamut of Hammond tones! Synths - This is where it gets complicated. There were so many. Wakeman used Moogs and Korgs a lot, Jean Michel Jarre used a lot of ARPs. Actually JMJ is a good place to start identifying the sounds because there's nothing else going on - the ARPs are very distinct in that dreamy string-like sound he gets (again they seems to have been put through a phaser). The sounds you hear on Pink Floyd's On the Run from DSOTM are made with a VCS3. Rush used Moogs and Oberheims - its an Oberheim you hear on Tom Sawyer, a Moog you hear on Xanadu. There were so many synths out there and they were so editable in their sound (twist a controller and the sound changed completely) that its very hard to postively identify any sounds. Liner notes are always a good guide. Read what the keys player used, separate out the hammond, pianos, mellotrons etc and there you have the synths (if they're listed) It's a minefield but really enjoyable (at least to nerds like me to find out) Wakeman - Moogs, Korgs MS20, Hammond, mellotron etc vangelis - yamaha CS80 JMJ - Arp 2600, Mellotron etc Tony Banks - Tons of mellotron, Moogs? ARP Rick Wright - Hammond, Rhodes, Clavinet, not clear on the synths - I would guess a Yamaha String Machine or an ARP on Shine On??/ There is a synth museum website where you can audition sounds from the various machines. I can't remember the url but a google search should get you there. Failing that try some of the software companies who have been emulating classic synths Korg, Arturia, Native Instruments, GMedia etc - have a look at their websites and you'll find recreations of the most important 70s synths and you can hear demos of them which will give you an idea of what they sounded like Hope this of some use in your quest and happy listening and identifying

This help in understanding a bit more about what I generally call keyboards. Great one Arcer