Geoff Downes
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey "Geoff" Downes (born 25 August 1952) is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 keyboard
Musical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...

 player, songwriter, best known as the keyboardist for the bands The Buggles
The Buggles
The Buggles were an English New Wave band consisting of Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes . They are remembered chiefly for their 1979 debut single "Video Killed the Radio Star" that was #1 on the singles chart in 16 countries. Its music video was the first to be shown on MTV in the U.S...

, Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...

 and Asia
Asia (band)
Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup as it included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely John Wetton , Geoff Downes , Steve Howe and Carl Palmer Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a...

, of which he is the only consistent member. When he was a keyboardist for The Buggles, he played multiple keyboards to achieve a New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

 technopop sound. He was once entered for the Guinness Book Of Records for performing with the most keyboards (28) on stage in one performance.

Biography

Downes was born at Stepping Hill Hospital
Stepping Hill Hospital
Stepping Hill Hospital in a hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchester.Stepping Hill Hospital is Stockport NHS Foundation Trust's main hospital, which looks after a population of approximately 350,000 people. Dr C. F. Burke is the Trust's Chief Executive while...

, Hazel Grove in Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...

, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, the son of musical parents. His father was a church organist and his mother a pianist. He also took up the keyboards and played in a succession of local bands. He attended Stockport Grammar School
Stockport Grammar School
Stockport Grammar School is a co-educational independent school in Stockport, England, founded in 1487 by the 1482 Lord Mayor of London Sir Edmund Shaa.The school motto is "Vincit qui patitur" – He who endures, conquers....

 before studying at music college in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

. After graduating he moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, where he played sessions and composed advertising jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...

s.

In 1976, he met Trevor Horn
Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn CBE is an English pop music record producer, songwriter, musician and singer. He was born in Houghton-le-Spring in north-east England....

 while auditioning for pop singer Tina Charles' band. They continued to work together, eventually forming The Buggles, and created a worldwide hit single in 1979 ("Video Killed the Radio Star
Video Killed the Radio Star
"Video Killed the Radio Star" is a song by the British synthpop/New Wave group The Buggles, released as their debut single on 7 September 1979, on Island Records from their debut album The Age of Plastic. It celebrates the golden days of radio, describing a singer whose career is cut short by...

"). It was Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...

' first number 1 in the UK, and the video of the song subsequently became the first ever to be played at the launch of MTV in August 1981.

The success of The Buggles led to Downes and Horn joining Yes for one album (Drama
Drama (Yes album)
Drama is the tenth studio album by British progressive rock group Yes. It is the first of two Yes albums without vocalist Jon Anderson. In early 1980, after rehearsing music for the follow-up to the tepidly-received Tormato, both Anderson and Rick Wakeman departed the band over creative and...

) and the associated tour in 1980. Downes was the first member of the band to have completed a music degree. Yes then split at the beginning of 1981. Downes subsequently joined forces with Yes' Steve Howe
Steve Howe (guitarist)
Stephen James "Steve" Howe is an English guitarist, known for his work with the progressive rock group Yes...

, Carl Palmer
Carl Palmer
Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer is an English drummer and percussionist. He is credited as one of the most respected rock drummers to emerge from the 1960s...

 (from Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...

) and John Wetton
John Wetton
John Kenneth Wetton is an English bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth. He has been a professional musician since the late 1960s...

 (from King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...

) to form Asia
Asia (band)
Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup as it included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely John Wetton , Geoff Downes , Steve Howe and Carl Palmer Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a...

 in 1981. Asia was an immediate worldwide success upon the release of their eponymous début record in 1982; the album remained at number 1 on the Billboard album charts for a record 9 successive weeks. Asia has formed the backbone of Downes' career since then, and to this day he is the only member of Asia to have been in the band continually since its beginnings.

In addition to recording and touring with Asia, Downes has also recorded a number of solo albums and collaborated with many other artists, including Glenn Hughes, Ride The Tiger with Greg Lake, Trapeze
Trapeze (band)
Trapeze were an English rock band formed in March 1969, by vocalist John Jones and guitarist/keyboardist Terry Rowley , with guitarist Mel Galley, singer/bassist Glenn Hughes, and drummer Dave Holland...

, in 1991 for a tour that produced the live album Welcome to the Real World
Welcome to the Real World (Trapeze album)
Welcome to the real world is an album by the band Trapeze released in 1993. This album is from the reunion tour of 1991 of the original line-up of Trapeze of Mel Galley, Glenn Hughes & Dave Holland with the addition of Asia's and Yes's keyboard player, Geoff Downes.-Track listing:# You Are The...

, and a brief appearance on Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...

's Sat in Your Lap. In 2005, he joined Yes drummer Alan White
Alan White (Yes drummer)
Alan White is an English rock drummer known for his work with the progressive rock band Yes. White was also a member of the Plastic Ono Band, playing live in 1969 at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, which was recorded and released three months later as Live Peace in Toronto 1969...

's eponymous band, White
White (band)
White is a progressive rock band formed by Alan White in 2005.-History:Alan White has achieved great success in his role as the drummer with Yes as well as having worked with John Lennon, George Harrison and Joe Cocker....

, on their debut album.

He has also worked extensively as a producer with such acts as Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...

, Thompson Twins
Thompson Twins
The Thompson Twins were a British pop group that were formed in April 1977 and disbanded in May 1993. They achieved considerable popularity in the mid 1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States and around the globe. The band was named after the two bumbling detectives...

 and GTR
GTR (band)
GTR were a rock band founded in 1985 by former Yes and Asia guitarist Steve Howe and former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. In comparison to the two leaders' earlier work within progressive rock, GTR's work followed more of an Adult Oriented Rock format. The band was short-lived, lasting for two...

. As a songwriter, he has written for Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Åse Fältskog is a Swedish recording artist. She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her début album Agnetha Fältskog in 1968, and reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA, which to date has sold over 375 million records worldwide, making it the fourth...

 of ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...

. He is also credited as a co-writer on Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe was a project of four progressive rock musicians, vocalist Jon Anderson, drummer Bill Bruford, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and guitarist Steve Howe . They had played together in Yes in the early 1970s...

due to Howe re-using some musical ideas from Asia.

Downes has continued to release sporadic solo albums over the years, mainly under the name The New Dance Orchestra. They include the critically acclaimed 1986 double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....

 The Light Programme, in addition to Vox Humana, Shadows & Reflections, along with a few others. He performed a sold out one-man show in 2003 at St Cyprian's Church in London, which was recorded using ambisonics
Ambisonics
Ambisonics is a series of recording and replay techniques using multichannel mixing technology that can be used live or in the studio. By encoding and decoding sound information on a number of channels, a 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional sound field can be presented...

 technology.

In recent years, Downes has teamed up with John Wetton again in a separate project under the name Icon. They have released three studio albums thus far, Icon, Rubicon, and 3 released in 2009. The original 'Wetton/Downes' album is due for re-issue under the Icon banner in 2010.

In 2006, Downes reunited with the original members of Asia for a series of tours that continued into 2008, releasing a new album of studio material, Phoenix, with more shows performed through Spring 2009. Later in 2009, the original Asia toured the US supporting Yes, with guitarist Steve Howe doing double duty performing with both bands nightly. In the autumn of 2009 the band went into the studio again to record another album. The Asia album Omega was released in April 2010. The band have since been touring this album in Europe and Japan. The band are scheduled to play the High Voltage Festival, London on 24 July and then several festivals in Germany before embarking on a six week US tour through August and September. A song, "Extraordinary Life" from their previous album, Phoenix, was recently chosen as the trailer for US's biggest reality TV show America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...

.

Downes was involved as producer with the re-make of Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water" in 1989 to raise funds for the Spitak Earthquake victims, which occurred on 7 December 1988. In 2009, Downes along with Tony Iommi
Tony Iommi
Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as the founding member of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and its sole continual member through multiple personnel changes.Iommi is widely recognised as one of the most important and influential guitarists in...

, Ian Gillan
Ian Gillan
Ian Gillan is an English rock music vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple. During his career Gillan also fronted his own band, had a year-long stint as the vocalist for Black Sabbath, and sang the role of Jesus in the original recording of Andrew Lloyd...

 and the former Wimbledon tennis champion Pat Cash
Pat Cash
Patrick Hart "Pat" Cash is a retired Australian professional tennis player who won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1987.-Early career:...

, went to Armenia, and were presented with state medals from the President of Armenia for their efforts in the Rock Aid Armenia project.

Influences and style

In an interview conducted December 2006, Downes said the three players who had inspired him were Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...

, Keith Emerson
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...

 and especially Dave Sinclair
Dave Sinclair
David Sinclair , is a keyboardist who has been part of the progressive rock Canterbury Scene...

. In the same interview, he identified his favourite Asia tracks as "Only Time will Tell", "Wildest Dreams", "Open Your Eyes" and "Voice of America".

Personal life

Downes has been married (and divorced) twice and has two daughters, Christina & Alexandra, from his first wife, Norwegian former model Wenche Steen. He has an older sister, Helen, and two older brothers, John Gordon and Andrew. He currently lives in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

 with his long-term partner.

Latest activities

While currently active with the original Asia, he has also finished an album with John Wetton on their side project 'Icon', and recorded a live DVD in February 2009 to promote the release of their third studio album. The project included guitarist Dave Kilminster (Roger Waters, Keith Emerson), Pete Riley (Keith Emerson, Ken Hensley), and Hugh McDowell (ELO). In addition, Downes is also working on television, film and production music for a London West End film production company, Original Production Music Ltd.

He released a further NDO album scheduled in October 2010, entitled Electronica and with vocals from Anne-Marie Helder
Anne-Marie Helder
Anne-Marie Helder is a British singer-songwriter who has performed throughout the UK since 2000, beginning with bands and then going solo in 2004. Her debut EP The Contact was released in November 2004, securing her airplay on BBC Radio 2, with Bob Harris declaring: "that is very dramatic music"....

. It is a twelve track album featuring Downes's orchestral style of keyboard playing.

On September 28, 2010, he reunited with Bruce Woolley
Bruce Woolley
Bruce Woolley is an English writer, performer, record producer and composer.- Early years :Bruce Woolley was born in Loughborough, England on 11 November 1953 and was educated at Loughborough Grammar School where he learned electric guitar, began to write songs and where he met his future wife,...

 and Trevor Horn
Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn CBE is an English pop music record producer, songwriter, musician and singer. He was born in Houghton-le-Spring in north-east England....

 as the band The Buggles
The Buggles
The Buggles were an English New Wave band consisting of Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes . They are remembered chiefly for their 1979 debut single "Video Killed the Radio Star" that was #1 on the singles chart in 16 countries. Its music video was the first to be shown on MTV in the U.S...

, performing The Lost Gig to "raise funds for the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability".

On March 22, 2011, he performed at the Roundhouse, London with Trevor Horn
Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn CBE is an English pop music record producer, songwriter, musician and singer. He was born in Houghton-le-Spring in north-east England....

 as the band The Producers
The Producers (band)
The Producers is a new wave and power pop band from Atlanta, Georgia in the 1980s. The original line up included Van Temple on guitar and vocals, former Whiteface member Kyle Henderson on bass and vocals, former Billy Joe Royal sideman "Wayne Famous" on keyboards, and Bryan Holmes on...

, along with Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...

  & Alison Moyet
Alison Moyet
Alison Moyet , is an English singer, songwriter and performer noted for her bluesy voice.Her UK album sales have reached a certified 2.3 million, with 800,000 singles sold, all in the UK, where all seven of her studio albums and three compilation albums have charted in the Top 40 UK Album Chart,...

 to raise funds for a music charity for underprivileged children. The event itself raised over half a million pounds on the night.

On March 31, 2011, he was confirmed as participating in the recording of the new Yes album, reuniting with them formally for the first time since 1980, he has also been announced as rejoining the band for an upcoming tour.

Solo albums

  • The Light Program, 1987, Geffen
  • Vox Humana, 1992, JIMCO/Blueprint Records
  • Welcome to the Real World
    Welcome to the Real World (Trapeze album)
    Welcome to the real world is an album by the band Trapeze released in 1993. This album is from the reunion tour of 1991 of the original line-up of Trapeze of Mel Galley, Glenn Hughes & Dave Holland with the addition of Asia's and Yes's keyboard player, Geoff Downes.-Track listing:# You Are The...

    with Trapeze
    Trapeze (band)
    Trapeze were an English rock band formed in March 1969, by vocalist John Jones and guitarist/keyboardist Terry Rowley , with guitarist Mel Galley, singer/bassist Glenn Hughes, and drummer Dave Holland...

    , 1993
  • Evolution, 1996, Blueprint Records
  • Wetton Downes (demo album), 1996, Stallion Records
  • Hughes/Downes: The Work Tapes
    The Work Tapes
    The Work Tapes is an album of demos recorded by vocalist Glenn Hughes and keyboardist Geoff Downes...

    , 1998, Blueprint Records
  • The World Service, 2000, Blueprint Records
  • Shadows & Reflections, 2003, Voiceprint Records
  • The Collection, 2003, Voiceprint Records
  • Live at St. Cyprian's, 2003
  • White (Alan White), 2004
  • Icon (with John Wetton
    John Wetton
    John Kenneth Wetton is an English bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth. He has been a professional musician since the late 1960s...

    ), 2005, Frontiers Records
  • Icon Acoustic TV Broadcast (with John Wetton), 2006, Frontiers Records
  • Icon Live - Never in a Million Years (with John Wetton), 2006, Frontiers Records
  • Icon II: Rubicon
    Icon II: Rubicon (album)
    Icon II: Rubicon is a studio album recorded by Asia band members John Wetton & Geoffrey Downes. It is their second under the Icon off-shoot.-Track listing:#"The Die Is Cast" - 6:17#"Finger on the Trigger" - 4:01...

    (with John Wetton), 2006, Frontiers Records
  • Icon 3
    Icon 3
    Icon 3 is a studio album recorded by Asia band members John Wetton & Geoffrey Downes in 2009, and released the same year. It is their third under the Icon off-shoot...

    (with John Wetton), 2009, Frontiers Records
  • Electronica
    Electronica
    Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

    (New Dance Orchestra ft Anne-Marie Helder), 2010

Yes

  • Drama
    Drama (Yes album)
    Drama is the tenth studio album by British progressive rock group Yes. It is the first of two Yes albums without vocalist Jon Anderson. In early 1980, after rehearsing music for the follow-up to the tepidly-received Tormato, both Anderson and Rick Wakeman departed the band over creative and...

    , 1980 / expanded and remastered, 2004
  • The Ultimate Yes, 2003
  • The Word is Live, 2005
  • Fly From Here
    Fly from Here
    -Reaction from Anderson:In an interview with Rolling Stone, Anderson stated that on hearing the single "We Can Fly" he felt it sounded "a bit dated" and that Horn's production "wasn't as good as I expected"...

    , Frontiers Records, 2011

The Buggles

  • The Age of Plastic, 1979
  • Adventures in Modern Recording, 1981
  • Adventures in Modern Recording, Remixed & remastered with bonus tracks, ZTT Records, 1981

Singles

  • "Heat of the Moment"
  • "Only Time will Tell"
  • "Days Like These"
  • "Sole Survivor"
  • "Don't Cry"
  • "The Smile has Left Your Eyes"
  • "The Heat Goes On"
  • "Who will stop the Rain"

Albums

  • Asia, 1982
  • Alpha, 1983
  • Astra, 1985
  • Then & Now, 1990
  • Live Mockba 09-X1-90, 1991
  • Aqua, 1992; Aqua Special Edition, 2005
  • Aria, 1994; Aria Special Edition, 2005
  • Arena, 1996; Arena Special Edition, 2005
  • Archiva 1, 1996
  • Archiva 2, 1996
  • Now - Live in Nottingham, 1997
  • Live in Osaka, 1997
  • Live in Philadelphia, 1997
  • Anthology—The Best of Asia 1982-1997, 1997; Anthology Special Edition, 2005
  • John Wetton—Geoff Downes—Asia—UK Compilation CD, 1997
  • The Very Best of Asia: Heat of the Moment (1982–1990), 2000
  • The Best of Asia Live, 2000?
  • Aura, 2001
  • Alive in Hallowed Halls, 2001
  • Asia/Boston: Winning Combination, 2001
  • Alive in Hallowed Halls, 2001
  • Live at Budokan, 2002
  • Quadra, 2002
  • Anthologia, 2002/Gold, 2005
  • Armada 1, 2002
  • Live Acoustic
  • Live at the Town & Country
  • Different Worlds
  • Dragon Attack
  • History of Asia, 2004?
  • Live in Buffalo, 2004?
  • Live in Hyogo, 2004?
  • Different Worlds, 2004
  • Silent Nation, 2004
  • Long Way from Home, 2005 (single)
  • Phoenix, 2008
  • Omega, 2010

Instruments

The following list contains the various keyboards that have been used by Downes.
  • Chappell Grand Piano
    Chappell & Co.
    Chappell & Co. was an English company that published music and manufactured pianos.-History:It was founded in 1810 by Samuel Chappell in partnership with music professors Francis Tatton Latour and Johann Baptist Cramer. Cramer was also a well-known London composer, teacher and pianist...

  • Sequential Circuits Prophet Remote
  • Sequential Circuits Prelude
  • Memorymoog
    Memorymoog
    The Memorymoog is a polyphonic electronic music synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 1981 to 1983, the last polyphonic synthesizer to be released by Moog Music before the company was sold to management and renamed Moog Electronics...

  • Yamaha CS-80
    Yamaha CS-80
    The Yamaha CS-80 was a polyphonic analog synthesizer released in 1977. It supports true 8-voice polyphony as well as a primitive settings memory based on a bank of micropotentiometers , and exceptionally complete performer expression features, such...

  • Sequential Circuits Prophet-5
  • Hammond J-122 (Chopped)
  • Yamaha CP-70B
  • Yamaha CP-80
  • Minimoog
    Minimoog
    The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...

  • Fairlight CMI
    Fairlight CMI
    The Fairlight CMI is a digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, and based on a dual-6800 microprocessor computer designed by Tony Furse in Sydney, Australia...

  • PPG Wave 2.2
  • Polymoog
    Polymoog
    The Polymoog is a polyphonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on divide-down oscillator technology similar to electronic organs and string synthesizers of the time, and this led to a certain lack of flexibility compared to later...

  • Mellotron M400
    Mellotron
    The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...

  • Sequential Circuits Prophet-10
  • Korg VC-10
    Korg VC-10
    The Korg VC-10 is an analogue vocoder from the 1970s. Vocoding refers to voice encoding of speech and singing with musical synthesis. It gained popularity in the '70s following utilisation by bands such as Kraftwerk and ELO. The VC-10 allows basic functionality in operation and modulation of signal...

  • ARP String Ensemble
    ARP String Ensemble
    The ARP String Ensemble, also known as the Solina String Ensemble, is a fully polyphonic multi-orchestral ARP Instruments, Inc. synthesizer with a 49-key keyboard, produced by Solina from 1974 to 1981. The sounds it incorporates are violin, viola, trumpet, horn, cello and contrabass. The keyboard...

  • Hohner Clavinet D6
  • Fender Rhodes Mark I
  • Korg Polysix
    Korg Polysix
    The Korg Polysix is a six voice programmable polyphonic synthesizer released by Korg in 1981.- Features :The synthesizer's main features are six-voice polyphony , 32 memory slots for patches and cassette port for backing up patches, and an arpeggiator.On its release it was, along with the Roland...

  • Hammond B-3
  • Moog Liberation
    Moog Liberation
    The Moog Liberation was the first commercially produced keytar synthesizer released in 1980 by Moog Music. The instrument is comparable to the Moog Concertmate MG-1 and the Moog Rogue but it is most closely related to the Moog Prodigy; however, as a keytar the Liberation was designed to be played...

  • OSCar
    Oscar
    Oscar, The Oscar, OSCAR or Oskar may refer to:* Academy Award or Oscar, presented by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for cinematic film achievements...

  • NED Syncalvier VP/K
    Synclavier
    The Synclavier System was an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation, manufactured by New England Digital Corporation, Norwich, VT. The original design and development of the Synclavier prototype occurred at Dartmouth College with the collaboration of...

  • Korg DW-8000
    Korg DW-8000
    The Korg DW-8000 synthesizer was released to the buying public in late 1985 along with its cheaper stable mate the Korg DW-6000 synthesizer. The DW-8000 was an eight note polyphonic hybrid digital-analog synthesizer instrument...

  • Korg Poly-800
    Korg Poly-800
    The Korg Poly-800 is a synthesizer released by Korg in 1983. Its initial list price of $795 made it the first fully programmable synthesizer that sold for less than $1000. It featured a 49 key non-velocity sensitive keyboard, two buttons for data entry, and a joystick controller, which could...

  • Sequential Circuits Six-Trak
    Sequential Circuits Six-Trak
    The Six-Trak was an analogue synthesizer manufactured by Sequential Circuits in San Jose, California and released in January 1984. It is notable for being one of the first multi-timbral synthesizers, equipped with MIDI and an on-board six-track digital sequencer, hence the name. It was designed as...

  • Korg RK-100
  • E-mu Emulator II
  • Elka Synthex
    Elka Synthex
    -Overview:Designed by Mario Maggi, it was produced between 1981 and 1985 by the Elka company of Italy. A company more noted for its organs, this would be its first and last foray into music synthesizers under that name. Unusually, it also contained a built in real-time and step-time 4-track...

  • Roland D-50
    Roland D-50
    The Roland D-50 is a polyphonic 61-key synthesizer produced by Roland. It was released in 1987. Its features include Linear Arithmetic synthesis, on-board effects, a joystick for data manipulation, and an analog synthesis-styled layout design. The external Roland PG-1000 Programmer could also be...

  • Roland A-80
  • Korg DW-6000
    Korg DW-8000
    The Korg DW-8000 synthesizer was released to the buying public in late 1985 along with its cheaper stable mate the Korg DW-6000 synthesizer. The DW-8000 was an eight note polyphonic hybrid digital-analog synthesizer instrument...

  • Korg MS2000
    Korg MS2000
    The Korg MS2000 is a virtual analog synthesizer produced by the Japanese electronic musical instrument manufacturer Korg.-History and features:...

  • Korg KARMA
    Korg KARMA
    The Korg KARMA music workstation was released in 2001 as a specialised member of the Korg Triton family.Unlike most other Korg workstation names, the KARMA name is rendered in capitals as an acronym for the Kay Algorithmic Realtime Music Architecture...

  • Korg Triton
    Korg Triton
    Korg Triton is a music workstation synthesizer featuring digital sampling and sequencing created by Korg. All Tritons use Korg's HI Synthesis tone generator. They are available in several models and various upgrade configurations. The Triton is world famous among many musicians for being a...

  • Roland Fantom X6
    Roland Fantom-X
    The Fantom-X is a music workstation/synthesizer produced by Roland Corporation. It was introduced in 2004 as an upgrade from the Fantom S series. The Fantom-X competes with the Korg Triton/Triton Extreme, the Yamaha Motif ES and other similar large-scope keyboards such as the discontinued Alesis...

  • Roland AX-7
    Roland AX-7
    The Roland AX-7 is a keytar that was manufactured by Roland Corporation from 2001 to 2007. This modern instrument contains many more advanced features than early keytars such as its predecessor, the Roland AX-1, and the Yamaha SHS-10. It runs on 6 AA batteries or an external power source. It has a...

  • Roland VP-550
  • Roland JP-8000
    Roland JP-8000
    The Roland JP-8000 is an analog modeling synthesizer released by the Roland Corporation in 1997.- Overview :The Roland JP-8000 was released in early 1997 to compete with the other analog modeling synthesizers of the period such as the Access Virus, Clavia Nord Lead the Korg MS2000 and the Yamaha AN1x...

  • Roland Fantom X8
    Roland Fantom-X
    The Fantom-X is a music workstation/synthesizer produced by Roland Corporation. It was introduced in 2004 as an upgrade from the Fantom S series. The Fantom-X competes with the Korg Triton/Triton Extreme, the Yamaha Motif ES and other similar large-scope keyboards such as the discontinued Alesis...

  • Roland SH-201
    Roland SH-201
    The Roland SH-201 is an analog modeling synthesizer introduced in 2006 by the Roland Corporation. The SH-201 is equipped with two analogue modeling oscillators , a multi-mode filter, ring modulator, and it allows routing an external audio signal into its own dedicated filter. The input signal can...

  • Roland Juno-G
    Roland Juno-G
    Roland Juno-G is a music workstation/synth introduced in 2006 by Roland Corporation. It is based on the Fantom-X series, having a vintage design that resembles the first Juno synthesizers, such as the Juno-106...

  • Roland VK-8M
  • Moog Little Phatty
  • E-mu PK-6
  • Roland V-Synth
  • Roland V-Synth GT

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