The result of some of the many random experiments with sound in The Lab over the years...

All recordings copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio.

Random Experiments With Sound in The Lab...

A series live improvs by D.A.Wilson recorded during major overhauls and restorations of several examples and variants of this amazing family of early FM/Additive 32 oscillator digital synthesizers recently returned to working order at Hideaway Studio. 

Easily one of my all-time favourite vintage digital synths, the DK Synergy was a ground breaking all digital 16-bit 32 oscillator FM / Additive synthesizer and was a direct outgrowth of the 1979 Crumar GDS (sharing the same High Speed Digital Oscillator and Factory Sound Library) both based on the Bell Labs Alles Machine from the late 1970s developed by Hal Alles and sharing some of the original design team members.

1982 Digital Keyboards Synergy II+ Demos

A series of live improvisations by D.A.Wilson recorded in front of some of the myriad of cherished and rare vintage synths returned to life over the past few years in The Lab at Hideaway Studio.

All Recordings are Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio.

The Secret World of Vintage Synths

A live improvisation resulting in one of those happy accidents tweaking various parameters in a SynHCS patch editor session running on a Kaypro 2X CP/M computer while testing out a 1982 DK Synergy during major restoration after successfully building and installing one of the superb new Tauntek Synergy II+ upgrade kits.  This digital wonder was streets ahead of its time and remains easily my favourite vintage digital synth - every time I sit in front of one of these beasts it leaves me in awe with a deep respect for the talent and dedication of its creators at Digital Keyboards and Bell Labs in the late 1970s.

Composition & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio, 2021.

1982 DK Synergy II+: Binary Chaos Machine... (Tauntek Upgrades)

My studio archives are littered with long forgotten test recordings I made of vintage studio gear that has been through the workshop for clients. Sometimes I have fun throwing a few of them together and seeing what comes out. In this case its a couple of test recordings from back when I custom modified a number of Adrian Utley's wonders a few years back to be sync'able including his Bentley FR-6, TR-808 and a rackmount Oberheim Two-Voice (TVS-1).

Composition  & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio 2015.

Locked & Loaded: TR-808, Bentley FR-6 & Obi TVS-1 Sync Retrofit testing...

A live improv featuring two solo string patches played in unison recorded directly from a 1983 DK Synergy II+, an early additive 32 oscillator digital synthesizer recently returned to working order at Hideaway Studio.  The Synergy is a direct relative of the Crumar GDS and the Bell Labs Synthesizer known as Alles Machine.

These strings are 100% synthesized.. not a sample in sight here - and all the more amazing considering the age of this all-digital beast!

Original Composition & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio 2014.

1982 DK Synergy II+: SoLo Strings

A brief live improvisation I recorded using the first voice patch I managed to program into the 1979 Crumar GDS shortly after I undertook the major restoration (previously owned by the late Klaus Schulze) of this extremely rare groundbreaking early digital synthesizer.   It is named in memory of the late Max Mathews who played a major role in developing the software routines and concepts behind key parts of the GDS as well as in many other areas of pioneering computer based music technology.

Original Composition & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson 2014.

1979 General Development System: The Max Factor

A live improvisation by D.A.Wilson shortly following restoration of 1982 Digital Keyboards Synergy number 1032 at Hideaway Studio running in conjunction with the SynHCS host editor on a Kaypro II CP/M computer under HxC disk emulation.  

In this recording you can hear the Synergy's unusual continuously variable random vibrato in action.  The Synergy is an all digital synthesizer with 32 oscillators featuring both FM and additive synthesis.  It is a direct relative of the 1979 Crumar GDS.

Original Composition & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson 2015.

1982 DK Synergy 1032 Awakens: Evolutions

A live improvisation by D.A.Wilson on an extremely rare 1982 Buchla 400-T computer controlled 6-voice hybrid synth (digital "arbitrary" oscillators into analog filters) running MIDAS-III complete with flat pressure sensitive Touch Controller housed in a custom Teak solid wood cabinet awakens during return to operation and overhaul and Lotharek Rev.F HxC virtual floppy disk retrofit at Hideaway Studio.

The touch keyboard was a nightmare to get used and it took a great deal of my concentration to perform this as the pressure-to-pitch modulation was pretty intense on the patch I'd dialled in that day but it certainly resulted in something from the heart.  The highly responsive playing surface opens up some interesting possibilites for expressive patch design and playing!

Original Composition & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio 2015.

1982 Buchla 400 Awakens: Haute Tension

A live test improvisation recorded in front of a 1982 Rhodes Chroma analog polysynth after finally springing into life during a particularly arduous debug session to determine the root cause of a failed auto-tuning system during major overhaul at Hideaway Studio. 

Easily one of my favourite vintage polysynths (even over Prophet 5 and OB-X) and one I consider to be extremely underrated - a complex and remarkably flexible 16 oscillator beast with a warm but biting character all of its own!!

Original Composition & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson 2017.

1982 Rhodes (ARP) Chroma: Autotune-ONE

A supremely rare 1985 Mulogix Slave 32 awakens on the bench in The Lab at Hideaway Studio during repairs to her High Speed Digital Oscillator board. The Slave 32 was the rare rackmount version of the Synergy II+ by Digital Keyboards and was the last incarnation of the 1979 Crumar G.D.S. which utilised the identical High Speed Digital OSC pcb assembly. All of the variants featured pure digital synthesis in 16-bit digital audio which was pretty impressive for mid 1970s technology!

Composition & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio 2018

1985 Mulogix Slave 32: Layered Patch Test

An 1969 Solartron Pseudo Random Generator modulating  a lab oscillator in a 5 level probability distribution of pitches mixed with three drones slightly modulated with the bandwidth filter set to 3.5Hz producing something a little more musical than I was expecting from an old piece of lab test gear!

Original Sound Design & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio 2019

1969 Solartron Pseudo Random Generator: JM1861 Bagpipes

An improvised montage of sounds recorded live from 1938 Hammond Novachord No.346 shortly after partial restoration to working order by vintage synth specialist D.A.Wilson in the UK in 2009.  It is very rare to hear a direct modern recording (non-acoustic through chorus/delay/reverb directly from the generator chassis)of one of these instruments in action as less than 50 remain in known working order.

The Novachord is generally accepted to be world's first commercial all electronic polyphonic instrument featuring dynamics control and specifically designed to emulate timbres beyond those of an organ such as strings, harpsichord and piano.

See more on this extremely rare beast at www.novachord.co.uk

Original Composition & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio 2009.

1938 Novachord #346: Creepy Montage (87 Year Old Tube Polysynth!)

1982 DK Synergy: Largo Strings in action...

A live improv made with DK Synergy using one of the many superb 100% digitally synthesized FM/Additive patches from the factory library.

The DK Synergy was a ground breaking all digital 16-bit 32 oscillator FM / Additive synthesizer and was a direct outgrowth of the 1979 Crumar GDS (sharing the same High Speed Digital Oscillator and Factory Sound Library) both based on the Bell Labs Alles Machine from the late 1970s developed by Hal Alles and sharing some of the original design team members.

Composition & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio 2020.

1982 DK Synergy: Largo Strings

A live improv by D.A.Wilson played using a composite of two of the original factory patches on a 1982 DK Synergy...

The DK Synergy (and its predecessor, the 1979 Crumar GDS) remains one of my all time favourite vintage digital synths and was many years ahead of its time.

The two patches used in this recording were almost certainly originally developed on the Crumar GDS.

Composition & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio 2020.

1982 DK Synergy: Mysterium Cosmographicum

This thing is just plain nuts when you start injecting LFO signals onto the pins of the ADC MUX chip for the front panel control CV channels!!

All segments of this were made with a simple one note sequence whilst the pitch, sample, decay and repeat parameter CV channels were modulated by an LFO with a roughly time related period to the tempo thus causing all manner of evolving natural patterns - this includes the entire section at the end of the recording which was made the same way!..

I feel some serious circuit-bending coming on as none of these parameters are available via midi or CV in stock form...

Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio, 2020.

1986 Simmons MTX9: Messin' With Its 'Nsides!...

Having just invested in a crazy number of never used, still in their boxes, JAN (GE) ECF82 Triode-Pentode tubes I spent the afternoon determining whether I'd got myself something worthwhile or a useless pile of glassware..

- the answer?  Well I managed to lash up a working pre-amp, VCA, ring-mod and superhet mixer and then proceeded to have great fun going a bit nuts with it all...  yup - I think there are some interesting projects to come out of all these tubes!

Composition & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio, 2020.

ECF82: SuperHet Soup

Testing a 1964 Mk 2 Watkins tube Copicat during initial wakeup and assessment on the bench on the isolated variac following essential repairs to free up a seized capstan motor...

Made with two overdubs - one with a lab sinewave generator through the Copicat and one with some drums from the little Alesis Micron in the workshop also being munged to great effect by this lovely sounding all tube tape echo!

Some people say they prefer the sound of the solid-state Copicats but having owned and worked on both I'd say I prefer the tube units for their mojo.

Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio, 2020.

1964 Watkins Mk2 Tube Copicat Awakens: Drum & Sines...

D.A.Wilson is an Electronic Engineer, Sound Designer & Vintage Synth Specialist with a particular interest in combining vintage tube, classic analog and modern digital technologies working as a synth engineer looking after a very considerable amount of vintage studio equipment for Will Gregory (Goldfrapp / Moog Ensemble) and a number of other internationally celebrated electronic musicians and producers.  Having undertaken several major restorations and produced custom electronic designs for a number of major artists including Jean-Michel Jarre, Dani is also known for fully restoring two out of the world's four remaining 1979 Crumar GDS and partially restoring 1938 Novachord 346 (the only known operational Novachord in the UK) to playable order along with developing and producing the new Elfin family of 8-bit polysynths and the popular MIDI Front Panel Animator (FPA), Filter Defeat Module (FDM) and XD-280 Drive Emulator upgrades for the AKAI S612 sampler.

Demos of the S612 Upgrades in Action: 

https://soundcloud.com/hideaway-studio/sets/hideaway-studios-s612-front


Hideaway Studio Kontakt Sound libraries may be purchased directly from: 
https://www.lootaudio.com/category/kontakt-instruments/hideaway-studios
 

..and a nice introduction by Cory Pelizzari to the Hideaway Studio Kontakt Libraries:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-C7a3ChC9U&feature=emb_title


For more on releases from Hideaway Studio for Kontakt please visit the blog at:  www.hideawaystudio.net