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

Revjot [jiji_catfood_mix]

playing around with break mixing, spring reverb and routing 303 through the bs2 filter with midi sync for egregious levels of squelch.

(¬‿¬)

k2 cute springverb acidbrkB@158

A live improv recorded in two takes from a 1977 Polymoog 203A during major repairs and overhaul at Hideaway Studio.

Composition & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio, 2022.

1977 Polymoog 203A: Undivided Attention..

its got real banana in it innit

dec 2018

Bandcamp

Spoomel

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

prevail (dre418)

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

Cylob's page: @cylob

Rewind, rewind 

The crowd is jumping as the beats come to an end 
Rewind the track and start over again 
Hands are in the air, there are lots of happy faces 
The beats take your body and mind to different places 
Don't let the groove stop, got to make the joint rock 
This set is designed to put your body in shock 
It's so funky you have to move your behind 
Now give a shout to the D.J. - Rewind! 

The people shout for more of that crazy rhythm 
They know what they want and you know what to give them
This is what you do, put your finger to the wax 
Flick of the wrist and spin the needle back 
The track is so fresh it's almost finger-licking 
The bassline is tuff and the beats are kicking 
A better record it would be hard to find 
So give that shout to the D.J. - Rewind! 

Rewind the track, spin the record and take it back 
Rewind the track, spin the record and take it back 
Rewind the track, spin the record and take it back 
Now that you've got the knack, take it back 

Rocking a party is no easy matter 
The hands of the D.J. must select the right platter 
If he doesn't then it's fatal, and it makes me weep 
To see people on the dancefloor falling asleep 
So get up off your ass and move your feet to this track 
No excuses, don't refuse this, there's no room for the slack 
Go with the flow, 'cos it's a state of mind 
When you shout to the D.J. - Rewind! 

I like it best when the beats are naked 
The rhythm pumps and there's no way you can fake it 
Ah yeah, that's just the way I like things 
The show must be over before the fat lady sings 
So listen up everybody, get on the floor 
And give it up 'till you haven't got any more 
One more thing, could you be so kind 
As to shout to the D.J. - Rewind! 

Rewind the track, spin the record and take it back 
Rewind the track, spin the record and take it back 
Rewind the track, spin the record and take it back 

Peas

042 - Cylob - Rewind! (Vocal)

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

Cerket

Quantum Leak

Kris Fox & p1nkf1re

Kris Fox & p1nkf1re - ridgeII [e2] [154.1]

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 (85 Year Old Tube Polysynth!)

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 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

1977 Polymoog 203A: Undivided Attention..

Hideaway Studio

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