A live improv (one of the factory presets selected from the front panel played straight into basic reverb) following major overhaul of yet another DK Synergy II+ in the workshop. The Synergy is easily one of my all time favourite early pure digital synths - this 16-bit 32-oscillator additive/FM beast with its two sets of interpolated 16-stage loopable envelope generators on every oscillator was simply miles ahead of its time and a very capable instrument even by today's standards.

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

1982 DK Synergy: Brass Ensemble

LoFi

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 live improvisation recorded whilst testing the pitch lever in front of a 1982 Rhodes Chroma analog polysynth during during major overhaul at Hideaway Studio.

With its unique bite and unusually flexible architecture it is capable of generating a wide range of complex evolving textures.  The Chroma is easily one of my favourite vintage polysynths (even over Prophet 5 and Memorymoog) and one I consider to be extremely underrated - a complex and remarkably flexible 16 oscillator beast with a character all of its own!!

Composition & Recording by D.A.Wilson, Copyright Hideaway Studio 2017

1982 Rhodes (ARP) Chroma Test: CrestWave

Testing the polyphonic pressure sensors whilst mapped to the filter cutoff on a 1982 Rhodes Chroma during major overhaul at Hideaway Studio.

With its unique bite and unusually flexible architecture it is capable of generating a wide range of complex evolving textures. The Chroma is easily one of my favourite vintage polysynths (even over Prophet 5 and Memorymoog) and one I consider to be extremely underrated - a complex and remarkably flexible 16 oscillator beast with a character all of its own!!

1982 Rhodes (ARP) Chroma Test: Poly Aftertouch

tribute to my friends

Finally the beast awakens in all its glory on the bench at Hideaway after a pretty intense 3 day marathon fault finding session!!...

Trying out a couple of patches in a quick live improv...

In terms of sonic palette and and sheer power the Chroma has to be one of the finest commercial analog polysynths ever conceived!

..its definitely one of my all time favourite analog polysynths.

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

1982 Rhodes Chroma: The Beast Finally Awakens!

OB-8, Prophet 08, Prophet T-8, Quadra und Rhodes Chroma mit MPC-60. Gesteuert auf 3 Layern vom Tenori-on. Ach ja, am Anfang ein böser CS-30...

Synth-o-mania

Its been very interesting hearing Dual Voice Boards from the Rhodes Chromas being run in isolation on Bob Grieb's superb new Tauntek DVB Tester... under manual control you really get to hear a side of this amazing synth that is not exposed so often under normal control.

Here the filter is being modulated at audio rates producing some very eerie intermodulation effects.

It has been interesting exploring all manner of sonic textures and tones the DVB cards can produce - it really is no wonder the Chroma is such a capable synth!

As a sound designer I am now very tempted to keep a spare card free to enable me to use this setup as a raw sound source in its own right as there is a very useful degree of fine control over the DVB card control parameters.

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

1982 Rhodes Chroma: Eerie DVB Filter Modulation

Notes from the Archive: Recordings 2011-2016

Celadon & Gold

I wanted to combine to see how the Chroma mixes with other instruments, so I used some Asian drums and a Native American Flute (a sound I really love). The main two tracks are Chroma - the darker patch is actually a slightly modified brass patch, and the other more "sparkly"track is called "Ethereal". I didn't have time to record my own natural sound track, so I downloaded one from Soundsnap. Enjoy!

Winter Solstice

markdavini