In an idyllic country setting, not far from Stanstead airport, is the recently opened Museum of Synthesizer Technology, and ROC was graciously invited to it's opening up curator Martin Newcomb.
For the opening about a hundred or so people gathered together, including representatives from the music press, a member of Kraftwerk's road crew, Flood (record producer for such people as U2, and Depeche Mode), plus a French chap with the best kept and m
ost original moustache I've seen. In a talk to Martin he explained that he was a little disappointed that there wasn't a famous face at the opening, but there is always the anniversaries. One person however was guest of honour for the opening ceremony, Dr
. Bob himself Dr. Robert Moog (we're not worthy, we're not worthy).
Marquees had been erected, the largest containing what could be described as a synthesizer bring and buy sale, but was in fact a stage set-up for a group of electronic performers, one of them had a strange six stringed instrument without any keys it at al
l, called a guitar apparently. Live entertainment was provided throughout the day, showing what these instruments were capable of, testing the PA system to the limit in some cases. One act had to set up in the open air, and brave the elements, fortunately
it didn't rain, otherwise some decent equipment including some Roland keyboards would have had a very costly repair bill.
Another marquee proved to be very popular, as it contained refreshments (more commonly known as the beer tent), and another was supplied by Mellotron Achieves (UK). For those unfamiliar with the Mellotron, basically it was the first kind of "sampler" avai
lable, using magnetic tape to play back it's sounds, very popular with the Beatles, Moody Blues, and others. If you thought that the idea of preprogrammed rhythms came from home keyboards, then think again. The one ol' Mellotron was belting out some great
sixties rhythms, the latin pattern wouldn't be out of place in a Man From U.N.C.L.E. episode, you couldn't help but smile.
It was soon time for the opening ceremony, to be performed by Dr. Moog, in his opening speech he explained his practical interest in electronically produced music dated back to 1954, when at 19 he was building Theremin's (something the company he is work
ing, Big Briar, with is doing today complete with MIDI interface if required). In 1964 a musician approached him and asked if he knew anything about electronic music, which sounds like a silly question today, but this was then, and most people didn't. He
said yes, and so attempted to build his first synthesizers. They were the products of the needs of musicians, and his imagination.
He rhetorically asked how it was that both he, and people like Don Buchla on the West Coast of America had seemed to come up with similar ideas, at the same time. It was partially due to a sharing of ideas, but also to do with a cultural imagination. This
he saw as a network independent of space and time that people could subconsciously be tied into, and the synthesizers in the museum the soild manifestations of the tappings into the network of knowledge.
Then the magic words, "I declare the museum open", pulling back the curtain, to reveal the brass plaque. Dr. Moog and Martin Newcomb then posed for photographs for a while, and Martin expanded that it wouldn't be good idea for everyone to try and go into
the museum at the same time, and perhaps some should eat first down at the local public house.
After a while a few braved entering, including myself. the building itself was custom built, the main building being underground. The entrance on the top floor also serves as an outlet for Synthlogy~ purveyors of analogue instruments, and distributor for
a MIDI rack mount unit called the Clone 3, based on the Roland TB303 Bassline unit. If you like any of the exhibits Synthlogy~ can probably get hold of one. They had a few exhibits themselves. A genuine Theremin built in the 1930's, unfortunately not work
ing due to power supply problems. The Theremin itself looks like a antique wooden cabinet, but doesn't come with a keyboard, just two antennae. The "electronics" are housed within the cabinet, and is played by moving your hands, one controlling volume, th
e other pitch. There was a TV programme on Channel 4 some months ago (a Without Walls Special) all about the Theremin and the man behind it. It may be repeated, so keep an eye out for it. If you've ever watched an old 50's SciFi B movie you've probably he
ard the Theremin at work in it's soundtrack.
Another item of their's was a Roland GR-33B, hands up who knows what that is. It's a very early bass guitar synthesizer, no I hadn't heard of it either.
Around the walls on the top floor where album covers (those thingies before CD's came along, you remember) featuring performers renown for their keyboard work, plus manuals, letters, and circuit diagrams from various synthesizer manufacturers. Then there'
s the stairs which take the down into the heart of the museum.
The size of the main building is neither huge, but not exactly small either, but your greeted by the sight and sound of synthesizer heaven, lit by spotlights, and to complete the illusion a smoke machine as well. Kind of reminded m of Vince Clarke's bedro
om (not that I've been in his bedroom you'll understand, but I imagine this is what it would look like).
Best take your copy of the I-Spy Book of Synthesizers, it's a synth-spotters field day out (errhhhmmm, excuse me, bit of pork luncheon meat).
The room is divided up into sections, a section for Moog, ARP, Sequental, Buchla, and what I dubbed Roland corner. Each area has it's own mixer and sound system to allow you hands on experience of these bygone machines. Moog was perhaps not too surprisi
ngly best represented, with large modular synthesizers, various keyboards including the infamous Minimoog's (one being the third in the last to be twenty five ever built), plus a Moog vocoder, ribbon controllers, three-band equalizer, and an amplifier set
-up that could probably shake the place apart.
Roland corner was the first to produce something musical, by means of Roland TR808, and TR909 rhythm composers, plus a TB303 Bassline synced together producing, at the hands of expert users, a techno track that will probably be in the charts next week. If
your feeling adventurous Roland's 100M, and 700 modular synthesizers are there to play with, plus there's Roland 100 (not the same as the modular synth), SH-5, Jupiter 4, and Jupiter 8 synthesizers.
You can learn some useful things here, as with any museum. For instance, you thought built-in effects on keyboards was a recent development? Many modular synthesizers had reverb built into them, and quite a few had stereo outputs too.
The oldest exhibit is the Ondioline, built in France around the 1930's, and the most unusual, the Russian Polyrock, complete with it's light weight plastic keyboard and switches.
Other worthy mentions include a Yamaha CS80 which belonged to Stevie Wonder (don't know if he knows it's missing). Then there's the huge EMS Synthi 100 (big brother to the EMS "Putney" VCS3), complete with dials, meters, frequency counters, oscilloscope,
flashing lights, and which wouldn't be out of place on any budget SciFi series. Coincidentally it once belonged to the B.B.C.'s Radiophonic Workshop, so may have been used on Dr. Who and Blake's 7.
Don't think for a minute that every synth ever made will be there, you could quite easily fill a room with Roland equipment alone. Martin Newcomb aims to cover analogue and modular synthesizers, the likes of which we will not see again. So no D50, DX7, or
M1's I'm afraid. I predict that he will have to extend the museum building sometime in the future.
The museum has an in-built studio set-up, the only place modern equipment is allowed, including digital tape decks and several MIDI modules. The outputs of the separate sections can be routed to this area for recording purposes if required. If you need th
e sound of a particular instrument, keep an eye out for a series of CD's to be released produced by Paul Wiffen of Digital Village using the museums exhibits.
Other services the museum aims to provide include copy manuals for the instruments (plus some for synths not yet on display), schematics, and a helpline for people having problems with any of their analogue machines.
A colour book is available for ú20 which goes into detail about the instruments on show, plus the people, and companies that produced them. On the opening day, a video crew were hard at work, with the help of Julian Colbeck, as a video is also in the pipe
line.
The entrance fee for the museum is ú20 (and no you can't get in free if you've got a Blue Peter badge, but you could ask), which at first may seem a little steep. However the museum is unique, and is providing services that aim to keep the interests of an
alogue synthesizers not just in the present, but also for the future. Where else can you check if that machine you've got in the attic is a museum piece or not?
A word of warning, cameras are not allowed, a policy that other museums follow, and occasionally some of the exhibits have to be serviced, so may not be working. If you want to hear and use a certain instrument, you best contact the museum first.
For more information, please contact:
Martin Newcomb on telephone/fax; +44 01279 771619.
Or write to:
The Museum of Synthesizer Technology,
PO Box 36,
Ware,
Herts.
SG11 2AP
England. UK.
Written by Paul Preston, with a grateful contribution from Peter D. Cox.
STOP PRESS... The video of the opening day has just been released, called "Analogue Heaven" (VHS PAL), it's 50 minutes long, and costs ú15.95 (+P&P). So if you are unable to vist the museum, try the next best thing.
