By Steve Chase

Back in 1979–80, I played a horn with the house band of a bar called the Inn Place in Connecticut. Those were the days when analog instruments still ruled the day. Our keyboardist had this monophonic mini-Korg synthesizer, the budget version of the professional level Mini-Moog that was played by masters like Chick Corea of Return to Forever and Joe Zawinul of Weather Report. It was always a blast to mess around with that contraption, discovering the limitless sounds you could come up with a few twists of a dial.

The synthesizer was first heard in modern recording after Robert Moog began producing his first Moog synthesizers in the late 60s. He combined electronic gadgets like voltage controlled oscillators, envelope generators, and low-pass filters in a box hooked to a piano keyboard to help produce such albums as Switched on Bach and the Monkees’ Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. Bands like the Beatles and Yes instantly jumped on the synthesizer bandwagon, using the instruments on albums like Abbey Road and Fragile.

Another electronic keyboard developed at the same time was the Mellotron, which took an entirely different approach. Rather than oscillators, it literally used a bunch of magnetic tape and mechanized gadgets that all worked inside a wooden organ case. This is the keyboard that powered the sound of the Moody Blues, and is the instrument that Paul McCartney played on Strawberry Fields Forever. These instruments are rare and hard to find. One was recently discovered in Myrtle Beach of all places (www.thesunnews.com/2010/03/18/1372888/in-search-of-the-lost-mellotron.html).

Moog continued to develop his ideas in the early 70s, and began building small modular units like the Mini Moog, which became the workhorse synth for many rock and jazz artists. A number of other companies began building their own models and developing the technology further during that decade, and by 1980, brands like Sequential Circuits and Oberheim were making the next generation of polyphonic synthesizers, which allowed musicians to play fat, full chords rather than the single notes of the monophonic “synth” keyboards. Think of bands like Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Frank Zappa, Genesis, and Bruford, and keyboardists like Lyle Mays; all who made great use of these new polyphonic units.

By 1975, the next generation of new digital synthesizers was being experimented with, and Frank Zappa used the incredible synclavier to produce the majority of his Grammy winning album, Jazz From Hell in 1986 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_from_Hell). Vintage Synth Explorer is a great resource to learn more about this evolution. (www.vintagesynth.com/).

Fast forward to 2010. Entire orchestral pieces can be composed and played on a laptop computer. The synthesizer still exists, but is now a digital instrument, the analog synthesizers relegated to collectors and some musicians who still prefer the analog sound (www.synthmuseum.com). Digital technology allows for a much wider range of techniques and approaches to make the music, and the resources and software out there is nearly unlimited. Google is your best asset to find out more.

So where is all this going? For enthusiasts like myself who never could do more than make cool sounds, the Internet and iPhone app store has opened up a whole new world of synth opportunities. For the serious musician, you can buy and download virtual analog synthesizers that will work on your laptop equipped with a MIDI interface. For hacks like me, the iPhone has some great options to make cool synthesized sounds and bother your friends. Here are some examples:

For the serious musician, check out www.arturia.com. Arturia offers a number of software-based virtual analog synths, like the ARP 2600, Prophet V, and the seminal Mini Moog. I downloaded the ARP 2600 on demo and fumbled my way through the various sounds. You can make great music with this software. Prices for these products are typically in the $250 range.

For the hack like me, check these out great iPhone apps:

NLog Synthesizer. An iPhone app, this basic analog sound synth is easy to play, and its features improve on every update. For the geek in you, NLog is a good introduction to various analog controls. $4.99 at the Apple App Store.

Manetron. This Mellotron emulator app brings back fond memories of the early 70s and great albums from Moody Blues and King Crimson. It has three modes and a keyboard. Try playing the line from Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King. $2.99 at the Apple App Store.

Bebot. This polyphonic synth for the iPhone is really amazing. It has a wide range of modes and features a robot on the screen that reacts musically to your single or multi-finger touch. It’s addicting, and cheap. $1.99 at the Apple App Store.

Skip back to 1979 at the Inn Place. We were happy in our analog world, too poor to make much use of the synthesizer technology of the time. Wonder what we would have done with an iPhone and a copy of Bebot?