Synthesisers & Keyboards

The Moog Minimoog Model D transformed Moog’s modular synthesis technology into a compact, monophonic performance instrument with three oscillators, noise and external audio sources, a five-input mixer, resonant 24dB-per-octave low-pass filter, dual contour generators and voltage-controlled amplification. Its 44-key keyboard, glide, pitch wheel, modulation wheel and pre-wired architecture eliminated the need for patch cords and made sophisticated voltage-controlled synthesis practical on stage. Released in 1970 and produced in more than 12,000 original examples, the Moog Minimoog Model D became one of the defining electronic instruments of the 1970s and established a design architecture that influenced generations of synthesisers.

The Yamaha CS-80 is an eight-note polyphonic analogue synthesiser with two independent synthesis channels, 16 tone generators, a 61-note velocity-sensitive keyboard with polyphonic aftertouch, ribbon pitch controller, four analogue Memory Banks, 22 preset tones, Ring Modulator, Sub Oscillator, Tremolo, Chorus, Sustain, Portamento and Glissando. Developed from Yamaha’s GX-1 technology and closely associated with Vangelis, the Yamaha CS-80 became one of the most historically important expressive polyphonic synthesisers of the analogue era.

Introduced commercially in 1978, the New England Digital Synclavier was a pioneering computer-controlled digital synthesiser developed from research at Dartmouth College. Built around New England Digital’s own 16-bit ABLE computer and dedicated digital sound-generation hardware, it combined real-time digital synthesis, FM capabilities, programmable sound memory, magnetic storage and computerised performance recording. Its architecture became the foundation for the substantially expanded Synclavier II and the later Synclavier digital music production systems.

The Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, combined five-voice analogue polyphony with microprocessor-controlled programming and storage of complete synthesiser sounds. As the world’s first fully programmable polyphonic synthesiser and the first musical instrument built around an embedded microprocessor, the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 established principles of sound storage, recall and computer-controlled analogue synthesis that became fundamental to subsequent generations of electronic instruments.

Introduced in July 1979, the Oberheim OB-X was Oberheim Electronics’ first OB-series programmable polyphonic synthesiser. Available with four voices and expandable to six or eight, it combined two oscillators per voice, dual ADSR envelope generators, extensive programmable modulation, polyphonic portamento, sample-and-hold, automatic tuning and 32-program memory with a five-octave keyboard. Developed as Oberheim’s response to the emerging generation of microprocessor-controlled polyphonic synthesisers, the Oberheim OB-X established the architecture and operating philosophy that would subsequently lead to the Oberheim OB-Xa and Oberheim OB-8.

The Fairlight CMI, launched in 1979, was the world’s first digital sampling synthesiser and a pioneering music workstation. Evolving through Series I, II, IIx, and III, it introduced sampling, graphical sequencing (Page R), and advanced audio editing. Favoured by artists like Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, and Herbie Hancock, it shaped the sound of the 1980s. Despite its high cost, it revolutionised music production, leading to modern sampling and DAWs. A 30th-anniversary model, the CMI 30A, was released in 2011.

Introduced in 1980, the New England Digital Synclavier II was a professional computer-controlled digital synthesiser built around additive synthesis, frequency modulation and New England Digital’s Partial Timbre Method. Its architecture allowed as many as four independently programmed partial timbres to form a single sound, with up to 24 harmonics available within each partial. A 61-note keyboard with 128 illuminated programming buttons, real-time performance controls, disk storage and an integrated 16-track digital memory recorder made the Synclavier II considerably more than a conventional synthesiser. Its expandable architecture and later Sample-to-Disk option also established the technological foundation for the increasingly comprehensive Synclavier systems that followed.

The Sequential Circuits Prophet-10 was as a ten-voice, dual-manual programmable analogue synthesizer that expanded the Prophet architecture into a more powerful performance instrument. Combining two independently programmable five-voice sections, four keyboard assignment modes, 64 program memories, extensive modulation, programmable three-band equalisation, automatic tuning and an optional polyphonic sequencer, the Sequential Circuits Prophet-10 represented the most comprehensive implementation of Sequential Circuits’ original Prophet.

The Oberheim OB-Xa was a programmable polyphonic analogue synthesiser available with four, six or eight voices. Each voice provided two voltage-controlled oscillators, selectable 12dB/octave and 24dB/octave low-pass filtering, two ADSR envelope generators and a voltage-controlled amplifier. Programmable Split and Double modes provided bi-timbral operation, while later Oberheim OB-Xa/120 instruments expanded memory from 32 to 120 patches together with eight Split and eight Double programs. Stereo voice panning, polyphonic portamento, Unison, Hold and Chord functions, cassette storage and direct connection to the Oberheim DSX sequencer made the Oberheim OB-Xa one of the most comprehensive analogue performance synthesisers of its period and a central component of Oberheim’s pre-MIDI System.

Released in 1981, the Roland TB-303 Bass Line was originally designed by Tadao Kikumoto as a programmable electronic bass accompaniment machine intended to operate alongside the Roland TR-606 Drumatix. Combining a monophonic analogue synthesiser, sawtooth and square oscillators, an 18 dB-per-octave resonant low-pass filter and an integrated pattern and track sequencer, the Roland TB-303 Bass Line achieved only limited success in its intended role. But years later…

The E-mu Emulator was an 8-bit polyphonic digital sampling keyboard offering four or eight voices, approximately 30kHz sampling, 128kB of RAM, two independent two-octave keyboard sections, floppy-disk sound storage, sample truncation, sustain looping, filtering, reverse playback and real-time pitch and vibrato control. Later development added a sequencer, multi-sampling, expanded sound libraries and external control options. As one of the earliest commercially available dedicated sampling keyboards, the E-mu Emulator helped establish the practical architecture and workflow that would become fundamental to professional hardware sampling throughout the 1980s.

Released in 1981, the Roland Jupiter-8 is an eight-voice, 16-oscillator programmable analogue polyphonic synthesiser with a 61-note keyboard, two oscillators per voice, selectable 12dB/octave and 24dB/octave low-pass filtering, separate high-pass filtering, two envelope generators, extensive modulation, 64 programmable memories, split and layered keyboard modes, polyphonic portamento and an integrated arpeggiator. Designed as Roland’s flagship polyphonic synthesiser, the Roland Jupiter-8 combined extensive sound programming with sophisticated keyboard and performance control and became an important instrument in the development of the programmable polyphonic synthesiser.