Synclavier
The Synclavier is an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation manufactured by New England Digital Corporation of Norwich, Vermont. It was produced in various forms from the late 1970s into the early 1990s. The instrument has been used by prominent musicians.
Dartmouth Digital Synthesizer (1973)
[1]
is credited with using the Synclavier on her albums Mister Heartbreak (1984), United States Live (1984) and the 1986 soundtrack album Home of the Brave.
Laurie Anderson
: used the Synclavier II on Level 42 and solo studio albums, as well as on the 1985 Kiss of the Spider Woman movie additional soundtrack.[18]
Wally Badarou
of Genesis used a Synclavier II (ORK version) on the albums Genesis (1983) and Invisible Touch (1986) and their respective tours, along with solo albums and soundtracks of that period, notably on "Mama" and "Home by the Sea".[19]
Tony Banks
: composer/founder of Electronic Music Foundation. In September 1977 he bought the first Synclavier without musical keyboard (ORK) and wrote custom software to control the Synclavier via various devices.[2]
Joel Chadabe
used it on "Under the Milky Way" (1988). The way it is arranged gives a sound similar to bagpipes.[22]
The Church
used the Synclavier on various Elektric Band albums from 1986 to 1991 as well as various Elektric Band tours.[23]
Chick Corea
used acoustic drums blended with Synclavier-sampled drums on their 1988 album Transcendence.[24]
Crimson Glory
had access to producer Daniel Miller's Synclavier, which was responsible for the character of the sound of the albums Construction Time Again (1983), Some Great Reward (1984) and Black Celebration (1986).[27]
Depeche Mode
: used the Synclavier extensively in creating studio albums; also for soundtracks Rocky IV (1985) and The Transformers: The Movie (1986).[28]
Vince DiCola
: film score composer. Used the Synclavier to score Apocalypse Now (1979) and The Plague Dogs (1982).[30]
Patrick Gleeson
: film scoring work on the Synclavier, including the 1986 action-fantasy film, The Wraith.[34]
Michael Hoenig
: used the Synclavier to produce records by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Yes, and Grace Jones' 1985 album Slave to the Rhythm, among others.[35]
Trevor Horn
: used by Marlon Jackson and co-producer Winston Johnson on the single "Don't Go."[36]
Marlon Jackson
: particularly on his 1982 album Thriller, programming by Steve Porcaro, Brian Banks, and Anthony Marinelli. The gong sound at the beginning of "Beat It" comes courtesy of the Synclavier.[37] The Synclavier was extensively used on Jackson's 1987 album Bad and on its accompanying tour, programmed and played by Christopher Currell.[38] The Synclavier was also used by Andrew Scheps to slice and edit Jackson's beatboxing on his 1995 album HIStory.[39]
Michael Jackson
: Used on the scores for the films The Princess Bride (1987) and Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989), in which all sounds except guitar (and in the latter case, violins) were produced by the Synclavier. The Synclavier is also heard on the Dire Straits albums Love over Gold (1982, played by Alan Clark), Brothers in Arms (1985, played by Guy Fletcher), and On Every Street (1991).[45]
Mark Knopfler
acquired one in the early to mid 1980s and initially used it to re work the material later released as Electric Cafe / Techno Pop, and also on live performances in the 1990s.[46]
Kraftwerk
Dave Lawson
: used Synclavier on albums I Wear the Face (1984), Welcome to the Real World (1985), and Go On... (1987).[51]
Mr. Mister
American post-disco and contemporary R&B record producer, multi-instrumentalist, also a creative consultant[54] with the New England Digital Corporation: Bass synthesizer music pioneer and an early Synclavier II avid user who used Synclavier in production, for instance, of his Grammy-nominated instrumental piece "The Mood" (1983). His innovating vocalist-related sampling methods (created using Synclavier) are still in use.[55][56]
Kashif Saleem
film score composer: pictured with a Synclavier on the cover of Berklee Today, Fall 1997.[57]
Howard Shore
: in producing the scores for the 1980s films The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986) and Flight of the Navigator (1986).[58]
Alan Silvestri
: on Simon's 1983 album Hearts and Bones, Tom Coppola is credited for Synclavier for "When Numbers Get Serious", "Think Too Much (b)", "Song About the Moon", and "Think Too Much (a)"; and Wells Christie is credited with Synclavier on "Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War".[59] On his 1986 album Graceland, Simon is credited under "Synclavier" for "I Know What I Know" and "Gumboots".[60]
Paul Simon
: his personal studio room is still centered around a Synclavier system — he has four systems. He’s been using it since Chess in 1985.[63]
Benny Andersson
: producer, one of the first musicians to buy a Synclavier; used it on records by Siouxsie and the Banshees, Soft Cell ("Tainted Love", 1981), Marc Almond, and Bronski Beat, among others.[65]
Mike Thorne
: started using the Synclavier on the recording of All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes (1982).[66]
Pete Townshend
: Rik Emmett used a Synclavier 9600 around the period of Thunder Seven (1984) to Surveillance (1987).[67]
Triumph
: used a Synclavier to sample the voices of Clair Huxtable and children in an episode of The Cosby Show.[69]
Stevie Wonder
: in 1982 one of the first Synclavier owners; 1984's Thing-Fish (underscoring), Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger (1984, underscoring) and Francesco Zappa (1984, solely Synclavier); 1985's Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention (sampled sounds); 1986's Grammy-winning album Jazz from Hell ("St. Etienne" excepted, solely Synclavier); 1994's Civilization Phaze III completed in 1993 shortly before his death, released posthumously, musical portions composed and recorded exclusively using the Synclavier. Zappa also used the instrument to create the music posthumously released in 2011 on Feeding the Monkies at Ma Maison.[71]
Frank Zappa
of The Cars used a Synclavier II on the Hearbeat City tour as well as Live Aid, primarily for the backing vocal samples in Drive.
Greg Hawkes
Fostex Foundation 2000
WaveFrame AudioFrame
Steve Hills, Synclavier European Services