Vangelis sound
Andrew Champagne
Hi folks,
I'm listening to Vangelis, and I'm trying to figure out where the heck some of
his sounds are coming from. What keyboard(s) does he use? Can I adopt some
of his phaser/flanging/delay type effects to my Roland? Just a thought.
Andy
Vidar Lund
Check out http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/perki/Vangelis.html
This contains a lot of info about the man. You will find references to
his work, his synths and several interesting interviews concerning
electronic music.
I would say that much of the "Vangelis sound" is within the wonderful
strings that he plays on a Yamaha CS-80. I doubt that you can replicate
these on any other synth. (come on, let me hear it; "The K2000 can!"...)
Vidar
Richard Perdriau
In article <4ockcv$9...@ratatosk.uio.no>, Vidar Lund <vid...@ulrik.uio.no>
writes:
> I would say that much of the "Vangelis sound" is within the wonderful
> strings that he plays on a Yamaha CS-80. I doubt that you can replicate
> these on any other synth. (come on, let me hear it; "The K2000 can!"...)
>
>
> Vidar
I managed to replicate (quite well) CS-80 strings on my Korg DSS-1 (using a
simple sawtooth, but with sync and 12dB filtering, no sampling involved !).
The only trouble is I can't replicate the polyphonic aftertouch (sob).
I tried on many different synths (mainly Oberheim) and I didn't succeed in
getting the same sound.
Email me if you DSS-1 owner (there might be a few ...) are interested in the
parameters.
Richard.
"Being happy is useless, unless other people are unhappy"
Translation from Pierre Desproges.
Soundwave [Chad Gould]
Richard Perdriau (perd...@lra.eseo.fr) wrote:
: In article <4ockcv$9...@ratatosk.uio.no>, Vidar Lund <vid...@ulrik.uio.no>
: > I would say that much of the "Vangelis sound" is within the wonderful
: > strings that he plays on a Yamaha CS-80. I doubt that you can replicate
: > these on any other synth. (come on, let me hear it; "The K2000 can!"...)
: > Vidar
: I managed to replicate (quite well) CS-80 strings on my Korg DSS-1 (using a
: simple sawtooth, but with sync and 12dB filtering, no sampling involved !).
: The only trouble is I can't replicate the polyphonic aftertouch (sob).
: I tried on many different synths (mainly Oberheim) and I didn't succeed in
: getting the same sound.
: Email me if you DSS-1 owner (there might be a few ...) are interested in the
: parameters.
Also, doesn't Vangelis have several sounds in his lifetime? (:
The only picture I've seen of Vangelis in his studio is the "apple
eating" one in _Direct_. Although all of his instruments are tape
covered, I've managed to identify the following:
- A Yamaha DX-7
- TWO Roland Juno-106s
- An Akai sampler in the rack
- A Prophet-10 (I'm pretty sure)
The remainder I can't tell exactly. The grey keyboard next to the DX-7
could be an Emulator sampler (the original?). There's a small
keyboard under the Juno that's hard to identify, there's another large
(analog?) synth beneath the Prophet 10 (the CS-80? Man, what a heavy rack.
(: ), there is a keyboard on top of the Prophet 10 that would be easy to
identify if I had seen it before (a Korg?), and there's another keyboard
beneath the top Juno 106 that may be a Roland D series (but not a D-50).
There are two other keyboards that are impossible to identify, plus
loads of rack goodies. Whew! What a studio! (:
I imagine the picture was taken around 1987-1988, so who knows what he
has gotten since then? BTW, feel free to add a lot if you have the CD
cover yourself. (:
--
Chad Gould aka Soundwave (not Gently) |--X5/D50/DX27/1202/Juno106/GUS--|
internet: cgo...@gate.net (ISDN #1134) |"Dirty pool old man, I like it!"|
Scanning and web author services avail. |Make Happy the Harmonica Happy!!|
http://www.webcom.com/cgould/ - MST3K,MIDI,pinball,ambient/emusic,andmore
SAVE MST3K!! - http://fermi.clas.virginia.edu/~jcp9j/canceled.html forinfo
Richard Perdriau
In article <4ogffi$e...@news.gate.net>, <cgo...@gate.net> writes:
> The only picture I've seen of Vangelis in his studio is the "apple
> eating" one in _Direct_. Although all of his instruments are tape
> covered, I've managed to identify the following:
>
> - A Yamaha DX-7
> - TWO Roland Juno-106s
> - An Akai sampler in the rack
> - A Prophet-10 (I'm pretty sure)
>
I have this CD too. That's right.
> The remainder I can't tell exactly. The grey keyboard next to the DX-7
> could be an Emulator sampler (the original?).
It is an Emulator II.
> There's a small keyboard under the Juno that's hard to identify
Maybe a RSF Kobol (?). I'm not sure at all.
> there's another large (analog?) synth beneath the Prophet 10 (the CS-80?)
Yes, the mighty CS-80. 100 kg of pure analog power.
> there is a keyboard on top of the Prophet 10 that would be easy to
> identify if I had seen it before (a Korg?)
A Yamaha DX7-II.
> and there's another keyboard beneath the top Juno 106 that may be a Roland D
> series (but not a D-50).
It looks like a Roland S-50.
> There are two other keyboards that are impossible to identify, plus
> loads of rack goodies. Whew! What a studio! (:
I think they are :
- a Roland RD-1000 (under the DX7 and the Emu-II)
- a Roland Jupiter 8 (back of the picture)
> I imagine the picture was taken around 1987-1988, so who knows what he
> has gotten since then? BTW, feel free to add a lot if you have the CD
> cover yourself. (:
In the rack there might be (among others) :
- an Akai S900 (as you said)
- a Prophet VS (bottom right)
- a Roland Super Jupiter with programmer (top left)
- a Roland D-550 (as many sounds come from that gear)
- a Roland MT32 (for "Rotation's logic")
Above the rack there might be a Yamaha RX5 rhythm machine.
In later albums ("The City", "1492" and "Voices"), I think (by ear) Vangelis
uses the following gear :
- Korg T-series
- Korg Wavestation
- Kurzweil K2000
- Kurzweil PC-88 (piano in "Voices")
and so on ...
If someone has further information about Vangelis' gear, I'd like to know.
Vidar Lund
In article <4ogpa7$4...@news.univ-angers.fr>, Richard Perdriau <perd...@lra.eseo.fr> writes:
>
> - Kurzweil PC-88 (piano in "Voices")
> and so on ...
>
Actually I believe that he plays a piano. At least he used to have two pianos.
Vidar
calv...@yuggoth.ces.cwru.edu
Andrew> Hi folks, I'm listening to Vangelis, and I'm trying to
Andrew> figure out where the heck some of his sounds are coming
Andrew> from. What keyboard(s) does he use? Can I adopt some of
Andrew> his phaser/flanging/delay type effects to my Roland? Just
Andrew> a thought.
i think his signature synth is the yamaha CS-80, an analog
monster. it's prominent in some of his better known works like the
soundtrack to bladerunner, soil festivities, and mask. i'm not sure
what other processing he uses, except the everpresent reverb (which
probably contributes quite a lot to the sound)
alan
George
I wonder what he used to get that memorable simultaneous chime & bass hit on the Chariots of Fire
theme... was the chime an E-II sample, perhaps? (Anyone familiar with the E-II library?)
I'm pretty certain the chimey lead sound on his "Opera Sauvage" is a DX-7.
On the other hand, one of his earliest records (he must have 30 by now) he has the most transparent,
fluid string-like sound I ever heard. It almost feels good physically. He plays long, alternating
3-4-voice chords on it for a long time. I haven't the faintest idea what he used for that etheral pad, I
couldn't recreate it with a Matrix 1000 during the short time I had one.
George
Paul W. Zablotski
I would guess that a lot of the string sounds come from his Yamaha CS-80.
________________________________________________________________________
Paul Zablotski aq...@freenet.buffalo.edu
**
vincent_scott
"There is no limitation in the synthesizer. The limitation is in the
brain of the human being. And until we reach the limits of the brain,
we have a long way to go."
--VANGELIS--
August '82.
Juan Montoya Jimenez
George wrote:
>
> I wonder what he used to get that memorable simultaneous chime & bass hit on the Chariots of Fire
> theme... was the chime an E-II sample, perhaps? (Anyone familiar with the E-II library?)
>
> I'm pretty certain the chimey lead sound on his "Opera Sauvage" is a DX-7.
Of course. Yamaha built the DX7, complete with MIDI and all,
in 1979 so that Vangelis could record Opera Sauvage. Four years later,
seeing how good the album had proved to be, they decided to make the
DX7 available to the general public.
Another example of this otherwise usual marketing aproach is
the Korg OASYS that can be heard in some early Elvis Presley recordings.
Cheers:))
JUan
Gareth Jones
In article <31AF83...@cc.csic.es>, Juan Montoya Jimenez
<fau...@cc.csic.es> writes
>George wrote:
>>
>> I wonder what he used to get that memorable simultaneous chime & bass hit on
>the Chariots of Fire
>> theme... was the chime an E-II sample, perhaps? (Anyone familiar with the E-
>II library?)
>>
>> I'm pretty certain the chimey lead sound on his "Opera Sauvage" is a DX-7.
>
> Of course. Yamaha built the DX7, complete with MIDI and all,
>in 1979 so that Vangelis could record Opera Sauvage. Four years later,
>seeing how good the album had proved to be, they decided to make the
>DX7 available to the general public.
Ha! nice one Juan.
BTW, I seem to recall reading many, many moons ago in a Vangelis
interview, that he did not like (use?) the DX7 because it produced too
much background digital noise.
Fussy bugger!
--
__________________________________________
<Gareth Jones> Gar...@swansea.demon.co.uk
gl.j...@sihe.ac.uk
"Reality sucks - go watch a Star Trek"
bi74...@gamma.ntu.ac.sg
He uses Sy77 or 99 this wayfrey patch the bell like sounds..
Xheers.
rick
vincent_scott
> Another example of this otherwise usual marketing aproach is
>the Korg OASYS that can be heard in some early Elvis Presley recordings.
Whoa! ...& i always thought it was a Polyfusion modular! ; )
take care & stuff,
Vincent
Not A Speck of Cereal
spi...@windjam.ultranet.com (Andrew Champagne) wrote:
[] I'm listening to Vangelis, and I'm trying to figure out where the heck some of
[] his sounds are coming from. What keyboard(s) does he use? Can I adopt some
[] of his phaser/flanging/delay type effects to my Roland? Just a thought.
More Vangelis questions I've pondered for awhile;
Does he print effects to tape? Does he still use multi-track tape (and how many
tracks)? What kind of effects units is he using. I've heard of Vangelis's "system"
of recording -- can someone describe it in detail? (I've read reviews where it's
mentioned, but they never flesh it out). Does he still use that system? What
'newer' techniques did use for the recording of Voices.
In short, hearing about the machines are cool, but a good part of his sound is
in the way he records, eh?
Chris
----
"Shea has been demonstrating his pre-cognitive ability in many
of his posts. He obviously writes and sends them before any
cognition takes place!" -- Bob Duniway
............................................................
chri...@microsoft.com -- Snohomish, WA. -- Studio Ponderous
[These opinions are personal views only and only my personal views]
Jim Lince
What about his "power brass lead" type sound he uses in the opening to
Bladerunner, and Chariots...? He usually has a swelling attack on it,
but it's very powerful sounding...
JP-8 perhaps?
Jim
Soundwave [Chad Gould]
George (smo...@aloha.net) wrote:
: I wonder what he used to get that memorable simultaneous chime & bass hit on the Chariots of Fire
: theme... was the chime an E-II sample, perhaps? (Anyone familiar with the E-II library?)
I don't think the Emulator II was out when Chariots of Fire came out,
the Emulator I don't think even was available in 1981. The only digital
sampling workstation available was the Fairlight CMI systems
(commercially) that I'm aware of... Vangelis doesn't have any Fairlight
sounds in his early works.
OTOH, aside from the CS-80, a lot of his sounds on any early 80s work
sound like a DX machine. He may have had a DX1??? No idea. A couple of
his sounds are even cartridge DX7 stuff at least in Private Collection.
I can easily simulate a Vangelis electronic "ping" with my DX27 as
well...
One thing is that I think FX are a large part of his recording
process... he seems to use a fairly heavy chorus on most of his works,
as well as a nice spacey reverb sound.
Ben...@transarc.com
George <smo...@aloha.net> writes:
> I wonder what he used to get that memorable simultaneous chime & bass hit on
The chime part of that may have been...a chime. Vangelis is a
percussionist as well as a synthesist, and a good number of the
percussion sounds he uses are real percussion.
__
Ben Cox c...@transarc.com
bashar.mtsu
I am sory to say that I don't here too much FM synth on any of VANs
recordings, He uses pure analog synth noticably a modular mood, Arp and
SQC.. I did not hear much of Yamahas cheesy FM, VAN sounds are too worm
and full, It is not Choursing as much as it is pure old analog synth with
unstable OSC..., If you want FM check Jean Micheal Jarr 80's records!
Not A Speck of Cereal
Jim Lince <g...@randomc.com> wrote:
[] What about his "power brass lead" type sound he uses in the opening to
[] but it's very powerful sounding...
Someone else mentioned effects and I believe that a phaser or flanger
was used with the cool brass leads on some of the BR stuff, especially
on BR blues.
chris
----
"Great Tambourine overdub! Now where's that smokin' guitar solo
we recorded last night?" -- George Petersen
Aaron Anderson
In article <01bb57c7.b1af8880$27bedbcd@music-master>, "bashar.mtsu"
<bas...@mtsu.campus.mci.net> wrote:
Point of fact, "FM" is *not* limited to digital synths... ie... MiniMoog
(Oscillator Modulation), ARP 2600 (ring mod, etc), Oberheim Xpander (FM),
Prophet-5 (poly-mod)... need I go on?
--
A
Motherone
of
>> his sounds are coming from. What keyboard(s) does he use? Can I adopt some
>> of his phaser/flanging/delay type effects to my Roland? Just a thought.
>>
>>
>
> Check out http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/perki/Vangelis.html
>
> This contains a lot of info about the man. You will find references to
> his work, his synths and several interesting interviews concerning
> electronic music.
> strings that he plays on a Yamaha CS-80. I doubt that you can replicate
> these on any other synth. (come on, let me hear it; "The K2000 can!"...)
>
>
> Vidar
HEY!!! THE K2000 CAN!!! :) (I would be extremely suprised if it could'nt)
Motherone
Dennis Lodewijks
>> his work, his synths and several interesting interviews concerning
>> electronic music.
>> I would say that much of the "Vangelis sound" is within the wonderful
>> strings that he plays on a Yamaha CS-80. I doubt that you can replicate
>> these on any other synth. (come on, let me hear it; "The K2000 can!"...)
>HEY!!! THE K2000 CAN!!! :) (I would be extremely suprised if it could'nt)
He does have a K2000. It's visible in his studio at the 'musique au coer'
interview (TV5). But the CS-80 is still in use. As well as MANY samplers and
workstations. (Korg mainly i believe.)
I always think i hear a VL-1 in Voices (track 2 for example??). But i am far
from sure. Can anyone verify this?
Dennis Lodewijks