Geoff Downes Keyboards???

[Mike Garrett]

Can anyone discuss which keyboards Geoff Downes used (or uses) to create his
unique synth textures? In particular, I am interested in how he created some
of the sounds on Drama like that strange hollow sound through the delays on
Run through the Light and the angelic high pad used at the end of Machine
Messiah. Are there any recommendations on which types of waveforms to start
with to construct those types of sounds?

[Nate Goulet]

mgar...@bangate.compaq.com (Mike Garrett) wrote:

I'll have to dig up a book of mine from the publishers of Keyboard
magazine. It has a re-print of an interview (several pages) on
Downes.

I have some of his best Asia sounds for my Casio CZ synths. My last
band played "Time Will Tell". I had the intro synth perfect, then the
more full brass sound/synth into the electric piano, then piano, then
synth texture, then synth brass, followed by synth strings, bass pedal
sounds.

He uses a lot of stuff for one song... I had to use 3 keyboards to
play it like, switching patches a few times on each keyboard. It
wasn't easy.

[Malte Rogacki]

In article <DxMI2...@twisto.eng.hou.compaq.com>, Mike Garrett writes:

>
> Can anyone discuss which keyboards Geoff Downes used (or uses) to create
> his unique synth textures? In particular, I am interested in how he
> created some of the sounds on Drama like that strange hollow sound
> through the delays on Run through the Light and the angelic high pad used
> at the end of Machine Messiah. Are there any recommendations on which
> types of waveforms to start with to construct those types of sounds?

The method is quite simple: Buy *any* keyboard ever designed and build a
huge rack out of it. At least that's the way Downes did it with Asia.
Try to find a couple of old Keyboard Mags from the early 80's. There was at
least one with an article about Downes and his stage rig. I've never seen
another rig of a single player approaching this size! Mellotron, Fairlight,
CS-80, Prophet, Polymoog, two Minimoogs, E-Piano (can't remember if it was
a Rhodes or a Cp-70, probably both:-) - anything you can name.

--
Malte Rogacki ga...@sax.sax.de
-------------------------------------------------------------
"Don't forget to TURN ON THE SYNTHESIZER. Often this is the reason why
you get no sound out of it." (ARP 2600 Owner's Manual)
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[Rick Holigrocki]

Asia was the first band I saw in concert. That was in 1982 in
Toronto, Canada. Downes had several racks of keyboards spread out
across the whole stage on a platform above Carl Palmers drum set. He
played with his back to the audience so you could see all the
keyboards.

On 13 Sep 1996 19:32:07 +0100, ga...@gacki.sax.de (Malte Rogacki)
wrote:

Rick Holigrocki
Topeka, KS
rich...@cjnetworks.com
http://www.cjnetworks.com/~richardh

[Barry Bocaner]

The keyboards on asia's new album, arena, are amazing! I'd love to know
what he used on that.

Would the person who has the cz patches mind mailing them to me? :) tks

--
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Barry J. Bocaner _________/|
<ba...@gslink.com> (___|_____\|__________
_|__________)-
"If you listen to a piece of classical music it's a piece of music, but if
you listen to a pop song from 1954 it sounds like a pop song from 1954.
How much of the music that's being written today will be worth listening
to in ten years, except for nostalgia?" -Geddy Lee
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