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Roland Jupiter 4
The Roland Jupiter-4 (JP-4) was an analog synthesizer manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1978 and 1981. It was notable as the company's first self-contained polyphonic synthesizer, and for employing digital control of analog circuits (termed ''compuphonic'' by Roland), allowing for such features as programmable memory, voice assignment modes, an arpeggiator, polyphonic portamento and others. Priced at US$2,895, it was dramatically cheaper than other polyphonic machines from its competitors (such as the Yamaha CS-80, Korg PS-3300 Prophet-5 and OB-X). While it didn't sell as many units compared to the competition, its primary design was such that it could be an accompaniment to organs, complete with an option for a music sheet stand to be fitted. Its future successor in 1981, the Jupiter-8, would go on to sell many more units and make Jupiter a recognized brand. Architecture The Jupiter-4's basic architecture consisted of four voice cards (usually identical, unl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Analog Synthesizer
An analog (or analogue) synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a variety of vacuum-tube (thermionic valve) and electro-mechanical technologies. After the 1960s, analog synthesizers were built using operational amplifier (op-amp) integrated circuits, and used potentiometers (pots, or variable resistors) to adjust the sound parameters. Analog synthesizers also use low-pass filters and high-pass filters to modify the sound. While 1960s-era analog synthesizers such as the Moog used a number of independent electronic modules connected by patch cables, later analog synthesizers such as the Minimoog integrated them into single units, eliminating patch cords in favour of integrated signal routing systems. History 1900–1920 The earliest mention of a "synthetic harmoniser" using electricity appears to be in 1906, cre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Attack-decay-sustain-release
In sound and music, an envelope describes how a sound changes over time. It may relate to elements such as amplitude (volume), frequencies (with the use of Voltage-controlled filter, filters) or Pitch (music), pitch. For example, a piano key, when struck and held, creates a near-immediate initial sound which gradually decreases in volume to zero. Envelope generators, which allow users to control the different stages of a sound, are common features of synthesizers, Sampler (musical instrument), samplers, and other electronic musical instruments. The most common form of envelope generator is controlled with four parameters: attack, decay, sustain and release (ADSR). Development The Hammond Novachord in 1938 used an early implementation of an ADSR envelope. A seven-position rotary knob selects preset ADS parameter for all 72 notes; a pedal controls the release. The envelope generator was created by the American engineer Robert Moog in the 1960s. While experimenting with the fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synthpop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic, art rock, disco, and particularly the Krautrock of bands like Kraftwerk. It arose as a distinct genre in Japan and the United Kingdom in the post-punk era as part of the new wave movement of the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. Electronic musical synthesizers that could be used practically in a recording studio became available in the mid-1960s, and the mid-1970s saw the rise of electronic art musicians. After the breakthrough of Gary Numan in the UK Singles Chart in 1979, large numbers of artists began to enjoy success with a synthesizer-based sound in the early 1980s. In Japan, Yellow Magic Orchestra introduced the TR-808 rhythm machine to popular music, and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Wave Music
New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. Later, critical consensus favored "new wave" as an umbrella term involving many popular music styles of the era, including power pop, synth-pop, ska revival, and more specific forms of punk rock that were less abrasive. It may also be viewed as a more accessible counterpart of post-punk. Common characteristics of new wave music include a humorous or quirky pop approach, the use of electronic sounds, and a distinctive visual style in music videos and fashion. In the early 1980s, virtually every new pop/rock act – and particularly those that employed synthesizers – were tagged as "new wave". Although new wave shares punk's do-it-yourself philosophy, the artists were more influenced by the styles of the 1950s along with the lighter s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chorus Effect
Chorus (or chorusing, choruser or chorused effect) is an audio effect that occurs when individual sounds with approximately the same time, and very similar pitches, converge. While similar sounds coming from multiple sources can occur naturally, as in the case of a choir or string orchestra, it can also be simulated using an electronic effects unit or signal processing device. When the effect is produced successfully, none of the constituent sounds are perceived as being out of tune. It is characteristic of sounds with a rich, shimmering quality that would be absent if the sound came from a single source. The shimmer occurs because of beating. The effect is more apparent when listening to sounds that sustain for longer periods of time. The chorus effect is especially easy to hear when listening to a choir or string ensemble. A choir has multiple people singing each part ( alto, tenor, etc.). A string ensemble has multiple violinists and possibly multiples of other stringed instr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gary Numan
Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his debut solo album '' The Pleasure Principle'' in 1979, topping the UK Albums Chart. While his commercial popularity peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s with hits including "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars" (both of which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart), Numan maintains a cult following. He has sold over 10 million records. Numan faced intense hostility from critics and fellow musicians in his early career, but has since come to be regarded as a pioneer of electronic music. He developed a signature sound consisting of heavy synthesiser hooks fed through guitar effects pedals, and is also known for his distinctive voice and androgynous "android" persona. In 2017, he received an Ivor Novello Award, the Inspiration Award, f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Human League
The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare'' in 1981 after restructuring their lineup. The album contained four hit singles, including the UK/US number one hit " Don't You Want Me". The band received the Brit Award for Best British Breakthrough Act in 1982. Further hits followed throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, including " Mirror Man", "(Keep Feeling) Fascination", " The Lebanon", "Human" (a second US No. 1) and "Tell Me When". The only constant band member since 1977 has been lead singer and songwriter Philip Oakey. Keyboard players Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh both left the band in 1980 to form Heaven 17. Under Oakey's leadership, the Human League then evolved into a commercially successful new pop band,Harvel, Jess"Now That's What I Call New Pop!".Pitchfork ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unison
In music, unison is two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves, usually at the same time. ''Rhythmic unison'' is another term for homorhythm. Definition Unison or perfect unison (also called a prime, or perfect prime)Benward & Saker (2003), p. 53. may refer to the (pseudo-) interval formed by a tone and its duplication (in German, ''Unisono'', ''Einklang'', or ''Prime''), for example C–C, as differentiated from the second, C–D, etc. In the unison the two pitches have the ratio of 1:1 or 0 half steps and zero cents. Although two tones in unison are considered to be the same pitch, they are still perceivable as coming from separate sources, whether played on instruments of a different type: ; or of the same type: . This is because a pair of tones in unison come from different locations or can have different "colors" (timbres), i.e. come from different musical instruments or human voices. Voices wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roland CR-78
The Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 is a drum machine launched in 1978. Although primitive by later standards, the CR-78 represented an important advance in drum machine technology at the time, in particular by allowing users to program and store their own drum patterns. The wood effect cabinet and preset rhythms of the CR-78 such as ''Waltz'', ''Bossa Nova'' and ''Rhumba'' suggest that it was seen by its designers as primarily an accompaniment for an electric organ, but the CR-78 became one of the favorite instruments of pop and electronic musicians in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was used by artists including Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Blondie, Ultravox, Genesis, John Foxx, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Roxy Music, and Gary Numan. Operation The CR-78 uses analog drum voices that sound very little like real percussion instruments. The unit also incorporates an NEC microprocessor CPU (NEC) uPD8048C-015 8-bits to provide digital cont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rio (song)
"Rio" is the seventh single by English new wave band Duran Duran. It was first released as a single in Australia, in August 1982, followed by a UK release on 1 November 1982. The song was the fourth, final, and title single lifted from the band's second studio album of the same name, and was edited for its release. It was issued worldwide in October 1982 and became a Top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 9 on 11 December 1982. "Rio" was released as the third single from the album in Australia, and debuted on the Kent Music Report top 100 singles chart dated 6 September 1982. The song did not attract much notice in the United States upon its initial global release, but received early airplay at KROQ-FM in Los Angeles as early as 2 August 1982. After the band's breakthrough hit "Hungry Like the Wolf" found success in the American charts in December 1982, Capitol Records reissued the single in March 1983 to be the band's second US top 20 hit, peaking at number ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer), Roger Taylor the following year the band went through numerous personnel changes before May 1980, when they settled on their most famous line-up by adding guitarist Andy Taylor (guitarist), Andy Taylor and lead vocalist Simon Le Bon. When Duran Duran emerged they were generally considered part of the New Romantic scene. Innovators of the music video, Duran Duran were catapulted into the mainstream with the introduction of the 24-hour music channel MTV. The group was a leading band in the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US in the 1980s. Photographer Denis O'Regan, who captured the band during their 1984 tour, commented "Duran Duran in America was like Beatlemania." The band's first major hit was "Gi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arpeggiator
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and frequency modulation synthesis. These sounds may be altered by components such as filters, which cut or boost frequencies; envelopes, which control articulation, or how notes begin and end; and low-frequency oscillators, which modulate parameters such as pitch, volume, or filter characteristics affecting timbre. Synthesizers are typically played with keyboards or controlled by sequencers, software or other instruments, and may be synchronized to other equipment via MIDI. Synthesizer-like instruments emerged in the United States in the mid-20th century with instruments such as the RCA Mark II, which was controlled with punch cards and used hundreds of vacuum tubes. The Moog synthesizer, developed by Robert Moog and first sold in 1964, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
