The Synclavier is an early

digital synthesizer A digital synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses digital signal processing (DSP) techniques to make musical sounds. This in contrast to older analog synthesizers, which produce music using analog electronics, and samplers, which play back digit ...

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...

digital sampling system, and

music workstation A music workstation is an electronic musical instrument providing the facilities of: *a sound module, *a music sequencer and *(usually) a musical keyboard. It enables a musician to compose electronic music using just one piece of equipment. Origin ...

manufactured by New England Digital Corporation of

Norwich, Vermont Norwich is a town in Windsor County, in the U.S. state of Vermont. The population was 3,612 at the 2020 census. Home to some of the state of Vermont's wealthiest residents, the municipality is a commuter town for nearby Hanover, New Hampshir ...

. It was produced in various forms from the late 1970s into the early 1990s. The instrument has been used by prominent musicians.

History

The original design and development of the Synclavier prototype occurred at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

with the collaboration of

Jon Appleton Jon Howard Appleton (January 4, 1939 – January 30, 2022) was an American composer, an educator and a pioneer in electro-acoustic music. His earliest compositions in the medium, e.g. "Chef d'Oeuvre" and "Newark Airport Rock" (1967) attracted at ...

, Professor of Digital Electronics, Sydney A. Alonso, and Cameron Jones, a software programmer and student at Dartmouth's

Thayer School of Engineering Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth (Dartmouth Engineering) offers graduate and undergraduate education in engineering sciences at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The school was established in 1867 with funds from C ...

Synclavier I

First released in 1977–78, it proved to be highly influential among both

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

composers and

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

s, including

Mike Thorne Mike Thorne (born 25 January 1948) is an English record producer, arranger, composer, engineer, and musician. He started playing the piano at the age of 10. After studying physics at Hertford College, Oxford, in the late 1960s he worked as a ta ...

, an early adopter from the commercial world, due to its versatility, its cutting-edge technology, and distinctive sounds. The early Synclavier I used

FM synthesis Frequency modulation synthesis (or FM synthesis) is a form of sound synthesis whereby the frequency of a waveform is changed by modulating its frequency with a modulator. The frequency of an oscillator is altered "in accordance with the amplitud ...

, re-licensed from

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

, and was sold mostly to universities. The initial models had only a computer and synthesis modules; later models added a musical keyboard and control panel.

Synclavier II

The system evolved in its next generation of product, the Synclavier II, which was released in early 1980 with the strong influence of music producer Denny Jaeger of

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. It was originally Jaeger's suggestion that the FM synthesis concept be extended to allow four simultaneous channels or voices of synthesis to be triggered with one key depression to allow the final synthesized sound to have much more harmonic series activity. This change greatly improved the overall sound design of the system and was very noticeable. 16-bit user sampling (originally in mono only) was added as an option in 1982. This model was succeeded by the ABLE Model C computer based PSMT in 1984 and then the Mac-based 3200, 6400 and 9600 models, all of which used the VPK keyboard.

Keyboard controller

Synclavier II models used an on/off type keyboard (called the "ORK") while later models, labeled simply "Synclavier", used a weighted velocity- and pressure-sensitive keyboard (called the "VPK") that was licensed from

Sequential Circuits Sequential is an American synthesizer company founded in 1974 as Sequential Circuits by Dave Smith. In 1978, Sequential released the Prophet-5, the first programmable polyphonic synthesizer; it became a market leader and industry standard, use ...

and used in their Prophet-T8 synthesizer.

Digital sampling

The company evolved the system continuously through the early 1980s to integrate the first 16-bit digital sampling system to magnetic disk, and eventually a 16-bit polyphonic sampling system to memory, as well. The company's product was the only digital sampling system that allowed sample rates to go as high as 100 kHz.

Tapeless studio concept

Ultimately, the system was referred to as the Synclavier

Digital Recording In digital recording, an audio or video signal is converted into a stream of discrete numbers representing the changes over time in air pressure for audio, or chroma and luminance values for video. This number stream is saved to a storage de ...

"Tapeless Studio" system among many professionals. It was a pioneer system in revolutionizing movie and television sound effects and Foley effects methods of design and production starting at

Glen Glenn Sound Glen Glenn Sound was an audio post production company formerly located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

s, competing at times in this market with high-end production systems such as the

Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commercial lic ...

Technological achievements

When the company launched and evolved its technology, there were no

off-the-shelf Off-the-shelf may refer to: * Commercial off-the-shelf, a phrase in computing and industrial supply terminology * Government off-the-shelf * Ready-to-wear * Shelf corporation, a type of company * Off the Shelf Festival, a festival of writing and r ...

computing systems, integrated software, nor

sound card A sound card (also known as an audio card) is an internal expansion card that provides input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under the control of computer programs. The term ''sound card'' is also applied to external audio i ...

s. Consequently, all of the hardware from the company's main real-time CPU, all input and output cards,

analog-to-digital In electronics, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC, A/D, or A-to-D) is a system that converts an analog signal, such as a sound picked up by a microphone or light entering a digital camera, into a digital signal. An ADC may also provide ...

and

digital-to-analog In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC, D/A, D2A, or D-to-A) is a system that converts a digital signal into an analog signal. An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) performs the reverse function. There are several DAC architec ...

cards and its memory cards were developed internally, as well as all of the software. The hardware and software of the company's real-time capability was used in other fields completely remote to music, such as the main Dartmouth College campus computing node computers for one of the USA's first campus-wide computing networks, and in medical data acquisition research projects.

End of manufacture

New England Digital ceased operations in 1993. According to Jones, "The intellectual property was bought up by a bank—then it was owned by a Canadian company called Airworks—and I bought the intellectual property and the trademark back from a second bank which had foreclosed on it from Airworks."

Reincarnations

In 2019, Jones released an

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

version of the Synclavier dubbed Synclavier Go! using much of the original code base. Jones has also worked with

Arturia Arturia is a French electronics company founded in 1999 and based in Grenoble, France. The company designs and manufactures audio interfaces and electronic musical instruments, including software synthesizers, drum machines, analog synthesize ...

to bring the Synclavier V software version of the instrument to their V Collection plugin suite.

Models and options

Prototype

* Dartmouth Digital Synthesizer (1973)

Processor

* ABLE computer (1975): an early product of New England Digital, was a 16-bit

mini-computer A minicomputer, or colloquially mini, is a class of smaller general purpose computers that developed in the mid-1960s and sold at a much lower price than Mainframe computer, mainframe and mid-size computers from IBM and BUNCH, its direct competi ...

on two cards, using a transport-triggered architecture. It used a variant of

XPL XPL is a programming language based on PL/I, a portable one-pass compiler written in its own language, and a parser generator tool for easily implementing similar compilers for other languages. XPL was designed in 1967 as a way to teach compiler d ...

called Scientific XPL for programming. Early applications of the ABLE were for

laboratory automation Laboratory automation is a multi-disciplinary strategy to research, develop, optimize and capitalize on technologies in the laboratory that enable new and improved processes. Laboratory automation professionals are academic, commercial and gover ...

, data collection, and device control. The commercial version of the Dartmouth Digital Synthesizer, the Synclavier, was built on this processor.

Digital synthesis cards

* The FM/

Additive synthesis Additive synthesis is a sound synthesis technique that creates timbre by adding sine waves together. The timbre of musical instruments can be considered in the light of Fourier series, Fourier theory to consist of multiple harmonic or inharmoni ...

waveforms are produced by the Synclavier Synthesizer cards (named SS1 through SS5). Each set of these five cards produced 8 mono FM voices (later variants supported stereo). The processor handles sending start-stop-setPitch-setParameter commands to the SS card set(s), as well as handling scanning of the keyboard and control panel. There is little public documentation available on these cards, as their design was the unique asset of the Synclavier. However, their structure was similar to other digital synthesizers of the mid-late 1970s realized in Medium Scale Integration (MSI) hardware, such as the

Bell Labs Digital Synthesizer The Bell Labs Digital Synthesizer, better known as the Alles Machine or Alice, was an experimental additive synthesizer designed by Hal Alles at Bell Labs during the 1970s. The Alles Machine used computer-controlled 16 bit digital synthesizer opera ...

Black panel models

On 1970s–late 1980s: * Synclavier I (1977) ** Hand Operated Processor (HOP box): a troubleshooting tool for the Synclavier system, connected to ABLE computer via "D01 Front Panel Interface Card". File:NED HOP box & D01 FPI card.jpg, HOP box and D01 card (for interface) File:Adm3aimage.jpg, Terminal:

ADM-3A The ADM-3A was an influential early video display terminal, introduced in 1976. It was manufactured by Lear Siegler and had a 12-inch screen displaying 12 or 24 lines of 80 characters. It set a new industry low single unit price of $995. Its "du ...

(1975) * Synclavier II (1980): 8-bit FM/

additive synthesis Additive synthesis is a sound synthesis technique that creates timbre by adding sine waves together. The timbre of musical instruments can be considered in the light of Fourier series, Fourier theory to consist of multiple harmonic or inharmoni ...

, 32-track memory recorder, and ORK keyboard. Earlier models were entirely controlled via ORK keyboard with buttons and wheel; a

VT100 The VT100 is a video terminal, introduced in August 1978 by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). It was one of the first terminals to support ANSI escape codes for cursor control and other tasks, and added a number of extended codes for special f ...

terminal was subsequently introduced for editing performances. Later models had a VT640 graphic terminal for graphical audio analysis (described below). ** Original Keyboard (ORK, c.1979): original musical keyboard controller in a wooden chassis, with buttons and silver control wheel on the panel. ** Sample-to-Disk (STD, c.1982): a first commercial hard disk streaming sampler, with 16-bit sampling at up to 50 kHz. ** Sample-to-Memory (STM): later option to sample sounds and edit them in computer memory. ** Direct-to-Disk (DTD, c.1984): an early commercial hard disk recording system. ** Signal File Manager: a software program operated via VT640 graphic terminal, enabling ' Additive Resynthesis' and complex

audio analysis Audio analysis refers to the extraction of information and meaning from audio signals for analysis, Statistical classification, classification, storage, retrieval, Sound synthesis, synthesis, etc. The observation mediums and interpretation methods v ...

. ** Digital Guitar Interface **

SMPTE timecode SMPTE timecode ( or ) is a set of cooperating standards to label individual frames of video or film with a timecode. The system is defined by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers in the SMPTE 12M specification. SMPTE revised t ...

tracking **

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...

interface File:NED Synclavier II rear.jpg, Rear panel of Synclavier II File:Synclavier II ORK EG panel.jpg, ORK: Original Keyboard (c.1980) File:Terminal-dec-vt100.jpg, Terminal: DEC

(1978) / VT640 * Synclavier PSMT (1984): a faster ABLE Model C processor based system, with a new 'Multi-Channel-Distribution' real-time digitally controlled analog signal routing technology, and 16-bit RAM-based stereo sampling subsystem. The monaural FM voice card was doubled up and enabling software panning for stereo output was introduced. ** Velocity/Pressure Keyboard (VPK, c.1984): a weighted velocity/after-pressure sensitive musical keyboard controller, was introduced. This had a black piano lacquer finished chassis, a larger display, additional buttons and a silver control wheel. File:NED Synclavier PSMT rack, MIM PHX (transformed).jpg, Synclavier PSMT rack File:NED Synclavier VPK 2 of 6.jpg, VPK panel (2 of 6) File:NED Synclavier VPK (Velocity Pressure Keyboard) 1.jpg, VPK: Velocity Pressure Keyboard (1984)

Ivory panel models

In late 1980s–1993; operated via

Macintosh II The Macintosh II is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from March 1987 to January 1990. Based on the Motorola 68020 32-bit CPU, it is the first Macintosh supporting color graphics. When introduced, a basic sys ...

as terminal. * Synclavier 3200 * Synclavier 6400 * Synclavier 9600 * Synclavier TS (Tapeless Studio): consists of Synclavier and Direct-to-Disk * Synclavier Post Pro: consists of Direct-to-Disk * Synclavier Post Pro SD (Sound Design): consists of small Synclavier and Direct-to-Disk

Notable users

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

is credited with using the Synclavier on her albums ''

Mister Heartbreak ''Mister Heartbreak'' is the second studio album by avant-garde artist, singer and composer Laurie Anderson, released on February 14, 1984. Like its predecessor, it contains reworked elements of Anderson's ''United States'' ("Langue d'Amour", "Ko ...

'' (1984), ''

United States Live ''United States Live'' is the first live album and third overall album by avant-garde singer-songwriter Laurie Anderson. Released as a 5-record boxed set (later reissued on four CDs), the album was recorded at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in ...

'' (1984) and the 1986 soundtrack album '' Home of the Brave''. *

Wally Badarou Waliou Jacques Daniel Isheola "Wally" Badarou (born 22 March 1955) is a French musician. Born in France with ancestry from Benin, West Africa, Badarou is known for his close association with the English group Level 42, and for his prolific work ...

: used the Synclavier II on

Level 42 Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on the ...

and solo studio albums, as well as on the 1985 '' Kiss of the Spider Woman'' movie additional soundtrack. * Tony Banks of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

used a Synclavier II (ORK version) on the albums ''

'' (1983) and ''

Invisible Touch ''Invisible Touch'' is the thirteenth studio album by the English rock band Genesis, released on 6 June 1986 by Atlantic Records in the United States and on 9 June 1986 by Charisma/Virgin Records in the United Kingdom. After taking a break in 1 ...

'' (1986) and their respective tours, along with solo albums and soundtracks of that period, notably on "

Mama Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places *Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement ...

" and "

Home by the Sea "Home by the Sea" and "Second Home by the Sea" is a suite of two songs by English rock band Genesis. It first appeared on their eponymous album in 1983. The lyrics were written by keyboardist Tony Banks and the music was written by the whole ba ...

". *

Christopher Boyes Christopher Boyes is an American sound engineer. He has won four Academy Awards and has been nominated for another ten. He has worked on more than 100 films since 1991. Academy Awards Boyes has won four Academy Awards and has been nominated for ...

, supervising sound editor/sound designer for the 2009 film ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

'', used the Synclavier for blending or layering different sound effects and matching pitches. *

Joel Chadabe Joel Chadabe (December 12, 1938 – May 2, 2021) was an American composer, author, and internationally recognized pioneer in the development of interactive music systems.

: composer/founder of

Electronic Music Foundation Electronic Music Foundation (EMF) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that produces events, publishes and disseminates media and information, and provides access to materials relevant to the history and creative potential of electronic music ...

. In September 1977 he bought the first Synclavier without musical keyboard (ORK), and wrote custom software to control the Synclavier via various devices. *

Suzanne Ciani Suzanne Ciani (; born June 4, 1946) is an American musician, sound designer, composer, and record label executive who found early success in the 1970s with her electronic music and sound effects for films and television commercials. Her career ha ...

used a Synclavier to design sounds for the Bally ''

Xenon Xenon is a chemical element with the symbol Xe and atomic number 54. It is a dense, colorless, odorless noble gas found in Earth's atmosphere in trace amounts. Although generally unreactive, it can undergo a few chemical reactions such as the ...

'' pinball game released in 1980. * The Church used it on "

Under the Milky Way "Under the Milky Way" is a single by Australian alternative rock band The Church (band), The Church, released on 15 February 1988, and appears on their fifth studio album ''Starfish (album), Starfish''. The song was written by bass guitarist a ...

" (1988). The way it is arranged gives a sound similar to

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...

. *

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

used the Synclavier on various

Elektric Band Chick Corea Elektric Band was a jazz fusion band, led by keyboardist and pianist Chick Corea and founded in 1986 in New York City. The band was nominated twice at the Grammy Awards. The sixth band album, a tribute one named ''Chick Corea Elektric ...

albums from 1986 to 1991 as well as various Elektric Band tours. *

Crimson Glory Crimson Glory was an American heavy metal band that formed in 1983 in Sarasota, Florida. They started in 1979 under the monikers 'Pierced Arrow', then 'Beowulf', before settling on Crimson Glory. The classic line-up consisted of vocalist Midnig ...

used acoustic drums blended with Synclavier-sampled drums on their 1988 album '' Transcendence''. * Paul Davis: singer/songwriter, producer at Monarch Sound in Atlanta. *

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

had access to producer Daniel Miller's Synclavier, which was responsible for the character of the sound of the albums ''

Construction Time Again ''Construction Time Again'' is the third studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 22 August 1983 by Mute Records. It was the band's first album to feature Alan Wilder as a member, who wrote the songs "Two Minute ...

'' (1983), ''

Some Great Reward ''Some Great Reward'' is the fourth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 24 September 1984 by Mute Records. The album peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number 51 in the United States, and was su ...

'' (1984) and ''

Black Celebration ''Black Celebration'' is the fifth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 17 March 1986 by Mute Records. The album further cemented the darkening sound created by Alan Wilder, which the band later used for their ...

'' (1986). *

Vince DiCola Vincent Louis "Vince" DiCola (born November 11, 1957) is an American composer, keyboardist and arranger. He has composed scores for films such as '' Staying Alive'', ''Rocky IV'', and '' The Transformers: The Movie''. DiCola also pioneered the u ...

: used the Synclavier extensively in creating studio albums; also for soundtracks ''

Rocky IV ''Rocky IV'' is a 1985 American sports drama film written, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to ''Rocky III'' (1982) and is the fourth installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Ca ...

'' (1985) and '' The Transformers: The Movie'' (1986). *

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 ...

used a Synclavier on the 1984 single "

The Reflex "The Reflex" is the eleventh single by English new wave band Duran Duran, released in 1984. The song was heavily remixed for single release and was the third and last to be taken from their third studio album '' Seven and the Ragged Tiger'' ...

". *

Patrick Gleeson Patrick Gleeson (born November 9, 1934) is an American musician, synthesizer pioneer, composer, and producer. Career Gleeson moved to San Francisco in the 1960s to teach in the English Department at San Francisco State. Gleeson began experimentin ...

: film score composer. Used the Synclavier to score ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella ''Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph Conr ...

'' (1979) and ''

The Plague Dogs ''The Plague Dogs'' is the third novel by Richard Adams, author of ''Watership Down'', about the friendship of two dogs that escape an animal testing facility and are subsequently pursued by both the government and the media. It was first pub ...

'' (1982). *

Lourett Russell Grant Lourett Russell Grant, DHS () is an American singer, model, and dancer. She co-wrote and performed the disco hit ''Hot to Trot'' and was a fixture in the dance music scene throughout the 1980s. Career Grant's career as a singer solidified once s ...

used a Synclavier on the 1979 disco hit "Hot to Trot". *

Paul Hardcastle Paul Louis Hardcastle (born 10 December 1957) is a British composer, musician, producer, songwriter, radio presenter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his song " 19", which went to number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in 1985. Early l ...

: composer and musician. *

Robert Henke Robert B. Henke (born 1969) is a German computer music artist working in the fields of audiovisual installation, music and performance. He was born in Munich, Germany, and lives in Berlin. Coming from an engineering background, Henke is fascinat ...

: composer, musician and software engineer. Often recording under the moniker

Monolake Monolake is a German electronic music project, initially consisting of members Gerhard Behles and Robert Henke, Monolake is now perpetuated by Henke while Behles focuses on running music software company Ableton, which they founded in 1999 tog ...

, Henke renovated a Synclavier II and used sampled FM from it on various releases. *

Michael Hoenig Michael Hoenig (born 4 January 1952) is a German composer who has composed music for several films and games, in addition to two solo albums, including the highly acclaimed 1978 album '' Departure from the Northern Wasteland''. In 1997, he was ...

: film scoring work on the Synclavier, including the 1986 action-fantasy film, ''

The Wraith ''The Wraith'' is a 1986 independently made American action- fantasy film, produced by John Kemeny, written and directed by Mike Marvin, and starring Charlie Sheen, Sherilyn Fenn, Nick Cassavetes, and Randy Quaid. *

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...

: used the Synclavier to produce records by

Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English synth-pop band formed in Liverpool in 1980. The group's best-known line-up comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (drums, percussion), Mark O'Toole (bass guit ...

, Yes, and

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

' 1985 album ''Slave to the Rhythm (album), Slave to the Rhythm'', among others. * Marlon Jackson * Michael Jackson: particularly on his 1982 album ''Thriller (Michael Jackson 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. The Synclavier was extensively used on Jackson's 1987 album ''Bad (album), Bad'' and on Bad (tour), its accompanying tour, programmed and played by Christopher Currell. The Synclavier was also used by Andrew Scheps to slice and edit Jackson's beatboxing on his 1995 album ''HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, HIStory.'' * Eddie Jobson: the 1985 album ''Theme of Secrets'' was completely made with a Synclavier. * Shane Keister: used in the 1987 American comedy film ''Ernest Goes to Camp''. * Mark Knopfler: Used on the scores for the films ''The Princess Bride (film), The Princess Bride'' (1987) and ''Last Exit to Brooklyn (film), 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 (keyboardist), Alan Clark), ''Brothers in Arms (album), Brothers in Arms'' (1985, played by Guy Fletcher), and ''On Every Street'' (1991). * Kraftwerk 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. * Dave Lawson (musician), Dave Lawson * Mannheim Steamroller: used on most of their albums to present. * John McLaughlin (musician), John McLaughlin used it on the albums ''Mahavishnu (album), Mahavishnu'' (1984) and ''Adventures in Radioland'' (1987). * Men Without Hats used on the 1984 album ''Folk of the 80s (Part III)''. * Pat Metheny: American jazz guitarist. * Walter "Junie" Morrison: used a Synclavier on his 1984 album, ''Evacuate Your Seats''. * Mr. Mister: used Synclavier on albums ''I Wear the Face'' (1984), ''Welcome to the Real World (Mr. Mister album), Welcome to the Real World'' (1985), and ''Go On...'' (1987). * Puscifer: the group used Synclavier on their 2020 album ''Existential Reckoning''. * Danny Quatrochi used Synclavier on Sting (musician), Sting's album ''The Dream of the Blue Turtles'' (1985). * Kashif (musician), Kashif Saleem, American post-disco and contemporary R&B record producer, multi-instrumentalist, also a creative consultant with the New England Digital, 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. * Howard Shore, film score composer: pictured with a Synclavier on the cover of ''Berklee Today'', Fall 1997. * Alan Silvestri: in producing the scores for the 1980s films ''The Clan of the Cave Bear (film), The Clan of the Cave Bear'' (1986) and ''Flight of the Navigator'' (1986). * Paul Simon: 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". On his 1986 album ''Graceland'', Simon is credited under "Synclavier" for "I Know What I Know" and "Gumboots". * Mark Snow: film and television score composer; Synclavier used on ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002). * James Stroud: producer who used a Synclavier II on many hit albums he produced. * Benny Andersson: his personal studio room is still centred around a Synclavier system — he has four systems. He’s been using it since Chess in 1985. * Tangerine Dream: used a Synclavier on several of their studio albums including Exit (Tangerine Dream album), Exit in 1981. *

: 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. * Pete Townshend: started using the Synclavier on the recording of ''All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes'' (1982). * Triumph (band), Triumph: Rik Emmett used a Synclavier 9600 around the period of ''Thunder Seven'' (1984) to ''Surveillance (Triumph album), Surveillance'' (1987). * Whodini: Synclavier II was used on albums ''Escape (Whodini album), Escape'' (1984) and ''Back in Black (Whodini album), Back in Black'' (1986). * Stevie Wonder: used a Synclavier to sample the voices of Clair Huxtable and children in an episode of ''The Cosby Show.'' * Neil Young, who used an early Synclavier II on his 1981 album ''Re·ac·tor'', and more extensively on his uncharacteristically electronic ''Trans (album), Trans'' (1982). * Frank Zappa: in 1982 one of the first Synclavier owners; 1984's ''Thing-Fish'' (underscoring), ''Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger'' (1984, underscoring) and ''Francesco Zappa (album), 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''.

Notes

References

External links

"What Makes The Synclavier So Special And Different?"
Steve Hills, Synclavier European Services
"Synclavier Digital's About Page"
{{Authority control Music workstations Samplers (musical instrument) Digital synthesizers Polyphonic synthesizers Music sequencers