Cats, Vocoders and a 90s Yamaha Classic Reborn: Synth Journal
Synth Journal powers on, with Rob taking the reins for a journey through this week's synth stories you may have missed.
4,8 / 5,0 | 
In this week’s Synth Journal we’ve got classic cats and synths plus a very exclusive Nonlinear Labs C15 and a quirky version of Blue Monday. There’s also the return of a classic 90s synth from Yamaha, albeit in software form.
Table of Contents
SWAY from Sheaf Music
This one came out of nowhere last week and immediately piqued my interest. Anyone that knows me knows that I’m a huge Yamaha fan, especially when it comes to FM. As the 1980s faded into the distance, after Roland had stolen Yamaha’s thunder with the spectacular D-50, Yamaha went away to lick their wounds and returned with something rather special.
The SY77, and its rack-mounted counterpart, the TG77, took Yamaha’s algorithmic FM engine to the next level. And like the D-50, they added a huge amount of sampled content. Now you could have the best of both worlds; FM and samples. Layered together, it was like a marriage made in synth heaven.
Better still, PCM waveforms could also be used as Operator waveforms, further expanding the already enhanced Advanced FM engine (AFM). With 45 algorithms, 13 more than the DX7, and AWM samples, the scope for sonic creation was huge. The SY77/TG77, and later the larger SY99 that sported a 76 note keyboard and improved FX, soon re-established Yamaha in the game.
Bizarrely, there’s never been a proper recreation of these synths, save for some sample libraries. That is, until now, as a Dutch musician has taken on the task in the form of SWAY. SWAY is still in development with an expected release anticipated towards the end of 2024 but the demos of it now are mightily impressive.
The aim is to have it as close to 100% accurate with the hardware and to also be able to act as an editor and librarian for the original hardware. Looking at the spec lists on the website, this indeed seems to be incredibly close to the original and I for one am stupidly excited to see and hear more.
- Sheaf Music Website
A Magenta Nonlinear Labs C15 – Selling to the Highest Bidder
The Nonlinear Labs C15 has established itself as a truly uncompromising, powerful synth designed to be played by players. That last bit may sound a bit silly, but if you ever get hands-on with a C15, you will understand what I mean.
Behind that complex user interface sits a two-operator FM engine, believe it or not. However, it’s how it uses that engine that makes the C15 sound incredibly special. Don’t just take my word for it. There are many proponents of the C15 out there.
One such supporter is Dr. Manny Fernandez, aka Dr. Synth. Manny has been programming synthesizers since the Yamaha DX7-II in 1987. He is, without doubt, one of the pre-eminent FM sound designers of his generation and he still programs for Yamaha. You can find his work on the Montage M.
When Manny was approached by Nonlinear to do some sounds for the C15, Manny put a special request in when he ordered his unit. He wanted his to be purple! Not ones to shy away from a challenge, they set to work trying to come up with what Manny had specified.
Unfortunately, their first attempt turned out a little… how shall we say… pink? They went back and on the second attempt got it right and Manny was a happy little bunny. However, this brightly coloured synth was now looking rather forlorn at the Nonlinear Labs office.
Eventually, someone came up with the idea to auction it off as a truly unique one-off version and so they brought the unit to Superbooth in Berlin and started taking bids. The starting price was €4,750 inc. VAT and every penny above that price from the sale will be donated to a music education programme.
All you have to do to win this is send your bid to purchase@nonlinear-labs.de but hurry as bidding closes on June 30th 2024.
- Nonlinear Labs Website
Cat x Vocoder
Cats and synths. Synths and Cats. Inextricably linked since time immemorial. Well, maybe not that long but the connection between synths, cats and their owners is a strong one and we love to share cat and synth content as much as the next person!
So imagine our delight and the sheer level of “SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!” at Gearnews Towers when this video did the rounds! YouTube channel ‘OREO‘ (I do hope that’s also the name of the cat!) posted this delicious video recently of their cat “singing” into the microphone of their KORG microKORG XL vocoder.
We need more content like this so please feel free to link to any such things in the comments below. Enjoy the video and check out Oreo’s other videos for more feline synth shenanigans!
YouTube user @samueldesmond440 wins the internet for this comment…
Blue Monday on Casios
New Order and their previous incarnations, Joy Division and Warsaw, are new wave touchstones for many. After being heavily influenced by the New York club scene, New Order began to employ more and more synthesizers and music tech into their writing and performances.
Originally planned to be an encore track that the band would set in motion once they’d left the stage, ‘Blue Monday’ gained a life of its own and became one of the most recognisable electronic tracks of all time. Its perfection is in its imperfection.
Many have covered this track with varying degrees of success. New Order themselves released a remixed version, created by Quincy Jones, which, if you ask me (which ya din’t, but imma tell ya anyways) isn’t a patch in the original.
But another little YouTube gem appeared in recent weeks that actually deserves praise heaping on it. Proving that a great song is still a great song no matter what, YouTube user PolaroidsOfThePyramids decided to tackle this classic using only consumer Casio keyboards and drum from across the ages.
It’s an impressive list of Casio keyboards that would have graced the pages of Argos or the Littlewoods catalogues back in the day…
- HT-700 keyboard
- MT-500 keyboard
- DP-1 drum pads
- SS-1 drum sticks
- VL-1 mini keyboard/calculator
- MT-400V keyboard
- Casiotone 1000P keyboard
- DG-20 digital guitar
- SK-1 sampling keyboard
- PT-7 mini keyboard
- Casiotone M-10 keyboard
- DH-200 digital horn
- Casiotone 201 keyboard
- MT-40 keyboard
- MT-65 keyboard
- KX-101 keyboard/cassette player
- CK-500 keyboards/cassette player
- Casiotone 701 keyboard
- MT-35 keyboard
- MT-52 keyboard
If that wasn’t impressive enough, they’ve also tackled Kraftwerk and Gary Numan. Sit back and enjoy the Casi-awesomeness!
Casio are still king of the home keyboards market but those classic 80s units are unbeatable!
That’s all from me in this week’s Synth Journal. Lasse is back next week with more delightful delectables from the cracks between the internet!
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One response to “Cats, Vocoders and a 90s Yamaha Classic Reborn: Synth Journal”
SWAY sounds great, I hope it comes to fruition.