Vintage synthesizers and studio keyboards: a field guide

Find an instrument by family

• Analog monosynthsMoog modular, Minimoog, ARP 2600 and the Oberheim SEM: one note, huge tone.
• Analog polysynthsOberheim Four Voice, Prophet-5, Jupiter-8 and Juno-60: chords, memories, stable tuning.
• FM and samplersThe Yamaha DX7 and the E-mu Emulator, the first digital tools in the studio.
• Electric keyboardsHammond and Leslie, Rhodes, Wurlitzer and Clavinet: tines, reeds and tonewheels.
• Drum machinesFrom preset rhythm boxes to the CR-78 and the Linn 9000.
• Before a sessionMemory, sync, voltages, mains power and tuning: what to check first.

Fifty years of studio keyboards at a glance

The instruments in this guide span 49 years, from the Hammond organ of 1935 to the Linn 9000 of 1984. They fall into a few families that make sound in completely different ways: electromechanical keyboards that strike or spin something metal in front of a pickup, analog synthesizers built from voltage-controlled circuits, and the first digital instruments that calculated or recorded their sounds.

The dashed line marks 1983, when the MIDI 1.0 specification was published. 14 of the 16 instruments on the timeline came out before it, so they talk to other gear through older connections — control voltages, gates, or a maker's own interface — or not at all. That single fact shapes how a vintage instrument fits into a modern session more than its age does.

How an analog synthesizer makes a sound

An analog synthesizer builds a sound from a few circuits, each controlled by a voltage. An oscillator produces a raw, harmonically rich waveform; a filter removes part of its harmonics to darken or sharpen it; an amplifier sets how loud it is. Because the filter takes away rather than adds, the method is called subtractive synthesis. Envelopes and a low-frequency oscillator (LFO) move these settings over time, which is what makes a note swell, pluck or wobble.

Voltage control — using a voltage to set the pitch — was the principal innovation of the modular Moog synthesizer of the 1960s, and it is why a keyboard, a sequencer or another module can all play the same oscillator. On a modular system the parts are separate modules joined by patch cords; on a semi-modular instrument such as the ARP 2600 they are pre-wired, and cords only change the routing; on a Minimoog they are fixed inside one cabinet.

Analog monosynths: Moog, ARP and Oberheim

The first commercial synthesizers played one note at a time. The Moog modular synthesizer, invented in 1964, was built from separate oscillators, filters, amplifiers and envelope generators joined with patch cords; the company produced models from 1965 to 1981. Its systems were expensive and sensitive to temperature and humidity, and by 1970 only 28 of them belonged to musicians — most were owned by universities or record labels.

• Minimoog (1970). A compact, portable Moog with the parts wired inside one case, and the first synthesizer sold in retail shops. Over 12,000 were made before production stopped in July 1981; Moog Music has since made new versions (the Voyager from 2002, and the Model D again in 2016 and 2022). Its three oscillators were never perfectly in step, which is part of its famous warm sound.
• ARP 2600 (1971–1981). A semi-modular synthesizer with three voltage-controlled oscillators, a 24 dB-per-octave low-pass filter, a ring modulator, sample-and-hold, a noise generator, a spring reverb and a four-octave keyboard. Clear printed graphics on the panel show how the signal flows, and it was first marketed to schools and universities.
• Oberheim SEM (1974). The Synthesizer Expander Module: two oscillators and a two-pole filter that can be low-pass, high-pass, band-pass or band-reject, giving a different sound from the four-pole low-pass filters of Moog and ARP.

Analog polysynths: chords, memories and stable tuning

Playing chords meant building one voice per note. In 1975 Oberheim packed two or four SEMs under one digitally scanned keyboard to make the Two Voice and Four Voice, the first production synthesizers that could play chords; the Eight Voice followed in 1977. Every voice still had its own knobs, so changing a sound meant setting each module by hand.

The Prophet-5 was shown at the NAMM convention in January 1978 and shipped later that year; three versions were built up to 1984. Its memory meant a sound could be called up exactly, rather than re-created by ear. The Jupiter-8 was Roland's flagship for the first half of the 1980s; it predates MIDI, though later units have Roland's own DCB interface. The Juno-60 replaced free-running oscillators, whose components drift with temperature, with digitally controlled ones — and its chorus became its signature.

Digital instruments: FM synthesis and the first samplers

The Yamaha DX7 (1983) was the first commercially successful digital synthesizer and sold more than 200,000 units. Instead of filtering a waveform it uses frequency modulation (FM): six sine-wave operators arranged in 32 algorithms modulate one another, which gives bright, glassy, bell-like and electric-piano sounds that analog filters could not. It plays 16 notes at once; with its menus and few knobs, few users learned to program it in depth, and its presets became staples of 1980s pop.

A sampler records real sounds and plays them back from the keyboard. E-mu Systems released the Emulator in 1981: an eight-bit sampler that stored sounds on 5¼-inch floppy disks, so a library could grow disk by disk. About 500 were sold before it was discontinued in early 1984. The Emulator II of 1984 cost US$7,995 (US$9,995 for the plus model with more memory) and used a 27.7 kHz sample rate; the line ran until 2002.

Electric keyboards: Hammond, Rhodes, Wurlitzer and Clavinet

Electromechanical keyboards make their sound with moving metal and a pickup, much like an electric guitar, then send it to an amplifier. They are heavy and need occasional tuning and repair — broken Wurlitzer reeds, worn Clavinet pads. Modern digital keyboards emulate all of them, yet the originals are still maintained by specialist repairers and kept in studios.

The Leslie is the speaker most associated with the Hammond: its rotating horn and drum add a swirling movement to the sound, and its speed is changed with a switch mounted on the organ, so the player can move between settings mid-phrase. On the tremolo setting the treble horn spins at about 400 rpm, on chorale at about 50 rpm.

Drum machines: from preset rhythms to programmable kits

In the 1960s drum machines mostly accompanied home organs with preset patterns such as bossa nova, and the player could only pick and combine them. The first programmable machines arrived in the mid-1970s, and the Roland CR-78 (1978) was the first drum machine with a microprocessor: users could write, save and replay their own patterns. Its 14 analog sounds include kick, snare, rimshot, hi-hat, cymbal, congas and bongos; the smaller CR-68 could not be programmed.

The Linn 9000 (1984, US$5,000 list) combined a MIDI sequencer, 18 velocity- and pressure-sensitive pads, 18 individual outputs and optional sampling. About 1,100 were made; persistent software bugs gave it a reputation for unreliability, and when Forat Music and Electronics bought Linn's remaining assets it fixed the bugs and sold the machine as the Forat F9000.

What to check before a session with vintage gear

1. Can it remember a sound? Instruments before the Prophet-5 have no memory. Agree on sounds before the session, and document the panel settings of any take you may need to repeat.
2. How will it sync? MIDI arrived in 1983; the first instruments with it were the Roland Jupiter-6 and the Sequential Prophet 600. Older gear uses CV/gate, DIN sync or a maker's own bus such as Roland's DCB. MIDI-to-CV/gate converters bridge the gap; Roland's MPU-101 appeared shortly after MIDI itself.
3. Do the voltages match? Check volts-per-octave against hertz-per-volt, and V-trigger against S-trigger, before connecting a sequencer or keyboard to an analog synth.
4. What mains power does it need? Hammond built separate tonewheel organs for 110 V/60 Hz and 240 V/50 Hz mains, because the tones come from a synchronous motor. Check the voltage and frequency of anything that has crossed an ocean.
5. Is it stable in tune? Analog oscillators are sensitive to temperature. Instruments with digitally controlled oscillators, like the Juno-60, hold their tuning better; older ones need checking as the room warms up.
6. Can it be moved safely? A 73-key Rhodes alone weighs about 59 kg (130 lb). Plan access, cases and enough hands before an electric keyboard arrives.