SMILE demo recording synthesizer?

[darquegk]

Posted: 7/14/12 at 2:39pm

This is probably a stupid question. It may even be a question that is impossible to answer, I'm not sure. But the SMILE demo/reference recording is performed entirely on what appears to be one synthesizer or workstation, with a very distinctive Eighties sound.

Does anyone know what instrument was used for this recording? It doesn't seem to be a Fairlight...

[approximatura]

Posted: 7/14/12 at 8:54pm

we used peter link's studio in the basement of the west building of manhattan plaza. there was a synth there, and i'm sorry, but i can't remember make/model. it wasn't a fairlight, it wasn't a kurzweil. it accepted floppy disks. the engineer, who i *believe* was jeremy harris, maintained a library of sounds on floppies, so when we asked for a certain instrument to emulate or particular effect, he was able to put up several sounds for us to audition, choose and use. best i can do 25 years later...

Updated On: 7/14/12 at 08:54 PM

[exedore]

Posted: 7/15/12 at 2:49pm

Given the era, it was probably a Yamaha DX-7, which was the standard at the time (Rolands would take over for most performances in the 90's).

[approximatura]

Posted: 7/15/12 at 3:00pm

it wasn't a DX-7, because i knew that instrument. i think it did have initials, though, and i think the word "Emulator" was somewhere in its complete name...

[morosco]

Posted: 7/15/12 at 4:00pm

Was it the E-mu Emulator?

[morosco]

Posted: 7/15/12 at 4:06pm

Or perhaps the E-Mu Emulator II?

[My Oh My]

Posted: 7/15/12 at 4:08pm

I thought it might've been a Yamaha DX-7, too, since they were popular at the time.

Les Mis infamously used DX-7s for years. I think Cats also used the same keyboard. I'm a fan of those old keyboard sounds. They gave the orchestration grit and warmth. Click play on the player in my sig to hear the DX-7, as heard in Les Mis alongside a regular orchestra that blended so well, in action! XD

[approximatura]

Posted: 7/15/12 at 5:02pm

after spending a couple of moments looking at pictures, yes, i do believe it was an Emulator II. i'd declare myself about 90% sure. if OP needs more than that, he/she can try to find anyone connected with Peter Link's studio during those years who might remember what synths they maintained that were available to be used in sessions.

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 7/15/12 at 5:19pm

Cats opened in 1981, the Yamaha DX-7 was introduced in 1983. I'm not aware of Cats ever having utilized the DX-7 in any first run productions, although someone might have put it in as a Rhodes electric piano substitute at some point.

The distinctive synth sound of Cats comes from the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5. This was the first polyphonic analog synth to be able to store and recall different sounds instantly, which was a big deal in those days. From what I've heard orchestrator David Cullen was given a Prophet 5 to play with when he was working on Cats, and it was he who came up with the "Meow", "Jellicle Bells" and other classic sounds by tweaking the factory presets.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 7/15/12 at 5:34pm

Oh, I know someone who played keyboards in the recent Cats tour and I *thought* he had said they emulate sounds that originated on the DX-7 back in the day, but now realize I got what he told me mixed up with something he said about Les Mis. My bad.

I really like the synth sounds in Cats, as well. They are so distinct, it's hard not to recognize them and give the show a trademark/signature sound. I LOVE the Les Mis keyboard sounds but the 10th anniversary updates in 1995, in which those original patches--like the ones heard in my track below--were replaced with more neutral sounding ones that mimicked the orch's existing orchestral instrumentation, are aiight, I guess. At least the patches were the only things they altered of John's orchs at the time.

I'm having a good day. DON'T get me started on what they've done since! LOL.

[darquegk]

Posted: 7/15/12 at 6:27pm

Wow- I never expected this much info about a really minor demo would actually show up! Thank you so much Approximatura, and also Morosco for helping to figure out what it could have been!

The sounds on the Smile album are so... distinctive and meaty. Frankly, I find it hard to imagine the show without them, and with real orchestrations.

[BwayGeek2]

Posted: 7/16/12 at 1:26pm

On this note- I've always found it odd that the Broadway production of Smile was orchestrated by FOUR orchestrators. Does anyone know what's up with that??

ETA: Of course, it's worth noting that one of them was the great Sid Ramin (Gypsy, WSS, etc.) Updated On: 7/16/12 at 01:26 PM

[sondhead]

Posted: 7/16/12 at 1:33pm

Marvin Hamlisch did this with Chorus Line and They're Playing Our Song as well. His reasoning is having multiple orchestrators lessens the work load on each, allowing them in principle to do better work.

In my humble opinion, I think a new orchestration for Smile would not be a bad idea. There's nothing really wrong with the original, mind you. It suits the big pageant moments especially well, but I think in other parts of the show it ends up sounding a bit over orchestrated. It makes it difficult to achieve the tightness those fast paced scene/songs really require. You don't really hear that on the demo which is pretty piano heavy which allows it to achieve the tightness perfectly. Updated On: 7/16/12 at 01:33 PM

[BwayGeek2]

Posted: 7/16/12 at 1:38pm

That's so interesting. Do you know how much they work together, in terms of, like, motifs and coherence and whatnot?

[morosco]

Posted: 7/16/12 at 1:39pm

Yes, not unusual for a show to have multiple people doing the orchestrations (most of them unbilled). Especially true for a new show going through a lot of rapid and last minute changes.

[sondhead]

Posted: 7/16/12 at 2:32pm

I would hope they were having meetings with Hamlisch to make sure they all work in the same sound, but I don't know. I know that's how Bernstein did things for his shows. In any event, I don't think any of the Hamlisch shows sound like they were done by multiple orchestrators. I'm sure if you really studied them you'd be able to find some trademarks of the individual orchestrators, but I'm just sayin...