If you're a music geek or just a synth obsessor, you're probably interested in knowing about the electronic instruments we used. I recorded almost all of the basic tracks with my Wurlitzer electric piano, run through a Fender Twin. If you listen carefully, the Wurly still underpins most of these mixes. I generated the bass notes on "Scatter My Ashes" with Jesse Fuchs's Casio CZ-101, the instrument I use in Denver Zest. The space noises are a mix of J's Moog MG-1 and my main axe, the Korg MS2000. There was an aborted attempt to use the Taurus pedals at the beginning -- I think some of that track is still in there somewhere. "Dancing To Architecture" is the most Casio-heavy song; I used my favorite created sound on the CZ-101 for the bass notes and the SK-1 for the end section. Those satellite noises are me horsing around with J's Minimoog. "Machines" combines that Minimoog with a broad midrange sound I got on my Roland SH-101, my all-time favorite lead instrument. Real synth nuts will understand what I mean when I say that mine is red (the SH comes in four colors). I broke out my practice synth - the Ensoniq ESQ-1 -- for "Robert Menendez Basta Ya!", but most of the sounds have been mutilated beyond recognition. The ESQ-1 has only gotten stranger and glassier sounding since the air conditioner at Luxx leaked a few pints of water on it; God save happy accidents. "Another PSA" is an acoustic guitar song on an album of synthesizer freakouts, but we did introduce some Vox Jaguar organ there at the end. Marisol made the bass sound so reminiscent of "Almost Independence Day" on the Negatones' infamous Electro-Harmonix mini-synth. I express myself with three separate organs on "The Man From Nantucket": the Melody Lanes house Hammond, my Jaguar, and a borrowed Farfisa. I got some weird washes with the MS2000 as well. The Minimoog is responsible for all the slightly out-of-tune stuff. "The Night Bus" turned into a MS2000 showcase -- I did the bass, overdubs, and the haywire solo with the Korg, and added a little Vox Jaguar commentary around the edges. J used to have a Chroma lying around Melody Lanes, and I almost asked him to recover it for the choruses, but Martin's rhythm guitar sounds so good that I'm glad we left it out. "A Commuter's Prayer" is built around looped sequences on the Yamaha RMX-1. We used a Rhodes electric piano for the body of the song, and I brought the Vox back in toward the end. The organ solo is a direct feed from the studio Hammond. The Rhodes came in handy again on the Doors-type silliness of "Go Back To West New York", though the main sound you hear is a perversion of the Minimoog. Cultural purists will be horrified to know we intentionally detuned the oscillators for the "Yoya" section. Everything we had in the ranch ended up on "Philosophy" - SH-101 for the bass part, a Minimoog lead, Korg overdubs, the Hammond, a little Electro-Harmonix mini-synth in the middle section, and some distant Casio nonsense for the headphone set.
The happy recap:
Casio CZ-101 -- 1, 2, 10
Casio SK-1 -- 2
Crumar Orchestrator -- sad girl, never gets to dance
Electro-Harmonix Mini-Synth -- 8, 10
Ensoniq ESQ-1 -- 4, 9, 10
Farfisa Combo Deluxe -- 6
Hammond B-3 -- 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10
Korg MS2000 -- 1, 4, 5, 6, 7
Korg Vocoder -- 5
Minimoog -- 2, 3, 4, 6, 10
Moog MG-1 -- 1
Moog Taurus Pedals --1
Rhodes Electric Piano -- 4, 5
Roland SH-101 -- 3, 9, 10
Vox Jaguar -- 5, 6, 7, 8
Wurlitzer Electric Piano -- 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10
Yamaha RMX-1 -- 7
A song legend, here, if you need it.