MOTM

John Rice writes:
>>He was refering to albums done with actual Moog modulars, not the Moog
lookin' modern modulars like MOTM, DOTCOM, etc. etc! ;-)  Right???<<

Right.  It was the Moog modular that was the topic there.  Lot's of people
spending big money on them, yet they're never heard.

Paul S. writes:
>>Contrary to Kenneth's personal tastes, there have been a LOT of
'quality'synth records by the MOTM folks. Now, they are not 100% MOTM, or
all modular (well, 1 is!) but as far as being a 'synth' CD, I thinks these
qualify.<<

These days, "synth CD's" usually means sampled drums, rompler or sampler pad
sounds, maybe some real acoustic instruments or guitar thrown in, and the
analog synth use is quite often basic, as such, many don't even qualify as
synth CDs or more specifically, analog synth CDs.  In addition to that, when
it comes to musical substance and great composition, that's where most
really fail.  Many sound improvised on the spot or they're just going
through the motions.  Every piece sounds similar to all the others, and
sometimes every CD sounds like all the others, as there is little
imagination or variety, quite often beating the same sounds to death over an
entire CD (ie. Bestiary and other of his stuff).  They may be quality in
regards to good sound recording and engineering, but are usually lacking in
one of more of all the other areas.  What they should keep in mind is if
their music doesn't hold up if it were to be played on acoustic instruments,
it's probably not going to be interesting on a synth either.  What's needed
is melody, counterpoint, theme development, and some complexity.  I've heard
enough go-nowhere, long sustaining pads, repetitive loops, atonal sounds,
and watered down J.M. Jarre impressions to last a lifetime.  There are some
exceptions now and then of course (and some of the Fulton stuff sounds
promissing), but as a whole, synth use today is not interesting and is a
pale shadow of what there was a few decades ago (and there wasn't a lot back
then).

>>It's a shame, because his only other CD is "Interstellar Suite" which is
like the first "Synergy" CD, it's all done on like a MiniMoog, 2 SEMs and a
few effects. THAT CD is a  5/5.<<

Actually it was his Roland Tape Contest entry that was just Minimoog plus
outboard gear.  That was impressive.  A good example of somebody who had the
complete package, meaning: he could compose professional sounding music, he
was a great musician, he was great at synthesis on a minimal amount of
equipment.  His "Interstellar Suite" CD though, he used Yamaha digital FM
synths, Roland DCO based stuff, and other stuff, giving it that digital
synth sound in much of it, which didn't sound as good as his earlier
Minimoog only version.

-Elhardt

"Perhaps the point of ever more powerful synthesizers and sequencers is to
allow each one of us to have our own orchestra and recording studio, so our
boring four-note melody, our three-note killer riff, our stonking bass line
and one-note hook can be recorded for posterity." -Brian Willis SOS Magazine