TECHNICAL INFORMATION NEEDED URGENTLY!!

Need desperate help here guys and gals! - my Son has music homework tonight, and it needs to be in tomorrow. He has to find a particular tune (won't go in to full details) but to say he has chosen Blue Monday cos it fits the bill; having found a song, he now needs to know the instruments/equipment used in that song - all replies very welcome!!

Drum Machine:

oberheim dmx

Sampler:

emulator II

Bass:

Shergold Marathon 6 String Bass

More Info:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr04/articles/rogerlyons.htm

What a star you are!! He's sitting next to me not a happy man - till now!! Thank you so much!

Another STAR!!!!!!!!!!

Just to be a real pain in the rear (who's not at Brixton); the link isn't working - can someone just please be really basic here (he's in thirds - or year 7 - and I just need the basic info - ie., name of guitar, synth, that sort of thing ) -= thanks! in advance !

From the FAQ, equipment list from 1985:

Seq Circuits Pro One, Powertran Transcendent 2000 w/ Powertran 1024 Seq, ARP Omni, ARP 2600 w/ ARP Seq, Simmons SDS2, ARP Quadra, Moog Source, Boss Dr Rhythm, Prophet 5 w/ Seq Circuits PolySequencer, Oberheim DMX, Emu Emulator, Octave Plateau Voyetra

..not all used on Blue Monday though, although the oberheim DMX, Moog Source and Emulator were.

Also the voices sample came from a Kraftwerk track called 'Uranium' from their Radioactivity album.

NO had a 2600? Can't say i ever heard it obviously on any tune.

Assuming this answer is too late to help the young 'un.... BUT BM is BM because of the DMX drum riff, and the Moog Source bassline, and of course Hooky's shergold is an intersting instrument in itself, being a "barritone guitar".

EDIT: excellent, this place is back up..... http://www.keyboardmuseum.org/play.html

you can play with virtual versions of several of NO's beatboxen here as well as hear the sound demos for the EII and Fairlight (the instrument that Hannet sulked over, and was right too :) )

Another quasi-related question, if I may.

Just what is it that is producing that 'squggley' treble sound that comes right after Bernard finishes each stanza with "So tell me now how do I feel?" The indie kid I used to go to class with told me that it was a saxophone sample sped up several times. Is this indeed the case?

(Steve i'm looking at you here.)

Hannett of the Apes wrote: Another quasi-related question, if I may.

Just what is it that is producing that 'squggley' treble sound that comes right after Bernard finishes each stanza with "So tell me now how do I feel?" The indie kid I used to go to class with told me that it was a saxophone sample sped up several times. Is this indeed the case?

(Steve i'm looking at you here.)

Having not listened to BM in ages, I'm assuming you're asking about the synth riff right after the vocal? I'm pretty certain that's the a sound coming off a Prophet 5. Definitely not a sax sample... not even the right timbre.

If you mean the really fast arpreggiating (patterny sequency) thing, that's actually in behind the vocal and sort of peeks out there, it's that bleedin voyetra8, same sort of noise you hear on face up and tpk and so on, tighter than a virgin mackerel from aberdeen, more percussion than note. I've driven myself mental trying to get noises like that, oh you can get close, SO close, but never just so, so, FUNKY. I reckon that's the one you mean, cos I often thought it had a certain saxiness, comes from ringing the oscillators together i suppose. If you ever come accross the Beat mix of p:Machinery by Propaganda, it has the SWEETEST funky house riff played on a fairlight mangled sax.

If on the other hand you mean the big growly synth, or trumpety thing that come in before the drumbreak and "turn this light off you $A_H_WILSON"(PFD version), then I dunno, the brass could be a voyetra or the EI. The growly noise is seriously gutteral and, I just don;t know where to place it, it's played on the EII in most real live version. But of course that means nothing since the moog was retired and replaced by another voyetra voice along the way among other changes. (Such as fucking the whole lot out and sticking a cd on instead : ( )

Sometimes noises yell "I AM A...." and sometimes it's just guesswork :)

Or, maybe the brassy riff is the prophet 5....LOL I forget about it being involved, fair play Bentley.

Steve Campbell wrote: Or, maybe the brassy riff is the prophet 5....LOL I forget about it being involved, fair play Bentley.

Yeah, I was thinking of the brassy riff... not sure if it's the one he had mentioned. BM isn't exactly on my playlist these days and it's been a while since I listened to it. The last time I layed my paws on a Prophet it just had "that" sound to it.

I'm with you on the 2600... I can't recall hearing something on any album that reeked of that analog beast but it's capable of so much I'd never be able to pick it out. ;)

Sorry, I was kind of vague wasn't I? Listening to the 7:25 version on International, the one i'm talking about cues in at exactly 3:05.

Hannett of the Apes wrote: Sorry, I was kind of vague wasn't I? Listening to the 7:25 version on International, the one i'm talking about cues in at exactly 3:05.

That's the one I was thinking of. Just gave it a listen and I'm sticking my first guess of a Prophet 5 with a slight delay effect. If not the Prophet, then definitely a similar analog synth and not a sampler. The Prophet 5 was capable of making those "brassy" type sounds from what I can recall. You're hearing modulation on the oscillator pitch and a bit of pitch bend thrown in as it's played. Again, I could be wrong, but it's definitely not a sax sample. Not even close.

Yeah P5 is more tan likely with a voyetra as a minor possibilty. Defo not a sampler, too clean for anything existing in 83.

I KEEP forgetting NO had one, P5=vince clarke in my head I guess. Must mess with my virtual one and see what kind of brassyness it can achieve.

And yeah yer right bout the 2600, it can play nice enough to hide when it wants. Another one I have a virtual of....AND the original ARP owners manual in PDF :)

To follow up, I just loaded in NO story to follow up on what I thought I had remembered seeing. During the live performance of Blue Monday, Gillian bangs out the part in question on a Prophet 5. There's even a bum note the first time she plays through the riff.

Bentley wrote: There's even a bum note the first time she plays through the riff.

I believed everything you said until this, then you lose all crediblity, Gillian never played a bum note

Bentley wrote: To follow up, I just loaded in NO story to follow up on what I thought I had remembered seeing. During the live performance of Blue Monday, Gillian bangs out the part in question on a Prophet 5. There's even a bum note the first time she plays through the riff.

No way man it's a blue note. the voyetra godess is immaculate :)