Keyboards
I remember there being a piano at my parents house for a while when I was a kid but I don't recall ever having any interest in it. In fact it wasn't until the synthesizer burst onto the mainstream music in 1979 courtesy of Gary Numan's "Are Friends Electric?" that I developed any real interest in making music.
Transcendent 2000 (monosynth)
It took until 1981 to acquire my first synth, a Transcendent 2000 monosynth. They were seriously expensive and as they were new technology there was no such thing as second hand market. The Transcendent 2000 was sold as a kit of electronics components by Powertran Electronics and, using money that my parents gave me when I passed my O-level exams, I just about managed to afford one.
It hasn't seen any significant use in a long time and stays around mainly for sentimental reasons but I do still have it and it can make some pretty funky sounds. I keep meaning to, but never quite get around to, use it to make a bunch of samples.
Casio VL-1 (keyboard)
The VL-Tone came onto the market in 1981 and one of my mate is Sixth Form got on for Christmas. The sounds it made were, and still are, laughable compared to what I can get out of the Transcendent 2000 but the VL-1 did have the advantage of having a programmable sequencer.
I used the proceeds from a Saturday job at Marks & Spencers to acquire one and was then able to program simple patterns into it while I played along on the Transcendent.
Casio 1000P (keyboard)
This was my first polyphonic keyboard but I think it's fair to say that is was the built in appreciator that really got my attention. The bottom couple of octaves of the keyboard could be switched into arpeggio mode and then any keys that you pressed were played across a number of octaves in a pre-selected patterns for as long as you help them down. Moving from one chord to another provided a much more interesting 'backing' than I had been able to produce previously.
By today's standards it isn't particularly impressive but at the time it was state of the art for a 'budget' keyboard and it took several months worth of my salary as a Bank Clerk to pay for it.
Roland Juno 60 (polysynth)
Having obtained polyphony courtesy of the 1000P I had a desire to have it with the same kind of sounds that I could produce on the Transcendent. The Juno 60 supplied that but to some extent my desire was it's a misapprehension. Wacky synth sounds generally turn into a cacophony if played in polyphony.
The Juno 60 can do some nice bass and lead sounds but then you're kind 'wasting' 5 notes worth of it's 6 note polyphony. What's more it doesn't sound the same as a monosynth unless you set the release time to zero, and there's no portameno.
Of course the fact that the Juno has a 64 patch memory was a big point in it's favour and it's great for synth pads, stings, and brass. In the early days I also forced it to do all kinds of nasty things like trying to emulate pianos; bear in mind that back then there were no such thing as sample players.
These days I use it for what it's good at and, as I've also fitted it with a Kenton Electonics MIDI interface (in 1992), I use it as a controller when I'm playing synth stuff and don't need/want touch sensitivity.
Roland SH-101 (monosynth)
I bought this when I was working with my mate Alan. MIDI was only just beginning to appear and we couldn't afford to get involved in it even though I already had a Roland TR-909 drum machine (see percussion page) and Alan had a Crumar Trilogy (see below). Most of the time we synced the SH-101 to the TR-909 and found that we could quickly program a couple of bars worth of a bass line into it to use as backing.
Crumar Trilogy (polysynth)
Originally belonging to my mate Alan, I bought it from him after we stopped working together as it had MIDI sockets on it and I used it as my main keyboard for a while when I started converting my set up over to MIDI. I eventually parted with it because I needed to reduce the amount of space my gear was taking up.
Cheetah MK5V (controller keyboard)
This replaced the Trilogy as my main keyboard after I sold the Trilogy during a space saving exercise but I was never really happy with it. I had never used a velocity sensitive keyboard before and couldn't get to grips with it. I eventually sold it after buying a Rhodes MK-80 upon which the keyboard is also weighted (which makes a huge difference).
Roland Rhodes MK-80 (stage piano)
In 1996 I decided that it was about time I shelled out some dosh on a decent weighted keyboard. I like the feel of the MK-80 keyboard but, having actually got used to it, I came to realise that kind of electronic music I like to play doesn't need a touch sensitive keyboard. There are a few tricks for which you can use it but for the most part you just don't need it.
It's also the case that I never really liked the sounds on the MK80. The Rhodes sounds are supposed to be pretty good but they are not really my thing anyway. There are a couple of acoustic piano sounds that I quite liked at first but having gained familiarity with a real acoustic piano, and the way the tonal quality and dynamics of the sound change across the range of the keyboard, I became dissatisfied with the sound of the MK80.
The MK-80 is still an important part of my setup but these days I use it with external piano sounds, but more of them later.
Upright Piano by Alfred Eccles of Leeds
Despite already having the electric piano I also fancied having an acoustic piano and when I found this one I just had to have it. It's finished in walnut and is overstrung and underdamped (whatever than means) and has a delightful tone.
I like the fact that I can sit down, lift the lid, and start playing. I know it sounds silly bit there's something about having to plug things in, switch them on, load software, select patches and set volume controls that just doesn't seem worth it unless you're planning to be there for half an hour. Because it doesn't need all that I find it's like the piano say "Come on, just for a couple minutes". Then a couple of hours later...