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5 Legendary Keyboards (and the songs they made famous)

mentalfloss.com — These days, there ’s no distinguishing one keyboard from the next because all they really do is act as computer trigger devices. But in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and even the early 90s, keyboards and their manufacturers were known for signature sounds.

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  • WestDC, on 08/04/2008, -2/+10Check out Jon Lord on some early Deep Purple albums for some kickarse Hammond played through a distorted Marshall amp.
    • nreynolds, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1I have to say that it's hard to top a moog for pretty much anything. I have a Moog Little Phatty sitting right next to me and it's ***** amazing. Like the mini-moog, it's monophony which sucks when you're just messing around by yourself, but if you have 3-4 other people jamming with you, it's perfect.
    • Nitesmoke, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2Dugg for Shine on you Crazy Diamond
  • happytedium, on 08/04/2008, -12/+110Admit it. You were thinking QWERTY keyboards.





    I was. :x
    • Thekirby45, on 08/04/2008, -0/+3Yes....
    • alperea, on 08/04/2008, -0/+8I was too, I miss those "clicky" keyboards :(
      • stonebone4, on 08/04/2008, -2/+2IBM PS/2 FTW
      • spectre_25gt, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Seriously. One of those with a slight curve would be my dream keyboard.
    • Th3_anOmoLy, on 08/04/2008, -2/+3I was thinking QWERTY, DVORAK, maybe OLED... wonder what the others could be...
      • ultrafez, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1OLED is a type of digital display, not keyboard!
      • Th3_anOmoLy, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1ok, for the sake of specifics, strike OLED and put in Optimus Maximus
    • lizajane999, on 08/04/2008, -1/+8Yep, I was thinking this:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_Keyboard
      • jnordb, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1I think I may have one of those in my garage somewhere with the old puters....
      • xsquirrel378x, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2If you still decide to purchase one off ebay or something, make sure its IBM manufactured and not Lexmark. I have one of both and the IBM made one is the only true model M. Accept no imitations.
    • Avaseal, on 08/04/2008, -4/+1The word 'songs' is in the title and there's a big picture of a mellotron right next to it...
      • nbyn, on 08/04/2008, -1/+1I was actually thinking of someone signing songs about QWERTY, DVORAK, and 3 other kinds of keyboards..
    • TacticalPenguin, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2I was thinking battle for first between the model M and the G15, but the rest I had no idea.
    • xsquirrel378x, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1i was really hoping for model M nostalgia. can somebody submit a good clicky key story? I will digg
    • jawagas, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1I was hoping...
    • BrinkleyonKeys, on 08/04/2008, -2/+0No way, man.
      I'm a instrumental sort of keyboard nerd.
    • Techx4, on 08/04/2008, -0/+0yes dammit, i got excited i thought they meant pc keyboards, i dont care about no damn organs :p
    • HyperJack, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1I was trying to think what type of keyboard made 'Still Alive' popular!
      Feel like an idiot now!
  • osirislink, on 08/04/2008, -0/+7Check out "Foxtrot" by Genesis for one of the greatest mellotron openers ever.
    • EllisAshbrook, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2You mean "Watcher of the Skies" right?
      • osirislink, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Yes, I don't know what I was thinking... I meant "Watched of the Skies". Foxtrot is the album.
  • Jeffler, on 08/04/2008, -9/+1So wait, is mentalfloss the new cracked? I swear this is like the 7th or 8th story since Friday that's been on the front page.
  • gwycliff, on 08/04/2008, -0/+13The Fender Rhodes was also a crucial instrument in pioneering the early 90's alternative-jazz-hip-hop movement with groups like de la soul, a tribe called quest, the roots etc.
    • Peko, on 08/04/2008, -0/+3Well, yeah, you're right, but my suspicion is that those indy-hop groups were just borrowing/extending from the alt/acid jazz/funk/exotica stuff of the 70s/80s.

      • NormalVisual, on 08/04/2008, -0/+0I agree - Josef Zawinul was doing great stuff with a Rhodes and a phaser in his Weather Report days.
  • protogenxl, on 08/04/2008, -1/+1What about the joystick they used to make the Doctor Who theme?
    • manamizer, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1other than the tape loop effects used, i believe the synth sounds on the doctor who theme were EMS stuff. these two i think were used:
      http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/synthi.shtml
      http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/vcs3.shtml
      • borez, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2No, the original theme was done before synths were even invented by Delia Derbyshire ( who was quite simply a genius geek ) and composed one note at a time to tape and then chopped and spliced into the theme.

        The full story ( The Sound on Sound version is way better than this, but you have to subscribe to read it ) :

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_Theme_Tune

      • manamizer, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1interesting. bbc radiophonic definitely had ems stuff, but after checking the date on the original theme (1963) i can see that it wouldn't have been the those. Delia didn't write it though, only recorded it using the equipment in the workshop. they recently raided her attic and found a bunch of experimental recordings, including a kind of simple dance electronic track. way ahead of her time.
      • borez, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1@manamizer , it was never really written per se, it just kinda evolved and Delia ( although never credited ) was definitely a part of that process.

        FTR I think Delia is a goddess, I'd have loved to have met her.
    • Zcott, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Wasn't that a theremin?
  • HeavySausage, on 08/04/2008, -0/+26Oh come on.. No Yamaha CS-80? Vangelis Killed the Blade Runner soundtrack with that synth.
    • zadadka, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Oh come on. Vangelis wrote that track, so it's up to him what he played it on.
      (The Yam was his favourite anyway....)
    • JohnFlux, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Killed is good or bad?
      • HeavySausage, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2Killed is good. Have you heard the soundtrack? The CS80 has a very distinctive sound.
    • manamizer, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1that synth is a beast. heavy as hell and doesn't stay in tune very well. gotta love those pads though.
      • HeavySausage, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1If you have a CS80 that doesn't stay in tune, then you mostly have a power supply issue. Most of the neg talk about that synth are myths.

  • cnot3, on 08/04/2008, -1/+15Missing the keyboard from The Final Countdown.
  • behn1220, on 08/04/2008, -1/+9I was expecting the IBM Model M.
    • Hinph, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Clickity clack click click!
    • stevex0r, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1I was about to make the same comment. I am typing on one now and the clack clack clack sure is the song that made it famous. My co-workers hate it but screw them.

      CLACK CLACK CLACK!!!!11
  • Laminarcissus, on 08/04/2008, -0/+12Prophet 5 -- when I was thirteen I wanted one of those like most kids want a Ferrari.
    • xtothepowerofx, on 08/04/2008, -0/+0agreed.. now i spend my days trying to find the old native instruments Pro-5 vst plugin.. cant even find that anymore :(

      • waxcrash, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1It's still available.

        http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=pro ...
      • DeFex, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1It been changed to "pro 53" and its in the usual place.
      • dafragsta, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1I just bought Komplete 5 recently. It comes with a metric *****-ton of awesome synths and samples. Pro-53 was in the mix. NI's analog emulators are just ***** awesome. Combined with the effects and delays they have built in, you'll find tons of sounds that have yet to be used. (However, you can tell that Trent Reznor used a lot of the presets. There are some Massive sounds that were used pretty much unmodified in Year Zero and Ghosts.)
    • sonicEd, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Prophet '08 baby! Dave Smith's synths are incredible. http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/
      • HeavySausage, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1 Too many sub menu's on the 08. The original Prophet 5 is King.
      • DeFex, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1its on my list, but below the John Bowen solaris and the Xite-1 and the Octopus and V-synth GS
        I have a spectralis, virus TI and a Dave Smith evolver tho.
      • stretta, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1The Prophet 08 uses DCOs (digitally controlled oscillators) which are rather flat sounding. It is a modern subtractive synth, yet, no high or band pass filter mode? Granted, the Prophet-5 didn't have this, but today this is a conspicuous absence.

        Cheers to Dave Smith on designing a new subtractive synth, but the Prophet 08 is rather lukewarm at what it should be awesome at. It is more like a polyevolver with all the interesting unique stuff removed.
    • manamizer, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1I just picked up Arturia's Prophet V which emulates the prophet 5 and VS. Not a perfect emulation, but way better than the NI VST. you can also use a hybrid version that allows you to combine the synths.
    • knute5, on 08/04/2008, -0/+0Me too, then I saw the Prophet 10 ...
  • zippyhat, on 08/04/2008, -0/+5I'm glad there are still good quality articles being submitted on Digg now a days... I kind lost hope for a couple of weeks.
  • dib2, on 08/04/2008, -2/+1As soon as i read "Keyboard", I thought "Wanted".
  • RickHavoc, on 08/04/2008, -0/+9I would add the Clavinet.
    • knute5, on 08/04/2008, -0/+0"Superstitious" by Stevie Wonder or "A Fifth of Beethoven" (for the cheezier pop crowd) were vintage Clav tunes. Check out "MOOG" this month on HBO for the birth of the synthesizer...
  • manamizer, on 08/04/2008, -3/+16Author doesn't seem to know anything about synthesizers really, especially with a comment like "there's no distinguishing one keyboard from the next". There's additive, granular, neural networking, subtractive, FM, wavetable, wave terrain, and plenty of other types of synthesizers available and they all have their own unique quirks and sounds. Maybe if he had listened to some electronic music rather than all rock and roll/r&b he would've encountered them.
    • blacklilyninja, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1i think herbie hancock's rockit was basically a commercial for yamaha's DX-7


    • wingo123, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2Yeah, seriously. Start off your article with an ignorant statement like: 'These days, there ’s no distinguishing one keyboard from the next because all they really do is act as computer trigger devices', and I am done paying attention to you.
    • kawaiirobo, on 08/04/2008, -1/+1Well, to play devil's advocate here, yes, you can hear a difference between all of those types of keyboards, but I think he means specific models, as in the analog days. Today you can git a digital keyboard that imitates all types, or even software that emulates them. The modern keyboard market really is nothing more than how much do you want to pay for more features, honestly, I can't hear a difference between a Korg Triton and a Roland Fantom. Though I do agree that this guy doesn't know an awful lot about keyboards and synths, he's talking about when specific brands and models produced specific sounds, not circuit design. I agree that your right on your point, I just don't think it really applies to this article in context.
      • bitbytebit, on 08/06/2008, -0/+2not devils advocate at all, just an intelligent comment from someone who has reading comprehension ability. God people are dumb
  • ssmith2k3, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2this site has a lot of background info if you're curious
    http://www.vintagesynth.com/index2.html
  • zadadka, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2Also from the Mellotron (I think, but by all means correct me):
    Argent : Hold Your Head Up (1972)
    I was 13...it had a big impact on me.

    Anyone know what John Miles' "Music" was done on?
    • DeFex, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Argent. like anyone who names the band after himself is O_o
    • Abomonog, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Also a good example of the B3 in action.
  • cherwilco, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1really cool yamaha electone recital:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pS5xzOWbwo
  • Grova, on 08/04/2008, -0/+3Cosby show.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIm6xmOyO6Q
    • kevro, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1since when are there country locks on youtube?
  • hyperlexic, on 08/04/2008, -0/+11and today I can emulate just about all of these on a small PC and trigger them with a cheap midi keyboard that costs under $100.
    • Peko, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Ok, yeah, so minimonsta, lounge lizard, b4...

      But I'm missing the melotron. What do you use for that?
      • so1omon, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2GForce's M-Tron is what you're looking for. All the sounds come from original Mellotron tapes.
    • blackdude, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Not quite. You forgot a good pair of monitor speakers, else you don't know what the hell your even making.
  • EdwardMass, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2Brother Ray played a Rhodes. That's all I need to know.
    • dafragsta, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1He played a lot of things. I know in the movie, his first e-piano was the Wurlitzer.
  • DeFex, on 08/04/2008, -9/+2cool keyboards +++ looks good, but oh wait!
    coldplay mentioned ----- next to the Hammond B3 organ and then suggesting someone actually listen to coldplay?? not unless im forced to at gitmo!
    MrBabyman -----oh and wait again look who it was submitted by. normally i wouldn't mind but when a post is in the balance..

    sorry had to bury

    and what about the DX7 and the EMU emulator/ensoniq mirage?
    • Urzeitlich, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1No one has a clue what the hell you're talking about.
  • huskerdude, on 08/04/2008, -0/+12Very cool. I'd much rather see stuff like this than more political nonsense or digg meta-bickering.
  • semeticstallion, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2Solid list, but what about the Clavionette used on Del Shannon's "Runaway" (aka the second most recognizable solo in pop music history)?
    • fajitamelt, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Or Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'"?
  • zadadka, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2I larked about with Propellorheads' ReBirth software in 2000 / 2001...great fun.
    I wasn't much good though....like many of us :)
  • borez, on 08/04/2008, -0/+11Where's the Emulator, the DX7, the ARP Odyssey, the Prophet 5, the Roland Jupiter-8, The Juno 106, the M1, the D50, the system 100 etc .etc. etc.
    • dafragsta, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1DX7 = FM8 (formerly FM7) Prophet 5 = Pro 53. I'm pmarily familiar with Native Instruments stuff, but I'm pretty sure there are emulators for the others.
    • manamizer, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1i keep seeing the emulator mentioned, but really the fact that it's a sampler kind of precludes it from being listed in something like this article. sure the hardware limitations gave it a sound of it's own, but the samples used defined it more than the keyboard itself. it was really significant but you wouldn't necessarily hear something played on it and immediately think emulator vs. another sampler from that time period. especially compared to something like a minimoog, where you hear it and immediately recognize it.
      • borez, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2I disagree, the Emulator has a very distinctive set of sound banks that came shipped with it, as did the Fairlight CMI, another very recognisable sampler, also the Mellotron was basically a primitive sampler in itself... it's the tape banks that you recognise.
    • niteskunk, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1http://niteskunk.deviantart.com/art/Juno-106-79769 ... I love my baby Juno :D
  • rukeypoo, on 08/04/2008, -0/+4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondes_Martenot
  • Springdaddy, on 08/04/2008, -0/+4Awesome Digg post ... I absolutely LOVE Pink Floyd ... it's cool to know what they used to make some of their signature classics.
  • Jergens, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2Check out Opeth's Damnation for some kickass Mellotron. It's slow, moody, dark, haunting acoustic music done by what is essentially a grown-up doom/black metal band. The Mellotron, as can be heard in the samples given, is really adept at the "haunted" sound.
    • kbull, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Damn good stuff. Opeth also uses a mini-Moog and Hammond organ in some songs. Lots of European metal bands do, both Amorphis and Katatonia (to name a couple) have used Mellotrons and Moogs.
  • alecsputnik, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1love the rhodes!!!!
  • DigitAl56K, on 08/04/2008, -0/+13"These days, there ’s no distinguishing one keyboard from the next because all they really do is act as computer trigger devices."

    That's just not true. There are still a handful of genuine analog synth manufacturers, and even though many hardware synths are Virtual Analog these days most would agree that each tends to have it's own characteristics. Of course, for a modern analog synth expect to be paying upwards of $2K for most 61-key models.

    Please don't be disrespectful those who are still in the game supporting musicians with genuinely great synths and even workstations by saying all keyboards are the same. Sure, most *cheap* keyboards are the same. But then the keyboards in the linked article aren't exactly cheap themselves..
    • stretta, on 08/04/2008, -1/+3There is the literal truth and there is the spiritual truth to the statement that there is no distinguishing one from the next.

      You're correct, the literal truth is there are options out there, but in reality, the hardware synthesizer market is a shell of its former self.

      No advances in synthesis will come from a hardware synth today. Any new advances will come from soft synths. Anything that you can do in hardware is more easily done in software, and less expensive.

      Thus, the hardware synth market has degraded to stage pianos for gigging musicians who want something lightweight with the standard sounds you need to be in a cover band, smaller workstations for the computer-phobic, and controller keyboards with lots of knobs, switches, pads and faders for the obvious reasons.

      Analog is a special case. Analog can only be simulated with software, so there is still a market - but it is a niche market. Virtual analog continues to advance, but software continues to erode the customer base and manufacturers are scrambling to try to make their products attractive to a generation accustomed to soft synths.

      The Hartmann Neuron was the last hardware synth to try something new and it was a market disaster. And inside, it was a general-purpose computer running dedicated software, not a bunch of ICs producing sound like a Prophet 5.

      It's over folks.
    • blackdude, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2I agree. And just to mention one, Native Instruments has some of the best synths I've ever used. Especially Massive, it one of the best and most used softsynths around the electronic genre's.
  • infiniphunk, on 08/04/2008, -2/+12Must mention Roland's 303 and the infamous 808. Classic hip-hop and acid-house.
    • Ciryon, on 08/04/2008, -1/+5Not keyboards, but drum machines. Still worth a mention as you say though :)
      • borez, on 08/04/2008, -0/+4Actually a drum machine and a bass pattern machine
      • manamizer, on 08/04/2008, -0/+4303 is a bassline synth
  • zoethebitch, on 08/04/2008, -0/+0"...Rhodes’ therapy sessions became so well-known, he received the Medal of Honor after the war..."

    I think getting a Medal of Honor is a little harder than that.
  • blu3blu3, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2This is an unusual and a very entertaining article. I loved the audio examples. Well done!
  • malechite, on 08/04/2008, -0/+3Most of Nine Inch Nails' "Pretty Hate Machine" was made with a mini moog!
  • jayhawk88, on 08/04/2008, -1/+2Come on, no mention of the Casio SK1 on The Bloodhound Gangs "A Lapdance Is So Much Better When The Stripper Is Crying"?
  • lilsharkhunter, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2The Fender Rhodes can't be beat.
    • knute5, on 08/04/2008, -0/+0Except by the piano itself. Gotta give props to Mr. Cristafori...
  • geminister, on 08/04/2008, -0/+0You got to admit - atleast 4 of these are among the most important synthesizers/keyboards.
  • f4nt0m4s, on 08/04/2008, -1/+4Emerson, Lake & Palmer? Keith Emerson rocked the Hammond organ...

    Organs kick ass, they add a smooth groove to music. I recommend Clutch's Robot Hive: Exodus for a rockin' southern album with a chill organ sound.
  • FuckThaMeme, on 08/04/2008, -1/+3Dugg for Pink Floyd
  • onlyclave, on 08/04/2008, -0/+18The Hammond B3 has a very rich history without Coldplay.
    • seraph582, on 08/04/2008, -0/+3yeah, seeing this article and imagining it's potential made me happy, then I saw the word "Coldplay" and grew apathetic. At least they had Winwood and Floyd mentioned...
    • knute5, on 08/04/2008, -0/+0Styx - yeah, I know, cheezy, but you can't get on a crunchy B3 without doing "Blue Collar Man" just for the hell of it. Add in Kansas "Carry on Wayward Son" and Boston's "More than a Feeling" and you've got some 70's pop rocky goodness.
    • serif69, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Putting Procul Harum AFTER Coldplay for an example of the Hammond is musically retarded.
  • mapledell, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2dugg down for no wurlitzer.
  • vilago, on 08/04/2008, -1/+1was the synclavier that crazy sneeze machine in ferris bueler?
  • ikarimaru, on 08/04/2008, -0/+3No Moog Prodigy?! Those things were FANTASTIC lower-level synths. Can't mistake the sound of one of those! Well, at least the Mini Moog is on there...
  • mlvassallo, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2MOOG! Any Rentals song.
    • serif69, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1If you're friends of P, well then you're friends with me.
  • castletech, on 08/04/2008, -0/+2I wish they listed more than 5 keyboards.
  • knute5, on 08/04/2008, -0/+7Prophet Five - Doobie's "What a Fool Believes"
    Wurlitzer Electric Piano - Supertramp's "Logical Song"
    AKAI Sampler?? - Yes' "Owner of a Lonely Heart" (also Art of Noise)
    DX7 - that breathy synth patch that was in "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and many other 80's hits.
    • ikarimaru, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1The DX7 also made the awesome helicopter sounds my dad was able to make in the basement when I was younger. Scared the poo out of me when it shook the whole house... :)
    • pocketwookie, on 08/04/2008, -0/+0Yeah, the AKAI was huge. So was the DX7. All over the 80s.
  • FierceGrape, on 08/04/2008, -1/+2Dugg for the Mellotron. My band makes plenty use of it. www.myspace.com/spindlerock Sorry for the plug but at least its sort of topical.
  • terracottapai, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Uh, Vox Continental, anybody?
    Light My Fire, House of the Rising Sun, In A Gadda Da Vida, 96 Tears, the list goes on..
  • knute5, on 08/04/2008, -1/+1Oh, and you can't forget Walter/Wendy Carlos and "Switched on Bach" on the Moog Modular too. No, it doesn't rock, but it was a watershed moment for keyboards and synthesis.
  • stretta, on 08/04/2008, -0/+7The mellotron did not use tape loops. It used linear segments of tape, so you got attack transients when you pressed a key. Upon release, a spring zips the tape back to the beginning.
    • Abomonog, on 08/04/2008, -0/+3This is true. The net result was the the mellotron could only sustain a note for about 8 seconds.
    • MarvelZombie, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1That's got to be great for the tape.
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