This has been a bad year for the synth world indeed. I just read via AH that John "PAiA" Simonton has passed away after a battle with cancer. It's hard to find words that would do him justice. When you think of the great names behind synthesis, names like Bob Moog, Don Buchla, Tom Oberheim and Dave Smith immediately come to mind. You know them because they created the classic uber analog synths. They brought you the packaged analog classics. So what about PAiA? You know the name but you rarely see mention of PAiA systems pitting up against these other synths. So what makes PAiA so special? DIY. The PAiA Fatman was the first and only DIY synth I ever created. I am not a technician and before the Fatman maybe only worked with a soldering iron about twenty years ago in the Boy Scouts. Yes I was a Boy Scout in an urban jungle. Anyway, I created my Fatman and had a blast doing so, but when I finally was done it didn't work. I contacted PAiA and what did they do? They said no problem, had me ship it back, fixed it and returned it back to me free of charge, with an explanation of what I did wrong. Amazing customer service and an amazing experience. So what makes PAiA so special? They allow us to create synthesizers. When I say us I mean everyone, the experienced and the inexperienced DIYers. Think of that. Not simply buying a synth and playing it out of the box, but actually building one. There is just something magical about that, and many of us, myself included, have John "PAiA" Simonton to thank for that. Think of how many people got to experience this because of him. PAiA started in 1967 and are still around today. Simply amazing. Title link takes you to the main PAiA site. RIP John "PAiA" Simonton and thank you for my big, little Fatman. He's pumping out one fat bass.
sad news, indeed. didn't know he was ill. his contributions are massive. found this cool picture on synthfool.com
ReplyDeletehttp://www.synthfool.com/maw/jsimonton.jpg
Nice post, man, well said. Tons of people started with PAiA. Big Thomas Henry and Craig Anderton connections to "Papa John" (as his grandkids called him).
ReplyDeleteSad news.
ReplyDeleteHe gave me my start also- Gnome, OZ, 4700/S, etc.
Synths and Maui. Two things we had in common.
(Paia is the name of a town in Maui, Hawaii)
Goodbye John.
Thanks for your tribute. Well said. I would add that the essential elements of the story you tell:
ReplyDelete-an entry into the independence and creativity of DIY
-a rescue from disappointment by un matched customer service
...these elements are repeated a thousand times throughout the synth community. John was a major influence on analog synth design and he got nothing approaching the level of respect he deserved for his pionerring contributions. I'm sad that I never told him how much I was in his debt.
Bad, bad News
ReplyDeletePAIA Synths have been used also
in Germany and we knew him
for his kits.
John Simonton did great circuits
with lots of technique
we will think of him .
may he rest in peace .
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( www.ame-ev.de )