TONTO Week: Malcolm Cecil, A Tribe Called Red, and The National Music Centre in Calgary

The Story of TONTO Published on Jan 22, 2014 National Music Centre

"The Original New Timbral Orchestra (TONTO), the world's largest analog synthesizer, has found a new home at the National Music Centre in Calgary, Alberta. This is the story of how TONTO went from a dream to a reality, and then found a new life and home at NMC."

Note the above video is from January 22, 2014. You should all be familiar with TONTO.

Update: It has come to my attention that John Leimseider has passed away. He was scheduled to give a TONTO Demonstration with Malcom Cecil on Nov. 17 per below. The demonstration will remain scheduled with Malcom Cecil, however the Synthesis 101 course on Nov. 14 has been canceled.

Details on the event:

TONTO Week puts "holy grail of synthesizers" in the spotlight from November 14-18

Week of activities to feature TONTO co-creator Malcolm Cecil, A Tribe Called Red, Phantom of the Paradise screening, and more

(Calgary, AB — September 13, 2018) After years of careful restoration, the National Music Centre (NMC) will commission one of the crown jewels of its music and technology collection, The Original New Timbral Orchestra (aka TONTO), during TONTO Week from November 14-18.

To commemorate this milestone, NMC will host a week of music programming timed to coincide with Alberta Electronic Music Conference (AEMCON), running concurrently at Studio Bell during TONTO Week. NMC Members receive discounted or free admission to all TONTO Week events (not including AEMCON conference passes), so purchase your membership online today at studiobell.ca/members. Individual tickets are available at nmc.ca/whats-on. AEMCON conference passes are available at albertaelectronicmusic.com.

Members of A Tribe Called Red will be the first musicians to create new music with the legendary synthesizer, and they’ll demo TONTO during a public workshop and incorporate the instrument into an evening Studio Bell After Hours set. “After seeing TONTO for the first time back in 2014, I knew that I had unfinished business at the National Music Centre,” said 2oolman of A Tribe Called Red. “I have been waiting patiently ever since to get my hands on that instrument.”

Malcolm Cecil, one of the co-creators of TONTO, will be in attendance to deliver demonstrations and lectures on the history of the instrument. NMC will also host a screening of the cult classic film, Phantom of the Paradise, in which TONTO appeared, and other activities associated with the instrument.

TONTO is one of the world’s largest analog synthesizers. Created by Malcom Cecil and Robert Margouleff in 1968, its creation marked the first attempt at making a universal language for different synthesizers to communicate with each other, which was a revolutionary achievement. Under the band name Tonto’s Expanding Head Band, Cecil and Margouleff released the highly influential album Zero Time. The album demonstrated the rich, layered sounds of the massive synthesizer and attracted significant attention.

Used on multiple Stevie Wonder and The Isley Brothers albums in the 1970s, TONTO helped shape albums by a long list of notable artists such as Minnie Riperton, Joan Baez, the Doobie Brothers, Quincy Jones, Randy Newman, Bobby Womack and more, and was prominently featured in Phantom of the Paradise.


“I needed to find a home for TONTO that would survive me and where it could be used,” said Malcolm Cecil after NMC acquired the instrument in 2013.

“We made a promise to Malcom to ensure that TONTO would be used again in the creation of new music and that its legacy would live on,” said Adam Fox, NMC’s Director of Programs. “It took several years to properly restore the instrument, and now it’s finally ready to enter its next chapter. We couldn’t be more excited to hear where NMC’s Artists in Residence take TONTO next.”


TONTO WEEK SCHEDULE

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Malcom Cecil Has Passed Away

Another synth legend has passed away. Anyone that regularly visits this site should know who he is.

via The Bob Moog Foundation

"It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the passing of the legendary creative genius, musician, engineer, producer, and synthesizer pioneer, Malcolm Cecil, shown here with his creation TONTO (The Original New Timbral Orchestra, created in 1968). Malcom's son Milton informed us that he passed away at 1:17am this morning after a long illness.

Bob Moog and Malcolm had a deep mutual respect and affection for each other, remaining lifelong friends after working together to assure that the Moog components of TONTO were properly integrated into the system. Our hearts are heavy with the loss of such a monumental contributor to the Moog legacy and a truly stellar, generous, kind human being. Our love goes out to his family and friends.

You can see Malcolm talking about TONTO in this video from the National Music Centre | Centre National de Musique, where TONTO now resides:"

Malcolm Cecil on Creating TONTO

video by National Music Centre

"TONTO is an acronym for The Original New Timbral Orchestra. It was created by Malcom Cecil and Robert Margouleff in 1968 , and marked the first attempt at creating a universal language for different synthesizers to communicate with each other, which was revolutionary at the time.

Now housed at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, TONTO is being used for a new generation of artists to create music.

Support music in Canada by donating to the National Music Centre, a registered charity. Your donation directly shapes the future of Canadian music by providing music education programs, world-class artist development programs, and one-of-a-kind opportunities for collaboration. Learn more: http://bit.ly/SupportNMC"

And via Wikipedia:

"Malcolm Cecil (born 9 January 1937) is a British jazz bassist and Grammy Award-winning record producer.

Born in London, Cecil was a founding member of the UK's leading jazz quintet of the late 1950s, The Jazz Couriers,[1] before going on to join a number of British jazz combos led by Dick Morrissey, Tony Crombie and Ronnie Scott in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He later joined Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner to form the original line-up of Blues Incorporated.

He later joined Robert Margouleff to form the duo TONTO's Expanding Head Band, a project based on a unique combination of synthesizers which led to them collaborating on and co-producing several of Stevie Wonder's Grammy-winning albums of the early 1970s."
You can find numerious posts featuring Malcom Cecil here, and TONTO here.

TONTO Rides Again

Update via the comments:
TONTO's Expanding Head Band
Updates via AH: Malcolm Cecil says:
"TONTO's Expanding Head Band will be performing live at the Big Chill Festival on Saturday, August 5th at 9:30 PM the Sanctuary stage. The festival is a 3 day affair held at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire, about 2 1/2 hrs drive north west of London. The closest big town is Gloucester. They are expecting 33,000 people to show up - 5,000 will spend the whole 3 days camping there. More detailed info on how to get there is on www.eastnorcastle.com and the full festival info is available at: link.

TONTO will not actually be there - way too big and expensive to ship for a one hour performance - I am creating a "Virtual TONTO" and will play live over pre recorded backing tracks with a specially prepared visual show with hundreds of pics of TONTO and Poli Cecil's art pieces.

The TONTO CD with an additional never before released track will be available at the festival. Those who can't attend but want the CD can email me mcecil[]hvc.rr.com"

Malcolm Cecil in regards to this recording:
"It is unauthorized.

I have mixed emotions about it. Its like seeing your mother in law drive over the edge of a cliff :-) in your brand new uninsured Rolls Royce :-( I am gratified that more than 1100 people have downloaded it in 9 months and that half of the people who found it download it. On the other hand I am just about to re-release the CD with an additional never before released track to coincide with TONTO's live performance at the Big Chill in England on August 5th. TONTO will not actually be there - way too big and expensive to ship for a one hour performance - but I am creating a "Virtual TONTO" and will play live over pre recorded backing tracks with a specially prepared visual show with hundreds of pics of TONTO and Poli's (Mrs. Cecil's) art pieces."

Original Post:
"If you are too young to remember those halcyon days, back when all computers were water cooled, and the Future was Now, then you probably do not even know what a multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer is.

TONTO is an acronym for "The Original New Timbral Orchestra": the world's first (and still the largest) multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer, designed and constructed by Malcolm Cecil. As an analog synthesizer, TONTO was capable of creating virtually any sound. Its warm, fat bass sounds were particularly noteworthy and still cannot be recreated by the current breed of MIDI digital synthesizers and samplers. (See more at link)

With Robert Margoleff, Malcolm produced two LPs - "Zero Time" and "It's About Time" - as "TONTO's Expanding Head Band". I think that "Zero Time" is the best. While I have had the vinyl since forever, the CD is out of print.

I was lucky and persistent enough to find a chap with a copy of the remastered compilation CD, "TONTO Rides Again", and he burned me a copy. I took this and ripped it to WAV with Winamp Pro. Then, I converted to FLAC with dBpowerAMP."

Title link takes you there.

New England Digital synclavier II Owned by Malcolm Cecil

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via The Malcolm Cecil Reverb Shop

Note auction links are affiliate links. See the site's privacy policy for more info.

"This New England Digital Synclavier II System is owned by Malcolm Cecil

This NED system and keyboard is being sold as is. It comes with the Synclavier II keyboard as well as rack unit with midi inputs/outputs and Sample to disk units. There are some proprietary cables needed to fully test this unit so we are unable to fully perform diagnostics. The rack units appear to be in pretty good shape cosmetically and come housed in the blue road case in which these NED systems were known for. This will likely require someone who is knowledgable in operating these units and it is very possible some repairs will need to be done. The keyboard itself is fairly dusty and will likely need to be cleaned internally as well. There are also a few sticky keys.

All items in The Official Malcolm Cecil Reverb Shop ship fully insured with delivery confirmation and an embossed Certificate Of Authenticity."

CLICK FOR MORE »

DIY ELECTRONICS SYMPOSIUM: Workshops, Silver Apples with Malcolm Cecil on TONTO, Electric Golem with Trevor Pinch on DIY Modular

via Trevor Pinch: "This Saturday March 30 at Cornell Schwartz Center for The Performing Arts we are putting on a cool event which we are calling a 'DIY Electronics Music Symposium'. It will feature panel discussion on DIY electronics (starts 2pm), workshops where you can build your own gear, and a concert (starts 8pm) featuring, Silver Apples, Malcolm Cecil with TONTO, Electric Golem (with Trevor Pinch on DIY Modular [see this post]) plus more.

I know it's short notice but any synth heads in the area might want to check it out. As far as we can tell TONTO and Silver Apples have never been on the same bill together."

Details:

"DIY ELECTRONICS SYMPOSIUM:

SATURDAY MARCH 30
An afternoon and evening celebrating innovation in electronic media,
///TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER:
the legendary Simeon Coxe of Silver Apples and Malcolm Cecil of Tonto's Expanding Head Band,

The afternoon symposium will commence with a panel discussion led by Science and Technology Studies professor Trevor Pinch followed by demonstrations of various home made electronic instruments including the largest synthesizer in the world, The Original New Timbral Orchestra. Doctoral candidates Taylan Cihan (Music), Laewoo Kang (Information Science) and Owen Marshall (Science and Technology Studies) will then lead a DIY Electronics workshop allowing participants to create and keep their own small electronic instruments.

~challenge the politics of expertise~
~explore motivations for innovation~

In the evening from 8-11 a musical and visual 'happening' will be put on with Tonto's Expanding Headband, Silver Apples, The Electric Golem, First Atomic Lunar and more to perform.


__S_C_H__E__D__U__L__E_

2PM-3PM

Panel Discussion Chaired by Trevor Pinch
featuring: Malcolm Cecil, Simeon Coxe, Jeff Perkins, Park Doing.


3:30pm-5:30pm

DIY Electronics Workshop and Demonstrations
-Circuit hacking, bending and creating your own instruments from parts. All materials provided for limited number of participants
provided by Cornell Electroacoustic Center, led by Taylan Cihan, Owen Marshall, and Leo Kang

____________________________________

8PM-11PM
MULTIMEDIA PSYCHADELIC PERFORMANCE

*Silver Apples
*Tonto's Expanding Head Band
*Electric Golem
*First Atomic Lunar
*100% Black

feat DJ Andris Balins

Visual media provided by Jeff Perkins, Park Doing, Leo Kang

The events are free and open to the entire Cornell Community.
Contributions are encouraged to support opening acts.


Made possible by The Cornell Council for the Arts, The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Cornell Electroacoustic Music Center, The Society for the Humanities, The Science and Technology Studies Department, and the SAFC."

See the TONTO & Trevor Pinch labels below for more including videos and pics.

Kurzweil K2000 V3 Owned by Malcolm Cecil

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via The Malcolm Cecil Reverb Shop

Note auction links are affiliate links. See the site's privacy policy for more info.

"This Kurzweil K2000 V3 was owned by Malcolm Cecil

Serial: 21950509265 Overall this synth is pretty dirty and has some scuffs and scratches on the enclosure. The back also has a size-able chunk of the plastic broken off leaving some of the internals exposed. It would benefit from a tune up just because some of the faders are a bit scratchy when moved and it may be wise to think of a solution for the exposed part. When you power the synth on there is a warning that states the battery voltage is low however other than this message and the obvious cosmetic issues, the synth actually functions as intended and sounds great. Comes with the sample disk. Comes in a big gator case. IEC cable is not included.

All items in The Official Malcolm Cecil Reverb Shop ship fully insured with delivery confirmation and an embossed Certificate Of Authenticity."

CLICK FOR MORE »

moogerfooger MIDI MuRF MF-105M Owned by Malcolm Cecil

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via The Malcolm Cecil Reverb Shop

Note auction links are affiliate links. See the site's privacy policy for more info.



This moogerfooger MIDI MuRF MF-105M was owned by Malcolm Cecil

Serial: 2921 The unit is in really great shape cosmetically. The uit powers on however it does not pass any guitar signal. It appears to have a steady hum when powered on but this unit does not currently function as intended and will likely need repairs to get it to work properly. Power supply is included.

All items in The Official Malcolm Cecil Reverb Shop ship fully insured with delivery confirmation and an embossed Certificate Of Authenticity."

Note you can find additional Official Reverb Shop posts scattered throughout posts here.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Malcolm Cecil Live with Spitznagel and Trevor Pinch July 17

"OTP is both honored & thrilled to present An Evening In the Company of the Joy Circuits featuring TONTO’s Expanding Head Band pioneer Malcolm Cecil, in his first U.S. performance in over 30 years, along with aural sculptors Spitznagel & Trevor Pinch...

For his OTP debut, Cecil will not only bring a number of the original TONTO synth modules but his trusty upright bass as well, all of which to bring forth a stunning hybrid of keyboard virtuosity, 70s synth-jazz, and his own brand of post-classical-flavored electronic music."

See One Thousand Pulses for the full details. If anyone makes this, send in some pics.

via Jeff of The Tangeant Project who will be performing at OTP in November.
More info on the artists:
posts featuring Malcolm Cecil
posts featuring Spitznagel
posts featuring Trevor Pinch
posts featuring The Tangeant Project

Malcom Cecil Releases iTonto for iOS

iTunes: iTonto - malcolm cecil

"iTONTO the App, documents the Engineering and Design of “TONTO”, The Original New Timbral Orchestra.

DISCLAIMER: iTONTO is not a functional iOS recreation of TONTO.

TONTO is one of the most important innovations in musical history. TONTO is the first synthesizer of popular music and is displayed and described in great detail within the App. This historic instrument, the invention of Grammy winning Malcolm Cecil, helped influence American cultural and musical history and is one of the most recorded instruments of all time.
The App includes detailed photos of the front and back of each panel with drill down and zoom capabilities, circuitry and schematics, personal comments, hand drawn notes in design, and stories about TONTOS history. Collaborations include Steve Wonder, Billy Preston, Gil Scott Heron, Little Feet, Doobie Brothers, George Harrison and The Isley Brothers. TONTO is on over 160 albums including 2 of Rolling Stone’s top 100 best selling albums of all time.

TONTO – The Original New Timbral Orchestra uses the principle of analog subtractive synthesis to create multi-timbral polyphonic sounds.The heart of a subtractive synthesizer is its filter. TONTO has a compliment of fourteen filters: two full MOOG 904 band-pass filters,
two Arp Low Pass filters,
four Oberhiem SEM filters;
two Cecil/Serge dual filters;
one ARP 1040 multi function filter
and one Cecil Custom low pass filter.
It also has 39 oscillators; 22 envelope generators;
18 VCA’s and many more modules,
including processors, sequencers and controllers which can be patched to create at least fourteen discrete “voices” – each with it’s own unique timbral quality and all of which are able to be controlled simultaneously. As its name implies, it is truly an integrated orchestra of new timbres.
Optimized for iPhone 6, IOS 8.0 or better."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Invasion From Within — Malcolm Cecil - Tonto & KiNo [HD]

Invasion From Within — Malcolm Cecil - Tonto & KiNo [HD] from KiNo on Vimeo.

"Video Trailer 1 for the upcoming KiNo Exhibition at the World Monuments Fund Gallery — OPENING NIGHT on June 3rd. The Exhibition runs throughout the month with daily live performances by KiNo and 9 different sets of music.

For full schedule of live performances:
poetofsoundandimage.com/​june [Update: new link]

The gallery landscape will be punctuated by two-dimensional works from artists Bill Alpert, Bartus Bartolomes, Scott Alger, Astolfo Funes and Marjan Denkov.

9 special sets of KiNo's original music and sonic pieces will be performed throughout the month, combining the forces of the KiNo Live Rig* and TONTO.

A treasured special-guest lineup includes the following artists:

Malcolm Cecil ("Godfather of electronic music")
Andy Rourke (The Smiths)
Joe McGinty (Psychedelic Furs)
Jesper Kyd (composer: Hitman, Assassin's Creed)
DJ Jonathan Peters
Ilhan Ersahin (Wax Poetic)
Jonathan Haffner (Bill Friser)
Juini Booth (McCoy Tyner/Sun Ra)


Curated by Belen Bosch & Ana Rita Da Piadade.
Live Production by Jeff Blenkinsopp.
Exhibition Production by Ana Rita Da Piadade, Jeff Blenkinsopp & KiNo"

Also see: TONTO Video by The Analog Lab
And the TONTO label below for more.
via KiNo

DIY Electronic Music Symposium, Cornell University, 2013 Pics

Follow-up to this post.

flickr set by exakta
(click through for more)

Pictured here:

Top: "Malcolm Cecil [portion of TONTO in background], James Spitznagel and Trevor Pinch Jamming.  Trevor is playing an analogue synth which he himself built in the early 1970s." [see this post for details & pics]

Bottom: "Simeon Coxe of Silver Apples"

Description for the set:
"On March 30th, 2013, Cornell University and The Fanclub Collective sponsored a day-long electronic music workshop. It included a panel discussion with Professor Trevor Pinch, Malcolm Cecil, Simeon Coxe and Jeff Perkins (a veteran light-show producer) and a hands-on DIY synth-circuit-building workshop. The final events were performances, first by regional acts (First Atomic Lunar, members of Atomic Forces & First North American Lunar), 100% BLAKK), then by Ithaca synth ensemble Electric Golem (Trevor Pinch and James Spitznagel). Malcolm Cecil and his vintage mega-synth, TONTO (that's "The Original New Timbral Orchestra") played an incredible set, as did half of the sixties electro-rock duo Silver Apples, Simeon Coxe.

I would highly recommend any of these acts' recordings!

More info here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TONTO#The_TONTO_sy nthesizer
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_apples
www.facebook.com/electricgolem
firstnorthamericanlunar.bandcamp.com/
(Atomic Forces) www.myspace.com/107098519
(100% BLAKK) www.facebook.com/pages/100-Black/3858969 81449017"

Malcolm Cecil's TONTO Coming to Town - Live Event

"B2Art and EARS (The Analog Lab) present KiNo block

Poet of Sound and Image KiNo in Exhibition and Live Performance

New Vague: Invasion from Within

June 3 - 29, 2011

Featuring performance version installation of the world's largest synthesizer, TONTO

and two-dimensional works by artists Bill Alpert, Bartus Bartolomes, Scott Alger, Astolfo Funes and Marjan Denkov.

New York, NY - Poet of Sound and Image KiNo will unleash a programme of sonic and visual ephemera in line with his psychedelic live musical performances for the month of June at the World Monuments Fund Gallery (15 East 27th Street.) The landscape will be punctuated by two-dimensional works from artists Bill Alpert, Bartus Bartolomes, Scott Alger, Astolfo Funes and Marjan Denkov.

KiNo uses images, sounds and words to comment on the fundamental aspects of human beings and their behavior. With unwavering intimations of conscience, his work strives to stimulate the emotional intelligence of his audience. During his 27 day residency, KiNo will present a universe of sound, film, and live installation.

"Sonic wizard" Jeff Blenkinsopp (Pink Floyd, Vangelis, The Secret Machines) invented an analogue processing device especially for KiNo known as the KiNo Live Rig. This one of a kind machine will join forces with the world's largest synthesizer, T.O.N.T.O. (The Original New Timbral Orchestra). Created by Malcolm Cecil (credited for electrifying Stevie Wonder), the performance version of TONTO will be installed at the gallery. For video footage of TONTO, click here. [embed below]

Nine special sets of KiNo's original music and sonic pieces will be performed throughout the month, combining the forces of the KiNo Live Rig and TONTO. A treasured special-guest lineup includes the following artists (for more information on them, click here):

Malcolm Cecil ("Godfather of electronic music")
Andy Rourke (The Smiths)
Joe McGinty (Psychedelic Furs)
DJ Jonathan Peters
Jesper Kyd (composer: Hitman, Assassin's Creed)
Ilhan Ersahin (Wax Poetic)
Juini Booth (Sun Ra/McCoy Tyner)
Kenny Wollesen (Tom Waits)

####

Please RSVP for the June 3 opening by clicking the link below.
*RSVP CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT, JUNE 2*
www.poetofsoundandimage.com/rsvp


For the full programme and more information visit: http://www.poetofsoundandimage.com/junecom

Curated by Belen Moreno Bosch & Ana Rita Dà Piedade &
Produced by Jeff Blenkinsopp, Ana Rita Dà Piedade and KiNo"

TONTO & Stevie Wonder

YouTube Uploaded by analoghell on Aug 2, 2006

"Documentary extract talking about TONTO's collaboration with Stevie on 4 classic 70's records. CD of classic TONTO now available on www.tontosexpandingheadband.com"

See the TONTO label below for more.

TONTO Pics

via Erick

"My friend Doug Milford got the chance recently to meet with Malcolm Cecil and tour the studio. Doug's brother, who passed away in the late 80s, was named Kim Milford. If you poke around on the web, you'll find that Kim Milford sang with Jeff Beck for a period. And he also did a lot of acting in theater, Broadway, films, television, as well as music composition before his untimely passing while still in his 30s.

Kim had recorded some songs at the TONTO studio (lamentably, none with synths I'm told), and Doug was visiting Malcolm to track down some of the old master reels. Luckily for us, Doug snapped some great photos of the famous TONTO synth. You can see a lot of it very close up"

You can find aditonal pics here.

"The Original New Timbral Orchestra designed and built by Malcom Cecil. The TONTO features such synths as:

2 Moog Series III Modular Synthesizers
2 Arp 2600s
Serge Modules
4 Oberheim SEMs

and many more…

www.tontosexpandingheadband.com

www.theanaloglab.com"

follow-up to: Invasion From Within — Malcolm Cecil - Tonto & KiNo [HD]

CLICK FOR MORE »

TONTO RIDES AGAIN

via Malcolm Cecil, via the world of next tuesday.

You can find Tonto Rides Again and more at Malcom Cecil's Tonto's Expanding Head Band.

"All the tracks from "TONTO RIDES AGAIN" are available on that site remastered by me from the original analog mixes and issued as a Collector's Limited Edition CD. TONTO has never sounded better.

Peace,
Malcolm Cecil"

Be sure to see all posts mentioning TONTO here.

EMS PITCH TO VOLTAGE CONVERTER

via this auction

"EMS Pitch To Voltage Converter, perfect to add to your Synthi or VCS3. Also interfaces with other modular/cv synths. Fully functional but missing the front panel 'reference tone' switch (an easy repair and the switch can be ordered from EMS - the ref. tone is currently set to 'off') and comes with mini-Bulgin power lead. The module is internally switchable between 110V and 220V.

Previously owned by Malcolm Cecil and formed part of TONTO. "Tonto is an acronym for "The Original New Timbral Orchestra," the world's first (and still the largest) multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer, designed and constructed by Malcolm Cecil. Tonto featured on albums from Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Bobby Womack, The Isley Brothers, Gil Scott-Heron and Weather Report, as well as releases from Stephen Stills, The Doobie Brothers, Dave Mason, Little Feat and Joan Baez, Steve Hillage". More info here

from the original spec sheet -

CLICK FOR MORE »

Switched-On: The Birth of the Moog Synthesizer Exhibit Ends This Month

via The Bob Moog Foundation:

"Switched-On: The Birth of the Moog Synthesizer, comes to a close this month after a successful year-long run at The History Center in Tompkins County in Ithaca, New York. The exhibit celebrates the seminal creation of Moog modular synthesizer over 50 years ago. On Saturday, May 16, 2015, a week before what would be Moog’s 81st birthday, The History Center and the Bob Moog Foundation will honor Moog’s life and legacy through the Bob Moog Birthday Bash, which will include a day of performances, discussions and presentations by notable musicians and Moog experts.

The celebration begins with a special screening of the Moog documentary at Cinemapolis in downtown Ithaca at 5pm on Friday, May 15th. Trevor Pinch, co-author of Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer, will introduce the film. Michelle Moog–Koussa, Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation will lead a questions and answer session afterward.

The following day The History Center will host several presentations featuring unique insiders’ perspectives including those by: Roger Luther, former General Manager of Moog Music in Williamsville, NY and creator of Moogarchives.com; Michelle Moog-Koussa and Herb Deutsch, who will host a listening party exploring the 84 minute audio letter that Moog sent to Deutsch in 1964 with the prototype of the Moog synthesizer; and legendary producer and technician, Malcolm Cecil, co-founder of TONTOs Expanding Band and co-producer of four early Stevie Wonder albums. Sean Michaels, author of Us Conductors, a novel based on the life of Leon Theremin, will round out the day of presentations.

Nighttime musical performances include Electric Golem featuring Shueh-Li Ong on theremin and Malcolm Cecil on synthesizer, followed by Mother Mallard with legendary Moog synthesist David Borden, and concluding with a performance by Herb Deutsch.

Birthday Bash attendees will also be able to partake in the featured exhibit, which closes at the end of that day.

A complete listing of happenings as part of Bob Moog’s Birthday Bash, can be found at bobmoogbirthdaybash.splashthat.com and on The History Center in Tompkins County’s Facebook page."

World's Biggest Synth Tonto - Malcolm Cecil & KiNo

"Presented by Sonic Wizard Jeff Blenkinsopp's Analog Lab;

Video Trailer No. 1 for the KiNo Exhibition INVASION FROM WITHIN, a music programme by KiNo with special collaborators.

9 special sets of KiNo's original music and sonic pieces will be performed throughout the month, combining the forces of the KiNo Live Rig* and TONTO.

Special-guest lineup includes the following artists:

Malcolm Cecil ("Godfather of electronic music")
Andy Rourke (The Smiths)
Joe McGinty (Psychedelic Furs)

KiNo is with
Shahla Atlas
Alec Signorino
Harlan Muir

- -

KiNo Live is produced by Jeff Blenkinsopp"

Also see:
Live! — Part 3

Malcolm Cecil, Designer of TONTO Coming to Moogfest 2014

via Moog Music on Facebook

"Happy CV Sunday! Love, your friends at #Moog.

Malcolm Cecil, the designer of TONTO, the largest multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer in the world, will be at #Moogfest 2014: www.moogfest.com/tickets"

Malcolm Cecil with New MOOG Modular System 55 at NAMM

via @moogmusicinc

"#ExplorationsInSynthesis w/ Malcolm Cecil.

#Moog #Modular | Booth 5300 | #NAMM"

EMS EIGHT OCTAVE FILTER BANK

via this auction
"EMS Eight Octave Filter Bank, perfect to add to your Synthi or VCS3. Also interfaces with other modular/cv synths or can be used as standalone piece of studio outboard. Fully working and comes with mini-Bulgin power lead. The module is internally switchable between 110V and 220V.

Previously owned by Malcolm Cecil and formed part of TONTO. "Tonto is an acronym for "The Original New Timbral Orchestra," the world's first (and still the largest) multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer, designed and constructed by Malcolm Cecil. Tonto featured on albums from Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Bobby Womack, The Isley Brothers, Gil Scott-Heron and Weather Report, as well as releases from Stephen Stills, The Doobie Brothers, Dave Mason, Little Feat and Joan Baez, Steve Hillage". More info here

from the original spec sheet -

EIGHT-OCTAVE FILTER BANK

EMS STUDIO MODULES

The EMS Range of Ancillary Studio Modules EMS Modules are designed not only for use with Synthi synthesisers but with any complex of voltage controlled equipment, of whatever manufacture. They are supplied in handsome afrormosia cases, but can be removed and mounted in standard 19" racks, occupying only 1.7" (44mm) of vertical space. They contain their own mains power unit with a very wide range of stabilisation to cope with poor mains line conditions, being operable at anything from +10% to more than—23% of nominal line voltage. Connections to and from the modules can be made either from the jack sockets on the front panel or via the multi-way socket at the back.

EIGHT-OCTAVE FILTER BANK

The EMS Eight-Octave Filter Bank is a group of eight individual resonating filters fixed-tuned one octave apart in the range 62.5Hz—8KHz, arranged in parallel. The unit is inserted into an audio signal line, and since the output of each filter may be separately controlled very subtle variations of colouring can be made. It is simplicity itself to operate, and no voltage control is involved, its purpose being to provide characteristic colourings which are on the whole constant during a particular application. The cut-off is sharp enough to permit sections of the spectrum to be virtually removed, making profound changes in the character of a sound. With all the controls at maximum the signal will emerge unchanged except for a 10dB overall gain. At intermediate settings the response is comblike, levelling out to total rejection of the whole band when all controls are at zero.

A valuable extra facility is the access given by jacks or the facilities socket to each filter separately. The main output contains all the filters in parallel, but in addition the spectral content of the output of each filter is available at the appropriate jack. Thus up to nine simultaneous timbres can be obtained from a single complex signal. An additional use for the filter bank is as a signal improver. Hum or any other unwanted fixed frequency phenomenon can often be removed completely without serious distortion of the signal spectrum.

Apart from its use in electronic music, the eight-octave filter bank is a great asset to any studio; a group of several (at least as many as the number of output lines) can be arranged for instant patching in to any channel needing correction.

SPECIFICATION

Power Supply:
240 or 115VAC 50/60Hz +10% to—23%

Input Level:
6V p-p max.

Max. Overall Gain:
10dB +/- 1.5dB.

Individual Filter Gains:
9dB +/- 3dB max.

Hum and Noise:
—80dB referred to max. gain conditions.

Filter Frequencies:
63, 125, 250, 500, 1,00O, 2,OOO, 4,000, 8,000 Hz.

Filter Tuning:
Centre frequencies all +/10%

Filter Slope:
12dB/octave.

Channel-to-channel crosstalk:
—60d B."