Brian's synthesizers and samplers

[b00ts]

I read recently that Brian used Moog Taurus Bass Pedals on "Love You." I assume he used other Moogs (Minimoog?) on the album, and perhaps some other synths. I've also read that he used an E-MU Emulator II in the early 80's and a Fairlight (perhaps on BW88).

The welcome reappearance of the Moog (or possibly non-Moog synth) on That Lucky Old Sun has continued with Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin and In The Key of Disney. The return to a classic BW production style dovetails surprisingly well with the use of these synths. "I've Got Plenty of Nothin'" from Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin is one example.

What are some other synths and samplers that Brian has used throughout his career? Does anyone know what he uses nowadays, or which synths his band used on the aforementioned records? I remember reading about the Kurzweils on Brian Wilson Presents Smile, but what else?

[GuyOnTheBeach]

There's a photograph going around from the early/mid 70's of Brian with an ARP Odyssey.

Also the Synth on Surf's Up sounds more like an ARP too, especially the water drop sounds on "Don't Go Near The Water"

Speaking of "Love You", I've heard that Brian used a Korg on there too, I don't recall what model though.

[phirnis]

Most interesting thread in quite a while, though personally I'm not an expert on vintage synthesizers.

The BB don't get nearly enough credit for their beautiful and inventive synth work throughout the 1970s. Would absolutely love to hear the backing tracks of "Funky Pretty", "Sweet Mountain" and "I Wanna Pick You Up" one day!

On another note, did they use any synth whatsoever on Carl and the Passions?

[Iron Horse-Apples]

Have any Love You sessions or backing tracks ever surfaced?

[SMiLE Brian]

Brian is underated in the synth field during the 1970s.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

Brian is underated in the synth field during the 1970s.

Absolutely. Sweet Mountain is quite unique. I was quite dismayed when someone suggested he didn't produce this. Sounds like his synth type experimentation all the way.

[b00ts]

Brian is underated in the synth field during the 1970s.

Absolutely. Sweet Mountain is quite unique. I was quite dismayed when someone suggested he didn't produce this. Sounds like his synth type experimentation all the way.

Agreed - "Sweet Mountain" blew my mind and made me wish that I had checked out the Spring project many years earlier. There are sources who ascribe varying levels of hands-on production to Brian, ranging from very little to quite a lot, but regardless, I agree that "Sweet Mountain" is redolent of Brian's other synth experiments. It is far, far ahead of its time, calling to mind modern groups like Stereolab. To me, "Sweet Mountain" is somewhat of a platonic ideal for that type of song, along with McCartney's "The Note You Never Wrote," which also features some great synth work, but is more traditional overall.

I also love the way Brian integrates synths in more "pedestrian" productions, such as 15 Big Ones, Beach Boys '85 ("Male Ego") and Brian Wilson '88 (although BW88, like BB85, has a bit of a synthetic sheen that can be cloying). I love the boogie-woogie bass synth (Moog? Specifically, Taurus Pedals?) in "Rock and Roll Music" and the ponderous, lugubrious bass synth in "Just For Once in My Life."

I remember reading that during the Paley sessions, Brian and Andy used a mid-90s sampling keyboard (Casio or similar, I believe) for the percussion sounds in many songs and some other stuff. I have been happy to hear Brian use synth sounds again on his newer post-BWPS records. It seems like a period of about 8 to 10 years where Brian was not really fooling with synths on his records, encompassing "Imagination" and "Gettin' In Over My Head."

[c-man]

I read recently that Brian used Moog Taurus Bass Pedals on "Love You." I assume he used other Moogs (Minimoog?) on the album, and perhaps some other synths. I've also read that he used an E-MU Emulator II in the early 80's and a Fairlight (perhaps on BW88).

The welcome reappearance of the Moog (or possibly non-Moog synth) on That Lucky Old Sun has continued with Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin and In The Key of Disney. The return to a classic BW production style dovetails surprisingly well with the use of these synths. "I've Got Plenty of Nothin'" from Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin is one example.

What are some other synths and samplers that Brian has used throughout his career? Does anyone know what he uses nowadays, or which synths his band used on the aforementioned records? I remember reading about the Kurzweils on Brian Wilson Presents Smile, but what else?

There's both Emulator and Fairlight on BW88 (and Fairlight all over BB85), though not necessarily played by BW himself.  The credits to BB85 list synths played by Brian as Yamaha DX1, Roland Jupiter 8, and Oberheim OB-8.  When I talked to him in '05 (the Katrina donor phone calls), he said he played a Korg on GIOMH, but couldn't remember the model. 

[Iron Horse-Apples]

The Korg Triton was used by the touring band during this period. Could it have been this?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Agreed - "Sweet Mountain" blew my mind and made me wish that I had checked out the Spring project many years earlier. There are sources who ascribe varying levels of hands-on production to Brian, ranging from very little to quite a lot...

I'm only aware of two definitive statements, Steve Desper's 5% and Marilyn's 25%. Whichever way you slice it, that's pretty minimal BW contribution.

[The Heartical Don]

Agreed - "Sweet Mountain" blew my mind and made me wish that I had checked out the Spring project many years earlier. There are sources who ascribe varying levels of hands-on production to Brian, ranging from very little to quite a lot...

I'm only aware of two definitive statements, Steve Desper's 5% and Marilyn's 25%. Whichever way you slice it, that's pretty minimal BW contribution.

Intuitively I agree. The album is in true, widescreen stereo, and something tells me that therefore Desper did the majority of production duties. That said, the music has 'Brian Wilson' written all over it. 'Tennessee Waltz' is deceptively simple... the funny, uplifiting staccato keyboard work. the lilting rhythm, the singing, everything fits, even though it sounds so 'deconstructed and loose'. There are only a few artists who can pull that off. Lowell George was one of them, Van Dyke Parks another, and I count producer/musician James Luther Dickinson in there too (see: Big Star).

And, needless to say, 'Down Home' and 'Mountain Of Love' are highlights too. My negligible quip: the coda of 'Mountain' is too wide, soundwise, I sometimes  put my amp on mono to make it all blend better.

[Andrew G. Doe]

According to SWD and a couple of others, Brian pretty much lost interest after a week or so and Sandler pretty much took over. The final mix is his and Steve's.

[The Heartical Don]

According to SWD and a couple of others, Brian pretty much lost interest after a week or so and Sandler pretty much took over. The final mix is his and Steve's.

Cheers for bringing Sandler's name into it - I forgot about him, here.

[b00ts]

Agreed - "Sweet Mountain" blew my mind and made me wish that I had checked out the Spring project many years earlier. There are sources who ascribe varying levels of hands-on production to Brian, ranging from very little to quite a lot...

I'm only aware of two definitive statements, Steve Desper's 5% and Marilyn's 25%. Whichever way you slice it, that's pretty minimal BW contribution.

Thanks Andrew. Regardless, I absolutely adore the tune. All this leaves me wondering who did the synthesizer programming... And which synths they used. It almost sounds like a modular to me.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Agreed - "Sweet Mountain" blew my mind and made me wish that I had checked out the Spring project many years earlier. There are sources who ascribe varying levels of hands-on production to Brian, ranging from very little to quite a lot...

I'm only aware of two definitive statements, Steve Desper's 5% and Marilyn's 25%. Whichever way you slice it, that's pretty minimal BW contribution.

Thanks Andrew. Regardless, I absolutely adore the tune. All this leaves me wondering who did the synthesizer programming... And which synths they used. It almost sounds like a modular to me.

Steve Desper programmed the synths. I remember seeing a pic of Brian playing an ARP Odessey 2600 from this period. That and a standard moog, as per Surf's Up.

[guitarfool2002]

[guitarfool2002]

I'd have to assume this was the Moog modular used on the early 70's albums as shown behind Brian in this concert photo. Many have already seen this photo, but note the Moog set up on the right, behind Brian:


I'm assuming this because these earlier modular synths were very expensive and apparently hard to maintain, and it you couldn't afford one you'd rent one. The confusing thing can be identifying these because as modular synths, the combinations of components and optional attachments and features would vary wildly: I get the feeling it was like a buffet table, where if you had the money you could order these things al a carte.

It would be cool to see Stephen Desper weigh in on this, he knew that Beach Boys Moog better than anyone. Moog is a neat company in that they make their archives pretty open and available, so we can research and find sales info on the more famous Moog synths that went to Dolenz, Harrison, etc. If he or anyone has more specific info we could perhaps track down the date of delivery and serial number and all of that stuff.

Here is a cool video demo of a Moog Taurus I, from a site about vintage synths and keys. The guy demos through many of the sounds and adjustments you could make on the old Taurus, see if anything comes close to Brian's synth bass sounds from 76-77:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLBYKyXUzms&feature=relmfu

Other than a Taurus I'd say the closest thing to those BW sounds would be a MiniMoog or a reissue/copy of it.

[b00ts]

Agreed - "Sweet Mountain" blew my mind and made me wish that I had checked out the Spring project many years earlier. There are sources who ascribe varying levels of hands-on production to Brian, ranging from very little to quite a lot...

I'm only aware of two definitive statements, Steve Desper's 5% and Marilyn's 25%. Whichever way you slice it, that's pretty minimal BW contribution.

Thanks Andrew. Regardless, I absolutely adore the tune. All this leaves me wondering who did the synthesizer programming... And which synths they used. It almost sounds like a modular to me.

Steve Desper programmed the synths. I remember seeing a pic of Brian playing an ARP Odessey 2600 from this period. That and a standard moog, as per Surf's Up.

Ah, it looks like it was the Odyssey. Great synth (I've never played one but I love the sound).

Guitarfool, it indeed does sound like Brian used Taurus bass pedals on "Love You." I'm sure he also used a Minimoog - it is a great workhorse synth - but the Taurus filter has a specific character distinct from the standard Moog Ladder filter. It gives that earth-shaking bass sound. On a related note, Moog Music now sells the Minitaur - a portable tabletop version of the Taurus pedals, without the pedals - for $600. Sorely tempting...

Of course, Minimoog is nasty for bass as well, always has been.

[c-man]

The Korg Triton was used by the touring band during this period. Could it have been this?

That's what I'm thinkin'.

[c-man]

On another note, did they use any synth whatsoever on Carl and the Passions?

That's an interesting point...y'know, I don't think they did!  There's a ring modulator on "Mess Of Help", that's probably the closest thing technology-wise on that album.  Strange that all their '70s albums used some kind of synth, except for that one!

[c-man]

That Taurus demo video is bitchin'...it gives me a smile to think of fat, greasy Brian in '76/'77, goin' apeshit pounding his fists on them big ol' pedals to the tune of "Mona"!

[Ron]

Have any Love You sessions or backing tracks ever surfaced?

Since a LOT of the band's fans have an appreciation for that album (me included), I'm surprised they haven't done anything special with it yet.  You'd think they'd release some sort of 2 cd set or something focusing with that album and some of the tracks, surely there's stuff out there somewhere from it.  Maybe it was kind of thrown together without many takes or alternates, I don't know. 

I know it wouldn't sell well to the masses, but I'd be surprised if a large percentage of the fans who bought the Smile Sessions boxset wouldn't buy it. 

[cube_monkey]

I really loved how Brian started using the synth for bass.   I use it for bass now because of that.   so much more interesting than a fender  precision with flatwound strings.  Although...just to really be obsessive,
if you listen to outtakes from Vegatables.  There are nylon tapewound strings on the bass. I know what sound anywhere.  Much more comfortable to play.  Intonation nightmare.  Course its the opposite of the
John Entwhistle, Chris Squire rotosound  deal. but hey.  To me, in that era,  doesn't matter what equipment they used. 

[Wirestone]

Actually, Brian did a reasonable amount with synths on Imagination -- not Moogs, but still. Listen to Happy Days. He seems to be playing a few parts.

[guitarfool2002]

That Taurus demo video is bitchin'...it gives me a smile to think of fat, greasy Brian in '76/'77, goin' apesh*t pounding his fists on them big ol' pedals to the tune of "Mona"!

That guy does some neat demos - it's always cool to hear a certain vintage synth giving "that sound" which you've heard on certain records for years. Then you have the knowledge of what made that sound, and it's off to the pawn shops and flea markets to find one on the cheap. Although unfortunately it's not easy or cheap to do that in 2012.

I thought about that Taurus and how it's played, apart from using the feet as it was designed like an organ with pedals: Brian played the bass pedals on Fall Breaks that way, and didn't he also have someone play the organ pedals on a GV session on the floor with their hands? The Taurus would maybe be the perfect setup for Brian to do this style! And also I'm sure the way it was played would affect his note choices and phrasing, too, which gave some of those lines a bit of quirkiness.