The Smiley Smile Message Board

... is there any database online which shows what instruments (brands, models, etc) the beach boys used in the late '60s/early '70s?  Onstage, it seems that they usually had a Wurlitzer 200 (or similar model).   any ideas as to what other keyboards they used often, in the studio or on stage?

Baldwin organ ... Hammond organ ... Mellotron...Fender Rhodes.. AH one of the first Synths..Dont know what brand..Moog.??...Not sure about Fafisa Or Vox organ...Maybe...Acoustic piano..??? Dont know..I play guitar...LOL..!!

Yep, it was a Moog...and later a Mini-Moog, as well as an ARP String Ensemble. 
And a Hohner Clavient-D.

what tracks was the Rhodes and Clavinet used on?  I can hear the rhodes on some LA (Light Album) tracks, but can't tell much else.  It usually sounds like Wurlitzer ("all this is that" for instance).  I was debating on whether or not to buy a Rhodes or a Wurlitzer and I decided on Wurlitzer based on the extensive BB usage.

Dennis used the Rhodes quite a bit ("You And I" for instance) and the Clavinet as well.

A friend of mine has "the first set of touring drums with the cases and the airline tags from the first BB tour still attached. They are Rogers, champagne in color, signed by the BBs, complete with the red stool that Manson sat on."  Her words, not mine.  A mighty cool thing to have, if you ask me.

I knew she had drums, but not which one...i asked her about it for another thread, which i've since lost track of.  But this seemed like a good place to plunk down the information.

AH.. Arp string synth..Sure had a nice sound in its day..didnt Floyd use that one alot..??.. I also heard Rhodes piano was more road worthy {abuse },,Than Wurlitzer....

I like the way McCartney (Wings) and the Stones (Billy Preston) used the ARP String Ensemble live as well.  Not to mention McCartney's excellent use of the Moog on "Band On The Run" and "Jet".

The Beach Boys used the Clavinet prominently in the intro to "Do It Again" starting around '75 or so.  Carli actually played it through a wah-wah pedal on that song. 

So when the Beach Boys first started touring Dennis played a champagne sparkle Rogers kit? What about the Camco kits he used as well, were they blue moire or white or did he have both? And what about later on in the 70s and early 80s before he died? I believe he played a clear acrylic Zickos kit and in his last years he played some sorta black set but I don't know what brand it was, can anyone elaborate on this further?

I know there's a mellotron site that claims the BB used one, but I've never had this confirmed by anyone concerned with the band (Bruce went so far as to deny it entirely) and I sure as hell can't hear one on any album from the pertinent period. Any further thoughts ?

When was the Moog ribbon controller retired from onstage use?  Where is it today?

I can definitely hear the mellotron on "All I Wanna Do" and "At My Window" (flute-ish intros) from SUNFLOWER.  Also, I suspect it was used on "Day In The Life Of A Tree".  Does "Wake The World" feature real strings?  Sounds like that one could be mellotron as well.

According to Steve Desper that's a highly limited and reverbed Fender Rhodes keyboard with a few Moog tweaks (I'm paraphrasing here)... and the flute-ish intro to "AMW" is - a flute !  "Tree" is a pump organ (Packard harmoniumm actually) initially, then a Schlicker portative pipe organ. I've spoken with Steve a few times over the years, face to face, on the phone and via email, and he's never once mentioned a mellotron. I seriously doubt the band ever used one.

The strings on "WTW" are real.

I think the closest they came to a Mellotron was a Chambelin...the string line on "Add Some Music To Your Day" and I think "Forever".  Also, "All I Wanna Do" includes an RMI Rocktron (per the tracksheet).

weird ... but awesome

As well as something called a "Z-tar"...even though it's scratched off the tracklist, you can hear what sounds like an electric sitar right after Mike sings his falsetto line on the bridge...

I think Country Air has a mellotron (or a chamberlain) on it? That strained sort of sound in the background sounds like one, it does brassy sounds as well as organ and string sounds. If they didn't use it, they should have - a great instrument!
The best use of mellotron to my ears is on a lot of the early Peter Gabriel-era Genesis stuff like 'Nursey Cryme','Foxtrot' and 'Selling England By the pound', curiously 'At my window' sounds very similar to the Genesis sound of this time though its a complete coincedence as though Genesis were Beach Boys fans, they had found their trademark sound before Sunflower came out.
ARP strings are prominent on 'Just once in my life' and 'You've lost that lovin' feeling', a great sound prominent on lots of late 70s songs.
Beside that I don't know the names of many vintage keyboards, but I do like the sounds.

Just thinking out loud, but why would the band go to the hassle of getting hold of a mellotron (manufactured in the UK and presumably a rarity in LA) when chamberlins had been made in California since 1948 ?

They were greedy? :-D

a couple of idle thoughts to sling into the pot:

RMI ROCKTRON - i *think* this refers to two separate units.  RMI are keyboard makers, but Rocktron manufacture pedals and amps and all that malarkey.

CHAMBERLIN - AGD wins a bun for his observation.

(and, in general, listening again to All I Wanna Do convinces me that it might be the worst sounding BB master commercially available.  it sounds like a sly and the family stone tape - worn out and nearly see-through in places.  more holes than an emmental.)

Sorry, I meant to say "Rocksichord" or "Rock-si-chord" (made by RMI).  The track sheet for "All I Wanna Do", according to Alan B., says "Roxi". 


From Wikipedia:

The Rocksichord (sometimes referred to as Roxichord) is an electronic keyboard invented in the 1960s to approximate the sound of the harpsichord. As its name suggests, it was primarily used in rock music (in the 1960s and 1970s), but it has also been used in jazz (by Call Cobbs, Jr. and Sun Ra) and contemporary classical music (in the work of Terry Riley).

The Rock-Si-Chord, as it was named by its manufacturer Rocky Mount Instruments (RMI), a division of Allen Organs Inc, was a solid-state instrument using one or two transistor oscillators per key, and was the first example of a type of instrument generally known as the electronic piano (contrast electric piano). Later RMI instruments also included piano sounds.

Composer George Crumb specifies the use of an electric harpsichord in his 1968 composition Songs, Drones, and Refrains of Death; however, he does not specifically call in the score for a Rocksichord, and thus it could also refer to a Baldwin Combo Harpsichord, an electromechanical instrument dating from the same era.

From synthmuseum.com:

The Rock-Si-Chord models were introduced in 1967. The two basic models were the model 100 and model 200. The main difference was that the model 100 had a single set of individual ton generators (one tone generator for each of its 49 notes) tuned at an eight foot pitch, while the model 200 had two sets of individual tone generators, one tuned at an 8-foot pitch and one tuned at a 4-foot pitch. All the models were designed as percussive instruments, which means that the tone will decay after the key is depressed. There is no organ stop on these instruments. All models were painted blue. All models were designed to be used with an external amplification system.

Model 200: The 200 series, as explained above, consisted of two individual oscillators per note. The original model was built into a case similar to the 100 model except that the height dimension was larger, to accommodate the second tone generator. In addition to the lute and string voices, the unit incorporated an accentor stop. This feature was not a voice by itself, but shortened the decay characteristics of the 4 foot voices. The instrument came equipped with a single expression show. The output balance between the two generators was accomplished by adjusting the two volume controls located on the voicing panel. The list price on the model 200 was $995.

Model 200A: The Model 200A was similar in its electronic design to be model 200, exceptions being that the case had the familiar RMI design, additional voices were added, and the unit had individual expression shoes. The voices available are listed below.

Lute 8 Lute 4
Elect. Guitar A 8 Elect. Guitar A 4
Elect. Guitar B 8 Elect. Guitar B 4
Cembalo 8 Cembalo 4
Harpsi 8 Harpsi 4
  Tamboura 4
  Accentor 4

The retail price of the 200A was $1195.

Model 200B: The model 200B was similar in design to the 200A. The unit came equipped with individual expression pedals for controlling the volume of the separate tone generators. The 4-foot voicing stops were green in color, instead of white. The 200B was a limited production model, as it was soon to be replaced by an entirely new model, called the Electra Piano. The list price of this model was $1245.