The Tale of The Ondioline: Music's Oldest Synthesizer?
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- čas přidán 20. 07. 2024
- In this video I document the rich history of the Ondioline, a strange proto-synthesizer you may have heard before.
Consider subscribing, I want to have motivation to make more stuff like this
#music #videoessay #history #synthesizer #instruments #obscure
0:00 Intro
1:21 Design
5:50 History
7:46 Rise
10:39 Downfall
12:47 Revival?
14:24 Outro
Algorithm stuff
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Ondioline
Jean Jacques Perrey
Jean-Jacques Perrey
Synthesizers
Synths
Music history
Video essay
Weird Instruments
__ - Zábava
No, the Ondioline *is* a synthesizer. Just because its oscillators are in the form of tubes doesn't mean that it isn't a synthesizer. In fact, that makes it even more brilliant and fascinating and fat and analog.
Does the author understand that there are transistors in the op-amps used to make solid-state oscillators - and transistors are the modern (well, since the late 1950s) replacement for the vacuum tube? There were some other places where the author didn't really understand some of the words he was using. [For example, valves (British for vacuum tubes)...]
Well, he's a musician and not an engineer so it's understandable.
The video also considers a transistorised power amp 'digital', as opposed to a tube amp.
Again, musician, not an engineer! 🤷♂️
He does correctly list the DX-7 as a digital synth, with its DCOs.
Does one have to be an engineer to understand words like "vacuum tube" and "transistor"? [There was a lot of advertising when things like TVs and radios changed from having tubes to having transistors.] You don't have to know how they work to know that transistors replaced tubes in a lot of electronic gizmos. I hope he's not a lyricist...
@@larrycamilli9589
No, but it's understandable not to be.
Especially the subtleties of the difference between valves and transistors operating in either the analogue or digital realm.
Certainly to the young and uninitiated valve gets conflated with analogue/warm and microchips mean digital/cold.
Even though _technically_ when in an analogue space valve tends to mean distorted and solidstate means accurate! 😂🤷♂️
(Good design withstanding)
Stephen Masucci is an electronic genius and was responsible. for making this instrument sing again, but he didn't do the case refinishing. That was done by a guy in Connecticut, Peter Gedrys. I saw it on his website, check it out. He and Stephen make a hell of a team!
Saw one in the 60's when I was a kid. It was tied to a promo for the album - "The In Sound From Way Out" A lifetime of synthesizer fascination came from that moment. Perrey was playing it and Kingsley with another Keyboard..plus Reel to Reel tape decks. It was a kids TV show out of NYC called Wonderama and local kids were in the audience. I wish there was a clip of that moment in time. It may have been around the same time when Perrey appeared on To Tell the Truth. Thanks for posting this!
I was just about to mention Sonny Fox (Wonderama) introducing the Ondioline to us viewers. I've never forgotten that episode. I believe his show aired on WNEW, which was Channel 5 in the NYC area.
Great story!
Was first introduced to synth work by listening to Keith Emerson’s ELP albums.
While never playing, I’ve loved the sounds synthesizers can produce.
My favorite example is Keith’s keyboard work on the live version of AquaTarkus on the Welcome Back album.
Other works by Rick Wakeman, John Tout (Renaissance) and Larry Fast are also favorites.
Thank You for giving me an education on the Ondioline, I had never heard of it but found your CZcams post fascinating.
Interesting to learn the basis of all the synthesizer instruments that are commonly used today.
Of course Bob Moog’s work will always be special to me from Keith’s use.
Thanks Again! 👍🏻❤️😎
I wonder how Ondioline compares or relates to the Clavioline?
In 1970, I played with a great friend, Jean-Paul Matthijs, he had bought a Clavioline, I was with him the day he bought it.
The same instrument was used by The Spotnics on several of their recordings in the sixties.
A Clavioline is visible in Brussels Music museum, Belgium.
Best whishes for 2024 to you all,
Richard
Clavioline was an Ondioline manufactured by Selmer.
Possibly Jennings Univox too. My bf has one waiting for him to repair it one day.
I saw the Clavioline in that museum too. I’m mainly a thereminist and was surprised to see two models that I had never heard of but they didn’t even know which decade they were built in. And also a Big Briar 91 model which I hadn’t seen in real life. Would love to find a museum where you could play any of these instruments one day.
Giving the Seaboard Rise 2 keyboard controller as an example of an "overpriced monstrosity" is a poor one, for two reasons:
1) because $1,399 actually isn't a lot of money for a very expressive synthesizer with great sounds, but
2) the Seaboard is only a controller with no sounds, so it isn't even an appropriate apples to apples comparison. They're just not comparable instruments. In fact, the Seaboard is only part of an instrument, the controlling part.
Not to mention that, adjusted for price, an Ondioline would be about $10k today.
@@DJFonzi In fact, they're probably so rare that they're worth much more than that.
I meant its new retail price was the equivalent to $10k in today's dollars. That would put it out of reach out most folks, so likely not many sold, resulting in relative rarity today.
I thought some of the Seaboard modules were self contained synthesizers as well. ExpressiveE Osmosé is a similar one with an equal price tag and it has its own sound engine. I wouldn’t call it overpriced as there isn’t anything cheaper that would come even close. I liked its feel more than Rise. There’s also Fingerboard Continuum but it’s way more expensive. However you can do stuff with it that you can’t with the other two.
French Connection is similar as it’s an emulation of the feel of an Ondes Martenot. But it’s only a controller and costs about $4000.
@@makipri he's talking about the controller.
I originally came across the Ondioline on CZcams and starting looking into it (including downloading and studying the translated manual) as I found it fascinating how advanced it was for its time, plus I thought the sound it produced was really cool. You did a great job of going through its features, sound and history. I really enjoyed your video. Well done.
What about the Ondes Martenot from 1929? Has all the attributes of the Ondioline but at a much higher price point!
That is precisely why the Ondioline was made, to make a cheaper version of the Ondes-Martenot.
Although there are similarities, I'd say they are quite different: The Ondes is an instrument in its own right, but the Ondioline, like the Clavioline, is concepted as an addition to a keyboard instrument. The Ondes also has an alternative playing method, with constantly varying pitch, using a ring which is slipped over the player's finger, and there is also a drawer with left-hand controls for expression which the Ondioline lacks, instead having an, especially for its time, very expressive keyboard with side-to-side vibrato and if I understand the video correctly, touch sensitivity. (Somewhat surprisingly, the Ondes makes an unannounced cameo apperance in the video at 1:45).
Back again and I can't believe how few views this video got, given how good the writing and production is. The recommendation algorithm really messed this one up, I hope it hasn't discouraged you. You're very good at what you do.
Thanks man! I just make videos for fun and have been very busy lately, I am considering reuploading this one though because i did get massively impression throttled for some reason.
That poor lad did the worst mistake you can do, buy a vintage valve based instrument and connecting it to mains without cleaning it up inside and measuring everything is ok! The restorer of the Hammond Novachord said it’d caused a major fire had he done that without spending months of fixing it up.
Amazing! So glad this was recommended
A great video! More something like this!
Another great video 😁
Sweet love a surprise upload
Thanks very much for sharing!
The Hammond Novachord was invented in 1939 as well. It is considered the world's first commercial polyphonic synthesizer. It contained 163 vacuum tubes and 72 keys.
The Ondes Martenot predates this by decades.
I was just going to type the same thing.
Even Elisha Gray's musical telegraph was earlier 1874, and that used oscillators, Telharmonium 1896, Theramin 1919, Ondes Martenot 1928 .......
Transistors or vacuum tubes that doesn't change anything, it's a synthesizer like all the others.
It technically isn't because it doesn't synthesize modules the way synths do; It is an electronic instrument. But people will call it a synth colloquially, and that is fine.
@@inthefade a synthesizer doesn't need to be modular.
I love how when you talked about computers, a Behringer Deepmind 12 Desktop comes up, but when you mention synthesizer, we're shown a mixer panel. Ah yes, that *totally* makes sounds all by itself.
They appear in the order I say them but were offset a bit because I had to re-record audio. I actually have a deepmind myself and it is my favorite synth atm
Check out No Input Mixing lol.
Man, this track rocks! 💥
Thanks! Good basic into to something I knew mostly as a name only.
finally 🙏
Made famous (to me !) in 1968 / 1969...played by Al Kooper, on the Mike Bloomfield / Al Kooper 'Super Session' album (1968), and 'Live Adventures of' (1969). Those albums sold very well too!
I remember seeing someone play an ondioline on the Captain Kangaroo show in the late 50s - early 60s when I was a kid, Not sure who it was, he was on at least twice. I was totally fascinated and never forgot it, but it was only a few years ago when I saw it again on CZcams. Wondering if Sun Ra ever played one, saw him play a clavoline, I know it's different but don't know how. Seems like something he might have played, though. I think someone who built replicas of an ondioline today could make a lot of money.
The Ondioline was heard on the song 'Suspician ' ( 1964 ) sung by Terry Stafford , to great effect !
Try the Expressive E Osmose - all the keys are wigglers - run it through a chase bliss pedal and that's all you need. and considering what it does, it's cheap.
'Ondes' has one syllable.
What is the name of that tune playing right at the end? And who is performing it again? It's beautiful 🙂
👌👌👌
Been waiting for more peak to drop
thank you mr brandon
Not digital, solid state.
Or transistorised.
Moogs and transistor amplifiers are still analogue machines.
Hey I’m a big time music/equipment nerd so your wonderful documentary showed up in my cue/
Anyway, excellent work, very professional, nice sense of humor, you just an overall stellar job.
Looking forward to seeing more, I’ll check out other works.
4:23 Oh boy, this infinitely expressive keyboard sure is infinitely hard to justify buying.
4:29 FR. When I was a teen, I had a desk I kept banging my knees against as a particularly bad stim, simply cause it had drawers... don't worry, my knees are fine now! But god it was terrible being cramped like that back then.
6:53 HAh open hardware! I'd love to have that! Just like how that dude GNU provides, well, you know it and I know it, cause that image is a nod in that direction and the irony...
The original Hammond Organ was Designed and built by the ex-watchmaker Laurens Hammond and John M Hanert in April 1935.
Very nice. I subscribe to a lot of synth channels and I couldn't remember which one of those this was, but it wasn't.
I think it's really weird anyone would rebuild an Ondioline since they weren't built well to start off with, almost all of the components would have to be replaced and its patents have expired, so its design is public domain and it would just be easier to build from scratch.
I agree, it's like paying 20k for a shell, and a broken one at that. Before perhaps it made sense, but after forgotten futures made all the info on how to build one public I can see it being easier to start from scratch
It was used in the film score for Spartacus.
Finally
👍
Look into the variophone it’s 10 years older and was developed in the ussr
The first MPE keyboard.
Vangelis played and Ondioline for a number of years...late 1960s until 1974 or so. Here's a video of him playing a later model live in 1974 in support of his album 'Earth.' czcams.com/video/XGCRwTOo05s/video.html
Thank you for emphasizing that it isn't a synthesizer :)
We need more banjos with synthesizers
Surely somebody has made a modern version?
With CV in.
Behringer... Are you listening?
i can actually hear blockhead's the music scene on my head everytime you show the video clip.
I can't believe some random channel I found after I remembered mc story mode existed and looked up what happened to it has gone on to make videos about richard stallman and obscure music history.
Ayy! Glad i found a niche niche
Open hardware is a real thing btw
Why the knees? Because organs had knee controls for stuff like that. See any 70's Yamaha etc
Ah, thank you!
@@TheLemonMasterYT No problem. The old Yamahas I know use it for tremolo control :)
And it goes back to the harmoniums or pump organs of the 1800s. They used knee levers for expression because the player's feet were used for pumping.
It's not "less organized than a regular synth" - it's not a "regular synth". What is a "regular synth"? I'm assuming that you mean something like a contemporary synth that was designed and laid out with a contemporary understanding of music synthesis as a set of different approaches that different synthesizer manufacturers and designers took in the years since this instrument was made. The whole perspective is off. It was assembled with an earlier but very musical approach to working with timbre that was largely borrowed from the ideas behind organs.
I've heard of. You earned a block.
"Open hardware"
Unimaginably based
rms jumpscare
Sorry about the rude tech nerds in the comments, this video is great! Keep it up
Why is the Roli Seaboard an overpriced monstrosity?
PEAK MESSAGE PEAK CHANNEL PEAK LIFE PEAK JONAH PEAK LEMON PEAK MASTER PEAK ONDIOLINE PEAK INSTRUMENT PEAK EVERYTHING (im begging for a pin)
Ti me waste.
Man, so much misinformation in this video. Sorry, dude, I had to punch out after 5 minutes.