The Cure – Seventeen Seconds
The music gear and equipment used by the artists, producers, engineers, and more involved in the making of the 1980 album Seventeen Seconds.
Music from Seventeen Seconds
Gear Used On Seventeen Seconds
Explore the instruments, equipment, software, and production tools used in the making of The Cure – Seventeen Seconds (1980). Click more on each item to see exactly how it was used.
Amplifiers used by Robert Smith on Seventeen Seconds
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Avg price: $1,120.28
In this article on the making of "A Forest" from the Cure's album Seventeen Seconds, producer Mike Hedges recalls the gear used by Robert Smith in the studio. "[His] guitar went through a Roland JC120, close-miked with a Shure SM57 while a Neumann U47 was positioned about three feet away."
Keyboards and Synthesizers used by Robert Smith on Seventeen Seconds
Avg price: $1,645.02
According to VSE, The Cure used a Minikorg 700 in the early days on records like '17 Seconds', and this 1981 clip of them performing 'A Forest' would seem to confirm this assertion. It's actually bass player Simon at the controls for the start, but I'll put it under Robert Smith as representative of 'The Cure'.
The clip is a bit blurry, but judging by the size of the instrument, the wooden end cheeks and the position of the control panel and big knob to the left, I think it's a Korg 700s.
Matthieu Hartley
Roles:
Keyboards and Synthesizers used by Matthieu Hartley on Seventeen Seconds
Avg price: $600.00
Matthieu Hartley is seen playing the Roland Organ/Strings RS-09 during a live performance with The Cure in 1979, as captured in a YouTube video by Millo Salgado. This synthesizer was notably used in the creation of their album "17 Seconds."
Avg price: $955.32
https://www.matrixsynth.com/2010/03/cure-on-echo-des-bananas-cold.html
""So here are the 3 main synths Matthieu Hartley used by 1980 :
- Korg Mini 700S.
- Roland SH-2.
- Roland RS-09 aka String Organ (late version with multicolored switches).
That's basically the sounds for "17 Seconds" : the Mini Korg was used to play the bass lines, the Roland SH-2 the higher register. Check out the video clip of "Play for Today". On stage, Hartley played the Mini 700S invariably, but switched between the 2 Rolands."
Simon Gallup
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Strings used by Simon Gallup on Seventeen Seconds
Rotosound RS77LD Monel Flatwound Bass Strings (45-105)
Avg price: $46.36
On Rotosound's website they claim that rotosound 77s were used on the bass tracks for the cure album "seventeen seconds". It is unclear if simon used these live or for other cure recordings
