The United States Of America – The United States Of America
The music gear and equipment used by the artists, producers, engineers, and more involved in the making of the 1968 album The United States Of America.
Music from The United States Of America
Artists on The United States Of America
Gear Used On The United States Of America
Explore the instruments, equipment, software, and production tools used in the making of The United States Of America – The United States Of America (1968). Click more on each item to see exactly how it was used.
Joseph Byrd
Roles:
Keyboards and Synthesizers used by Joseph Byrd on The United States Of America
A Baldwin Electric Harpsichord can be seen in this December 1967 photo of The United States of America recording their eponymous album in the Columbia Records studios in New York. The harpsichord is to the right in the picture. Byrd also references the electric harpsichord in this interview.
We ended up with a bank of Acoustic amp/speakers. I had an electric harpsichord (great with fuzz and distortion) and a Farfisa organ (useless except as a pad). We had a synthesizer like the one I’d commissioned from Tom Oberheim (the beginning of his business career), made by Richard Durrette, and similarly pretty random in terms of controls. What made it work was an Echo-Plex, which gave tape delay. We also bought two eight-track decks, on which I recorded the electronics from the recording session. So we were able to replicate everything live. We played with other stuff, contact mics, etc., but the state of technology meant that the more stuff you had, the more opportunities for broken cables and performance disasters.
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Joseph Byrd can be seen playing a Vox Super Continental in this December 1967 photo of The United States of America recording their eponymous album in the Columbia Records studios in New York.