I was using the first Yamaha CX5 computer with MIDI ports when it came out. I was very into the old Atari computers running Cubase and samplers like the Synclavier and the Fairlight, and then the AMS and the Publison, and all those other subsequent digital recorders.

BADAROU'S COMPASS POINT studio has a full Synclavier system as its centerpiece. Apart from that, there's a Macintosh computer, a DX7, a couple of TX816 modules, a Roland digital piano and two analogue synths: an Oberheim OB8 and a Prophet 600.

In this YouTube video Christopher Currell is interviewed about the Synclavier and how he used it with Michael Jackson. Interview starts at 20:45.

In an article on Howard Shore's official website titled "BFI: Sounds of the Future: Howard Shore’s Scores for the Films of David Cronenberg," it is confirmed that Howard Shore used the NED Synclavier II for the soundtrack of "Videodrome."

“Reflecting the film’s interrogation of reality and fantasy in resourceful sound design, Shore fed a score for strings into a Synclavier II digital synthesiser and mixed in samples to muddy the identity of instrumental elements.”

Featured in this excerpt from the September 1989 issue of Sound on Sound. It also features in this January 15, 2020 Twitter post.

Sound on Sound, September 1989

Simon Franglen is a composer of music for TV, films, stage plays and commercials, and also a record producer and keyboard player/programmer. He works mainly at home - in his Padded Cell studio - with his own Synclavier. Before there are any shouts of 'lucky devil', remember that you don't get to be a Synclavier owner unless you are pretty good at what you do. Obviously, megastars like Stevie Wonder and Sting can buy Synclaviers out of their small change, but for a jobbing composer a Synclavier is a major purchase. So why spend all that money?

"I was a programmer for a couple of years before being able to buy one myself, and I suppose you could say, if certain people were built to play certain instruments, then I was built to play the Synclavier. If people ask me what I play, I say I play Synclavier; I don't play keyboards, although I do happen to have other keyboards in my system."

To Simon Franglen, the Synclavier is a very natural instrument to play.

"I don't think when I use it. With any instrument - violin, guitar, piano etc - if you have to think how to use it, it loses its point, because you are not thinking about the music. It becomes a machine rather than a musical instrument."

Since the Synclavier represents a major investment, there has to be a justification for that investment. You do not just have one because you fancy the idea of being in the Synclavier club. There has to be a financial motive. For Simon, it made financial sense to buy his own system rather than continually renting other people's, and the benefits of having its facilities available 24 hours a day are obvious, of course. There are other attractions: "The variety of work you get by using the Synclavier is quite stunning. The wide range of facilities that you can offer an artist, producer or director means that no two jobs are the same. I'm in the fortunate position of tending to work with more established artists, to whom quality is more important than cost."

The Padded Cell studio is, in a word, compact. The studio is just wide enough to fit in the REIMS mixing console. Simon's keyboard arrangement is designed for maximum ease of use, with the Synclavier keyboard protruding from under the mixer - which is raised by eight inches to make this possible. In front of the Synclavier keyboard is the Macintosh II keyboard. In action, Simon continually swaps back and forth between faders, keyboard and computer keys, so the arrangement makes a lot of sense.

Simon's Synclavier system is not the world's largest, but certainly of adequate capability: 64 voices, 24 megabytes of RAM, plus a 180 megabyte hard disk. At the top of his shopping list at the moment is an optical disk unit (costing over £20,000). Simon currently stores his sample library on three optical disks, each of which can hold up to 2000 megabytes of data, but he has to hire the actual unit when necessary. The Synclavier's internal hard disk holds a library of 'greatest hits' samples for day to day use.

So how does a Synclavier owner rate his machine against other musical technology?

"What makes it the best machine in the world is the hundred and something little red buttons on the keyboard. Where on other 'workstations' you go: Control A - Option B - Command C - drop this in - set this up... all you do on the Synclavier is hit a button. It is as simple as that. You just hit a button and work.

"It is the most ergonomic package currently available, and even if you ignore the sheer size and quality, you are still left with the most versatile system I've ever seen. I know other manufacturers are addressing a mass market, but sleeker packaging doesn't necessarily make equipment any easier to use."

As you can tell, here speaks a dedicated Synclavier man. And for a final comment...

"The whole thing about working with the Synclavier is control. Getting the best out of the music. And this is the best way I know of doing that."

January 15, 2020

Hello old friend.

This article from International Musician & Recording World July 1985 issue (reproduced on Sting's website) mentions Kenny Kirkland using a Synclavier on the Dream Of The Blue Turtles album.

Oscar Peterson can be seen playing NED Synclavier II in this video.

From Midnight's Facebook page on November 11 2021:

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10160378753262908&id=99197487907

Statement from John Zahner———Transcendence was an amazing album to be a part of. Even though I was never an official member of Crimson Glory I was there for the rehearsals and construction of this epic proto Prog Metal album. Midnight, Jon, and Jeff, did the lion share of writing with Dana, and Ben, and even myself all adding to the stew. Recording this album was unique as it was decided from the get go to be one of the first to be realized on a Synclavier II. This meant all events were recorded not just to tape but also digital world. Les Macar whose instrument it was had recently upgraded his system to include Winchester Drives where everything was stored. This set of drives also had a wide range of sampled sounds we could use as our orchestra. Rudimentary Drums were recorded and saved Next Dana played over the tracks adding cymbals and extra events, then Jeff added the bass which pulled all the rhythm tracks together and gave them that human element. Guitars went on next, layers of Brilliantly conceived Metal madness, but with deep foundations all supporting this monolith. Midnight sang many in one take the complex vocal arrangements augmented by Janelle Sadler and some of Tampa Bays best on backups. I along with Les, Jim, and usually Jeff helped flesh out the rest on the Synclav, EMU Emax, Yamaha DX7II, PPG Wave 2.3 and Roland D-50. After mixing and mastering we realized that bringing this album to our Crimson Glory fans would be an effort of love and require An extra vocalist, and a keyboardist, me. There is a full remaster of this CD planned, and maybe some more live DVDs of the 1989 tour. Happy Rock'n Anniversary Transcendence!

Don Dorsey used the NED Synclavier II on the albums "Bachbusters," and "The Disney Main Street Electrical Parade," as confirmed by the Discogs entry for "Bachbusters" (1986, CD) and Backstage Disney: The Main Street Electrical Parade (1986) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oasi6t6H-GU