Rick Wakeman

In this video Rick plays most of this song on his K2500x. It's the first keyboard he plays in this song.

In this photo, Wakeman can be seen with a Hohner Clavinet D6.

The Polymoog 203a can clearly be seen played by Wakeman at 6:52 during these sessions for the Tormato album by Yes. He also used the Polymoog on their previous album Going For The One (most notably for the solo in Wonderous Stories)

One from 1970 was used for The Six Wives of Henry VIII, as is visible in this diagram of Wakeman's setup and as specified in its June 2020 Reverb.com listing.

Featured on Rick Wakeman's The Six Wives of Henry VIII

At 1:03 of this video you can see Rick's D 50.

In this article, it is stated that Wakeman used a Birotron.

Although recognised as a early pioneer of synthesiser sound and performance, the classically trained Rick Wakeman continues to perform on Steinway grand pianos both in the studio and live.

The Ensoniq VFX SD can be seen 1:37 in this video. Its June 2020 Reverb.com listing dates it to 1990.

Used on Return To The Centre Of The Earth, as mentioned on Wakeman's website and as listed in this July 1999 Sound on Sound interview.

Rick used this on his album 'Return To The Centre Of The Earth'

A gift from a fan, as specified in its June 2020 Reverb.com listing.

Gifted to Rick by a Fan.

One from 1979 was listed on Reverb.com in June 2020, appearing as number three in Wakeman's top five synths in this July 14, 2020 Music Radar interview. It was purchased by Eric Hilton of Thievery Corporation.

“As well as becoming friends with Bob Moog, I developed a great relationship with Korg during the ‘70s. Back then, there was no such thing as sponsorship. If I wanted a synth, I had to buy it. But the Japanese companies were the first to realise the value of artist promotion. If people saw me playing a Korg synth and they liked the sound, they were going to buy one.

“I was flown out to Japan by the big boss of Korg, Kato San. What an amazing man! He said, ‘Rick, I want you to try all our keyboards. Take them on tour with you’. I was due to start a massive tour of South America and told him that spares might be a problem in the wilds of Argentina. ‘I’ll sort that,’ says Kato San. He flew three of every Korg machine out to South America for me. Ironically, none of them ever broke down.

“The Trident is another synth that’s been all over my music at one time or another, but I always layer it up with other sounds. I do that with all the synths. I don’t like the idea of someone listening to a track and thinking, ‘That’s preset C92’. I like to tweak and play around. The joystick was a useful function… pitch, vibrato and all that. Very plain sounds would suddenly take on a whole new character.”

Behind Rick in this image you can spot an Mellotron M400.

On Wakeman's official site, it is stated that he uses a Korg MS2000R.

Rick Wakeman's use of the Hammond C3 on the highly successful The Six Wives of Henry the VIII can be heard throughout the recording. One from 1960 was used on "Trilogy" and live in the United States, as specified in its June 2020 Reverb.com listing.

US TOUR HAMMOND C3

(...) Modified by Greg Hockman of Moog

Used for the US legs of the YES tours

Used on the YES Track Trilogy

In this article, Wakeman was asked 'of the synths you no longer own, which one do you miss the most?' and he responds with the following: "Of synths I no longer own, the answer would probably be the [Sequential Circuits] Prophet-10, with the double-manual keyboard. It was initially misconstrued as just a dual-manual Prophet-5, but this wasn’t the case. It was a different instrument in its own right. I wish I still had mine."

Rick Wakeman writes on his homepage about his equipment. In the category keyboards is the Roland XV-88 Synthesizer. It was listed on Reverb.com in June 2020, which dates it to 1990.

Used with YES

The Kronos can be seen 4:28 into the video.

The Oasys can be seen 16:58 into the video

Organ used in ARW rig

This is mentioned on rick's website. Two can also be seen in Rick's rig on the Yes DVD "Keys To Ascention".

Featured in this Future Style article.

More than a musician he is a living legend: Rick Wakeman, as the keyboardist with celebrated supergroup YES for many years, spearheaded a revolution in the world's music scene. Rick, (who has become a frequent visitor to Italy in recent years and now lives and works for a good part of the year), had been using the GEM Real Piano line for some time and, when he needed to equip his new studio in Milan, he immediately turned to Generalmusic. This initial contact sparked an enduring friendship and collaboration which now culminates in the announcement of Rick Wakeman as an exclusive endorser of the new PRO MEGA professional piano line.

Rick Wakeman discusses features and evolution of the PRO MEGA line at Generalmusic Headquarters Rick is still amazed by the sheer simplicity of operation coupled with the astounding sound quality of the PRO MEGA3. He maintains that this instrument is a true revolution and virtually essential for any live or studio pianist/keyboardist who really needs those "classic" sounds like acoustic piano, electric piano and orchestral sounds. Rick Wakeman will feature the PRO MEGA in the studio for his upcoming CD and also on next year's world tour.

One from 1970 was used on Tormato, Rick Wakeman's Criminal Record and White Rock, as specified in its June 2020 Reverb.com listing, its mirror listing on Vintage and Rare and the liner notes of Rick Wakeman's Criminal Record. Rick Wakeman used the RMI Keyboard Computer specifically to do realistic cathedral pipe organ sounds.

Used on YES 'Going for the One' and 'Tormato' as well as Rick Wakeman 'Criminal Record' and 'White Rock'

I found this image of Mr. Rick Wakeman playing the Kronos X 73. Under the Kronos you can see the Gem Promega 2+. I'm sorry for the resolution, but you can compare the logo seen on that grey stage piano to this: https://medias.audiofanzine.com/images/normal/gem-promega-2-1750150.jpg

One from 1950 was listed on Reverb.com in June 2020. A mirror listing on Vintage and Rare can be found here.

Listed among Wakeman's studio gear in this July 1999 Sound on Sound interview.

Mentioned in this July 1999 Sound on Sound interview, this November 1, 2013 interview with Astronauta Pinguim and this July 14, 2020 Music Radar interview. One from 1970 was listed on Reverb.com in June 2020.

Sound on Sound, July 1999,

"For touch‑sensitivity, I used the brand new Fatar keyboard. Close your eyes and it really is like playing a piano. All of the piano on the album is real piano [a Steinway 9‑foot]. For soloing, my favourite keyboard is the Minimoog. After the Minimoog, my second favourite is the Roland JD800, which I MIDI up with other instruments. It's interactive — I love being able to fiddle with the knobs as I play. (...)

I remarked that it was good to hear that Rick is still teamed up with his Minimoog, being that they go together like bangers and mash — but then their association goes back a long way. "I bought my first Minimoog from a guy who said it was broken", confides Rick. "He wanted 35 quid for it — and they were £1000 new. I got it back home, plugged it in and found it in perfect working order. I felt honour‑bound to call the guy and let him know I couldn't find anything wrong. He told me that it only played one note at a time! I explained that it was a monophonic synth and was only meant to play one note at a time. He said that that was no good to him, and told me to keep it! Even that amount of money was a lot to me at the time — I was on 20 quid a week with Yes".

Rick's trademark Minimoog sound obviously relies on some subtle use of effects — so what is the secret? "I have my own way of recording the Minimoog. It's all to do with delay. I'm not giving too much away here, but something I always encourage other people to do is to try bringing other effects in on delay repeats. I also use a lot of pre‑delay."

(...) And Rick's famous Minimoog has an amazing sound. It doesn't matter how much is going on in the mix, the Minimoog will cut through!

Astronauta Pinguim, November 1, 2013, "Seven questions to Rick Wakeman"

Rick got his first Minimoog in 1971 from actor Jack Wild (Oliver!), who, not knowing it was monophonic, though it was broken and sold it to Wakeman for half the price it originally costed. (...) I don't know the exact answer, but I think I have probably owned about 20 Minimoogs in my lifetime. I currently have 9. Finding good ones is extremely difficult. I have a very good man who repairs them for me and keeps them in good order. I cannot even imagine not having one."

Music Radar, July 14, 2020, "Rick Wakeman on his top 5 synths: 'I suddenly had an instrument that could give the guitar a run for its money'"

“When you’re making music, you are automatically limited by what you’re able to create. But also limited by what your imagination can conjure up. Does that make sense? It’s a bit like an artist saying, ‘I’m going to paint a picture with a colour blue that hasn’t been invented yet’. If you don’t know what that blue is and there’s no way of getting hold of it, you can’t really paint with it. Getting hold of the Minimoog in 1971 was like finding that colour blue. As well as reds, purples and millions of other colours you’d never thought possible. (...)

“It is and always will be number one for me. The first synth I owned and the one I’ve used most.

“They’re all over the Yes albums. The main theme on And You and I is a good example. Also, that shortish solo on the live version of Starship Trooper.

“The great thing about the Moog - this applied to a lot of those early synths - was that I suddenly had an instrument that could give the guitar a run for its money. I could do crazy solos and turn it up loud. VERY loud! Frequencies that you could never get from a guitar. There’s a specific setting I discovered that would literally rattle your teeth!

“I actually got my first Minimoog off Jack Wild - the former child star who played the Artful Dodger the 1968 film, Oliver! He bought it and thought something was wrong with it because it only played one note at a time. I explained that it was monophonic, but he said, ‘Ah, keep it’. I think I gave him 30 quid. Even if it hadn’t worked, I’d have bought it and had it on stage with me. Just because it looked so fantastic.

“I became good friends with Bob Moog and he invited me over to the offices in the early 70s. ‘There were huge No Smoking signs all over the place. Not very rock ‘n’ roll, I thought. I asked Bob about it and he explained that their place in Buffalo was an old munitions factory. He lit a match and threw it on the floor.

“Crackle-crackle-fizzle, all around our feet. All those lovely Moogs were surrounded by explosive dust!”

Reverb.com, June 2020, "Moog MiniMoog Model D owned & used by Rick Wakeman of YES 1970 Natural"

Used on Various Tours by Rick with Yes as well as on solo projects

Note - Rick is on of the worlds most prolific of all Mini Moog Users

Rick Wakeman offers a testimonial for minimonsta.

"There's simply nothing out there that comes close to this little beauty"

On Wakeman's official site, it is stated that he uses a Korg Trinity.

On Wakeman's official site, it is stated that he uses a Korg Prophecy. Its June 2020 Reverb.com listing dates it to 1990.