Mellotron

Finding a high level of acceptance in the 1960s, Harry Chamberlin’s Mellotron was an electro-mechanical keyboard that generated sounds by playing back pre-recorded tape loops. Although tempermental and prone to pitch and mechanical issues, the Mellotron was used extensively by many U.K. artists. Classic tracks from the Moody Blues “Days of Future Passed”, the Beatles “Strawberry Fields Forever”, and the Rolling Stones “She’s a Rainbow” are prime examples. Attribute author: By Buzz Andersen from San Francisco, California, United States Mellotron | NAMM 2007

ARP 2600

Manufactured by ARP Instruments, Inc., the Arp 2600 was one of the most successful synthesizers to come out of the 1970s. They were ideal for players new to the synth world, and allowed patches to be changed via switches or 1/8" audio cables. The list of recordings and artists that used the venerable Arp 2600 reads like a veritable Who's Who of rock, pop and jazz, and includes The Who, David Bowie, John Lennon, Depeche Mode, Edgar Winter, Frank Zappa and Herbie Hancock – to name just a few. An Arp 2600 was even used to create the voice of the Star Wars character R2-D2. Attribute author: The original uploader was Kimi95 at Italian Wikipedia - https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7708499

Minimoog

Designed to replace the large, modular synths being used in pop music at the time, Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog developed the Minimoog in 1971. The monophonic instrument became the first truly all-in-one, portable analog synthesizer. Thanks to its 3 oscillators and 24 dB/octave filter, the Minimoog produces an extremely rich and powerful bass sound and is still in high demand today. Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman said the instrument “absolutely changed the face of music.” Attribute author: glacial23 - Early Minimoog Uploaded by clusternote, CC BY-SA 2.0

Yamaha CS-80

In 1976, Yamaha released their CS-80 8-voice polyphonic synthesizer, which provided velocity-sensitive keys and aftertouch that worked on individual voices. The analog instrument featured a ribbon controller, which allowed the user to perform polyphonic pitch bends and smooth glissandos. Composer Vangelis used the CS-80 extensively in the Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire soundtracks. The CS-80 also provided the bass line heard in the BBC 1980 series Doctor Who theme song. Image attribution: Pete Brown from Gambrills, MD, USA (DSC00539) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Sequential Circuits Prophet 5

Sequential Circuits introduced the Prophet 5, which was the first analog 5-voice polyphonic synthesizers to provide onboard memory storage of all patch settings for instant recall. The great-sounding Prophet 5 revolutionized the synthesizer world and, in spite of its rather expensive price tag, became one of the most successful synths of all time. Designed by Dave Smith and J owen, the Prophet 5 was the keyboard of choice by a very long list of performers that includes Peter Gabriel, Philip Glass, Journey, The Cars, Thomas Dolby, Duran Duran, Gary Numan, Pink Floyd, and countless others. Image attribution: original uploader was Felix2036 at Dutch Wikipedia derivative work: Clusternote (Sequential_Circuits_Prophet_5.jpg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Which brings us to 1977...

A Passion for Keyboards

Our founder, Uli Behringer has a deep passion for keyboards. Born in the small town of Baden, Switzerland in 1961, Uli grew up in a musical family where his mother taught him to play the piano at the tender age of four. His father was a scientist who built a massive organ in the family home and taught the young lad all about electronics. So at the age of 17, Behringer built his first synthesizer – the UB-1. Later, while attending college to seek a degree in audio engineering, Uli put his electronics knowledge to use, building his own equalizers and signal processors to fill the gap left by the university's inability to provide enough proper studio gear. Wor

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