MY MUSIC CATALOGUE - INSTRUMENTS

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Here's a summary of the instruments I've used over the years.

Best | New | Easy | Hard | Short | Long | Symphonic | Weird | Guitar | MIDI | Full List | Artwork | Instruments

Picture Instrument link Year Sample pieces Description & comments

Hofner Acoustic/Electric guitar 1978 Llamedos I still have this, though unfortunately no longer in a playable condition. I used to lug it around the folk clubs in the late 70's, and torture the pub-goers with my awful renditions of 'American Pie' and 'The Boxer' along with my own songs such as 'Don't Drink the Water' and 'Angie's Song'. It's a wonder I wasn't lynched.

Korg Micro-Preset synthesiser 1979 Cheesecake

Herringbone Concerto My first synth, bought for the enormous sum of Ł300 (which was a couple of month's wages for me at the time.) All my early pieces from 1979 to 1982 were done exclusively with this and no other keyboards (I didn't have any others until I bought the Farfisa shown below.)

Cheap Woolworth's Organ 1979 Rhapsody v Deep Red I feel obliged to list all the instruments I've used (all the keyboards at least), so this has to get a mention. Cheap and nasty, it worked by means of a fan blowing air across metal reeds like a harmonica, and was basically a toy, but in the right circumstances it could sound positively sinister. Moral - don't dismiss something just because it's cheap!
UPDATE: I've finally found a picture of this awesome device - here it is being played by a real expert (my niece).

Farfisa Electronic Organ 1981 Aurorae There didn't seem to be any affordable polyphonic synthesisers on the market at the time, so I got this instead. It served its purpose for a while, and had its own rhythm section which proved useful occasionally. This was used quite a lot for the Red Herring band sessions in the early 80's.

Dr. Rhythm drum machine 1982 Concentric Circles This handy little device was used on some early pieces - totally naff by today's standards, but useful in its day when there wasn't a drummer to be found. Probably the origin of the old joke: What's the difference between a drum machine and a real drummer? Answer: you only have to punch the instructions once into a drum machine!

Crumar Stratus synthesiser 1983 Concentric Circles My first genuine polyphonic synthesiser - and it weighed a ton! It came with a carrying case the size of a big suitcase, but carrying it more than a few yards made my eyes water. It eventually fell off its stand, and since the end panels were made of chipboard of all things, it splintered. I was glad to get rid of it in the end.

Roland RS-09 1984 Charon's Lament

Impulses (Finale) I didn't actually own this one, but I had it on loan for a while from a friend, so I used it on these two pieces. It made some lovely string sounds, but I can't really remember much else about it, but I do wish I'd made more use of it while I had it.

Yamaha CX5M computer 1984 Hitch Hiker Suite Now this was more like it - a computer and a synthesiser in one instrument! I was really getting into computer programming at the same time as composing so this was a godsend. It was quite tricky to set up and manipulate, but the sounds it produced were superb. I still have it, and surprise surprise, it still works! It was also the first instrument I owned which had MIDI, but like the guy who invented the telephone said, it's not much use without a second one to connect it to...

Casio CT-470 1992 - This one was given to me by a friend some time in the early 90's. I never used it for any recordings, as it was a rather uninspiring keyboard - cheap and tacky, with preset sounds and built-in speakers. I gave it away eventually.

Waldorf Micro Q 2002 Intermezzo #3

Synth Concerto This is a new one, bought in 2002. An extremely sophisticated machine, I can do a lot with this, as these pieces (hopefully) demonstrate, especially when hooked up to the PC via MIDI.

Korg Digital Piano 2002    - After 23 years I've come back to Korg again. I bought this to to compliment the Waldorf, and to shame me into learning to play properly! I'm currently teaching myself to play Beethoven sonatas, something I've always wanted to do. Currently struggling through the Pathetique (no.8) - tough stuff!

Casio LK-73 2003    - I bought this one in November 2003 - I like the way the keys light up, especially when MIDI data is sent to it. It's a good way of learning pieces without having to struggle to read those nasty black blobs on telephone wires. (I have always had difficulty reading music, and this makes everything so much easier.)

Yamaha DJX 2006    - This is the synth I am currently using for the odd "live" performance since it has built-in speakers and allows me to connect an mp3 player to an input socket, which then plays through the speakers. The player has all my backing tracks pre-recorded onto it, so I can then play the solos live over the top. It's got a few good sound effects built into it (plus a neat sampler facility); quite a good synth, with the advantage of being lightweight so it's easy to carry around. One big disadvantage: the display is not backlit so I can't see what sounds I'm selecting!

Balaphon 2008 XY A genuine African balaphon which I used to create the piece XY (the whole piece, mind.) The one I used was smaller than the one pictured here; it had only 15 notes. I was intrigued by the unorthodox tuning of the instrument, and I intend to do more with it at some time in the future.

Best | New | Easy | Hard | Short | Long | Symphonic | Weird | Guitar | MIDI | Full List | Artwork | Instruments

*Picture*	*Instrument link*	*Year*	*Sample pieces*	*Description & comments*
	Hofner Acoustic/Electric guitar	1978	Llamedos	I still have this, though unfortunately no longer in a playable condition. I used to lug it around the folk clubs in the late 70's, and torture the pub-goers with my awful renditions of 'American Pie' and 'The Boxer' along with my own songs such as 'Don't Drink the Water' and 'Angie's Song'. It's a wonder I wasn't lynched.
	Korg Micro-Preset synthesiser	1979	Cheesecake Herringbone Concerto	My first synth, bought for the enormous sum of Ł300 (which was a couple of month's wages for me at the time.) All my early pieces from 1979 to 1982 were done exclusively with this and no other keyboards (I didn't have any others until I bought the Farfisa shown below.)
	Cheap Woolworth's Organ	1979	Rhapsody v Deep Red	I feel obliged to list all the instruments I've used (all the keyboards at least), so this has to get a mention. Cheap and nasty, it worked by means of a fan blowing air across metal reeds like a harmonica, and was basically a toy, but in the right circumstances it could sound positively sinister. Moral - don't dismiss something just because it's cheap! UPDATE: I've finally found a picture of this awesome device - here it is being played by a real expert (my niece).
	Farfisa Electronic Organ	1981	Aurorae	There didn't seem to be any affordable polyphonic synthesisers on the market at the time, so I got this instead. It served its purpose for a while, and had its own rhythm section which proved useful occasionally. This was used quite a lot for the Red Herring band sessions in the early 80's.
	Dr. Rhythm drum machine	1982	Concentric Circles	This handy little device was used on some early pieces - totally naff by today's standards, but useful in its day when there wasn't a drummer to be found. Probably the origin of the old joke: What's the difference between a drum machine and a real drummer? Answer: you only have to punch the instructions once into a drum machine!
	Crumar Stratus synthesiser	1983	Concentric Circles	My first genuine polyphonic synthesiser - and it weighed a ton! It came with a carrying case the size of a big suitcase, but carrying it more than a few yards made my eyes water. It eventually fell off its stand, and since the end panels were made of chipboard of all things, it splintered. I was glad to get rid of it in the end.
	Roland RS-09	1984	Charon's Lament Impulses (Finale)	I didn't actually own this one, but I had it on loan for a while from a friend, so I used it on these two pieces. It made some lovely string sounds, but I can't really remember much else about it, but I do wish I'd made more use of it while I had it.
	Yamaha CX5M computer	1984	Hitch Hiker Suite	Now this was more like it - a computer and a synthesiser in one instrument! I was really getting into computer programming at the same time as composing so this was a godsend. It was quite tricky to set up and manipulate, but the sounds it produced were superb. I still have it, and surprise surprise, it still works! It was also the first instrument I owned which had MIDI, but like the guy who invented the telephone said, it's not much use without a second one to connect it to...
	Casio CT-470	1992	-	This one was given to me by a friend some time in the early 90's. I never used it for any recordings, as it was a rather uninspiring keyboard - cheap and tacky, with preset sounds and built-in speakers. I gave it away eventually.
	Waldorf Micro Q	2002	Intermezzo #3 Synth Concerto	This is a new one, bought in 2002. An extremely sophisticated machine, I can do a lot with this, as these pieces (hopefully) demonstrate, especially when hooked up to the PC via MIDI.
	Korg Digital Piano	2002	-	After 23 years I've come back to Korg again. I bought this to to compliment the Waldorf, and to shame me into learning to play properly! I'm currently teaching myself to play Beethoven sonatas, something I've always wanted to do. Currently struggling through the Pathetique (no.8) - tough stuff!
	Casio LK-73	2003	-	I bought this one in November 2003 - I like the way the keys light up, especially when MIDI data is sent to it. It's a good way of learning pieces without having to struggle to read those nasty black blobs on telephone wires. (I have always had difficulty reading music, and this makes everything so much easier.)
	Yamaha DJX	2006	-	This is the synth I am currently using for the odd "live" performance since it has built-in speakers and allows me to connect an mp3 player to an input socket, which then plays through the speakers. The player has all my backing tracks pre-recorded onto it, so I can then play the solos live over the top. It's got a few good sound effects built into it (plus a neat sampler facility); quite a good synth, with the advantage of being lightweight so it's easy to carry around. One big disadvantage: the display is not backlit so I can't see what sounds I'm selecting!
	Balaphon	2008	XY	A genuine African balaphon which I used to create the piece XY (the whole piece, mind.) The one I used was smaller than the one pictured here; it had only 15 notes. I was intrigued by the unorthodox tuning of the instrument, and I intend to do more with it at some time in the future.