Page 4 of 4 FirstFirst 1234
Results 76 to 92 of 92

Thread: Yes - Circus of Heaven

  1. #76
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Philadelphia Area
    Posts
    1,805
    Quote Originally Posted by trurl View Post
    This is where I pop out of the woodwork to calmly explain that UFO is by far he coolest and most interesting song on Tormato and those who don't get that are just, well... wrong. I'll gladly join the hate for Circus though, and not because of Jon or Damien's vocals- it's just a dumb terrible twee twiddly piece of pointless annoying fluff. Apart from the baseline but that's only fun for 15 seconds.
    I instrumental part in the middle always reminded me of the instrumental part of gates.

  2. #77
    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    It’s on “Turn of the Century” as well and may also turn up on GFTO (the song) itself. It also helps that (except on WS, kind of) Wakey isn’t actually soloing on the Polymoog like he is on Tormato. It just doesn’t lend itself to soloing. I know a lot of keyboardists were very let down by the Polymoog, because it was a very “thin” sounding and un-Moog-like instrument.
    Did we ever figure out if Gary Numan actually used the Polymoog for the never ending synth break that comprises nearly half of Cars' running length? Because whatever he's playing there, sounds awesome.

  3. #78
    Yes, this is more certain than most things in vintage keyboard land.
    But it's apparently the preset-only 'Polymoog Keyboard' (model 280a, 1978-80) on the record, although the Polymoog Synthesizer(203a, 1975-80) seems to be featured in the official video.
    The preset patches of the Keyboard (e.g. the famous 'Vox humana' patch) couldn't simply be reproduced by the full version because (amongst other things) the filterbank was voiced differently.
    What makes things confusing is the fact that the early versions of the full version were branded Polymoog Keyboard and then after the introduction of the preset version (which was called Polymoog Keyboard) it became the Polymoog Synthesizer.
    Last edited by sphinx; 11-09-2014 at 06:54 AM. Reason: Clarification, Orthography

  4. #79
    Quote Originally Posted by sphinx View Post
    Yes, this is more certain than most things in vintage keyboard land.
    But it's apparently the preset-only 'Polymoog Keyboard' (model 280a, 1978-80) on the record, although the Polymoog Synthesizer(203a, 1975-80) seems to be featured in the official video.
    The preset patches of the Keyboard (e.g. the famous 'Vox humana' patch) couldn't simply be reproduced by the full version because (amongst other things) the filterbank was voiced differently.
    What makes things confusing is the fact that the early versions of the full version were branded Polymoog Keyboard and then after the introduction of the preset version (which was called Polymoog Keyboard) it became the Polymoog Synthesizer.
    Interesting, I never knew that it was the preset model (which had a couple extra presets that the full blown version didn't have, right?) on the record. I always thought it was hilarious that's he got four guys playing synths in that video, one of whom is just karate chopping the keyboard in time with the electronic handclap effect (do we know what he used for that on the record? It's not the Polymoog, I'm sure of that, but what was out at that time that could do that kind of percussion effect?).

    BTW, I love the drumming on that track. Simple but perfectly elegant. And I also love that nobody seems to notice there's a bass guitar in the instrumental bridge.

  5. #80
    The white noise clap could have been almost any mono synth of the day, but I imagine it was a Mini-Moog on the record.

  6. #81
    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    Did we ever figure out if Gary Numan actually used the Polymoog for the never ending synth break that comprises nearly half of Cars' running length? Because whatever he's playing there, sounds awesome.
    The Polymoog is definitely responsible for that swirling string sound (actually the “Vox Humana” patch) but the rest is almost certainly not. I know Numan owned an ARP Odyssey and a Roland Jupiter-4 Compuphonic, and I’m willing to bet those are responsible for most of the rest of what we’re hearing.
    Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...

  7. #82
    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    The Polymoog is definitely responsible for that swirling string sound (actually the “Vox Humana” patch) but the rest is almost certainly not. I know Numan owned an ARP Odyssey and a Roland Jupiter-4 Compuphonic, and I’m willing to bet those are responsible for most of the rest of what we’re hearing.
    Well, anyway, my point was that judging by Cars, it certainly seems the Polymoog was able to do "solos" rather well, though I suppose you could argue that Numan picked a patch that wasn't necessarily designed for "melodic" or "soloing" purposes.

  8. #83
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Frederick, MD
    Posts
    333
    Quote Originally Posted by trurl View Post
    This is where I pop out of the woodwork to calmly explain that UFO is by far he coolest and most interesting song on Tormato and those who don't get that are just, well... wrong. I'll gladly join the hate for Circus though, and not because of Jon or Damien's vocals- it's just a dumb terrible twee twiddly piece of pointless annoying fluff. Apart from the baseline but that's only fun for 15 seconds.
    UFO is awesome. I love the crazy, stumbling vibe from some of the keyboard parts on that tune. Also, Howe's tone is insane. There's nothing else like it.

    I like Circus as well, but only because my kids think it's cute. A harmless little 3 minute song.

  9. #84
    Progdog ThomasKDye's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Vallejo, CA
    Posts
    1,012
    Quote Originally Posted by julioscissors View Post
    Also, Howe's tone is insane.
    I remember when I first heard it, I thought "This may be the only time I've heard a guitar that sounded like a quacking duck."
    "Arf." -- Frank Zappa, "Beauty Knows No Pain" (live version)

  10. #85
    Quote Originally Posted by trurl View Post
    The white noise clap could have been almost any mono synth of the day, but I imagine it was a Mini-Moog on the record.
    There was a device around that time called a ClapTrap which was supposed to emulate the sound of a hanclap - Dave Stewart used it on his cover of "What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?" IIRC.

  11. #86
    Quote Originally Posted by trurl View Post
    The white noise clap could have been almost any mono synth of the day, but I imagine it was a Mini-Moog on the record.
    Then it must have been pretty heavily processed (lots of reverb and compression, maybe?), because it sounds like a lot more than merely "white noise". I always reckoned it had to be an early electronic percussion device, like the Syndrum or Synare.
    Last edited by GuitarGeek; 11-10-2014 at 01:00 PM.

  12. #87
    Member Man In The Mountain's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Chicago area
    Posts
    1,066
    Quote Originally Posted by trurl View Post
    This is where I pop out of the woodwork to calmly explain that UFO is by far he coolest and most interesting song on Tormato and those who don't get that are just, well... wrong.
    Yeah, I'll pop out with you. I can understand CoH, but UFO is one cool-ass track, IMO. It's like an updated version of Astral Traveler. It's probably far too Wakeman dominant for anyone to love it though. That said, if YES were to play UFO live today, and do it justice, the crowd would go ape shit.

  13. #88
    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    Then it must have been pretty heavily processed (lots of reverb and compression, maybe?), because it sounds like a lot more than merely "white noise". I always reckoned it had to be an early electronic percussion device, like the Syndrum or Synare.
    Definitely, and a very short volume envelope with a long filter envelope. I'll listen to it- I always say this stuff based on my memory of what it sounds like, not what it really sounds like *lol* I may be way off base.

  14. #89
    Quote Originally Posted by Halmyre View Post
    There was a device around that time called a ClapTrap which was supposed to emulate the sound of a hanclap - Dave Stewart used it on his cover of "What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?" IIRC.
    He did indeed. Incidentally, the guest vocals on that were by the wonderful Colin Blunstone:

    Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...

  15. #90
    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    He did indeed. Incidentally, the guest vocals on that were by the wonderful Colin Blunstone:

    Dave Stewart is a good trivia question - which prog-rock musician had a UK #1 single? (OK, apart from Phil Collins)

  16. #91
    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    Then it must have been pretty heavily processed (lots of reverb and compression, maybe?), because it sounds like a lot more than merely "white noise". I always reckoned it had to be an early electronic percussion device, like the Syndrum or Synare.
    Well, a few people around the webz seem to think he used a Claptrap on that song and it could be, with a ton of reverb. The Cars sound seems to have a lot more decay to me than the digital claps would have unless they could be tuned down really low. I'm not convinced the Claptrap was out by then though. It would have to have been one of Simmons flagship products (and it may have been). Info is sketchy, even Simmons website doesn't seem to sy. So I think I could for sure program that effect on a Minimoog but it may have been the Claptrap. It was definitely ClapTrap on Betty Davis Eyes!

  17. #92
    Quote Originally Posted by trurl View Post
    Well, a few people around the webz seem to think he used a Claptrap on that song and it could be, with a ton of reverb. The Cars sound seems to have a lot more decay to me than the digital claps would have unless they could be tuned down really low. I'm not convinced the Claptrap was out by then though. It would have to have been one of Simmons flagship products (and it may have been). Info is sketchy, even Simmons website doesn't seem to sy. So I think I could for sure program that effect on a Minimoog but it may have been the Claptrap. It was definitely ClapTrap on Betty Davis Eyes!
    Yeah, that's what I was gonna say, I thought the ClapTrap came out later, more like 81 or 82, but from what I can see on the Simmons website and a couple others, there were at least a couple different products with the ClapTrap name, and the one I'm thinking of is a later model.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •