10 synths that defined the '80s

The machines that gave the stars their sounds

Scot Solida, Fri 17 Jul 2009, 3:44 pm BST

8. PPG Wave 2.2/2.3 Synthesizers

A small German company, PPG was founded by Wolfgang Palm and given a helping hand (at least financially) by synth music pioneers Tangerine Dream.

Palm's Wave 2, 2.2 and 2.3 instruments dispensed with analogue oscillators, replacing them with sampled 'wavetables', followed by traditional analogue filters and VCAs. Palm's digital oscillators were low-res, gritty and full of artifacts, all of which contributed to the Wave's distinctive palette. Nothing else sounded remotely like it.

It was at turns harsh and industrial, metallic and moving. And that bass! It could peel the enamel off of your teeth. It was a quintessentially '80s machine, though its legacy has since been revived by Waldorf in a series of hard and soft synths that draw upon Palm's technology.

Hear it on

Rush: Grace Under Pressure
Propaganda: A Secret Wish
Gary Numan: Berserker

7. New England Digital Synclavier

Everything about the Synclavier reeks of exclusivity. The price tag was beyond lofty and the company that made it was downright standoffish. Coming out at the tail-end of the '70s, the Synclavier became something of a studio staple in the early '80s. Affordable only to the rich and famous, this integrated system featured 16-bit sampling, FM and additive synthesis, and built-in digital recording. You could even print out notation with the thing.

Such specifications might seem commonplace today, but in the early '80s, this kind of power could set you back a hundred grand. Or two.

Hear it on

Hall & Oates: Big Bam Boom
Laurie Anderson: Mister Heartbreak
Scritti Politti: Provision

MusicRadar