Here’s an in-depth look at the Casio MT-70, a ‘forgotten gem’ electronic keyboard/synthesizer from the early ’80s.…
The latest video from David Hilowitz takes an in-depth look at the Casio MT-70, a ‘forgotten gem’ electronic keyboard/synthesizer from 1982.
It’s not a classic, but it’s still an interesting keyboard and Hilowitz demonstrates how you can use it to create interesting soundscapes. If you like what you hear, though, Hilowitz has made a Casio MT-70 sound library available via Patreon.
Watch the video and share your thoughts in the comment
Back in 2023, Song Athletics teamed up with Grammy-nominated composer Max Richter for a software instrument that captured the sounds of Richter’s Steinway D SPIRIO | r grand piano, before releasing the free Dark Mode plugin late last year.
This week, the British company, headed up by former Spitfire Audio CEO Will Evans, has released another Kontakt instrument developed in collaboration with Richter under the SRM Sounds banner. Valley Forge is a sci-fi inspired virtual instrument and “celestial toolkit” based on the sounds of a 15-piece timpani ensemble, an original Minimoog and an array of analogue effects processors.
Recorded at Richter’s personal studio, Studio Richter Mahr, the timpani recordings were made using a number of different microphone types and placements that can be be blended together on Valley Forge’s interface. The timpani library features hits, rolls, and clusters performed with a variety of mallets and percussive objects.
Those recordings were run through a selection of Richter’s analogue effects to produce cinematic and textural drones, while his own Minimoog Model D has been sampled and included as a synth accompaniment. There are also a range of built-in effects onboard for further processing, including delay, chorus, phaser, saturation and tape emulation.
Here’s the video walkthrough:
Key Features
8 instruments total ~9.7GB
6 timpani instruments
Drone instrument
Analogue synthesizer instrument
Multi-effects (also linked to keyswitches)
Custom effects and controls per instrument
Kontakt Player library (Version 6.8.0 or higher required)
NKS compatible
“Valley Forge is a place of sonic exploration,” Richter says of the instrument. “Like all musical instruments, it’s an act of the imagination. And in this case, it’s a place where these strange sounds exist.
“Named after the spaceship in Douglas Trumbull’s prescient 1972 sci-fi eco-parable “Silent Running”, these sounds are evocative of a spaciousness, with a darkness about them. There’s resonance and memory, and a sort of alien warmth in this material. And that comes from the fact that it has mostly organic origins. In a way Valley Forge is a kind of ode to an imaginary spaceship. And this is what it would sound like.”
Valley Forge is available now with an intro price of £99 (normally £129).
Reader Visa-Pekka Oskari Mertanen let us know about their 2025 doctoral Thesis, defended on Jan 31st, Perspectives on Jazz Synthesizer Improvisation.
Mertanen analyzes jazz synthesizer improvisation through five recorded solos, by Jan Hammer, Joe Zawinul, George Duke, Chick Corea, and Michael Brecker:
Celestial Terrestrial Commuters, from the Mahvishnu Orchestra album Birds of Fire (1973);
Black Market, from the Weather Report album of the same name (1976);
Brazilian Sugar, from the George Duke album Brazilian Love Affair (1980);
Got A Match?, from the album Chick Corea Electric Band (1986); and
Gossip, from the album Michael Brecker Band Live (1993).
The analysis includes a look at the role of synthesizers in jazz fusion, from the 1960s to the 1980s; a discussion of some of the key synthesizers used on these recordings; and transcriptions and analysis of each of the five works.
The transcription analysis includes scale choices, note choices, patterns, nuancing, timbral qualities, form, and tension control:
Mertanen also provides a chart of each of the musician’s personal data, song information, improvisational concepts, synthesizer setups, solo sound characters and realtime controllers.
“The findings show that the critical elements in jazz synthesizer soloing are mastering the improvisatory languages of the jazz tradition and adjusting the playing style to each sound’s acoustic character,” notes Mertanen. “The studied solos demonstrate different ways of nuancing the notes with continuous controllers and manipulating the sound’s timbral qualities to keep the synthesizer sound expressive and exciting.”
Perspectives on Jazz Synthesizer Improvisation is available now as a free download.
