Analogue Solutions Biography
By T. Carpenter 22/8/00

Been into keyboards since 1984. Howard Jones sparked my interest in keyboards. At that point I didn’t know too much about the differences in analogue and digital keyboards. My First keyboard was a Casio CZ5000. First drum machine was DR110. Of course I dreamed about owning a Jupiter 8 and other cool keyboards, but being a school kid I had no money! My first analogue synth was an SH101.

My musical tastes then went onto Depeche Mode, other Mute artists like Erasure, I Start Counting, Nitzer Ebb, and other forms of electronic and industrial music, like, Kraftwerk, Telex, Front 242, Front Line Assemble, Aphex Twin, Autechre, Komputer, to name a few. Listening to these styles of music influenced my tastes leaning towards analogue sounds hence analogue keyboards.

I did 2 years electronic engineering course, then a 2 year Music Technology course. This involved aspects such as studio techniques, digital and analogue electronics, software programming etc.

Due to the fact I was a poor student I had very little money to buy the gear I really needed. So I used my gear to the max programming the hell out of everything and doing everything possible to extend their usability. It was during this time I bought my first MIDI-CV converter to control my SH101. This is where I made my first modification, designing and installing my own filter cut-off and pulse width control voltage inputs. This give me the extra control I needed to imitate the sounds of the electronic bands I like so much. As I bought more analogue synths, I increased performed more and more modifications.

During my Music Technology course my course project was building a MIDI-CV converter. The spec’ for mine was higher than most, even by today’s standards. Even though I never got a chance to finish the project, I gained valuable information about digital and analogue circuits.

Through my Music Technology course I got a Saturday job at The Synthesizer Company, a pro-audio music outlet in NW London. There I learnt all about ADATs, Digital Desks, sampling, but more importantly started to make contacts and learn vital information about the music industry.

From there I went on to work for Din Communications, a company that specialized in Analogue Synthesizers and other musical equipment. I joined the company from the outset, and stayed with them for 6 months. At Din, I had a lot of contact with modular and rare analogue synth’s, as well as more modern studio equipment. I also had the opportunity to help out in the studio and at gigs with the boss’s electronic band ‘Shining’. At Din I continued to gain contacts and inside information that would later help me set up Analogue Solutions (as well as knowledge of how to approach record labels for music deals).

Whilst at Din, I designed a prototype analogue sequencer that even by toady’s standards would have been the most versatile, but I lacked enough knowledge to get it 100% working. This original prototype was what I have based our current new range of analogue sequencers on, but in cut down versions. The full initial vision of my first sequencer will become a reality soon when I release the SQ2000 pro-analogue solution later this year.

After Din I worked for Kenton Electronics for a year. They specialize in MIDI to CV converters. After about 6 months there I started formulating ideas about working for myself. I was selling a lot of analogue synth’s in my spare time through free ads in papers and magazines, and thought it may be possible to do this full time. I could supplement the business by performing simple modifications to synth’s. Working for myself would also give me more time to work on my own music.

So I stayed with Kenton for about a year, then one day decided to take the plunge and go self-employed. I didn’t have a business plan, take loan or anything. I had several big German music stores that specialized in analogue synth’s all lined up to purchase used analogue synths. With contacts I had gained through the past several years, I had a large list of analogue that I could purchase and ship abroad. One of my biggest contacts in the UK was Adam Dancey. Between us two alone, we must have shipped about 20,000 pound worth of analogue synth’s to Europe alone in one year. Ironically I also sold a lot of Roland analogue back to the Japanese! Selling synth’s abroad was my main source of business 2 years ago, during the height of the analogue revival. I also started to sell to several other European shops, as well as end users in Europe and across the globe.

A very small part of my business was to do simple modifications to synth’s. I started to develop them to give as much control possible to the synth. I then gradually developed new type of mod’s, like turning monosynths into modulars, adding extra controls to drum machines to change the sounds, and big mod’s like the Borg mod for the TB303. I basically can do any mod that people asked for, as long as the mod didn’t require too much extra circuitry, and that it is economically feasible.

The analogue boom did not last. Gone are the times when I got continual inquiries for TB303s (which pushed the price right up to 1000 pounds! Demand well-outstripped supply), TR808s and TR909. These days it is hard enough to sell a 303 for 500 pounds. The inquiries just aren’t there like they used to be.

There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, the strength of the pounds over the last year has made it too expensive for companies and individuals abroad to import synth’s from the UK. Secondly, the recent wave of digital modeling and software synth’s that emulate analogue, as well as the new analogue synth’s, has diverted sales for the originals. It has to be admitted that the modern digital equivalents are far better value for money and do a good job at emulating them. But there will always be those who prefer the originals. There is nothing like the nostalgia of owning an original analogue synth. Also, arguably the digital modeling synth’s still don’t sound as good as those they are trying to emulate and of course analogue synths will always be more hands-on. I personally use both modern and old equipment. Though I would love a set-up of mostly originally analogue equipment, space and money usually means a compromise with digital.

Luckily, I realized that the analogue boom would not last and have kept an open mind about new business directions. These included an analogue sample CD we have released (Sounds Of Old), T-Shirts, LED digital watches, increased the range of synthesizer mod’s, and increased range of new equipment.

Working for myself has all the pleasures of being under your own controlled, but always with that worry if you can afford to pay yourself. One great advantage is spending more time writing tunes!

Some well know artists I have dealt with over the last 5 years: Add N to X, Black Dog, Kenny Dope (Bucketheads), Candy Girls, Norman Cook, Gareth Jones (works with Depeche Mode), K-Klass, Liquid, Mood Swings, N-Trance, Pig, Richie Hawtin, Hans Zimmer, The Orb, Funki Porcini, Billy Nasty, Tim Simenon (Bomb the Bass/Depeche Mode Producer), Human League, Luke Slater, and a million and one small dance acts.

One major new investment I have made for the future is we are releasing an analogue electronics percussion modular system called CONCUSSOR. With all the new analogue modulars now available, the 2 main ones being Integrator and Doepfer. They are very similar to each other, not offering any major benefits to each other. I wanted to release a modular system, but there would have been little point in bringing out a third similar product. The aim with the CONCUSSOR was to release a system that was significantly different from the rest, that would offer a real alternative, or that could be included into an existing system (all CONCUSSOR modules will fit into A100/Integrator cases and our modules offer power sockets for both systems). We cannot re-invent the wheel, but what we can do is offer modules that come in a different format and offer different groups of features than the others. Our initial set of modules concentrate on analogue percussion. Although there have been drum voice modules available in the past (like Simmons SDSV for example), nothing gave the versatility that ours do. We have a whole range of sounds. Just about all TR808 voices are available, plus some CR78 and TR909 sounds. All modules have more controls than the original so a wider range of sounds can be made. There are plans to introduce more drum modules soon. Since then, the CONCUSSOR range has been expanded. A whole range of unique analogue sequencers and associated modules are available, a spring reverb, mixers and the like, and now an expanding range of synthsiser modules.

There are continuing planes to expand the CONCUSSOR range. There is a queue of modules waiting to be released, plus plenty on paper waiting to be tested. (We are open to suggestions of any dream-modules you are waiting for). Soon we will be releasing a range of non-modular stand-alone analogue products to cater for any studio, to be used by keyboard players, guitarists, DJs etc. More information will be available on the AS web site as information becomes available.