early moog synth

[Doc B.]

Some of you have heard me brag that I got to play with the Moog synthesizer setup that Herbie Hancock used to record Headhunters when I was a teenager. I found a pic of what I believe to be that rig! That is Different Fur Trading Company owner Patrick Gleeson with Herbie Hancock, and two stacked Modular Moogs (somehow I remember them being called MKIIIs, but I can't find any reference to that). I think one Moog belonged to Patrick and one was rented from a studio down south for the session. I recall it being called "the biggest Moog in the world". Has to be around 1971 as I think I see an ARP 2600P in the background. Never met Herbie, I just got to play with the rig one weekend. IIRC there was an Echoplex to the left of the stack that was used in a really crazy combo with the sequencer, the white noise source, a LP filter and a VCA to create a sort of "random trigger" sound that reproduced the quiver of a horn player's lips. A cat named David Litwin was my teacher. At the time he was working at Different Fur and making soundtracks for porno flicks.

Check out Herbie's AKG 240s...high impedance cans rule.

(https://forum.bottlehead.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fusuarios.multimania.es%2Faudionautas%2FParanoias%2Fgleesonhancockmid70s.jpg&hash=3dd9809d17bbed7735b8b0feeaa33911a5824d81)

[ironbut]

Great picture Doc!
I'm a big fan of Herbie.

I'm sure you know the story, but for folks who've never heard of Different Fur, Patrick Gleeson did some of the sound on "Apocalypse Now". It's been said that Frances Ford Coppola wasn't happy with the real sound of the helicopters so Gleeson dubbed in a synthesized version created on the E-mu synth he was using at the time (yup,.. that's the same E-mu that makes the little audio interfaces that are so popular).

[Doc B.]

Actually that was the Eu polyphonic synth. IIRC it was the first polyphonic one. You know the bar scene in the first Star Wars movie? I believe Gleeson may have done the playing on that. He also did a very interesting album called Beyond the Sun - An Electronic Portrait of Holst's "The Planets." I'll spin a copy if anyone wants to hear it next time they are at Bottleheadquarters.
Always wanted a synth myself. Finally got one in my 40's, a Roland Juno 6 (think Johnny Guitar Watson super phat synth bass sound). Gave it to Art Khu a few years ago. Hmm, I need to talk him into using it on the next album...