Pea Hicks Demonstrates the Optigan

[@Sparky5]

As a kid in the early 80's I found one of these organs sitting next to a trash bin in the alley behind our apartment complex. I brought it to my room and powered it up. I thought the audio sounded Muffled and low quality but watching this video I now know that that's just the way it sounded. I wasn't expecting much from something I found by the trash but it was something I've never seen before and was fun for an hour or so and then we took it back out to the bin.

[@SrTubular]

He is playing "Spanish Flea", Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass played that one.

[@galleryofrogues]

Yeah! Old game show sounding tune, I love it.

[@MartyM.]

You can hear an Optigan used in some intermission music in some of the drive-in intermission compilation videos here on KZbin. So nostalgic!

[@jumpstar9000]

oh cool, thanks for the heads up!

[@Monoaux]

Hey, this is the organ in Alex's flat from A Clock Work Orange!

[@greggjackson7211]

Yess!! Back in the day I woked for the estey organ company in western penna. where these were made. Even became friends with one of the engineers assigned to the optigan project. I remember being in the warehouse and looking up at shelves full of optigan organs in different states of disrepair.

[@greglees4011]

In this digital age of being able to create virtually any soundscape, there's a certain appeal to instruments that have limitations and quirkyness. I think that's why certain segments of the population tend to be attracted to older technology when enough time passes for it to be forgotten about. That's what causes the old to become new again.

[@ElisaT]

The track played at 8:15 from "Singing Rhythm" is the backbone of Crowded House's Chocolate Cake and can be heard clearly about a minute into the song.

[@jlnbroadcast]

When I worked for the late Dr. Ray Brubaker as a printer, Ray had purchased a large room full of these (Optigan sell-out?). They were in the same building in South Pasadena, Florida where his headquarters were. I think the late Dr. Dave VanKoevering must have gotten his idea for the Orchestron from it. He worked for Ray for awhile, and knew Bob Moog personally. I toured his warehouse where he built Orchestrons and a case company where he built road cases.

[@markpettigrew3482]

That tune that he played seemed to beg for a TV game show! Very popular back in the 60s and 70s, at least during the daytime when the kids were in school.

[@rexjolles]

Spanish flea. It's from the 30's

[@jordanhedlund]

It is Spanish flea, thanks - but Spanish flea is from the 60s

[@nikolajskjold]

It's a Wonderful Life by Sparklehorse ! Listen to The slowed-down optigan used in there

[@trekamp99]

Everyone in here ought to check out the band “Optiganally Yours” NOW. Pea Hicks and Rob Crow, and it’s fucking wonderful.

[@mac8179]

It truly is.

[@lorencarlin2087]

I can imagine an updated Optigan. CD-ROM, gigabyte memory, high quality sampling, larger keyboard, etc.

[@2nMusic2n]

7:09 "did anybody ever use one of these in a hip, credible way? ...no" the game LittleBigPlanet sampled the optigan as well as C418 for the game minecraft. arguably hip and credible

[@ThomCherryhomes]

8:50, oh my god, it's the lost Beck album!

[@beloyaraistov8007]

Magiiiiic fantastical sounds!!!!!! Incredible. Omg

[@BenjaminV1954]

Of course N. Miller, it is cheezy. That is what makes it so cool.

[@glenesis]

Talking dolls in the 1970s had little record players inside them with a little hard plastic record.

[@MrJpbmusic2005]

An "Arranger" Way ahead of its time

[@TheDigitalVillain]

An over-head view of the instrument and disc up close would improve the watch-ability of this video. Also, would've enjoyed a more detailed explanation of the disc technology and mechanisms involved. Very cool indeed! Keep up the good work guys!

[@mikelearmouth8314]

I think The Clash used that one loop "Singing Rhythm" on Sandinista or was it Big Audio Dynamite? I recognized it immediately once he played that loop. Amazingly cool instrument.

[@garoldhaynes1690]

Sadanista

[@heybulldog98]

PEAHIX is awesome so is the optigan if I had to pick my fav optigan disc I would pick movin' or easy does it with vibes anyone else got a fav?

[@waterpig-p]

Me: Watches one video with the optigan playing chirp. KZbin: Lets recommend this

[@DeadKoby]

This is such a cool music maker... I don't even know if I could call it an instrument... but It's cool.

[@Jabbathefrukt]

+DeadKoby Of course you can call it an instrument. It's a synth.

[@jonnda]

I just found out about The Welte Light-Tone, which led me to discover this instrument. I wonder if Mattel was aware of this technology Welte had been developing when they came up with their version and made orgiton a reality.

[@RothHandle]

Love the noise when you turn it on.

[@MrJpbmusic2005]

Some Hip Hop Producer is probably saying to himself HHMMMM " Got to get me one of these"😂😂😂😂

[@annother3350]

How do they maintain the same tempo and loop when each concentric circle gets smaller towards the centre of the disk?!

[@annother3350]

The motor changes speed?

[@ViaggiatoreFantasma]

The track he plays at 8:10 was used in The Clash's Sandinista! album ("Version City" and "Silicone On Sapphire").

[@ChristopherHillman]

Aimee Mann used an Optigan (If you want to turn one of these into a more portable design the wood board that has the electronics underneath fits right into the disc-storage-spot under the keys..seems like they might've purposely designed it that way)

[@mpv2112]

Michael Penn used the singing loop at 8:10 on the intro to "Like Egypt Was" from his third album Resigned.

[@bobbyggare8364]

that first song is in the tchecko-slovakian show pat and mat!

[@rexjolles]

? It's Spanish flea lol its a song from the 1930's

[@rexjolles]

A lot of people used optigan and mellotron loops in songs

[@paulj0557tonehead]

Just passed on a full milk crate of Optigan discs, over 100 discs for $1 each. 2 complete demo disc sets and dozens of discs never used. I already had many great deals and just didn't have the cash. I knew I should have grabbed a few discs, but I have collection of 11 organs.. Let someone else have some fun. BTW I told the ladies to take them to an ebay store. So keep an eye out. I did guy an NOS Piano-mate though.

[@Meteotrance]

The only cool song made with a professional Optigan, call the VAKO ORCHESTRON was used by Kraftwerk for the album TRANS EUROPE EXPRESS, so there IS a real example of a cool pop song that used this kind of cheezy technologie.

[@nrdesign1991]

+Meteotrance They also used it a lot on Radio-Activity

[@stevethepocket]

Does anyone know what commercials he was referencing? Or better yet, are they on KZbin anywhere? I don't watch much TV anymore, so I'm probably not familiar with them, but I'd like to see them.

[@sheiladawg1664]

Anything he plays sounds like any cheesy television commercial from the 60's.

[@flicewatter]

Awesome

[@patsaxon5284]

In the late 1950s, Thomas developed a spinet organ that included a record player.

[@harmono8766]

Do you think this idea of optical sensors could be improved on using laser technology in both the disc, and the reader?

[@photomitch]

Was this used for some of the back ground score on "Law & Order:SVU"..???

[@DanSheffieldMusic]

I disagree that nothing "hip" was played on an optigan. I thought Steve Hackett's sentimental institution was a fine use of it.

[@JohnLRice]

Agreed! :-) kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIOpdHqsi5edrtE

[@briankeenan4901]

I heard people like todd rundgren and david bowie used some optigan tracks in some of their music.

[@kevinurso1944]

Jon Brion used an Optigan for the soundtrack to Eternal Sunshine

[@chitsb]

I wish there was a way of actually seeing the instrument. So it seems like this is a very early version of the keyboard? With ready sounds and all?

[@patsaxon5284]

The auto accompaniments sounds real compared to home organs back then that were so cheezy.

[@dadautube]

this was done in a "museum" and they didn't even have some poster of how this instrument's keyboard looks like to display it on the wall? or a little camera and a projector?

[@emmettmccleary4946]

crowded house/finn brothers/neil!

[@daleturner]

"They kind of died a slow death..." [vid immediately cuts off, lol]

[@jonnda]

I wonder if this was developed from The Welte Light-Tone.

[@jackscrewpdx]

They can't play out of sync with each other, they can't!

What is the name of the song played at 2:20?

[@arthurharrison1345]

"Spanish Flea"

[@Azwel]

crash test dummies oooh lala, uses the optigan in like every song. Its pretty cool actually

[@patsaxon5284]

In 1980, Lowrey organ company developed the world's famous MX-1 organ, which featured the famous Orchestration Plus, to sound like you are playing with a real band, did away with the Magic Jennie auto accompaniments which most auto accompaniments back then sounded cheezy. That MX-1 put many organ manufactures out of business. Some had to have other manufactures build their organs to have orchestrated background styles now known as Performer styles today. Now many arranger keyboards like Lowrey can make you sound like you are playing with a live band with professional intro's and endings.

[@hepphepps8356]

Of course the Lowrey, Technics etc. sounded 10 million times more cheesy than the optigan ever did.

[@verkehrsteilnehmer-berlin]

8:49 Dah do die dah

[@chitsb]

I’m pretty sure 10:37 was used in some horror movie…

[@NDLAP66]

Can anyone tell me what these are worth? I have a complete Optigan with stool in pristine condition. getting ready to sell it.

[@dadautube]

search online and see who's selling theirs, what condition theirs is in and pricing ...

[@MyNameFishy_Channel]

coolio

[@keithdunwoody1302]

Your parents' Band In A Box app.

[@robfriedrich2822]

Dah Do Die Dupp

[@robfriedrich2822]

Ending is in another key

[@hepphepps8356]

No. It’s just a modulation.

[@JeffCfreeradiorevolution]

This was the pinnacle of music tech.... everything went downhill thereafter...

[@n.miller907]

Not to insult anyone else's taste, but to me the Optigan has "cheezy" written all over it. Some creative people can turn second-rate instruments into something unique, but you can easily tell this instrument was not "ready for prime time", and could only be classified as a toy. Interesting lecture though.

[@Exotic_Tofu]

Yup. This is what stops me from even thinking about getting one. Optiganally Yours is amazing tho.

[@n.miller907]

Fraiture Well, I'm sure a musician could use a small snippet of this instrument in a song, and it might sound like a cool effect. Toy pianos and cheap push-button toy guitars have been used in records I've heard throughout the years. But an entire song? Eech... it would drive me nuts to hear that thing for more than 30 seconds.

[@dadautube]

the gentleman mentioned it in the demonstration too ... but some others have commented here that the very same 'toy' Optigan and apparently some professional version of it has been used by some pro performers, including the Kraftwerk ...

[@digitalramyun]

The Optigan (or samples of it) is quite popular with lo-fi musicians like Jon Brion, and Crash Test Dummies wrote much of their album "Ooh La La" with one. There was a "pro grade" Optigan, called the Vako Orchestron, which didn't make much of a splash, until Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk acquired one in 1975. The Orchestron is pretty much what gives "Radio-Activity" its distinctive sound (e.g. the "choir" on the title track and "Uranium" (sampled by New Order for "Blue Monday"), and the "strings" on "Radioland" and "Airwaves"). You can also hear the instrument on "Trans-Europe Express".

[@galleryofrogues]

@@digitalramyun yeah Job Brion has used it all over his stuff and he makes it work really well, but that is kinda his distinct style, like you said.

[@scottlucas9551]

Sounds like the inside of a crazy person's head.

[@jonnda]

I wonder if this was developed from The Welte Light-Tone.