Pete Townshend Synth Room

[@lonophonic117]

JESUS CHRIST WHAT A COLLECTION!! The fact he has a GX1 in the room is just beyond incredible. As well as the dominating polysynths of the 80s!!

[@RegebroRepairs]

A GX1 and a DX1! The only other one I've heard of that has both is Benny Andersson, and he doesn't seem to still have the DX1. 😀

[@KekeElBecko]

Pete was a pioneer of using synths, but with all these incredible examples, I'm surprised he didn't use them more!

[@theedxqboi]

So basically Pete Townshend has every synth I ever drooled over, and all I have to settle for is a bunch of Behringer clones in my basement! I guess I had to be there back in the day.

[@PondoSinatra680]

Pretty bare bones, but it’s a good start.

[@reallyniceaudio]

lol

[@lumpytapioca5062]

So much more to this than "here's some synth porn". Even though it looks like a home organ that granny had in the parlor, that particular humble Lowrey Berkshire Deluxe TBO-1 is one of the most historically significant instrument in the world. It's been heard by millions upon millions over decades, opening Baba O'Reilly and Won't Get Fooled Again, it's all over Tommy and The Who Sell Out, as well as Pete's demos in the Scoop series. And that famous Arp 2500, with patching and tuning notoriously difficult for getting the same sounds twice, provided those string voices at the core of Quadrophenia. Patching to find those sounds, composing the parts, setting the sequencers, performing parts again and again for layers of polyphony? Pure mastery of the art. Unlike today, the 2500 had no presets. Changing any control in the patch path could alter and lose the voicing. Getting it in tune to other instruments, and itself, and keeping it there, with temperature drift and those fussy matrix switches must have tried Pete's patience to no end, all while going down paths no one had yet traveled, creating sounds no one had yet heard. It took extreme hand-built old-school synthesis and difficult hours of tedious work to build his masterpiece. Pretty good for a guy that "plays guitar".

[@reallyniceaudio]

Here is a fun fact, my friend learned how to play Baba O’Riley utilising the note repeat function on the Lowery but we couldn’t get the speed as quick as the record! The plot thickens!

[@digitalramyun]

@@reallyniceaudioISTR reading somewhere, Pete had to physically open up the Lowrey and fiddle with the insides, to change the “marimba repeat” tempo to what he needed for “Baba O’Reilly” - didn’t it only have three preset tempos otherwise?

[@tonetweakers]

Nice. Looks like our workshop right now.

[@evanglicanism]

You know, just the basics

[@bobule]

Yamaha GX-1!!!!! 😮

[@Rhythmicons]

Folks should watch out. This Pete Townsend might be going places.

[@jfn467]

I love how the guy filming this apparently have no clue about what's in front of him...

[@reallyniceaudio]

Let me know if there is anything particular you would like to be checked out!

[@jfn467]

@@reallyniceaudio I am sure the GX-1 would attract a lot of viewers, the other one that is "available", is the one in Benny Andersson's studio in Stockholm, you can find some nice vids on it here on the tube. Apparently it was totally renovated and is in a very good condition, which is crazy considering it has been on ABBA's world tours several times. Would be interesting to hear Townsend's too!

[@gmellett902]

I think everyone’s reacting to your rather ho-hum comment on the Yamaha GX-1.. I didn’t realize Pete had/has one. Stevie, Keith and JPJ were known to have had one previously..

[@jfn467]

@@gmellett902 And Benny Andersson...

[@lumpytapioca5062]

"A" Lowrey Organ? Or is that "the" Lowrey Organ. The Lowrey Berkshire that voiced the Baba O'Reilly sequence? And that Arp 2500? The most famous 2500 in the world, except for the Close Encounters 2500, which was scrapped after the film was made, because it was covered in smoke machine oil. I wonder what recordings the Synthi 100 was used on? The Colossus is relatively new I believe. The Arp Avatar guitar synth that was used on Goin' Mobile! Museum pieces all, but I'm glad that someone gets to play them and play with them.

[@reallyniceaudio]

Yes it's 'the' lowery organ! Although we have not turned it on yet as there is a towel in the Leslie speaker which needs to be investigated.

[@daveknight1775]

Wow.

[@mudsh4rk]

A local university bought an arp 2500 comparable to that one a few years ago... these days it's closer an Arp 250,000

[@bobule]

yes

[@frequencymanipulator]

I want to hear them roar.

[@stephenanthonythomas3533]

Wow. Just Wow.

[@minimoog4236]

Theres probably over $1/4 million worth of synths right there - with two of the rarest synths on the planet. Please Pete, find someone who knows what the hell they're looking at.

[@reallyniceaudio]

Haha to be fair it's a lot to take in all at once. I even missed 2 Moog modulars lol More to come

[@m0d01]

Waaaay more than 250k in here

[@meneerjansen00]

Wot? No VCS3?

[@fuccasound3897]

i thin the Synthi-100 kinda covers that territory?

[@earthamplify9893]

Are you Greg? Or Dan? Or you’re the contractor for UWL

[@reallyniceaudio]

Nope, nope and nope!

[@earthamplify9893]

@@reallyniceaudio​​⁠thanks, so you’re Steve Hills employed by Pete?

[@reallyniceaudio]

@@earthamplify9893 nope

[@reallyniceaudio]

I am an audio technician for UWL.

[@reallyniceaudio]

@@earthamplify9893 are you a friend of Pip?

[@hafstrat]

Kin ell !! 😂😂😂😆

[@KM_Mountain]

No Behringer kit? 🤣

[@reallyniceaudio]

Only the cable tester, and I feel dirty using that.

[@connor_flanigan]

looks like a bunch of prosumer rubbish really. when you get some real synths, let me know.

[@johnvcougar]

WTH: you can’t tell an ARP 2500 from an EMS? 😂

[@reallyniceaudio]

lol I won't be making that mistake again. Not after getting a hands on!