The Secret Weapon

polar sky · Post by **polar sky** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 7:45 pm

Okay, now someone on here asked what BoC's secret weapon was a bit ago. Now, forgive me if this is a repost! Really! I can't remember who posted this. I couldn't find it on here! If someone could? Awesome, but whatever. Here is what I found. Again if this is a repost, sorry.

YAMAHA CS-70M

Sound Sample:

http://www.vintagesynth.com/audio/cs70m_mix.mp3

I mean it sounds dead on.

The CS70M is a great big powerful polyphonic analog synthesizer which belongs to Yamaha's excellent line of CS series synthesizers. Fat sounds, cutting leads and bubbly basses, the CS70M has 6 voices of polyphony each supported by 2 oscillators for a total of 12 analog VCO's! It's got very flexible LFO, envelope and filter controls all of which sound really nice and smooth. The VCF filter has its own independent envelope control as well.

Truly a lush sounding instrument that would please anyone looking for that J.M Jarre or Tangerine Dream sound. Other features include a 4 track polyphonic sequencer, a 5 octave keyboard with aftertouch sensitivity and external magnetic data card memory storage. With only a slim 30 preset sounds that are mediocre, this is the kind of synthesizer that begs you to grab its knobs and start editing (that could possibly explain its big flashy knobs and buttons).

All in all an excellent and large synthesizer that will make any synthesist happy! It has been used by Kajagoogoo. The next step up from this synth is Yamaha's CS-80 which is an eight voice monstrous beast quite similar to the CS70M. The CS70M is likely to be too large for anything more than studio use but if you can find one it is definitely worth a listen!

*EDIT* As I look back on this post I made I now realize that their statement about their "Secret Weapon" would be a way of recording and not a specific synth.

wwbjd · Post by **wwbjd** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:09 pm

hehehehe

The Other · Post by **The Other** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:25 pm

that could be in their arsenal...i just think that is to obivious for this "secret weapon." however this the best guess i have seen anyone come up thus far...

novayshun · Post by **novayshun** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:30 pm

their "secret weapon" is fruityloops installed on an old amstrad 286

The Other · Post by **The Other** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:43 pm

i think it is the homemade ice cream machine they use to get their rotary sound...

polar sky · Post by **polar sky** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:02 pm

Yeah, I want it.

steve-o · Post by **steve-o** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 10:31 pm

here is the real secret weapon.........They are extremely talented musicians, with experimental leanings. I think folks forget that no matter what synths, ice cream machines, coffee makers, gongs, bongs, thongs, headphones, samplers, butter cherner, mousetrap, ninendo, chopstix, phonebooths they use, Boards of Canada first and formost are amazing musicians.

A-Ball · Post by **A-Ball** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:43 pm

Yeah, we know that.. now, what's their secret weapon?

boardsofdublin · Post by **boardsofdublin** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 12:00 am

hot coffee didn't they say?

and prob life outside of computers

red moon · Post by **red moon** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 12:21 am

I believe their secret weapon that they refer too, is the old 70s shitty tape recorder that they bounce samples through...

ExitEuXa · Post by **ExitEuXa** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 12:24 am

steve-o wrote:here is the real secret weapon.........They are extremely talented musicians, with experimental leanings. I think folks forget that no matter what synths, ice cream machines, coffee makers, gongs, bongs, thongs, headphones, samplers, butter cherner, mousetrap, ninendo, chopstix, phonebooths they use, Boards of Canada first and formost are amazing musicians.

This is the only good explanation.

polar sky · Post by **polar sky** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 3:28 am

steve-o wrote:here is the real secret weapon.........They are extremely talented musicians, with experimental leanings. I think folks forget that no matter what synths, ice cream machines, coffee makers, gongs, bongs, thongs, headphones, samplers, butter cherner, mousetrap, ninendo, chopstix, phonebooths they use, Boards of Canada first and formost are amazing musicians.

Oh shut the hell up

I just posted this because they said they had a secret weapon, I thought this sounded like something they would use. It's a really nice synth. Of course they were most likely kidding around. Of course they're good musicians. I love the music I listen to cause it is good, it has a lot to with me and I'll make up my own mind what it is about. You don't have to get all, "I am a real musician who doesn't dig too deep to find the truth about the music, cause I am that damn good". Pfffff. You don't need to tell me they are good musicians. I know.

wwbjd · Post by **wwbjd** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 3:44 am

They're also very good mathematicians.

I have the formulas for all their songs around here somewhere..

isawdrones · Post by **isawdrones** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 3:55 am

I think the secret weapon is some old fucked up piece of equipment thats personal to them.

isawdrones · Post by **isawdrones** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 4:03 am

red moon wrote:I believe their secret weapon that they refer too, is the old 70s shitty tape recorder that they bounce samples through...

Yeah, something like that.

A-Ball · Post by **A-Ball** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 4:22 am

or maybe they nuke music..stores..and.. steal the remains.. fuck..

Hexagon_Son · Post by **Hexagon_Son** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:23 am

Awhile back, in one of their interviews, they mentioned a Grundig tape machine that they use. They said it has a sort of "magic eye" on it, and when you hit that magic eye at just the right level, it's at that exact spot that it is saturating the tape, and once they accomplish that they believe it's like "adding a thousand years grain to the audio."

Two examples of an old Grundig - The Grundig Technicolor:

Front

Back or Side?

Another Front

Hexagon_Son · Post by **Hexagon_Son** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:37 am

Found the article.

From "Emotional Abuse" in December 2005 REMIX:

"Whether they're working separately or together, getting ideas down is generally a result of recording extended jams to tape on anything from a Tascam MSR-16 reel-to-reel to an old Revox recorder to a Grundig machine to an ordinary cassette.

“We love these low-quality tape machines,” Eoin says. “The great thing with machines such as the Grundig is that it's tragically bad. Whatever you record into it just doesn't come out unscathed. There's a ‘magic eye’ valve display on it, and when you hit the tape deck with the right volume, enough to fill out the magic eye, it's at that exact sweet spot that it is saturating the tape. So if you then sample back the playback, it's got a thousand years' grain on it.”

BunnyRabbit · Post by **BunnyRabbit** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:53 am

Hexagon_Son wrote:Awhile back, in one of their interviews, they mentioned a Grundig tape machine that they use. They said it has a sort of "magic eye" on it, and when you hit that magic eye at just the right level, it's at that exact spot that it is saturating the tape, and once they accomplish that they believe it's like "adding a thousand years grain to the audio."

Two examples of an old Grundig - The Grundig Technicolor:

Front

Back or Side?

Another Front

Oooh no, I don't think so. I think they're refering to a reel-to-reel from the TK series of machines.

Something like this TK5 http://www.rolaa.de/sehensw/radio/tonba ... /tk5_e.htm

I couldn't find one with a good picture or description of the magic eye just now but there's loads of bumf on the web.

polar sky · Post by **polar sky** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 1:30 pm

Yeah. This one is pretty cool too.

It's on ebay.