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G12 – Prophet 5 Brasscomp
The contoured-filter brass sound similar to the one used on
Nightranger's 80's hit "Don't Tell Me You Love Me". Also works well
for some Loverboy (another popular U.S. 80's band) songs.
G13 – PPG Wave 2.2
The PPG Wave 2.2 was way ahead of its time. So far ahead that most people
missed it the first time.
It was one of the very first "wavetable" synthesizers – drawing on "tables" of
waveforms that loaded into its two digital oscillators. It featured a step sequencer
and arpeggiator. And Thomas Dolby used one (quite extensively, in both the
studio and on tour). It foreshadowed both the Korg MI and Wavestation, and its
inventor, Wolfgang Palm, went on to design synthesizers for Waldorf. Today we
take the PPG's features for granted on sample playback workstations, such as
the Motif XS. But in 1984 – the PPG was groundbreaking and entirely unique
sounding, if not entirely user-friendly.
The PPG "sound" tended to be on the edgy-metallic side of things, similar to
the Roland D-50's overall timbre, albeit a bit thinner. It looked radical, with
metallic blue faceplate, LCD screen, and IBM-computer style pushbuttons. In the
pantheon of obscure but notable synths, the PPG certainly deserves its place at
the head of the table. Perhaps because it led to the development of so many
other electronic musical instruments.
PPG Wave 2.2
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