Great video, I discovered your channel recently and I wanted to ask you in the video where you test the Yamaha ps3 keyboard at 9:59 I feel like I know this melody but I can’t find the name back, what are you playing ?
What I love about these videos is that, even if I have no interest in the keyboard itself, the talent you have coming up with great music out of them is just magical. Most people would just say ''this is crap, can't play with it'', but you clearly prove them wrong. Love all your Final Performances!
That happens all the time, not just with keyboards, and not just with music. You can give these people a whole week for free in Abbey Road Studios, and wait for their masterpiece... or you can give a 'toy keyboard' and a normal cassette recorder (not even a 4-track) to people like Keen On Keys and many others, and REALLY get a masterpiece or close to it. Those are the kind of people who would have whined and waiter for the Concorde to fly to America vs. Columbus ;)
That's the best I have ever heard a Bontempi organ played! I remember as a young kid our local Carefour hypermarket in the UK had a Bontempi stand at Christmas. The sales person though couldn't play any of them so enlisted me to have a go whenever a customer showed interest. Saying that even for that period I could not get any interesting sounds from those organs, just muffled organ thin waves and puffy drum beats. I do though now feel a certain nostalgia and charm for these!
PROTIP: DO NOT use superglue (cyano acrylate) (especially the gel kind) near electromechanical parts like switches, potmeters and contacts! It gasses off acrylic plastic (can be seen as a slightly grey, matte haze on dark plastic nearby), and this is basically a layer of electrical insulation, making especially switches and potmeters unreliable! Even if fairly well enclosed! Try using epoxy instead. ❤❤
I have been following electronic musical instruments since 1977, but unfortunately I have rarely heard the name Bontempi in Japan. The first portable keyboard I saw was the CASIO CT-201 released in Jan. 1980 (YAMAHA PS-3 was also released in Dec. 1980). Thank you very much for your introduction about the history of Bontempi company.
I worked in a piano store in the later eighties, and we had an X-202 (sliver version) for sale the entire time I worked ther - Never sold the darn thing! But I got to know it pretty well. Thanks for the great video and a stroll down memory lane for me!
Had to pause the video at 5:44 as I thought I'd misread the title of one of the chord organ music books. No, I'd read it correctly - that smiling family are playing "Easy Funeral Hits"!
I had an HP-545. It really did look like a Delorean. And the sequencer and analogue drum machine were actually quite special. If it had had MIDI I would have kept it in my studio. It's also worth noting that the speakers were HUGE and very loud. Clearly it was designed to fill a church hall without additional PA equipment.
Hey my 545 pal i got one recently too, it does sound UGE, especially through some distortion and delay, the thing that's bugging me is the chord computer thing, it seems to have big potential as a sequencer but i dont fully understand
Welcome back, with a tour de force no less. Amazing. Imagine working / having worked at Bontempi and seeing this video. Now.. I will not start buying portable Bontempi keyboards.. I will not start buying portable Bontempi keyboards.. I will not start buying portable Bontempi keyboards....
I find so many things truly amazing about this channel. I mean, the appreciation for these basic musical instruments, it's truly humbling. And foremost, the keyboard playing is first rate, in terms of musical knowledge, keyboard playing technique, and everything.
Just yesterday i looked if i missed a video, but there was non ... so what a surprise the today anoucemaned of a new video .... i enjoyed every minute - thank you! I like your stile!
I smashed that like button... Bontempi truly discovered talent, i mean...if you still wanted to play after playing one of these then you really had it!
I had a Bontempi X-301, bought new in 1986. It was my first full-size keyboard instrument. I kept it for 5 years, finally giving it to my Dad in exchange for $$ I owed him. We’re so spoiled today. Considering what I paid at the time for the Bontempi, you can buy some really nice sounding instruments nowadays.
As always, amazing playing and demonstrating! I loved all the side stories along the way. Great film making! Thank you for making such fantastic videos, they keep getting better.
This one definitely has it's charm, though as usual your talent helps with making it clear. What makes this keyboard rather limited is that it only produce variations on a 25%/75% Duty Cycle Square Wave. I guess there are probably better terms for the waveform but all I have as reference is modest knowledge about chiptune. To give an idea, I refer to 30:23 as white noise and 30:28 as periodic noise. Meh. Also about that one waveform, retrospectively, I wonder what is used on Hame, hame, hame by Silly Wizard, it uses the same waveform for a piano. I can't help but doubt it's a Bontempi though. Anyway, thanks for the historical content on top of the review and, as usual, I'm definitely looking after what's coming next.
Impressed by your incredibly comprehensive review! Brings back a lot of memories of the little Casio Casiotone MT-35 I was lucky enough to receive as a birthday (or Christmas?) present as a kid.
Bontempis and Farfisas were always underrated, considered cheap plastic boxes producing crappy sounds. But they were not bad at all, and they could compete with the Yamahas and Casios. Great video content, as always. 👍
Dang. I wish I could get more information on those sound generators, that’s really cool. Keep the videos going, your channel is pretty bare. Thank you and God bless.
In each example you play the catchiest little tunes to demonstrate it and I greatly appreciate that! I loved the video so much it made me subscribe for more! You have amazing style!
Wow, I heard these sounds sooo much when I was a kid to the point of getting sick of them. Boy was I glad to replace my Farf FK58 with a brand new, shiny PCM-based arranger, at the time. In retrospect, though, those sounds do have some charm. Pretty sure those strings would shine with a big chorus or phaser behind. Anyway, I never knew my very first keyboard had such a lineage, thanks for sharing !😁
I kinda feel like that unusual launch on keypress accompaniment synchro function would open up a lot of possibilities for modern grooveboxes. It certainly sounded nifty as demoed here
I can't believe how fascinating you made this video. The tear down was really great and the music was also very trippy and nostalgic. Please do a review like this on the Critter & Guitari Organelle M. One of my favourite instruments.
Yes I have to agree with previous comments, superb playing at the end of the video. Just found your channel so I have subscribed, I love your content from what I have seen so far. I have probably had some of these keyboards in my time, I am 75, I definitely remember owning a Farfisa and that was terrible for the polyphony, it had a dual manual with pedals and half the time notes did not play I ended up with a Yamaha after that. I will be looking through your video list now to see if I can find something I once owned.....lol. Chris .
My first instrument was a bontempi chord organ, the noise of the fan drove me mental as a child , but music has been in my life ever since ,just released my 4th album so it did spark me to be a musician
I own a Musicpartner MS40, a very basic model with only three sounds (named 1, 2, and 3) and no sustain. I have extended the range of the pitch control to be able to tune it down a few octaves, it does a pretty good bass. Thank you for the video, great as usual! It was interesting to learn more about Bontempi.
I just stumbled across your channel and am really digging it. You take these cheap and relatively unimpressive instruments and show what they can do when the player leans into their limitations instead of trying to bend them to his will. I'm kind of a midi music enthusiast, let's say (old games etc.), and one thing that has bugged me is when composers try to get even the nicest midi and FM home computer modules to 1 to 1 sub in for real instruments. Where these compositions really shine is when they're written to take advantage of the synthy nature of the hardware. The height of MIDI and FM music in games was squandered by people who really wanted to have recorded music and were just trying to get to approximate that. Not everyone, of course, there are some great soundtracks from the era or I wouldn't have so much hardware just for the fun of it. I just kind of wonder what some current synthwave composers would write for an MT-32. Oh well. TL:DR, it's amazing hearing you make these Casios and Bontempis sing.
Thank you very much for the video and especially the history. The Bontempi Minstrel Alfa was my first musical instrument back in the day. Sadly this particular keyboard didn't survive but I was very happy when I found a NOS Beta a while ago and it fits my adult fingers much better anyway. It is still a fun little gadget and it has a lot of family memory attached because the Christmas I got it was very special. The device itself is a bit dated but I sampled the sounds and the piano is actually very nice when used with a proper envelope and a few effects.
Ah the Bontempi, contrary to popular belief I have always loved them, a very nostalgic sound that moves something inside me. Excellent work, thank you. 👍♥
Great review of Bontempi. I get a HB444 model I need to restore. Some instruments make a wired sound. I think I need to change some electronic parts and done some cleaning.
OMG, it's awesome to see a video on the old Bontempi keyboards. I still have my HB414 stored in my closet ♥ Wish the video had more detailed info about the key mechanism though, as some keys sometimes don't register (or take more effore than needed) on mine :( Also, the "Intro/Fill-in" button (absent in the 404... figures) stopped working AGES ago.
This was the series I badly needed. The ES-4800 was my very first keyboard ever. Still have it and it even works, flawlessly. What I like about the sound - back then I found they were horrible compared to the Yamaha PSS. But later I found out they sound pretty much like Farfisa organs. So sounds I know from albums like Piper at the Gates of dawn are pretty well reproducable (scarecrow e.g.). And also the bass isn't that bad, on some registers the pulse wave sounds pretty beefy. I do remember in a store there were the bigger models of Bontempi but I wasn't allowed to play them. I would have liked to know what they had to offer in advance.
Great video! I think you are one of the only sources of info on the Europa ES7000 on the entire internet. I found one recently and could not find any mention anywhere! I'd love to learn if there are any tricks to its MIDI, it seems to be extremely crude.
I just recently sold my Bontempi MemoPlay. It could clumsily recall 26 keys pressed and only had one (!) sound: a terrible sawtooth, obviously just taken from somewhere on the pcb. The manual was a must-have... to mute the speaker! 😅 BTW: what's that demo song played at 5:15 on the record? It's the jingle used in "Slalom" on the Commodore 64. Good memories ❤
I think I had the Alpha, it sounded great through guitar effects. Why does the guy from Wolverhampton sound like he comes from New York? I now have the brown one showed at 6.44. Thanks for this great video, giving us the history of BonTempi.
i found another "Bontempi" keyboard designed by Giugiaro: the Melodian, a keyboard for the Commodore 64 that appears to be built from the HB-414 shell but in beige and with the control section filled in. It doesn't seem to bill itself as a Bontempi (mine is missing all of its stickers and a print ad i found doesn't credit them at all) but it definitely has the Design Giugiaro embossing on the bottom. I apparently bought one in 2020 and forgot about it until finding it again today =P Can't try it out now, though; maybe one day soon.
Wonderful film about Bontempi! I had couple Bontempis. Now i own the mentioned in video Bontempi Europa series - ES 5500 with 61 keys, stereo, with some additional features (vibrato, slow vibrato etc.) but it's still the same analog (is it fully analog btw? Im not sure - definitely analog sounding) engine as in master series. I also own the Bontempi basic BK 32 - extremely simple and portable, but sweet. To be honest i think the most negative opinions about bontempi comes from awful chord organs and these late, bad quality keyboard for kids. This one is quite honest piece of gear for it's time. Decent build quality, in sound a little bit inferior to early 80s Yamaha or Casiotones, but stil OK. The problem was they stopped development. It was good for early 80s, but just a few years later FM and even samples started to occur in home keyboards.
I just realized, with Memory off, you can use Synchro Start to play in other time signatures! Just hold down the key(s) for as long as the measure would be. You could get multiple chord changes per bar if you play legato in Single Finger mode.
You can listen to my little album that I made with the HB 404 on Bandcamp: keenonkeys.bandcamp.com/album/bontempi-hb-404
"The Bass, The Beat And The Harpsichord" - !!! envy you, the idea and process.
Great video, I discovered your channel recently and I wanted to ask you in the video where you test the Yamaha ps3 keyboard at 9:59 I feel like I know this melody but I can’t find the name back, what are you playing ?
@@animusfollus5941 that's one of my favorite chord progressions. I used it in a couple of songs. Maybe someone else also did, but I don't know.
@@KeenOnKeysyes I really like it too, it has a similar vibe to “A Clockwork Orange” theme in my opinion
The king is back!
Ikr
What I love about these videos is that, even if I have no interest in the keyboard itself, the talent you have coming up with great music out of them is just magical. Most people would just say ''this is crap, can't play with it'', but you clearly prove them wrong. Love all your Final Performances!
✅ Agree Strongly
Count me in. Keen on Keys is by far one of the best RUclips channels.
Instruments that people think are rubbish can often be used to make very interesting music
That happens all the time, not just with keyboards, and not just with music. You can give these people a whole week for free in Abbey Road Studios, and wait for their masterpiece... or you can give a 'toy keyboard' and a normal cassette recorder (not even a 4-track) to people like Keen On Keys and many others, and REALLY get a masterpiece or close to it.
Those are the kind of people who would have whined and waiter for the Concorde to fly to America vs. Columbus ;)
That's the best I have ever heard a Bontempi organ played! I remember as a young kid our local Carefour hypermarket in the UK had a Bontempi stand at Christmas. The sales person though couldn't play any of them so enlisted me to have a go whenever a customer showed interest. Saying that even for that period I could not get any interesting sounds from those organs, just muffled organ thin waves and puffy drum beats. I do though now feel a certain nostalgia and charm for these!
that "disco rock" rhythm has MAD homestar runner vibes omg
Not gonna lie, this old thing SLAPS, especially the rhythm sections!
Came for the quirky keyboard…stayed for the comprehensive history of home electronic organ synthesis!
PROTIP: DO NOT use superglue (cyano acrylate) (especially the gel kind) near electromechanical parts like switches, potmeters and contacts! It gasses off acrylic plastic (can be seen as a slightly grey, matte haze on dark plastic nearby), and this is basically a layer of electrical insulation, making especially switches and potmeters unreliable! Even if fairly well enclosed! Try using epoxy instead. ❤❤
Thanks for the tip!
I second that. CA glue in an enclosed space will react with the oils and cause damage to surfaces and electronics.
I definitely noticed this residue, didn’t know it was literally offgassing acrylic! (But now I know, it explains the “acrylate” lol)
This one has such a nostalgic sound
I have been following electronic musical instruments since 1977, but unfortunately I have rarely heard the name Bontempi in Japan. The first portable keyboard I saw was the CASIO CT-201 released in Jan. 1980 (YAMAHA PS-3 was also released in Dec. 1980). Thank you very much for your introduction about the history of Bontempi company.
Always a good day when there's a new keen on keys video!
I worked in a piano store in the later eighties, and we had an X-202 (sliver version) for sale the entire time I worked ther - Never sold the darn thing! But I got to know it pretty well. Thanks for the great video and a stroll down memory lane for me!
Still rocking that energetic narration after 5 months! Welcome back!
Had to pause the video at 5:44 as I thought I'd misread the title of one of the chord organ music books. No, I'd read it correctly - that smiling family are playing "Easy Funeral Hits"!
I especially like "Shut up and mourn" and "You call that a Y incision?" :D
I couldn't resist to show it, but of course it's not a real song book.
I had an HP-545. It really did look like a Delorean. And the sequencer and analogue drum machine were actually quite special. If it had had MIDI I would have kept it in my studio. It's also worth noting that the speakers were HUGE and very loud. Clearly it was designed to fill a church hall without additional PA equipment.
Hey my 545 pal i got one recently too, it does sound UGE, especially through some distortion and delay, the thing that's bugging me is the chord computer thing, it seems to have big potential as a sequencer but i dont fully understand
"the speakers were HUGE and very loud" and weighed a ton! Next to my Yamaha D-85 it the heaviest damn keyboard I've ever owned.
So glad you’re back! I’ll admit that I’ve checked a few times over the past few months to make sure I hadn’t somehow unsubscribed!
Very great video. Happy to see you are still doing well Keen On Keys
Thank you!
Welcome back, with a tour de force no less. Amazing. Imagine working / having worked at Bontempi and seeing this video.
Now..
I will not start buying portable Bontempi keyboards.. I will not start buying portable Bontempi keyboards.. I will not start buying portable Bontempi keyboards....
I find so many things truly amazing about this channel. I mean, the appreciation for these basic musical instruments, it's truly humbling. And foremost, the keyboard playing is first rate, in terms of musical knowledge, keyboard playing technique, and everything.
Your chords progressions are so good and inspiring, it’s really something else ! ❤
It's always exciting to see a new Keen on Keys video!
What a joyful day, I have and love this keyboard, limited but so warm sounding!!!! So exciting that you made a video about this cult item!!!
nice sounds with sustain!! magical :))
Just yesterday i looked if i missed a video, but there was non ... so what a surprise the today anoucemaned of a new video .... i enjoyed every minute - thank you! I like your stile!
The king is back. Nice video 😊
It’s good to have you back man. ☺️
I smashed that like button... Bontempi truly discovered talent, i mean...if you still wanted to play after playing one of these then you really had it!
Your channel is amazing.
your videos are such a great resource. thanks for putting in the effort!
Its a good day when Keen On Keys puts out a new video, love it and thank you for making my day Mr Keen❤
This was such a pleasant trip down the memory lane...
Thank you very much!
I don't care what's printed on the keyboard, YOU are the true Bontempi Master
great demo as always! thank you Keen On Keys 👍
....and history lesson! loving the outro song
hey brett wazzaaaaaaa
@@kgbstudio hey matey ✌
the bass the beat and the harpsichord is the mood bro
just midnight here when released...I can sleep soundly tonight
Thank you so much for your addictive content. may I request a review of the Yamaha VSS-200.
Great video. Very interesting. Thank you for your work on all this videos 🙏🏼
Amazing playing, great video all is super neat professional . Thanks for your work!
This is a really fun little keyboard!
Always pumped to see a new episode.
I have to say, your videos really entertain and relax me. Great content.
I had a Bontempi X-301, bought new in 1986. It was my first full-size keyboard instrument. I kept it for 5 years, finally giving it to my Dad in exchange for $$ I owed him. We’re so spoiled today. Considering what I paid at the time for the Bontempi, you can buy some really nice sounding instruments nowadays.
I seriously love the little ditties you play
As always, amazing playing and demonstrating! I loved all the side stories along the way. Great film making! Thank you for making such fantastic videos, they keep getting better.
Hell yeah, new vid dropped after months
Amazing documentary, music, video, I really enjoyed every details of it. Meraviglioso! Wunderbar!
As always, a brilliant presentation on the history of the brand and a wonderful performance! Bravo! Please, keep it up!
Fantastic content as usual ❤
This one definitely has it's charm, though as usual your talent helps with making it clear. What makes this keyboard rather limited is that it only produce variations on a 25%/75% Duty Cycle Square Wave. I guess there are probably better terms for the waveform but all I have as reference is modest knowledge about chiptune. To give an idea, I refer to 30:23 as white noise and 30:28 as periodic noise. Meh.
Also about that one waveform, retrospectively, I wonder what is used on Hame, hame, hame by Silly Wizard, it uses the same waveform for a piano. I can't help but doubt it's a Bontempi though.
Anyway, thanks for the historical content on top of the review and, as usual, I'm definitely looking after what's coming next.
Love this series, glad to see a new vid! Dude voice is so soothing I am amazed that he did not narrate for a PBS series
Excellent video as always! The outro tune was gorgeous, a really wonderful piece of music.
Always So Much Fun To Watch Your Show!
Great video, very interesting to find out the brand of ICs that bontempi used in their products.
31:29 Definitely an unexpected song! Thank for the video!
Impressed by your incredibly comprehensive review! Brings back a lot of memories of the little Casio Casiotone MT-35 I was lucky enough to receive as a birthday (or Christmas?) present as a kid.
Bontempis and Farfisas were always underrated, considered cheap plastic boxes producing crappy sounds. But they were not bad at all, and they could compete with the Yamahas and Casios.
Great video content, as always. 👍
Dang. I wish I could get more information on those sound generators, that’s really cool. Keep the videos going, your channel is pretty bare. Thank you and God bless.
Love your channel. It's got those Posy vibes.
Awesome video. Brilliant as ever.
Sounds really nice.
This history is fascinating. I had a chance to try farfisa and bontempi back in late 80s. But I remember Bontempi mostly as child/toy instruments.
In each example you play the catchiest little tunes to demonstrate it and I greatly appreciate that! I loved the video so much it made me subscribe for more! You have amazing style!
Wow, I heard these sounds sooo much when I was a kid to the point of getting sick of them. Boy was I glad to replace my Farf FK58 with a brand new, shiny PCM-based arranger, at the time. In retrospect, though, those sounds do have some charm. Pretty sure those strings would shine with a big chorus or phaser behind.
Anyway, I never knew my very first keyboard had such a lineage, thanks for sharing !😁
I kinda feel like that unusual launch on keypress accompaniment synchro function would open up a lot of possibilities for modern grooveboxes. It certainly sounded nifty as demoed here
Very nice, clean presentation.
Great video. Education and a show... Nice album!
Amazing music from these dinky little keyboards. Great video.
I love this channel :D Great tune at the end ❤ I heard Robert Smith singing unintelligible lyrics in my head, during the verses
I can't believe how fascinating you made this video. The tear down was really great and the music was also very trippy and nostalgic.
Please do a review like this on the Critter & Guitari Organelle M. One of my favourite instruments.
Great vid! Wonderful research!
Yes I have to agree with previous comments, superb playing at the end of the video. Just found your channel so I have subscribed, I love your content from what I have seen so far. I have probably had some of these keyboards in my time, I am 75, I definitely remember owning a Farfisa and that was terrible for the polyphony, it had a dual manual with pedals and half the time notes did not play I ended up with a Yamaha after that. I will be looking through your video list now to see if I can find something I once owned.....lol. Chris .
A very nice and informative video but the music is simply excellent!
My first instrument was a bontempi chord organ, the noise of the fan drove me mental as a child , but music has been in my life ever since ,just released my 4th album so it did spark me to be a musician
I own a Musicpartner MS40, a very basic model with only three sounds (named 1, 2, and 3) and no sustain. I have extended the range of the pitch control to be able to tune it down a few octaves, it does a pretty good bass. Thank you for the video, great as usual! It was interesting to learn more about Bontempi.
your demos are so good and fun ❤
12:17 - that first white key on the BASIC BK 26 is sick!
I just stumbled across your channel and am really digging it. You take these cheap and relatively unimpressive instruments and show what they can do when the player leans into their limitations instead of trying to bend them to his will. I'm kind of a midi music enthusiast, let's say (old games etc.), and one thing that has bugged me is when composers try to get even the nicest midi and FM home computer modules to 1 to 1 sub in for real instruments. Where these compositions really shine is when they're written to take advantage of the synthy nature of the hardware. The height of MIDI and FM music in games was squandered by people who really wanted to have recorded music and were just trying to get to approximate that. Not everyone, of course, there are some great soundtracks from the era or I wouldn't have so much hardware just for the fun of it.
I just kind of wonder what some current synthwave composers would write for an MT-32. Oh well.
TL:DR, it's amazing hearing you make these Casios and Bontempis sing.
Very nice 😊 More Bontempi please !!! BTW, great video as usual ;)👏
31:30 Raumpatrouille Orion
Thank you very much for the video and especially the history. The Bontempi Minstrel Alfa was my first musical instrument back in the day. Sadly this particular keyboard didn't survive but I was very happy when I found a NOS Beta a while ago and it fits my adult fingers much better anyway. It is still a fun little gadget and it has a lot of family memory attached because the Christmas I got it was very special. The device itself is a bit dated but I sampled the sounds and the piano is actually very nice when used with a proper envelope and a few effects.
That's what I call a perfect Sunday
Ah the Bontempi, contrary to popular belief I have always loved them, a very nostalgic sound that moves something inside me.
Excellent work, thank you. 👍♥
Great review of Bontempi. I get a HB444 model I need to restore. Some instruments make a wired sound. I think I need to change some electronic parts and done some cleaning.
OMG, it's awesome to see a video on the old Bontempi keyboards. I still have my HB414 stored in my closet ♥
Wish the video had more detailed info about the key mechanism though, as some keys sometimes don't register (or take more effore than needed) on mine :(
Also, the "Intro/Fill-in" button (absent in the 404... figures) stopped working AGES ago.
Lovely track ❤
The analog rythym is fantastic
Great video as always. Could you do a video on talking or sampling keyboards?
I will definitely review some Casio and Yamaha sampling keyboards in the near future
This was the series I badly needed. The ES-4800 was my very first keyboard ever. Still have it and it even works, flawlessly. What I like about the sound - back then I found they were horrible compared to the Yamaha PSS. But later I found out they sound pretty much like Farfisa organs. So sounds I know from albums like Piper at the Gates of dawn are pretty well reproducable (scarecrow e.g.). And also the bass isn't that bad, on some registers the pulse wave sounds pretty beefy. I do remember in a store there were the bigger models of Bontempi but I wasn't allowed to play them. I would have liked to know what they had to offer in advance.
magnific post
Great video! I think you are one of the only sources of info on the Europa ES7000 on the entire internet. I found one recently and could not find any mention anywhere! I'd love to learn if there are any tricks to its MIDI, it seems to be extremely crude.
I just recently sold my Bontempi MemoPlay. It could clumsily recall 26 keys pressed and only had one (!) sound: a terrible sawtooth, obviously just taken from somewhere on the pcb.
The manual was a must-have... to mute the speaker! 😅
BTW: what's that demo song played at 5:15 on the record? It's the jingle used in "Slalom" on the Commodore 64. Good memories ❤
Unfortunately, I have no idea. The name is neither on the record nor on the cover.
TITLE: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Cantata, BWV 147)
ARTIST: Johann Sebastian Bach
I still have my Bontempi T100 keyboard!
I think I had the Alpha, it sounded great through guitar effects. Why does the guy from Wolverhampton sound like he comes from New York? I now have the brown one showed at 6.44. Thanks for this great video, giving us the history of BonTempi.
He didn't say he was from Wolverhampton, he just worked there (but to be honest, this was the only funny voice I found on the text-to-speech page)
You could make stock music as a side hustle. Very pleasant and relaxing tunes.
i found another "Bontempi" keyboard designed by Giugiaro: the Melodian, a keyboard for the Commodore 64 that appears to be built from the HB-414 shell but in beige and with the control section filled in. It doesn't seem to bill itself as a Bontempi (mine is missing all of its stickers and a print ad i found doesn't credit them at all) but it definitely has the Design Giugiaro embossing on the bottom. I apparently bought one in 2020 and forgot about it until finding it again today =P Can't try it out now, though; maybe one day soon.
i believe fhe metal rod key mechanism was common among home organs overall , my wurlitzer (which i believe is from the 70s) has a similar one
The guys name was Goodtimes Egisto and he made musical instruments? That's freaking cool!
Wonderful film about Bontempi! I had couple Bontempis.
Now i own the mentioned in video Bontempi Europa series - ES 5500 with 61 keys, stereo, with some additional features (vibrato, slow vibrato etc.) but it's still the same analog (is it fully analog btw? Im not sure - definitely analog sounding) engine as in master series. I also own the Bontempi basic BK 32 - extremely simple and portable, but sweet.
To be honest i think the most negative opinions about bontempi comes from awful chord organs and these late, bad quality keyboard for kids.
This one is quite honest piece of gear for it's time. Decent build quality, in sound a little bit inferior to early 80s Yamaha or Casiotones, but stil OK. The problem was they stopped development. It was good for early 80s, but just a few years later FM and even samples started to occur in home keyboards.
I just realized, with Memory off, you can use Synchro Start to play in other time signatures! Just hold down the key(s) for as long as the measure would be. You could get multiple chord changes per bar if you play legato in Single Finger mode.
Finally!!! :-)