By Keith Walsh
It was a promising night at the debut of Synthplex 2019 at the Burbank Marriott Convention Center Thursday. A roster of 85 vendors had spent the day setting up their booths for display through Sunday, while a synth museum and a variety of musical artists entertained event goers in the evening.
The Pop Up Synth Museum offered an opportunity for visitors to get hands-on experience with vintage analog synths, including a Moog Modular, a Mellotron, a Roland Jupiter 8 and the Moog Memorymoog.
Of the performers, a standout was the foursome Volt Per Octaves. This California-based quartet presented a Moog-centric sound in the Concert Hall. In the City Quad, Wolfgang Michalowicz performed a minimal one man set. Then back at the Concert Hall, the very accessible sounds of Robot Nature kept the beat going.
I had the opportunity to ask a couple questions of Synthplex founder Michael Boddicker. He told me how the event came into being, a story which involved decades of synth history and a solid prospectus, after co-founder Michael Learmouth approached him in 2018. “Mike approached me at a January NAMM Show,” Boddicker said, “and I passed. And then Eric Persing (of Spectrasonics) said, ‘no, you have to get Boddicker involved,’ and Mike called and I said ‘look, I’ve done three of these before, I did them for NARAS (National Academy Of Recording Arts and Sciences) back in the Eighties, I did 1980, ’82, and ’84, the Synthesizer Symposium.’ And then Mike gave me a prospectus — and I said ‘yes.’”
Boddicker’s enthusiasm is underscored by the fact that Synthplex 2019 has enlisted a stellar array of vendors — from Arturia to ZVEX Modular, from Roland to Novation and Yamaha (complete list of vendors here)— along with performances from fifty musical acts, including luminaries Thomas Dolby, Mark Isham, and Junkie XL, among others (complete list of artists here.)
Boddicker points to the thriving community of synthesizer enthusiasts that came together to make Synthplex a reality. “I’m really happy that everybody who has responded has responded in really good measure,” he said. “Everybody is so supportive. It’s turned out great, we’re very happy.”
Synthplex runs at the Burbank Marriott through March 31 — so head on over, check out the latest gear, plus vintage synths and cutting edge artists. Or you’ll have to wait until next year!
finis
