1980 Europe Tour - No Yamaha GX-1?

[Hedgerow_2001]

Hello. I have been watching a series on YouTube about the making of In Through the Out Door. 
The documentary covered the 1980 European tour. 
They showed an equipment list. It was stated that because this was a back to basics tour and the venues were small, JPJ did not take his GX-1 on tour. I have never heard this and when I listen to soundboard bootlegs of the tour, to my ears anyway you can clearly hear the GX-1. Anyone else ever heard this before about no GX-1 on 1980 Europe tour?  If that’s true then what was used that sounded so much like the GX-1?  

[ListenToThis]

Jones himself in an interview commented the GX-1 was too cumbersome for the venues. The band also had a good amount of apathy about rehearsing the new material. 

[Strider]

Well, he sure as hell was not using the old mellotron/Fender Rhodes/Hammond B3 organ combo of old. 

You can hear he was using his grand piano for SIBLY and Stairway To Heaven in 1980, as he did in 1979 and 1977. But whatever he was using for In the Evening, Rain Song, All My Love, and Kashmir, it sure sounded like the GX-1 and nothing like the mellotron.

At least Trampled Under Foot sounds like he was still using his trusty old clavinet.

Now you're going to make me have to dig up photos of the 1980 tour to parse the gear situation. 😝 

Edited September 29, 2023 by Strider

[Hedgerow_2001]

8 hours ago, Strider said:

Well, he sure as hell was not using the old mellotron/Fender Rhodes/Hammond B3 organ combo of old. 

You can hear he was using his grand piano for SIBLY and Stairway To Heaven in 1980, as he did in 1979 and 1977. But whatever he was using for In the Evening, Rain Song, All My Love, and Kashmir, it sure sounded like the GX-1 and nothing like the mellotron.

At least Trampled Under Foot sounds like he was still using his trusty old clavinet.

Now you're going to make me have to dig up photos of the 1980 tour to parse the gear situation. 😝 

Yeah… my thoughts exactly. Went down another rabbit hole trying to find 1980 tour photos of JPJ. Only ones I could find was him playing bass. Would appreciate any evidence you could find. My ears are like yours, especially the Rain Song, come on that is not a mellotron. 

[Hedgerow_2001]

9 hours ago, ListenToThis said:

Jones himself in an interview commented the GX-1 was too cumbersome for the venues. The band also had a good amount of apathy about rehearsing the new material. 

[Hedgerow_2001]

It was a beast for sure. And I remember JPJ saying it tended to break down a lot. I do love the sounds he got out of the GX-1, especially Carouselambra 

[paul carruthers]

Fairlight synthesizer is what Jonesy used for the 80 tour....

[woz70]

47 minutes ago, paul carruthers said:

Fairlight synthesizer is what Jonesy used for the 80 tour....

Yup.

The Fairlight CMI (computer musical instrument) was one of the very first samplers, and a fully fledged digital synthesiser (and sequencer) - meaning you could not only create sounds from scratch, but record and manipulate sounds that had been recorded (sampled) into the computer.

It meant that Jones - who obviously loves keeping up with the latest music tech - only needed two keyboard instruments on the stage - the piano and the Fairlight.  No need for the unreliable mellotron, and a clavinet (and maybe something to handle organ sounds, and something else for the weird sounds at the beginning of In The Evening too) - the Fairlight did it all in one box that was a lot smaller and lighter than a Hammond B3, let alone the ridiculous weight of the GX1 (just under a ton for the full setup. The keyboard section on its own weighed 300kg, which is a serious consideration if you're touring).

Because it was a sampler, it's more than likely he sampled his favourite string sounds from the GX1 to play during Kashmir/The Rain Song... which explains:

17 hours ago, Hedgerow_2001 said:

to my ears anyway you can clearly hear the GX-1.

 

[Hedgerow_2001]

20 hours ago, paul carruthers said:

Fairlight synthesizer is what Jonesy used for the 80 tour....

Thanks for the info 👍🏽

[Hedgerow_2001]

19 hours ago, woz70 said:

Yup.

The Fairlight CMI (computer musical instrument) was one of the very first samplers, and a fully fledged digital synthesiser (and sequencer) - meaning you could not only create sounds from scratch, but record and manipulate sounds that had been recorded (sampled) into the computer.

It meant that Jones - who obviously loves keeping up with the latest music tech - only needed two keyboard instruments on the stage - the piano and the Fairlight.  No need for the unreliable mellotron, and a clavinet (and maybe something to handle organ sounds, and something else for the weird sounds at the beginning of In The Evening too) - the Fairlight did it all in one box that was a lot smaller and lighter than a Hammond B3, let alone the ridiculous weight of the GX1 (just under a ton for the full setup. The keyboard section on its own weighed 300kg, which is a serious consideration if you're touring).

Because it was a sampler, it's more than likely he sampled his favourite string sounds from the GX1 to play during Kashmir/The Rain Song... which explains:

 

Ok very cool and now makes total sense… why you can hear the GX-1 on the bootlegs.. thanks!