the “Telstar” Clavioline.
So it’s volume 8 of Bill Ruppert’s Effectology series of video tutorials, where he uses just his trusty Ibanez Jem guitar and a bunch of Electro-Harmonix effects pedals to get weird non-guitar sounds from that aforementioned guitar.
This time it’s the sound of the Clavioline an electronic keyboard instrument, forerunner to the analog synthesizer. More specifically the sound of the Clavioline as heard on the track “Telstar” by legendary English record producer and songwriter Joe Meek recorded by his house band The Tornados in 1962.
Named after the Telstar satellite that was launched in ’62 it was a British chart topper and was the first single by a British group to reach number 1 on the U.S. Billboard charts, just being beaten by Mr. Acker Bilk’s “Stranger on the Shore” as the first British single to reach the top spot on the other side of the Atlantic.
Bill manages to pretty much recreate the sound of track including all the bleeps and rockets sounds with just the guitar and pedals.
The rocket lift off uses: Soul Preacher, Micro Synth, Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai, Cathedral.
Space/Morse code: Stereo Poly Chorus, Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai.
And the actual Clavioline: Soul Preacher, Micro Synth, Stereo Poly Chorus, Cathedral.
You can find all the settings Bill uses to get these amazing sounds HERE.
John Lennon also played the Clavioline on The Beatles track “Baby, You’re a Rich Man”…