New England Digital Synclavier

The Synclavier was famously used by legendary artists like Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Frank Zappa. Frank Zappa was particularly reliant on the Synclavier for his later compositions, using its complex sequencing capabilities to perform music that was humanly impossible to play. Stevie Wonder used it extensively on his 1980s albums to pioneer new digital textures.

The Synclavier was historically significant because it was one of the first instruments to combine digital FM synthesis with high-quality digital sampling. It also allowed for direct-to-disk recording, essentially functioning as a complete tapeless studio years before digital audio workstations (DAWs) became standard. This integration allowed composers to manipulate sampled sounds and synthesized textures with pinpoint precision.

Buying an original, hardware Synclavier today is incredibly rare, as the units are decades old, prone to hardware failure, and rely on outdated floppy disks. However, a dedicated group of enthusiasts and developers have created software emulators and modern maintenance communities to keep the original systems running. For modern musicians, software instruments like Arturia's Synclavier V aim to recreate the additive synthesis and sampling workflow of the original machine.