Palm Products GmbH
Encyclopedia
Palm Products GmbH
(commonly abbreviated to PPG) was a highly-regarded manufacturer of audio synthesizers
. Founded and owned by Wolfgang Palm
, PPG was located in Hamburg
, Germany
and, for 12 years from around 1975 to 1987, manufactured an acclaimed and eclectic range of electronic musical instruments, all designed by Palm.
Although he had reportedly built many synthesizers on his own, his first commercially available synthesizer was a modular synthesizer
, dubbed the 300 Series, which, despite being fairly sophisticated, failed to sell in large quantities. Motivated by his failure and inspired by the design of the popular Minimoog
, Palm introduced the 1002 and 1020 synthesizers. Both were portable, analog, monophonic, and relatively compact. The 1002 used voltage-controlled oscillator
s; however, the 1020 was revolutionary in its implementation of digitally controlled oscillators, which were much more stable and had a distinctive sound that later became PPG's trademark.
). It also included a "Computer Terminal" which included a monitor, 8-inch floppy disk
drives, and a keyboard (5 octaves, for manual playing of events into the sequencer as well as polyphonic
playing with the 340 Wave Generator). Despite its own shortcomings, which included its complex functionality and its high price, it received publicity when it was used by Thomas Dolby
during the early 1980s.
Then, in 1980, Wolfgang Palm introduced a new concept, dubbed "wavetable" synthesis. These digital synthesizers expanded upon the capabilities of Palm's earlier synthesizers by expanding the sound creation tools with limited samples, which were compiled together in lists called wavetables. The first PPG synthesizer to implement this algorithm was the Wavecomputer 360, released in 1980 in two versions - the 360A, with 4 oscillators, and the 360B, with 8. However, the synthesizer sounded relatively thin, a consequence of having only one oscillator per voice and the typical limited polyphony
of most synthesizers of its era.
PPG soon found success with the release of the Wave 2, which debuted in 1981, priced at around US$10,000 (GB£5,500). It contained analog envelopes, LFO and filters, with digital oscillators. Where traditional analog synthesizer were only capable of 5 or 6 waveforms per oscillator, the PPG Wave 2 offered 64 waveforms in 30 "wavetables". One selected a wavetable and then one of the 64 waveforms it contained - a total of 1,920 waveforms per oscillator available for use. In total, around 1,000 Waves were manufactured between 1981 and 1987 with two different updates to the model (the PPG Wave 2.2, which added more waveforms and samples
, and the 2.3, which added multitimbral
ity and MIDI), making it the most successful product PPG manufactured. The PPG wave also found a place onstage with artists such as David Bowie
, Geoff Downes
, Electronic Dream Planet, Frankie Goes to Hollywood
, Depeche Mode
, Propaganda
, Jean Michel Jarre
, Rush
, Gary Numan
, Missing Persons
, Robert Palmer, Talk Talk
, Ultravox
, Steve Winwood
, Stevie Wonder
, and many others.
running on a Eurocom II motherboard created by the German company Eltec. In the Waveterm B, this was replaced by a proprietary Motorola 68000-based motherboard running an entirely proprietary operating system. It was designed to be used with many of PPG's synthesizers, including the Wave, by specifying points on a graph
which was displayed on the screen. One could also sample in acoustic sounds, or use some sounds provided by PPG on disks. The Waveterm was manufactured through 1985. By this time, to raise sales, PPG also had dropped the prices of many of their synthesizers, including the Wave, which would now be sold at around US$6,500 (GB£3,500).
In 1986, Wolfgang Palm designed and began work on a prototype for his most ambitious project yet - the Realizer, an all-in-one studio machine which combined production, recording, sequencing, and mixing tools into one machine in addition to a sophisticated sampling and synthesis system. It also had the ability to load emulations of other popular synthesizers, such as a Minimoog
. The system proved to be too far ahead of its time, and was so expensive to create that its projected retail price was almost US$60,000 (GB£34,000). As such, it was never sold, or even got beyond the prototype phase. There are rumored to be two prototype versions in existence, each with slightly different front panel controls. As interest in Palm's other products waned, the cost of developing the Realizer was high enough to put PPG into serious debt. As such, PPG officially ceased business operations and closed its doors in 1987 after shelving the Realizer project.
, another German synthesizer company whose founder, Wolfgang Düren, had previously been a distributor of PPG's products. With Waldorf, he helped to design the digital ASIC
for the first Waldorf product Microwave (1989) innovative Waldorf WAVE (1994), combining Palm's original wavetable synthesis (but without phase accumulation oscillators) with a completely new and updated design. Used by many professional artists (including Ace of Base
and Depeche Mode
), the Waldorf WAVE continues to be popular. The later Waldorf products like the MicroWave II, XT, Q, microQ, Blofeld all had all or several of the original wavetables and waveshapes of the PPG waves. In 2002, Steinberg
released PLEX, a software synthesizer
designed by Palm that wasn't sold by big numbers.
Palm's influence on synthesis and electronic music is, undoubtedly, tremendous. The PPG wave's unique sound, and its use on the recordings of such a diverse range of artists is, arguably, responsible for the rise in popularity of digital synthesis in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Today, nearly every digital synthesizer implements wavetable synthesis in some form, and the wave's unique integration of analogue and digital circuitry influenced synthesizers such as the Monowave
and the E-mu
Emulator
. His implementation of computer technology in sound creation was also ahead of its time.
Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung
Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung is a type of legal entityvery common in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and other Central European countries...
(commonly abbreviated to PPG) was a highly-regarded manufacturer of audio synthesizers
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
. Founded and owned by Wolfgang Palm
Wolfgang Palm
Wolfgang Palm was a founder and owner of Palm Products GmbH , and the inventor and creator of various pioneering technical designs for analog and digital synthesizers...
, PPG was located in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and, for 12 years from around 1975 to 1987, manufactured an acclaimed and eclectic range of electronic musical instruments, all designed by Palm.
Beginnings
Wolfgang Palm was active as a keyboardist in bands in the Hamburg area before becoming aware of the then-burgeoning synthesizer market. Palm started his company in 1975.Although he had reportedly built many synthesizers on his own, his first commercially available synthesizer was a modular synthesizer
Modular synthesizer
The modular synthesizer is a type of synthesizer consisting of separate specialized modules connected by wires to create a so-called patch. Every output generates a signal – an electric voltage of variable strength...
, dubbed the 300 Series, which, despite being fairly sophisticated, failed to sell in large quantities. Motivated by his failure and inspired by the design of the popular Minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
, Palm introduced the 1002 and 1020 synthesizers. Both were portable, analog, monophonic, and relatively compact. The 1002 used voltage-controlled oscillator
Voltage-controlled oscillator
A voltage-controlled oscillator or VCO is an electronic oscillator designed to be controlled in oscillation frequency by a voltage input. The frequency of oscillation is varied by the applied DC voltage, while modulating signals may also be fed into the VCO to cause frequency modulation or phase...
s; however, the 1020 was revolutionary in its implementation of digitally controlled oscillators, which were much more stable and had a distinctive sound that later became PPG's trademark.
The Wave and the rise of digital synthesis
PPG continued to develop and release digital synthesizers, most of which met with little success. In 1979, PPG introduced the 340/380 System, a complex digital synthesizer which consisted of the 340 Processor Unit, the 340 Generator Unit, and the 380 Event Generator (a 16-track sequencerMusic sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
). It also included a "Computer Terminal" which included a monitor, 8-inch floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
drives, and a keyboard (5 octaves, for manual playing of events into the sequencer as well as polyphonic
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
playing with the 340 Wave Generator). Despite its own shortcomings, which included its complex functionality and its high price, it received publicity when it was used by Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby is an English musician and producer. Best known for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me with Science", and 1984 single "Hyperactive!", he has also worked extensively in production and as a session musician.-Early life:Dolby was born in London, England, contrary to information in early 1980s...
during the early 1980s.
Then, in 1980, Wolfgang Palm introduced a new concept, dubbed "wavetable" synthesis. These digital synthesizers expanded upon the capabilities of Palm's earlier synthesizers by expanding the sound creation tools with limited samples, which were compiled together in lists called wavetables. The first PPG synthesizer to implement this algorithm was the Wavecomputer 360, released in 1980 in two versions - the 360A, with 4 oscillators, and the 360B, with 8. However, the synthesizer sounded relatively thin, a consequence of having only one oscillator per voice and the typical limited polyphony
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
of most synthesizers of its era.
PPG soon found success with the release of the Wave 2, which debuted in 1981, priced at around US$10,000 (GB£5,500). It contained analog envelopes, LFO and filters, with digital oscillators. Where traditional analog synthesizer were only capable of 5 or 6 waveforms per oscillator, the PPG Wave 2 offered 64 waveforms in 30 "wavetables". One selected a wavetable and then one of the 64 waveforms it contained - a total of 1,920 waveforms per oscillator available for use. In total, around 1,000 Waves were manufactured between 1981 and 1987 with two different updates to the model (the PPG Wave 2.2, which added more waveforms and samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
, and the 2.3, which added multitimbral
Multitimbral
Monotimbral is usually used in reference to electronic synthesisers which can produce a single timbre at a given pitch upon pressing a single or multiple keys .An electronic musical instrument may be...
ity and MIDI), making it the most successful product PPG manufactured. The PPG wave also found a place onstage with artists such as David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Geoff Downes
Geoff Downes
Geoffrey "Geoff" Downes is an English rock keyboard player, songwriter, best known as the keyboardist for the bands The Buggles, Yes and Asia, of which he is the only consistent member. When he was a keyboardist for The Buggles, he played multiple keyboards to achieve a New Wave technopop sound...
, Electronic Dream Planet, Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were a British dance-pop band popular in the mid-1980s. The group was fronted by Holly Johnson , with Paul Rutherford , Peter Gill , Mark O'Toole , and Brian Nash .The group's debut single "Relax" was banned by the BBC in 1984 while at number six in the charts and...
, Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, Propaganda
Propaganda (band)
Propaganda is a German synthpop group, formed in 1982. They were one of the initial roster of acts signed to Trevor Horn's ZTT label, between 1984 and 1986, during which they released the critically acclaimed album A Secret Wish....
, Jean Michel Jarre
Jean Michel Jarre
Jean Michel André Jarre is a French composer, performer and music producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and New Age genres, and known as an organiser of outdoor spectacles of his music featuring lights, laser displays, and fireworks.Jarre was raised in Lyon by his mother and...
, Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
, Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
, Missing Persons
Missing Persons
Missing Persons is an American band who plays a blend of New Wave and Pop rock. The band was founded in 1980 in Los Angeles by guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, vocalist Dale Bozzio, and drummer Terry Bozzio. They went on to add bassist Patrick O'Hearn and keyboardist Chuck Wild. Dale's quirky voice...
, Robert Palmer, Talk Talk
Talk Talk
Talk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World"....
, Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
, Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, and many others.
Computer-controlled synthesizers and the Realizer
By 1982, Wolfgang Palm was set on innovating again by introducing computers to music with the Waveterm, a rack-mounted computer system with a built-in monitor, two 8-inch floppy drives (later upgraded to 5-inch), and a proprietary Flex9-based operating systemOperating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
running on a Eurocom II motherboard created by the German company Eltec. In the Waveterm B, this was replaced by a proprietary Motorola 68000-based motherboard running an entirely proprietary operating system. It was designed to be used with many of PPG's synthesizers, including the Wave, by specifying points on a graph
Graphics
Graphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings,or...
which was displayed on the screen. One could also sample in acoustic sounds, or use some sounds provided by PPG on disks. The Waveterm was manufactured through 1985. By this time, to raise sales, PPG also had dropped the prices of many of their synthesizers, including the Wave, which would now be sold at around US$6,500 (GB£3,500).
In 1986, Wolfgang Palm designed and began work on a prototype for his most ambitious project yet - the Realizer, an all-in-one studio machine which combined production, recording, sequencing, and mixing tools into one machine in addition to a sophisticated sampling and synthesis system. It also had the ability to load emulations of other popular synthesizers, such as a Minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
. The system proved to be too far ahead of its time, and was so expensive to create that its projected retail price was almost US$60,000 (GB£34,000). As such, it was never sold, or even got beyond the prototype phase. There are rumored to be two prototype versions in existence, each with slightly different front panel controls. As interest in Palm's other products waned, the cost of developing the Realizer was high enough to put PPG into serious debt. As such, PPG officially ceased business operations and closed its doors in 1987 after shelving the Realizer project.
Wolfgang Palm after PPG
After the decline of PPG, Wolfgang Palm continued to be an active innovator in the area of synthesizer technology. Together with several former PPG employees, he began work for Waldorf MusicWaldorf Music
Waldorf Music AG is a German synthesizer company. It was founded on 1 January 2003 to take over the actual business of the Waldorf Electronics GmbH which had become insolvent. Waldorf is best known for its Microwave wavetable synthesizer and Q virtual analogue synthesizer lines.- History :Waldorf...
, another German synthesizer company whose founder, Wolfgang Düren, had previously been a distributor of PPG's products. With Waldorf, he helped to design the digital ASIC
ASIC
ASIC may refer to:* Application-specific integrated circuit, an integrated circuit developed for a particular use, as opposed to a customised general-purpose device.* ASIC programming language, a dialect of BASIC...
for the first Waldorf product Microwave (1989) innovative Waldorf WAVE (1994), combining Palm's original wavetable synthesis (but without phase accumulation oscillators) with a completely new and updated design. Used by many professional artists (including Ace of Base
Ace of Base
Ace of Base is a pop band based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its original lineup consisted of Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg, and three siblings, Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Malin "Linn" Berggren and Jenny Berggren...
and Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
), the Waldorf WAVE continues to be popular. The later Waldorf products like the MicroWave II, XT, Q, microQ, Blofeld all had all or several of the original wavetables and waveshapes of the PPG waves. In 2002, Steinberg
Steinberg
Steinberg GmbH is a German musical software and equipment company based in Hamburg. It mainly produces music recording, arranging and editing software as used in digital audio workstations and VSTi software synthesizers.- History :...
released PLEX, a software synthesizer
Software synthesizer
A software synthesizer, also known as a softsynth is a computer program or plug-in for digital audio generation. Computer software which can create sounds or music is not new, but advances in processing speed are allowing softsynths to accomplish the same tasks that previously required dedicated...
designed by Palm that wasn't sold by big numbers.
Palm's influence on synthesis and electronic music is, undoubtedly, tremendous. The PPG wave's unique sound, and its use on the recordings of such a diverse range of artists is, arguably, responsible for the rise in popularity of digital synthesis in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Today, nearly every digital synthesizer implements wavetable synthesis in some form, and the wave's unique integration of analogue and digital circuitry influenced synthesizers such as the Monowave
Monowave
The MonoWave is a monophonic 2U 19" rack synthesizer by Modulus Electronics, UK.- History :This synth was first shown 2001 by its inventor Paul Maddox on a PPG user/fan meeting. Because its attraction to some synthesizer players at the event, the project was started with 5 beta test units to test...
and the E-mu
E-mu Systems
E-mu Systems, Inc. is a synthesizer maker and pioneer in samplers and low-cost digital sampling music workstations.-History:Founded in 1971 by Scott Wedge and Dave Rossum, E-mu began making modular synthesizers...
Emulator
E-mu Emulator
The Emulator is the name given to a series of disk-based digital sampling keyboards manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1982 until 1990. Though not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was among the first to find wide use among ordinary musicians, due to its relatively low price and its size,...
. His implementation of computer technology in sound creation was also ahead of its time.
External links
- http://synthmuseum.com/ppg/index.html - PPG on http://www.synthmuseum.com
- http://www.antarcticamedia.com/ppg/ - An unofficial site dedicated to PPG, with information about their many products.
- http://www.ppg.synth.net/ - Another unofficial site dedicated to the PPG range of synths.
- http://www.hermannseib.com/english/synths/ppg/history.htm - A short biography of Wolfgang Palm.
- http://www.retrosound.de/wave2.2.html - RetroSound - PPG Wave.
- http://www.retrosound.de/PPG-Waveterm-A.htm - RetroSound - PPG Waveterm.
- http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/wave.shtml - PPG Wave page on http://www.vintagesynth.com/, which includes audio sample (playable with RealPlayerRealPlayerRealPlayer is a cross-platform media player by RealNetworks that plays a number of multimedia formats including MP3, MPEG-4, QuickTime, Windows Media, and multiple versions of proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo formats.-History:...
). - http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/ppgrealizer.shtml - PPG Realizer page on http://www.vintagesynth.com/.