Recordings
This page contains (or links to) audio and video of music featuring the Chroma. Please send me files or other related information and I'll include it here.
Performances and Samples
Analog Bach
Five excellent performances by Marco Rosano [21010197].
Synthesizer von Gestern
A couple of great tracks provided by Matthias Becker.
Synthesizer Magazin
Four demos by Moogulator.
Chris Smalt [21010280+]
"In June 1999 I rerecorded an old tune of mine from 1986 using just the Chroma. What you hear is 13 tracks of Chroma, all mono, no chorus, just reverb and some delay added. Some rhythm provided by rubbing hands, snapping fingers and tapping the mic stand with my foot. The sounds are a mix of factory presets and custom patches. The track was originally published in 1999 on a 7-CD compilation called 'Bohemian R.A.P. CD', that included tracks recorded by various contributors to the rec.audio.pro usenet group." [September 2008]
- silentrage.mp3 5:36
1984 Musicom Trade Show
Chris Smalt [21010280+] writes, "In my archives I have a cassette tape of a Chroma demo on Nov 10, 1984 at the Musicom trade show in the Rotterdam Hilton. I don't remember the name of the slightly wacky Brit, but it must have been Peter John Vettese. I was in the audience with a handheld mic and a Sony Walkman. It's almost 20 minutes of non-stop live playing two Chromas and a Polaris (and briefly a Rhodes [piano]), straight into the PA, no effects, no sequencing. Some of the occasional distortion is because I wasn't always watching the levels, but he also overloaded the mixer at times. It was a very different demo from the others at that event (Fairlight, PPG, etc), because at a time when everyone was looking to sound digital and sequenced, here was someone improvising live, just hopping through some presets, retuning the instrument by ear, using a musical idiom and sounds that weren't hip at all. What he showed off in particular was the flexibility of the Chroma when played live, using hands - and feet! For most of the demo, he was actually balancing with both feet on two volume-type pedals, which, besides for volume, he used for a variety of parameters." [September 2008]
- musicom1984.mp3 18:43
Allen Cobb, Out of the Silent Planet
Recorded in 1984. Ten tracks composed and performed by Timbre (Allen Cobb) to multitrack in realtime without computer. 100% Chroma, except for percussion parts on Oberheim DX. All tracks downloadable in mp3; uncompressed CD available on request. Allen writes, "The entire Silent Planet album is Chroma. Although I had the Chroma Apple sequencer nearby, I could never get it to do what I really needed, so all tracks are purely improvised Chroma to multi-track in realtime." [December 2008]
Normay Fay New
Writing on Analogue Heaven in August 2007: "Tony Allgood of Oakley Synthesisers serviced my Rhodes Chroma and did some fairly major work (incl the power supply replacement as detailed on www.till.com, with mods to work on UK power). It is awesome to have the Chroma running on 8 voices, to have the parameter slider working, and to have the instrument running in almost eerie silence with no buzz & hum from the power supply. I'm sure the thing sounds a bit cleaner as well. I threw this together in like 1hr, using Cubase, SIR reverb and digitalfishphones 'blockfish' compressor. There is probably too much reverb on it, sorry! All of the sounds are derived from the Chroma, I think there's 10 layers altogether, though not all at once. One of the layers was sequenced using 'zeit', the rest played in by hand. It's just a faff about, really."
Olli [21010284]
A number of good samples at bluesynths.com.
analogholic
Several good demos at soundcloud.com.
Videos
Herbie Hancock jams with his Fairlight CMI (and Chroma)
See discussion Herbie Hancock jams along to a Fairlight with his Rhodes Chroma, December 2006.
Tom Hughes [21030251+]
See Rhodes Chroma video on YouTube, April 2009.
Patrik Gudmundsäter [21010240]
Rockets - Future Game (1982)
See discussion rockets and chroma, March 2007; and Rhodes Chroma Spotted, March 2008.
Saved By Zero - Grote Prijs van Nederland 1985
Johan Looijenga writes, "I used to own a Rhodes Chroma (see picture). I have recently found an old VHS video from our band while I was playing the Chroma. It demonstrates how fat the Chroma sounds. In the video I play a S&H patch, noise patch with opening up the filter with the data slider, fat string type sound including glide which I filter down during the introduction of the players. The video is a little bit old but still you now and then can spot me playing the Chroma." [June 2007]
Polaris
"I've realized a small video of my Polaris." Guido Scognamiglio [100047] [October 2007]