Spot the MIDI!

In my younger days, I spent so much time experimenting with the PSR-5700 (which I would ultimately give away during the 2012 Escapade 2 sessions) that after all these years, I can still clearly remember exactly which MIDI instrument is which.  Therefore, I thought it might be fun (and maybe instructive?) to listen to Escapade straight through, making a complete list of the General MIDI sounds used in every song.

Technical note: I count my MIDI instruments from 1-128, not from 0-127 as some do.  This was the numbering system used in both the interface of the PSR-5700 and in the software I grew up with.

I don't currently own any General MIDI-compatible devices so this demonstration was entirely silent.

The instruments on each track are listed below in order of appearance.

1a. March for the Age

• 39 Synth Bass 1
• 95 Pad 7 (halo)
• 89 Pad 1 (new age)
• 48 Timpani
• 52 Synth Strings 2
• - Standard Drums

1b. My Next Escape

• 29 Electric Guitar (muted)
• - Standard Drums
  
• 33 Acoustic Bass
• 1 Acoustic Grand Piano
• 52 Synth Strings 2
• 25 Acoustic Guitar (nylon)
• 81 Lead 1 (square)

2. Days to Midnight

• 15 Tubular Bells
• 13 Marimba
• 51 Synth Strings 1
• - Standard Drums
• 33 Acoustic Bass
• 1 Acoustic Grand Piano
• 30 Overdriven Guitar

3. Modern Art

• 76 Pan Flute
• 36 Fretless Bass
• - Standard Drums
• 81 Lead 1 (square)
• 1 Acoustic Grand Piano
• 52 Synth Strings 2
• 98 FX 2 (soundtrack)
• 89 Pad 1 (new age)
• 104 FX 8 (sci-fi)
• 127 Applause
• 82 Lead 2 (sawtooth)
• 119 Synth Drum
• 93 Pad 5 (bowed)
• 15 Tubular Bells

4. What Is Mine

• 33 Acoustic Bass
• 89 Pad 1 (new age)
• 101 FX 5 (brightness)
• 104 FX 8 (sci-fi)
• 1 Acoustic Grand Piano
• 86 Lead 6 (voice)
• 11 Music Box
• - Standard Drums

5. Them

• - Standard Drums
• 31 Distortion Guitar
• 89 Pad 1 (new age)
• 33 Acoustic Bass
• 98 FX 2 (soundtrack)
• 17 Drawbar Organ
• 29 Electric Guitar (muted)
• 30 Overdriven Guitar

6. Faraway Island

• 123 Seashore (sort of - used as impulse to filter white noise)
  
• 1 Acoustic Grand Piano
• 51 Synth Strings 1
• 30 Overdriven Guitar
• 33 Acoustic Bass
• 26 Acoustic Guitar (steel)
• - Standard Drums
• 18 Percussive Organ
• 82 Lead 2 (sawtooth)
  

7. My Last Escape

• 1 Acoustic Grand Piano
• - Standard Drums
• 33 Acoustic Bass
• 29 Electric Guitar (muted)
• 89 Pad 1 (new age)
• 52 Synth Strings 2
• 25 Acoustic Guitar (nylon)
• 48 Timpani

I'm particularly struck by how many entries in this list have a program number between 81 and 104 inclusive, or feature the word "Synth".  I think this reflects something I've believed, to a greater or lesser degree, all along: that synthesizers are best used in ways that don't even try to pretend to not be synthesizers.  It's just unfortunate that, combined with what resources I perceived to be available to me back in 2009, this resulted in a completely inappropriate production style for the music I was writing.

Making a similar list for Escapade 2 would be an exponentially more difficult endeavour.  The Jupiter-80 is not General MIDI-compatible, so I had literally thousands of different tones to choose from for every part - particularly the "obviously a synthesizer" parts, and there's rather a lot of those!  In some cases, I can remember the name of what I chose, usually in a "what was I thinking?" context, but there'd also be a lot of trawling through hundreds of lead or pad sounds in search of something I recognize.  I don't think it's worth the effort.