Mastodawn

Okay, here's a long shot for the #Fedi hive mind. If you are in the intersection of "#musician or musician-adjacent in the 1980s" and "keyboard / #synthesizer aficionado", this one is for you.

In the mid- to late-80s, I used to spend a lot of time in music / #instrument stores (not selling CDs, selling guitars and amps and drums and whatnot). Synthesizer tech was advancing rapidly at this point, with digital starting to overtake analog by leaps and bounds.

At some point, one of the stores got a new #keyboard model in. I can't swear to it, but I think it was either a #Roland or a #Korg. This one had a floppy drive built in, on the side of the #synth. And they had a demo on a floppy disk that was incredible at the time.

It wasn't an official #demo disk. It was a normal consumer floppy, presumably copied far and wide. Hand-Sharpied on it was the name/title "Amin Phone". It was a musical, bright and upbeat piece, rock/pop, maybe 30s long, and included digital samples of a person's voice.

The entire thing was a ridiculous #answering machine outgoing #message. I think there was even a sampled voice at the end taken from someone leaving a message, commenting on it being over-the-top or something.

"Amin phone" is unsearchable on the 'net. Everyone has a phone, and there are millions of people named Amin or el-Amin.

Anyone else remember this? Anyone actually able to point to a recording of it?

#KeyboardDemo #SynthDemo #AminPhone #Amin #AnsweringMachine #FloppyDisk

The Liquid Clear 18h ago

@cazabon I wonder if Amin is referring to the key of A minor

I don't know, but it wasn't in a minor key.

@cazabon Perhaps Ensoniq Mirage or ESQ-1? I too have a half remembered dream of this…

I dunno! I can remember the sound of it 40 years later, but not which keyboard.

@cazabon oh. I missed that you said floppy on the side. Ensoniq was on the top. Yamaha DX7IIFD had it on the side. I think that might be the synth. Might.

I'm pretty sure this wasn't it. I was using a DX7 at school at the time, and would have noted the similarity. I'm 99% sure it wasn't a Yamaha.

@cazabon don't hate me be here are the results from an AI search - The phrase "synthesizer floppy amin phone" most likely refers to the Amin Phone, a specific preset sound often found on vintage synthesizers
The "Amin Phone" (or "Amin-Phone") is a well-known sample or preset that typically combines a synthesized choir or vocal pad (the "Amin" part, often referencing an "Aah" or "Mmm" vocal sound) with a percussive, bell-like, or electronic telephone-style tone (the "Phone" part).

@cazabon
* Origin: It is often associated with early digital workstations and samplers like the Ensoniq SD-1 or VFX series
* Sound Profile: It generally has a "digital undertone," characteristic of late 80s and early 90s synthesis.

* Sample Libraries: You can download "vintage synth" or "lo-fi" sample packs containing "Amin Phone" style sounds from sites like [Samplefocus](https://samplefocus.com/tag/synth) [https://www.sampleso.com](https://www.sampleso.com/shop/floppytron)

Free Synth Samples, Sounds, and Loops

Download FREE Synth sounds - royalty-free! Find the Synth sound you are looking for in seconds.

Sample Focus

I dunno. "AI" / LLMs tend to feed you back whatever you had in the question, so I don't put much stock in their output.

I found *one* possibility online for a connection to this demo. I'll update if I hear back from that person.

Moss Wizard 1h ago

@aczuppa @cazabon this is a perfect example of why you should NOT ask an “AI” this type of question: it’s all bullshit. The program just made up an answer that fits the parameters of the question—that’s all they do. It has no relation to truth or reality or history.

Johan van der Knijff 17h ago

@cazabon Not sure if this helps, but the Roland W30 sampling workstation from 1989 (which had a floppy drive) had a demo song called "THE OFFICE" which included some phone and voice samples. A quick search turned up this MP3:

https://www.synthmania.com/Roland%20W-30/Audio/Factory%20Demo%20Disk%20songs/Data%20Disk%202%20-%20THE%20OFFICE%20.1.mp3

Not really an answering machine message though.

This isn't it, but it's interesting in its own right. Thanks!

@cazabon paging @headfirstonly ... on the off chance?

Chris Harris 12h ago

@catmisgivings @cazabon I saw this earlier and was intrigued, but sadly I can't shed any light on it. I'll ask my synth nerd pals, though.

Moss Wizard 48m ago

@cazabon FWIW I was also a keyboard sales kid in the late 80s, and I never ran into the demo you’re looking for. There were lots of demos around, there was a whole cottage industry of people trying to sell samples, patches, and demo tracks in the back of Keyboard Magazine. One that made the rounds was a sample pack of sex noises and whips cracking, that sold some keyboards!