> Building an analog synthesizer that was polyphonic – where many keys could be played at the same time – was stupendously expensive. The same electronic circui

> Building an analog synthesizer that was polyphonic – where many keys could be played at the same time – was stupendously expensive. The same electronic circuitry had to be duplicated many times, sometimes for each key. These instruments were mostly of academic interest – I can’t think of any band that used one on stage (but I could be wrong). Divide-down synths like the Arp Solina and Omni were widely used in live bands and weren’t that difficult to trek around for the period. Certainly lighter than the contemporary transistor organs of the era True Analog polysynths were also used extensively live going back to the late 70s with the arrival of the Prophet 5, Roland Jupiter 4 - and by the early 80s (before the DX7 arrived) there were a tons of artists performing with them live.