In the USA, there were six different versions of the Optigan. Essentially they were the same machine, the cabinet design being the primary variant. There was also a variation that only appeared in Eur
How many different discs were made?
In total, 42 discs made it into production, including the two diagnostic test discs, which were only available to service technicians.
What kinds of instruments were used for the keyboard scales?
Mostly Hammond B3s, Vox Continentals, Gibson and Yamaha Organs.
Who wrote the musical arrangements for the discs?
Most of the arrangements weren’t “written” per se, but were improvised by the session guys based on certain guidelines laid down by Johnny, Mike and Marshall. The earliest sessions were very haphazard
Who played the instruments encoded on the discs?
Over the years, a wide variety of session musicians played for Optigan. The earliest sessions were produced in Cologne, Germany, and constitute the bulk of material that was actually released as discs
How were the discs made?
Click here to see a photo essay of the disc-making process.
Who produced the discs?
The core production team for the Optigan® discs was Mike LeDoux and Marshall Pearlman. Marshall really oversaw the project as a whole, and Mike was largely responsible for actually creating the discs
Why are Optigans so unreliable?
The design team for the Optigan® largely came from a toy manufacturing background, and consequently most of the engineers thought purely in mechanical terms. There were many elements of the Optigan’s
Is it true that the Optigan® was a commercial failure?
Well, yes and no. Optigans actually sold quite well and were popular (despite being very unreliable), but due to some pretty bad mismanagement, Mattel ended up $13 million in the hole by the time they
Were any Optigans shipped overseas?
Gus Wylde, one of the technicians for Optigan®, reports that the last 100 Optigans made by Mattel were shipped to Amsterdam. Frans van der Bijl, a citizen of Amsterdam, did a bit of research on this a