I managed to track down Dave goodway who designed part of the Movement MCS drum computer, being that there is very little known info on this company and drum machine I thought maybe you guys would like to know a bit more about it for say...nostaglia? history lesson maybe? You guys were such help with my last question so I'm trying to repay it in any way I can.
Dave stewart spoke about using this machine on an interview about "sweet dreams" here:
The interview with goodway:
Hi Dave, thanks for taking the time to speak to me, I don't have a unit, I've been desperate to find one for so many years now, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack I cannot even find a sample CD, I'd be the happiest man alive to get one!
> I have the sound EEPROMS somewhere & the reader but no old PC to run the EEPROM reader. no sound files, sorry
(all sounds were originally mastered on a Revox B? 1/4 tape, then played at 1/2 or 1/4 speed to record them on an ADC to the EEPROM using a Z80 CPU)
Was the mark one a prototype? - were there many of them made before it moved to the MK2?
>The Mk1 was the one on the Eurythmics video, the wooden one, this was the superiour model !, but the Mk1's all got recalled for some buisness issue !
We're you the creator of the company or did you design it for them and move on shortly after?
I did all the electronic + software design for John Dickenson who built them
We're the Eurythmics paid to advertise it on sweet dreams or something they chose to do?
They chose to do it, a chap called Brian was odd job man who helped with the assembly, I serviced the MK1 they had for several years after the initial Pop Hits
The Tourists & Eurithmics came to the Bridgwater studio several times, I did several mods specially for them (trigger stuff)
Do you have any pictures of that time or pics of where you were working when they were built?
Possible old analog photos, but dont know where !
Did you keep any units or memoribilia left over from your time at the company for yourself or have any lying around at home or in the attic?...if so I would give almost anything if you no longer wanted a unit or to sell one.
i chucked the Mk2 one I had due to lack of space, 20 years ago, I have probably got a few old digital/analog sound modules left somewhere
never did get my hands on a Mk1, which I liked a lot !
If you ever get the time you would make A LOT of people happy if you could do a video for youtube talking about the company and the movement computers themselves!
Ohh...... mabye ?? , I'm not particularly keen on publicity
Would it be possible to build a mark one from scratch using the original plans (if they still exist) would have to look up an electronics engineer who would take on the task - surely there must be a way?
Hmm ....
The original used a NASCOM 2 mother board + Keyboard + Software (I dont
know if I have it still, it was on cassette n 5 1/4" floppy disks !!!)
so an original repo sounds pretty unlikely
I have a few of the original sound modules that would possibly work
given a PSU + controls + trigger etc
(these work stand alone, I did make a 19" rack unit as a sound only
module for the Thompson Twins back around 1982)
You could use any sequencer to trigger the modules
So yes it's possible
Give me a few days and I will dig in the attic for the schematic + any
sound modules
only problem could be if the EPROMS have 'forgotten' there sounds
(if I remember it used a bank of 2032/2064 EPROMS)
Ta
Dave
Movement Drum computer Interview
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- KVRer
- 1 posts since 29 Mar, 2016
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This is cool - nice tracking down.I think there are only about 10 of these left (Mk II versions).
Would be great to get some samples some day...
I recently did an interview with Tom Bailey form eh Thompson twins and he mentioned the Movement.
He thinks he donated his to an electronic music museum or something.
Vince Clarke now owns the MK1 (ex-Eurythmics).
A Mk II was spotted in Phils Collin's lock-up: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jlesser/343401611 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jlesser/343401611)
I also found this 1982 review of the Mk II:
http://www.studio250.fr/docs/divers%20b ... vement.pdf (http://www.studio250.fr/docs/divers%20boite/Movement.pdf)