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Behind the Synth: VL1 Retrospective with Manny Fernandez
Check out this 4-part episode of our podcast on the groundbreaking VL1 with sound designer Manny Fernandez.
The introduction of the VL1 Virtual Acoustic Synthesizer at the NAMM show in 1994 blew minds. With a brand new tone generation system called Virtual Acoustic Synthesis, the VL1 tone generator simulates the physical mechanism by which wind, string and other instruments produce sound. The VL1 set new standards for expressiveness and redefined what a synthesizer could be.
Manny Fernandez was part of the core sound design team for VL1 and we knew he had a lot of stories and sounds to share. He spent 4 hours in the
Synth Space with Nate discussing the development process, the team of Yamaha engineers (including legendary Toshi "Dr. K" Kunimoto), the technology of Virtual Acoustic - and he played some of his favorite sounds. Check out this special 4 part episdoe of Behind the Synth podcast below:
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About the author
Yamaha Synthesizer Product Specialist Blake Angelos has over thirty years of experience with music hardware and software. An expert in music technology, Blake has conducted numerous clinics, master classes and presentations throughout the United States, Europe and Canada. In his role as Product Specialist for the Synthesizer Department Blake appears in many product videos and artist interviews, writes many articles for YamahaSynth.com and co-hosts a regular Podcast called “Behind the Synth”.
Before his work with Yamaha, he taught music theory and jazz studies courses at Arizona State University; managed a technology-focused music store in Seattle and was a production supervisor at Microsoft, where he led a team that developed groundbreaking interactive music content for the Microsoft Network. Blake holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Northern Colorado and a Master of Music degree from Arizona State University. Blake currently resides in Bellingham, Washington with his family, and between his travels around the world for Yamaha, he performs as much as possible with several jazz and creative music groups in Bellingham, Seattle and other places in the Pacific Northwest.
