From The Human League to Fatboy Slim: Meet the Black Country man supplying synth to the stars
Tom Carpenter spends his days busily working away in his workshop, designing and making some of the finest synthesisers in the business.
It's a passion that first stemmed from growing up in the 1980s and developed further thanks to the music of Depeche Mode, The Human League and Howard Jones, to name a few.
Whether it was listening to his favourite artists, playing the instrument himself as a musician or taking them apart and adapting them, synthesisers have always been a huge part of his life.
The married father of three now owns a business, partially working out of his home in Kingswinford.
But this is no ordinary business because Tom not only makes, modifies and creates superb synthesisers, he supplies them to some of the biggest bands in the world.
From idols to clients
Having adored bands who stemmed from the synth-pop scene, he now classes them as his clients, with some even popping round his house.
"I grew up in the 80s, a time when synthesiser and electronic music was still relatively new," said Tom.
"The music that I got hooked on was Depeche Mode, The Human League and Howard Jones, but I also liked the darker scene, like Nitzer Ebb, Front 242, and bands like that.
"My particular favourites were the bands with a heavy use of electronic sounds.
"These guys inspired me to become a musician. I started buying old synthesisers and would open them up and make modifications to change the sound and function.
"After working for various pro-music companies, this slowly led to me making my own small products, which gradually grew in size, complexity and ambition. I have been designing and selling synths now for more than 25 years."
Concept
When building a synth, Tom first has to come up with a concept – basically, what it will be – and then the functions it will have and what it will do.
He then designs the front panels, as well as the number and position of the controls, which dictate how to layout the PCB.
Work on the PCB itself includes lots of testing, metalwork, metalwork art, packaging and design.
And then there is other side of making musical instruments, things like writing the user manuals, designing web pages, demonstrations, videos – it's a lot of work, which usually takes six to eight months to create, from the original concept to the actual release.
"Yearly, the number of synthesisers I make would be in the 100s," said Tom.
"It's a full-time job, plus there's a lot of after hours, thinking about it all, collecting parts or visiting clients."
Tom started his company, Analogue Solutions, in Epsom, Surrey, before moving to Kingswinford about 22 years ago.
Networking
Over the years his business has exploded and now the list of musicians and bands he supplies synthesisers to includes: The Human League, New Order, Nine Inch Nails, The Chemical Brothers, Junkie XL, Dubstar, Daniel Miller, Deadmau5, Portishead, Manic Street Preachers and Fat Boy Slim.
"Most of the big names contact me by email or, in some instances, I have tracked them down so now I have lots of contacts and have been introduced to a lot of big names through lots of networking," said Tom.
"The 'celebrity' customer list is very long but the ones that stick out to me are always the bands I personally love.
"Most of my products are sent out via courier, mostly going overseas so I don't get to visit their homes too often.
"But I have been to The Human League's studio, Martin Gore's in California, Mute Records head office and also went to Depeche Mode's Alan Wilder's place a few times – and also a fair few of the after show parties.
"The weirdest situations are the rare times the artists come to my house, which includes Phil Oakey from The Human League, Sarah Blackwood from Dubstar, and Stephen Morris from New Order. It's strange seeing them sat in my house in Kingswinford."
'Kingswinford is a good place to work'
Tom, still plays himself – when the time allows – and also writes music and does remixes for various independent bands.
And although he works alone on a day-to-day basis, he admits he could not physically do everything without some support.
"I still listen to the 80s bands today, most of which are still touring and writing music," he said.
"But of course I like any song that is good and well written, which eliminates the entire top 100 as it currently stands!
"I have a guy in Wales that does some PCB work, plus PCB assembly companies to do work on those too.
"Kingswinford is a good place to work and is certainly much more easy going than the manic days of working in central London.
"I use a lot of local businesses where I can. My business is certainly very niche and unusual. And it has to be based somewhere, and that place just happens to be Kingswinford."
