800DV, MiniKorg 700 and 700s). From the mid-1970s onward he employed two grand pianos - an Imperial Bösendorfer and a Steinway & Sons Concert model. Both grand pianos, the Roland SH-3A and the Rhodes 88 were retained for Vangelis' active late 1970s and early 1980s setup, which also featured newer synthesizers by Yamaha (CS-40M and GS-1), ARP Instruments (Pro Soloist, 2500, Odyssey), Oberheim Electronics (TVS-1A, four and eight-voice Polyphonic Synthesizers), Sequential Circuits (Prophet-5 and Prophet-10), Roland (Jupiter-4, ProMars Compuphonic and the modular Systems 101, 102, and 104), a Korg Polyphonic Ensemble, an RSF Kobol Black Box and a MiniMoog. Other studio equipment during this period included the Solina String Ensemble and EKO Stradivarius string synthesizers; sequencers by ARP, Roland (CSQ-100 and CSQ-600) and Oberheim (DS-20); drum machines by Simmons (SDS-V), Korg (KR-55, Mini Pops 120), Roland (CR-5000 Compurhythm) and Linn (LM-1); vocoders by EMS (Vocoder 1000) and Roland (VP-330 VocoderPlus Mk. I); and the Dubrecq Stylophone 350S. Vangelis also added a Crumar Compac-piano and a Yamaha CP-80 to his piano set-up. For the mid-1980s, Vangelis retained his Roland modular systems and ProMars Compuphonic synthesizers, but added the SH-101 and JX8-P models and the MKS-80 Super Jupiter rack mount module, as well as a Yamaha GS-1. Other holdovers from previous active setups were the Fender Rhodes 88 and Yamaha CP-80, the MiniMoog, the Prophet-10 and the grand pianos. For drum machines, he retained the Linn LM-1 but added an LM-2 LinnDrum and an E-mu SP-12; his chosen sequencers for this period were the Roland CSQ-600 and the ARP; and he upgraded to the Mk. II version of the Roland VP-330 VocoderPlus. Vangelis disliked programming-oriented sampling devices like the Fairlight CMI (considering them to be too far removed from being relatable instruments) and remained unimpressed by many of the later commercial 1980s polysynths such as the Yamaha DX7; however, he did use the E-mu Emulator sampler, in particular the Emulator II model. Vangelis' favourite keyboard was the Yamaha CS-80 polyphonic synthesizer, which he began using from 1977 and which allowed him to employ a distinctive and expressive vibrato technique by varying the pressure exerted on the key. He would use this instrument throughout the 1970s and 1980s to the point that its timbres, abilities and idiosyncrasies became closely associated with his musical signature. In a 1984 interview, Vangelis described the CS-80 as "the most important synthesizer in my career – and for