OldSynths

John was such an influence- I always appreciated that he created  
products that were affordable yet sophisticated.
He was an innovator in bringing synthesizer technology to the common  
man.
He will be missed.
-Rory McDonald
OldSynths Moderator


On Nov 30, 2005, at 11:07 AM, eded@... wrote:

> Wow...  for once, I'm speechless.  A second legend (and even bigger  
> hero) in almost as many months.
>
> I'll raise a glass for Mr. Simonton tonight.
>
> Ed
>
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Marvin Jones [mailto:mjones@...]
>> Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 05:39 PM
>> To: '', ''
>> Subject: [oldsynths] In Memoriam: John Stayton Simonton, Jr.
>>
>> Apologies for the massive cross-post, but want to make sure all  
>> John's
>> fans get the news.
>>
>> Following is the official family press release.
>>
>>
>> In Memoriam: John Stayton Simonton, Jr.
>> June 24, 1943 – Nov. 25, 2005
>>
>>
>> Oklahoma City – Founder and president of PAiA Electronics, Inc. (OKC)
>> John Stayton Simonton, Jr. died at his home in Arcadia, Okla. on
>> Friday, Nov. 25 after a yearlong battle with esophageal cancer. He  
>> was
>> 62 years old.
>>
>> Born in Honolulu, Hawaii to John and Eva Simonton, John Simonton grew
>> up in New Orleans, La. graduating from the Sam Barth School for Boys
>> and the Metairie Park Country Day School. In 1965 while finishing his
>> engineering and psychology degree at Louisiana Tech University in
>> Ruston, La. he met and married Linda Brumfield Simonton.
>>
>> After completing his degree in 1967, John moved to Oklahoma to  
>> work for
>> the first computerized jet engine test facility at Tinker A.F.B.
>>
>> In 1968, John founded PAiA Electronics, Inc. in Oklahoma City, a
>> company dedicated to providing synthesizer kits to the do-it-yourself
>> electronic musician. John Simonton has designed hundreds of products
>> including the Gnome MicroSynthesizer, the SMPL System SMPTE / MIDI /
>> Machine synchronizer and the PAiA Programmable Drum Set, which is
>> credited with being the first commercially available user- 
>> programmable
>> percussion box.
>>
>> Many music artists received their first exposure to synthesis with
>> PAiA’s modular systems. Many engineers, scientists and technicians  
>> had
>> early exposure to their professions through his trade journal  
>> articles.
>> His work with starved tube circuitry produced the TubeHead series of
>> preamplifiers and his most recent project was PAiA's Theremax  
>> theremin.
>>
>> A widely read author and contributor in the electronic popular press,
>> John was also the publisher of Polyphony magazine, which was first
>> published in 1975 and later renamed Electronic Musician.  Electronic
>> Musician eventually sold to Mix Publications of Berkeley in 1985.  
>> John
>> was also the founding partner in High Technology, Inc. the first
>> computer store in Oklahoma in 1976, which became the first wholesale
>> distributor for Apple Computer, Inc. in 1977.
>>
>> Deeply dedicated to doing what was right, John was a mentor and
>> inspiration to many do-it-yourselfers encouraging them to pursue
>> avocations and careers in engineering and music.
>>
>> He is survived by wife Linda Simonton, daughter D. Stayton (Staci)
>> Craig, son John S. Simonton III (Trey), granddaughters Nikki Craig  
>> and
>> Callie Simonton, and grandson Christopher Kai Simonton.
>>
>> A memorial service to celebrate John’s life will be held at 6 p.m.,
>> Saturday, Dec. 10 at the Omniplex Science Museum in Oklahoma City. In
>> lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the John S. Simonton  
>> Memorial
>> Fund at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, PO Box 1146, Oklahoma
>> City 73101.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Yahoo! Groups Links
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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