Sting Keyboards & Synthesizers

Although Sting isn't as well-known for playing keyboards as he is for his basses and guitars, he did occasionally work with keyboards and synthesizers during his career. Here is a timeline of the keyboards and synthesizers he played over the years.

As a member of The Police, Sting's first synthesizer was a monophonic Minimoog Model D, which he purchased in 1979 and played with the band during the Reggatta De Blanc and Zenyatta Mondatta tours - he had it alongside a set of Moog Taurus I synth pedals, which he operated with his feet. However, as Sting became more interested in polyphonic synthesizers and their capabilities, he replaced the Minimoog with the newer Oberheim OB-Xa 8-voice synth around the time of Ghost In The Machine. Later he also had an OB-8, but didn't use it as much. For composing on the go, he had a Casio Casiotone M-10 32-key portable keyboard.

In terms of sequencers, Sting did initially use one (possibly a Sequential Circuits Sequencer) to provide the simple eighth-note bass line heard in the opening to "Invisible Sun". Later on, the Synchronicity album saw Sting experimenting further with sequencers, expanding The Police's sound. Specifically he used an DSX digital sequencer, which he interfaced with the OB-Xa to develop complex, percussive-sounding sequencer patterns. He'd go on to write sequences of four of the album's songs specifically for the Synchronicity tour, using the DSX/OB-Xa setup.

Post-Police, Sting strongly favoured the Synclavier digital synthesizer and workstation system as a pre-production tool, more advanced than the DSX. He used it a lot on records from The Dream of The Blue Turtles (1985) through to Ten Summoner's Tales (1993). He did also occasionally use the Synclavier live.

Besides the Synclavier, Sting played a few keyboards and synthesizers in concert such as a Roland D-50 and a Yamaha DX7.

Complete list of Sting's keyboards & synthesizers

 * Casio M10 portable keyboard
 * Moog Minimoog Model D
 * Oberheim OB-Xa
 * Oberheim OB-8
 * Oberheim DSX sequencer
 * Roland D-50
 * Yamaha DX7

Other:
 * New England Digital Synclavier system