Vintage Analog Synths - pads/strings shoot-out - old-school synth-pop tutorial/workflow

Published on Sep 26, 2017 Espen Kraft

"Shoot-out starts at 02:07

Which one of the following analog synths from the 80s has the best pads and strings?

Elka EK22
Roland JX-8P
Korg DW-8000
Roland Alpha Juno 2
Roland Juno 6

What effect does the in-built chorus have on the sound?

We find out here in this shoot-out where I put them up agains each other.

These are all synths I use when I make my tracks and I love them all for their respective strenghts.

I've given each synth the same chords and intervals, both with and without the in-built chorus.

This is not a "science" test, but a musically test where I just play some pad and string sounds that I've created to be as similar as possible. There is some differences between the sounds as the internal structure of the sound engines differ. I've chosen a saw wave for all the synths (the Korg has a digitally stored saw) as an oscillator and the first three of the synths can have two oscillators, where as the last two (Juno 2 and 6) only has one.
As you can hear in the shoot-out, they can sound remarkably fat regardless.

Some reverb from the Strymon Bluesky is added on all synths. The Korg DW-8000 is given a slight stereo delay and some chorus externally to get the same amount of modulation as this do not have in-built chorus.

Listen to more of my music on: http://www.espenkraft.com"