MATRIXSYNTH: Five cheap 80s keyboards...


Monday, June 17, 2019

Five cheap 80s keyboards...


Published on Jun 3, 2019 Alfonse

A new series by ALFONSE. You can find him on Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Twitter, and Instagram.

Playlist:

1 Five cheap 80s keyboards...
Music: "Eight" (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse

Intro to a new series of videos using sounds from ageing home keyboards together with current production tools. All sounds you hear in the track were made using the Casio SK-1 (a sampling keyboard), Casio MT-52, Yamaha PSS-680, Yamaha PSS-580, and Amstrad CKX100. They were recorded to a DAW, where compression, EQ, reverb, and delay were added as required.
2. Casio SK-1 sampling keyboard demo - "Rapid Rhino"
All sounds you hear in the track were made using the Casio SK-1 sampler or its factory sounds and were recorded to a DAW, where compression, EQ, reverb, delay and chorus were added as required. Individual drum hits were sampled from slowed-down SK-1 rhythms, to allow fresh beats to be built, rather than using the rhythms found on the SK-1 itself. If you hear something in the track and can't quite figure out where it came from, that was probably a vocal sample. It has a great 8-bit / 9.38kHz lo-fi sound; grainy and interesting...

The aim of this series of videos is to see what you can create using sounds from ageing home keyboards together with current production tools. Personally, I'm a fan of playing a vintage keyboard like this in its original state (not circuit bent) - it's more than just a retro toy...

Music: "Rapid Rhino" (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse
3. Yamaha Portasound PSS-680 FM keyboard demo - "Splendid Larryo"
All sounds you hear in the track were made using the PSS-680 and recorded to a DAW, where compression, EQ, reverb, delay and chorus were added as required. Individual drum hits were sampled from the drum pads and processed (the 680's kick drum is horrible, so that needed some attention for a start...), to allow fresh beats to be built, rather than using the rhythms found on the PSS-680 itself.

The aim of these videos is to see what you can create using sounds from retro classic keyboards together with current production tools. The 680 has a 2 operator FM synth on board, which can be edited via the Digital Synthesizer parameters on the front panel; there are limited editing options, but enough to get a cool range of sounds. It also has Midi In, Out and Thru, allowing for plenty of cool connectivity with controllers, computers and other hardware. It's basically identical to the PSS-780, aside from some different coloured pads and other parts, and has the same sound chips as the PSS-480 and 580, which were the next rung down in the product line.

For those who have a keyboard from that range, here are the parameters for some of the main patches:
First bass: voice 34: 0.63 1.63 2.10 3.15 4.01 5.00 6.06 7.69
Second bass: voice 74: 0.30 1.63 2.22 3.21 4.02 5.01 6.07 7.73
Main lead: voice 60: 0.26 1.47 2.16 3.25 4.04 5.02 6.06 7.73
Bridge lead: voice 91: 6.04 7.99
End lead: voice 02: 0.41 1.63 2.02 3.01 4.01 5.01 6.06 7.91 + portamento 05

Music: "Splendid Larryo" (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse

More to come! I'll put new posts up to let you know when they come in.

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