Can you guess the source of this sound/patch?

video upload by Espen Kraft

And the answer:

Did you guess right? NO, you didn't. This is why.

video upload by Espen Kraft

"It's with great pleasure I find that not one single soul considered the Akai S1000 from the late 80s as the source of this patch. Suggestions of $10000+USD Oberheims to the Jupiter-8 or VSTs only shows that we listen a lot more with our eyes than ears usually. When we SEE someone playing an expensive synth we tend to believe it sounds "better" than a cheap VST.

In this video I'm using the Akai S1000 as a synth. No sampling has been done. The S1000 is very capable as a synth. With 4 the factory waveforms (they're in the memory from boot-up) you can build up pretty much anything you like in terms of synth sounds. You don't have to sample anything. By using 2 sawtooth waveforms, slightly detuned, with the different envelopes for the amp and filter, I can easily mimic a Roland two osc synth. That was my goal here. With two waveforms per voice the normally 16 voice S1000 is reduced to an 8-voice synth, and with that long release time some voice stealing takes place, in effect mimicking a 6-voice Roland synth even more. The Akai S1000 is a 16-bit sampler. It has a non-resonant digital filter. It was a true workhorse sampler for me 30 years ago and it can do so much, even today. Both as a sampler and as a synth. It can be picked up very cheap.

The moral of the story is that you don't always have to have the most recent bells and whistles, nor the most expensive vintage synth to make a nice retro sounding patch. I'm all for having vintage gear to get inspiration and creativity going, feeling good inside. Sometimes I only focus on the sounds and getting the job done and something like the S1000 can be just as usable as any vintage Oberheims for the exact same sound. It gives me great satisfaction knowing I can choose what to do and use, based on logic and experience and not snobbery elitist thinking.
Sometimes I reach for that vintage synth, sometimes a VST is the best choice. Other times a new hardware thing is the best option. All will can the job though. Use your ears, not your eyes.

Find my music here:
Bandcamp: https://espenkraft.bandcamp.com/"