The Phaser Behind Siamese Dream and Black Ark Dub | Mu-Tron Bi-Phase

video upload by Nostalgic Explorer

"In the early '70s, a guitar synth project died before it ever reached the shelves. Two engineers rescued the pieces, set up shop in a former chicken coop in New Jersey, and built something that would end up on Lee "Scratch" Perry's mixing desk at Black Ark... and all over Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream.

Explorers, I waited years to get my hands on a #MuTron Bi-Phase. This is the very first time I plug it in, with no rehearsal: just two phasors, two sweep generators, and a lot of curiosity. Then I run a full Digitakt jam through it to hear what this #Phaser does to an entire track.

And at the end, I answer the question every #VintageGear collector faces sooner or later: is the real thing worth it when there's a plugin for everything? I'll also confess what this one cost me.

Tell me where you land in the comments. Hardware or VST?

CHAPTERS
00:00 The Package I Waited Years For
00:41 A Lost Synth, a Plane Crash and a Chicken Coop
02:02 Unboxing the Mu-Tron Bi-Phase
02:42 Plugging It In for the First Time
02:58 Phasor A on Its Own
04:16 Bringing In Phasor B
04:45 Flipping the Sweep in Reverse
05:02 Gen 1, Gen 2 or the Pedal?
05:17 Both Phasors Swirling Together
05:44 Running the Digitakt Through It
06:34 The Jam
10:50 A Holy Grail?
11:05 Hardware vs. VST
12:23 Why I Finally Bought One

— Gio"

The synthesizer that went BLIND | Korg 01/W

video upload by Mauro Brunetti Music

"Discover the history, sound, and common issues of the Korg 01/W—the 90s workstation synthesizer that succeeded the Korg M1 and was used by artists like Michael Jackson and Genesis.

In this video, we explore its origins, the Waveshaping function, its most famous presets (Dyno Piano, Air Castle), and its most common faults.

00:00 Introduction: The sound of the 90s
00:48 Stepping out of the M1's shadow: The origin of the name '01/W'
02:04 Launch and the saving grace of the FD model
02:51 Major artists who used it
04:27 AI2 Engine and the magic of Waveshaping
05:25 Legendary presets: Dyno Piano and Air Castle
06:19 Fatal flaws: The blank screen and the floppy drive
06:52 Modern restoration and lasting legacy
07:44 Conclusions and wrap-up."

Jaap Vink and the Institute of Sonology

video upload by La Synthèse Humaine

"Jaap Vink was a technician and teacher at the Institute of Sonology in Utrecht from 1967 until his retirement in 1993. During that time he pioneered numerous techniques for the analog realization of dense electronic sounds and was a key collaborator of Roland Kayn in the 1970's and 1980's. Vink was always in search of sounds that would break the inherent periodicity of electronics, and found that feedback was the key.

This video is the third and last in a mini-series looking at Vink's techniques which were documented by the fantastic retrospective double LP on Recollections GRM. We look at two patches which are structured around two voices arising from interrelated trigger sequences.

Jaap Vink Recollections GRM LP:



Support this work on Patreon: / lasynthesehumaine

00:00 Introduction
00:47 Gottfried Michael Koenig
01:30 Philips Prospective 21e Siècle
04:14 The Institute of Sonology
05:14 Patreon Pitch

FIRST PATCH - DSC ONE

05:29 Looking at the Diagram
06:36 What is the T-DSC?
09:42 Building the First Branch
14:53 ...and the Second Branch
15:27 Refining
17:44 Listening

SECOND PATCH - DSC TWO

19:49 Decoding the DSC
21:05 A Little More About the NCOM
22:54 Branch A / Branch B
24:10 Sorting out the Rest
27:10 Refining
30:03 Listening"

The $500,000 Synth Motown Bought To Replace Its Songwriters

video upload by Noir Et Blanc Vie

"Subjective opinions within, those who do not understand subjective opinion may be excused lol

*100% of the original music in this video composed/produced by me.

SUPPORT MUSIC AND BUY MY ALBUMS! https://noiretblancvie.bandcamp.com/

I'm a big fan of synthesizers, but also a big fan of Motown music, could you imagine a more perfect video and story to tell. The Electronium is a bit of a mystery, it's existence is very real, but it's claims are somewhat questionable. Raymond Scott the creator was an incredible creative, what a force in music and technology. Barry Gordy tried to be the first in the world with this ground breaking machine. Here's the story."

See the Electronium and Raymond Scott labels below for related posts.

E-mu Emax II Rack: Why He Bought a Vintage Sampler

video upload by Ian Dixon

"The E-mu Emax II Rack is a 1990 vintage sampler with 16-bit sampling, digital resonant filters, 16 voices and that classic E-mu sample-library character.

In this video I explain why I bought an Emax II Rack, how it fits into the E-mu Emulator family, and what makes this 2MB version with a Gotek drive interesting today. I look at the history from the original Emulator through to the Emax II, load sounds from the Gotek/sample library, play through factory-style patches, explore the filter and envelope controls, and talk about why vintage samplers still feel different from modern software.

This is partly a first look, partly a vintage sampler demo, and partly the start of a new Emax II journey: building a usable sound library, tagging useful sounds, sampling my own material and finding out what this classic rack sampler can add to modern tracks.

Timestamps
00:00 Intro and music
00:15 E-mu Emax II Rack overview
00:39 Emax and Emulator history
01:03 Emax II specs and 16-bit sampling
02:06 Front panel and loading sounds
02:37 Gotek drive workflow
03:30 Sampling rates, filters, SCSI and MIDI
04:23 Exploring the sample library
05:08 Loading Grey Sounds Volume 1
06:45 Brass sounds and loading workflow
07:10 Emulator library sounds and synth-style editing
07:55 Digital resonant filter and Q
08:34 Filter envelope experiments
09:50 Synth-style modulation and envelopes
10:14 Sampling, looping and editing options
10:57 Piano, guitar, vocal and classic library sounds
14:26 Building a personal Emax library
15:08 Tagging sounds and using the library tool
15:48 Reflections on vintage digital samplers
16:26 Comments, resources and wrap-up"

The Sumo Legend Behind YMO's Rydeen (Reimagined on Vintage Synths)

video upload by Nostalgic Explorer

"What does a legendary sumo wrestler have to do with one of the most influential synth-pop tracks ever made? 🎹

Yellow Magic Orchestra was formed by three geniuses: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yukihiro Takahashi, and Haruomi Hosono, who released the album Solid State Survivor, featuring the song "Rydeen." This song helped shape the sound of early video game music and influenced generations of electronic artists — and the story behind it is stranger than you'd expect. This episode traces the band's outsized legacy before diving into a full reimagination of the classic on the Moog Voyager, Roland Juno-60, and LinnDrum.

Chapters:
0:00 Meet the Band That Rewired Electronic Music
0:28 Two Legends Gone, One Icon Remains
1:23 From Oscar Wins to Underground Side Projects
2:24 The Untold Story Behind 'Rydeen'
3:53 Reimagining Rydeen on the Moog Voyager & Juno-60
7:02 Final Thoughts & What's Next"

Buchla Mind Beginner's Mind

video upload by Todd Barton

"This is a collection of over 4 hours of tutorials on the functions and uses of the standard Buchla 200 Modules. Modules explained include: 207, 216, 256. 257, 258, 259, 266, 281, 291, 292 and the MARF.
https://www.toddbarton.com/music-shop...
Previously these were available on my Vimeo site but as of September 21, 2026 they will no longer be available for purchase on Vimeo."

Follow-up to this post.

S-770: Roland's Flagship Sampler from 1990

video upload by Alex Ball

"A look at the Roland S-series samplers of the 80s and 90s with the S-770 being the unit demonstrated.

0:00 Intro
1:38 History
5:18 Musical Interlude
6:19 Making Sounds with the S-770
9:41 Resampling
11:45 Time Stretching
13:58 A-ha's S-770 with Anders Enger Jensen
18:27 Roni Size and the S-760
19:24 The Hetoris Easter Egg
21:57 Summary and Patron Outro

Huge thanks to my Patrons on Patreon, Eric Persing, Ryeland Allison, Anders Enger Jensen and the lovely person who donated this S-770 to the channel."

The Strange Machine Behind Some of Rock’s Greatest Songs

video upload by Parlogram

"The sound of the Mellotron is legendary and has over the past 60 years featured in so many great songs by groups such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Zombies, King Crimson and so many others. In this video we visit the most comprehensive, if not the best collection of these wonderful instruments in the world. We look at all the Mellotron models from first to the latest and demonstrate every one too. We hope you have as much fun watching this video as we did making it.

Streetly Electronics website: http://www.mellotronics.com/"

M-VAVE FM-1: A full FM synthesizer for $67

video upload by David Hilowitz Music

You can find additional M-VAVE FM-1 posts here.

You can find the M-VAVE FM-1 online editor here.

You can find the M-VAVE FM-1 on Amazon.

The $400,000 Synth That Got Run Over by a Tractor

video upload by Noir Et Blanc Vie

"Subjective opinions within, those who do not understand subjective opinion may be excused lol

*100% music in this video composed/produced by me.

SUPPORT MUSIC AND BUY MY ALBUMS! https://noiretblancvie.bandcamp.com/

Following up in similar fashion to the Frank Zappa Synclavier video, I wanted to tell a little story about Keith Emerson and the GX-1. Emerson Lake and Palmer are probably names you know, but Keith on his own is known to many synth and keyboard players/enthusiasts. I thought I’d tell a little story about Keith’s GX-1, and possibly a little about how its existence and where we are today collide in a strange way almost 50 years later. Just another FYI. NOT NOT NOT sponsored by Cherry Audio, I wouldn’t do that. I didn’t want to do the music for this video though with what I spoke about, similar to the last video where I used the Arturia Synclavier V for the music there. I hope you enjoy."

The First Commercial 19" Rack Synth?! | Roland SPV-355

video upload by Keyboard Kingpin

"In this video, we take a deep dive into the Roland SPV-355, one of the first commercial rack synthesizers ever made. It’s a super rare and unusual style of synthesizer that Roland never really recreated. We’ll go through what it does, how it works, and most importantly, hear what this weird piece of Roland history actually sounds like.

0:00 Intro
0:45 Brief History
3:05 Front Panel Features & Settings
12:37 Patches & Presets
13:53 Beat Made Entirely With the SPV-355
16:31 Final Thoughts & Outro"

EMEAPP SONIC TEST DRIVE: Dewtron Mr. Bassman Bass Pedals feat. MIKE KIKER

video upload by EMEAPP

Note this appears to be the first demo of the Dewtron Mr. Bassman featured on the site. Previous posts have all been listings. You'll find some pics and additional info there though.

"In this episode of Sonic Test Drive, our Education Associate Mike Kiker ‪@MikeKiker‬ demonstrates the Dewtron Mr. Bassman.
One of the first commercially available standalone bass pedal units. Made in the UK in the early 1970s, famously used by bands such as Genesis, Yes, Led Zeppelin, and Renaissance. To compliment the Dewtron and to demonstrate how the deep frequencies generated by the Dewtron can supplement the low end in a band situation for both bass players and guitar players, Mike also plays a 1967 Rickenbacker 360/12-string guitar followed by a 1974 Rickenbacker 4001 bass. It wasn't long before more widely available bass pedal synths such as the Moog Taurus pedals supplanted the Dewtron in terms of both popularity and functionality. But it was the Dewtron that first made an impact as a supplemental bass instrument and has become an exceedingly rare and sought after instrument. #basspedals #bass #genesis #mikerutherford #yes #chrissquire #ledzeppelin #johnpauljones #renaissance #joncamp #museum #musictech #synthesizer #analog #analogsynth #progressiverock #guitarplayer #pedal #pedalboard #pedals #basssynth #synthbass #progrock"

Ear Candy: The Best EP Sounds of the 80s (Full Walkthrough with Intro)

video upload by JimDaneker

"Ear Candy is the ultimate collection of iconic EP (electric piano) sounds from the 80s & early 90s, meticulously deep-sampled for MainStage/Logic and Kontakt. These are the most "expensive" sounding EPs you heard on the biggest hits of the decade, by countless artists.

This is a walkthrough of all patches, with background info on the instruments captured.

Get Ear Candy at:

https://backstagepass.store/earcandy

Table of contents:

00:00:00 - *** Intro Teaser
00:00:32 - *** DX DREAMS: History & FX options
00:02:45 - Clique & reverb options
00:04:01 - Dreaming of the 80s
00:04:25 - Multi-Layer EP: DX Dreams vs. plugin options

CLICK FOR MORE »

How Recorded Sound Became an Instrument | Voltage Labs

video upload by Voltage Labs

"Sampling changed the way music could be made.

What began with tape loops and musique concrète evolved through machines like the Fairlight CMI, SP-1200, Akai S950, MPC and ASR-10: each introducing new limitations, new workflows and, eventually, entirely new musical languages.

From hip-hop and jungle to French house, microhouse and experimental electronics, producers learned to treat recorded sound not as something fixed, but as raw material.

This video traces how the sampler became an instrument and how chopping, pitching, looping, resampling and microsampling reshaped electronic music."

The Synth Yamaha Wants You to Forget | The V50

video upload by Espen Kraft

"My sound patches: https://espenkraft.com
In 1989, while Korg's M1 and the sampling boom were rewriting the charts, Yamaha reached into the parts bin and handed us the V50 — a 4-operator FM workstation synth almost nobody asked for.

The V50 wrapped Yamaha's 4-operator FM engine (the same one in the DX11 and TX81Z) in a full workstation shell: an 8-track sequencer, a PCM drum machine, dual digital effects and a built-in floppy drive. On paper, a tidy package. In practice, in a year that wanted fat organs, realistic pianos and new dance sounds, it landed as a warmed-over fossil. I disliked it then, and I dislike it now — but I'll show you what it can and can't do.

All effects in the video are from the V50 internally. No external processing.

Yamaha V50 — key specs:

Released 1989
4-operator, 8-algorithm, 8-waveform FM synthesis (DX11 / TX81Z engine)
16-note polyphony, 8-part multitimbral
100 preset + 100 user voices
Built-in 8-track sequencer — 8 songs, 16,000 notes
PCM drum machine with 61 sampled drum sounds
Dual digital effects (reverb, delay, distortion)
3.5" floppy disk drive
61-key keyboard with velocity + aftertouch
US list price when new: ~$1,895

00:00 M1 ruled the world
00:35 Yamaha's answer: the V50
01:23 What you got for your money
02:14 FM Pianos again
02:52 PCM drums
04:18 A flop
05:00 Various sounds from the V50"

Moog Messenger… History Repeating?

video upload by Robbie Fithon

matrix note: don't miss the recently posted Bob Moog 2003 NAMM Interview – Hosted by Frank Serafine

"Is the Moog Messenger the new Model D?
In this video I look at some of the similarities between the two synths, the controversies around their creation and release, and in the way they were initially received by the music press before being embraced by musicians.

I made a whole album with just a Moog Messenger. Check it out here…"



"A whole album created with just one synth, the Moog Messenger. This concept album tells the story of a being who travels to earth to observe humanity and bring a message. Will it be heeded or ignored?

released June 22, 2026"

The Drum Machine That Was Too Big to Handle | Oberheim Stretch DX

video upload by Nostalgic Explorer

"There's a drum machine from 1983 that was intended to sound like a real drum similar to the Linndum — rolls, flams, off-the-beat feel. But the real story is bolted to its side, and most people have never seen one.

The Oberheim Stretch DX is the machine almost nobody talks about — the expansion that turned a 6-voice box into something else entirely. Here's how it happened, and what it can still do.

⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:00 — The drum machine that didn't want to be a machine
00:38 — Oberheim DMX: the little brother that came first
01:20 — 18 sounds, EPROM cards & the idea that predicted sample packs
02:00 — Inside the DX: sequences, quantize & the swing mode
02:40 — Rear-panel tuning & individual outputs (why 6 voices matters)
03:10 — The Stretch DX: the bolt-on nobody expected
03:40 — Installing a Stretch: soldering irons & ribbon cables
04:00 — Why the DX & Stretch DX faded — and what they left behind
04:20 — Let's make some beats

🎛️ Gear in this video: Oberheim DX, Oberheim Stretch DX"

Patrick Gleeson - A tribute to a great synthesizer pioneer from CatSynth TV

video upload by CatSynth TV

"We at CatSynth pay tribute to Patrick Gleeson, a legendary synthesizer pioneer, performer, and composer, who passed away earlier this month. In addition to going through his history and accomplishments, we share some of his own words about his life in music and his collaborations, including his most famous collaboration with Herbie Hancock. We also share statements from composer and multi-instrumentalist Sam Morrison and Dina Pearlman-Ifil of the Alan R. Pearlman Foundation.

0:00 Introduction
0:25 From English literature to music
1:13 Embracing synthesizers
1:38 Collaboration with Herbie Hancock
2:33 Moog and ARP
3:39 Thoughts from Dina Pearlman-Ifil
4:09 Other musical projects
4:32 Return to live performance in the 2010s
4:48 Thoughts from Sam Morrison
6:51 Conclusion

Video of Patrick Gleeson and images courtesy of the Alan R. Pearlman Foundation
Photo Gleeson's Moog Modular IIIc courtesy of the Bob Moog Foundation"

CLICK FOR MORE »

Why Everyone Wanted an E-mu Emulator (The Story Behind the Icon)

video upload by Ian Dixon

"The E-mu Emulator is one of the most influential musical instruments ever made. From Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode to Genesis, Rush and countless film composers, the Emulator helped define the sound of the 1980s. In this episode of TDL Synthchat, I'm joined by Peter James Steven from the Pro Synth Network to explore the complete history of the Emulator family, from the original Emulator I through the legendary Emulator II, Emulator III, Emax, Proteus and beyond.

Peter owns several original Emulators and even helped develop the Emulator 5 "Vampire Rack", giving him a unique insight into the evolution of E-mu's groundbreaking samplers. We discuss the iconic string sounds, why the Emulator still has such a devoted following, how it compares with the Fairlight, and why many musicians still believe nothing quite captures the original hardware.

If you're interested in vintage synthesizers, classic samplers, 80s music production or electronic music history, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

CLICK FOR MORE »