Professional TOYS

video upload by AudioPilz

"Hey everybody, today we are going to talk about the true underdogs of music technology, the notoriously iconic Portasounds.

This product line of professional toys has been around for over 45 years and Yamaha released so many different models that it is hard to keep track even for terminally online gear freaks like myself.

We are going to take a deep dive into the long history of Yamaha Portasounds, try to find out which ones still offer the most utility for modern music production and - as I just recently fell victim to an impulse buy of what I consider to be one of the more desirable vintage versions - make some music.

00:00 Introduction
00:42 History of Yamaha Portasound
01:30 Yamaha Portasound Concept
01:51 Innovative Features
02:20 Portasounds and the DX7
02:45 PS, PSS, PSR
03:20 Synth Technologies: PASS
03:30 LoFi Squarewaves
03:42 ROM Samples
04:09 VSS Models - Casio-like Sampling
04:16 FM, Differences to other FM Synths
04:38 Which FM Portasound you should buy
04:57 Why the Yamaha Portasound PSS-680 ???
05:12 FM Engine
05:45 Classic Sounds
06:07 FX Section
06:38 PCM Drums
06:51 Sequencer, Midi Control
07:32 Best Portasounds
08:25 Dawless Jam
08:59 Outro"

Bad Gear - FM-1

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. Today we are going to talk about the new and viral FM-1 and it not only won’t get any cheaper than this - it also seems like established manufacturers might have a problem - and it’s not the price!"

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

Bad Gear - This is A MEME, right???

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. Today we are going to talk about cyma forma RND. This godforsaken lovechild of a novelty toy even Teenage Engineering would be ashamed to put to the market and a 2005 Liberal Arts College Bachelor’s degree thesis, obvious ragebait for old school producers and synthesists and FL Studio Autogun ripoff is just a meme, right? Right?"

The FUTURE of Bad Gear???

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. Today we are going to talk about Korg Phase8 and apparently the future of music technology is - overengineered hipster kalimbas."

THEY'RE EATING THE DOGS!

video upload by Peter Grenader

"...they're eating the cats! Their eating...THE PETS!

Real time manipulation of one of donald trump's more famous 'truths'"

Bad Gear - FINALLY!!!

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. People of the the 90s weren’t exactly spoiled for choice when it came to hands-on virtual analog polys: the iconic supersaw, the nordic ice bath, the range that still sounds better than 90% of today’s synths and the one even Uli Behringer wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole.

Today, however, we are FINALLY going to talk about the 1997 Yamaha AN1x and it is beyond me why it took me so long."

Bad Gear - ReBirth in a Box???

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. There are instruments that are apparently made for this format - not only because they’re bad but also because they seem to be tailor-made for my very personal yet not-so-singular tastes.

Today we are going to talk about Sonicware deconstruct MINIMAL and believe me - this feels targeted."

Bad Gear - Electribe ER-1

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. No, there is no episode about the Korg Electribe ER-1 out there yet - I had to look it up myself - and yes, the snares totally sound like sh*t!"

Chapters:
00:00 Intro tune
00:33 Overview Tempera
01:27 Percussion Synths
02:10 Low Boost
02:23 The Sample Situation
03:00 Master Delay, Ring Modulator
03:25 Audio Ins, Trance Gate
03:36 Accent Track, Motion Sequencer
03:58 Sequencer (Timing, Swing)
04:14 Quirks, Limitations, Versions, Pricing
05:10 H*te Screen
05:34 Jam 1 ( LoFi House )
06:25 Jam 2 ( Elektro )
07:30 Finale ( Retrofuturist Techno )
07:57 VERDICT

Bad Gear - Better buy a PLUGIN!!!

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. After almost 30 years of ruthless online battles on the topic of software vs. hardware, synth experts of all creeds and nations were finally able to agree on a firm and resolute 'YES'!

Today, however, we are going to talk about Modal Cobalt 8. While many high end plugins and top shelf hardware instruments evolved to coexist in our sonic toolboxes on an equal footing this 2020 VA synth…didn’t."

The LOST Bad Gear Episode

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. In a time like ours when material needs no longer exist in music production the accumulation of things seems to have become more important than ever.

Today we are going to talk about Novation Drumstation. While today’s synth clones are mostly used for home studio decoration this 1996 drum machine and shameless Roland TR-808 and 909 ripoff was more or less the only affordable way to actually tweak the iconic drum sounds. Simpler times."

Chapters:
00:00 I found the Lost Episode on an old Hard Disk
00:13 Intro tune
01:06 Overview Novation Drum Station V1
01:47 Limitations
02:02 Midi Control
02:24 Analog or Digital???
03:05 Workflow
03:32 Features
04:00 NoIsE iSsUeS
04:29 Audition/Auto-trigger
04:40 What else??? (More Features, Pricing, V2, D-Station ,...)
05:06 H*te Screen
05:35 Jam 1 ( Old School Techhouse )
06:25 Jam 2 ( Old School Trance )
07:28 Finale ( Old School Footwork/Juke )
08:02 VERDICT

Bad Gear - It looks AWESOME on Social Media

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. There are electronic musical instruments that are designed to sound good and there are those that were made to look awesome on Instagram.

Today we are going to talk about Beetlecrab Audio Tempera and chances are that quite a few people bought it for reason number 2."

Chapters:
00:00 Intro tune
00:39 Overview Tempera
02:00 Hands-free use
02:11 The Emitters
02:29 The Samples
02:44 Emitter Deep Dive
04:23 Filters, FX
04:46 Modulators (Envelopes, LFOs,...)
04:58 Live Grain, Sampling, Resampling
05:07 Memory, Connectivity, Availability, Thanks
05:49 H*te Screen
06:15 Jam 1 ( Experimental Techno )
07:07 Jam 2 ( Post-Jungle )
08:09 Finale ( Future Psy )
08:36 VERDICT

Bad Gear - How to become a WEIRDO

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. It is completely natural behavior for electronic musicians to obsess about oddly specific genres of which the undisputed final boss is - of course - ambient. For three reasons.

One, you can produce ambient on any piece of gear with a reverb, two, there are basically no limits to the size of your setup even if you have no idea what you’re doing and three, when your music sounds like a knot of psychotic toads on horse tranquilizers you can still pretend that it was an artistic decision.

Today we are going to talk about Sonicware Liven Ambient 0. This grooveless groovebox was brought to the market last year and puts you in the fast lane to becoming an ambient weirdo."

LF-AMP introduction

video upload by Kanawha Music

Well, that's refreshing.

"A tongue in cheek introduction to what's otherwise a rather boring module."

via Kanawha Music

"The LF-AMP module combines two modules in one chassis:

First, on the left, is a precision triangle wave LFO, featuring:

Two pairs of outputs, each with its own amplitude control ('amount' as most would call it);
Direct and Inverted outputs in each pair;
A precision BIAS control for each output which determines the center of the voltage swing;
HI/LO range for rate, for a total range of about 20Hz down to about 1 cycle every minute.
Easy to see rate indicator LEDs showing the positive or negative swing of the output.

Second, on the right, is a high gain utility amplifier for headphones or line level sources, featuring:
Stereo inputs and outputs, with Normalled output for two individual outputs, or signals combined into one stereo jack ('2/MIX')

A bit more about the rationale...this module was designed for use with our Stereo Ensemble instruments. We needed a specialized LFO for our phaser modules, and an amp for final output, so they were combined into single unit. It's the peanut butter and anchovies of the modular world! The LFO output can be reduced down to a very tiny voltage swing, and then precisely located to work with devices needing those conditions...but it can also be used to give an exact range to a VCO, or an exact amount of depth to a VCA, etc. And since there's an inverted version of each output, two of something can work inthe exact opposite direction if desired. There isn't much to say about the amp; it's just a high quality amp for headphones which works to drive line level sources as well, using the LM4580 amplifier chip."

Seinfeld Bass Battle

video upload by General Midi Guy ⚡

George is the only one that looks like himself, ableit with a mustache. Wouldn't mind hearing a New Order/Joy Division Bass Battle.

"Is the Seinfeld theme played by a Korg M1 or by the 360 Systems Midi Bass, lets find out :p both have been credited Seinfeld Bass on various Internet forums.

This test is not 100% as i dont have the same mixer, fx etc 🛸

https://www.vice.com/en/article/689n7...

https://www.rhythmicrobot.com/product..."

"Remember Seinfeld? Remember that poppin’ slap bass sound all over the show – in the titles, in the end credits, in every sting and transition? Well, this is the little box of tricks that made that sound. The 360 Systems MIDI Bass was an early sampled bass unit, later upgraded to a Pro version that rackmounted. It was a limited but (for its time) powerful-sounding machine that had swappable EPROMS to access additional sounds. We managed to score an original tabletop MIDI Bass plus a set of EPROMS covering a range of both classic and unusual sounds with a distinctly 80s vibe. There is, of course, ‘that’ Seinfeld Slap bass; but if you don’t fancy reliving the glory days of American comedy, there are seven other sounds to choose from – a great Fender Jazz bass, through a punchy 80s synth bass to a rather cool Stick bass (think Tony Levin playing Peter Gabriel’s live gigs and you’ve got it)… and more.

MIDI Bass hardware Kontakt instrumentThe MIDI Bass is a simple little device – MIDI notes go in, bass sounds come out – so we’ve kept things simple for our recreation, which just adds some useful compression and tube saturation controls and leaves the rest up to you and your funk."

https://www.rhythmicrobot.com/product...

Additional Seinfeld Bass posts

Bad Gear - Massive X

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. Today we are going to talk about Native Instrument’s Massive X.

This 2019 plugin is a cautionary tale for music technology brands about what NOT to do if they don’t want to end up as yet another pair of antlers in inMusic’s trophy room.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro tune
00:39 Overview NI Massive X
01:12 Why it's worse than OG Massive
01:38 OK, that's not soooo bad...
02:05 Oscillator Section (Yeah, it's a mixed bag)
02:32 Noise Section
02:39 Filter Section
02:59 Insert FX, Feedback, FX Section
03:32 Workflow (Envelopes, LFOs, Random)
03:56 The Dealbreaker
04:03 Trackers and yes, it can still do Dubstep
04:16 Animator, Massive X Player
04:40 Modular Environment, Presets, Pricing
05:09 H*te Screen
05:37 Jam 1 ( Massive X-only Psy )
06:31 Jam 2 ( Massive X vs. Analog Drums )
07:32 Finale ( Drum'n'Bass )
08:04 VERDICT"

When the AW Noise Maker arrives

video upload by AudioWanderer

"Now with GameBoy edition!!!
2x1 deal! Buy 1 AW Noise Maker and get 2!!!
(Physical device and Gameboy version downloadable)
More info: https://audiowanderer.com/AW/"

Linndrum vs Oberheim DX vs Sequential Drumtraks. Which classic 1980s drum machine comes out on top?

video upload by Brian Coyne Guitar

"In this video, I put three legendary vintage drum machines head-to-head:
🥁 LinnDrum (1983)
🥁 Oberheim DX
🥁 Sequential Drumtraks

I'll compare their sounds in the room, explore their tuning capabilities, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each machine, and share my thoughts on which one is the easiest—and most inspiring—to use.

Then we'll take all three into the studio and hear them recorded directly into the DAW in stereo with no processing, playing classic 1980s-style beats inspired by artists such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Phil Collins, Dead or Alive, and more.

You'll hear:
• Raw stereo recordings of all three machines
• Individual drum sounds and tuning demonstrations
• Workflow and programming comparisons
• Pros and cons of each machine
• Which machine sounds the most hi-fi
• Which machine delivers the most authentic 1980s vibe

These machines helped define the sound of an entire decade. But nearly 40 years later, which one still holds up best?

Watch the shootout and let me know your favorite in the comments!"

Bad Gear - Looks like TEENAGE ENGINEERING

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. Today we are going to talk about MPC Sample.

This brand new toy aisle version of the iconic beat making cash register can be considered to be Akai’s return to the minimalist workflows and aesthetics of first-gen MPCs which - funnily enough - makes it look like it was made by Teenage Engineering."

Chapters:
00:00 Intro tune
00:43 Overview MPC Sample
01:47 Main Limitations
02:04 Sound Design Tools
02:40 Time Stretch, Resampling, Chop
02:50 Effects
02:19 Is it like an old MPC???
03:11 What else??? (Hardware, Pricing, Thanks,...)
04:13H*te Screen
04:43 Jam 1 ( House )
05:39 Jam 2 ( Downtempo )
06:40 Finale ( Synthwave )
07:10 VERDICT

Bad Gear - FORCE in 2026???

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. There are electronic musical instruments with a clear purpose: analog synths deliver classic tones and social media swag, plugins and workstations are great tools if you actually want to make money and Eurorack is still a healthier form of escapism than buying pills at a gas station.

Today, however, we are going to talk about The Force. The mission of this unholy 2019 lovechild of an MPC and Ableton incarnate was nebulous from the beginning and since then the machine was so profoundly transformed by a slow yet steady stream of updates that it is hard to tell whether it is still worth using it in 2026 - or if it ever was."

Chapters:
00:00 Intro tune
01:04 Overview Force
01:50 Differences to MPCs
02:33 Concept & Limitations
02:58 MPC & Ableton Compatibility, Connectivity
03:33 Touch Screen
03:49 Expandability
04:02 Rear Panel
04:25 What else? (Pricing, Thanks,...)
04:56 H*te Screen
05:20 Jam 1 ( 2010s Rave Music )
06:11 Jam 2 ( Downtempo )
07:13 Finale ( Micro House )
07:44 VERDICT
09:03 Patreon Vocoder Shoutout (Waldorf microQ)

Move got HACKED!!! w/ Native Classic Synth Engines

video upload by AudioPilz

"Hey everybody, as frequent viewers of this channel will know Ableton Move was an instabuy for me when it was released in 2024. Seamless integration into Live, tried and tested instruments and FX and a slick form factor turned my gear acquisition syndrome up to 11.

Unfortunately, the little groovebox had been collecting dust ever since - mostly because of a lack of essential features we will talk about in a bit.

However, not only did Ableton iron out major flaws in firmware 2.0 - Move also got hacked in the most beautiful way possible and is now capable of running classic synths right on the machine.

Move got HACKED!!!
Classic Synths on Move

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:40 What is Ableton Move??? (Official Update)
02:04 What's New???
02:20 Schwung (formerly Move Everything) Hack Installation
03:23 How to use Schwung
03:46 Schwung Structure
04:44 Additional LFOs
04:57 Legal Disclaimer
05:16 Instruments ( Yamaha DX7 , Access Virus , Roland JV-880 ,...)
06:58 Schwung Effects
07:28 Schwung Jam
07:56 Workflow Improvements ( Stem Separation , Autosampler ,...)
09:01 Outro"