The ultimate memory cartridge for your vintage Roland gear

video upload by Espen Kraft

"The ultimate memory cartridge for your old Roland gear. It's equivalent of 64 Roland M-64C carts. Fully compatible with all the Roland gear that could use these. It's also battery free using F-RAM tech and as such i will hold the stored data for 100 years or more without ever needing a battery.

Check it out here: https://taiwanrider.com/ocart/index.p...

The music is done with only my custom Alpha Juno patch banks and it's all recorded in one take, track by track. All improvised. No editing or MIDI involved. The video shows the tracks as they're being recorded, in real time. Reverb is Valhalla SuperMassive on some of the patches."

Prophet X | Kawai K3 Sample/Patch bank| Out Now!

video upload by Espen Kraft

"The Kawai K3 from 1986 has always gone under the radar of many. Lush, fat, cold and gritty. It can do it all. It's digitally stored waveforms and analog SSM2204 filters.

The analog filters inside the Prophet X are modelled after the SSM2044 so this is a perfect match for these samples. I've made 32 custom preset patches on my Kawai K3m and focused on a variety of sounds that showcases the capabilities of the K3, yet being very musical and 'ready to go'.

I've then multi-sampled these into the Prophet X.

These are NOT velocity multi-sampled as I don't think that is necessary, but with programming of patches on the PX it's easy to do so authentically as the filters of the PX is almost identical of the real thing.

I've focused on strings, hybrid bells/pads, digital PPG type of sounds and a few basses.
Total filesize is around 550Mb.
All the multi-samples are also available as *sf2 (TAL sampler and Logic compatible) if you're interested. Price is the same.

The price for this pack is $22USD (or €20Euros if you're in Europe) and considering you'll get the absolute best K3 patches and samples directly onto your Prophet X, this price is a steal.

My CONTACT email address is this: espenkraft69@gmail.com
If you want to purchase this pack please send me an email and I'll give you instructions on how to order. If you want a bundled (discount) price for multiple packs just let me know.
I will only sell Prophet X packs directly through email.

I've included 20 patches to help you get going (I you can hear some of these in the video and my browsing through some of them) and you have two options of transfer: Bank U4 P78 – P100 or Bank A4 P00-P21. Both patch banks are included. If you want to transfer the patches SOMEWHERE ELSE on your own PX, you can do so manually, by editing the individual sysex files."

The Mythical Yamaha DX7 Bass Cartridge

video upload by Espen Kraft

"Stock, Aitken and Waterman used a lot of DX7 basses in their hits. In interviews in the 80s they would occasionally talk about their cartridge with DX7 bass patches and how no one would get access to it.

Many decades later and the patches can now be found online. Just to make sure I asked Phil Harding if he was able to verify that these are indeed the real mythical patches and he, in turn, asked Ian Curnow. Ian Curnow is of course the guy that actually did the programming of most of it. He also made the Fairlight patches/sounds for 'Never Gonna Give You Up' which uses one of these bass patches. Ian Curnow did confirm this is it."

Simmons SDS 800 from 1984 | Analog Budget Toms

video upload by Espen Kraft

"In 1984 Simmons began to expand their product line with smaller kits and pads, including the SDS 800 (bass, snare, and 2 tom system). This was aimed at acoustic drummers who wanted to add a couple of Simmons pads to their kit on a budget."

Prophet X - Epic Vol.3 | DX Dreams (SF2 available)

video upload by Espen Kraft

00:00 Intro
02:02 Electric Pianos
04:49 Guitars
07:10 Keyboard/Synth
13:01 Strings

"The best Yamaha DX samples and patches inside your Prophet X.
I've layered and recorded my best patches from over 30 years with the DX7, TX816 and TX802.
All put into 64 epic multi-samples which I've recorded with focus on making the most beautiful and musically DX patches you'll ever need in your PX.
Some of the samples have up to 5 velocity layers.
The number of individual recorded samples in this project is close to 3000 in total. Total filesize is 2Gb.

The price for this pack is $35USD (or €35Euros if you're in Europe) and considering you'll get the absolute best patches and samples ever made for these synths directly onto your Prophet X, this price is a steal.

My CONTACT email address is this: espenkraft69@gmail.com If you want to purchase this pack please send me an email and I'll give you instructions on how to order. If you want a bundled (discount) price for multiple packs just let me know.
I will only sell Prophet X packs directly through email.

All the multi-samples are available as *sf2 (TAL sampler and Logic compatible) if you're interested. Price is the same.

I've included 48 patches to help you get going (as shown in he video demo) and you have two options of transfer: Bank U1 P80 – P128 or Bank A2 P80-P128.
If you want to transfer the patches SOMEWHERE ELSE on your own PX, you can do so manually, by editing the individual sysex files.
Here is the link to my video where I show how you can do that. It's quite easy:
• Prophet X - Overwrite factory memory ... [posted here]

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Korg Mono/Poly garage-find | Did it still work after all those years?

video upload by Espen Kraft

"The Korg Mono/Poly belongs to a friend of mine who (if my memory serves me right) did find it in a garage somewhere, alongside a Roland Jupiter-4 which was beyond repair from what I can remember he said. This is a short edit from a longer video I once had on my channel.
Oscillator 1 on the Mono/Poly did not work and that prevented me from doing a couple of things with it, but it still worked and what you hear in this video is what I got out of it. Only the kick drum is a sample. The rest is the MP you see here.
Since this video was made the synth's been repaired/restored and is now working 100%. The dust did come off.

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

Roland Synthesizer Vintage Fest

video upload by Espen Kraft

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

Roland MKS-20 for the Prophet X add-on patch/sample bank | Download now

video upload by Espen Kraft

"Prophet X add-on pack | Roland MKS-20 Electric Pianos. Around 1000 multi samples and custom made patches with and without the analog MKS-20 chorus built into the samples.
These samples are recorded by me, out of a vintage Roland MKS-20 I have in the studio.

The price for this add-on is $12USD (or €12Euros if you're in Europe) and I think this is well worth it.

I will only sell these add-ons (more are on the way) directly through email. My CONTACT email address is this: espenkraft69@gmail.com If you want to purchase this pack please send me an email and I'll give you instructions on how to order.
If you want a bundled (discount) price for multiple packs just let me know.

In the download you will find 12 individual patch sysex files as well as the full bank of these 12 patches.

For your convenience I've added two different locations for the patches. The U1 bank from patch 71-82 and the A2 bank from patch 1-13.

If you want to transfer the patches SOMEWHERE ELSE on your own PX, you can do so manually, by editing the individual sysex files. Here is the link to my video where I show how you can do that. It's quite easy: • Prophet X - Overwrite factory memory ...

I can also make a custom sysex file for you if you have a specific bank or patch interval you want to use and you don't feel at easy editing sysex files yourself. This will of course cost extra, but let me know and I'll give you my price for this.

The samples will go here in your Prophet X: u17
You can of course change where you will put this folder as well.

Pack also available as Bitwig, SF2 and Wav files. Price upon request.

The samples and patches I've created are originally meant for MY Prophet X, for my live needs. A way of having all my vintage synths in one keyboard when doing live gigs, doing MY own songs, as faithful as possible to my albums. Now you can have them too.

I've also added the Clavi, Harpsichord and Vibraphone samples and patches in this pack, but these are not multi samples. The main focus was the electric pianos and pianos."

Retroaktiv MPG-7 Controller for Roland MKS-7 & Juno-106

video upload by Espen Kraft

"The new MPG-7 controller from Retroaktiv can be useful even to us Juno-106 owners only, even though it's even more powerful for the MKS-7."

Prophet X sample & patch bank | Korg Poly-61 & Poly-800

video upload by Espen Kraft

"Prophet X add-on pack with Korg Poly-61 and Poly-800 samples and patches.

The price for this add-on is $15USD (or €15Euros if you're in Europe) and I think this is well worth it.
I will only sell these add-ons (more are on the way) directly through email. My CONTACT email address is this: espenkraft69@gmail.com
If you want to purchase this pack please send me an email and I'll give you instructions on how to order.
If you want a bundled (discount) price for multiple packs just let me know.

In the download you will find all the individual patch sysex files as well as the full bank of 51 patches. If you have my first two add-ons (Memorymoog and Matrix-12) I have a patch bank here that will go in right after these two at Bank U2 - Patches 74-124. For your convenience I've also included a transfer to bank A1 - Patches 74-124. I also included all the 51 individual patches. These go to Bank U3 - Patches 78-128

If you want to transfer the patches SOMEWHERE ELSE on your own PX, you can do so manually, by editing the individual sysex files. Here is the link to my video where I show how you can do that. It's quite easy: [see this post]
I've also included a text file with the sample stretch details for every single individual patch.
I can also make a custom sysex file for you if you have a specific bank or patch interval you want to use and you don't feel at easy editing sysex files yourself. This will of course cost extra, but let me know and I'll give you my price for this.

The two folders holding the samples:
px/u13 will go into your Prophet X at u14 /15 Synth/05/Poly-61_MISC
px/u14 will go into your Prophet X at u15 /15 Synth/06/Poly-800_MISC

You can of course change where you will put this folder as well.

Pack also available as Wav files. Price upon request.

The samples and patches I've created are originally meant for MY Prophet X, for my live needs. A way of having all my vintage synths in one keyboard when doing live gigs, doing MY own songs, as faithful as possible to my albums. Now you can have them too."

WoFi Sampling Synthesizer | If the Emulator II and Casio SK-1 had a child, in 2024

video upload by Espen Kraft

"What if the the Emulator II and the Casio SK-1 had a child in 2024. The sound and editing capabilities of the EII, with the size and easy access of the SK-1. This is what the WoFi seems to be. To me.

Every single sound in the track "Wait" was sampled into the WoFi and then multi tracked. No MIDI was used. Everything was recorded by hand. Even the drums. It's all coming out of the WoFi.

The song is called "Wait". Find the track it here:"

The Manatee Synthesizer | Real time sound design and making a full track

video upload by Espen Kraft

"The Manatee Spectral Synthesizer from Fred's Lab.
Check it out here: https://fredslab.net/en/manatee-modul...

It reminds me a lot of the Kawai K3 with some Microwave blended in. Capable of doing anything from mellow soundscapes to screaming Trance music. Very versatile and fun to play around with.

You can find the demo "Sans Semi" track on my Bandcamp here:
https://espenkraft.bandcamp.com/track..."

Roland TR-505 | Tight Drums & Synthpop - In depth tutorial

video upload by Espen Kraft

"The Roland TR-505 drum machine from 1986. Undervalued and underestimated. If you want to make a tight, slick drum pattern in 80s synthpop style, this has the perfect kick and snare for the job.

With a little bit of compression and EQ you will have a super tight and punchy back bone for the rest of your arrangement. The kick of the 505 is more suited to digital recording and streaming playback than the 707's kick or the Linndrum kick.

The TR-505 was released as an entry level drum machine and it was always overshadowed by the TR-707 popping up at around the same time, and the TR-909 released a little before, but people like Vince Clarke hailed the 505's kick as perfect for synthpop.

Since the TR-505 doesn't have individual outputs it's necessary to record the individual sounds and use them in the DAW for full control. In the 80s we did all of this in the sampler and used that's individual outputs routing the sounds to the mixer.

The rest of the instruments and sounds were not the focus of this video, but it's important to have some reference tracks against the drums.

On my Patreon page you can download all the individual drum sounds from the 505, from my personal recordings of it AND the kick and snare processed as you hear them in this video.

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

00:00 Intro and history of the TR-505
00:38 Final sound and mix we're going for
02:13 Percussion and dotted delays
08:39 Hi-Hats and high pass filtering
09:52 Snare and compression
13:00 Snare EQ
14:35 Kick EQ
16:01 Toms
18:08 Crash
19:22 Getting the balance right
21:35 The TR-505 is underestimated / Final thoughts"

Prophet X - Overwrite factory memory | Sysex patch edit tutorial

video upload by Espen Kraft

"If you receive a bunch of patches (both individual files or whole banks) for your Prophet X, you might not want to have these saved at the same locations they come in.
If you receive a patch that was saved in Bank U2 Patch 90, this will go into THAT memory location on your Prophet X as well, when you transfer it. Unfortunately you can't put it in another memory location when you transfer it. You can of course save it to some place else after you've transferred it to Patch 90 (this example), but only to the 4 different U-banks.
UNLESS.... you edit the sysex file itself before transferring it to your own PX. By doing so you can set it to go exactly where you want. You can even overwrite the factory patches if you want. All banks and patches U1-U4, F1-F4 and A1-A4 can be overwritten in the sysex transfer.

I'm fully aware there exists several library apps and software for the Prophet X that will help you do this. These costs money. My method is totally free.

In this video I'm using a free binary decoder called HdX to load, inspect, edit and save a sysex file. I'm using Bome SendSX to transfer the edited sysex file from my computer to my PX.
Both these programs are free.
You can certainly edit the sysex file from within the transfer program itself as well."

Oberheim Matrix-12 add-on sample/patch bank for the Prophet X | Download now!

video upload by Espen Kraft

"Prophet X add-on pack with Oberheim Matrix-12 samples and patches.

Fat, powerful, lush and so 80s. Everything you associate with that 80s Oberheim synth signature sound. It's all here in this pack.

The price for this add-on is $15USD (or €15Euros if you're in Europe) and I think this is well worth it.
I will only sell these add-ons (more are on the way) directly through email. My CONTACT email address is this: espenkraft69@gmail.com

If you want to purchase this pack please send me an email and I'll give you instructions on how to order.

If you want a bundled (discount) price for multiple packs just let me know.

In the download you will find all the individual patch sysex files as well as the full bank of 37 patches. These will be transferred into Bank U2 at Patch 37-73.

For your convenience I've also included a duplicate bank which will go into Bank A1 at Patch 37-73. This will work perfectly if you already have my Memorymoog add-on pack in patches 1-36 from before.

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Lexicon PCM70 | Best bang for the buck reverb you could get in the 80s

video upload by Espen Kraft

"The Lexicon PCM70 was released in 1985. The same year as the more expensive 224X. The PCM70 was a budget alternative for expensive sounding lush reverbs and effects, even if it did cost over $2000 in the 80s. It also had MIDI and they made it respond to CC messages so you could control it in real time. This was very impressive. What set a good expensive reverb apart from more cheap ones was how the expensive reverbs effortlessly wrapped around the sound source in a majestic and expansive way, where the cheap ones wrapped itself around the source as wet snow or stink on stink.

Today, there are plugins that will destroy the PCM70 in many ways, but sometimes the oldies are goldies for a reason.

A big thanks to Anders Jensen for letting me have one of his PCM70s for this video. I've sold all my Lexicons now as I use Valhalla VintageVerb for easier and faster access to the Lexicon reverb sound in the DAW.

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

00:00 LONG HALL Reverb Program
00:44 Intro
01:48 DRUMS with reverb
04:18 Midi CC for remote control of parameters
08:41 Synth Brass with long modulated reverbs
11:13 Does it hold up today? Final thoughts"

How to make 80s thriller/slasher/giallo music | Tutorial and breakdown

video upload by Espen Kraft

"How to make a thriller/slasher track with both old and new synths, samplers and drum machines. Put together and mixed as it would have sounded coming out an 80s movie.
I've always been a huge fan of the "giallo" thriller/slasher movie subgenre championed by Italian directors like Dario Argento, Mario Bava, Sergie Martino and more.
These movies often had absolutely mind-blowing violence topped with fantastic music.
One of these composers, Claudio Simonetti did many awesome tracks for Dario Argento, and among them the themes from 'Tenebre' (Tenebrae) a thriller in the giallo style, from 1982.
Another composer I draw a lot from is Fabio Frizzi. His work with Lucio Fulci has always been a great source of inspiration to me.

Midnight Drive 5 is my go at making a similar styled track. I've gone overboard with the intro which is supposed to be from a film, but these are all sound effects I've put together for this.

Find the track here:



00:00 Intro
01:25 Bass (Prophet VS)
03:00 Strings (Juno-106)
05:24 Synthbrass in the intro of the song (Prophet X)
07:16 Main Synth Theme
08:26 Counterpoint to the synth theme
09:23 Intro synth part to signal violence
10:22 Putting it all together and adding on
15:13 Making it sound like movie violence (sound effects)
18:12 The importance of reverb or NOT reverb
21:14 Drums
22:40 Bass
23:00 Strings
24:14 Vocal effects (chopped up)
26:07 Vocal choir
27:37 Counterpoint brass (Fabio Frizzi tribute)
28:37 Ending
29:59 Closing thoughs"

Quick tip: Roland M-64C compatible cartridges from Hakke

video upload by Espen Kraft

"If you're looking for Roland M-64C compatible cartridges for your old synth- or drum machine gear, but don't want to pay top dollar for vintage unreliable carts, OR over-expensive new ones, these might be interesting to you.

Check them out here:
https://taiwanrider.com/ocart/index.p...

A big thanks to Anders Jensen for the close-ups of some of his MKS modules."

"This M-64C Memory Cartridge is a great addition to your vintage musical instruments.

Compatible backup memory for these Roland products: Alpha Juno 2, GR-700, GR-77B, MKS-10, MKS-20, MKS-30, MKS-70, MKS-80, TR-707, TR-727, TR-909, JX-8P, JX-10.

It's a clone of the original Roland M-64C made from new components. Comes with a professionally 3D-printed casing and waterproof label.

The cartridge is made by me, designed and assembled by hand to order in Taiwan with all new PCB and components. It is perfect for those who are looking for a replacement or an additional memory cartridge. With this memory cartridge, you can ensure that you have enough storage space for your vintage instruments.

A version with switchable dual storage memory is available as well (M-64C-X2).

May be compatible with M-16C and M-32C Memory Cartridges as well."

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Synthesizers for Dummies (if you're wondering what a synth is, then this video is for you)

video upload by Espen Kraft

"Synthesizers for dummies. In this beginners tutorial I will teach you the basics and in less than 22 minutes you're on your way to becoming a synth master. Even your mother will understand this.
This video has been requested for years, and it's finally here.
THIS video is for you that knows NOTHING about synthesizers, but you've heard of them. You've seen them, and you want to know how they work. Maybe you're to shy to ask questions. This video is for you.
When you master the basics of a synth you can pretty much use all synths.
In this video I show what is known as subtractive synthesis.

The synth I'm using in this video is a Roland Juno-106 from the mid 80s. You can also get this as a computer program and use it directly from the computer, hooked up to a master MIDI keyboard.

The end music uses only synth sounds from this particular synthesizer. The drums are not from the synth though.

The graphic caricature drawing of me is designed by Creation Loading.

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

00:00 Intro
01:35 The Oscillator (source of sound)
04:17 The Filter (where we shape the sound)
06:35 The Amp (volume control)
06:57 The Envelope (movement in time)
10:55 The LFO (modulating the sound)
16:22 PWM (pulse width modulation)
20:44 Sound examples
21:34 Final thoughts"

Prophet X add-on Memorymoog | Download now!

video upload by Espen Kraft

"Prophet X add-on pack with Memorymoog samples and patches.
The Memorymoog is considered to be one of the greatest synths of the 80s. Fat, lush and very powerful. It's also extremely very fragile and expensive.
I've recorded and sampled the very best out of this synth, personally, and made it available for the Prophet X.

The price for this add-on is $15USD (or €15Euros if you're in Europe) and I think this is well worth it.
I will only sell these add-ons (more are on the way) directly through email. My CONTACT email address is this: espenkraft69@gmail.com
If you want to purchase this pack please send me an email and I'll give you instructions on how to order. This has worked great for the previous PX packs.
If you want a bundled (discount) price for multiple packs just let me know.

Included in the download are 36 samples and 35 patches to help you get going and what you hear in the demo video is coming from this pack. All the patches are made from individual samples, but these are NOT multi samples. All the patches are made from time-stretching the samples. I've done it like this to mimic the sound and feel of 80s samplers. Because of this I've also included a written patch sheet where the patches and corresponding samples are detailed with their stretched keys and frequency. That can come in handy if you want to edit the patches.

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