ALIAS the sound of our childhood (Tape and Sampler emulation AU/VST3 macOS/Windows)

video upload by orph

From the makers of MONOCHORD

"ALIAS is a tape & sampler plugin — 4 tape machines, 4 vintage samplers, 10 noise floors from reel-to-reel to VHS, vinyl at 33 and 45, uncorrected CD errors, generation loss and 4 to 16-bit resolution. Give any sound the vintage LoFi character of a medium: drift, flutter, hiss, dropouts, crackle, skips.

Buy here: https://www.orph.audio/alias

FORMATS
Standalone · VST3 · AU
macOS 10.13+ · Windows 10 / 11
Universal · Apple Silicon + Intel
64-bit only

AUDIO
32-bit float internal
44.1–192 kHz
Speed 0.5× / 2× · wow · flutter · jitter · dropout

MEDIA MODELS
4 tape machines · 3 modes each
4 vintage samplers · colour and edge modes
10 noise floors · reel-to-reel · cassette · VHS · Beta
Vinyl · 33 / 45 RPM · wobble · crackle
CD error engine with concealment
Generation loss · 4–16-bit resolution
3 reverb modes · stereo width · mono"

ROM EXPANSION – For EPROM Drum Machines by DUCKTRONIC

DUCKTRONIC has made a ROM Expansion currently compatible with Oberheim DX and Linn drum machines. You can find the user manuals for each on a Google drive here.

The following is the intro in the DX manual: "The ROM EXPANSION extends the Oberheim DX with 104 sounds, most of which originate from the early 1980s. This makes it possible to recreate the sound of drum machines from that era. It is also possible to save custom-assembled soundsets and load them again at a later time.

Installation requires the CONTROL BOARD with the "Sound Control" software, the CONTROL PANEL, and six EPROM BOARDS with EPROMs. If only individual instruments are to be modified, fewer EPROM BOARDS are required accordingly.

Installing the ROM EXPANSION does not require any mechanical modifications or irreversible changes. The original state of the Oberheim DX can therefore be restored at any time."

You can find a YouTube playlist with demos here.

CLICK FOR MORE »

The Plinky 12 Toadstep Is an Absolute Jam Machine

video upload by The Unperson

"Plinky 12 is a unique touch-based synthesizer designed by mmalex and Making Sound Machines, built around a powerful synth engine that can take on different forms through interchangeable faceplates and alternative firmwares. This means the same underlying hardware can become a very different instrument depending on which version you're using.

In this video, I'm exploring the Plinky 12 Toadstep, a version developed in collaboration with Toadstool Tech that transforms Plinky 12 into a multi-track sequencer and performance instrument. I'll take a look at how Toadstep works, explore its sequencing and sound-shaping capabilities, and put together some jams to see what this unusual instrument can do.

I really hope you get a feel for the workflow and immediacy of the device. It has such a fun interface, and once you’re comfortable with the setup, it becomes incredibly intuitive, with a perfect blend of intentionality and discovery."

CONTENT
0:00 - Intro
0:56 - Basic Overview
8:15 - Breakbeat Fun
12:50 - Randomize Everything
18:13 - Modulate Everything
23:41 - Outro

just look at the past (Yamaha YM2151 + Yamaha YMZ280B)

video upload by Vivi The Pumpkin King

Fun video featuring the Yamaha YM2151 + Yamaha YMZ280B voice chips. Interstingly, you'll find previous posts mentioning the YM2151, but not the YMZ280B. This simply implies the YM2151 is more comonly used in DIY projects.

"The Yamaha YM2151, also known as OPM (FM Operator Type-M), is an 8-channel, 4-operator sound chip used for frequency modulation (FM) synthesis in 1980s arcade games, home computers, and synthesizers."

Key Features

Voices:

Plays up to 8 simultaneous sounds or channels.

Data Formats: Supports 4-bit ADPCM, 8-bit PCM, and 16-bit PCM waveform data.

Memory: Connects to up to 16 MB of external ROM or SRAM for storing sound data.

Output: Delivers stereo output with 4-bit/16-level panning for each individual voice.P

rocessors: Links with an external digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and can connect to a Yamaha YSS225 effects processor for extra channel processing."

"The Yamaha YMZ280B, also called PCMD8, is an 8-channel PCM and ADPCM sample-based sound chip made by Yamaha Corporation in the mid-to-late 1990s.

Key FeaturesChannels and Operators:

It supports 8 simultaneous channels of 8-note polyphony with 4 operators per channel.

Sound Generation: It includes built-in noise generators, LFOs for vibrato and amplitude modulation, and timer circuits.

Companion IC: It requires an external digital-to-analog converter (typically the Yamaha YM3012) to output stereo audio.

Common Uses

Arcade Machines: Atari's Marble Madness (1984) was the first arcade game to use the YM2151 for FM synthesis, leading to widespread adoption in arcade hardware.

Home Computers: It powered the sound boards in sharp computers like the Sharp X68000 and the Yamaha CX5M music computer.

Synthesizers: Yamaha utilized the chip in early budget keyboards and sound modules like the DX21, DX27, and DX100."

The Hope - Circuit3 & Vince Clarke

video upload by Circuit 3

Update: you can find an interview with Circuit3 and the collaboration on ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK here.

"With grateful thanks to artist Jackie Hudson Lalor for the production of this video and Kat Lalor for assistance with post-production.

The Hope is taken from the album 'Metanoia: Music From Therapy' available on CD & Vinyl from circuit3.bandcamp.com, available in Digital from mortalitytables.bandcamp.com

Circuit3, the retro-futurist project of Dublin-based Peter Fitzpatrick, steps away from his melodic synthpop background on Metanoia. The album moves into spacious, quietly expressive instrumentals. The sound is minimal and tactile, shaped by the classic late70s and early80s electronic vocabulary without being locked inside it.

Metanoia grew out of therapy and the slow process of letting difficult truths surface. Instead of singing those words, Fitzpatrick shaped them through analogue machines. The title refers to the deep shift that can follow self-reflection: a break, a reset, a way of living with more honesty.

A defining moment in the project was the opportunity to work with Vince Clarke, a longstanding influence on Fitzpatrick’s music. They created an eleven-minute piece titled ‘The Hope’, named after the bar near Farringdon, London where that first conversation between Fitzpatrick and Smith happened. The collaboration feels like a dialogue across time: the artist Fitzpatrick once was, the one he is now, and the one emerging through this process.

The album closes with ‘The Hope’. Across eleven minutes, it builds a melodic drone landscape that holds both hopelessness and hope at the same time. The piece suggests that neither feeling disappears; they sit beside each other, always present, always waiting to be recognised."

Phaseburn One sound demo: everything you hear is one synth [Open Beta]

video upload by Phaseburn Music

"Phaseburn One is a synthesizer built around a phase-locked loop: the main oscillator tracks a reference signal, and whatever you patch into that reference becomes part of the sound. Everything you hear is the plugin on its own, nothing else added.

In the video: the PLL lab, the morphing oscillator and its fold, four step sequencers and four LFOs, the probability sequencer, the mixer and patchbay.

VST3, CLAP, AU and standalone, macOS and Windows, instrument or effect. Free open beta until 15 October 2026.

https://phaseburn.music"

The following is some additional info directly in via Phaseburn Music:

"I want to introduce Phaseburn One, a synthesizer we have been working on for several years, which is now in open beta and free for everyone until 15 October.

The sound is built on a phase-locked loop. One oscillator listens to another and keeps trying to match it, and the interesting part starts where it fails. When it tracks accurately the tone comes out clear and strangely alive, and when the loop is loosened you hear the chase itself: the oscillator catches up with the target, overshoots, breaks off, finds the frequency again, sometimes clinging to a harmonic instead of the note you played. PLLs are not new, they have appeared before as modules and effects, but as far as we can tell nobody has built a whole instrument around one. Four macro dials open the loop by ear, so none of the theory is needed to land somewhere usable.

Three more oscillators sit beside it: Morph, which sweeps between waveform families, a Vector shaping oscillator and a Sub. A transient module can add a click, noise or a metallic edge, or build a kick out of a sine. Around the loop there is a modular patchbay where you draw the cables yourself, a rack of seven effects and a mixer, and almost everything can be modulated from a dedicated section of LFOs and modulation sequencers.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Tunary Instruments Releases Cinematic Soundscape Collection

video upload by Tunary Instruments

Best on headphones. "Every sound in this video was made with four Tunary instruments: VRESK, DRUSK, NIVREN and SILT."

via Tunary Instruments

THREE INSTRUMENTS FOR SCORING SPACE, TEXTURE & MOOD

Deep drones, sculpted grains and self-playing glacial beds. Three sound-design instruments made for film, games and ambient music — the sound under a scene, not the tune on top. Buy one, or take all three.

Additional details on each:

VRESK — Drone, Texture & SFX Engine

VRESK holds one sound and lets you move through it.

A drone, texture and sound-design engine: nine different machines under one set of hands, with two reverb spaces built in. Turn the big ROOT knob and the whole voice moves. Everything else colours it.

Nine engines on a 3 by 3 grid. Two oscillators for rings, folds and hard metal. Four wavetable voices for stacks, swarms and crushed digital. Eight partials for beating clusters, quantised chords and noise-struck metal. The knobs stay the same across all nine, and each engine reads them differently, so one panel is really nine instruments.

CLICK FOR MORE »

MAME Synths as Plugins?! Vintage Emulator Studio is Here

video upload by Autodafe

"Vintage Emulator Studio (VES) is finally here!

Download VES here:
https://www.autodafe.net/vintage-emul...

VES started from my experiments with the synthesizers, sound modules, samplers and drum machines emulated by MAME. Over time, after several videos, tests and even A/B comparisons with original hardware, I started wondering: what if these machines could be used in a more musician-friendly environment — and even loaded directly inside a DAW?

That idea eventually became Vintage Emulator Studio.

VES brings together a curated selection of MAME-emulated musical instruments in a single application, available as Standalone, AU and VST3 for macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows and Linux.

You can download VES for free from my website. As with all my free plugins and sample libraries, there is also an optional €5 Supporter version if you'd like to support my work and future development.

VES is also open source, and the GitHub source code is linked from the product page.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: ROMs are required and are NOT included with VES.
I do not distribute MAME ROMs, so please don't ask me to send them. You will need to provide your own ROM sets. The good news is that MAME ROMs are generally not particularly difficult to find compared with those for some other emulation platforms.

Also keep in mind that VES relies on MAME emulation. Not every supported machine is emulated to exactly the same level of completeness, so some quirks or limitations may come from the current state of MAME itself.

P.S. You may occasionally hear a few small audio drops during this video. My computer wasn't always particularly happy about running multiple emulated machines while recording the screen and audio at the same time — so those glitches are mostly from the recording setup rather than VES itself. 🙂"

KORG Polysix – Vintage 80s Analog Synthesizer Demo | Cosmic Sounds

video upload by RetroSound

"🚀 Korg Polysix + Korg KR-55B = pure vintage cosmic electronics

Take a journey into the cosmic side of early-1980s analog synthesis.
In this demo, I'm using only two classic Korg machines: the legendary Korg Polysix analog synthesizer and the Korg KR-55B rhythm machine.

No DAW. No modern plugins. Just vintage analog hardware, simple sequencing, and the unmistakable character of early-80s electronic music.

The Polysix is a classic 6-voice polyphonic analog synthesizer, featuring a VCO with sawtooth, pulse and PWM, a sub-oscillator, resonant low-pass filter, ADSR envelope, LFO, arpeggiator, chord memory and built-in analog effects.

For this demo, I pushed the Polysix into a more cosmic, atmospheric and spacey direction, while the KR-55B provides the vintage rhythm foundation.

If you love vintage synthesizers, analog sound, retro electronic music, spacey synth sounds and classic drum machines, this one is for you.

Headphones recommended — turn up the volume and enjoy the cosmic analog atmosphere."

Elastic Melody 1.2 — What’s New

video upload by Elastic Instruments

"A quick demo of some of the new features in Elastic Melody Update 1.2."

"Here comes the full list:

MASTER SECTION

• Added a master level control
• Added a simple volume meter

OSCILLATOR

• Added four more oscillator waveforms for a wider range of sounds
• Added new modulation options:
– Pitch Modulation
– FM Modulation (IAP)
– Decaying FM Modulation (IAP)

FILTER

CLICK FOR MORE »

Torso Electronics S4 & T1 Workshop at SchneidersLaden

video upload by SchneidersLaden

"We welcomed Torso Electronics to SchneidersLaden for a hands-on workshop with their S4 Sampler and T1 Sequencer in early 2026 - here is a video documentation of the event. A great session for anyone interested in synthesis, sound design, sequencing and creative electronic music tools.

The Torso Electronics S4 is a unique instrument blending tape-style workflows with modern granular synthesis. The Torso T1 combines popular generative sequencers like Euclidean sequences, Turing machines with arpeggiators, chord generators and rounds everything off with extensive random functions. Both are highly innovative and very fun to play!"

The Cars - Hello Again | 80s Vintage Synth Cover | Moog Prodigy & Oberheim OB-Xa

video upload by RetroSound

"The Cars – Hello Again recreated with authentic 80s vintage synthesizers and drum machines. Originally released on the iconic 1984 album Heartbeat City and written by Ric Ocasek.

For this cover I used the Moog Prodigy for the bass and sync lead sounds, while the Oberheim OB-Xa provides the lush pads and organ textures. Drums are created with the iconic LinnDrum, with additional percussion from the E-mu Emulator II.

If you love The Cars, 80s New Wave, Synth Pop, Vintage Analog Synthesizers, and classic electronic music, this performance is for you.

Gear Used
• Moog Prodigy – Bass & Sync Lead
• Oberheim OB-Xa – Pads & Organ
• LinnDrum – Drums
• E-mu Emulator II – Percussion

This cover is a tribute to the incredible production and atmosphere of the original recording, combining authentic 1980s synthesizers, sampler technology, and classic drum machines.

The goal of this production was to recreate the authentic sound and atmosphere of the mid-1980s using original hardware instruments."

Silicon Machine | Daniel Miller & Alexander Hacke in conversation | FFOSSO

video upload by FFOSSO

"We sat down with Daniel Miller and Alexander Hacke to talk about the sounds, machines, and ideas behind Silicon Machine, a new FFOSSO instrument sampled directly from Daniel's own collection of original synths and drum machines.

Daniel traces the lineage back to the earliest days of Mute Records: the Korg 700S that powered "Warm Leatherette" and 'T.V.O.D.,' the rented Space Echo, the four-track sessions where everything was played by hand because there was no other way to do it. Gear that wasn't prestigious, wasn't expensive, and wasn't supposed to sound like much, and did anyway.

Alexander curated the collection, with patches designed and programmed by both Alexander and Daniel for FFOSSO. As curator, Alexander brings his own perspective: a musician whose practice spans decades of Einstürzende Neubauten's industrial explorations, finding music in unconventional sources and understanding intuitively what happens when machines are pushed somewhere they weren't designed to go.

Together they talk about limitation as a creative force, the character that comes from imperfection, and why the rough edges of early DIY electronics can still feel more alive than many things made today. Silicon Machine is the result: cold basslines, broken rhythmic pulses, stark analog textures — raw, mechanical, and quietly menacing.

Available now on FFOSSO

www.ffosso.com"

Warm Leatherette

video upload by The Normal - Topic - 869 subscribers

"Provided to YouTube by Mute

Warm Leatherette · The Normal

Warm Leatherette

℗ 1978 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by Mute Records Ltd

Composer: D. Miller
Composer: Miller

Auto-generated by YouTube."

Hypercube Quadriphonique

video upload by Valmont

"Hypercube Quadriphonique", October 2024. This installation was part of a larger practical exercise at the ENS Louis Lumière master's degree.
Two meters above ground, inclined at an ominous angle, the cube generated four sets of textures layered into a quadriphonic speaker setup. A master OSC patch controlled all the devices in the exposition room ; on my end for my cube I was running MIDI and CV.
I first built a 16-channels 12-bits controller to get everything in harmony, but ended up simplifying the equation to use 4-states inputs and 4 audio outputs, traveling back and forth through the cube in a massive cable liana. The room environment was cyclically controlled by the master patch, and my cube would reconfigure its instruments to play along with the other creations. All sounds were made on a dozen oscillators, a handful of sample players and some Live processing. There was some random breakbeat chops too lmao I loved it, but I lost the session, so I only got some raw cube recordings, which I edited/mixed into this video. Additional black tiles were made to close off the bottom of the cube (just blank PCBs actually!)
Thanks again to Mains d'Œuvres, Franck for the safety tips, my father who helped me cut & paint the wood, and Neurotypic who lent me half the modules. I don't know anyone else who would just say yes to putting laboratory-grade devices into this... thing, suspended with fishing wire!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
My name is Valmont, I'm 24 from Paris! I compose/produce music, repair instruments and take sound on movie sets :) After a double bachelor in musicology and mechanics in Sorbonne, I ended up doing the Ecole Nationale Supérieure Louis-Lumière.
I wrote my thesis on Publison and Early Digital, which ultimately tied together my long-standing fascination in vintage machines, servicing and technical demystification with my personal attraction to these instruments.
I tend to hope for a unified low-level approach to music production guided by DIY values. This Youtube channel is a form of its realization!
Join the gang : / valmont_naudin
Listen to my stuff : https://iconism.io/frame/valmont"

Behind the Music: Chang Rodrigues' Home Studio (Electronic Beats TV)

video upload by Telekom Electronic Beats TV

"For this episode of Electronic Beats TV, we visited Brazilian-born, Berlin-based artist Chang Rodrigues in her home studio.
With a background in music and a deep curiosity for synthesis and sound design, she has developed a unique approach that blends club-oriented electronic music with experimentation and sonic exploration.
Inside her studio, mainly analog instruments, modular gear, and drum machines take centre stage, while the computer and Ableton are used mainly for recording. Chang explains why the Elektron Digitakt has become the heart of her workflow, how she combines MIDI and CV to connect her instruments, and why modular synthesis continues to fascinate her with its almost endless creative possibilities.
Beyond the gear, we also talk about creativity, trusting your ears, embracing happy accidents, and why she sees sound as a living organism—something that constantly evolves through interaction rather than remaining fixed."

TB-303 vs RE-303 A/B with new BA662a from Analogue Renaissance

video upload by decoder303

"Exciting times, our friends from Analogue Renaissance have developed a new BA662a clone which seems to be 2 levels above known clones. It performs exactly the same as the original chip and you can listen to it in the RE-303 here (this chip is also used in various other Roland synths and drum machines of that time, which makes it even more exciting). The comparison isn't highly scientific just with some extreme settings of the parameters, but you can get the idea that with some more penible pot adjustment they are pretty much indistinguishable. As always with a lovely resonance, which doesn't sound harsh or sibilant but always has this silky nice tone to it, where all the smd clones fail for a reason :)"

Creating Custom Chords on Plinky 12 (Chords)

video upload by Nathan Plante Synths

"This is a follow up to my full walkthrough video of the Plinky 12 Chords panel by mmalex and Making Sound Machines. In this video I walk you through the process of creating custom chords and custom harmonic progressions. You don't need to know anything about music theory to come up with interesting chords!"

Wanna support my work? Join me on Ko-fi!
https://ko-fi.com/nathanplantesynths

https://www.plinky12.com/

00:00 Intro
00:43 Changing the Chord Voicing
03:57 Custom Chord Progressions
06:22 The Related Play Surface
11:05 Custom Chords from Scratch
12:51 Changing the Root
15:14 Changing the Key
18:37 Saving Your Chord Bank
18:57 Creating Chords with MIDI
20:44 Outro

Ultravox - Dancing With Tears In My Eyes | 80s Vintage Synth Cover | Emulator II

video upload by RetroSound

"Ultravox – Dancing With Tears In My Eyes

Originally released in 1984 as the second single from Ultravox's seventh studio album, Lament, Dancing With Tears In My Eyes became one of the band's biggest international hits and remains a defining classic of the 1980s New Wave and Synthpop era. The song reached No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart and became a Top 10 hit across several European countries.

For this cover, I used a selection of legendary vintage synthesizers and drum machines to recreate the iconic sound and atmosphere of the original recording as authentically as possible.

Instruments:
Rodina Alisa 1377 – Analog Bass
Oberheim OB-Xa – Pads & Synth Textures
E-MU Emulator II – Piano, Choirs & Additional Samples
LinnDrum – Drum Machine
Simmons Electronic Drums – Classic 80s Electronic Percussion"

Website ► https://retrosound72.wixsite.com/home

STRYDE AUDIO SWAYED (Yamaha SY77 and TG77 Emulator) - 64 Contemporary Presets - The AFM Sessions

video upload by RM Studios

"It’s always great to hear that a software company has released an emulator of one of our most beloved vintage synthesizers, the Yamaha SY77 (and, of course, the TG77).
It means that the legacy of these incredible instruments will live on, allowing more people to discover and enjoy the unique sound and character of these machines. And, even better, it means our sound banks are becoming increasingly compatible with contemporary studio setups, keeping these classic sounds alive and accessible to a new generation of musicians.

This soundset is made up of 64 custom voices, spanning from classic keyboards sounds, synths (both vintage and contemporary), useful combinations and even a small number of templates aimed at speeding up your own programming work.

It's available in two separate versions, one for the SY99 and one for the SY&TG77, with different Effects and AWM/RCM programming. Swayed reads the SY&TG77 format.

There's a handful of patches sounding a little different, so those are demoed separately in the video.

The soundset can be purchased through the following link:

https://robertomacri.wixsite.com/home..."

Lihue Sosa [DAWless] | Streaming Sessions

video upload by LTGL Records

"This was a live streaming session in LTGL Records. Only with the Roland TR-8S"

Video description (Google translation below):

"Lihuel Sosa es un artista sonoro que construye tanto música como los instrumentos para hacerla. Su sonido se mueve en el territorio de lo electrónico, explorando desde el techno y el house hasta paisajes ambient y el ruido. En el directo, su enfoque es puramente performático: partiendo de una idea muy básica, teje sus piezas en tiempo real usando hardware y máquinas, con una clara preferencia por lo táctil frente a la computadora.

Esta conexión física con el sonido es la misma que lo impulsa a diseñar y construir sus propios instrumentos experimentales. Estos dispositivos, únicos y artesanales, no solo son el núcleo de su set en vivo, sino que también están disponibles para otros músicos, extendiendo su filosofía de creación a una comunidad de artistas. En su trabajo, la línea entre compositor, intérprete y artesano se desdibuja por completo."

Googlish:

"Lihuel Sosa is a sound artist who creates both music and the instruments used to produce it. His sound occupies the realm of electronic music, ranging from techno and house to ambient soundscapes and noise. His live approach is purely performance-based: starting from a simple concept, he weaves his pieces in real time using hardware and machines, favoring tactile interaction over the computer.

This physical connection to sound drives him to design and build his own experimental instruments. These unique, handcrafted devices are not only central to his live set but are also made available to other musicians, extending his creative philosophy to a wider community of artists. In his work, the boundaries between composer, performer, and artisan blur completely."

Previously: Lihuel Sosa & 1nd14 - Modulaciones (Techno + Arte generativo)