Yamaha CS-20M like you've never heard before

video upload by Valmont

"Was tryna mod my CS-20M to get the CS-80 VCF configuration... Doesn't work yet, but has some interesting changes! CS filters have a frequency-dependent Q factor, coupled with a fixed LP filter. The CS-20M bridles the cutoff to max 7.5Khz, if you want to push it further you may lose some of the Q effect. Here I lowered the bandpass feedback R/C pair (R from 820K to 100K), this pushed the Fc but damped the resonance.
I am not quite sure how to change the max filter cutoff without affecting the feedback damping... Maybe some day I'll figure out x)

Tho I was lucky to record a test with a tempo click, so I could add those percussions afterwards! Apart from that this is 100% the CS-20M with no sync, almost no FX. Just everything at max values.

Interconnections: https://linktr.ee/Valmont

Track copyrighted and protected by the Sacem"

Crumar Bit 100! (Bit One + Bit 99)

video upload by Valmont

"Some chill stuff :)

SSM2044 (Bit One) vs CEM3328 (Bit 99) comparison at 1:51.
They sound pretty much the same tbh, minus the resonance drop for Bit One (design flaw of 2044s). But the boards inside do look different, we really can feel how Crumar engineers found about some possible reliability issues. My Bit One [a very early model] looks like a still-on-development instrument, with factory handmade modifications. That's why I tend to say the Bit 99 is safer, like better finished synthesizer. It also has few practical improvements that are useful for live sets, such as volume, noise and detune recall (which is not possible on Bit One), and a better keyboard feeling thanks stronger keysprings. Fun thing though, it's the same keyboard as in the Siel Opera 6 and E-Mu Emax!

So, Bit One or Bit 99? Honestly, whatever the model, you'll get the same thing. Bit99s are maybe a bit better designed, but both share all the same fragile components that usually die with time x)

0:00 - Stack 1 (with use of velocity to LFO speed!)
0:42 - Stack 2 (4 DCOs on different pitchs)
1:00 - Stack 3 (classic poly sound)
1:51 - VCF Tests

Crumar Bit 99 kindly lent by Loic from Les Amants, https://www.instagram.com/lesamantsmusic/"

E.M.I Ritm-2 working back again! (a demo)

video upload by Valmont

"I was tired of having to pay absurd prices for servicing so I did it myself x)
Turns out the power supply was dead for a third time."

Mercuriales III on 1984' Ритм-2

video upload by Valmont

"blessed pulse width"

Oberheim DMX thru Roland SIP-301 (quick patterns demo)

video upload by Valmont

"That day I forgot my camera stand so my friend Steph had to hold the camera for me x)
Just throwing some Oberheim DMX (factory eproms) grooves through a 1979 Roland SIP-301 bass preamp/comp... that has a very crunchy opto comp actually!

Recorded at MusikMusicStudio some time ago"

Minimoog-overdriven Oberheim DMX

video upload by Valmont

"Obi DMX plugged into a 78' Minimoog external input!
I really like the natural ducking effect of the mixer section... And that drive color :p

Recorded at my friends from MusikMusicStudio some time ago"

15 Pads & Textures on Kawai GMega / K11

video upload by Valmont

"Some very different synth from the usual stuff I play :p
This is a 1993 rompler, just like the Korg M1 and all these realism-aiming synths. It's a keyboardless version of the Kawai K11, with 256 waveforms, 32 voices, 32-multitimbral in a desktop 1/2 rack format. Most of the sounds are single-waveform, so you get these typical 90s static pads, which sound very nice with verb. The only downside is that you need to program it thru 4 buttons and a rotative encoder... Very 1990 again x)

0:00 - Blue Sheen
0:29 - Presence
1:15 - Breathy M1
1:35 - Liminal Space
2:04 - Turquoise
2:26 - VHS Strings
2:42 - 1993
2:58 - Bottles Orchestra
3:17 - Additive II
3:43 - Little Bell
4:00 - MIDI Bass
4:10 - Hot Water
4:36 - Hybrid
4:51 - Birds From Eden
5:37 - Scissors Echoes"

Yamaha DX7 Patch Recreations by Valmont

Synclavier Church Bell recreated on Yamaha DX7 video upload by Valmont

"Check the Synclavier voices patch from Genesis 'Mama' recreated on DX7 as well here: [below]

The Synclavier being linear FM, one of the only suitable algorithm on a DX is the one with 3 parallel carrier/modulator. So in this patch, we have 3 partials but the original patch had 4. This is no big deal, as we can just detune more the DX operators. However, the Synclavier had a 1st harmonic on carrier 1 at 20% level, which is something we can't achieve on DXs because they aren't additive... Just use some feedback, to be honest it's absolutely unnoticeable ;p

The Synclavier vinyl: https://www.discogs.com/fr/release/67...

Based on 'init' patch:
Algorithm: 5
Output level: 99, 84, 99, 84, 99, 84
Coarse: 1, 1.43, 1.01, 1.44, 1.02, 1.45
Detune: 0, 0, -2, -2, -2, -2
Rate 1: 90, 75, 90, 75, 90, 75
Rate 2: 17, 0, 17, 0, 17, 0
Rate 3: 99, 20, 99, 20, 99, 20
Rate 4: 25, 20, 25, 20, 25, 20
Rate Scaling: 2
Feedback: 4
Transposition: C2"

Synclavier "Voices 1" from Genesis 'Mama' recreated on Yamaha DX7 [Supermax]

video upload by Valmont

"This one was more simple than the previous Synclavier patch. The subtlety is that the two triple-harmonic operators are doubled by the Synclavier chorus function, and that both use asynchronous LFOs. So you get a 2x6 linear operators sound, with two moving parts in the whole thing. We can't do this in a DX7, however we have the Supermax delay function which allows something in the very same spirit. Not having a Supermax results in a strictly halved-stack, which is noticeable but okay if you add thick chorus behind.

The two Synclavier operators both contain harmonic 1, 2 and 3. They're detuned from each other, so until here the DX7 can follow. Then with the trigger-delayer, we ask the DX to play each note a second time very shortly after, with an augmented pitch. We get twice the sound, twice fatter. But we still only have one LFO for the voices, delayed or not, so the sound is phasing out a bit less. Just add a lil chorus on the output and there it goes. Tho we can remark that the patch used on 'Mama' by Genesis has less LFO modulation, it's smoother. But I wanted to recreate the real Synclavier sound x)

Also note that Depeche Mode used this patch on 'Love in Itself', just like the ChurchBell sound I recreated a month ago. [above]

Based on 'init' patch:

Algorithm: 32
Output level: 96, 84, 80, 96, 84, 80
Coarse: 1, 2, 3, 1, 2.02, 3
Detune: -4, +4, -4, +5, +5, +7
Rates for all operators: 50/99/99/40
Levels for all operators: 99/99/99/0
LFO wave: sine
LFO speed: 36
LFO delay: 16
LFO PM: 28
-----------------
Supermax functions:
Delay: 140
Volume: 3
PT: 0.38"

Synclavier "Voices 1" from Genesis 'Mama' recreated on Yamaha DX7 [Supermax]
video upload by Valmont

"This one was more simple than the previous Synclavier patch. The subtlety is that the two triple-harmonic operators are doubled by the Synclavier chorus function, and that both use asynchronous LFOs. So you get a 2x6 linear operators sound, with two moving parts in the whole thing. We can't do this in a DX7, however we have the Supermax delay function which allows something in the very same spirit. Not having a Supermax results in a strictly halved-stack, which is noticeable but okay if you add thick chorus behind.

The two Synclavier operators both contain harmonic 1, 2 and 3. They're detuned from each other, so until here the DX7 can follow. Then with the trigger-delayer, we ask the DX to play each note a second time very shortly after, with an augmented pitch. We get twice the sound, twice fatter. But we still only have one LFO for the voices, delayed or not, so the sound is phasing out a bit less. Just add a lil chorus on the output and there it goes. Tho we can remark that the patch used on "Mama" by Genesis has less LFO modulation, it's smoother. But I wanted to recreate the real Synclavier sound x)

Also note that Depeche Mode used this patch on 'Love in Itself', just like the ChurchBell sound I recreated a month ago. Check it here if you haven't seen it yet! [above]

Based on 'init' patch:

Algorithm: 32
Output level: 96, 84, 80, 96, 84, 80
Coarse: 1, 2, 3, 1, 2.02, 3
Detune: -4, +4, -4, +5, +5, +7
Rates for all operators: 50/99/99/40
Levels for all operators: 99/99/99/0
LFO wave: sine
LFO speed: 36
LFO delay: 16
LFO PM: 28
-----------------
Supermax functions:
Delay: 140
Volume: 3
PT: 0.38"

BBD emulation Crumar Trilogy prototype

video upload by Valmont

"Here I only presented the wet sound of a single BBD line and the mixed effect (still with one line). The complete ensemble consists in 3 lines like that, with phase offset and LFO combinations."

1984 Akai AX-80: 17 more great sounds

video upload by Valmont

"I played for hours straight so I had to change my camera's battery 4 times and my SD card, then assembling and sorting all the cuts I realized it moved a bit, sorry for that!
One of the great thing with the AX80 is the stability: it doesn't move of a single cent, which is fundamentally important for live performances! (Also there are 64 presets it's nice). More than being stable, it's also really in tune thanks DCOs drivers. (too much in tune..?)
It's nice to know this synth has a double-mode crossmod section, an ADSR to DCO routing and an additional sub waveform. On 8 voices so it goes big! I especially like the crossmod. It's not as versatile as a Prophet 600, but it does have a sonic difference. The filters are a question of taste, I'm into the 2044 reference and those CEMs don't sound quite the same, they have a more aggressive resonance... They're just different (in a CEM way by definition :p)
And well that look, with astonishing neon LEDs behind opaque plexiglass, and this fantastic keyboard feel! Oyy we don't speak enough about it, but it's amazing, it's perfectly balanced and nice to play with.

As usual with mono sources, I preamped the AX-80 thru a Golden Age Premier PREQ-73, and since the Akai output level is super high it easily went on overdrive. The Akai doesn't drive by itself, it's on the contrary really clean!

0:00 - matt's jupiter
0:22 - bbd like
0:38 - edged era
0:54 - chillaxattitudzer
1:16 - nyx
1:40 - parallels
1:59 - pouet
2:16 - rotterdam
2:37 - shattered skies
2:54 - sparkling cubes
3:21 - trapezoid bridge
3:45 - staircase
4:18 - strewed semolina
4:45 - atmos
5:12 - grasping at straws
5:35 - cubicle
5:58 - cardboard box"

Лель УДС (LEL' UDS) with a Welson Supermatic S12

video upload by Valmont

"- The LEL' UDS is a soviet drum synth, made in the late 80's.
It has 2 identical, independant channels that include a tone (triangle) and a noise generator.
- The Welson Supermatic S12 is an italian drum machine made in 1971.
It provides 12 classic patterns with no available edits, except global volume and tempo.
There's still a little knob at the back that acts like a 6dB LP filter ('tone' thing)

So in a few words, two simple instruments that make simple sounds... Chained together!
I was digging inside the LEL' (A bit of servicing) but got lazy to close the lid to shoot the video. So there it is, wide opened for your eyes :D
I think I'll add a second output for this unit.
Just requires to build a second amplifier and split the channels - not thaaat complicated stuff so... why not give a try x)

Patterns:
0:00 - Shake
0:28 - Tango
0:46 - Mambo 1
0:59 - Mambo 2
1:09 - Slow Rock
1:20 - Samba 1
1:32 - Snare Roll
1:43 - Samba 2"

Crumar Bit One: 15 great sounds (Rare SSM rev.)

video upload by Valmont

"Long time ago I recorded a video of this Crumar, but the sound was mono with phasing issues, and so didn't give honor to Bit One's sonic character.
This time I recorded it with the voicepan x)
This unit is a SSM-2044 version, it said less than 300 (or 200?) were made before switching to the less sought-after CEM-3328. With the incredible number of broken Bit Ones you can find online, I don't think there's much SSM versions left :D
The Bit is also capable of split/layer/two-unison, I forgot to make some patch for that when recording the video!

I made a Crumar Bit One/01/99 t-shirt here (idk I thought it looked cool) https://sites.google.com/site/digital...

0:00 - caramel
0:18 - italie 13
0:42 - july
1:01 - imagination
1:16 - aspects
1:35 - spread
1:56 - venus
2:22 - aristide
2:55 - scent
3:15 - pacific fish
3:36 - butternut
4:07 - boreal toad
4:24 - montmartre
4:56 - neons
5:20 - oranges"