The Twilight Sad - I Could Give You All That You Don't Want

Published on Feb 12, 2015 thetwilightsadofficial

http://thetwilightsad.com

Quick disclaimer: I recently discovered this band and absolutely love them. That said, I didn't think I would be posting them here anytime soon as this site is strictly about specific synth demos and heavy synth spotting only, with few exceptions. Well... a funny thing happened. I finally got around to watching this video in full and I noticed something odd midway through that would definitely warrant a post here on MATRIXSYNTH. You will notice the only synth featured in the video is a Roland Juno-60, but that in and of itself really isn't enough to warrant a post. There has to be something more. So why the post? Watch the video and see if you can guess, then come back to this...  Done watching?  So what was the guitar playing vs. the Juno-60?  While watching the video I realized that what I thought I was hearing was the guitar towards the end, was likely the Juno-60. If you didn't catch it, watch the video again, listen, and try see what each instrument is playing. If I'm right, it's a fascinating transition and conceptual blend of the two instruments. The transition happens at 2:08 with the first reveal at 2:14 and 2:20 (guitar) followed by 2:34 and 3:08 (Juno-60).  I could be wrong, and it could be they chose to show the guitar playing rhythm vs lead at those points, but I do know the Roland Juno-60 and most synths in general are capable of making that sound. I thought this was a good example of how a synth can add substantially to a track without having to stand out specifically as a synth, and that gets the post.   To expand on this, what originally drew me into synths wasn't the "synthy" timbres we've come to traditionally associate with synths nor the attempt to mimic real world instruments, but rather the exploration of sound with instruments not possible before. With a synth you get to create your own instrument, and it doesn't have to sound like a synthesizer. One of my favorite synthesists is Richard Barbieri of the band Japan because he did things with the Prophet-5 that sounded more organic than synthetic. He used the Prophet-5 as an instrument rather than as a synth if that makes sense. Sometimes, like in this track, you don't even realize what you were hearing came from a synth and that is a good thing. The title of this track is somewhat fitting in that context as well. Sometimes a synth (and I'm guessing this site for that matter) will give you all that you don't want. There is so much more to synths. It's all good.

Video description:

"Directed By Nicola Collins

Taken from 'Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave', out now on FatCat Records

The Twilight Sad tour North America Feb/March 2015. Tickets at http://thetwilightsad.com/tourdates

Feb 23 Boston, MA - Great Scott+
Feb 24 Brooklyn, NY - Baby's All Right+
Feb 25 Philadelphia, PA - The Boot & Saddle+
Feb 26 Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel+
Feb 27 Pittsburgh, PA - Brillobox+
Feb 28 Chicago IL - Beat Kitchen+
Mar 02 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry+
Mar 03 Fargo, ND - The Aquarium (Upstairs) +
Mar 05 Missoula, MT - Stage 112+
Mar 06 Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern+
Mar 07 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge+
Mar 08 Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret+
Mar 10 Sacramento, CA - Blue Lamp+
Mar 11 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill+
Mar 12 Costa Mesa, CA - The Wayfarer+
Mar 13 San Diego, CA - The Merrow+
Mar 14 Phoenix, AZ - VivaPHX
Mar 17 - Mar 20 Austin, TX - SXSW
+ - w/ Port St. Willow

Buy Amazon - http://smarturl.it/nobodywantstobehere
Buy iTunes - http://smarturl.it/nobodywantstobehere

http://www.thetwilightsad.com // http://twitter.com/thetwilightsad // https://www.facebook.com/thetwilightsad"

The Most Underrated Synths

Update: also check out this post for Sonic State's podcast on the list.

JB thought it would be fun to come up with an underrated synth list in the same vein as The first synth to post. I think this might be a pretty cool idea. I think all synths have something to offer and it would be interesting to see what people come up with. So here is how it will work. Put a synth you chose in the comments with 1 to 3 main points on why you think it's underrated and I'll update the list in this post. Make sure to follow the format below, or it doesn't go up. I need to be able to just copy and paste it in. You can discuss away in the comments, but only the list will get updated in the body of the post. Note the reasons can be a combination of what was cool about the synth in your opinion and what you believe kept it from gaining higher status. And yes, you can cheat by combining small things like I did below. I'll make this a sticky post on the right of the site as well so we can check it out and add to it over time as other posts go up. That said. I'll start with two. The most underrated synth in my book of course starts with:

The Oberheim Matrix-6
1. The modulation capabilities for the price - ramp and tracking generators, release velocity, matrix modulations, etc.
2. It is completely overshadowed by it's bigger brother the Matrix-12.
3. It is a CEM based DCO analog and categorized as one of the lesser sounding poly analogs along with it. It's true to an extent but I still like it's sound and it is the source of name of my alias and this site. : ) My first synth.

The Rhodes/ARP Chroma
1. It's just as incredible sounding as the more popular analog poly monsters like the Roland Jupiter-8, SCI Prophet 5, Oberheim OB-Xa, Memorymoog and so on, but for some reason it never seems to get the same recognition. I found one for US $950 in prestine condition from a shop that usually overprices gear.
2. It has a weighted keyboard and mod settings to die for. It's one of the most expressive and best sounding synths I have ever played. Definitely in a class of it's own.

Elka Synthex
1. the Elka synthex was much underrated too because of its brand. It's a fantastic synth anyway.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Synth Artist Interviews via I♥SYNTHS

You might remember the I♥SYNTHS interview with Richard Devine previously posted here. Jim Smith of I♥SYNTHS has been sharing new interviews on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge.  There are currently a total of nine artist interviews.  The following is a list of each with with one pic, one quote and one link to the full interview.  You'll find some great synth spotting throughout and of course you'll get some insight and perspectives on the synths and more from each artist.  You can also find I♥SYNTHS on Facebook.




009: Shawn Rudiman

"I♥SYNTHS: What was your first synthesizer?

Shawn Rudiman: My first synth was a Yamaha b200 M. That was what started me on this wild ride. It was a Prosumer FM 8 voice / 4 op poly. I got it for Christmas in 1990. I believe I was 18 and It was my first real love. That poor synth has had a lot of flight time hours on it. They keys have started to degrade and melt and the buttons are all in need of serious replacing as well. I still love it and pull it out sometimes. The next day after that Christmas, I went out and picked up an HR16b, with whatever money I had saved. I still have that as well and it’s been modified now with the patch bay-hack that scrambles the 16-bit data lines which makes the sounds totally into something new."




008: Custom Synth

"I♥SYNTHS: You’ve done some custom synths for celebrities and famous musicians. What was your most unique or original project?

Custom Synth: One of the most unique projects was for Tom Rowlands (The Chemical Brothers studio). I built a midi controller keyboard to sit in the bumper rail of a large SSL mixing desk. It has a detachable cover to match the rest of the desk and two modular cabinets. One was for the Serge modular system in a two piece metal arch and the other was a MOTM system to match the Roland 700 system."




007: Kebu

"I♥SYNTHS: What was your first synthesizer?

Kebu: A new Kawai K1 II, which I hated because it didn’t have a decent piano sound and the black keys were harder to press than the white keys. I probably would appreciate it now for what it is, but back then I would have needed a PCM-based workstation, like a Korg M1 that I lusted for, but couldn’t afford back then. Soon after, I found a used Roland SC-155 (Sound Canvas module), which I really liked but realized that I really need the patch storage capability for live use, which the SC-155 lacked. I then realized that synths are VERY different from each other. Not in terms of nuances, like with different types of guitars, but more like apples and oranges. I also realized that by learning and trading on the second hand market I could try many different synths without loosing too much money. So the Kaway K1 was the first and only new synth I ever bought. After that, I’ve had over one hundred different hardware synths."




006: Soft Lighting

"I♥SYNTHS: What’s your go-to piece of gear that defines the Soft Lighting sound?

Soft Lighting: I usually choose a different set of tools for each album because I think it helps give that body of work a uniqueness. The first album, “Slow Motion Silhouettes” was all done on the Juno 60 and the drums where a lot of old Casios so it has a real washed out lo fi vibe. “Portraits” was made with the DX7, Juno 106 and Roland drum machines so it has a cleaner more digital sound. Now I’m working a lot with my Virus TI which is taking the sound out of the realm of vintage 80s and taking it to a more contemporary place."




005: Synth.nl

"I♥SYNTHS: What was your first synthesizer and how old were you when you started collecting?

Synth.nl: I still remember exactly what my first synthesizer was, the Yamaha TX81Z. It is a rack module so I had to buy an extra midi keyboard, that at that time wasn’t even velocity sensitive. It must have been around 1987 when it was just released. So, I was 17 I guess. That adds up, since I bought it from the money I got to buy a moped from my parents, when I didn’t smoke until my 16th birthday. I guess their trick worked since I still don’t smoke. I also still have the TX81Z with my original sounds I made back then. I can also remember well, that FM programming was not easy and still isn’t easy."




004: Richard Devine

"I♥SYNTHS: What is your go-to synthesizer when writing music? Is there one synth that defines the Richard Devine sound?

Richard Devine: My go synth would have to be the Nord G2 modular. This is hands down one of my favorite synthesizers. The concept is that its a virtual modular software environment where you can create basically anything you want. You then can assign multiple pages and knobs over the the synthesizer for all your patches. So ahead of its time, and I wish Clavia would bring it back."




003: Dallas Campbell


"I♥SYNTHS: When did you start collecting gear and what is your prized possession?

Dallas Campbell: This dude I knew in college let my roommate and I borrow a four track cassette recorder. I was pretty much hooked on gear and music after that. I started buying synths about 10 or so years ago. I’m guessing the rarest thing I have is a Yamaha SY20. I don’t think it was ever released outside of Japan. All the writing on the synth is in Japanese! My favorite synth is probably my SCI Pro-One for mono and the Korg Polysix for poly. As for favorite fx units, I would say the Dimension D Chorus, Multivox Multiecho Delay, the Eventide Space Reverb, and the Roland SBF-325 flanger."




002: RetroSound

"I♥SYNTHS: What is your favorite synthesizer that you can’t live without?

RetroSound: My absolute favorite synthesizer ever is the Oberheim OB-X (not the later OB-Xa). The raw sound and the power is pure sex. It’s really the best!"




001: FM Attack

"I♥SYNTHS: If you were stuck on an island with one synth from your collection, what would you bring?

FM Attack: That’s a tough question. I think I would probably go with the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5"

Happy New Year! The Year in Synths 2013

Happy New Year Everyone!

What a busy year it has been in the world of synths.

This is going to be one doozy of a post, so bear with me. This post is a review of the year in synths for 2013. We begin with Tributes to Those We Lost This Year, followed by New Manufacturers & Makers, Older Manufacturers Added to the Site, New Gear Announcements, Top 10 Posts by Traffic,  My Standout Posts for the Year, and finally This Years' Synth Events. I did my best to keep things as short and concise as possible.

Let's begin with the hardest part of the post.

Tributes to Those We Lost This Year

RIP Bernard Parmegiani - Electronic & Acoustic Composer
Lou Reed RIP
RIP Dick Raaymakers aka Kid Baltan
RIP George Duke - DreamWeaver
RIP Ralph Dyck, Sept 28, 1941 – May 20, 2013
RIP Ray Manzarek

All missed and never to be forgotten. Take a moment to remember them.

------

New Manufacturers & Makers

Starting last January, I decided to keep a running list of every new manufacturer and maker introduced to the site during the year.  This is something I haven't done before and I thought it would be interesting to see how many there were in the year.   It's easy to focus on the big synth announcements throughout the year, but what about all the new makers and brands? I shouln't have to go considerably into the significance of new designers on the scene, so I'll just say two things regarding them.  One, the number of new makers is a direct reflection on the interest in our scene, and two, these are the creators of new gear which directly translate into new designs not previously available to us.  Think about that for a moment.  These are makers and designs that did not exist before.  They are part of our synth history.  So what is the total count of new synth designers for the year? A whopping 113. Think about that a bit. One hundred and thirteen new synth designers and brands this year alone.

Here they are (note a handful date back to 2012, but 2013 marked their momentum and availability):

CLICK FOR MORE »

How Do You JUNO? Overview

YouTube via rolandmedia. Note the Roland R8-M.
"The world is watching—get your music out there, promote yourself, and show us how you JUNO! Upload a short YouTube video that shows a creative way you use your Roland JUNO keyboard. Perform your own music, talk about your favorite sounds and features, or do whatever inspires you."
Details here

BTW, if you are up to it, let them know MASTRIXSYNTH sent you in your video.

How to Juno YouTube Videos
Here's the best one so far:

Robbie Ryan "Hey Juno" (Extended Version)

YouTube via iloveanalogue
"This is Robbie Ryan's official entry into the Roland "How Do You Juno?" contest. It features a quick spoken introduction and an extended remix of "Hey Juno." The video features Robbie, his kids Piper and Avery, and a 25 year old classic analogue synthesizer named Juno. You can see and hear more of Robbie Ryan's work at http://www.myspace.com/robbieryanmusik, or see his blog at http://iloveanalogue.blogspot.com You can follow him on http://www.twitter.com/robbieryanmusik and find him on Facebook. Thanks for watching! Feel free to pass this video along to friends and post it on your own page."

This is How I Juno

Admin: Update on Auction Posts

Just a heads up, but I will no longer be saving off auction shots in flickr sets. However, I will continue to put auction posts up. Instead of "images via this auction" where images was a link to the flickr set, posts will now read "images at this auction" with this auction being a link to the auction. You can go to the auction to grab the images yourself if interested.

Why am I doing this? Three reasons.

One, it is beginning to consume much more time than I want it to. I post way more now than I used to (30+ posts a day) and I'd like to get some of my time back.

Two, the images have actually become saturated. How many images of a Juno-106 do we really need? Whenever I scrub an auction, if an image looks familiar (they all are beginning to at this point) I'll check my flickr sets to see if I posted them already. This takes a LOT of time and I'm finding that I'm putting up dupes.

Three, I had a seller contact me who said the images I'm capturing are having an adverse effect. People are accusing the seller of grabbing my images for their auctions when the images I have were most likely from that seller's auction! Yep... I was originally capturing the images for two reasons, one for posterity (it would be cool to look back 20 years from now) and two, so people could verify auction images. If you see a questionable auction, you could check the flickr archive and do some research. Well, it looks like that second reason might have backfired. That seller has asked me to remove all of their auction pics. This is the first time that has happened. People are usually thankfull that I put their auction up, but I can understand. The problem with this is that once the Ebay auction link has expired there is no real way to verify who the images came from. Moving forward I'd have to archive and note each seller. That would not only take way too much time, but some sellers might not want me to do this. In short there is no way to keep everyone happy, so I've opted to stop archiving images for now and continue to put up posts for those that want to see and grab them for themselves.

The downside? Once the auction is gone, the images are gone so they are lost. I am still a bit on the fence because of this. I feel like I'm doing an disservice to everyone. If you have an opinion, feel free to comment.

Synth Videos by Gard Osen with the Moog Sub Phatty, Korg Minilogue, and Roland TR-8 & JU-06

Published on Sep 22, 2017 Gard Osen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gard.osen/

Soundclound: https://soundcloud.com/gard-osen

More stuff: https://soundcloud.com/gardmatilde

Playlist:

1. Gard Osen - Bjelge (Casiokids cover)

"Over 10 years ago a band called 'Casiokids' from my hometown made an album called 'Fück Midi'. One of the songs of the album was a demo thing from an old Casio keyboard. Of course I had to make an ALL-MIDI controlled cover of that song.

Check out the original: https://open.spotify.com/track/6GxFVr..."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Roland System 8 Juno 60 Plug-out patches (demo)

video by MIDERA

"A selection of System 8 Juno 60 plug-out patches I created tonight. All internal FX.

So, why did I buy this synth? I don’t know. It wasn’t a great reason. I own a JX3P, and have been sick of trying to figure out how to hook it up with my gear. It only works via OMNI mode (listens to every midi channel). This forced me to use other sequencers that I didn’t want to use. I could upgrade to KIWI, but that would cost me well over half the cost of a S8, so I decided to try that. Good news is - they sound identical (except the JX3P PWM goes through zero and the S8 does not).

So, I had the Juno 106 plug out in it and found I didn’t like it. This is no surprise. I had a 106 and didn’t like it, back in 2012. Of course, I wish I hadn’t sold it, because I sold it for $350. Ouch. However, you have to remember back then there weren’t replacement chips, only the acetone fix, with reports that it didn’t always work. So I sold it. Anyway, I replaced it with the Juno 60 plug out and wow it sounds really good. Way better than the 106 plug out, which I thought was exceedingly boring.

Everyone talks about how great the System 8 and 106 plug out are, but I actually like the Jupiter 8 and JX Plug outs the most. The S8 is good too, but now that I have the J60 in there, I honestly think they’re all really good. I think maybe people are just so used to Juno’s that they just don’t explore the JX or Jupiter 8? I’m not sure. Or maybe it’s that people scan presets? I never use them. I start from scratch. Every preset in this thing just sounds too processed and I don’t like it.

Now I sorta wish I’d have picked up a J6 or J60, but the prices have skyrocketed so I guess so long and thanks for all the fish. I’ll keep this green hitchhiker from another sector of the galaxy. It’s ugly, but it’s like a towel - you may automatically assume that I am also in possession of a toothbrush, washcloth, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet-weather gear, space suit etc., etc."

Roland Boutique JP-08 (Jupiter 8 module) Live Session

Published on Oct 24, 2015 JimBobJrJackson Earmonkey

"I've had the JP-08 for a few days now. Getting to know it. It's very powerful and it sounds fantastic. This is just a little demo of me sitting at the keyboard for a while and tweaking the sounds. I"m not the greatest keyboard player so forgive me there.

Most everything was done in manual mode. There are no factory presets here. The two patches I pull up at the end are ones I created myself. The majority of this demo is all JP-08 recorded straight into Ableton with no FX. When I do use FX near the end, as noted on the video, I am using Valhalla Ubermod for chorus, and Valhalla Shimmer for that shimmery big reverb. The delay on the lead sound is just an Ableton Ping Pong delay. The sounds are played dry first though so you can tell what the synth sounds like without the processing. But let's face it...we have FX for a reason so why not use them.

I will keep making videos because this 12 minutes doesn't even scratch the surface. If there's something you'd like to know about this unit I'll be glad to answer questions or post more video. I always find that helpful when I'm considering a purchase.

If you just want to talk about how awful and stupid the Boutique range is, well, I guess you can, though I'm not sure what purpose it serves. Buy a Jupiter 8 and be happy. Whining about the Boutique units is kind of like kicking puppies and about as worthwhile. I have a Juno 106 and guess what. I like this JP-08 better.

Sorry for the sometimes blurry video. My son didn't know what I wanted him to shoot. And also, the video ends before the audio by a few seconds. Well this is my first video like this so it'll get better"

Roland MKS-30

images via this auction.

"The MKS-30 is the rack version of the Roland JX-3P keyboard and the GR-700 Guitar Synthesizer. Sounds like a Juno Series Syntheszer, but much better since it has 2 oscillators with sync and ring modulation, as well as PWM. Excellent Filters plus, one of the best features, just like the Juno 60, 106 and MKS-7, is the pitch bends have a very analog, elastic kind of stretching quality to them, sort of like a rubber band being plucked and stretched. Not many DCO based Analog Synths I've heard do this, except for the Juno's. In fact I recently had a MKS-7(rack of Juno106), and I was surprised by how close the oscillators sound to the MKS30 's. Except you get two of them that can sync and be ring modulated. Plus it has a nice analog chorus circuit built-in for stereo effects.

Some people say it's got a digital sound, but I compared this to the MKS-7, which everybody says is effectively a racked Juno-106. The MKS-30 is just as analog sounding with a remarkably punchy, and pure musical character, especially on those pitch-bends. A few years ago, I was planning to buy a Access Virus C, and this MKS-30 was sitting close by in Guitar Center. After trying both of them out side by side, I ended spending my money on this one. The Virus is great, but compared to this, it's sound is clearly digital. At the time I was looking for that deep analog quality. This synth has that. It's also functionally better than it's keyboard counterpart, the JX3P. It has a better implementation of MIDI with velocity. It's easily programmed from the front panel, however their isn't any sysex that can be accessed by an editor. However, the Roland PG-200 programmer/knob box can be plugged into it, or there is a 3rd party ROM upgrade that can be purchased for around $100(last time I checked) that gives you full sysex, CC control over every parameter. Here's a link to that information."

Synths in TV and Film

Note: some of the videos below have been pulled from YouTube, but I'm keeping mention of them up as a reference that they are out there.

Let the page load before scrolling - it's a long one.
Be sure to see the Synth Movies list and see the Synth Movies and Synth TV and Film labels for more.

1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Synths: ARP 2500 played by Phillip Dodds, head of ARP Engineering, Yamaha CS-?.


2. Fame Synths: ARP 2600, MOOG Minimoog

CLICK FOR MORE »

TLC No Scrubs - Live Electronic Cover / Remix

Published on Aug 5, 2018 LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER

"#TLC No Scrubs Live #Cover / #Remix

You can download The audio on my patreon! But also...
I multitrack recorded this live session. I will be sharing the stems for this in a week. So you can have a look and see what was going on, what bits were going where and what not. All thats over on my patreon so go check that here :-
Patreon :- https://www.patreon.com/lookmumnocomputer

This was a tough one to get down. Singing and concentrating on wires aaaaaaajkfosdglgfdhhhhhhh ... But a little insight into this :-

Sequenced by two Arturia Beatstep pro's The first beatstep was controlling the two synth lines that were running, which i programmed in at the start on the keyboard. It also controls all the drums, running between two different beats. one for verse (4 to da flooowr) and a breakdown beat for the chorus's, basically just breaking up the kick drum pattern. The second Beatstep in this one was only controlling the JUNO (BUT HOW DO YOU SEQUENCE A POLYPHONIC INSTRUMENT WITH A BEATSTEP PRO??) easy.... the drum channel. assign all of the drum pads to different keys, that way you can play in a polyphonic synth line.
- The first synth line was a single oscillator, running into a moog style ladder filter, with not much attack on its envelope so it sounded like a slow clumsy man being followed by a trombone. In the cover i was adjusting the octave at some points but not much.

- The big bassline which comes in in the chorus is 2 synths. The main part is a triple oscillator going into a ms20 style filter, then into 2 sets of distortion, the second one (a SAFETY VALVE TUBE) has a switch which enables it which boosts the volume, this switch also engages the second bass synth which is a further 3 oscillators and a very low sub oscillator to turn on. These go into a juno style chorus widener and all that stuff. (this switch also fires out a 5v signal to turn up the VCA on the snare spring reverb, and the decay on the high hats) *talk about modular presets hey*

-The juno has 2 midi cables connecting it to the beatstep pro above, so it can send midi and receive midi.

-sadly after however many takes i did of this cover at some point kosmo's face turned off and i didnt realise DOH :(.

-My vocals are running into a roland vocal processor, so i can turn on a pitched down vocal, to add more dynamics, its also going into some saturation and some delay which i turn on and off at points.

-The ms10 is just going through a handful of pedals to make it sound a bit more gnarly, which is tough to saturate a single oscillator synth, so i send it through smallr room reverb first, then into a pitch downing cheapo chinese pedal, then into some distortion then into more reverb. the first instance of reverb gives the distortion something to bite on, instead of just boosting the signal of just a single wave, which aint too fun at all!

I literally listenned to the song a couple of times then just took the essence and forgot most of it haha. hence it ain't really a cover but more a live remix or summit? aaaah who knows!!

Also! the kick trigger is also sent to an envelope generator, which sends out an inverted output to open VCA's on the bass channels, hence you get that snazzy sidechain Ducking **quack quack*"

Sequential Prophet 10 REV4 | Downward and deeper

MIDERA

MIDERA Prophet 10 posts

"Prophet 10 REV4 with Strymon DIG as pseudo chorus and delay pedal.

My first assessment was wrong. Just plain wrong. At first it seemed so basic - like nothing more than nice wood sounding like something my Virus TI could mimic. It took a few days - but now I am convinced that this synth is far more complex than any other synthesizer I've used. It has only 1 LFO, and this small section called Poly-Mod - how is it able to develop into so many other sounds? It can go from an ambient drone to something I thought I'd only hear on a DX7. Who went from the P5 to a DX7 and thought 'This is the path foward?' I mean, it happened. Nothing against the DX7, I quite love FM because it's really interesting... maybe people just couldn't afford the P5, that's probably a big part of it, but I bet some people ditched their P5 for a DX7.

Sequential helped me out regarding the loose pot from my previous video. It is now fixed. No issues with it. Just a glorious synth.

Now my question is - do I hang on to my other synthesizers? The JX3P, the Polaris, the Polysix? They have nothing on the P5/10. The Polaris wins in a pissing contest for which one has the most massive Bladerunner sound. The JX3P has that Roland Chorus, the polysix has... And anyway they all seem so redundant now. I don't even know what to do about my SY77 anymore. That one had 'the best keybed' and now - I know it doesn't. The Prophet 10 has a slightly better keybed. But... I will probably keep these synths. I have an incredible ability to sell things and regret it. I could easily get another Polysix and JX3P, but I don't think I could as easily get a Polaris. Plus, once the Juno 6 and 60 get to unobtainium value, these will rise because they're next in line... not a great reason to keep them, I admit. But it's still a reason.

Anyway, this track originally had a bunch of stuff before this, but I decided that I didn't want it to take 7 minutes for someone to get to this part because I know most people leave before 2 minutes are up. Of course, it's still 20+ min long."

Roland Juno-106 Analog Synthesizer

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

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Breath of the clouds | Peaceful ambient music with UDO Super 6

video upload by MIDERA

"Today I had a chance to test out a UDO Super 6 when a friend (Avery) visited. They wanted to check out my Jupiter 6 and borrow a friend's synth which was stowed away at my place for a while. They were kind enough to bring the Super 6 along for the ride.

So what did I think of the Super 6? It's a bit hard to say honestly, if only because it was in my studio for about an hour and I only really messed with it for about 20 minutes total, including playing this.

I found the naming convention similar to that of the DW8000 - where things were sort of not easy to understand right away - like MG for LFO (on the DW and I'm sure other Korg's of the era). Whatever, it's more on me for not understanding that aspect.

I did have this weird sort of thinking that... I actually think the System 8 held up really well - and strangely, I actually am starting to think maybe I like how my System 8 looks. How can this even happen... I don't know. I think once you start bonding with things, even if they don't look great they still are really unique in other ways.

That said, obviously the System 8 is sort of on a lower tier than the Super 6 in terms of build quality and everything else.

I will say that I could understand someone parting with a Jupiter 6, Juno 6/60/106, and System 8 in order to grab the Super 6. It really does a lot of those things well. I am actually wondering why not sell the Jupiter 6 for the Super 6.

So now that's point number 2 - how does the Jupiter 6 compare? Well... I think I'll need to sleep on that. Maybe I'll write something similar with the Jupiter 6 and see how I feel about it. I will say that there is an incredible amount of overlap on the two.

I think the Jupiter 6 looks cooler though :P

And something that I tried to hide (because it showed up at the beginning and I removed it) and did hear somewhat throughout this video... I could hear clicking when I pressed the keys even when the attack was set to very slow. I wonder what that's about or if it's some weird thing with the delay? I don't know."

New Behringer DeepMind12 VCF Video & Pricing Details Revealed

BEHRINGER Synth Vol 7 VCF Published on Aug 9, 2016 BEHRINGER

All parts in the video series here.

And in via Soviet Space Child, Uli Behringer on the price:

"Dear all,

again sorry to keep you waiting with the price announcement. I am aware I may have lost some friends in this process:-)

Please allow me to explain the reason why this has taken so long:

We are a very different company as we don't set pricing based on what we believe a customer would be willing to pay for our product, or where competitive products are priced at.
We simply set pricing based on a "bottom up" approach where we calculate the component prices, add manufacturing cost plus a slim margin that we need to in order to hire more people and buy new equipment.

Because of the huge demand for the DeepMind12, we went back to our component suppliers and asked for a higher discount in return for higher purchase volumes. We then approached our distribution partners again and asked what their orders would be, if we would lower pricing. We did this a few rounds until we reached rock bottom pricing. And that’s where we are now.

During the development of the DeepMind12, we involved a lot of synthesizer experts, producers, musicians but also synth magazines. Of course, we were constantly asked what the price would be, but at the same time repeatedly told not to make it too affordable as otherwise the public perception of the instrument would be impacted.
Since the competition sits around US$ 2,000, the general recommendation was not to offer it below US$ 1,500 and everyone would be happy.

As you all know, I built my first synthesizer UB1 (picture attached) when I was 16, but it unfortunately got lost during an office relocation and for the following 40 years I always wanted to build a synth again.

Some years ago our amazing people and world-class engineers at Midas in Manchester learned about my dream and decided to actually built a synthesizer for me.
Initially the synth started as a Juno 106 inspiration but later literally grew into a monster as our guys kept on adding features on a weekly basis (I am sure they are still adding more).
I mentioned earlier, if there is a product that deserves the name “feature creep”, then it’s the DeepMind12 and I am absolutely serious!

Since I started Behringer 27 years ago, my philosophy was always to offer amazing products at incredible prices and that’s what we built our company on.
In this spirit, it is no surprise that I also like to see this synth in the hands of many of you guys and hope the DeepMind12 will inspire you as much as it inspires me. I can’t wait to hear the great songs you will compose and share with the community.

I have now made the decision to offer the DeepMind12 at a recommended sales price of US$ 999.99 (I have a feeling your dealer might drop the 99 cents).*

Getting this instruments into the hands of as many musicians as possible is a dream come true. At the risk of being ridiculed for showing my emotions, this is a very happy moment in my life and I like to thank first and foremost my friends Pete Sadler, Rob Belcham and all our incredible crew in MUSIC Innovation Manchester plus all other 4,000 people in MUSIC. I will never forget this.

We are planning to ship the first units towards the end of the year. While we will do everything we can do ramp up production, please be patient as we don’t know yet how we can fill all these backorders.

Once again thank you all – you guys are great!

Uli"

Sequential Synth Tips With Sheenah Ko: Prophet-6 Sequencer

video upload by Sequential

"Welcome back to “Sequential Synth Tips,” where some of our favorite artists share their tips, tricks, and techniques on Sequential synths. In this episode, Sheenah Ko demonstrates how to use the sequencer on the Prophet-6 keyboard.

Sheenah is a professional keyboardist and artist, writing vibey synth pop music under Sheenah Ko, and often seen on stages around the world with bands like psych rockers The Besnard Lakes, electronic dance group, Le Couleur, and so many more!

Sheenah is releasing her sophomore album, FUTURE IS NOW, on June 3rd, with 2 new singles available now, all craftfully made with Sequential gear!

Follow Sheenah Ko:

https://sheenahko.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/sheenahko
https://instagram.com/sheenahko

For more information on Sequential instruments:
https://www.sequential.com/"

The Cave Sessions (Jams with Sheenah)

video uploads by Sheenah Ko

Playlist at the time of this post:

1. Cave Sessions with Sheenah Ko (Improvised jam with Roland Juno 60, Prophet 6 and Toraiz SP16)

"Here's the 2nd video of my new series, the Cave Sessions, where I invite you deep into my woman cave to watch my solo jam sessions, featuring special guest, Ginger! Jamming and improvising is my way of discovering and learning more about my gear, my voice, and creating new ideas without any rules. I also compose a lot of my songs this way. This time I am improvising on the Roland Juno 60, Sequential Prophet-60 (Master) and Toraiz-SP16 (Slave)!

2. Cave Sessions with Sheenah Ko (welcome to my creative process)

"Welcome to my cave....where laundry and synthesizers have their place. I invite you to watch my song-writing process. The way I write songs is through meditative and improvised jam sessions; I press record and let myself go, and because each instrument is being recorded separately, I can go back to my jam and sculpt/chip away and create a new song. MY GEAR: Sequential Prophet-6 (Master), Nord Stage 2, Sequential/Pioneer DJ Toraiz SP-16 (slave), Roland Juno-60"

About Sheenah Ko:
"I'm a professional keyboardist and solo artist based out of Montreal, Canada, and a Sequential Keyboards artist. I am often composing music under my name (Sheenah Ko) or touring the world rocking international stages with so many rad bands like The Besnard Lakes, Antoine Corriveau, Le Couleur... (the roster is looooong). I love geeking out on synthesizers, writing trippy music, travelling, spending as much time as possible in nature, hanging with Ginger cat and spreading good vibes. I have a brand new album coming out on June 3, 2022 called FUTURE IS NOW, stay tuned!!!

Official website: sheenahko.com"

Can the Yamaha AN1x match the Roland JX-3P sound?

MIDERA

Interesting comparison. I never made the connection before.

"The JX3P and AN1x both have this 'sizzle' sound that I can't explain. When I got the AN1x I thought it had a very similar sound, so I decided to make a few sounds and see if I could recreate the JX3P sounds. Note that the volumes aren't matched, I wasn't really going for a perfect comparison, just whether I could capture the sound. This isn't a 'versus' - it's an attempt to match the sounds - plus the volumes fluctuate based on the tones.

The first thing I tried to do was make a very simple patch and capture the sound of the JX chorus - you can hear that early on.

Later, I tried to replicate some sounds with the resonance turned up, this posed a very big challenge for me, I don't think I ever really did a good job with the comparison.

Sometimes I went off on a tangent, with either synth. Sorry about that.

I left every bit of my musings in there - you can see just how long and difficult it was on the AN1x to capture the JX3P sound, and even then I feel it wasn't as good. I felt I did a pretty decent job with the chorus though.

The JX3P is probably the more interesting synth to me, because I just like how it sounds with very little processing/editing. In other words, it has a large sweet spot, but it doesn't do a whole lot to begin with. The AN1x, while completely manageable as a synth, is just somewhat hard to use sometimes, and when you play a simple synth next to it, it's easy to get a little frustrated when finding your way around the AN1x.

The look, and feel, of the Roland JX3P, and the sound - just feel unmatched. I have owned a Juno 106 (and sold it because I liked my Matrix 1000 more) and I have had a Juno 60, borrowed from a friend... but the JX3P just has something I like a little more than either of those (though the Juno 60 is just a beautiful synth, I'd own it for that reason alone, and those snappy envelopes).

If the JX3P had the faders of the Juno and the fast envelopes, there'd never even be a contest for me.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the completely random video I put together."

Rosen Sound Synth Demos & Restorations

Published on Jul 28, 2018 Rosen Sound

This one in via Soviet Space Child.

www.rosensound.com/rentals

Playlist:
1. Oberheim OB-X - Rosen Sound Demo

The OBX was the first major "answer" to the Prophet 5 synthesizer, and at least in our opinion, was the best answer anyone could've given.

The OB-X is based on the basic design of the (S)ynthesizer (E)xpander (M)odule also from Oberheim. Like the SEM, it features two discreet VCO's with saw and pulse, two envelopes, and the low pass section of the SEM filter. It also added noise, a release control, and cross modulation (similar to the Prophet's cross mod). The prophet's cross mod was a bit more dynamic, though. A flexible LFO section is also featured.

None the less, the OBX is in a species all of it's own in many ways. It's one of the very few mostly discreet programmable polyphonic synthesizers, and more than that spec, it sounds unique and absolutely marvelous.

Our unit features encore midi

Book your rental package with Rosen Sound and see the rest of our synth catalog at www.rosensound.com/rentals

2. Moog Minimoog - Rosen Sound Demo

3.SCI Prophet 5 - Rosen Sound Demo

In a lot of ways this needs no introduction. One of the most iconic poly synths ever made, and the first synth to offer true programmability with polyphonic architecture.

The Prophet 5 offers your basic amenities in a poly synth with 5 voices each with 2 VCO's, a low pass VCF, a VCA, two EG's, one LFO with multiple wave shapes available, with POLY MOD as the icing on the cake. This lets you make FM type sounds and is part of what makes the prophet 5 unique.

Our unit features factory midi

4. Oberheim Four Voice - Rosen Sound Demo

This in our opinion is one of the finest synthesizers ever made in terms of overall sound. The features are of course many and the synth as a whole is very flexible and powerful, but the sound it outputs is nothing short of mesmerizing.

The FVS features 4 Synthesizer Expander Modules (SEM) each representing a polyphonic voice. This means for one patch, each SEM must be setup identically. This may seem like too much, but it's actually a very enjoyable process that causes you to think different about the patch your making, the polarity of your modulation per voice, and subtle differences you can set.

The synth can also be used in a powerful unison mode, allowing each SEM to be adjusted separately for a crazy 4x dual oscillator synthesizer each with a multi mode filter to be fired at once.

Each SEM is as or more powerful than your standard mono synth, featuring 2 oscillators with saw and pulse each, PWM, FM, 1 LFO, two EG's, a bi-polar filter modulation control, and the sweetest Oberheim filter ever made featuring a bandpass filter and a sweepable LP-HP filter. These filters are special in the way that when the resonance is turned up, there is no loss of volume or low end.

Additionally, our FVS is an early model with no programmer (a feature loathed by many anyway). Instead, it features 2 dual mini sequencers with a common clock available. This means you can do 8-step 4 note poly sequencing between the four SEM's, or split the keyboard with one sequencer playing 1 SEM and 3 note chords on the other side of the keyboard.

Functionally, our FVS is very much in tune and has been stabilized to survive travel and tuning consistency. It is in tune as soon as it's turned on, and we provide a quick start guide for our rental customers to learn how to easily program and tune the machine.

Our FVS also features MIDI in via a modified YARN's module installed inside. This allows through basic midi and if desired (more complicated) midi scripts to play it polyphonically (default on boot), sequence each SEM assigned to a separate channel (enabling MPE), or played in Unison. All of these features can be harnessed by utilizing SYSEX or the Yarns editor, all which is provided on a thumb drive for rentals.

5. Moog Memorymoog - Rosen Sound Demo

To start, let's forget the internet-lore or an "unreliable" and "impossible to tune" machine. Our service shop is known worldwide for our work on Memorymoogs and stabilizing them for real production use.

Now, let's introduce you to (what we consider) the pinnacle of Moog synthesizers. With 3 oscillators + ladder filter per voice, flexible and intuitive modulation, and a knob per function, the Memorymoog is not a force to be reckoned with, and is in what we consider to be the top 3 best sounding synthesizers ever made.

From lush pads, 18 oscillator unison leads, heavy bass, and even gentle timbres, the memorymoog is sure to be a staple piece for your session in any genre on music. Plus it has everyones favorite feature: an arpeggiator!

Our rental memorymoog will arrive with an expression pedal and 12 custom patches (87-99) made by our resident in house programmer, Eli Goss. These 12 patches are the juice that will fuel modern productions to achieve sounds unobtainable by any other synth, with plugins not even worth a mention.

6. Oberheim OB8 - Rosen Sound Demo

One of our staple synths in the collection. The lore of the OB8 is that it's a less-exciting OBXa, however, with some choice mod's which we've done to ours, they are sonically identical.

The OB8 is one of the most flexible synthesizers available, which includes deep LFO routing from the front panel, and a PAGE 2 function that transforms every knob and button on the synth to do even deeper modulation, including quantized LFO's, musical "OBXA" style detuning, envelope routing, and more.

Additionally, our OB8 has been fitted with a Pratt & Read keybed, which brings the true feel of American poly synths to the experience, while also having the amenities provided by the B5 EPROM including factory midi.

7. Sequential Circuits Prophet 10 - Rosen Sound Demo

The Prophet 10 is more than just 2 Prophet 5's in one box; featuring an active EQ per voice, deeper modulation, and more performance capabilities with it's dual manuals and CV pedal inputs. This prophet 10 also features midi in and out.

8. Oberheim Four Voice Sequence

You could do an entire score with this #oberheimfourvoice. With quad poly sequencing and split modes the sky is the limit. Available for rent through us! Contact us for rates and availability. And yes, it has midi!

9. Prophet 5 Rev 3 Restoration

10. Juno 106 Multiboard removal

11. Juno 106 80017A Chip Failure - What To Check

In this video I go over a couple things to check not only to see if your 80017A chips are failing, but also other potential failures of the juno, including failure of one of the MC5534A dual DCO chip.

This video also applies to other models, such as the MKS 30, HS 60, GR 700 and some others.

If you would like Rosen Sound to service your Juno, please contact us at contact@rosensound.com

Sonic State "How Do You Juno?" Panel Discussion

YouTube via iloveanalogue. follow-up to this post where you'll find the two vids below originally posted.

"This is an excerpt from the Sonic State podcast from 22 April 2009. In it, they discuss the Roland "How Do You Juno?" contest, as well as Juno synths in general, and the entry performed by Robbie Ryan. You can read more about the contest at http://www.rolandus.com, or the YouTube group
http://www.youtube.com/group/howdoyou... You can also find out more about Robbie Ryan at http://iloveanalogue.blogspot.com or http://www.myspace.com/robbieryanmusik Sonic State can be found at http://www.sonicstate.com You can also follow Robbie Ryan at http://www.twitter.com/robbieryanmusik"





This is How I Juno