The Moog Model 10 Synthesizer

video upload by Alex Ball

"Thank you also to Michelle Moog-Koussa at the Bob Moog Foundation, Moog Music, Marc Doty and Vincent Michaels for their help with photos, brochures and information."

0:00 Intro Jam
1:14 The Model 10
1:38 The History of Moog Modular Synths
3:59 Demo 1: Bananas
4:58 The Reissues
5:48 Demo 2: Pulses
7:03 What's on a Moog Model 10?
10:23 Demo 3: Space Disco
11:35 Summary & Thoughts
12:40 Outro Jam

Checking out Roland's CMU-800 w/ a Alex Ball history lesson

video upload by Stazma

"Here we dive again into Roland's "Compu-Music" serie from the early 80s with it's centerpiece and first release: The CMU-800.

If you havn't seen the video about the CMU-810, featuring the full history thing on the Compu Music serie by Alex Ball, here it is:"

The mighty yet unknown CMU 810 by Roland featuring Alex Ball

The Pearl Syncussion From 1979!

video upload by Alex Ball

"A look at the first drum synthesizer made by Pearl, the Syncussion SY-1 from 1979.

Get the sample pack, music and stems from this video and help me make more stuff like this via my new Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AlexBallMusic

Thank you for the support!

0:00 Intro Jam
0:53 The Pearl Syncussion
1:26 Demo 1: Pearl Jam
2:21 Talk: How Does It Work?
4:50 Talk: Who Used It?
5:07 Demo 2: Is This Dub?
6:15 Talk: A Second Life
6:57 Demo 3: Is This Techno?
8:00 Talk: Legacy
8:47 Sample Pack
9:42 Outro Jam"

ISE-NIN: A Jupiter-8 Replicant

video upload by Alex Ball

"A look at the Black Corporation ISE-NIN which is an 8-voice analogue synthesizer based on the Roland Jupiter-8 from 1981.

https://black-corporation.com/product...

0:00 Intro Jam
1:07 Ise-Nin
1:41 Demo 1: Synth & Drums
2:26 What's Old?
3:44 Demo 2: Whimsy
4:52 What's New? Pt 1
5:42 Demo 3: Touche
6:11 What's New? Pt 2
7:08 Demo 4: Two's Company
8:04 Comparisons with a Jupiter-8
10:12 Comparison to a Super Jupiter
11:10 My Opinions
12:52 Outro Jam"

COMPLETE 1970’s Roland System 100 Analog Synthesizer w/ Original Boxes

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

via this auction

"Original vintage complete Roland System 100 in absolutely stunning, museum-grade condition, complete with original boxes!!!!

This system has been fully serviced, cleaned, and calibrated, and sounds absolutely monstrous! Analog synth Megatron!!!!!!"

See the System 100 video by Alex Ball recently posted here and Being Boiled - The Human League Synth Cover here.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Being Boiled - The Human League Synth Cover

video upload by Alex Ball

"Following on from my Roland System 100 feature video [posted here], here's a full cover of the Human League's first single, 'Being Boiled' from 1978.

Breakdown:
I was very fortunate to receive a copy of the original beat patch from Martyn Ware via Robbie Puricelli. Martyn had passed on that it might need to tweaking and experimentation, which wasn't surprising given the nature of analogue gear.

The patch sheet gave me the pitched noise part and the snare and I found I needed to add a bit of EQ from my mixer to dial those in too. I also had had to adjust the settings in tiny increments for quite a while until it sounded very close. Strangely, I had to use the white noise on my 100 to get it to sound like the original recording as the pink noise that they actually used sounded too dull on mine. Maybe it's the age of the unit now!

Interestingly, they used a technique explained in the 104 sequencer manual where a CV from one of the channels can be used to alter the clock speed. If this is dialled in correctly then the note value can be set for each step of the sequence. This is how they got a 4/4 pattern within 11 steps, instead of 16. As I wanted an exact tempo, I cheated and used an external clock pulse via midi.

A puzzle: After the initial beat, another drum sound joins in. It's a sort of bass drum, but it doubles the snare, rather than providing a typical bass drum pattern. This could have been a manual overdub, but it could have also been done with the other two drum parts because I've seen at least one photo of the Human League with two 102 expanders at this time. Either way, it isn't part of the patch on the original patch sheet.

Next, there's the narrow pulse wave rhythm that appears throughout the song, again, it's not part of the original patch, so it was presumably an overdub. Did they put down a clock pulse at the outset and then use it for synch of a 2nd pass? That's my suspicion.

Finally, if you listen you can hear a track of synth FX running continuously through through song. Often it's ring modulator atmospheres, but there's some definite filter resonance and filter LFO mod tweaking in places. My belief was that someone just sat there and tweaked for the entire song on an available track and they blended it in as a texture and I subsequently found an extended interview with Martyn Ware on the Bonedo website where he indeed confirms that they did exactly that. The thinking was to make it sound more cinematic.

Bass line:
Dead easy - two sawtooth waves on the miniKORG 700S with a little detune, no attack and max sustain ('singing') with no release ('sustain'). The 'sustain long' setting is used.

Roll the highpass filter up a bit and the lowpass slightly higher until it sounds right and make sure expand and bright are engaged for filter mod. That's basically it.

Vocals - double tracked, but I also used a 1979 Boss DM-2 on the send of my mixer for some vintage doubling. I don't know exactly what they did on the original, but it's definitely double tracked at the very least."

The Roland System 100 from 1975

video upload by Alex Ball

"A look at Roland's System 100 from 1975, their first foray in (semi) modular synthesis.

0:00 Intro Jam
0:57 The System 100
1:59 Demo 1: Falcon
3:02 Talk: The Basic Unit et al
4:28 Demo 2: Proto Acid
5:33 Talk: 101 & 102
7:57 Demo 3: Ring in Spring
9:04 Talk: 103
10:55 Demo 4: Bucket and Fade
12:00 Talk 104
13:53 Vangelis Spiral
14:48 Clock Mod Tricks
15:49 Demo 5: Tumble & Fall
17:03 Talk 109
18:28 The Human League
20:30 Outro Jam

Links:
System 100 playlist:"

Jupiter 6 Demo All Roland Factory Presets

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video uploads by Midnight's Ocean

"Unrehearsed impromptu for practice editing with updated video software. Monitoring through DAW was laggy, so it’s mostly noodling. Hopefully just enough to get a rough idea of how program timbres behave. Over 20 minute long vid and no crashes, yay. Had to break it into 2 pieces for youtube, boo."

via this auction

"Video demo in description was done by a friend from out of state and is this EXACT synth you will be purchasing. Video is 2 parts long and demonstrates all presets including the 1 custom patch. Sadly the stereo output was not featured in the demo, so in the video you hear the synth in typical mono output, with some simple effects down stream. If you want to hear the synth in a more musical setting, I recommend you watch Alex Ball's YouTube video 'Jupiter 6: The Dystopian Synth'."

CLICK FOR MORE »

The 3rd Wave: Wavetable Shenanigans!

video upload by Alex Ball

"A look at the 3rd Wave from Groove Synthesis.

0:00 Intro Jam
1:20 The 3rd Wave
1:47 Demo 1: Flight Risk
2:51 Wavetable Principle
4:17 Demo 2: Atlas
5:20 Oscillators
6:15 Demo 3: Horizon
7:23 The Rest of the Synth
8:41 Demo 4: Funk Sandwich
9:27 Multi-Part
10:12 Demo: Multi-Part
11:15 Make your own Wavetable
13:23 Summary
14:45 Outro Jam"

Scoring a Ninja Sci-Fi That Doesn't Exist With SYNTRX II

video upload by Alex Ball

"Following on from my video with the original Syntrx, I thought it would be fun to do another imaginary score with its successor, Syntrx II.

0:00 Intro
1:07 Future Ninjas
1:38 Creating the Sound FX
4:45 Creating the Theme Tune
7:12 The End Result
9:35 Summary
11:13 Outro Jam"

S2400 Firmware Update March 2023

video upload by Isla Instruments

"Go Get it:
https://forum.islainstruments.com/t/s..."

S2400 Round Robin Slice playback demo


"A new feature in the latest (March 2023) S2400 FW update is Round Robin mode.
Take a watch...
In this video Rory has loaded the Amen break, and cycles through some of the Round Robin modes as it plays back.....
HOWWWZAAAAAA"

Alex Ball videos here

The Glorious ARP Quadra from 1978!

video upload by Alex Ball

"A look at the famous ARP Quadra from 1978.

Huge thank you to Andrew "The Quadra" Ward for the loan!
https://www.instagram.com/arpquadra

Download the song (all proceeds to the Alan R Pearlman Foundation):
https://alexball.bandcamp.com/track/a...

https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org/

ARP Quadra Playlist:

• ARP QUADRA SONGS

0:00 Intro Jam
1:17 Talk: The Quadra
1:37 Demo 1: Skeleton Dance
2:47 The Four Sections
4:40 Talk: It's Very Simple
5:49 Demo 2: Legit Carpentry
6:51 Talk: Memory?
8:08 Demo 3: Band Member
9:05 Talk: That Keyboard
10:51 Demo 4: Fresh Lineup
12:05 Summary
14:06 Feature Track: Make It Happen"

Roland Introduces the SH-4d Desktop Synthesizer

Update: two more user videos (Alex Bell's & Starsky Carr's) added to the user playlist below.

video uploads by RolandChannel

"Lose yourself in a world of sound with the Roland SH-4d Synthesizer, a powerful desktop instrument featuring hands-on workflow and deep synthesis tools for in-the-moment magic. Watch as Detroit techno legend Carl Craig takes the SH-4d for a spin, bringing you on a sonic odyssey and diving headfirst into the unit’s array of sonic capabilities.

What’s inside the SH-4d? Command eleven OSC Models for a diverse range of sound-design possibilities, from vintage analog synths and PCM-based sounds to cutting-edge digital tones. Create custom kits with the rhythm part’s rich tone-shaping capabilities containing 26 unique drum instruments that can each be designed from scratch.

Spur spontaneous musical moments with the multitimbral sequencer, extensive effects, and plenty of polyphony. And with the loaded front panel, dynamic controls, motion recording, and more, you can transform ideas into short loops or complete songs as quickly as your ideas come."

User videos (ordered by shortest videos first - use the player controls to skip around):



Playlist:
Roland SH-4d : First jam - Freaky Tweaky
The Roland SH-4d In a Nutshell - Alex Ball
Roland SH-4d：基本機能・VISUAL ARPEGGIO・D-MOTIONの説明 - Freaky Tweaky
Roland SH-4D 1st Look - Sonic LAB - sonicstate
Roland SH-4d Demo & Review - musictrackjp
ROLAND SH-4d REVIEW // Rolands best synthesizer groovebox yet?! - BoBeats
Roland Synthesizer SH-4d Review // A Synth Groovebox with Vintage Vibes - Starsky Carr
Roland SH-4d Review: The multi-engine synth battle heats up! // Full SH4d tutorial - loopop
Roland SH-4d Mega Tutorial - True Cuckoo

And the press release:

Future Retro Desktop Synth with 11 OSC Models, Pro Sound Design Tools, Hands-On Workflow, and Multitimbral Pattern Sequencer

Los Angeles, CA, February 23, 2023 — Roland announces the SH-4d Synthesizer, a powerful new desktop instrument focused on synthesis and sound design. With 11 OSC Models and a hands-on panel filled with knobs, buttons and sliders, the SH-4d fuels on-the-spot creation and endless sonic discoveries. It also features a multitimbral sequencer with four synth parts and a customizable rhythm part, allowing users to compose intricate patterns with motion recording, extensive effects and more. Equally suited for studio, stage and traveling, the SH-4d is a fun and versatile instrument that will appeal to both modern electronic music creators and synth collectors everywhere.

Fifty years ago, Roland launched its first synthesizer, the groundbreaking SH-1000. The SH name has represented the company’s core synthesizer instruments ever since, merging innovative new technologies with tactile interfaces for quickly designing sounds in the moment. The SH-4d opens the next chapter in the long-running series, offering Roland’s latest analog modeling advancements and a deep-yet-inviting panel that catalyzes creativity and rewards exploration at every turn.

Detroit techno legend Carl Craig was so impressed with the SH-4d that he agreed to be the face of the launch video, delivering a spirited performance featuring new music composed solely on the unit. "That machine is a little monster,” he said after spending just a short time with the SH-4d. “So many options to not only shape sound but to shape the musical composition too."

Eleven OSC Models offer diverse sound-crafting possibilities, from vintage analog tones with SH-4d, SH-3D, Chord, Ring and Sync Models to cutting-edge digital textures with Cross FM, Wavetable and Drawing Models. Influential voices from Roland’s historic past include SH-101 and JUNO-106 Models and a PCM Model with a large selection of sample-based sounds. The SH-4d also features a flexible drum synthesizer with rich tone-shaping capabilities for creating custom kits from scratch.

The SH-4d puts everything creators need for pro sound design at their fingertips, with 32 knobs, four sliders and a massive array of multi-function buttons. The LCD, sliders and buttons automatically reconfigure their functions to follow the selected mode, eliminating menu-dive roadblocks that slow the creative flow. Dedicated Filter, Amp and LFO sections are always ready to shape any tone or pattern. And with the powerful Matrix section, users can create an even wider range of sounds by routing the output of the LFO or envelope generator to parameters in a Model.

Among its many tricks, the SH-4d features built-in motion sensors that allow the user to pick up the synth and adjust sounds with physical movements. D-Motion mode provides X/Y control for two parameters, while the unique Visual Arpeggio shapes note patterns via fun interactive displays.

The SH-4d sequencer is always a button press away, ready to transform sound ideas into compact loops or extended compositions. Up to 60 notes of total polyphony provide ample resources to develop complete musical ideas in the box. There’s also a versatile selection of renowned Roland effects to frost, finesse, rough up or mangle tones and patterns.

The SH-4d runs on a standard USB-C phone charger or AA batteries for up to four hours. There’s a two-plus octave button keyboard for self-contained composition, plus MIDI I/O for use as a sound module and controller in an expanded hardware setup. The SH-4d also functions as a USB-C audio/MIDI interface with 12 discrete audio channels for computer music production.

CLICK FOR MORE »

MUTRONICS MUTATOR: THAT 90s FILTER

video upload by Alex Ball

"A look at the Mutronics Mutator released in 1996.

As discussed in the video, this unit was used by many famous artists, producers and engineers in the late 90s and early 00s across a broad range of styles.

The Mutator is a stereo pair of analogue, resonant low pass filters (SSM 2045s) and voltage controlled amplifiers that are contoured by envelope followers and/or LFOs. In a nutshell, that allows for all sorts of stereo filtering, sweeping and tremolo FX on an open-ended number of audio sources. There is further functionality such as additional attack and release times, external inputs for creating alternate envelopes, external CV ins, LFO linking/inverting, MIDI control and MIDI LFO reset etc. Most (but not all) of this was used at some point in the video.

0:00 Intro Jam
0:59 The Mutronics Mutator
2:04 Demo 1: Borrowed Filters
2:46 Radiohead and More
4:01 Demo 2: Crutator
5:06 Envelope Followers
6:03 Demo 3: Beat Guitar
6:45 Across a mix
7:01 Demo 4: Daft Filtering
8:14 What happened to the Mutator?
9:04 Demo 5: Does It Funk Though?
9:55 How do we get the sound now?
11:10 Summary"

FERRIS BUELLER'S SYNTHESIZER

video upload by Alex Ball

"A look at the E-mu Systems Emulator II from 1984, famously used by a certain Mr Bueller.

0:00 Day Off
0:40 The Emulator
1:30 Interlude 1: Some Sounds
1:59 The Emulator II
2:27 Interlude 2: 80s TV Score
3:03 Sampling Explanation
4:34 Sampling Demonstration
7:48 Multi-track Sequencing
9:34 What could you use it for now?
11:45 Computer Interface & Famous Users
13:53 Feature Track (mixed by Jakob at Sonic Peak)"

OBERHEIM'S FIRST SYNTH!

video upload by Alex Ball

"A look at the Oberheim Synthesizer Expander Module (1974) and Two Voice (1975), which were Oberheim's first two synthesizer products respectively.

0:00 Intro Jam
1:00 The Synthesizer Expander Module
2:04 Demo 1: State Sync
2:49 E-mu Systems
3:32 Demo 2: Two Voice
4:38 Dennis P Colin
5:49 Demo 3: Pull Seq Wonk
6:56 Jim Cooper
7:46 Demo 4: Transistor Bass Workout
9:04 Tom Oberheim
10:09 Demo 5: August Nineteen Seventy-Five
11:16 The Life Aquatic, Stranger Things and Drokk
13:50 Outro Jam"

A GOLDEN JUPITER & OTHER STORIES

video upload by Alex Ball

"As we come to the end of Roland's 50th anniversary year, I thought it would be fun to look at their anniversary golden Jupiter-X [posted here], the 'Inspire The Music' book and to also tell you some stories of my own.

I'd love to hear your stories in the comments section.

https://www.roland.com/uk/roland-50th...
https://bjooks.com/

0:00 Intro Jam
1:00 Roland Turn 50
1:56 Interlude Juno-6
2:36 Story 1: The Kitchen Synth
4:38 Interlude System 100m 1
5:48 Story 2: Window Shopping
7:48 Interlude System 100m 2
8:49 Story 3: Lost Prototype
12:10 Interlude TB-303
13:05 Story 4: Cereal box of 303
15:09 Outro Jam"

The Rare KORG MS-50 from 1978

video upload by Alex Ball

"A look at the only fully-modular synthesizer Korg have ever made, the MS-50 Expander Module from 1978.

Here's the nerdy page mentioned in the video with all the dirty details: https://www.alexballmusic.com/korg-ms...

Also make sure to follow the Nakatsugawa Korg Museum, it's rather wonderful. https://www.instagram.com/korg_museum...

0:00 Intro Jam
1:00 Talk: The MS-50
1:30 Demo 1: Oh My Mod!
2:30 Talk: Was ist der MS-50?
3:17 Demo 2: Movie Tension
4:05 Talk: Expander Module
4:27 Demo 3: Expander
5:04 Talk: External Signal Processing
5:38 Demo 4: Stereo Follower
6:09 Talk: Esoteric Stuff
6:29 Demo 5: Wass Dis Do?
7:41 Talk: Filtering
8:43 Demo: Type35 vs Diode Ring
9:10 Talk: MS-01, FK-3, FK-5
10:01 Demo 6: Footsie Fun, Jah!
11:50 Summing Up

Thanks to Brad and thanks for watching!"

The Oberheim OB-X8 in a nutshell

video upload by Alex Ball

"Oberheim are back with a very serious synthesizer indeed; the OB-X8.

In this video we take a quick look at what it does and what it sounds like.

Huge thanks and congratulations to Oberheim and Sequential.

https://oberheim.com/
https://www.sequential.com/

0:00 INTRO JAM
0:58 THE OB-X8
1:15 DEMO 1
2:13 THE HEADLINES
2:38 DEMO 2
3:35 SPLITS AND DOUBLES
3:51 DEMO 3
4:42 DEMO 2
5:13 PAGE 2
7:03 DEMO 4
8:22 SUMMARY
9:09 OUTRO JAM"

Alan R. Pearlman Foundation Odyssey 50th Anniversary Celebration with Alex Ball !

video upload by Alan R. Pearlman Foundation

"As a kick-off for the November 5th celebration of the 50th anniversary of the ARP Odyssey, Alex Ball returns to YouTube to extoll everything ARP Odyssey, a little demo, a little music, a little tech-talk and as always, LOADS of FUN!

Join us for the 2022: A Fifty-Year ARP Odyssey Synthposium and Fundraiser. Go to bit.ly/2022-Odyssey to purchase tickets for the online event. All proceeds to The Alan R Pearlman Foundation's ARPs for ALL project.

Go to bit.ly/2022-Odyssey for tickets!"