Yamaha Portasound PSS-460 FM keyboard demo - "Night Vision"

Published on Nov 30, 2019 Alfonse

"Yamaha Portasound PSS-460 keyboard (1986)
All sounds you hear in the track were made using the PSS-460; some were run through delay pedals (the Vestax DDX vintage digital delay and the more recent Boss DD7). All parts were recorded to a DAW, where compression, EQ, and reverb were added as required. I also double-tracked the lead synth part (each part tuned fractionally differently) to give it a fatter sound. Individual drum hits were sampled from slowed-down rhythms and processed to allow fresh beats to be built, rather than using the rhythms found on the PSS-460 itself.

The aim of these videos is to see what you can create using sounds from ageing home keyboards together with current production tools. The 460 was one of a few of Yamaha's PSS range to use the same YM3812 sound-generating chip used in the Soundblaster soundcards of the late 80s/90s.

Synth settings are editable via the sliders on the top right of the control panel. If you have one of these keyboards and want to recreate the sounds, here are the parameters:

Bluesynth (edited): 2 5 1 1 3 3
Synth 1: 2 3 5 4 5 3
Vibes (edited): 5 5 5 5 3 3
Synth 2 (bell): 3 5 3 1 3 3

Music: "Night Vision" (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse
Download here: https://alfonse.bandcamp.com/album/l

ALFONSE
Store: http://alfonse.bandcamp.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alfonsemusic
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Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/alfonsemusic"

Technics SX-K200 keyboard demo - "Motion Capture"

Published on Nov 16, 2019 Alfonse

"Technics SX-K200 keyboard (1982)

All sounds you hear in the track were made using the SX-K200; some were run through a Boss DD7 delay pedal. All parts were recorded to a DAW, where compression, EQ, and reverb were added as required. I also quadruple-tracked the lead synth melody (with two layers of "Cosmic Wah" an octave apart and two layers of "Brass" at the lower octave, which I detuned slightly in the DAW to give it a fatter sound). Individual drum hits were sampled from slowed-down rhythms and processed to allow a fresh kick and snare pattern to be built, although the basis of the groove was the "Disco" rhythm on the keyboard (with a high-pass filter applied so that the hi-hats are mainly all you hear).

The aim of these videos is to see what you can create using sounds from ageing home keyboards together with current production tools. The SX-K200 was an evolution of Technics' electronic organs, which they had been building and developing since the '60s; its sounds are split into 8 "orchestral" polyphonic presets and 6 "solo" monophonic voices, with nods to various staple synth sounds of the era. There is also a great stereo chorus effect that can be applied to the orchestral sounds.

Music: "Motion Capture" (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse
Download here: https://alfonse.bandcamp.com/album/l

ALFONSE
Store: http://alfonse.bandcamp.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alfonsemusic
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/alfonsemusic
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/alfonsemusic"

Yamaha Portasound PSS-140 keyboard demo - "Knockout Mouse"

Published on Nov 2, 2019 Alfonse

"Yamaha Portasound PSS-140 FM keyboard (1988)

All sounds you hear in the track were made using the PSS-140; some were run through the very synth-friendly Yamaha SDS CH-10MII chorus pedal. All parts were recorded to a DAW, where compression, EQ, delay and reverb were added as required. Individual drum hits were sampled from the drum pads and processed to allow fresh beats to be built, rather than using the rhythms found on the PSS-140 itself.

The aim of these videos is to see what you can create using sounds from retro classic keyboards together with current production tools. The PSS-140 has a 2 operator FM synth on board with some interesting and unusual sounds.

Music: 'Knockout Mouse' (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse
Download here: https://alfonse.bandcamp.com/album/l"

Realistic Concertmate 660 (aka Casio CT360) keyboard demo - "Blue Edge"

Published on Oct 18, 2019 Alfonse

"Realistic Concertmate 660 (aka Casio CT360) keyboard (1988)

All sounds you hear in the track were made using the Concertmate 660 and run through various single effects pedals (TC Electronic Sub Up octaver for adding some depth to bass notes, the very synth-friendly Yamaha SDS CH-10MII chorus pedal, and the Boss DD7 digital delay). Parts were recorded to a DAW, where I added compression, EQ, and reverb as required. I sampled individual drum hits from slowed-down rhythms, to allow fresh beats to be built, rather than using the rhythms found on the 660 itself.

The aim of these videos is to see what you can create using sounds from ageing home keyboards together with current production tools. This one was a challenge, in all honesty, as the sounds are generally a bit thin and dull, but there was something about that Violin patch that felt right for a synthwave-inspired track...

Music: 'Blue Edge' (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse
Download here: https://alfonse.bandcamp.com/album/l

ALFONSE
Store: http://alfonse.bandcamp.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alfonsemusic
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/alfonsemusic
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/alfonsemusic"

Yamaha Portasound PS-1 keyboard demo - "Lens Flare"

Published on Oct 6, 2019 Alfonse

"Yamaha Portasound PS-1 keyboard (1980)

All sounds you hear in the track were made using the PS-1 and run through various single effects pedals (TC Electronic Sub Up octaver for bass notes and for a floaty lead part, the very synth-friendly Yamaha SDS CH-10MII chorus pedal, and the Vestax DDX vintage digital delay). Parts were recorded to a DAW, where compression, EQ, and reverb were added as required. Individual drum hits were sampled from slowed-down rhythms and processed to allow fresh beats to be built, rather than using the rhythms found on the PS-1 itself.

The aim of these videos is to see what you can create using sounds from retro classic keyboards together with current production tools. One of the first three portable keyboards that Yamaha produced for the home market in 1980, the PS-1 was the most compact, with only 4 voices and 4 rhythms to work with.

Music: "Lens Flare" (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse
Download here: https://alfonse.bandcamp.com/album/l

ALFONSE
Store: http://alfonse.bandcamp.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alfonsemusic
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/alfonsemusic
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/alfonsemusic"

From the Live Room 5: Roland SH2 + Yamaha PS-1

Published on Sep 22, 2019 Alfonse

"Live jam featuring Ian Bostic on drums and Alfonse on the classic Roland SH2 monosynth from 1979, plus one of the original Yamaha Portasound (PS-1) polyphonic keyboards from 1980. Three keyboard tracks were overdubbed after the initial jam session, with effects provided by the Yamaha SDS CH-10MII chorus pedal and the Boss DD7 digital delay pedal. Some additional reverb was added to the synths at the mixing stage.

Get the track here: https://alfonse.bandcamp.com/album/fr...
Music (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse and Ian Bostic"

Suzuki Omnichord OM-300 sound demo - "Monochrome Eggwhisk"

Published on Sep 1, 2019 Alfonse

"I only had the Omnichord for a single evening, so this isn't the full performance video I would have liked to make. As usual, though, all sounds you hear in the track originated from the OM-300 and were recorded to a DAW, where compression, EQ, reverb, delay and chorus were added as required. I sampled individual drum hits from slowed-down OM-300 rhythms and processed them, to allow me to build fresh beats rather than using the rhythms found on the OM-300 itself.

Music: "Monochrome Eggwhisk" (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse
Download here: https://alfonse.bandcamp.com/album/a

ALFONSE
Store: http://alfonse.bandcamp.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alfonsemusic
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/alfonsemusic
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/alfonsemusic"

From the Live Room 4: Novation Bass Station II and Yamaha PSS-680

Published on Aug 17, 2019 Alfonse

"Live jam featuring Ian Bostic on drums and Alfonse on the Novation Bass Station ii, as well as the 1988 Yamaha PSS-680 FM mini-synth. The two tracks of customised Yamaha patches were overdubbed later, with effects provided by the Boss DD7 digital delay and CH1 Super Chorus pedals. Some additional reverb was added to the synths at the mixing stage.

For anyone who has a keyboard from the PSS-480 to 780 range, here are the parameters for the lead patch:
Voice 84: 0.35 1.45 2.19 3.07 4.01 5.02 6.05 7.88

Get the track here: https://alfonse.bandcamp.com/album/fr...
Music (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse and Ian Bostic

ALFONSE
Store: http://alfonse.bandcamp.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alfonsemusic
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/alfonsemusic
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/alfonsemusic

IAN
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX7V...

From the Live Room 2: Novation Bass Station II - Alfonse vs. Ian Bosti"

Yamaha Portasound PSS-580 FM keyboard demo - "Limes"

Published on Aug 4, 2019 Alfonse

Yamaha Portasound PSS-580 MusicStation keyboard (1989)
The PSS-580 is a relative of the 480, 680, and 780, with basically all the same chips and most of the same features in common. The 680/780 boast a couple more features, but the editable FM synthesizer parameters are common to all these keyboards, with control from the front panel of the keyboard over attack, decay, frequency, feedback and modulation for 2 operators.

All sounds you hear in the track were made using the PSS-580 and recorded to a DAW, where I added compression, EQ, reverb, delay and chorus as required. I sampled individual drum hits from the percussion section, to allow fresh beats to be built, rather than using the rhythms found on the PSS-580 itself.

The aim of these videos is to see what you can create using sounds from ageing home keyboards together with current production tools.

Music: "Limes" (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse
Download here: https://alfonse.bandcamp.com/album/a

ALFONSE
Store: http://alfonse.bandcamp.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alfonsemusic
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/alfonsemusic
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/alfonsemusic

From the Live Room 3: Roland SH2 and Novation Bass Station II

Published on Jul 28, 2019 Alfonse

"Live jam featuring Ian Bostic on drums and Alfonse on the Novation Bass Station II, as well as the classic Roland SH2 monosynth from 1979. With the tuning of VCO2 going a bit unexpectedly wild on the original jam, I ditched the SH2 bassline and re-recorded it on the Bass Station afterwards, followed by a subtle and understated lead part using the SH2, with effects provided by the Boss CH-1 Super-Chorus pedal and Boss DD7 and Vestax DDX digital delay pedals. Some additional reverb was added to the synths at the mixing stage.

Music (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse and Ian Bostic

ALFONSE
Store: http://alfonse.bandcamp.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alfonsemusic
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/alfonsemusic
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/alfonsemusic

IAN
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX7V...

From the Live Room 3: Roland SH2 and Novation Bass Station II - Alfonse vs. Ian Bostic"

Casio Casiotone MT-52 vintage keyboard demo - "Sport Horses On Tour"

Published on Jul 21, 2019 Alfonse

"Casio Casiotone MT-52 keyboard (1985) with SuperDrums!!
All sounds you hear in the track were made using the Casio MT-52 and recorded to a DAW, where compression, EQ, reverb, delay and chorus were added as required. The drums are from the MT-52’s onboard rhythm options, which are generated by an analogue source and as a result are fat and groovy…

The aim of these videos is to see what you can create using sounds from ageing home keyboards together with current production tools. The MT-52 wins points just as a beatbox alone with its Super Drums feature, which allows for individual drum elements (kick, snare, conga, hi-hat) to be switched to one of 3 different pattern variations within a rhythm selection, allowing for plenty of customisation. The 16-Beat rhythm is an instant winner; so much groove...

Music: "Sport Horses On Tour" (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse

ALFONSE
Store: http://alfonse.bandcamp.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alfonsemusic
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/alfonsemusic
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/alfonsemusic"

From the Live Room 2: Novation Bass Station ii

Published on Jul 14, 2019 Alfonse

"Live jam featuring Ian Bostic on drums and Alfonse on the Novation Bass Station ii. Two more tracks of synth overdubbed later, with delay provided by the Boss DD7 digital delay pedal. Some additional reverb was added to the synths at the mixing stage.

Music (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse and Ian Bostic
Download here: https://alfonse.bandcamp.com/album/fr...

ALFONSE
Store: http://alfonse.bandcamp.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alfonsemusic
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/alfonsemusic
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/alfonsemusic

IAN
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX7V...

From the Live Room 2: Novation Bass Station II - Alfonse vs. Ian Bostic"

Yamaha Portasound PSS-190 keyboard demo - "Whistleblower"

Published on Jul 7, 2019 Alfonse

"Yamaha Portasound PSS-190 keyboard (1990)
All sounds you hear in the track were made using the PSS-190 and recorded to a DAW, where compression, EQ, reverb, delay and chorus were added as required. The "Disco" drum rhythm was used, heavily compressed.

The aim of these videos is to see what you can create using sounds from ageing home keyboards together with current production tools. The PSS190 is a "high-performance electronic keyboard" according to the manual, and certainly packs a lot of sounds into a small package. Many of the voices sound like PCM samples of the FM sounds on the PSS-680/780/480/580 keyboard range, but there are also layered and split voices to play with.

Thanks to Ed Bettella for the loan of this little beast, plucked from obscurity in a loft somewhere...

Music: "Whistleblower" (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse
https://alfonse.bandcamp.com/track/wh...

ALFONSE
Store: http://alfonse.bandcamp.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alfonsemusic
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/alfonsemusic
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/alfonsemusic"

From the Live Room 1: Roland SH2

Published on Jul 1, 2019 Alfonse

"I got together with drummer Ian Bostic a few weeks ago for some synth jamming... First up was the epic Roland SH2 monosynth from 1979. The tuning of VCO2 was drifting all over the place when we recorded the jam, but I guess it gives that authentic vintage analogue feel... (with apologies to anyone with perfect pitch). Two additional synth tracks were overdubbed after the initial jam session, with effects provided by vintage Boss Super Chorus CH-1 and Vestax DDX digital delay pedals. Some additional reverb was added to the synths at the mixing stage.

Music (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse and Ian Bostic

ALFONSE
Store: http://alfonse.bandcamp.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alfonsemusic
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/alfonsemusic
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/alfonsemusic

IAN
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX7V...

From the Live Room 1: Roland SH2 - Alfonse vs. Ian Bostic"

Amstrad Fidelity CKX100 vintage keyboard demo - "Tin Vibe”

Published on Jun 23, 2019 Alfonse

"Amstrad Fidelity CKX100 Computerphonic keyboard (1988)

Well, who knew Lord Sugar made a keyboard...? All the sounds you hear in the track were made using the CKX100 and recorded to a DAW, where I added compression, EQ, reverb, delay and some light chorus as required. I sampled individual drum hits from slowed-down CKX100 rhythms, to allow me to build fresh beats, rather than using the rhythms found on the CKX100 itself.

The aim of this video series is to try to get big sounds from small retro keyboards with a little help from current production tools. The Amstrad is a quirky little 8-bit machine, with sounds coming from a ROM; my personal favourite patches are Guitar (nothing like one, but that's hardly unusual) and Synth 2, which plays the bassline in this track.

Music: "Tin Vibe" (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse

ALFONSE
Store: http://alfonse.bandcamp.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alfonsemusic
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/alfonsemusic
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/alfonsemusic"

Playright Mode with Computer Aided Harmony printed on the top right.

Check out previous posts by Alfonse here, and be sure to check out his links above.

Five cheap 80s keyboards...

Published on Jun 3, 2019 Alfonse

A new series by ALFONSE. You can find him on Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Twitter, and Instagram.

Playlist:

1 Five cheap 80s keyboards...

Music: "Eight" (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse

Intro to a new series of videos using sounds from ageing home keyboards together with current production tools. All sounds you hear in the track were made using the Casio SK-1 (a sampling keyboard), Casio MT-52, Yamaha PSS-680, Yamaha PSS-580, and Amstrad CKX100. They were recorded to a DAW, where compression, EQ, reverb, and delay were added as required.

2. Casio SK-1 sampling keyboard demo - "Rapid Rhino"

All sounds you hear in the track were made using the Casio SK-1 sampler or its factory sounds and were recorded to a DAW, where compression, EQ, reverb, delay and chorus were added as required. Individual drum hits were sampled from slowed-down SK-1 rhythms, to allow fresh beats to be built, rather than using the rhythms found on the SK-1 itself. If you hear something in the track and can't quite figure out where it came from, that was probably a vocal sample. It has a great 8-bit / 9.38kHz lo-fi sound; grainy and interesting...

The aim of this series of videos is to see what you can create using sounds from ageing home keyboards together with current production tools. Personally, I'm a fan of playing a vintage keyboard like this in its original state (not circuit bent) - it's more than just a retro toy...

Music: "Rapid Rhino" (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse

3. Yamaha Portasound PSS-680 FM keyboard demo - "Splendid Larryo"

All sounds you hear in the track were made using the PSS-680 and recorded to a DAW, where compression, EQ, reverb, delay and chorus were added as required. Individual drum hits were sampled from the drum pads and processed (the 680's kick drum is horrible, so that needed some attention for a start...), to allow fresh beats to be built, rather than using the rhythms found on the PSS-680 itself.

The aim of these videos is to see what you can create using sounds from retro classic keyboards together with current production tools. The 680 has a 2 operator FM synth on board, which can be edited via the Digital Synthesizer parameters on the front panel; there are limited editing options, but enough to get a cool range of sounds. It also has Midi In, Out and Thru, allowing for plenty of cool connectivity with controllers, computers and other hardware. It's basically identical to the PSS-780, aside from some different coloured pads and other parts, and has the same sound chips as the PSS-480 and 580, which were the next rung down in the product line.

For those who have a keyboard from that range, here are the parameters for some of the main patches:
First bass: voice 34: 0.63 1.63 2.10 3.15 4.01 5.00 6.06 7.69
Second bass: voice 74: 0.30 1.63 2.22 3.21 4.02 5.01 6.07 7.73
Main lead: voice 60: 0.26 1.47 2.16 3.25 4.04 5.02 6.06 7.73
Bridge lead: voice 91: 6.04 7.99
End lead: voice 02: 0.41 1.63 2.02 3.01 4.01 5.01 6.06 7.91 + portamento 05

Music: "Splendid Larryo" (C) Copyright 2019 Alfonse

More to come! I'll put new posts up to let you know when they come in.

Synth Jams by Alfonse

Published on Oct 22, 2012 Alfonse

Playlist:

1. Alfonse - MPC Jam One

MPC 2500 on loan for a few days, so time to make some beats and see what ideas come out...

2. Alfonse "Subtract" - Korg iElectribe and iMS20 on iPad

All parts were performed using Korg's iElectribe (beat) and iMS20 (synths) for iPad and each take was videoed as it was played. The parts were then mixed in Logic, adding some side-chain compression and overall mastering goodness.

3. Alfonse - Electrum Jam One

Step One: make a beat using Electrum Drum app by niko twenty for Android
Step Two: jam it out on synth and see what you end up with...

4. Alfonse - Electrum Jam Two

Step One: make a beat using Electrum Drum app by niko twenty for Android
Step Two: jam it out on synth and see what you end up with...

You can find Alfonse's music on:
http://alfonsemusic.bandcamp.com
http://www.soundcloud.com/alfonsemusic

Alfonse - Electrum Jam One

Published on Oct 8, 2012 by alfonsemusic

"Step One: make a beat using Electrum Drum app by niko twenty for Android
Step Two: jam it out on synth and see what you end up with...

http://www.alfonsemusic.com
http://www.twitter.com/alfonsemusic

Video filmed and edited by 7JMusic
http://www.7JMusic.com

(C) Copyright 2012 Alfonse"

BIGBANG - BLUE M/V (Alfonse remix)

YouTube Uploaded by alfonsemusic on Mar 12, 2012

"Alfonse remix of "Blue" by Korean band Big Bang
http://www.alfonsemusic.com"

Alfonse "Subtract" - original track performed on iPad

YouTube Uploaded by alfonsemusic on Oct 30, 2011

"All parts were performed using Korg's iElectribe (beat) and iMS20 (synths) for iPad and each take was videoed as it was played. The parts were then mixed in Logic, adding some side-chain compression and overall mastering goodness.

Download track free at http://soundcloud.com/alfonsemusic/subtract-alfonse

(C) Copyright 2011 Alfonse
http://www.alfonsemusic.com"