The Commodore Music Maker Deluxe Improvised Jam

Published on Dec 26, 2019 MrCaliforniaD

"First off, sorry for the occasional clipping of the sound console.

This is my friend Jay-Boi playing with the Music Maker Deluxe in a very basic but effective musical setup.

The Commodore controller is connected directly on the keyboard matrix of a Commodore 64c (SID 8580). The sound used is a 3 voice sawtooth waveform with adjustable LFO amount and filter amount using the 2 potentiometers on the side.

The audio out of the C64c is going inside a DIY MS-20 like filter box that receives it's modulation from the a Korg MS-20. The output of the filter box goes to a first track. The Korg MS-20 is connected to a second track.

If you want to know more about this Commodore 64 with piano keys, you can watch these two videos:" [posted here]

The Commodore Music Maker Deluxe

Published on Dec 10, 2019 MrCaliforniaD

"I made this keyboard out of a broken Commodore machine and a Arturia MiniBrute keybed.

This thing is not a MIDI controller nor a Arduino / Raspberry Pi design. It uses carbon contacts that act as switches and connect directly on the keyboard matrix inside a Commodore 64.

Because of this, it can be used with ANY programs that allow the musician to play notes directly on the C64's keyboard, allowing you to use a wide vierity of original music programs that were compat"

OMD's Enola Gay :)

The Commodore Music Maker Deluxe Part 2 - The making of

Published on Dec 23, 2019 MrCaliforniaD

Dumb Improvisation With A Unique Sampler - Roland VP-9000 Variphrase

Published on Oct 19, 2019 MrCaliforniaD

"Here's a pretty bad improvisation showing the sound capabilities of the Roland VP-9000, a sampler that can do time stretching and formant modulation.

The backing synthesizer on this track is a Oberheim Matrix 6R."

Follow-up to Roland VP-9000 Variphrase Sampler - Stewie Mom Scene Sample Over Mario Underwater Music

Roland VP-9000 Variphrase Sampler - Stewie Mom Scene Sample Over Mario Underwater Music

Published on Oct 14, 2019 MrCaliforniaD

"This is an example of the capabilities of this unique sample.

The sampler is fed by this classic Family Guy scene where Stewie is annoyingly calling his mom.

The sampler can automatically split the words of a sentence and jump to the next word when a new key is pressed.

On top of that, the sample time is preserved regardless of the pitch of the note being generated."

Bubble Bobble - Main Theme - Played on a real Atari Pokey Chip (C012294)

Published on Aug 18, 2019 MrCaliforniaD

"The slightly detuned sound is part of the experience."

From Wikipedia:
"The Pot Keyboard Integrated Circuit (POKEY) is a digital I/O chip designed for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers and found in Atari arcade games of the 1980s. POKEY combines functions for sampling (ADC) potentiometers (such as game paddles) and scan matrices of switches (such as a computer keyboard) as well as sound generation. It produces four voices of distinctive square wave sound, either as clear tones or modified with a number of distortion settings. POKEY chips are used for audio in many arcade games including Centipede, Missile Command, Asteroids Deluxe, and Gauntlet. Some of Atari's arcade systems use multi-core versions with 2 or 4 POKEY chips in a single package for more sound voices. The Atari 7800 console allows a game cartridge to contain a POKEY, providing better sound than the system's audio chip. Only two licensed games make use of this: the ports of Ballblazer and Commando."

J.S.Bach - Little Fugue in G minor - Played on a Realistic MG-1 by Moog Music

Published on Mar 24, 2019 MrCaliforniaD

"The MG-1 was built by Moog for Realistic (Radio Shack), and was designed specifically for the home market. Very basic and easy to use, this is a nice cheap way to get your hands on Moog sounds!

The MG-1 is a 2-VCO monophonic/polyphonic analog synth with a genuine 24dB/oct Moog filter, however the overall sound is thin. On the MG-1, the VCOs are referred to as 'Tone Generators'. It can produce sawtooth, square and pulse waveforms, and the oscillators are detunable and syncable. A simple ASR (attack, sustain, release) envelope called 'Contour' can be applied to both the amp and the filter. The LFO section provides triangle or square wave patterns as well as Sample-and-Hold. Additionally there is a simple Ring-Mod effect called 'Bell'.

Feel free to ask any questions."

Novation BASS STATION II (firmware 2.5) - Funeral for a Friend Intro

Published on Jan 20, 2019 MrCaliforniaD

"Here's the intro of Funeral for a Friend played on the new firmware 2.5 of the Novation BASS STATION II (monophonic / 2 voice paraphonic) Synthesizer.

I made use of the new "oscillator error" feature that basically simulates the sound of early synthesizers that were unstable at times.

Look. Nothing beats the original song. To think that this was recorded note by note on a ARP 2500 to create polyphony that early in the world of synthesizers just blows my mind.

I would like to point out that I don't work for or with Novation, but I am always a strong supporter of companies that keeps working on their products and offer you awesome upgrades without asking a dime from you. Some companies should take notes here."

The Sound Blaster Card Keyboard - 21 Factory Patches + FM Slider-Editing

Published on Jan 12, 2019 MrCaliforniaD

"YAMAHA PSS-460 / PSS-470 / PSS-560 / PSS-570

This synthesizer line are not toys. Back in the 80s, YAMAHA used their famous YM3812 FM chip, used in the original Sound Blaster and AdLib Music Synthesizer PC cards. and put it in keyboards for the home market.

These little keyboards are incredibly fun to play, and the FM slider based editing is a delight.

If, like me, you like to cruise in the memory lane, this thing will bring you back to your first PC that was equipped with a primitive 2 operator FM sound synthesizer card. We used to think it was amazing compared to the square-wave based pc speaker.

I modified my keyboard with MIDI IN using a Highly Liquid UMR2 module.

Sorry. I did not keep any schematics since this module is so simple to install. If you have a polyphonic keyboard that tracks the notes on the keybed using a matrix, but lacks MIDI capabilities, this is what you need.

I you are looking for a Highly Liquid UMR2 module, the creator of the board stopped doing them, but he was kind enough to make the design "open source". In other words, anyone can make them legally."

Frogger Theme Played on a Atari Punk

Published on Aug 2, 2018 MrCaliforniaD

"Feel free to ask any questions concerning this video in the comment section."

Super Mario Brothers & The Legend of Zelda Themes Played on a Commodore VIC-20 from 1980

Published on Jul 10, 2018 MrCaliforniaD

"Yes. Your ears are working right. That old sound chip sounded pretty detuned. This song was made using the Vic-Midi cartridge from Retro Innovations. Please note that all track were recorded separately to avoid the chip from generating its classical overdriving when producing polyphony. I tried it and the result was awful. :) Please feel free to ask me any questions."

Playlist:
1. The Legend of Zelda theme played on an original Commodore VIC-20 from 1980
2. Super Mario Bros theme played on an original Commodore VIC-20 from 1980

Beverly Hills Cop Theme (Axel F) on a Tandy Color Computer in HD

Published on Jun 3, 2018 MrCaliforniaD

"This clumsy 6-bit DAC sound generator is halfway between a delight for your ears and a headache festival.

Recorded with a real Tandy CoCo 3 computer."

Update:

Beverly Hills Cop Theme (Axel F) on a Atari Pockey Chip (C012294)

Published on Jun 3, 2018 MrCaliforniaD

"Recorded on a real Pockey Chip using the Pocket Pockey from Chocolatchips.

Yes. Your ears are working right. There is a certain amount of detune over a certain range of notes.

Polyphony was made using Notelogic."

Commodore 64 CBM Theme on a Tandy Color Computer in HD

Published on May 31, 2018 MrCaliforniaD

"This clumsy 6-bit DAC sound generator is halfway between a delight for your ears and a headache nightmare.

Recorded with a real Tandy CoCo 3 computer."

The Beatles - Because - Tribute on a Roland JP-08 Boutique Synthesizer

Published on Jan 27, 2018 MrCaliforniaD

"All sounds were generated on a Roland JP-08 Boutique Synthsizer.

I know. Nothing beats the original version of the song. I don't need to be told that ;)"

Mega Man 2 - Quickman Stage (Nintendo Music) - Roland A-01

Published on Mar 5, 2017 MrCaliforniaD

"No effects has been used on this track.

Music: Roland A-01 (8-bit synthesizer)
Drums: Kawai R-50e"

Mozart - Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major - Original Apple II

Published on Nov 28, 2016 MrCaliforniaD

Super Mario Kart - Title Music (SNES Music) - Yamaha TG-33

Published on Oct 21, 2016 MrCaliforniaD

"Music and effects were generated on the Yamaha TG-33 (1990).

Drums were made with a Alesis HR-16 with Classic 80s 8-bit Drum Sounds EPROM."

33 sounds of the Oberheim Matrix 6 / 6r

Published on Sep 27, 2016 MrCaliforniaD

"No effects were added."

Ninja Gaiden - Masked Devil (Nintendo Music) - Moog Minimoog Model D

Published on Sep 5, 2016 MrCaliforniaD

Recorded with:
Audio - Moog Minimoog Model D.
Video - Videonics TitleMaker 3000 / Critter & Guitari Video Scope

Sonic - Green Hill Zone (Sega Genesis Music) - Casio CZ-1

Published on May 5, 2016 MrCaliforniaD

"All sounds played on a Casio CZ-1 except for the drums.

No effects were added.

The drum part has been played on a Yamaha TG33."

Star Fox - Cornelia (SNES Music) - Yamaha TG33 Tone Generator

Published on Apr 16, 2016 MrCaliforniaD

"All sounds were played on a Yamaha TG33 Tone Generator.

No effects has been added."