Strymon Big Sky vs GFI SYSTEM Specular V3

Published on Apr 24, 2019 synthlegends

"Comparision of two great reverb pedals. The very popular Strymon Big Sky against the quite unknown GFI SYSTEM Specular Reverb V3.

The Strymon contains 12 algorithms and a lot of parameters, whereas the GFI is ab bit simpler. It contains only 7 algorithms. But it costs only about half the price of the Strymon. Soundwise both are great. I prefer the GFI, because I think it sounds warmer and is incredible for ambient stuff.

I tried to compare some similar algorithms and didn't manage to match exactly the same settings.
1. Big Sky Shimmer vs Specular Shimmer
2. Big Sky Cloud vs Specular Spatium
3. Big Sky Magneto vs Specular Echo
4. Big Sky Chorale vs Specular Voices
5. Big Sky Hall vs Specular Spatium (less intensive than in the first example)

I hope this video helps you to find out, which is you pedal.

I played everything on Oberheim OBXa stereo into the pedal and stereo out.

There are no additional effects or mastering used.

Thanks for watching !"

Korg DW-6000 Review and Tutorial

Published on Dec 26, 2018 synthlegends

"My short demonstration of a very interesting and affordable Synth. This synth is very simple but sounds great and very "analogue", although it is digital. It has very simple 8 sample based waveforms and an analog filter. There are 2 OSC and Noise."

SCI Prophet 5 advanced with aftertouch kbd and 960 patch memory

Published on Jul 14, 2018 synthlegends

"This is one of the first modded Prophet 5 worldwide with a new bender board and a new fatar keyboard. The board contains a new develloped memory board with 8 banks of up to 960 Sounds (Rev. 3). The board looks like the real thing, with the orginal knobs, diesplay and coating. This modification you can purchase from Synthtaste in Bochum, Germany. There is already a very small series. It is planned that Synthtaste sends this kit with documentation wordlwide."

Sequential Prophet 5 Rev. 3 - Pure, dry and raw - 85 sounds

synthlegends

"This Video is a cutting mix of a two hours session of my Prophet 5 Rev. 3, I played along all my self programmed patches. I demonstrate here around 85 sounds of brass, piano, lead, bass, strings, pads and sweeps. I wonder if the Rev. 4 is sounding as great as this orginal. I suppose yes, although it is not a 100 % replica due to modern production methods. I have no opportunity to compare them. It's great that Dave Smith did it again and made this fantastic iconic synth as a future classic. So the legend will live forever.
I know that my videos are all too long;-). I tried to get enough variety to all my sounds, so you shall get surprised and enjoy the whole video.
I didn't use any FX and mastering in this video. I just recorded mono into my audio interface and created a stereo channel strip in my Logic Pro X. So there is no additinal work in the DAW. Just recorded life.
My Prophet 5 has some mods from synthtaste, a small company for refurbishing synths in Bochum, Germany https://www.synthtaste.com/en/. I have a fatar keyboard with aftertouch and 7 banks of the original 120 sound memories.
Thanks for watching and listening again, have fun and stay well. Rüdiger"

Roland House Session

Published on Jul 20, 2019 synthlegends

"TR-808, JUNO-60, SH-101, JX3P played life. Some delay and chorus on the SH-101 (GFI Clockwork and Boss CE-2w), nothing else, just improvised, no overdubbing."

Roland JD-800 Dream Pads

video upload by synthlegends

"The Roland JD-800 from 1992 is one of the best Roland digital synths (the Rack JD-990 is even more capable, but has no sliders). The JD-800 is a fantastic Pad Mashine and it is capable to create monstreous and magic dream film scores and pads. In this video I just demonstrate some of the typical Pads the JD-800 is for. Thannks for your great support of my channel. I almost got one million views and from publiction of this video tonight, there are just 1.675 views missing, I suppose tomorrow ore the day after I will reach the million. Will it by you? Have a happy easter and see you again soon."

hartmann neuron - cinematic soundwalls

video upload by synthlegends

"The Hartmann Neuron is one of the most sophisticated digital synths ever. It is a great synth for soundscapes and evolving textures. The potential is endless thanks neuronal algorithm and the possibility to create own models blending with two resonators. In this video I recorded only the Neuron. No processing in this video, only the raw sound, fx are from the Neuron only."

Modal Electronics 008 Part 1

Published on Nov 23, 2019 synthlegends

"Demo of some custom patches from the Modal Electronics 008 analog synthesizer.

I didn't use any FX, mastering, compression, it is just recorded directly to the audio interface.

This synthesizer was announced 2015 and is quite underestimated, maybe because of very few reviews, many software bugs in the beginning and a high price tag. Nevertheless this synth is capable of a huge array of sounds thanks of two oscillators with two suboscilators and noise, 15 filter types, two LFO, two envelopes, but one of them you can also use like a modulation source, lots of modulation possibilities (i.e. animator), filter drive, FM and much more. The sound can be very warm and lush, but also fizzy and sometimes cold. Meanwhile with the latest OS the synth ist "gown up" with interesting new features and removing of bugs.

I love this synth almost as much my Modal 002. They are two very different beasts but have the same genes.

Thanks for watching again. Cheers"

PPG wave 2.3 through Roland RPS-550

video upload by synthlegends

"The PPG wave 2.3 from the german synth pioneer Wolfgang Palm is the last Synthesizer of the PPG wave series. It is mulititimbral and has allready factory Midi. With the newest firmware 8.3 it is capable of sysex. There is so much written about the PPG, so I don’t repeat all infos on the Web. I run the PPG through the quite rare Roland RPS-550 multieffect processor.

The Roland RPS-550 was a stereo signal processor from 1991. It was a mid range cost effect unit with quite interesting reverb and delay effects. The Dimension D Chorus replica is very authentic to the original.

The summary in a sound on sound review of 1991 states following:

„The RSP550's reverb algorithms sound much smoother, deeper, and less metallic than sub-£500devices, though the tangible sense of space found on top flight units is not apparent — for that you'll still have to pay at least £3000. The delay and pitch shift algorithms benefit from the 21 kHz bandwidth, the Multi Stage Phaser and Stereo Flanger are brilliant, and the Vocoder is unique in this price range.

The MIDI control facility is also worthy of consideration, since it's so easy to set up, offers so many possibilities, and in most cases operates smoothly. As with all Roland gear, the manuals are exemplary.

On the down side, I sometimes yearned for the ability to roll my own algorithms, and the omission of a noise gate and compressor might raise an eyebrow or two. Guitar players will search in vain for the overdrive and distortion effects found on devices like the Boss SE50 and the new Yamaha FX900, but then the 550 isn't really designed for them.

At £750, the RSP550 is competing against the £599 Yamaha SPX1000, the £1100 Zoom 9010 and the £1000 Lexicon PCM70. Each has its own sound and combination of facilities, so if you're looking for a quality main reverb/delay unit it's well worth giving them all a listen before committing funds.

With the RSP550, Roland have utilised the power of the their latest generation of DSP chips to improve the realism and sound quality of individual programs and provide a wide range of effects. Quality and quantity is a rare combination at any price, and at £750 the RSP550 is currently unique.“

I didn’t use any further processing in this recording. Thanks for watching!"

Oberheim OBXa - Examination of Strymon Big Sky and BOSS CE-2w

Published on Jan 8, 2019 synthlegends

"Demonstration of two great pedals, the Reverb Pedal Strymon Big Sky and the Chorus Pedal BOSS CE-2w (Recreation of two legendary BOSS Pedals CE-1 and CE-2). You can her the OBXa with different sounds first dry and then with different settings of the two pedals. Have fun. Thanks for watching an listeninig."

KURZWEIL K250 first workstation 1984

synthlegends

"The Kurzweil K250 by Ray Kurzweil, manufactured by Kurzweil Music Systems was developed 1983 together with Stevie Wonder, Robert Moog and Alan Pearlman and introduced 1984. It was the first Workstation ever made, the first ROM-Player with sampled sounds compressed in ROM, maybe with one of the first inbuilt sequencer and one of the first Samplers. It had 12 voices and also 12 separate Digital Audio converters and analog envelopes. The later K1200 and K1000 series didn't have this technology. Later in 1990 the K2000 used a new technology, the VAST Synthesis.

The price of the original K250 was around 14.000 British Pound. The K250 had fantastic nature sounds, which were not heard anyware in a keyboard before. All such orchestral, piano, drum and other sampled sounds were the fist time found in an electronic instrument. Besides the ROM with around 80 sounds, there were 4 Soundblocks established which are all built in in mine.

I play here a very little palette of some sounds of the factory ROM and 4 Soundblocks in this demo. Everything is played life into the audio interface without midi and without any effects. The frist example is adopted by SAGA the Song Images (LP Images at twilight from 1979). Take care and thanks for watching this video. Rüdiger"

waldorf microwave 1 polyaftertouch fun

video upload by synthlegends

"The Waldorf microwave 1 has a lot of modulation routings, like LFO 1 and LFO 2 or envelopes and Filter or Panning to polyaftertouch. I played this machine with a poly aftertouch keyboard (GEM S2) and routed panning and LFO 1 to it. In this example I used a simple SAW wave sound with two oscillators to emulate a classic string patch like from the Yamaha CS-80. The microwave sounds quite harsh and metallic, but with a bit tweaking you also can get nice typical analog 70ies string patches out of it. I used a very but of reverb for this example. Nor further processing used. Thanks for watching and listening."

Kawai K3 review and tutorial

video upload by synthlegends

"The KAWAI K 3 is a nice sounding hybrid synth with ssm filter design, like a PPG wave. It has 33 waves and one additive waveform to program. Also there is a chorus section wich is a bit noisy but quite useful. It has aftertouch and you can route interesting paremeters on it. So it is an interesting synth with 33 wave, two oscillator, a low and a high pass filter, one LFO with 7 waveforms and two envelopes. This synth produces nice pianos, organs, also brass and string sounds, but metallic bell sounds as well. It is quite comparable to the Korg DW 8000 and Ensoniq ESQ-1, which are also affordable hybrid synths from that time."

Korg 01/W - teaser and first contact

video upload by synthlegends

"New arrival of my new bargain for EUR 120 , a Korg 01/W fd, wich is the second Rompler and Workstation from Korg after the M1. The 01/W was very popular even under professional musicians like RIk Wakeman, Tony Bannks or Phil Collins. Even though it has no resonance on the filter, it is quit interesting because of the waveshaping section, with wich you can add some character and sonic pepper on the sound. I really love this new instrument and I exchanged the display to get more fun.

No processing in this audio file, no FX but those internal of the 01/W. It s just the raw audio file recorded stereo directly into the DAW."

Oberheim OBXa new presets

Published on Mar 24, 2019 synthlegends

"Oberheim OBXa new chill out presets. I used in both channels BOSS CH-1 super chorus and CE-2w and routed the signal into the Strymon BIG SKY, mostly I used shimmer and magnetic, cloud and Choral reverb effects. In some patches I used only the chorus effects."

UDO Super 6 - Sound from Scratch - all Waveforms

synthlegends

"Quick go through the Oscillator Section (DSS) from the UDO Super 6 with step by step Sound Design of a simple Pad."

Why is the Roland JUNO-106 still so popular?

video by synthlegends

"In this video you listen only to Roland JUNO-106 sounds (Multitrackdemo also including drums). I used to own a JUNO-106 several years ago, then sold it, because I also have a JUNO-60. After some time I missed it and decided to buy another JUNO-106. The Reasons are:
1. it sounds different from the JUNO-60 (there is another filter)
2. it has great MIDI functions to implement it in a modern setup
3. it has portamento
4. the self resonance is really outstanding for technoid sounds
5. three Key Modes, including unison mode, which is easer to access but it sounds only useful for drums ans industrial bases
6. it's perfect sounding in a mix and a great production tool
7. it has a broad sound palette and is useful for modern styles
8. it's great for drums and bass

The JUNO-60 has got an arpeggiator, the 106 not. So what, in a recording session I use it from my DAW or an external one. For Jamming with a drummashine without computer, the JUNO-60 makes more fun.

So I decided that the JUNO-60 is great sounding, but not a substitute for a JUNO-106.

The reasons, why it is still so popular are:
1. It always sounds great and it has a wide sweet spot
2. It is simple to program
3. It covers a range of 80 to 90 % of all bread and butter sounds you really need
4. It is capable of a lot of genres, italo disco, 80-ies pop, electro, techno, house and much more"

You can find one for sale here

U.D.O Super-6 Dream Pads

synthlegends

"The new U.D.O Super-6 is supposed to make great pads. I already did a demo with miscellaneous patches, so basses, brass, strings, leads, arpeggiated sounds and pianos.

In this demo I only concentrate to pad sounds. Those pads in this demo I created last couple of days and they use mostly the awesome binaural mode to enhance the stereo effect. Also I used quite often the internal effects, although I am not so happy with them. The basic sound of the Super-6 is such amazing, that I will soon try it with nice pedals for reverb, delay and chorus. This will be stunning.

In this video I didn't use external effects, no mastering, no equalizer, just recorded it life into my Apogee Symphony Mk 1.

I think that the great strengths of the Super-6 are especially epic and dreamy pad and string sounds. I hope, you enjoy it. Take care, Rüdiger."

Winters Dream (Roland JP-8 and JUNO-60)

Published on Dec 30, 2018 synthlegends

"Small peace of life improvisation with my Roland JP-8 and Juno-60. The JP-8 is in Dual mode (a solo sound and a sweep pad with delayed LFO to the VCF) run through a BOSS CE-2w Chorus and Strymon Big Sky Reverb. The Juno-60 playes an arp sound without Chorus set, but run through a Rocktron Intellifex delay. All played life. I wish you a happy new year and peace on earth. Please listen to this short peace of music and think about your Year 2018! All the best to you!"

Dave Smith Instruments Poly Evolving Pads

Published on Nov 7, 2019 synthlegends

"Demo of evolving Pad sounds from the DSI Poly Evolver Keyboard polychained with the Poly Evolver Rack, so it has 8 voices.

I programmed a set of around 60 Pads, some from scratch, some from presets and also some from third party banks.

The Evolver series are known to be harsh sounding. The Curtis Filter Chips are quite aggressive, but you can achieve very warm tones and the instrument is capable for evolving pads thanks of the two LP Filter you can set individually in the stereo field.

Also with the 3 tap delay you can program chorus effects and take usage of the 4 LFO plus the third envelope and the step sequencer.

Even the digital OSC can sound very warm, when you use in a subtle way the Ring Modulator or FM effect.

The Synthesizer has a very big dynamic range, so the sounds are so dynamic in this video, that the basic volume is quit low. Also I took often usage of hard panned voices in the stereo field, so the sounds are really very much moving/evolving.

I didn't use any mastering, addional effects or euqalizer in this video. Everything is recorded life from the two synthesizers out from the PER mixer with two channels directly to the audio interface.

Thanks for watching and if you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me in the comments below. Cheers."