DJ Rock Well Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 2 or 3 years back, I scored a very old synth. http://www.vintagesynth.com/roland/sh1000.php My mate Aidan and I had a had a play with it soon after and jammed out a couple of beats. Aidan is much better than me at playing riffs on keys, so he did that. I knocked up a couple of beats from drum breaks on Maschine and it was sort of a democracy when it came to setting/tweaking sounds out of it. There's plugins on the drums and a little bit of master limiting and buss reverb, but the synth is mostly just raw or run through a shitty Alesis Nanoverb with it's headlining "18 Bit" effects. We were just making each other laugh as much as anything and these were never going to grow into proper tracks or even ever be shared. But I was listening to old beats on my hard drive and they made me smile and the warm, full sound you get from the synth is interesting... I just wish I could get it from a more useful instrument! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Rock Well Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 I'm sure nobody hear would be crazy enough to take it this far, but in terms of the synth's sonics, you can definitely hear the difference between the .wav download and the 128kbps direct stream. We're deep in the heart of turd polishing country here, but the slight difference bugs me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doppelkorn Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I'm confused. Neither of those files is a video of you getting your twig and berries out in a branch of M&S Simply Food. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doppelkorn Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Both those beets is sikk btw. Bottom one sounds like Mike Skinner. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest petesasqwax Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 you're so right about the warmth of that synth - both tracks are like an ear bed bath ... or something. Even the high notes are warm and gentle - especially on the first one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Rock Well Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 Thanks Dopp! Pete - the other thing that is stumping/impressing me is this... Like most amateur DIY beat makers who have no skills in mixing and mastering and no access to anyone who does, I often struggle with getting a half decent loudness without decapitating the bass or making things sound to thin and shouty from over compression. But last week I dumped a load of loops I'd made into my loop pedal, just to cut to. It was interesting because quickly flicking between different loops (all hitting the same max level in the computer) it was the first time I've had a really easy way to compare beats for perceived loudness and overall mix balance. Apart from a couple that I knew needed more work and were a bit weedy, the one other that stuck out was the first one of these beats - it sounds noticeably louder than any other beats I've made, whilst remaining warmest, fullest and with enough dynamic range in the mix for their to still be plenty of space - I've managed to get some beats ive made up around this sort of loudness, keeping enough bass, but the mix sounded so full and shouty there was no sonic space for cuts, vocals, etc and they got pretty wearing after a short listen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest petesasqwax Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I always seem to get the best results once I've lost or corrupted the project files and only have MP3s left of them. I've got to say, that first one in particular is mixed so fucking perfectly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d00ban Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Synth really sounds nice! Shame the beats complete shite! (only kidding haha... must have been fun!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Rock Well Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 Pete - agree on the mix of the first one. If only I'd actually done it with skills and intention and could repeat it in something I like. All I can say is it's just the way the sound comes out of it (and possibly how it is or isn't affected by my hamfisted production practices). Doob - yeah, yeah, laugh it up! Whilst it has some worthy sonics, the sound palette available is a bit limited - this does sort of lead to making amusing sounds as you can't make good ones. The fact that only about four notes at a time are in tune doesn't help either. I can see why people place such high value on good synths from this era though ('73 in this case). There's something about extreme analogueness (I know it's not a word!) that really is different to later gear. It's kind of a conundrum, because it can sort of do something I really like and can't replicate any other way. But it's also flawed and impractical, plus I'm no synth player so it's currently just boxed up on a shelf being irrelevant. If anybody ever fancies a long term loan to get something out of it, let me know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d00ban Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 There must be a middle ground no? Like a synth that you can still get the awesome analogyness out of that isn't so crazy and is a bit more useable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Rock Well Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 Yes there is, but by God will pay for it. Even as you progress through the 70's you lose those really raw and fat sounding oscillators. The only really early analogue stuff that's decent and fully featured is is the top end gear - Minimoog, EMS VC3, Arp 2600, etc. These are proper pro instruments, but that's about all there was back then and of course these are all worth quite a few grand these days. My SH-1000 was one of the first ever attempts to make a cheap synth for the masses (Roland's first ever synth and one of the earliest Japanese synths), hence the home organ styling, 'instrument' presets and sheet music stand! There's a lot of lesser things from the sort of mid to late 70s, where you'd lose a tiny bit of fatness and some of that desirable sound in exchange for more features and a lower price. But you could easily still lose a grand or two and be left with a fairly unpredictable, erratic instrument. Proper synth nerds generally both spend lots of money on buying the synths and maintaining them. Even then with money lavished on them, they're potentially troublesome - I saw a video about Will Gregory's synth orchestra project and the early 70s Moogs need to stop for a retune 2-3 times in each performance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest petesasqwax Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 MS-20 FTW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Rock Well Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 MS-20 FTW! Agreed. They seem to be quite a sweet spot between sound, features and affordability. Interestingly, about 3 years ago I was fawning over these on eBay and they'd always sell for around £1200 to £1500 depending on condition. But watching a Sonic Talk podcast the other day they were talking about the Arp re-issue devaluing the original's value and used the MS-20 as a previous example. Sure enough, I've just checked complete items on eBay and £600-800 seems more like the going rate these days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest petesasqwax Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 The MS mini is only £400 brand new! Not the full enchilada, but a perfect entry point I reckon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Rock Well Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 A lot of people clearly agree! If you exploit the weak Euro, it's even cheaper (£346 today). http://www.thomann.de/gb/korg_ms_20_mini.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Symatic Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I remember that second beat i think you played me at sss aaages ago. Dope bass 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest petesasqwax Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 A lot of people clearly agree! If you exploit the weak Euro, it's even cheaper (£346 today). http://www.thomann.de/gb/korg_ms_20_mini.htmI am ALL about exploiting the weak Euro! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
METRONIK Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 couple of class little beats Rock Well, beat one is especially nice 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest It'sPhilFromThursdays Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Oooooooooold. Break out your nu shit, sun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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