Synthesizer Gear Porn ;-)

[pstrawser]

Some of my all-time favorite albums were largely done on those "cheesy" 80's synths and there's not a single note or sound I'd change. Loved 'em then, still love 'em now

As much as I love my synths, they're just tools. In the right hands, even a supposedly "bad" synth can yield something remarkable (and vice versa, I've heard folks with massive stacks who still can't polish a turd ).

But yes...I have my favorites. I also have places where I find myself wishing they'd tried a different synth or patch. Sometimes it's not "I wish they'd done analog/vintage" but the opposite, I wish they'd expanded past the same old staples in some places!

Anyway, if anyone needs me I'll be in the corner listening to Underwater Sunlight with dropforge

BTW......digging Underwater Sunlight right now! Lots of 80's synth cheesiness/goodness on this one!

[Czyszy]

Sorry, apparently there was some miscommunication because I don't need any help at all. This is not something I need to do and I've already watched a couple videos that explain it. I was merely pointing out a feature I'd come across. You seemed to doubt Cubase would be mentioned by name anywhere within a Toontrack VST and I was just addressing that.

Attachment 17476

The pic is really blurry. I can't make out any text. :( Could you upload it to imgur?
The user manual doesn't mention Cubase anywhere.


EDIT: OK. I did some research and figured out the "Cubase only" thing is just for routing your 16 stereo outputs as 32 mono ones. It likely has something do to with how Cubase itself handles the routing mechanism. So... you can still route your outputs in any DAW. Just stero linked, without the option to split them into mono inside the plugin itself! Look around. It should be easy to do. xD Especially in Reaper which is a really flexible DAW.

[battema]

BTW......digging Underwater Sunlight right now! Lots of 80's synth cheesiness/goodness on this one!

It's easily in my top 10 TD albums

[Plasmatopia]

The pic is really blurry. I can't make out any text. Could you upload it to imgur?
The user manual doesn't mention Cubase anywhere.


EDIT: OK. I did some research and figured out the "Cubase only" thing is just for routing your 16 stereo outputs as 32 mono ones. It likely has something do to with how Cubase itself handles the routing mechanism. So... you can still route your outputs in any DAW. Just stero linked, without the option to split them into mono inside the plugin itself! Look around. It should be easy to do. xD Especially in Reaper which is a really flexible DAW.

Correct. Not that it matters, but that's why I specifically highlighted the word mono in my post.

[Jimmy Giant]

Echoes played Phaedra last night to celebrate it's 50th annv.

I like Underwater Sunlight, but my favorite material is 1976-1983.
I used to listen to Stratosphere a lot when I was in college.

[battema]

Echoes played Phaedra last night to celebrate it's 50th annv.

I like Underwater Sunlight, but my favorite material is 1976-1983.
I used to listen to Stratosphere a lot when I was in college.

I definitely dig the 70's albums (I favor Rubycon slightly ahead of Phaedra) but man do I love the Schmoelling and Haslinger eras. The band's come back around and is doing interesting stuff again but stuff like Poland, Thief and Underwater Sunlight are desert island picks for me.

[dropforge]

Johannes Schmoelling is DA MAN! His latest album, Iter Meum, is easily in his top three solo albums for me. It's that good. I know it's not 100% new material, but it's newly arranged, and I don't care.

But, yeah, for TD, my favorite "era" starts with Rubycon and goes up through, well, basically till Chris Franke splits. I love it all. But Miracle Mile is another surefire all-around winner, and I like many tunes from Optical Race, Lily on the Beach and Melrose, too.

P.S. The Edgar Froese/Ralf Wadephul album Blue Dawn is a winner, too. That should've been the follow-up to Optical Race. It's SO much better than Lily.

[battema]

Johannes Schmoelling is DA MAN! His latest album, Iter Meum, is easily in his top three solo albums for me. It's that good. I know it's not 100% new material, but it's newly arranged, and I don't care.

But, yeah, for TD, my favorite "era" starts with Rubycon and goes up through, well, basically till Chris Franke splits. I love it all. But Miracle Mile is another surefire all-around winner, and I like many tunes from Optical Race, Lily on the Beach and Melrose, too.

P.S. The Edgar Froese/Ralf Wadephul album Blue Dawn is a winner, too. That should've been the follow-up to Optical Race. It's SO much better than Lily.

I really like Iter Meum too. But Wuivend Riet and White Out are desert island picks for me

Blue Dawn is really great...I also like Wadephul's "When Aliens Meet a Drop of Water"

The expanded Miracle Mile is awesome!!

[dropforge]

The expanded Miracle Mile is awesome!!

That one came outta nowhere! These last few years have been generous with the reissues, expanded and otherwise.

[battema]

Amen, brotha

Anyhoo...tangent aside and pun 100% intended, IMHO gear from every era yielded superb results in the right hands. Conversely, dreck doesn't get a pass just because it features a Mellotron instead of a Roland U-20 or Korg M1.

Random aside...I actually owned a Roland U-20 and used it heavily around the time. I discovered that despite the limited sound editing, there were some cool tricks I could pull off if I played some of the sounds at the extreme high or low end of the range. Low of course created some interesting pseudo-random texture things when doused with reverb, but the highs were even more interesting as some of the sounds essentially distorted due to aliasing issues and created this weird texture not unlike ring modulation. Definitely had some nice late nights noodling around with that keyboard

[pstrawser]

Amen, brotha

Anyhoo...tangent aside and pun 100% intended, IMHO gear from every era yielded superb results in the right hands. Conversely, dreck doesn't get a pass just because it features a Mellotron instead of a Roland U-20 or Korg M1.

Random aside...I actually owned a Roland U-20 and used it heavily around the time. I discovered that despite the limited sound editing, there were some cool tricks I could pull off if I played some of the sounds at the extreme high or low end of the range. Low of course created some interesting pseudo-random texture things when doused with reverb, but the highs were even more interesting as some of the sounds essentially distorted due to aliasing issues and created this weird texture not unlike ring modulation. Definitely had some nice late nights noodling around with that keyboard

1000% agree! I hope my RMI introspection didn't come across as an "it's all about the GEAR, man" rant or something. Totally with you on the fact that all of these instruments are just tools. I think it's interesting just how much the Electra Piano ended up being a part of the sonic landscape of so many old-school prog records, and I do love the sound......for certain things, at least.

And same with the Mellotron.....as much as I love the archetypal "instruments of prog" (MiniMoog, Mellotron, Hammond, etc.), it really does all come down to how original, creative, and musical a composer/musician can be with those instruments. If I can get to that place, I guess I'll be doing okay!

By the way......been enjoying the Tangerine Dream discussion here! I'm a little late to that party and have a lot of listening homework to do! Really digging these records that ya'll have discussed!

[battema]

I hope my RMI introspection didn't come across as an "it's all about the GEAR, man" rant or something.

YOU'RE DEAD TO ME, FRENCH VOLARE BOY



It's all good and of course I get where you're coming from I've got my biases too, some of them are less aligned with the proggie besties, but yeah....we all love what we love.

By the way......been enjoying the Tangerine Dream discussion here! I'm a little late to that party and have a lot of listening homework to do! Really digging these records that ya'll have discussed!

Gotta watch out, with both Drop and I in this thread, we could absolutely derail the HELL out of this thing with all our favorites (and boy there are a LOT of favorites) Tangerine Dream released a ton of albums and covered a HUGE amount of ground. We'll also likely skew things a smidge into the 80's whereas in the main forum 90% of the love begins (and typically) ends with the 70's output.

If we took Underwater Sunlight as your entry point, I'd suggest maybe Poland, Logos and/or Thief next. The 70's greats like Phaedra and Rubycon are very different, but really amazing as well (and rather groundbreaking for their time).

[pstrawser]

YOU'RE DEAD TO ME, FRENCH VOLARE BOY



It's all good and of course I get where you're coming from I've got my biases too, some of them are less aligned with the proggie besties, but yeah....we all love what we love.



Gotta watch out, with both Drop and I in this thread, we could absolutely derail the HELL out of this thing with all our favorites (and boy there are a LOT of favorites) Tangerine Dream released a ton of albums and covered a HUGE amount of ground. We'll also likely skew things a smidge into the 80's whereas in the main forum 90% of the love begins (and typically) ends with the 70's output.

If we took Underwater Sunlight as your entry point, I'd suggest maybe Poland, Logos and/or Thief next. The 70's greats like Phaedra and Rubycon are very different, but really amazing as well (and rather groundbreaking for their time).

HAHA! Sweet man! Derail away!! I got some strong love for the 80's stuff. Underwater Sunlight had a surprising amount of sweet guitar leads.....sounded like an episode of Miami Vice or something! I'll dig into those others for sure!

[Jimmy Giant]

The 2 TD box sets cover 1973-1983 where my sweet spot lies. Of course I haven't had time to spin any of this yet as I probably have more new music lying around than I have life cycles left to hear it all. Too much of a good thing??? Hedging my bet I'll have some kind of retirement to really enjoy all this. I'm good knowing I support the fellow musicians though. Bandcamp Friday coming??? New Rick Miller up for grabs!

Anyhoo, I can't say I dislike any TD material, just like some more than others. The newer incarnation of the band is very interesting as well. You'd have thought that with all the new tech, they would have a streamlined live stage setup. I saw a behind the scenes video that looked absolutely insane! Holy crap!

[Progbear]

This discussion about old-school electric/electronic pianos has reminded me that I’ve always wondered why on earth the RMI ever saw any widespread use in the 70s.

I understand that the technology of the day was limited…..but man, that thing just doesn’t sound very good to me…..or, it doesn’t sound very good if, in my head, I want it to compare to a Wurly or Rhodes or any of the electro-mechanical offerings of the time. I wasn’t around back then, so I should probably keep my mouth shut. And admittedly, being on this side of history, I don’t think some songs would sound right without it (70s Genesis and Yes stuff in particular, but also “You’ve Made So Very Happy” by Blood Sweat and Tears, and tons of other). But it’s always perplexed me.

The RMI's were a lot more totable than the electric (or acoustic) pianos. Cheaper too. And if you heard the alternatives (e.g.: Crumar) you could understand why the RMI, while not exactly mindblowing, was considered good enough. Honestly, it made for a better harpsichord emulation than piano (hence the name Rock-si-chord slapped on early models).

There was also Farfisa's Professional Piano, which did an OK Wurlitzer/Pianet emulation. Joe Vannelli used one (you can see him playing it on Gino's "People Gotta Move" when they did Soul Train) prior to getting his Rhodes. Irmin Schmidt of Can used one, and managed to coax string-synth like timbres out of it!

[Czyszy]

Joe Vannelli used one (you can see him playing it on Gino's "People Gotta Move" when they did Soul Train) prior to getting his Rhodes.

Can you link it? Unfortunately I can only find versions of that song with an actual Wurlitzer overdubbed.

[interbellum]

Can you link it? Unfortunately I can only find versions of that song with an actual Wurlitzer overdubbed.

Maybe on this facebookpage? https://www.facebook.com/SoulFunkyDi...1377452526784/

[Czyszy]

Correct. Not that it matters, but that's why I specifically highlighted the word mono in my post.

nope u didn't

"Do you guys usually assign the individual drum outputs to channels in your DAW? I tried it a few times with Kontakt and Sup Drummer and never got the hang of it."

I messed with that a couple of times years ago with Superior 2.0, but I think for 3.0 that functionality became exclusive to Cubase users? (I'm using Reaper.)

You implied that assigning multiple outputs from Superior Drummer was a Cubase only option which isn't true. ;)

[Czyszy]

Maybe on this facebookpage? https://www.facebook.com/SoulFunkyDi...1377452526784/

No. The band is miming to a recording with a mechanical electric piano.

[Plasmatopia]

nope u didn't

Right, not in my original post, but in a later post that attempted to explain my confusion is where I used the word mono.

You implied that assigning multiple outputs from Superior Drummer was a Cubase only option which isn't true.

It was not my intent to "imply" anything. I was trying to say that I'd only tried to use the multiple outputs in SD 2.0 (years ago), I hadn't actually tried it in 3.0 (I had no need), but I did notice something in the settings that led me to believe it was a Cubase/Nuendo-only function. I've now admitted that was wrong and only supplied the blurry screenshot to explain the source of my confusion. At any rate, I have no idea why we continue to belabor this discussion about something no one here cares about, lol.

[Czyszy]

At any rate, I have no idea why we continue to belabor this discussion about something no one here cares about, lol.

Hey, I do care cause I really want to help you. Thanks for clarifying.

Anyway, I grabbed ML Drums Free today cause I really liked the snare in it. I might use those snare samples in future projects.

[Rarebird]

Working on new music and trying to experiment with midi learn, which produced some problems. I wanted to use midi to switch the tape-echo from the Cherry Audio Mercury 4 on and off, I tried to do this with midi-switch information, but if I tried this in Cubase, it didn't work. Then I tried it with a note and this seemed to work. So I selected the lowest note possible, which was C-1 (at least in the Cherry Audio list). In Cubase it didn't work. And because the lowest note in Cubase was C-2, I decided to use this and that worked.

[battema]

Nice! I used to use MIDI keyboard mappings in Cakewalk Sonar. I set it up so that one of my momentary pedals output a CC that was kind of like a "shift" so that if I held down the pedal and played a certain note, I could control Sonar and do stuff like stop, play, rewind, record, undo. Pretty sure Reaper has some capability for that as well but I've not needed it as much of late.

[Rarebird]

Nice! I used to use MIDI keyboard mappings in Cakewalk Sonar. I set it up so that one of my momentary pedals output a CC that was kind of like a "shift" so that if I held down the pedal and played a certain note, I could control Sonar and do stuff like stop, play, rewind, record, undo. Pretty sure Reaper has some capability for that as well but I've not needed it as much of late.

I wanted to be able to switch of the tape-echo, because I wanted to use the same sound, without the echo in the second part of my new composition, which should actually be 2 songs, glued together without a pause, with a more electronic opening, a bit like Intro/Welcome by Streetmark

[Gizmotron]

If you're referring to the Yamaha CP70 that supplanted his RMI electronic piano, it was an actual piano with real strings and all, but with guitar-like transducers amplifying it. The result was a very "particular" sound. I'm sure that having real piano action and sound was a godsend for a lifelong piano player like Tony. The only other instruments that really offered a "weighted" piano action and full dynamics were electric pianos like the Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes, which didn't sound like "real" pianos and may not have been what you were looking for (I guess Tony didn't think that sound was to his personal taste). And not all electric pianos even had touch sensitivity (the suction-pad version of the Hohner Pianet, for example).

Yes. Correct. The only thing I could not remember properly was its accurate model number.

And yes, it was in fact a leap forward to any rock or jazz musician because it allowed freedom from a large, acoustic piano, had a more realistic sound precisely because of the actual strings and hammers, and avoided feedback issues. They were great for the time, especially that touch sensitivity you mention. But they certainly had a sound that took over a track to a degree. Even Tony saw their limitations; he opted to simply not play the grand piano intro to Firth of Fifth rather than play it on the Yamaha. Once better options came out—and one of the earliest of them was the Roland MKS-20 module—the CP70’s unique sound started to disappear from records. That MKS-20 (I have two) was the first relatively inexpensive but convincing non-sample-based piano. Mr. Elton John used them for years.

Don’t get me wrong…while I often cringe when I hear those live Genesis tracks with the CP-70, my total love for pretty much all keyboards means I would welcome one into my already-crowded studio.



And one more thing: as the self-appointed voice of retro, hardware-based gear here on this thread, I have to say that the recent Rarebird/Battema comments about the clever use of the DAW options to do some very cool things have really opened my eyes to the very helpful possibilities in that realm. I very much see the allure and benefits of that world. Kudos to you both, as well as all the other 21st Century Musicians o this thread.