Synthesizer engineers in the 80s were legally mandated to provide at least one line graph on synths

@skaneverdies

2 жыл бұрын

It's definitely a weird decision. I've never referenced them myself and don't imagine anyone else does. I suppose it's on brand for the maximalist 80s?

@Peter_S_

2 жыл бұрын

@@skaneverdies It was the dawn of post-ADSR reality and that's what it took to introduce the world to the new paradigm.

@Psychlist1972

2 жыл бұрын

It was actually useful back then, because this envelope was slightly more complex than others of the time.

@DarkSideofSynth

2 жыл бұрын

Those who didn't comply were sentenced to 5 years of blindfolded DX7 patch programming in the desert. True story!

@GizzyDillespee

2 жыл бұрын

We also used to sit toddlers on precarious stacks of books. Now we use the Amazon box that the allegedly new broken highchair came in. Either way, the important thing is they don't heed what we say - they copy what we do. The DX7 graphics were useful, and then everyone else wanted to seem arcane enough that they might need graphs, too. People really are aggressive lemmings. It was half cargo cult, half trying to ride the coattails. It's helpful, the first time through, to see a diagram of envelope stages. If you had brain damage, it might be helpful to see them every time. When there's more than 4 stages, people go nuts. Right now in the USA, we're talking about taking Canada, under the pretext of commienazis, just because nobody will stop us. Baha Mexico - it's called Gulf of California, so it makes sense to extend California, to have access. And BahaMas is just a different suffix, so we may as well take that. And Columbia too, for nostalgic reasons.

I bought a broken alpha Juno 1, about 15 years ago. It cost me $2. When it arrived I opened it and found a screwdriver. So I thought it was a nice deal after all. Then I tried to power it on. The display and menus worked and I saw the problem. It was …midi-related: “Local Off”.

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Crickey, that's quite the deal!

@Peter_S_

2 жыл бұрын

Deal of the century there!

@wceinar

2 жыл бұрын

Haha very funny. Have had mine for over 20 years.

@SolidtraxNL

Жыл бұрын

"Local Off" - Legendary! 🤣 - what a deal!

@80iesDude45

Жыл бұрын

I almost threw away my old MKS-50 last year, which was broke for decades. Fortunately I checked the accu battery inside, so my MKS-50 is hoovering again. ;-)

Those first two drum hits activated my flight or fight response.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Haha!

В такое тяжёлое время только подобные видео и помогают отвлечься. Спасибо

Yes, please! 10 minutes of distraction from what is happening in the world. Thank you!

@iHawke

2 жыл бұрын

COVID Ukraine

@XHALE303

2 жыл бұрын

That only happens on your TV, not the world.

@marzacdev

2 жыл бұрын

This!

@covert0overt_810

2 жыл бұрын

Please… you couldnt locate ukraine on a map if your life depended on it…. its amazing how NPC react when the “news” tells them how to emote.

@illustriouschin

2 жыл бұрын

That's what Obama wants you to do.

The moment I heard the alpha drummer demo was the exact moment I realized this was probably the same synth SAW used for the iconic tom-fill intro to "Never Gonna Give You Up". Excellent video mate

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Yep, it's only dawned on me since it was mentioned in the comments! Hilarious.

As always - a fantastic video. You never fail to inspire, educate, and bring a smile.

The Roland Alpha Juno-2 patch "Kick" was heard in the 1985 Kidsongs version of the song "Skip to My Lou".

I'm watching this great and refreshing video while sitting next to my Alpha Juno-1, which is my best buy this year, by far. Thanks, mate!

the superlow subbass of all the Junos seems magic to me until i looked into manuals - the HPF at zero is actually a low boost)) so to hear the unaltered sound you need set the HPF at 1

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Ah yes, thank you. I forgot to mention that.

Love the Jams, it is what makes me crave the videos. Thanks a lot!

The best synth in my collection! It just fell into my lap by chance so thank you for explaining some about this gear

absolutely did it justice. great demos. thanks!

Excellent as always! Sounded surprisingly good 👍

Another great video Alex. Love the variety of synths you get and not only press a few buttons etc but genuinely play the things as they were meant to be played.

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I do love playing around with them.

Good memories and awesome production as always! Back as a poor teen in the early 90s the Juno-1 was my first analogue synth and I actually loved programming it!

During the 80's , I used one of these while on tour. I found it 100% dependable and I loved this board! Great video by the way!

Excellent review, as always!

I'm in the minority but I actually love the look of these (and DX7 and JX-8P) They kind of look like they belong in a damp, dark and dreary synth pop music video, lol!

@josephmorrell5336

Жыл бұрын

Totally agreed - like they're from a 90s computer lab, it's so sick. Same w the Emulator III and the akai AX73

Re. the now infamous 'hoover' sound: "But by law, I am legally obliged to show it" - love it! Keep up the great work, Alex!

Wow. This synth does way more than I thought! Love it!

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, quite the surprise!

Always wanted to get my hands on one of these. Beautiful synth!

i have this in the Alpha2 and MKS50 version. If you buy the MPG50 controller you can combine them to have double the voices. Lov this synth, and I love the Alpha dial too!

Nice video, Juno sounds really good. Thanks for sharing

The outro jam is ace. Thanks, Alex.

YAYY Guten Tag, Herr Alex. Thanks for this blast from the past. The (imho) best Alpha Juno from a time when Roland actually exploded with creative new ideas for exciting new electronic Instruments. I swear, Roland had been kissed by the Muse in the 80s with almost everything they touched.

Thank you, Alex!! I fell in love with this synthesizer while listening to the album "Experience" by The Prodigy. It was not only the Hoover sound, and - beautiful pads and effects.

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Ah yes, they did get a lot of use out of particular affordable synths like the Alpha and the Korg Prophecy. Very cool!

@AdeptusPsychonautica

2 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic I don’t think they used the Prophecy much. I remember they used it a little bit on “Fat Of The Land”, but Liam Howlett absolutely slated the Prophecy in an interview with Future Music. I think he described it as a piece of shit 🙂

I've had my alphaJuno-1 since 1987 and still use it to this day. Was my first synth and it never has been out of my lineup. Programmed the hell out of it with the alpha dial back in the day. Was a bit time consuming but the results were worth it.

What the? Yes, I remember well creating so many of the original sounds for the Alpha Juno series. Adrian Scott.

The funny thing when this came out it seamed to me like the most futuristic design - like something from Star Trek. Turning the alpha wheel seamed cool to me - and look - actual letters for patch names ! Love my Alpha 1 - cute as a button.

theres no shame it doesn’t pretend to be anything else nothing sounds like it! I love mine!

I love this synth, it really is the soundtrack to my teenage years. I still hope that anybody makes a chorus pedal cloning the alpha juno chorus (instead the juno 106 which has been done so many times allready) it really gives a wide luscious layer to any synth sound you put through it.

My uncle gave me this synth when I was 18 and it still looks really nice in my studio.

The Alpha can easily nail 106 sounds and even JX3P stuff but can also go well beyond those two.

Sounds amazing

Thanks for making videos

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching.

Anything involving a Roland Alpha Juno deserves a thumbs up! 👍

Interesting and entertaining! Thanks Alex!

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

So when do the hoover tutorials start on your channel? 😉

@DuckTronic

2 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic As soon as I own an Alpha Juno. 😉

Great video alex !! I remember first hearing this hoover sound on joey beltram ‘s mentasm track back in 1991 and on many rave tunes from that era. Amazing sound !!

@RichardKoper

Жыл бұрын

Actually as far as I know the word Hoover was introduced by Human Resource, which introduced the sound with their Dominator track (still the best Techno track evah).

@ashfaq1999

4 ай бұрын

Cheers richard for the info. 😊

I had one of these about 33 years ago. Damn good wee beast.

Picked mine up for £140 ten years ago - sold it for nearly three times that, and I can see they're creeping even higher. They had some great sounds; as always, you manage to coax some even more insane ones out of it 🙂

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

£140! An example of what I was talking about. Yeah, drifting up and up now. Especially with a controller.

Alex this is a great video. Not surprising most your videos are! About five or six years ago I bought my first AJ 2 and then I bought another one because it came with a PG 300. Then I bought it’s brother, the rack mount the MKS 50. The MKS 50, Has exactly the same sound engine except the way it saves the patches is a little bit different and it has a DEtune function! (Going out on a limb and saying: Because they figured if people had the rack it was an expansion, so basically another OSC.) One thing I am going to say it was a lot of fun having 18 voices. The next thing I’m going to point out is all of the settings on this instrument get you closer to the sweet spot when doing sound design. At first I thought it was sort of hoaxie, you have only five choices per waveform on the DCO and so on. But yes they get you to that sweet spot just a little bit faster than if you had a full 80 or 100 mm slider. I’m sure there were a few compromises as well going that path. If you put this instrument, in a chart and compared its sonic spectrum with its 3 predecessors, it holds its own. The first three sound more rich and creamier, A little bit more lush. Whereas this one it can sit a little bit better in a mix. It doesn’t sound too overpowering and at the same time provides all of the sonic delight.

Very unique sound, great for retro music genres production

Oh yes! A Alpha Juno-2 with a DTRONICS DT-300 controller. Guess what kind of setup we have got here in the studio 🙃 - Again an insanely good video. Love you style!

I love the aesthetic of the Alpha Juno 2, and despite owning a grip of far more powerful synths, it is absolutely one of my favorite synths. Especially with my upgraded display and MPG-50MKII. It just has that classic Roland magic.

That Jupiter Arp at the end is gorgeous!

7:58 wow, that "stab harmony" is my favourite thing about 90s, but i didn't know they even implemented it in a synth, awesome feature (although everyone were doing it through samples anyway, i think) p.s. that little demo of chord memory reminded me of "Back With Me" by Luke Vibert

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, chord memory has been in synths since the 80s, but I think you're right that most examples of the sound were probably samples. The most fun use of it I've seen is the Hydrasynth. You can stick a chord in memory, define a scale or mode and then play arpeggios or chords of the chord in memory and it will adapt the harmony to stay in key. Clever stuff.

You got some great sounds out of it!

These drum sounds were amazing, Alex! And yes, I'm going to say it - this is THE BEST JUNO ! (well... with a controller... and it's not really all that ugly, is it?) Vielen Dank für Deine großartigen Videos!

Got an Alpha Juno 2 in the 80s - still have it.

I got my Juno 1 in 1985 I loved it so much!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Wow. Brings back memories… A band mate had this keyboard, although he didn’t make use of it much. More importantly, I myself had the rack version of this (I don’t even remember the model designation). And yes, I had the hardware programmer as well. The rack version was perfect for my purposes as it was the perfect pairing with Roland’s guitar synth setup, which I obviously had. A guitar has six strings - the synth has six DCO’s - funny how that worked out… The rack version was in fact intended to be paired up with their guitar synth architecture. So thanks for the trip down memory lane. God, I miss my hardware…

Good. I enjoyed that. Thanks.

I had one. One of my favorites.

I remember reading about the first wave of Juno's in various synth mags, but I'd drifted onto other things by the time the Alpha Juno's came out - really great synth, but I probably wouldn't fall in love with it purely because of how it looks, which is kind of silly because it should really be about how it sounds!!! The additional controller would definitely make it a bit more loveable. Great video as usual Alex.

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Looks awful, has an awful interface. But...sounds great and there's external controllers! Bingo.

That bass on the outro! Killer. I so appreciate you playing a synth "in context," btw. Great demo.

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Rob!

thanx.. still love my mks 50 (a-juno2) also for pads, strings and dub-stabs/chords. the chorus ist beautiful...

Ah yes. The alpha junos are quite underappreciated. Nice to have one more video about them!

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

I think everyone has cottoned on in the last few years, but they are still a bit under appreciated, yeah.

Just saw an Alpha Juno 2 without the power chord at a goodwiil that i work at. Too bad that i coudn't buy it, but i started watching videos about the hoover sound. And then you upload a video on it. Thanks😎

I really wish they brought this underrated gem back :')

@Jason75913

2 жыл бұрын

We can only hope that Behringer clones it. Damn, I want one, love the sound.

I had no idea how good this thing can do drums! Almost sounded like the toms from Rick Astley.

@DaveG207

2 жыл бұрын

I read somewhere this week that it WAS an Alpha Juno used for those. Can’t swear that’s true but it really does sound very close.

@rogerspacebucks450

2 жыл бұрын

@@DaveG207 I saw that in another video.

@EstuaryMists

2 жыл бұрын

They are the Tom’s used. If you’re interested, I demonstrate them in my recreation of Never Gonna Give you up on my YT channel (using an MKS-50).

@roberttodd2414

2 жыл бұрын

it's not great at drums but those are the toms from rick astley

My first synth!! Loved it, awesome sound for all that it only had 1 oscillator.

I learn so much from u bro Ty

I have 2 Alpha Junos... a Juno-1 and an HS-80... one of my favorite synths for bass.

Had one in the 80’s and finally bought one back about the 10 years ago from a famous Rave studio in Rotterdam…

I have the Juno 1 that i bought used in 1990.It still serves as a useful sonic tool for my music.

I picked up an alpha juno, sometime between five and ten years ago, for a couple of hundred bucks. I also have a 106 (picked up about 20 years ago for what now seems like a bargain) and although the 106 is much more of a joy to program (and more resonant), your claim at the end, to the effect that it's a much interesting synth than earlier Junos, is spot on imho.

After this, I am convinced that the Alpha Juno was the culmination of a Juno that both worked properly and had "that sound" Also, the JX-3P instituted the menu diving experience.

The αJUNO looks like Roland was trying to copy Casio. I have mine sitting next to a CZ-101 and they look like twins, albeit slightly different sizes. The JUNOs are my favorite synths. My first "Real" synthesizer was my Juno-6 which I bought for $200 in 1989. I still have it as a daily driver and the centerpiece of my studio. I also have a 106 and an alpha Juno.

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, I was thinking it's influenced by the Casios and also the Korg DW synths. Nice trio of Junos you have. I bet that's fun.

@lo-firobotboy7112

2 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic After the kids, and maybe the dog, my JUNO 6 is the first thing I'll grab if the house ever catches fire. No matter where I've lived, it's been sitting beside my desk hooked up to a TR-707 and a Casio expression pedal. Thanks again for another fun video!

@lo-firobotboy7112

2 жыл бұрын

@liantros retrospectiva Casio CZ-101 came out before the alpha Juno. I think the guys from Casio and the guys from Roland were hanging out at the karaoke bar together. There seems to be a bit of cross-pollination.

wow the funky jam at the beginning was something... btw don't stop it Dad, rave sound will never die.

This was my first synth, and I still have it and love it (never had problems with the aftertouch). It sounds so much bigger than a single-oscillator synth, and the strings are among the best out there (M-22 Rich Strings anyone?). I did early on ('87?) lament the lack of knobs/sliders, but that did not prevent me from programming the hell out of it.

I have the Retroaktiv MPG50 Controller for it and it's pretty awesome because you can route multiple parameters to one fader. Alpha Juno is really underrated. I like that you can adjust the chorus rate. Love your channel man!

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

That's a nice feature! Hopefully show some Retroaktiv bits at some point.

@thesrabbit

2 жыл бұрын

You can adjust the chorus depth? I thought it was just on or off.

@Jacob-ur3lh

2 жыл бұрын

@@thesrabbit I misspoke you're right it's only the chorus rate you can adjust.

@thesrabbit

2 жыл бұрын

@@Jacob-ur3lh damn, I was hoping you found some secret setting. Being able to set the depth would be awesome!

sweet! Dtronics gave me an affordable knob per function controller for my Roland D-05! I have always ignored the alpha on the used synth market not really knowing why, I would totally grab one. thanks for this

Ah yes! My high school had one of these in the late eighties. One of the first synths, I ever played, together with the Korg Polysix.

Amazing machines. I've owned a Juno-1 now twice - simply because it was (then) a very affordable analog polysynth in a very small package, had 64 memory locations and never had tuning issues or any other technical challenges, even for being 35+ years. Was my main analog board live for many many years because of this (long before the real revival of analog modelling and so on). Oh, and DTronics make really amazing PG-clones 😃

Bloody brilliant machine that! I never really grew out of my raver phase, as you'll hear when I curate the 90s editions of what I told you about the other day :)

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Messy days. Thankfully the hoovers were on hand to clean it up.

@LaraSchilling

2 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic Here's Johnny really should've been Here's Juno...!

thanks for showing off the controller!

The Trinity of the synth world Juno 6/60, 106 and Alpha!

Legally obligated to demo the hoover! :D (Outtro is awesome!)

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

I met my obligation. 😉

Very nice synths. I love how it looks. It's not true it's not sought after either, it may be cheaper than other junos but these have been well sought after since the early 90s for techno and hardcore and are probably as influential if not more on modern music than any other juno.

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

No doubt they never went out of fashion amongst those in the know (as you say), but there wasn't _broad_ appeal for them otherwise prices would have reflected that. They were peanuts only 10 years ago. Now they are _widely_ sought after and prices have gone up dramatically. That's what I meant, sorry if that wasn't clear.

@roberttodd2414

2 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic nah I know what you meant Alex, I was just making a general comment. You know what my theory is on this though. It's the people who grew up in the 80s listening to new wave and dreaming about juno 60s and 106s didn't care about the alpha, then as they got to their 30s they started getting money so prices rose up. Now its kids from the 90s getting older and getting money so these later synths are getting the love.

Alpha Juno-1 is still my workhorse synth, with controller (both sw or hw) are the options of various patches pretty substantial and sound is amazing. I got it for that bargain you talked about. I had also JU-2 for another bargain, but got rid of it because I prefer that smaller slimmer version and mostly controlling it from DAW anyways (JU-1 accept dynamics / aftertouch through midi). Aftertouch you didnt covered works pretty good, all you need to plug in controller on which it actually works and you are in. ;-) Awesome demonstration and all the best.

So cool that you did this! I just happened to have re-added this baby to my arsenal yesterday. Keybed is a little wonky, so I'm controlling it with a Hydrasynth. The hours melted away. I'm also editing with an iPad!

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, it's a handy one. Have you tried using the Alpha as a layer on top of the Hydrasynth? I bet that would be something.

@anthonybrett

2 жыл бұрын

I use PatchBase on the iPad to edit mine. Are there any others or is that what youre using also?

@magaschicago

2 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic Yeah, that's gonna be wicked; I can't wait to do that.. I haven't done that yet, as last night I got sucked into a time loop of Alpha Juno bass triplet controlled by the Hydrasynth's arpeggiator, while ribbon-theremin soloing Deckard's voice atop. Drums courtesy of the Isla S2400.😎

@magaschicago

2 жыл бұрын

@@anthonybrett I'm using Alpha Editor on the i-Pad that my daughter left for dead.

@magaschicago

2 жыл бұрын

@@anthonybrett You can edit everything and it's also got a bunch of cool presets and a random button !

Yeah! Hab hier die gleiche Combo mit dem DT300-Controller, leider zickt die Tastatur an meinem Alpha rum. Trotzdem …klasse Synth. Und tolles Video as always, Alex! Daumen hoch!

Whoa! Hoovers and horns Alex!! 🙂👍

I bought an Alpha Juno-1 way back when - it was a step up from the Casio keyboard I had been using before getting my first “real” synth. I wish I could have afforded the 2, but the price of the 1 (about $750, IIRC) was all I could muster at the time. The two main things I gave up by getting a 1 were 49 keys vs. the 61 of the 2, and no velocity, but make no mistake, a lot of great sounds came out of my Alpha Juno-1! Funny enough, I thought that the Alpha wheel was the coolest thing about the synth! Maybe it’s the rose-tinted glasses of it being my first, haha! Great video! Hearing “What the?” again certainly brought back memories! I’m surprised you didn’t throw in a little UFO in there as well… Bank 88, if I remember correctly?

The best part about these is they fit on my desk. Picked up my alpha juno 2 at a thrift store for 20 bucks. Keys don't work but that's fine, love it to death.

I predict prices on these to skyrocket after this video. :)

great synth. I have an alpha juno 1. Is a hidden gem

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Not so hidden now, but definitely slept on for a long time.

It was also used all over Time 'n' Place by Kero Kero Bonito which has some of the coolest synth sounds ever

Thanks Alex! I bought a broken one cheap few years ago, thought I’d sell it as wouldn’t be worth keeping it as well as a 106. I was dead wrong! As you explain it’s a great synth, quite different to the 106. Don’t agree about the look I like it’s minimal 80s look😀 but of course its biggest flaw is stupid lack controls - but that’s easily dealt with now. At least it has cartridge storage as well. However it does make it easy to transport as it’s really compact and no controls that can get broken off! A bit of trivia I discovered I have Japanese version which doesn’t have doesn’t actually have “what the” in its preset rom!

Classic ❤💯

Give me a few days... I have to recover from the initial viewing of this great vid. Then I'll write real stuff. Just had to pop in here tonight after the first viewing. The Alpha Juno-1 was my very first synth. I bought it new in 1986 and still have it.

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Look forward to your breakdown as an expert on the subject. :)

Nah... the looks aren't deceiving. It looks like a frickin' pain to use and you've said it's a frickin' pain to use. Looks are spot on.

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

With the controller it's a doddle to use. Knob-per-function. Without the controller....yeah....

Nice to see the Jupiter 6 featured. I might go fire mine up now.

Yeah, the interface and graphics are pretty "Casio CZ-looking" and definitely of its time. Through the last 20-25 years, I can think of half a dozen times times I almost bought a used one in a 2nd-hand store or whatever. Just never did. Lol...and you're still nicely catering to your deutschsprachige fans. Gut gemacht!

Wunderbar!

My God, when it appeared I had the Juno 106 , sounded great , still started dreaming about this. So sorry I sold it . But wanted a sampler . Bought the Ensoniq Mirage.

Having owned every vintage Juno I’d have to say my favourites are the Juno 6 and the Alpha Junos.

Just pulled mine out of my my mum's loft last week - talk about timing!

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Did you hoover whilst you were up there?

very nice man - I've been a happy alpha Juno 1 owner since 2006 with a PG-300 - always loved playing with them in the music stores when I was in high school and finally could afford one later on from eBay (just like with the Casio CZ-1 and others) years later a friend was a huge fan of Mentasm,, so I was obliged to do a "What the...?" patch demo for him and he lost it on the spot :-) thanks again... I forgot how cool the chorus is compared to my Juno-6