That's why I love.....SP crunch! (Kicking myself for thinking of that _after_ making the video)

@kamraman6487

3 жыл бұрын

Helloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

@chickenlickin3820

3 жыл бұрын

nice video buddy : )

@mpmi7588

3 жыл бұрын

Do one on the Boss/Roland SP series.

@subconscious.com_usa6691

3 жыл бұрын

Yes it sounds fantastic and has a very nice character, something you don't hear much today in modern music. sometimes i think low bit rate beats especially from old hardware can sound better that high fi beats. they add a lot of colour and character which goes well with drum beats. the tune by uptown dope on plastic was sampled on one of these. i have sampled the original kool and the gang beat on modern programs and DAW etc etc i found it impossible to recreate that sound that the old hip hop and rap guys got from one of these.

@jonesconrad1

2 жыл бұрын

mate I am nodding my head 3 seconds in

I can't believe Australia went to war against these beautiful machines.

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

😂

@Boujonzu

3 жыл бұрын

hahahaha yes The Great Emu Systems war. Never forget ;'(

@Psionetics

2 жыл бұрын

poor emus : (

@jfklmk13447

2 жыл бұрын

HAHAHAHAHAH

@connerrolofson1585

2 жыл бұрын

@@Boujonzu The Great E-mu Systems War never happened because Md2802 made fun of the name of the company and one of the stupidest wars ever, The Great Emu War of 1932, which came about because of the public concern of these tall brown flightless birds running amok in the Campion district of Western Australia, eating the crops that the farmers were growing during the Great Depression. That’s the joke.

“EMU’s history is a story for another time” a story for another documentary mayhaps???

@AndrewTSq

3 жыл бұрын

There is a great interview with Dave Rossum and other emu-people on youtube somewhere, where he talks about digital filters and so on :)

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

..leaving my options open...

@Aqua_1014

3 жыл бұрын

Yes yes yes yes

@lefttoe6969

3 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic please do it! :)

@AndrewTSq

3 жыл бұрын

This is the video I was thinking about with Dave kzread.info/dash/bejne/oniHlNV9l5PLgJM.html

In the late 90 's I finally got the sp1200 I sat in a room full of records , I was intimidated at first but 5 hours later I was making beats I fell in love with that drum machine super dope

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

I can only imagine the joy of doing that. I don't have the room full of vinyl, I just have about 20 or so that I used for this video, but I can imagine a lifetime of exploring that.

This machine sounds like the feeling of a good blanket in winter, I love it.

I can't understand why I want this, it's clunky, it looks like a cash register and I believe I now understand what love feels like.

@illuminusillmind9224

2 жыл бұрын

It actually is a cash register for any seller

@sekanoms

2 жыл бұрын

If u do get one buy the new Rossum one

I usched thisch on Schack to the Future.

For nearly a year I had a borrowed SP-1200 (in the early 2000s). The sound is that great, gritty 12-bit crunch that's still popular today, but it wasn't that big of deal for me as I already had 8-bit and 12-bit samplers in my studio. The greatest thing for me was the workflow. That's the most underrated feature IMO. The panel graphics are essentially a manual that's always in front of you and using the sliders for all parameter input is pure genius. It's a very simple and intuitive machine. I wish more devices would have copied that aspect.

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your story. Yes, that is indeed very true, gives you a simple sound engine that has a character to it and then a selection of choice options for control of your sounds and that's basically it! There is something to be said for simplicity. A Juno synthesizer is another such example.

Phil Collins loved this machine (and the SP12 before it) so much he used it for nearly a decade. Listen to his own "But Seriously" and Genesis' "We Can't Dance" for SP1200 galore, then sometime later in the late 90s (circa 1995) he'd switch from using the SP1200 as his main rhythm machine to using drum sounds from his Korg keyboards for his Dance into the Light and subsequent albums.

@jaibhimadevi5805

2 жыл бұрын

I always thought to myself re: Phil Collins "Wow... a drummer who doesn't despise drum machines!"

@jaggass

Жыл бұрын

@@jaibhimadevi5805 Well the Roland CR-78 happened to play a big part in his 1st hit which you already know which one i'm talking about. He once introduced Roland the Bisexual drum machine on stage as he said he didn't mind who he played with.

@RoomAtTheTopStudio

Жыл бұрын

@@jaibhimadevi5805 when sampling drum machines came in some drummers embraced it and adapted, while others basically hated on them and many got left behind.

@NuisanceMan

Жыл бұрын

@@jaggass The Bisexual drum machine?

Still like the sound of that Machine.

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Basically timeless by this point!

The feel of the sequencer is what makes the sp 1200 so legendary. Its so loose and swingy and spacious, its awesome

Oh, nice to see Barry Beats . Love his videos as much as I love yours :) something special about those lo-fi aliased samples coming out from older gear. Then I am one of those now old people who was raised with Amiga 500 8bit ProTracker sample-songs and still like the sound of many of them :)

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, the sound that takes you back. :) Barry - what a gem, yes!

The little house ditty around 8:00 gave me major Amiga vibes. It has that same CRONCH the Paula chip has. That lo-fi sound is just so damn charming.

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Yes, both fizzy and soupy. Just somehow all works as a whole.

@dvuemedia

3 жыл бұрын

I wonder if there is an Amiga software that it can turn it into E-mu SP1200. On standard 6800 CPU you can use 4 channels, but on expanded CPU you can mix channels and have more.

@benanderson89

3 жыл бұрын

@@dvuemedia Octamed.

@dvuemedia

3 жыл бұрын

@@benanderson89 - I know about Octamed tracker.

@chromixmusic

3 жыл бұрын

*opens other tab with BasoonTracker and keeps jamming*

Oh cheers Alex 🙏🏼 thanks very much for the plug 🤓🍿

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the very useful tutorial!

You never let us down. This is quality. You're such a great teacher. The attention to detail is the best !

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

🤜🤛

I never actually coveted the SP1200 back in the day. I was much keener on the Emax 2, which had a similar sound engine, but a lot more in the way of melodic tweak available for the chord merchants. And Jaz drives, more ram, a mod wheel, and ADSR. Woot! I'd love to hear a 1200 grinding out a lo-fi groove full of crunchy funk samples, with an Emax 2 doing some sophisticated riffing on top. We only ever managed to get one of each in the same studio a couple of times, and the combo sounded huge.

My favorite example of the SP12 (not SP1200), is its use by Terry Lewis & Jimmy Jam on Janet Jacksons Rhythm Nation. It's god damn perfect.

@rommix0

2 жыл бұрын

Coupled with the ever grittier Ensoniq Mirage.

@Ancaja123

2 жыл бұрын

@@rommix0 yes!!! I own 3, beautifully underrated sampler.

@ian_b

Жыл бұрын

@@Ancaja123 I had a friend who owned a Mirage in the 80s. Get a couple of drinks in him and he'd be guaranteed to start waxing lyrical about his "Ensoneek" :D

@earlyreed357

Жыл бұрын

😮WOOOOWWW!!!!!!!

One of my favorite aspects of the *Chicago 18* LP from 1986 is that it supposedly includes start to finish sounds from the predecessor, the SP 12. Chicago’s founding drummer, Danny Seraphine, had taken such a big issue with the usage of the drum machine in the previous album and took on the attitude of “if you can’t beat them join them”. His intention was to try elevating the usage of the machine i towards something that was more humanistic and not just someone who didn’t know what a drummer really did programming stuff for their own amusement. The 12 was his tool.

The 'thank you for watching this far' bit made me realize that I never skip a bit in your videos, because all the content is so great 😍

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Ah, thank you. :)

This is honestly one of my favorite videos Alex, I was telling my livestream how you literally made the SP1200 something I’d be interested looking at more. After years of being told how revolutionary it was, and never getting it, in this short video you laid out everything perfectly. Thank you!

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Hey Stephen! Ah, I'm glad to be able to get that across. I've fallen for it hard, especially the quite extreme limitations which are weirdly liberating. "That's all I can do? OK great, let's go with it". I've been sampling bits of my old tracks and throwing them up on Instagram if you're interested. instagram.com/tv/CRr7X2yBRF2/?

@NoirEtBlancVie

3 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic this is rad dude! I think we need to link up on something creatively…👀👀

Hi Barry. Glad to hear you're still around. Your Rythm Roulette was Phenomenal, and I followed your work for a while after. Very inspiring and learned a lot! Gonna go and see whatever is going on on your channel, or with Si Spex! Cheers

Alex is the most fun. Thanks, amigo! Loved the MS-20 patch near the start of the video.

Very interesting, thanks for making a video about it in your known good style and quality. Nice loop at the end!

What an amazing video! It was so nice to hear the sound of this thing, I didn't realize how nice it actually sounded. Lovely demos as well!

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks. Glad to be able to show it.

And just like that, the beat SP1200 video on the information superhighway was uploaded...

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

🤜🤛

This was my second drum machine which I got back in 1988. It is awesome. I hope Behringer clones it, gives it more memory, a large OLED screen, 12 and 16-bit options, on board effects, resampling and looping/chopping tools. Please Behringer, after you clone the linndrum, clone the SP 1200

Excellent overview as always, Alex, really enjoyed this!

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Kira

Great explanation of why it's so loved & great examples. The last 30 seconds sounds exactly like half of my record collection (Barry Beats LP included). Nice.

Thank You for an indepth on the SP1200 for those of us who have never seen one in person & it's functions, I now want one more then ever especially the new reissue (Rossum) as of 2022, hopefully I can cop b4 they're back out of production. Props to Barry Beats on the audio example treats. Nice1's.

Wonderful, as always! Thanks loads, Alex!

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Cheers Andrew!

"What's that?" "It's a f***in EMU!"

Omg ...BARRY BEATS .aka Si Spex.... it's my favourite beat by him .

Fantastic video! Thank you

The sound is impeccable!!!

another fabulously informative and entertaining presentation

by far the best sp1200 videoo i have seen, subbed

Awesome video. Thanks!

Excellent as always.

Great video and great sounds! Was looking for an excuse to get into vintage samplers but couldn’t figure out what folks love about them - this helps!

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

I'll expect to see them on your channel soon. ;)

I am mad about your videos, mate. Absolutely great!

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Mate this is the first video I have seen of yours and I’m blown away!! I love arturia’s recreation of the EMU II, I have created many songs using it. Great video Jake Ps I’ve subbed!

That filter was the secret sauce of the SP-1200, another great video from Mr. Ball.

The SP-1200 was essential to the sound of Music Sounds Better With You by Stardust (Alan Braxe + Thomas of Daft Punk + Benjamin Diamond). The "nyquist ring" the 1200 added to the Chaka Khan Fate sample complemented it perfectly. It added that perfect amount of "shimmering glitter" to its top end. The same can be said for One More Time, which also had a lot of nyquist aliasing added to its original sample of Eddie Johns' More Spell On You. Decimort 2 has a preset (designed by professional engineers) that mimics circuit behavior of the SP-1200 perfectly. I can't compare it to an SP-1200 since I don't have one, but the sample rate cutoff is correct down to the single digits. Apparently the SP-1200 isn't ACTUALLY a constant 26Khz, but it "jitters" slightly... if the engineers in charge of matching the presets are to be believed.

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

It is indeed. I hadn't heard that about clock, I'll have to check with some techy people on that front. When you pitch down the clock goes down of course, so maximum stretch is probably something like 8khz. I'll have to look that up too.

@SiliconPrairie

3 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic The jitter effect in Decimort seems to be used to some degree in almost every vintage sampler preset that Decimort has. I don't understand HOW a digital sampler might have a non static sample rate that changes (jitters), but my guess is that the engineers knew what they were doing. Fingers crossed that your contact understands it better than we do. If I had to guess, I'd say that it's emulating some sort of imperfect power delivery system on the complex circuit boards of these older samplers. They were insanely complex back then. When I use the jitter feature, my brain doesn't say "that's the sample rate being modulated". Instead, it just sounds like extra bit reduction, except it follows the amplitude of the sample more closely than regular bit reduction does.

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

@@SiliconPrairie So the answer (from an engineer and SP 1200 expert) is... When it's sampling, all other functions are switched off. The Z80 uses a crystal for timing that may be a tiny bit off, but that doesn't fluctuate. When they did analysis of the SP 1200 there wasn't any sample rate jitter. So this could be a red herring?

@SiliconPrairie

3 жыл бұрын

​@@AlexBallMusic Very interesting! Either the engineer in charge of Decimort's preset programming made a mistake, or its jitter feature is not correctly named/described? I have no doubt in my mind that your source is correct. D16's engineers likely just did A/B testing using a spectrograph and educated ear. As per Decimort's manual: "Jitter - Controlling the intensity of random, short-period Resampler’s deviations... Jitter is the deviation from true periodicity of a presumed periodic signal, often in relation to a reference clock source" Now that I watch your end clip with those intense nyquist rings, I can tell there's little to no "jitter" as the manual describes it. I know based on many hours of using this plugin what jitter sounds like, and clear, harmonic sounding nyquist aliases cannot exist when jitter is anywhere north of 5%. The shimmering ring sound becomes more of a sickly groan... If I could get my hands on a few samples of a sine wave pre and post SP-1200, I bet I'd find that the amount of jitter used in Decimort 2 was a mistake. D16 is very serious about the authenticity of their vintage sample machine emulations, so they'd probably be interested to learn of these findings as well.

Nice! really like it, Great demo of it

Very disappointed that this mention of Emu had no mention of Rod Hull at all.

@cortical1

3 жыл бұрын

I'm American and I get this joke. Cultured? 🤔

@Bendy2K

3 жыл бұрын

Actual lolz 😆

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Rod invented the ladder filter.

@electronash

3 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic Dayum. LOL I always wondered if Rod couldn't grab hold of the gutter, 'cos Emu was being stroppy again.

@Bendy2K

3 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic too soon

Best vintage synth channel !!

That warm, grainy 12-bit sound...

I love your groove Alex Ball

i love the typography and font that it has. well designed ✌️ a true classic

I have just found out yer channel and I am absolutely loving it! Amazing videos... Btw, amazing track played around 8'20".

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Marcel!

This is fun to watch, considering I'm writing a master's paper on '80s music production. :D

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Ah cool! Hope this helps.

@mercerprince1991

3 жыл бұрын

Can you post a link here when you’re done

Great video. I was just reading about Rza using these last night. Nice timing.

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Small world. :)

Learned so much about music and music tech from this channel even though it's never been stuff I use, but this is the first thing you've demoed I now want to own. Or something equivalent. That I can afford. lol

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Leo, much appreciated. I'm learning as I go too. The ISLA S2400 is this machine plus heaps more.

Fantastic - thanks for keeping the history alive! Would love to see a series on the ensoniq mirage or sequential six trak line

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

If I can get hold of any of those I'll cover them. Yep.

Seeing a shout-out to Barry beats really warms the heart 👍✊

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Gotta love Cornwall's finest.

Alex's satisfied expression when playing the 8 tuned pads is priceless. Well worth the price of admission if the video wasn't great already.

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Sickest riff ever played on an SP? 😉

Big up to Barry for the beats. He's a bloody legend. Nice vid as well. =)

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

He is!

This showcases beautifully how artistic intent is not always aligned with technical perfection

This sounds incredible!

Man what a sound! Incredible.

Hey Alex - love all your retro gear retrospectives. I remember most of them as gear I would have liked but couldn't afford. Still can't afford the 2nd hand prices 😀 but wouldn't want any now, with potential associated headaches 😱 Very happyy with more affordable and reliable modern tech. But love watching these 😍

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Ian. Yeah, retro gear comes with its baggage. I'm lucky to be able to borrow a lot of stuff because my channel would otherwise be massively out of my price range. ;)

Congratulations, Alex. That's a nice score!

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

On loan, but definitely a good one to try out!

@glenesis

3 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic Thanks for the full walk-through, and for that link to Rossum Electro! I'd had no idea he's still making brilliant gear.

I'm lucky enough to own one of these wonderful machines. This video is a brilliant overview. The SP1200 somehow manages to be more than the sum of it's parts. I read Neil Landstrum describe his as "Like Fisher Price had designed a sampler". I absolutely get that - the charming immediacy and the chunky sound.

I've really grown to appreciate the grainy, noisy qualities of old samplers. So much magic, so much character.

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Yep, funny how the soul disappeared once the desired fidelity was achieved. The early ones are so much better.

@gasolineandwine

3 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic I will never forget that Eno quote that speaks about how we'll emulate the imperfections of old gear as soon as we're able to surpass those limitations. No surprise you find software these days that intricately recreates old analog/digital gear.

@carlosserrano3985

3 жыл бұрын

I think that today's gear are fantastic but the vintage has that charming and that vibe that the new ones will never have.

@gasolineandwine

3 жыл бұрын

@@carlosserrano3985 I find it hard to believe that we won't have that exact same mindset with today's gear in 10 or 20 years. I find people in online circles who are absolutely infatuated with stuff that came out in the mid 2000's, whether it be analog, digital or even virtual. Personally, I do believe it all boils down to nostalgia ultimately, although it is hard to deny that vintage gear was designed with a lot of care and attention.

I hear a Barry Beats track in the background. Wicked.

I just love the sound from this beast!

This thing sounds incredible, wow

Excellent job, thank you for explaining it fully, I also enjoy the bad asx musik!!!!!

Excellent- I’d never heard of this bit of kit - but now I have, I’ll be playing ‘spot the SP1200’ whenever I play anything sample based from the nineties and noughties!

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I'm now listening out too!

Another great video

Very good review / tutorial. ✊🏾💾🔥

Wow, I really had no idea how important this drum machine/sampler was in context to the progression of modern music, and hip hop. Great educational video! Thanks Alex, you are THE MAN when it comes to electronic instruments education!!!

🔥🔥🔥🔥 LORD that intro demo is FAT and HOT!!! Killer work mate 🔥🔥🔥🔥

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Great vid, very informative...

Great video 👍

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Cheers!

Salute Dave Rossum!!🫡

Yo! Big ups for using Si Spex (Barry) music. I recognized it immediately. Great video too. Subscribed

@AlexBallMusic

2 жыл бұрын

The finest beats in Cornwall.

@TangleWireTube

2 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic Great job mate. Have a banana

Such a classic, and possibly the GOAT was the master of this machine, J Dilla

@JasonBrouwers

3 жыл бұрын

I have always associated Dilla with the MPC. When was he using this?

@neilthompson8027

3 жыл бұрын

@@JasonBrouwers the whole time he had been using the 3000. He never got rid of the SP1200

Who's disliking this content? I don't get it, it's an interesting video, and hardly controversial.

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

As they channel has grown I've collected some "fans". I guess we all need hobbies. ;)

@DoctorNemmo

3 жыл бұрын

It's always the same in a lot of big channels. I honestly think most of them are automated by Google.

@FatNorthernBigot

3 жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic strange how some people get their kicks, isn't it?

@FatNorthernBigot

3 жыл бұрын

@Snake Plissken I once disliked a video whose title claimed Elvis was racist, with very little evidence to back it up. (even if he was, this tawdry KZread shit-pedlar didn't deserve clicks from it) Think that's the only time I've done it.

@OttosTheName

3 жыл бұрын

It cóuld be to let the almighty algorithm know this recommendation is not something they're interested in.

Gotta love those crispy Barry Beats Drum loops!

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Hell yeah!

Very interesting the sound of the outputs good to know

I am seriously considering running a lot of the samples I use a lot through something like this just to get that lovely crunch, it's such a delightful sound

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Yep! When you pitch down and it fizzes and rings, it's just gorgeous.

Easy Moe Bee's "Flava In Ya Ear" beat one of my fav from an SP1200 but could name hundreds more.

That was soooo cool 😎👌 thanks

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Cheers!

that boy wild on the faders!

That sounds so good. 😍

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, quite the little box of tricks.

Best sounding music on this channel so far...

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

omg this sound is fucking crunchy,warm and deep.

The Intro hit so hard 🔥

Thanks !! Great video, you seem to really like the machine :p

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, makes a change from synths.

another cracking video

What a GROOVE !!!! 😍

Nice job Alex. I had an MXR Drum Computer years ago. Might be another interesting story...

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

For sure. I've tried to get a few odd balls like that but not managed so far.

I sold mine (a model 7030) in 2018 for 260,000 Yen. Still slightly regretting it but I'm gonna keep my MPC 3000, promised!

That was amazing...

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

I love my 'Mob of Emus' module. Crazy powerful.

I really love this old technology, and the current prices prove that it really is an incredible achievement.

Awesome enjoyed that..

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks

Oh please do an Emu story...

Spanking. Thanks Alex, great review....DA

@AlexBallMusic

3 жыл бұрын

Cheers