*Sampler / synthesizer debate* The Emulator II has samples at the beginning of the signal chain. These run into analogue, resonant, low-pass filters and analogue amplifiers with envelope generators for control, allowing for changes in the harmonic content over time. The Emulator LFO also runs into the audio range and can modulate sample frequency, filter frequency and amplitude, allowing for both low frequency and audio rate FM and AM. Many synthesizers have digital samples at the start of the signal chain, whether they're loaded from ROM or they use RAM to allow for user flexibility and custom sound creation, the result is the same; digital samples playing into filters and amps with control and modulation from envelopes and LFOs (and more). The Korg DW-6000/8000, the PPG Wave synthesizers and all granular synthesizers work like this because they rely entirely _upon_ digital samples. Korg's DSS-1 moniker even meant "digital sampling synthesizer". There's no definition anywhere that says those samples have to load from ROM and not RAM to make it a synthesizer or not a synthesizer. I think most arguments I've seen use a pre-digital, 1960s definition of synthesis that uses the word "generate" that's being interpreted without the context of when it was written. New forms of synthesis have since emerged and definitions have evolved. Furthermore, even if that was accepted, as you can "generate" sine waves from the self-oscillating filters and control them with envelopes and LFOs, the Emulator would _still_ be a synthesizer, even by that definition. So yes....it's a synthesizer! A sampling synthesizer. Just stick "sample based synthesis" into Google for more.

@juno6

Жыл бұрын

👏👏 I love the term "sampling synthesizer". Of course I took it from my DSS-1, but I apply it to most samplers, for some reason specially if they have analogue filters.

@mobypixel

Жыл бұрын

I absolutely call a rompler a synth, but I’ve seen others that disagree. It almost feels like a purist/elitist thing. A wavetable synth is essentially a single cycle rompler but I have not heard anyone saying a wavetable synth isn’t a synth. Great presentation in the video! I really enjoyed it!

@FailedMuso

Жыл бұрын

@Alex Ball Preach, brother! 🙌

@danielprivate7442

Жыл бұрын

What? No "you're still here" outro in your bathrobe?

@christianjforbes

Жыл бұрын

@@juno6 I had a DSS1 … loved that beast, paid a whopping $49 with about 25 factory discs … what a machine

Always thought it funny that Ferris complained he didn't get a car - just a sampler that cost more than a rather nice car at the time.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

That's precisely why he _couldn't_ afford a car. I admire his priorities.

@nerfytheclown

Жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic right? So forward-thinking.

@gladlawson61

Жыл бұрын

I looked into the synth when I was 10 or 11 because of ferris bueller and I gave up st that moment. Never could afford one.

@DennisCaunce

Жыл бұрын

I remember thinking the exact same thing!

@MFitz12

Жыл бұрын

@@DennisCaunce - And people complain about the prices of instruments today!!!

Musicians in 1984: Holy crap, this is truly a revolutionary product. The amount of power, the unlimited amount of sound possibilities, built like a tank, this is just incredible. This is going to change the world of music production. Other people in 1984: Haha, look, you can play funny dogs barking on this piano.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

😆

@LightBranches

Жыл бұрын

Or farts. Don’t forget farts.

@treetopjones737

Жыл бұрын

Fancy electronic version of the "Mouse Organ" ( Monty Python ).😄

@AutPen38

Жыл бұрын

I downloaded a wav sample set from the EII a while ago. After going straight to the Marcato strings to recreate the intro to "Papa Don't Preach", I had a quick play with the loon garden samples and the shakuhachi, but then spent about twenty minutes playing with the samples in a folder called "Sick day". My brain will always be a teenage Ferris Bueller that gets a strange satisfaction from the sound of burps, farts, coughs, and vomiting. Whichever foley guy originally recorded those samples about 40 years ago has made an old guy happy.

@zoundsic

Жыл бұрын

Young musicians in 1984, its a guitar or a mono synth guys.

No wonder it was featured in so much popular music of the 80’s. What a machine it was.

@rommix0

9 ай бұрын

Heck yeah. It was at the time the best sounding sampler at 12-bit (it used 8-bit u-Law which expanded to 12-bit on playback). Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys made good of use of it.

Big shoutout to all my 80s kids that wish we could go back in time.

@CNC-Time-Lapse

Жыл бұрын

what a decode for music!

@Sinjinator

Жыл бұрын

So many things were much better back then.

@Melodic623

Жыл бұрын

@@CNC-Time-Lapse music, cartoons, movies 🍿. Toys, friends playing outside. Etc.

@masterofreality230

Жыл бұрын

@@Melodic623 Yea, I dont think humans were ready for this whole internet thing.

@Melodic623

Жыл бұрын

@@masterofreality230 I can’t remember the last time I saw children playing outside. 🤦🏾‍♂️

My favourite anecdote about Vangelis and the Emulator was during a TV special about him, he was flipping through his sample floppy disks and then exclaimed "I lost my harp".

@jeshkam

Жыл бұрын

Do you have a link for this, please?

@DerekPower

Жыл бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/aIqBsc6TY9SXkdI.htmlm45s

@soundsfromearth644

Жыл бұрын

In Alex´s case that would be " I lost my ARP "- I´ll find my own way out, thanks.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Haha. We can all forgive Vangelis for playing with his floppy during a set.

@DerekPower

Жыл бұрын

@@dizzy2020 I know the percussion library he used quite a bit through the 1980s albums: Antarctica, Mask, Soil Festivities. In fact, that aforementioned special has him playing the Emulator and you hear this cluster of percussion all at once.

Almost 40 years old, but still sooo fresh sounding

@dh2032

Жыл бұрын

that digital for you, that the one thing it does best, it not the best, as the very highest Analog audio, but wants its in there, it not going to degrade, un less the data is corrupted some how, errors in the zeros and ones?

@KRAFTWERK2K6

Жыл бұрын

Heck, this thing kicks every modern sampler our of the water. There is still no competition for the EMULATOR 2 and Fairlight CMI mark II + mark III.

@chuckschillingvideos

Жыл бұрын

What are you talking about? This is exactly the OPPOSITE of fresh sounding.

@poindextertunes

Жыл бұрын

@@chuckschillingvideos right? 😂

Damn. The last 30 seconds of that track, plus those '80s visuals, were absolutely superb.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Cheers Zachary.

@Torsche2049

Жыл бұрын

Majorly - as soon as the vhs beta graphics start at 15m35s

@airmediacs

Жыл бұрын

Very True, it was amazing. I watch this about 20 times, takes me so back to when times where great. Just Brilliant!

Videos like these redeem KZread. Such very iconic sounds back then, and beyond reading some articles in Keyboard magazine, I never knew anything about it. But today? This. Nice. Thank you.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

You missed perhaps the most critical use of the EII in pop history. Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up" where he only sang "never gonna" once,... into the EII. Every time you hear those words it's the EII playing. The producer apparently wasn't sure Rick could nail it each time and that was the hook, so he sampled it. Now that you know that, you can't unhear it.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Didn't know that one, although I did mention that Stock Aitkin and Waterman used it in the end.

@rachelar

Жыл бұрын

🤮

@CrownLandsMusic

Жыл бұрын

Wow didn’t know that. Brilliant!

@EllissDee4you4me

3 ай бұрын

Wow you’re right I will never not here that now thanks

@AntonMochalin

2 ай бұрын

Reading this in April 2024 and thinking: this comment is dated '1 year ago' so it could be April Fool's day joke - so if it's a joke it's an excellent joke really and if it's not it's an extremely fun fact 😂

I am a professional musician who started out in 1985. I had a DX-7 and lusted after one of these. What a great video. Thanks for posting!

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

I bet this was a tasty proposal back in the day! Still is now.

You need to release an album! That jam at the end was pure bliss!

@jakobole

Жыл бұрын

There are already 2 albums out, in case you didn't know :) / Cheers from Sonic Peak Studio

@lubro_official

Жыл бұрын

@@jakobole oh awesome! Thanks for letting me know :)

I'm an 80's kid. That track at the end hit hard. Took me back. You are talented, Sir.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Cheers Ronald.

At 15:56 onwards - those juicy chords OMG! There’s something so evocative and 80’s about this. It transports you to a time and place that you remember well, even though you were never there.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Cheers! Yeah, always fun to go a bit 80s.

@Torsche2049

Жыл бұрын

i was there and the riff is on point for time travel back to 1985

@Torsche2049

Жыл бұрын

1984 to 1988 perfectly felt in that riff

A work of art. The synthesizer's cool too.

Despite continuing to like a fair bit of contemporary music, I still have a soft spot in my heart for the 80s synth / dance like Art Of Noise. I loved the end song!

Wow. That final track was phenomenal.

Definitely right in my wheelhouse this one. Mid-80s Depeche Mode machine. PS Alex your music is mighty fine. Always seems so happy and in days like these thats a gift.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Cheers! Glad to bring a smile whilst we get a face full of effing January. It is probably the most Depeche machine, and they've had a couple. Maybe even three or four. 😉

@jeshkam

Жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic Hence probably one of Mr Wilder's nicknames being "Mr. Emulator".

@WoolwichHouseStudio

Жыл бұрын

Second that mate! All good vibes on this channel. Plus, 80s stuff seems so positive

@DaveMcGarry

Жыл бұрын

Yep DM used these to death... Love the Emu samplers 🌹

I am going to say that for this synthesizer it seems like it was the top of its game for its time

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, imagine going from sawtooth, pulse and triangle at the start of your signal path to this!

@RegebroRepairs

Жыл бұрын

Swedish band Twice a Man made one of their albums (Slow Swirl) entirely on an Emulator II. And on their tour of that album they on stage had an Emulator II, a guitar and a microphone. (And a ladder and a box with a stone and a string, but those made no sounds 🙂) So between each song, during the singer's small talk, you would hear the Emulator loading the next song from floppies. And then they pressed a button and a wall of sound punched you in the gut. So yeah, definitely top of the game for that time.

Alex you have to be one of the most through presenters on KZread. You don't just dink around and pluck keys here and there, you give histories and examples and produce some great music on top. Great show mate! P.S, the 80's called and want their era back.

@martinburke9178

Жыл бұрын

Totally agree with you.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

I've stolen the 80s and it now belongs to me. 😉

@odmusicman

Жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic Ha.

@AlexS....

Жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic But don't let Espen Kraft know... 8)

@pililogan5769

Жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic thank God it finally in good hands!

It's always incredible how listening to those few sounds instantly brings you back to the 80s, if you were alive then

The Multi-Tracking demo you did was my favourite that you've ever done!

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Cheers!

@AllanGildea

Жыл бұрын

That truly was wonderful.

@du8305

Жыл бұрын

Yep, really awesome sound 👏

@potzorbie3120

Жыл бұрын

Yeah it was a banger that should be released for real!

TAL-Sampler really does a wonderful job emulating the Emulator II

@rommix0

9 ай бұрын

and the AM6070 as well, so the sampler could sound like something like the Oberheim DMX and Linn LM-1 for example.

That sampled guitar patch is utterly gorgeous - loved this video, thank you! And that was an excellent rendition of Ferris ....

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Many thanks!

@breakfreak3181

10 ай бұрын

I was thinking that. It sounded lush!

Wonderful video! I had lusted after an EII since I was a kid and finally found one a few years ago and it immediately became my desert island synth. I play it every day and it still takes me to a very happy place every time. It is huge and I sometimes regret how much space it takes up, but it's a situation where there is something really inspiring about using the hardware over a VST. The perfect balance between limitation and playability.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Ah, glad you got to fulfill that dream. Yeah, it's always more direct using a physical instrument than a virtual one.

@treetopjones737

Жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic Controllers exist.

@diegomolinaf

Жыл бұрын

@@treetopjones737 And it's still not the same.

Man, you “get it” more than most. There is a certain fundamental with the music you make with these classic instruments that (seriously) can take one back. Well played again Sir

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Thank you. It's a hard job, but someone has to do it. 😉

Love the interlude at 2:28! It makes me think of something Nobuo Uematsu would have composed for a Final Fantasy soundtrack

I could listen to you create on this monster all day. You really seem to have an ear for creating flawless retro music. Everything you played could easily be mistaken for original music from the era.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Cheers! Much appreciated.

And the most fantastic innovation on this gear is to have printed "Wheels" above the wheels... and to have specified "left wheel" for the left wheel and vice versa... this would allow a large number of keyboardists to no longer mix their right and their left handside... this video is a marvel and the final track... well... is so brilliant ! I watched it over and over again ! Congratulations Alex ! You're the best 😛

@haydenhunter2984

Жыл бұрын

P

Not often I hear Front 242 mentioned in synth vids. Props!

@the8bitdeity

Жыл бұрын

No Comment was basically Emulator II and a DX 7, 242 really went down the digital synthesis rabbit hole after the very analog Geography

@SirNotAppearing

Жыл бұрын

I was keeping my ears open to make sure he mentioned them! They were effusive in their praise in gear mag interviews!

Wow, now this was a nostalgia overload... it's like a secret sauce/ingredient that I knew was there yet couldn't identify. What a piece of kit and you did us all proud as ever! 🖖😊

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Yep, so damn familiar.

Thank you for sharing these awesome videos and your amazing collection! You are super informative and inspiring to my synth nerd heart.

Probably the most sound defining instrument of the 80s after the DX7.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

It's up there.

@AutPen38

Жыл бұрын

The TOTP studio in the mid-late 1980s had a DX7 and an Emulator II that appeared on stage when pretty much any band with a synth player came on to mime their songs. This gave the impression to a young version of me that *everyone* had an Emulator, but I don't think that was quite the case.

@juno6

Жыл бұрын

@@AutPen38 I don't base my opinion on totp, but on magazines of that era, interviews, (real) live shows, studio pics, etc.

@duncanparsons

Жыл бұрын

@@AutPen38 Many bands would rent a synth or two for TOTP appearances. When Dave Stewart played a Prophet 10 for It's My Party, it wasn't his..

@AutPen38

Жыл бұрын

@@duncanparsons My understanding is that - except when a touring band brought in their own gear - ToTP performers could just use whatever equipment they could find in the props cupboard at TV Centre. A DX7 and an Emulator were kept there on standby (along with various drumkits, guitars, and Marshall stacks) for anyone that wanted. Obviously a lot of mid-to-late '80s hits were made with DX7s especially, and a few studios had Emulators, but the latter wasn't widely owned by individuals. It's kind of mad, given the price of the instrument, that the BBC one was stored in a cupboard and was rarely even plugged in.

15:55 to end is more 80s than the 80s. This slaps! Edit: I got addicted to this track. This is pure euphoria, like driving down the highway at sundown having this melancholic joy - just ahh. Can anyone figure out the vocals? I can just hear "I'll be on your side" and "You'll stay protected"

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Don't hide behind this one you know that I'll be on your side. Don't hide behind this one, don't go. Don't hide behind this one you know that I'll be on your side. You'll stay protected.

@user-fo3ug3cr4m

Жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic You're a legend.

Beautiful tune at the end... really captured the essence of that magical beast! Bravo

Awesome and inspirational showing how the old gear can still bring it! Thanks for continuing to crank out interesting and entertaining content. And I love the music tracks throughout.

I love how it has "Wheels" in a happy friendly font next to the pitch and mod wheels so you know that they are, in fact, the Wheels.

@stheil

Жыл бұрын

And the entire section for the "Enter" Button

@Wagoo

Жыл бұрын

Then "LEFT WHEEL" & "RIGHT WHEEL" clearly marked, just incase you're a kid and haven't learned left from right yet :)

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

I have "left shoe, right shoe" written on my....what do you call them? Footsie thingies.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

@@stheil Haha! Hadn't actually noticed that.

@stheil

Жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic and now you can look at your emulator 2 to remember which side the left and right foot gloves go!

Your demo jams are always so damn good!!

What an outstanding production the last piece was. I can't figure out whether I'm reluctant or inspired to return to the studio now. Wonderful stuff!

Your show is amazing! Thank you for another great episode!

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Thank you too!

Ferris was the coolest because of this sampler. I was so envious when I saw this as a teenager back in 1986!

@jamesKneen

Жыл бұрын

I agree! Everything else was insignificant - he had a sampler!

@marsupialmicron

Жыл бұрын

Well, more like the sampler AND the girlfriend

@timdanyo898

Жыл бұрын

@@marsupialmicron "Do you have a kiss for Daddy?"

@djsherz

Жыл бұрын

@@marsupialmicron A rare combination indeed.

@pauljs75

Жыл бұрын

​@@jamesKneen Then mom says you have a sampler at home. (Insert pic of Casio SK-1.)

This instrument was marvelous. I never thought it was that advanced.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Cool isn't it!

All those nostalgic sounds makes me cry. Thank You so much for all the emotions you give. I love you !

Wonderfull storytelling plus great show and tell! Thanks man this was beyond interesting!

Fantastic viewing! ..love the 'bits' you sampled thru it - sounded great, Cheers Alex! 🙏🏻

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

🤜🤛

Best Emulator II video ever. Period. And your creativity is still amazing! That song at the end is a pure 80's gem! Human League class (the Jam/Lewis era…) and needs to exist as a full blown song! :)

All your videos are just.. joy all the way thru! An that outro was splllleeendid!

Incredible work alex! loved the song, the production ended encapsulating a little bit of everyone; howard jones vocals, japan crazy signatures too. As always great work, keep it up !!

What an amazing ending track!!! Man oh man, how technology has evolved so fast. Cool video on the iconic Sampler/Synthesizer Keyboard, that changed, the created a whole world of amazing new music, like the Fairlight did too!

Alex's vids are so delightfully informative and humorous, and the compositions are always top notch representative uses of these instruments.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Great rundown of a wonderful bit of technology back in the 80's! I had to wrangle one on the Listen Like Thieves tour with INXS in 1986. There were two banks, and I had to load one bank while Andrew Farriss played the other one live. From memory it took about 30 seconds to load a bank. Had to feed the disks and switch banks in the right order so the right samples/sequences were ready to go on cue. One show, I played a trick on the lighting guy, who used a whistle to signal the rigger to set up the next light in the truss. I sampled his whistle and played it back a few times, and it took a while for them to work out where the extra whistles were coming from (sorry Squirt!). But it backfired on me - I forgot the sample was still loaded, and Andrew started playing it live. Whoops... Not very professional and had to scramble to get the right sound happening.

You are so freaking creative it is astonishing. Well done, as usual. With a last name like Ferris, naturally I had to chime in on an Emulator vid. Enjoyed this one particularly. Cheers.

Man how do you make all you videos so interesting and enjoyable to watch every single time?

@HOLLASOUNDS

Жыл бұрын

He took the format of popular UK 70s 80s and 90s Television shows and made that his channel look and feel to match 70s 80s and 90s gear which He would feature. He asked the question "what made those old TV shows so watchable and memorable" and can He bring that to youtube.

That EII looks brand new! What a wonderful machine & piece of history - Thx for sharing your magic take on it!

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

It was restored both cosmetically and internally. I saw it when it was first acquired, it looked nothing like this. Lovely to experience it like new.

@VintageSynthesizerSolutions

Жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic Hats off to the tech!

You are the king of synth/sampler tribute videos! Every single time you absolutely nail it. Kudos!

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Cheers Nick!

Amazing video 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Your featured track is mind blowing. Hopefully you release it. You’ve gained a fan, follower and subscriber. Thanks for everything that went into making this video.

Alex another very made video. I think most of us take sampling into a DAW for granted these days but interesting seeing one of the first machines to do record and sample manipulation.

It's crazy how much stuff Dave Rossum has done

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

His story is like the Star Wars saga. So many stories within stories. Amazing.

@GuitarsAndSynths

Жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic and superb synth designs too! I love his Rossum modular filter and oscillator modules for eurorack! He also had a hand in Oberheim too I think.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

@@GuitarsAndSynths He did. I talked about in my Oberheim Two Voice video just last week!

@compucorder64

Жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic And apparently in the filter section of the Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave, or so RMR mentioned in his recent review.

@slipknotboy555

Жыл бұрын

Right? The guy's a legend

Brilliant stuff - thanks for making these videos Alex

I love your videos! So much info, so much knowledge on the history of the synths and the artists that used them. I love the jam sessions you do, you're such a talented human! And your sense of humor is just fantastic! Please don't stop putting out these videos! Very inspiring! Cheers Mr. Alex !

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Andy. I'll keep making them whilst people watch! Then maybe some more after that. 😉

Hello Alex: Your mention of the limitations of pitch shifting dredged up one of my old memories. In the late 1980's I was lucky enough to go for a tour around Fairlight. Our guide said that for the piano sound, they had sampled every fourth note, because if they just had one note and pitch shifted it, it didn't sound like a piano. On the subject of how widely used the Emulator II was, Clive James mentioned it one of his novels. Stay well and safe.

Fantastic video, loved it - great video, demos and brilliant homage to Ferris! Really enjoyed the song at the end too.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Cheers Gordon! Saw your comment about the Alpha Juno, made me chuckle. I used to work near Denmark Street and spent too much money there over the years.

@cameralabs

Жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic I honestly believed the Juno could turn me into the next 808 State or something. Absolutely delusional and I also never learn. About three decades later I fulfilled my DX7 fantasy with a Reface, and guess what, I can't play that either. I really ought to take some lessons. Keep up the good work!

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

@@cameralabs Haha. Very humble of you.

Amazing review, really good job! love the song at the end.

Thanks again for the awesome and informative videos, Alex! 👍🙂

6:33 surprisingly Boards of Canada like circa The Campfire Headphase album :) Actually the next example at 7:16 even more so lol

@mysticartificial4022

Жыл бұрын

My thoughts exactly! The second example is so Boards of Canada-like to the point that it sounds straight out of a few old tunes.

Aleeeex your videos/mini docs/music tracks always get me pumped and ready to go jam on my synths at home. Thanks for all the fun. my dude.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Nice to know.

Love the emulator so much nostalgia for me as a 80’s kid. Great video as always🤘✨Would really love to see a video of what you’re recording to as your recordings always sound incredible. You always have an amazing amount of separation clarity and warmth in your music.

We really need to bring back L/R panning in songs. Hearing it in this sounds SO good! It opens it up to so much creativity, and when used tastefully, can truly create a one-of-a-kind epic listening experience.

@sonicpeakstudio541

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! Some of the samples were panned themselves, some of them I did.

@d3maccus

Жыл бұрын

it still exists haha -- but I suppose in modern pop its less pronounced?

@d3maccus

Жыл бұрын

@@sonicpeakstudio541 nice nice, I was wondering how the stereo effects were achieved.

@a1hero_

Жыл бұрын

@@d3maccus definitely still exists, but like you said nowhere near as pronounced. They used to go crazy with panning (in a good way). Today it's hard to find a song that has the drums (a popular instrument to pan) spread across the channels.

@d3maccus

Жыл бұрын

@@a1hero_ You're right, you hear it sometimes with vocal harmonies but def not drum panning action like the 80s

What a solid writer you are... Loved that track you played at the end :)

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Thank you

Love that the mod and pitch wheels are helpfully labeled "Wheels"! xD Fascinating how good these samples sound even at that low rate and how it has a sound of its own. Great video!

You seem like such a natural at this .. feeling comfortable in your mountain of technology really understanding everything down to the nuts and bolts. For me it makes my head explode 🤯

It's amazing how fantastic it still sounds.

the vocal stems of tableau are super interesting to listen to. lovely singing :) to me it always is fascinating to hear the building blocks of songs.

That track at the end is absolutely dope. What a beautiful piece of music. Thank you!

An absolutely exceptional video on every level. Terrific

The last song flashbacked me really hard back to my youth. The first girls, the first homecomputers, the first hifi. The future will be great. ❤

@douglasfreeman3229

Жыл бұрын

It provoked a negative reaction in me. We didn't all have a wonderful time in the 1980s. You fitted in, I am guessing.

@assai74

Жыл бұрын

@@douglasfreeman3229 I did not fit in at all, was on ther nerd side of life. Glad my puberty was finally over :-)

God I love this channel.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Cheers Mike!

Brilliant!! I always enjoy your songs

I watch dozens of KZread videos daily. The Ferris Bueller video is one of the best most informative and educational videos I’ve come across in a long time. It is brilliant content like this that keeps me coming back for more. Thank you so much.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Thanks very much!

We tend to love exactly what couldn't be engineered out of a product at the time. From valves distorting to wobbly VCOs, tape hiss and later aliasing and 8 bit crunch etc. We do $hit on them at the time, but we will pay mad Euros for them in 35 years time.

Would love to see a video about your vocals for these tracks, particularly around stacking harmonies and your approach (probably not going to get massive views but I'd be interested nonetheless). Also, I like how with each video we get a peek at the tracks for the next album!

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Occasionally people ask, but not enough for a video. I work them out at the piano. Melody is most important, so never compromise it for a harmony. Then work out what you can fit around it given the chords happening underneath. The main part of my sound is there's always four parts and I double track all of it. I always loved Queen, so the more vocal harmony and overdubs, the better.

@poldidak

Жыл бұрын

Reminds me of the vocal stacks of the 90s Swedish band Big Money, including songs like “Last Man on Earth”, that were produced by ABBA’s producer Michael Tretow.

Great video, as always! And the ending jam was fire as well 🔥A crazy kind of one

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Cheers!

Two long new videos in just over a week... Feels like Christmas! 😀 When you play it, already in the first interlude, the Emulator immediately sounds like a classic. I can't help but feel that, if I were ever to play it, I would probably sound like... Well, like Ross from Friends. 😞 (Huh, I wonder if they named him after Dave Rossum.) Thanks for the stellar videos! All the best to you in 2023. 🙂

Brilliant as always 🙂

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

How's the wrist? 😉

@FailedMuso

Жыл бұрын

@@AlexBallMusic A little stiff. The wrist, that is... 🤣

Great video. The choir patch was used a lot around the mid 80s : from the main melody of 'Always On My Mind' (and most of that period of Petshop Boys until 'Behaviour') to the title theme to 'Howards Way' by Simon May, it was as ubiquitous as the Orchestra Hits. Keff McCulloch also made it the star of Doctor Who from 1987-1989 as his soundtracks are basicsally EII, Prophet 5 and a Linndrum - the Cybermen arriving at the start 'Silver Nemesis' uses 3 of the Orchestra Hits for example. . It even made the 1985-89 'Jim'll Fix It' opening title theme but even the composer wants to forget about that.

@HOLLASOUNDS

Жыл бұрын

Most of these patches come included in most DAWs or sound librerys, I know for a fact I have used many of these exact sounds.

@culttelevision

Жыл бұрын

@@HOLLASOUNDS Yes it's great. 20 odd years ago it was nearly impossible to find them. I had to buy the full EMAX library that had been converted to a SoundFont which had all of the famous sounds in it . This was before Arturia and many of the other modern libraries existed.

@HOLLASOUNDS

Жыл бұрын

@@culttelevision That's pretty epic, is there anywhere I can hear your music?

@culttelevision

Жыл бұрын

@@HOLLASOUNDS kzread.info/dash/bejne/nohnrM-vk6urgqQ.html

man thank you. i seriously put this on loop today. what a great thing.

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Brandon. I assume that was "loop in release"?

yo that Feature Track at the end is the JAM. Thanks for such a great informative visit to EMU Land! Cheers!

This synth and Depeche Mode literally shaped my musical taste in the 80s.

Consistent awesomeness never gets boring... 😍👍🎹❤

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Thank you kind sir. 😀

When you sample that strat and demo the looping feature it conjured up so many soundscape type possibilities. Very almost Brian Eno with his Thursday Afternoon album. Great video!!

That ending song gave me some nostalgia chills. Love your vids!

That jam at 8:20 is so funky, man. Do you have a full version of it?

@lpgibbo7463

10 ай бұрын

Straight out of Beverly Hills Cop I thought? Could picture Eddie Murphy sneaking round the bad guys warehouse to that?

@Alssdkdf-Afwefjsdkjf

10 ай бұрын

Hell yes. He's channelling Soulwax/Deewee there.

Between this and Wargames, Matthew Broderick had some of the most iconic 1980s on-screen electronics interactions

@AutPen38

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, he captured the zeitgeist for those of us that were a few years younger than him and that had to make do with ZX Spectrums and Casio keyboards... but we could use our imaginations!

Brilliant as always!! Thank you Alex!!

Excellent video! I love samplers & sampling!

Very nice vocal harmonies 😊

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

The best synth ever made, the EmulatorII. The sounds it makes is fantasic- Just listen to Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Front 242 to name a few that used it.

Awesome demo and review, Alex 😎🤘🏻 🎹 I remember seeing this synthesizer from the movie ferris bueler’s day off and seeing this demo really shows how incredibly versatile it is. And it is fascinating to learn that it was use by many different artists from the 80s. Including modern talking. All in all, this is a great synthesizer.

I rarely login to YT, but I just had to leave a quick comment and say, that this is quite possibly the nicest video I've seen on this platform. Great work!

@AlexBallMusic

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

It’s hard to track all the iterations of the EII. The one in the video is very early…serial #84…PSU on the far left rear vs the later amidships. I think this was changed because of early heat issues. Fun Fact: serials 1-25 were all ordered by Peter Gabriel’s company Syco in an attempt to keep E-MU from going bankrupt and sold out of London. Some of those first 25 made it back to the states with Stevie Wonder, Steve Porcaro… I have #27. She def has growing pains. ;)