# What happens when you have fun using a few Vintage Synths



## SymphonicSamples (Feb 25, 2016)

Hello all , this is really a piece just about having some fun with a couple of genres including the 80's and using some Vintage Analog synths and a couple Classic Digitals along the way. And yes before you ask , the backup vocals are my (Non vocalist) voice and not meant to be serious


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## H.R. (Feb 27, 2016)

FUCKING LOVED IT.
Awesome sound Matt.


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## R.Cato (Feb 27, 2016)

As a huge 80's fan I really enjoyed that. Would have been a great track for the deadpool film soundtrack.


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## germancomponist (Feb 27, 2016)

Like it!


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## SymphonicSamples (Feb 27, 2016)

Thanks guys .
H.R , cheers man

R, yeah there's a lot to love about the 80's , including some of the most wonderful poly's ever made.

Gemancomponist , thankyou !

I must say I had a lot of fun writing the track and playing with sounds. I even pulled my Bass out and fed it through a GP-8 for the hell of it


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## Carles (Feb 28, 2016)

Loved it! It seems like lots of fun certainly and that ending, when you expect a big climax...  well done, musically and sound wise.


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## Saxer (Feb 28, 2016)

Haha, great fun!


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## SymphonicSamples (Feb 28, 2016)

Thanks Carles , Saxer !! The big climax indeed , I would normally have done so but felt in the context of the piece with it's playful side I'd take that very last moment away  I did develop that section much longer but decided to shift that off to another piece where I can take more time and do it in a larger framework.


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## Ron Verboom (Mar 3, 2016)

Very cool! Great progression and variation. Love the 80's sounds (using them also a lot lately).


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## germancomponist (Mar 3, 2016)

Some years ago I also did a cool synth using like it was in the 80's, but I do not want to post it here in this thread. A lot of fun!


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## mc_deli (Mar 4, 2016)

You'll find this track in the dictionary under "hybrid". Really liked it. Transcendental!


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## AVaudio (Mar 4, 2016)

Really cool sound!


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## Allen Constantine (Mar 4, 2016)

Hey Matt,

3 Words : Epic is Epic!

PS:
Exceptional Finale


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## ricoderks (Mar 4, 2016)

Wow cool! Sounds like it could have been in the movie itself!


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## SymphonicSamples (Mar 4, 2016)

Ron Verboom said:


> Very cool! Great progression and variation. Love the 80's sounds (using them also a lot lately).



Thanks Ron , yeah it was nice to use only hardware synths in the track , hey I even recorded the sound of the on/off switch on my D-550 at the very end to finish the track. I didn't want to stress the old Analogs flicking their on/off switch


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## SymphonicSamples (Mar 4, 2016)

germancomponist said:


> Some years ago I also did a cool synth using like it was in the 80's, but I do not want to post it here in this thread. A lot of fun!



Come on man , start a new thread and post away  Would be great to hear it .


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## SymphonicSamples (Mar 4, 2016)

Thanks mc / Av !!

Allen , thanks man. Yeah the finale, less is more sometimes, that was what I was hoping for 

Ricoderks , thanks for your kind words. I've only seen the shorts and have yet to see the film, but looking forward to watching it .


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## germancomponist (Mar 5, 2016)

SymphonicSamples said:


> Come on man , start a new thread and post away  Would be great to hear it .


It is the thread where I programmed a lot of synth sounds only with one taiko-drum-sample in Kontakt Sampler. I can't find the thread.
So, because you are the thread-opener, here is the link to my track:
https://app.box.com/s/fb81d8e193ec920d62ec
There is a Little Little bit distortion in the bass, but that was only because I did not mix it best ... .


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## synthpunk (Mar 5, 2016)

Nice job dude! 

Was that a D-50 I heard in the the second part ?


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## SymphonicSamples (Mar 6, 2016)

germancomponist said:


> It is the thread where I programmed a lot of synth sounds only with one taiko-drum-sample in Kontakt Sampler


That's a crazy wide array of sounds to be extracted from one sample  Very cool. Do you have any favorite hardware or software synths ? I imagine you would have come up with some great presets from them.



aesthete said:


> Nice job dude!
> 
> Was that a D-50 I heard in the the second part ?


Thanks aesthete ! Indeed guilty as charged, I couldn't help but add a D-550 patch on the accent of each chord in the second section. At the same time I used a (slightly twisted) Jx-10 to layer for the second reiteration of the melody for a classic 80's sound. I spent most the time on the section having fun with Groove Agent hunting for drum sounds to program


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## germancomponist (Mar 6, 2016)

SymphonicSamples said:


> That's a crazy wide array of sounds to be extracted from one sample  Very cool. Do you have any favorite hardware or software synths ? I imagine you would have come up with some great presets from them.


Thanks! In the 80's I also worked as a synth programmer and sold tons of sound-presets. I think my example is a good example for using Kontakt-Sampler as a synth, and not only sampling a synth ... .


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## synthpunk (Mar 6, 2016)

I still think the JX-10 has the best analog strings, although the JD-990, D-50, etc do this well also.

Is it not great what the D-50 gets away with on 512K of samples ? We really have Eric Persing to thank for the legacy of that instrument.

Do you have the PG-1000 or a good editor for your D-550 ?



SymphonicSamples said:


> That's a crazy wide array of sounds to be extracted from one sample  Very cool. Do you have any favorite hardware or software synths ? I imagine you would have come up with some great presets from them.
> 
> 
> Thanks aesthete ! Indeed guilty as charged, I couldn't help but add a D-550 patch on the accent of each chord in the second section. At the same time I used a (slightly twisted) Jx-10 to layer for the second reiteration of the melody for a classic 80's sound. I spent most the time on the section having fun with Groove Agent hunting for drum sounds to program


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## SymphonicSamples (Mar 6, 2016)

germancomponist said:


> Thanks! In the 80's I also worked as a synth programmer and sold tons of sound-presets. I think my example is a good example for using Kontakt-Sampler as a synth, and not only sampling a synth ... .



So true , it's great example of Kontakt's creative possibilities. As for synth programming, now were talking  If you don't mind me asking , what synths did you most extensively program for ?


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## SymphonicSamples (Mar 6, 2016)

aesthete said:


> I still think the JX-10 has the best analog strings, although the JD-990, D-50, etc do this well also.
> 
> Is it not great what the D-50 gets away with on 512K of samples ?
> Do you have the PG-1000 or a good editor for your D-550 ?



Yeah the Old Jx-10 has lovely pads and can achieve a great variety of sounds ,I did the pwm mod on mine so it's even more fun to play with. As for the D-50, so very true with synths of the past. Amazing what was able to be achieved with great engineering / design. When I got my D-550 I opened her up and found it had a unpopulated M.EX expansion board in it. Five dollars later I threw in 2 x sram chips and had an additional 128 users presets on top of the standard 64 which was great. I don't have a PG-1000, but when I did this track I tried the editor (D-50 Librarian) which was quick to create with and also added a couple of patches on my PC-1600x to edit realtime and record the sysex data into Cubase.... Even when I look back before I bought my first sample libraries(good old Eastwest bundle)where I picked Hollywood strings, I had a JV-1080 with the orchestral card, and when I recently heard an old piece whilst searching for something on my drive, it's amazing what they achieved with 8mb's of wav data, crazy. Btw , I noticed in another thread you mentioned owning nearly every analog/hybrid at one time or another. What synths have kept / still use in your creative palette ?


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## synthpunk (Mar 7, 2016)

Matt, I have whittled down pretty good the last 5 years. Upkeep on the old stuff was getting to be a PITA and plugins were getting very good. I rely on U-he Diva And Zebra and few other plugs for most of my old analog style sounds now. I have kept my old Virus Ti due to its versatility and workflow, have the Elektron Analog Four and Rytm w/ Overbridge, a Moog Minotaur for bass (sold my Waldorf Pulse Mk1 for this), and a Eurorack Modular rabbit hole (Moog, Mutable Instruments, etc.).



SymphonicSamples said:


> I noticed in another thread you mentioned owning nearly every analog/hybrid at one time or another. What synths have kept / still use in your creative palette ?


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## germancomponist (Mar 7, 2016)

SymphonicSamples said:


> So true , it's great example of Kontakt's creative possibilities. As for synth programming, now were talking  If you don't mind me asking , what synths did you most extensively program for ?


Oberheim Xpander, Matrix 6/1000, Bit 01, Korg Polysix, DW 8000, Roland Juno6, Jupiter 6, A-Juno2, XP 50, XV 5050, Casio CZ series and VZ 01 and .... .


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## SymphonicSamples (Mar 8, 2016)

aesthete said:


> Matt, I have whittled down pretty good the last 5 years. Upkeep on the old stuff was getting to be a PITA and plugins were getting very good. I rely on U-he Diva And Zebra and few other plugs for most of my old analog style sounds now. I have kept my old Virus Ti due to its versatility and workflow, have the Elektron Analog Four and Rytm w/ Overbridge, a Moog Minotaur for bass (sold my Waldorf Pulse Mk1 for this), and a Eurorack Modular rabbit hole (Moog, Mutable Instruments, etc.).


Upkeep , I can appreciate that I totally agree with you on Diva/Zebra , actually all U-he synths. They are the warmest most organic vst currently available with endless possibilities. The only current synth I used on the track was a little Sub-37 which is great for so many things. I must say I would love to sink my teeth into the Modular world, at the same time realizing it'll be an addictive Black Hole, where lots of money will disappear and indeed light won't escape as I'll loose even more sleep playing with it. I need to start researching the best path before I jump off the ledge. Any suggestions/sites for good reading ?


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## SymphonicSamples (Mar 8, 2016)

germancomponist said:


> Oberheim Xpander, Matrix 6/1000, Bit 01, Korg Polysix, DW 8000, Roland Juno6, Jupiter 6, A-Juno2, XP 50, XV 5050, Casio CZ series and VZ 01 and .... .


An impressive array of synths to have programmed for commercially. From your list I have a Matrix 6 which I rather love. There's something about that machine even with it's flaws , although I updated my firmware recently and have much better response for real-time editing now. I also have a Polysix which I saved recently from a slow death. I bought it last year randomly when buying a wheelchair for my father. The guy had a various vintage gear stored in his workshop and we got talking. It was completely dead, so I spent some time fixing it's numerous issues and now it's functioning perfectly. If you don't mind a PM I'll shoot you off a couple of questions


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## synthpunk (Mar 8, 2016)

Matt, There is no better place to discuss modular than the Muffwiggler forum.
https://muffwiggler.com/forum/

It really comes down to what you want to do with yours and you can go so many routes. I went with Mutable Instruments to start for organic sound design. Next on my list is the Waldorf wavetable oscillator.
http://mutable-instruments.net/modules
http://www.waldorf-music.info/en/nw1-overview

I think you might like the Moog Mother-32. But it's just one oscillator.
And the Kilpatrick Audio Phenol is a nice starting point, but it does have banana jacks.
http://www.moogmusic.com/products/semi-modular/mother-32
http://www.kilpatrickaudio.com/?p=phenol



SymphonicSamples said:


> Upkeep , I can appreciate that I totally agree with you on Diva/Zebra , actually all U-he synths. They are the warmest most organic vst currently available with endless possibilities. The only current synth I used on the track was a little Sub-37 which is great for so many things. I must say I would love to sink my teeth into the Modular world, at the same time realizing it'll be an addictive Black Hole, where lots of money will disappear and indeed light won't escape as I'll loose even more sleep playing with it. I need to start researching the best path before I jump off the ledge. Any suggestions/sites for good reading ?


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## germancomponist (Mar 8, 2016)

SymphonicSamples said:


> If you don't mind a PM I'll shoot you off a couple of questions


One question a week is o.k. .


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## SymphonicSamples (Mar 9, 2016)

Thanks Aesthete for the links, very much appreciated. Just what the doctor ordered !! I'll start schooling up now  I actually contemplated getting a Mother-32 last year but the wait time for them over here in Aus was ridiculous so at the time I got a Sub-37 to explore over the X-Mas period, glad I did, what a wonderful classy piece, especially with the integrated software which works brilliantly in Cubase.




germancomponist said:


> One question a week is o.k. .


Cheers. One question it is , but in two parts


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## synthpunk (Mar 9, 2016)

Your welcome Matt. Feel free to ask any questions on modular in the future and let us know about the path you go.

Yes, I love the Moog Minataur usb editor integration as well.



SymphonicSamples said:


> I got a Sub-37 to explore over the X-Mas period, glad I did, what a wonderful classy piece, especially with the integrated software which works brilliantly in Cubase.
> [/QUOTE


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## SymphonicSamples (Mar 10, 2016)

aesthete said:


> Your welcome Matt. Feel free to ask any questions on modular in the future and let us know about the path you go.



Cheers for that, something tells me I'll have a few questions


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## zacnelson (Mar 11, 2016)

Great work Matt, even though you've gone for an 80s sound I really think it sounds current and quite trendy actually.


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## SymphonicSamples (Mar 12, 2016)

Thanks Zac, out with the new , in with the old  It was refreshing to play with that periods sounds and fun just making presets.


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