Amiga / OctaMED MIDI: Making Oldskool UK Piano House Walkthrough (S3000XL, Integra 7, V-Synth)

Tutorial/walkthrough creating an oldskool piano house/rave tune.
Quite long and I'm rusty! Listen to final sequence @ 45:10
0:00 Intro
0:21 MIDI Setup
2:00 MIDI Instruments
3:40 OctaMED Start / Drums
14:30 Piano
24:36 Bass
27:00 Vocals
30:22 Strings
35:55 Sequencing Patterns (Blocks) to make a Song
45:10 Final Track
raveystabs.co.uk
/ raveystabs
/ raveystabs
www.mixcloud.com/raveystabs

[@TheMadisonHang]

the power of simple programming this is what i've been looking for, a long time.

[@PaulWoodman83]

Now that's how you make a banger! Well done sir! Props to you

[@RuffneckBizniz]

Wicked mate love these videos!

[@AmigaJunglism]

Yes, yes and yes. Top stuff mate.

[@kryten42]

Timeless sound, Piano for ever 🎹🙌🏻 - thanks for uploading

[@OGGalleryCrew92]

Yer no sound can beat it in my oppinion top draw !

[@TheBroDotTV]

Very very cool video. Thanks for uploading this!

[@KarlHamilton]

How am I only seeing this now?! Love it!

[@jacobthebatchbandit3092]

Awesome set up, u gotta love that lately bass for that kinda sound ✌

[@RetroJay1974]

Old School vibes coming from this! brilliant stuff. The Amiga still amazes me even now :)

[@troyuk8017]

I am a mpc guy but the amiga is a good recording solution in 2024

[@freediverhd]

That track is absolutely slamming!

[@PoulLarsenmusic]

Coolest thing I have seen in a long time. With the Amiga you don't have Windows or Mac telemetry, bugs, bloated, bsod, hacking, etc. It just works. Exactly like Game of Throne book writer George R. R. Martin he still uses a DOS word processor called Wordstar. Nothing beats this kind of Bare-bone workflow. Its clean and simple. Oh wait I need to wast my time on pc watching 40 youtube videos before producing music

[@ghal3on]

great stuff!!! just starting to dive into midi with my A1200 and octamed v4

[@junnunaumanen6672]

Great video!

[@rykennonproductions318]

Awesome stuff man! Ain't no school like the old skool ;)

[@EducateFinancial]

Fantastic stuff ... I'm not totally familiar with this version of Octamed but had it on the a1200 (I still own that machine as a 030 Apollo upgrade with 8meg of ram .. this set up is astoundingly cool... I think I might have to emulate it... I wish all trackers where made this way... b.t.w you can save ram by copying all or some of the samples into a slightly bigger sample and looping just the part you need ... When your poor as dutch farm mice you improvise, something you can't do easily these days like you could "back in the day" ...

[@MarshalArnold]

Awesome!

[@chrisicotec7652]

This has brought back so many memories... the clattering of the keys and in the end having awesome muisc... i sometimes used mine as a 3rd deck at DJ gigs, sampling on the fly and dropping fresh tracks in the mix... good times My amiga died in an accident with a kid and a pot noodle... id love to see a version of octamed for modern computers but with the same functionality as the amiga

[@chrisicotec7652]

@channel 9 hopefully its not too expensive, new harware is far out of budgets for quite some time after all this corona nonsense budgets are tight... you know, wife, kids, mortgage, a dog with 3 legs gotta come first right now.. im just nostalgic about octamed because ive been in the business of making music for 30 years thanks to octamed and being grounded for 2 weeks , its just a shame theres nothing like it on the pc anymore, i use use an amiga emulator but its still missing that real amiga feel, i have octamed but ive kinda forgotten how it works mostly, these videos bring so much back

[@Fizzatron]

Brought back many memories of programming breakbeats etc.. OctaMED was killer for mashing breaks but arranging songs wasn't half as fun! I never knew about the shuffle command, but I guess it wasn't used much for hardcore/jungle :)

[@farben_]

This is exactly the style of music wished people were making these days with the breaks and the dance pianos! Do you have an Atari? Would be cool to see the Cubase or Notator process of making tunes in those.

[@RaveyStabs]

Yes so true. Never had an Atari but would be interested to see someone do that too.

[@SamiJumppanen]

I got Amiga 500, OctaMED 4 and just got a Roland digital piano from 1989. Sounds pretty good for house etc. I just am not a decent break beat composer, but some rave should be done asap

[@simontunnicliffe2107]

I'm with you. We need new music in this genre. I'm in the process of getting all the gear together to do it myself. I'm about 70% the way there and hoping to get an EP out beginning of next year.

[@simontunnicliffe2107]

@Pete Testube Really? I'm saving for this kind of set-up as we speak but probably not gonna get an Atari / Amiga , was gonna just use Reaper to sequence but triggering hardware gear. How do you know that then?

[@simontunnicliffe2107]

@Pete Testube Any examples?

[@InternalMind]

The guy's a genius!

[@SlimMixer]

OctaMed & Vintage Synths 4 the win!!

[@Paul-qx6dr]

AWESOME

[@dannywhittle4245]

respect for learing the old ways of doing this mate :) you clearly have spent many hours on the amiga :) oh how we take cubase fl and ableton for granted now :)

[@RaveyStabs]

This'll sound strange but I started on OctaMED and in many ways still rate it. For example, every DAW since feels like it is detached from this simple low-level way of working in a grid, with layers on top, mouse focused UI and the play then quantize/fix up way of working, which is slower and kills a bit of momentum. Also, with limited samples and technology, you commit to ideas much faster!

[@dannywhittle4245]

@@RaveyStabs Id say what ever works mate :D I dont have an amiga any more so its Ableton for me :D

[@antjarvis]

aaannndd we've subscribed.

[@lcaise]

Great!!

[@23lnp]

Mate, you should bring back the old skool piano hardcore. Now is the time in this bullshit lockdown. Power to the people 👍🏼

[@johnd9410]

Nice tune and the nice old way we done it. No skool like oldskool

[@stick90]

what a brilliant program octomed was so simple the progs on PC seem lot more complicated sampling was amazing,

[@RaveyStabs]

Yes, why has music making become so damn complex!

[@Bendy2K]

Heavy!

[@JamesCorbettMusic5000]

Currently modernising my childhood a1200, used to use octamed back then and probably the reason why I still produce today. If I could get it to play with some of my synths/drum machines, that would be amazing

[@TheMadisonHang]

i thought in the final that the vocals were too much i didn't mind the female voice, but the guys 'no' kept getting annoying the rest of the track is so solid though, that's why i have to say something i think it needed more of a drop out break somewhere, then just the bass line, crash then just the thumping beat i don't disrespect the process though, for all the millions of house tracks out there, you show us the process so i totally appreciate that really cool stuff. amazing

[@TheBroDotTV]

Damn yo you got a swish set up!!!

[@sydneymeanstreet]

1. Searched 'Integra 7' 2. Subscribed

[@apacher6433]

Cool !!!) I had to post a track for download, I would listen on my Amiga1200

[@OGGalleryCrew92]

Yer he should !

[@djmastergroove946]

Really enjoyed watching this! Please can you do more of these full production videos? I've been producing rave, breakbeat and jungle for about 20 years now. I use reason 11, just upgraded. I do a lot of sampling, I watched your landlord stab video and I was very impressed. I've wanted to know for years what stab it was, some fm harpsichord sample? Anyway keep producing mate, and please show more of these great videos of your work! Cheers.

[@RaveyStabs]

Thanks so much, will try to do some more soon!

[@ExactConsciousness]

14:00. Yes!!!

[@beef4all]

I remember there was a demo of marss pump up the volume where there was sounds attached to the numeric keys.

[@grizzlygrizzler8594]

I saw a Blue Monday four track cover. Exact blinking copy! Simple brilliance.

[@mosonic]

Damn, I wish I had known about the MIDI thing and the OctaMED back then - I just used the Protracker with a sampler module called TechnoSound :)

[@grizzlygrizzler8594]

Me too! Sample based loops mostly with basic baselines or keyboard riffs.And it was amazing being able to sample the latest stuff straight off a CD single. Like Sash Encore un Fois.Memories!

[@desktorp]

2:28 that moment when you know without any doubt that a guy knows wtf he's talking about

[@Superlover]

great oldschool vibe, lovin this! is that Piano part an Akai factory sample that came with the 3000?

[@RaveyStabs]

Thanks. The piano is from Alpha Dance sample CD

[@joshb9657]

This is just too good!, wer r u from?

[@dxtrs_mnpltr]

I’d luv to see sum videos on you getting creative with the S760, any plans on doing that by any chance Ravey?

[@OGGalleryCrew92]

Bizarre inc or N joi styleeee be good !

[@jumanjidnbuk6152]

Wicked tutorial man please could you do on one jungle

[@RaveyStabs]

See this playlist kzbin.info/aero/PLJCdeQzRdiYxswg8ffPVfzWzFlkUr_AdZ

[@gctechs]

Renoise 3.2 is out!

[@RaveyStabs]

Downloaded!

[@ChrisNova777]

the keyboard certainly feels better than the ATARI ST

[@thiesenf]

Vampirize that girl... :-)

[@RaveyStabs]

I'm on the waiting list :)

[@dimitridem7750]

Hi, interesting video. I'm also using a 1200 inside my midi studio, using Baras and pipes. OCtamed sound studio doesn't work very well here : assign problems, midi problems ("cannot locate serial port"). I'm using the free version available on the internet. ANy help will pbe appreciated. thanks

[@ematech]

Need support for modern synth bank change more than 128 sounds

[@jnkmal9519]

What's your video output setup? Looks super sharp.

[@RaveyStabs]

Do you mean the Amiga video output?

[@jnkmal9519]

@@RaveyStabs Yes. Are you using indivision aga or a vampire or something? I have one of those cheap 15k VGA scan doublers and my video output doesn't look nearly as nice as yours.

[@RaveyStabs]

@@jnkmal9519 Ah nope nothing that sophisticated. I use an Amiga RGB to VGA adapter I got from @edu_arana on twitter, little shout out at 1:25. This is quite a bit better than the similar Amigakit RGB adapter and it got rid of the vertical banding issues. Video goes into a compatible Dell monitor which can do the low frequencies. It's not totally sharp but not bad.

[@subrec90]

Would it be possible to hook up the Amiga to a PC daw and have OctaMED control VST plugins over midi?

[@RaveyStabs]

OctaMED can send out note and CC info (even sysex), but it's not particularly fun entering CC commands one by one but it is doable, and it can send MIDI clock too for syncing if the DAW supports it. Renoise (modern tracker) supports plugins and is better at automation if you want to get more modern.

[@OGGalleryCrew92]

Top One, Nice One, Get Shorted.... Great Video m8 Top Draw Respect , You can stil use trackers on pc/mac but their not as good as the old trackers and i've not found one thats realy any good to be honest, Anybody know of one ..

[@paszTube]

Which midi interface are you using?

[@RaveyStabs]

On the Amiga it's MIDI Connector by The Disc Company. Note though you can buy new 1x1 versions from www.amiga-shop.net or ebay, search "midi interface"

[@ematech]

what is the right setup tempo for 120 bpm or 125 bpm timing?

[@SamiJumppanen]

Uh? OctaMED has BPM tempo mode as well, so why not SoundStudio... Never used SS, only Amiga 500 here.

[@bleedinant]

Can I play in your studio? Thanks

[@fabiosolazzomusic]

Hi, the setup of your Amiga? Ram, Cpu, HD etc?

[@RaveyStabs]

A1200 stock with 4mb ram card & IDE2SD with 4gb card for HD. Could do this on a A500 though

[@SamiJumppanen]

@@RaveyStabs SoundStudio on A500? If you have OS2+. I don't

[@h.hholmes3118]

Let's say I finish a tune on the amiga and I am ready to export it. Do I need a floppy disk, is there a way to export OCTAmed projects to a USB or cassette? Reply would be appreciated

[@RaveyStabs]

There's two ways I store things. 1) Internal IDE to SD Card converter with a 4gb SD card acts as a hard drive. It can be taken out, imaged to a file and read by WinUAE emulator (I initially set everything up in WinUAE then wrote the disk image to the card). 2) PCMCIA to CompactFlash adapter, which plugs into the side and uses a Windows FAT32 4gb formatted card that can be read by both Amiga and PC (best way of transferring between). The Amiga need drivers to read FAT32 from Aminet and you need a bit of technical know how/perseverance to get it all working, but it's doable.

[@h.hholmes3118]

@@RaveyStabs Excuse my french, but that's a brain fuck, sorry dude, I am not savvy with this at all. Maybe a video tutorial or something you can reccomend to guide me through it. But, thanks for the reply brother.

[@eightbitsurrenderomi4148]

what's an inpoot?

[@simontunnicliffe2107]

This is a chooon. Has it been mixed and mastered into a proper fully finished track at all? which piano was used in this, doesn't sound like the Korg M1 one?

[@RaveyStabs]

This was just for fun, not sure if I saved it. Piano from a sample CD, one of the alpha dance ones I think.

[@simontunnicliffe2107]

@@RaveyStabs Alpha Dance piano. Not heard of that, so was it sampled into an Akai or something?

[@RaveyStabs]

@@simontunnicliffe2107 Some info on that CD: synthmania.com/alpha_dance_ii.htm

[@projectz975]

is it possible using OctaMed to play samples from the Amiga soundchip while triggering midi devices at the same time? like for example if i wanted to play a drum loop from the amiga while triggering a bass synth on another channel?

[@projectz975]

OH at 6:50 he literally sets up to do this lol. this is soo cool, one of these computers could have been a godsend for anyone making music from home at the time. the best drum machine you could afford also plays games and helps you type up homework!

[@RaveyStabs]

@@projectz975 yes was quite amazing early 90s when on a budget, I got hooked!

[@ludwikoleksiewicz163]

A co to jest octamed? mom ? to będzie bolało? :)

[@beng70]

where is the vocal from

[@RaveyStabs]

Lee Marrow - I Want Your Love

[@ChrisNova777]

well i hope your happy thanks to you i went out and bought an amiga 500! its all your fault! lol jk

[@RaveyStabs]

Haha, enjoy

[@cl9826]

Damn I'm jealous you get to use space bar for play and stop like we're all used to now. The other trackers you have to use like 4 different function keys 😂 it's the little things in life I guess...

[@RaveyStabs]

Its the right amiga key + space, but similarly I have right alt + space set up in Bitwig and Studio One to mimic good old OctaMED!

[@hannuthyvonen]

minun Musiikkia Löytyy Facebookista.

[@muzicmolehead3943]

good tunes muzic molehead on youtube if U want to get some of my Track's

[@jetuktvsatchwell234]

bring the bass in

[@InternalMind]

gimmie all of that stuff please

[@kyma1999x]

"rock solid midi timing"....with OCTAmed? well....I don't trust in these kind of things. Digital Performer on mac using Motu midi interfaces or Studio Vision Pro had rock solid midi timing, infact most of high end audio productions of 90s and after where done using those sequencers, and pro tools....still today audio pro is handled on digital performer pro tools etc...not the amiga for sake!!! One can get satisfaction using those musical toys like music X, pro tracker, fast tracker, octamed, milky tracker etc etc but they weren't intended to be professional music stuff, so I sincerely doubt they can be precise and rock solid, I've heard tons of mod music and chiptunes in my life...yes funny interesting but I've never seen anything that made me convincing to abandon digital performer or logic or cubase in favor of an obsolete 68000 based computer, I really don't get the advantage working this way today, It's something like driving a steam car vs a modern car to travel europe

[@RaveyStabs]

@@kyma1999x you’ll often hear people talk about how rock solid the Atari St (remember that was industry standard), MPCs and even Amigas were when it came to MIDI and thats because they didn’t have the software layers to go through that modern DAWs do. They send signals directly to hardware ports in realtime at a low level and achieve often better accuracy. But it of course comes down to what anyone deems acceptable. Midi latency and jitter are real in modern DAWs if you want to measure it, that’s why solutions like Expert Sleepers USAMO exist. Audio is of course something different and driving sizeable MIDI rigs is largely a thing of the past.

[@kyma1999x]

@@RaveyStabs well digital performer with its own MTS midi time stamping or Pro Tools Hdx with MIDI I/O have no midi latency or jitter, every high end audio production since late 90s say things like britney spears stuff, or rnb/pop where there was tons of midi tracks where sequenced with those daw or something like LOGIC platinum with emagic midi interfaces (worse than motu or opcode but professional stuff).... It doesnt seem to me mainstream late 90s /2000s rnb pop from sony universal etc had midi latency, if a system would have those issues it would never been choosen to be the tool of the trade of a million dollar audio production. ....instead, personally I've never seen or heard of an audio engineer or arranger working for backstreet boys take that mariah carey celine dion etc etc using an amiga 1200 and trackers instead of digital performer or pro tools hd...why? ...maybe 'cause the issues that modern daw would have doesn't exist?

[@tB3o3tR9o9]

very cliché House Track lol