Roland U-110 - Yet Another Boring 80s Synthesizer???

[@douglasfairmeadow]

No boring synths - only boring artists mate

[@AudioPilz]

Believe me, I've seen both;)

[@littlebubble380]

I enjoy this series not because it’s interesting to see what kind of bad gear is out there, but because you give every piece of bad gear an equal chance to prove itself and subvert the audience’s expectations. Bad gear is what you make it!

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you so much!

[@AlexBallMusic]

Has that vibe of school keyboards and Soundblaster audio.

[@AudioPilz]

Always liked the sounds of my old Soundblaster

[@AlexBallMusic]

@@AudioPilz True. Duke Nukem and Doom absolutely rocked through a SB.

[@RileyGein]

Damn now i wanna try to dig up one of my old Soundblaster cards, hook up a Voodoo 3 gfx card and rewatch this video

[@Simon-ui6db]

@@AlexBallMusic sound even better through an 8 port midi thru device to a couple of old GM casios, a tyros, kn6500 and korg ns5r. Yeah I did that lol.

[@ianmccoy13]

After making so many "AudioPilz is secretly a vaporwave producer" jokes, I feel somewhat responsible for what happened in this video. Though as is typical for you sir, excellent work!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! Well, who knows ;)

[@ianmccoy13]

@@AudioPilz is b e g o t t e n confirmed!

[@ultravice191]

is something wrong with being a Vaporwave producer...lol

[@needfortweed8734]

I loved the vaporwave-things he did here. Some (lazier) kinds of Vaporwave can be a bit of a chore, but this was one of the good vaporwave-tracks. So I hope he dabbles with that on later editions of Bad Gear....

[@ianmccoy13]

@@ultravice191 Nothing at all! Like @Need for Tweed said some of Vaporwave can be a chore to listen to. One thing I've noticed after really digging into the genre is that some producers use Vaporwave as a starting point to polish their skills and then jump off into more solid production and finding a niche in other genres or making something in Vaporwave that's really good to listen to.

[@MaxThompsonMusic]

Interesting story...I was at a historical event about five years ago and there was a small quartet playing old folk music. They had a lady playing what looked similar to an antique clavichord, wood and all. It sounded kind of like a Fortepiano, like it fit the era of the event exactly. When they were on break I asked her what she was playing. It was U-20 inside a homemade wood shell (with a closing lid so only the keys were visible). I remember being really surprised because it didn't sound like that at all. So evidently in the right situation when it isn't visually looking like a piano it really can work still.

[@AudioPilz]

I know, we tricked people so hard in theatre back in the day. You wouldn't believe what you can get away with

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

To my ears, a fortepiano just sounds like a poor quality, out-of-tune modern piano.

[@marcoabyss]

Mallsoft Vaporsthetics Hauntology Muzakwave is even more relaxing than last week's Phaze Distorted CZ-101 Leftover Casioplextro Corehouse. it's like getting a massage for your ears.

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you!

[@Bloodstone_DC]

I know some of these words!

[@Melanholix]

You will become a meme someday. I can feel it.

[@AudioPilz]

Unfortunately the "Aliens" thing is already in use ;)

[@lostcification]

I'm pretty sure he's checking all the boxes ;)

[@thefoxfamily341]

Shure like the fucking mic

[@lookapi]

👌🏼😀

[@null_state]

@@thefoxfamily341 what episode is that from??

[@BassBaseBerlin]

Well done! I have a U-110 here - when our rehearsal room was given up the guys said "Hey, you are the tech guy, just take it" - at that time in the 00s this unit was "undesirable" - we wanted key sounds, that sound "real". And now, as a recording computer guy - a have "everything cool I want" as virtual instruments in my PC. But I just think about buying some Behringer reincarnations of synths - just to have some analog rig for playing around. Not because of "sound" - but to have something without a PC/Mac ... just playing around, sequencing, turning knobs and have fun. No system updates, no booting (ok, of course also digitally controlled systems have a startup-sequence ... ) or strange registration and password stuff. Just music. And therefore I was looking for videos to see: What can i do with this U-110?? And you've done a great video and demo stuff! You really inspired me - will grab this old _obsolete_ bastard and also some _obsolete_ old guitar pedals and just play around with the sounds... Liked and keep up doing videos! Thanks a lot! Best regards, Stefan

[@SalimSivaad]

“At first glance, this video is ticking all the boxes!” Great job, Florian!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks!

[@OscillatorCollective]

OMG...that last track actually gave me chills...🤯. You really can make ANYTHING sound good...

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you!!!

[@leakso1]

In the right hands with the right treatments applied, those old units have a huge place in modern music tinkering, they were the machines that made us all fall in love with electronic music I think. Great video again buddy. 😁😁😁

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks!

[@skot6547]

Sure they are. I really like the strings patch from it. Liam Howlett used it on his Experience album, the difference was that he had U-220. Check G-force Part 1 or Out of Space

[@_P_M_]

The patchlist was probably the prototype for General MIDI.

[@AudioPilz]

Possible. Everything you needed back then (like 12 slap basses ;)

[@SpeedySPCFan]

The Roland MT-32 is the closest thing we have to a proto-GM sound set ^^

[@Psychlist1972]

The GM sound sets on Roland's later GM gear sound almost identical, so I wouldn't be surprised.

[@_P_M_]

@@SpeedySPCFan Yup, that's right. I forgot that one.

[@daishoryujin95]

Now all we need is to find out what the hell a Charang is.

[@dr_mabuse1981]

That Vaporwave track is actually amazing :D

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you! Happy to hear that!

[@jakobole]

Just reading the letters"U-110" gives me the shivers. I need a trigger-warning next time Mr. Pilz! (And it isn't waterproof, but the jam is epic!)

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks!Sorry for giving you rompler PTSD. It happens to the best!

[@jakobole]

@@AudioPilz I tried it before with the U-20/220, so I'm used to it ;)

[@MrDehackers]

"..and one of the displays that made people hate displays" :D Danke

[@AudioPilz]

Immer gerne!

[@computerpastiche]

this channel is so amazing! i've been binge watching every video since last week, keep doing what you're doing!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks for watching! Highly appreciated!

[@ExtremeMetal]

Not going to lie, that e piano sound is really nice

[@AudioPilz]

Many more than usable sounds on this one!

[@hschieck]

Honestly, I kept my U110 especially because of the piano sound. It has a special "hardness", like the strings were played with a claw hammer. Maximum hammertime, even when played softly. A sound that's just not available even in a MOTIF or comparable synth. And because I really love that demo song 3: Cloud 9. Sounds beautiful to me.

[@timcarleton]

@@hschieck same. My U-20 was the best companion my DX7 ever had.

[@user-lq5ev8hg9q]

i love this channel so much. this unit just came up locally, and i took the opportunity to re-watch the ep to help me decide if i'm interested. i'm not! but what a delightful way to get some insight. thanks always, audiopilz. i hope you do many more of these.

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks!!!

[@mima85]

Out of an U-110 and a MIDI controller keyboard years ago I built a faux Fender Rhodes Piano Bass, to be used in a Doors tribute band I was about to start, along with a Nord Electro 3 keyboard. The Rhodes sound on the U-110 is quite convincing at emulating the original Rhodes Piano Bass, you can see and hear it in a couple of my videos.

[@AudioPilz]

True, e pianos and organs are super nice!

[@DigitalMusicXpress]

Excellent work, proof that with enough creativity you can make this instrument sound great in just any electronic music!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks!

[@MarkBayfieldvillageidiot]

The best 8 minutes and 10 seconds of the week

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks!

[@johntammaro]

My to watch KZbin inbox if full of 25 minutes plus videos I just can't justify losing hours of my life watching. Please keep to less than 10 as you do. And agreed, best 8 minutes this week.

[@antondhondt9851]

0:28 - this old movie scuffle scene. Kinda pinnacle comedy moment on this superb channel! Thanks a lot for your amazing videos!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! Mr. President knew a thing or two about a good fistfight

[@toneklang]

You are awesome, and your editing skills are outrageously overthetop obenheimer overture outstanding! Ps. I received that module for free from a friend who cleaned out his basement. Plugged it in once and felt like our whole friendship had been a lie.

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! Digital Roland gear - putting friendships to the test since 1987

[@localhost4460]

Man, I really needed one of your videos today. Thank you so much for working so hard.

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks for watching! Stick around!

[@ChrisLeeW00]

"The aliasing adds character", is what I used to say about my OP-1.

[@AudioPilz]

It certainly does!

[@MeeperDude45]

Yes and an about my Kawai K1 Rack ;-)

[@keithroberts9869]

I really dig your videos and sense of humor Florian. Though it's not economically feasible, I am going to try and get a majority of the Bad Gear you feature (admission: I already had some, and purposely went on a quest to purchase a RedSound Darkstar XP2 thanks to your video on it....and it is....Bad Gear). Keep up the great work. Now I'm heading on over to FB marketplace to get a Roland U-110.

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! Have fun going on a shopping spree!

[@mattb154]

Mr Pilz absolutely channeling the Geneva Jacuzzi proto-vapourwave vibes in this one. Another banger of a video!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks!

[@TrevorWierzbowski]

My God, the closing piece was absolutely amazing, such a talented man you are, sir, respect!

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you so much!

[@StephanS]

I got myself a U110 just for the Choir Sound. Its outstanding and cant be found in other Roland Romplers. The U110 has been used by Michael Cretu (Sandra's Stop for a Minute, check the Demo Songs) - And the later U20 has been used to create some of the Windows 95 system sounds, and also has a Voice/Bell sound that was all over the spacesynth and synthwave genre in the 90s and early 00's

[@AudioPilz]

Wow, didn't know about the Win95 sounds. Mind blown!

[@sauermusicDE]

"Stop for a minute" is a song which was released on October 5th, 1987 as a part of the "Ten on one (the singles)" album. The U-110 wasn't even on the market yet at that time.

[@StephanS]

@@sauermusicDE Listen to the internal Demos of the U110 and the Song and you know what i mean. MC was always the first to use new equipment back then....often before it was officially released

[@sauermusicDE]

@@StephanS Some of the sounds of the U-110/-20/220 (including the cards) were obviously sampled from instruments like - for example - the Roland D-50, Jupiter-8 and the E-mu Emulator II (maybe Emax I, but it's basically the same sound library).

[@B1SCOOP]

Strings and Bell patches from U220 were also used on early Prodigy albums.

[@arcadeuk]

Your proto groove had a very 90's PC Doom game music feel to it

[@AudioPilz]

The retro game flair always gets me

[@SisterRose]

tbh I really miss my Roland U-20 keyboard. It was my first "proper" keyboard and I remember really liking the flutes and some of the other samples. Even the pianos were decent for what they were. It had a fair bit of character for a fairly bread and butter basic rompler. Seeing you make vaporwave with it makes me want to get it repaired or find a decent soundfont library.

[@AudioPilz]

Not sure if a soundfont library does it justice

[@garyshepherd9226]

I still have mine - and also bought the U-20. They were great at the time.

[@AudioPilz]

Some of the sounds still hold up today!

[@garyshepherd9226]

@@AudioPilz I have sampled many of them and use them to this day.

[@awkwardtom]

well i love mine and still use it occasionaly, the honkey tonk piano is very early prodigy, the choir and strings are punchy and i still like some of the drums. Used via the separate outs with lots of outboard processing and boom still usable. I have 2 rom cards that help to widen the number of usable sounds. I have kinda grown to love it after 25 years hahaha......!

[@AudioPilz]

True, there are quite some usable sounds on it

[@Rizimar]

SynthMania is a champ. I love that guy's channel

[@AudioPilz]

Freaking legend

[@musicmakelightning]

Oh holy mother. You had to remind me about this disaster. I did buy one of these - new. It was indeed the 80s and this thing was cheaper than a D70. My disappointment was boundless when I couldn't even sell it on consignment. This was back in the day when "Guitar Center" was a cheesy outfit on Steven's Creek Blvd. in San Jose CA. Those guys were happy to be rid of it and I was stuck. I think the salesman got extra commission for selling it to me. I could swear I heard beer bottles opened in the back room when I walked out with it. I think I gave it away to one of my brother's friends. I never spoke to him again. I think that even for free it had the possibility to ruin a friendship.

[@AudioPilz]

After the Casio Trackformer this was actually fun to use ;)

[@kmk4960]

I could watch these all day!!!! Thanks again!!!!

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you!!!

[@Johnsormani]

I have the u110 since it came out. It produced very present piano sounds, especially when layered with something else it would cut really well through the mix

[@AudioPilz]

Agreed! Liked the piano quite a bit

[@donjohnsmusic3116]

You can hear this awesome module in all my early music! This little unit changed my life having multi timbre capabilities. To really appreciate it, listen to my Don Johns Christmas!

[@AudioPilz]

Nice!!!

[@donjohnsmusic3116]

@@AudioPilz you might really enjoy my Nerd Vault on my website

[@newoldstock_]

I bought a U-110 for $15 a few decades ago because I saw it on a Prodigy equipment list. Used the chorus patch a few times.

[@AudioPilz]

Nice price! Yeah, worth it for the strings alone

[@tonverfall_studio]

Ach, Mensch! Endlich hast Du es geschafft! You gave the U-110 (and by extension, it's muscular offspring, the U-220) far more than it deserved! Bravo! All things considered, it's still not enough to get me to pull my U-220 out of the box it's encapsulated in for sale via Reverb pretty soon. If I want late '80s / early '90s faux-acoustic cheese, I will gladly turn to the far more interesting and flexible Yamaha variant on the theme, my QY-70.

[@AudioPilz]

Danke! Mmmmmmh, QYs stehen auf der Liste!

[@odinmp5]

those brass sounds were disturbing... but its good to know this was the start of wonderful roland products

[@AudioPilz]

Disturbingly useful, too, tbh

[@vitaharvey5332]

Oh my gosh, I have the exact same mixer, the Allen & Heath. I've actually been watching tutorials on it to get the routing down all afternoon haha. Love your channel!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! The little A&H is great. Nice FX, too!

[@AndrewJohnClive]

Thank you Florian. We need to turn you into an algorithm so we can just put on 16 hour video!🙂 ❤️

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! I've been trying to upload my brain for years ;)

[@VoodooGMusic]

I want a full version of the Muzak inspired synth wave song.

[@AudioPilz]

Still not sure which fragments to turn into real music. Those damn 24h/day limits ;)

[@rogerfelez7478]

Great video, glad to see that 1990s blackface 19" module videos are back!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks!

[@beloyaraistov8007]

Slap basses are incredible. I love roland vintage bass presets totally. With arp effect they amazing.

[@AudioPilz]

Slappers!😀

[@soepil]

I loved this episode! I could swear that the brass and organ sound you played are the exact same on the Roland D-20, which I own. Remember the eight demo tunes on the D-20? Classics. :)

[@AudioPilz]

Sounds seem to be very similar but the converters on the 220 and 20 were updated

[@mnordavind]

I imagine the 90s will arrive sometime, I hope to see the Korg Prophecy there.

[@AudioPilz]

Korg Prophecy. I want one so bad

[@luckyllou7325]

"M.C. Escher Style Menu Structure" ^^ Great! how many different midichannels/sounds can you use at the same time?

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! Six!

[@ChilliusVGM]

I just bought this things cousin, the U-220, because of this video piquing my interest, so thanks lol

[@AudioPilz]

Nice! Great strings!

[@mc2engineeringprof]

Best synth channel on KZbin officially. No. I'm not even joking. This is awesome! Now, do the CS1x / CS2x, RM1x, Microstation, Meeblip Diode / Triode, SH-32, Evolver (desktop), DS-8, DW6000, Alpha Juno, Juno Gi, Alesis Fusion, SY77, R3, Original Kaoss Pad, Volca Kick, Gaia, DX21, Wavestation, and JX-8P (unless you've already done some of those...I can't recall). You might also look into the MicroX and even the Streichfett.

[@AudioPilz]

Great list! Thank you so much!

[@mc2engineeringprof]

@@AudioPilz 🙏 👍

[@kristianTV1974]

The U20 keyboard version of this was my first full size synth back in '91, shortly after I realised a DX100 wasn't going to cut it.. Much better than the U110 by the looks and sounds of it, you could assign one of the faders to brightness (filter) too.. As well as orchestra hits whose novelty wore off pretty quick.. .. What was pixellated out on top of the U110 in the vid?

[@AudioPilz]

Address of the previous owner

[@static-audio]

I was lucky enough to buy a u20 keyboard last year for £30... Just needed a reflash ! The chord function on certain patches can get some 80s Detroit techno sounds and the keyboard feel is good. Wouldn't get a u110 though even more limited less patches and its bit more noisy.

[@ThomasWArduino]

Every time I get a notification for a new AudioPilz video my day gets just a bit better

[@AudioPilz]

Happy to hear that! Thanks for watching!

[@geofff6671]

I had one back in the day and loaned it to friend who still has it. It was a great complement to the analogue synths I owned and made tracks a lot less boring than synth only music. As you note being able to produce somewhat but not overly realistic instrument sounds is a feature not a flaw. Like any unit one could get pretty creative by putting it through some fx and messing with the envelopes.

[@AudioPilz]

True! FX really help

[@Cubik303]

Every original demo tune in this video was excellent! I still keep a U-220 in my rack - lots of essential pianos and organs for retro house. As pointed out, the U modules take effects processing very well. Can’t wait for the next one!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! The amount of compression, distortion and EQ boost that can be applied is out of this world

[@jthorpe4droid]

Awesome video, I quite like all those cheesy 80s sounds that aren't quiet realistic or badly sampled :) Makes them sound different :)

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! I would say they were sampled really well, the playback engine was, erm, primal

[@jthorpe4droid]

@@AudioPilz I still wonder with half this old gear, if you had 2 would they sound the same, I know the PSSs I have aged and hum but I like it that way.

[@jonhaight5949]

I really enjoy your videos. In my home studio, Roland U110, U220, R8m, GR-1, GR-30. Yamaha TX81z, SPX90. Kawai K1r, K4, K5m. Alesis SR-16, D4, DM-5, QS-8, S4. Casio CZ-5000. Oberheim Matrix 1000, XK. Digitech RP-1, Line 6 BassPODxt Pro, Avid Eleven Rack.

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you!

[@ObscureModules]

The contrast on your U110 is way too low. You can change it in the setup. I really love the way you used the presets btw, especially the piano and choir! They're such classic samples to me, because they were used plenty in Amiga modules and game soundtracks

[@AudioPilz]

Already turned it to max contrast. The display must have seen better days...

[@iiaaiiaannaaiiaaii]

That Mall jam at the end was doubly fierce- genuinely loved that.

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you!!!

[@Rudy-fi8yt]

It's so cool to see not popular gear you own on here

[@AudioPilz]

AFAIK Roland sold a horseload of these

[@Rudy-fi8yt]

Maybe, but I first found out about it when I bought it and realized it's not the D-110 from one of your previous episodes lol

[@marvinjones4415]

If I remember correctly, there's a signature sound to R&B producer Babyface's hits from the late 80s/early 90s that came from two U110s slightly detuned from each other. It might have been a string sound.

[@AudioPilz]

Good to know, thanks for posting!

[@ExperimentIV]

lmao, if anyone in the toronto area gets the urge to buy one of these after the video, i’ve got one with 4 ROM cards i’m looking to trade or sell. idk where it came from, but i’d rather have the money to buy cables and crud

[@DaneXbsinthe]

No thanks!

[@biggnomo825]

@@DaneXbsinthe Omg😂

[@AudioPilz]

Hook it up to a Marshall stack ;)

[@ExperimentIV]

@@DaneXbsinthe understandable have a nice day

[@ExperimentIV]

@@AudioPilz if i could afford a marshall stack or had access to one you know i would

[@Deadbeatradio]

I had one of these recently. It worked for 10 mins and never came back on. This makes me wanna get another. Nice werk!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! Yeah, they're still cheap

[@dfreeman120]

The only thing that matters with these synth modules is whether you can write a song with it AND get recorded and released on somebody’s album.

[@AudioPilz]

People still release albums?;)

[@dfreeman120]

@@AudioPilz not too much vinyl unless it’s underground dance music for clubs but a long time ago there were albums

[@morphoice]

Entire albums were produced with that thing. I still love my U-220 to this day... Look at Ten Sharp - Under The Waterline for example. Their top hit "You" was an international banger for weeks and it's all the U-110/220 piano and drums

[@NURREDIN]

I still have my U-20. It's really not a "synthesizer" .It's a digital sample playback keyboard.You can add ROM cards for many different types of sounds.

[@AudioPilz]

True that!

[@KattKirsch]

Five minutes in I swear you were about to play It's Grim Up North and I got a little unreasonably excited

[@AudioPilz]

Justified Ancients of MuMu!!!

[@sebastiennesp1978]

Hilarious! There's NOTHING wrong with this old gear. I've still got one of my three Akai S950 samplers I purchased new (could have put a deposit on a house!) Even stuff like the horrid looking Yamaha TQ5, gruesome as it was, provided sounds for several records I made in the '90s. LIMITATIONS are GOOD, gets those creative Juices flowing. Oooh, I've just created some of my own...

[@AudioPilz]

C'mon, S950 is a total classic! Great converters!

[@thefoxfamily341]

My favorite rompler is my orbit 9090.. I never give him away ❤️ Wie immer nices video.. Fan gibt Daumen hoch!

[@AudioPilz]

Besten Dank!

[@Musikkeller-Innsider]

The names of these genres are even better than the already brilliant music!

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you!

[@unclemick-synths]

I so deeply regret getting the unexciting Proteus/1 instead of a U110 or U220. That taught me to keep saving for what I really want and never to blow my savings by settling for less.

[@AudioPilz]

C'mon, the first Proteus weren't so bad but true, always get the thing you really want as long as you can afford it

[@unclemick-synths]

@@AudioPilz Because I save to buy music gear rather than using credit, that's probably why it stung so much - I'd blown my savings 😭😭😭. That meant the chance to get a U220 had gone whereas just a few months patience would have been rewarded by those exciting sounds that the U220 had but the Proteus/1 lacked. Lesson learnt!!! - even just a couple of months ago I was tempted to compromise but I held out. Maybe that's the real value of the Proteus/1 to me and I should think more kindly of it 😀

[@phillindablank]

Well I love the MPC 500, but everyone seems to hate it. So if you can do an episode on this little brother of a sampler I would be grateful :)

[@AudioPilz]

Great idea! I'm searching for an excuse to get one anyway;)

[@TheSnowLeopard]

Hoping that your video with "boring" in the title goes viral. A bold strategy!

[@AudioPilz]

A lot of bored people around ;)

[@yopdiesel80]

QY-10, when?!

[@AudioPilz]

7 days ;)

[@rjbush7955]

Ooo yes please. I got one of them and never figured it out. It’s long dead now. Internal battery is flat and I simply can’t be arsed to learn to solder a new one in.

[@odinmp5]

back in the day i wanted one... hope the video is kind of : " be careful what you wish for"

[@fisk0]

I love the drum kit, bass and lofi string sound of the QY-10. Few of the other sounds are usable, but those few really hit that mid to late 80s sweet spot for me, sounds like something you'd hear in My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, pre-metal Ministry or other Wax Trax! acts of that era.

[@mrudo8663]

@@AudioPilz yes... Battery power nightmare with an display from bezelbub and classic Yamaha aws SAMPELS of hell

[@OceanTemple]

thanks for this :) were the music examples all live? if so any tips on how you managed to output multiple synth voices simultaneously?!

[@AudioPilz]

The first two jams, yes. It's got 6 parts but you have to take a deep dive in the menu structure to make use of that

[@OceanTemple]

@@AudioPilzthanks! yeah have finally been getting my head round how multi works on this era of synths. pretty mind blowing once you realise the potential it has!

[@PWMaarten]

Those damn choir sounds get me, always.

[@AudioPilz]

It's like an addiction, I know

[@rxorx9739]

@@AudioPilz Sadly I sold my U-110, but I have the "synthesizer" card. Will never sell ;) (i still can use it in my wasty mv-30)

[@rxorx9739]

Btw choir is rich . 70s italian horror taste

[@thedoublek4816]

Damn right, those 90s rompler choirs have something special in them that I love and which modern, HQ multisapled ones cannot offer, not even in the slightest. But maybe it's just 90s Techno and Hard Trance which makes me love those sounds. BTW, which rompler delivers the best choirs in your opinion (not necessarily best quality, but rather just hitting that sweet spot)? Roland JV, E-MU Proteus, Quasimidi oder something else?

[@fisk0]

@@thedoublek4816 the proteus line has some good ones, especially on the Virtuoso 2000 module which is all crunchy orchestral sounds. I'd also say the Kawai K1 and K4.

[@fredconte]

Paolo for President! :) Nice video as usual, mate!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! Paolo is king (for a lifetime)

[@inthefade]

Wow "Hauntology". The Continental PoMo philosophy gloves are off! I always dig those PCM bells from this era.

[@AudioPilz]

Still more fun than Kant ;)

[@vroenis]

Vaporware for a jam! Pilz really is ticking all the boxes in the best possible way! I was just about to drop a comment that I swear I saw these in racks in the mid 90’s as a teen just to fill space & then you wrapped up the video saying the same thing 😆 there was a movement in the 90’s where people just ate up those Roland & Emu racks & now in the age of infinite plugins, I kind of miss it altho our collective wallets don’t!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! Well, it's hard to build a relationship to a plugin (although possible;)

[@qjames0077]

4:20 is a slick beat Made that synth speak tongues

[@AudioPilz]

No proto dubstep without 4:20 ;)

[@droetkering]

That glass of water. Over there on the left in the bookcase. How many videos is that glass there already?! Despite that, I enjoy your videos every time! ❤️

[@AudioPilz]

I take a fresh glass for every shoot and actually drink it. Shouting into a camera makes me thirsty ;) Thanks!

[@soundslikean808]

Oh man, a music youtuber correctly using the term hauntology. Are there any other music production youtubers who read theory?

[@AudioPilz]

Had my share of PoMo discussions ;)

[@soundslikean808]

@@AudioPilz Have you read Babbling Corpse by Grafton Tanner? I feel like he’s got the definitive take on *name of genre redacted*

[@DaraM73]

You owned that track, wow. Roland 1988 should hire you as a brand ambassador for ‘89!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! 1989 is gonna be a great year!

[@DerAykac]

Of course there is a Never gonna give you up Vaporwave version.

[@AudioPilz]

Is there something like rule 34 for memes?

[@DerAykac]

@@AudioPilz one coulds simply use it on one. But i can hear the demonitazion arriving from afar

[@5imian]

This track you made is literally the best I've ever heard one of these sound.

[@AudioPilz]

Happy to hear that, thank you!

[@fakshen1973]

It's the sound of every lounge band from 1988-1995... and every direct to VHS movie from that same time period. Some things improve with age and nostalgia... the U110 still has the dead chicken left over summer in a car's trunk kind of scent even after all these years... if sound was a smell.

[@AudioPilz]

...and now for the weather ;)

[@channelite]

This video makes me thankful that Korg put out the iM1 app with all the cards for like $30. I sometimes like those rompler sounds and having them on my ipad is so much more convenient then having racks of old gear.

[@AudioPilz]

The iM1 app is really legit

[@tomblaze2]

I could probably make some of those nostalgic sounds work with some dabbling of external fx

[@AudioPilz]

That's the way to go!

[@Ink_my_WOOMY]

Roland made a "Computer Music" version of the U110 called the CM-32P, featuring no displays, no buttons, one card slot, and one volume knob packaged in a beige box. The CM-32P was made to work in tandem with the CM-32L (Computer Music version of the MT-32). Later, Roland combined both synths into one and called it the CM-64. I've only seen one CM-32P for sale and it goes for double the price of the U-110 in FB Marketplace. (I assume some poor bloke bought it, Thinking it was a CM-32L) I Guess Roland was supporting the PC Master Race in the late 80s and early 90s

[@AudioPilz]

I wasn't aware of that one! Good to know!

[@LittleRichard1988]

I was going to buy a U-110 in addition to my U-220 but instead I found a CM-32P and 32L as part of a job lot and went for it ( £200 per module which wasn't that bad ). Even though there are no buttons I can still go through the 128 patches on each module by using the numeric keypad on my Evolution MK-149 midi controllar. The CM modules were at the time a smaller and cheaper way for smaller studios or home producers to at least have decent pianos, guitars, basses, strings and saxophones in a cheaper and smaller package.

[@FLH3official]

I remember this piece of gear: a guy with whom I made music with in the 80s bought this thing and made demos with. He was a singer, with a guitar!!!!, and wanted to have "real instruments" instead of my marvelous handcrafted synth patches and creatively programed samples. You know, the kind of guy who likes latin alternativ music and real free jazz with real intruments, not "music-made-by-unhearted-machines". Well, what a piece of boring sh...t!

[@AudioPilz]

...until you get out the stompboxes ;)

[@FLH3official]

@@AudioPilz That's definetively true, and that's what you did with talent, but we're in the 80s, the only pedal I had was a yellow Boss disto and the singing guitar guy never allowed me to send his crappy U110 in it. Remember, he wanted "real" bongos and "real" brass from it... Since I've never had any interaction with a real human without, at least, a MIDI plug in his/her/its back, regarding music production.

[@kevinsturges6957]

That sounds really good. Excellent demo.

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you!

[@Bishka100]

First off...WHO has rack space to spare!! Second: how about a review of the Alesis Airsynth and AirFX?

[@AudioPilz]

Maybe buy another rack? Airsynth is on top of my list!

[@dinogoldie9716]

Man! This is giving me major early 90s school days nostalgia. I'm fairly certain I did my GCSE music compositions with a Roland U110 - though it may have been a U220. Did the U110 have that very distinctive rock/distorted electric guitar patch? Did extra ROMs include patches such as "Macho, nails (and) Tabla?" Thanks for this blast from the past.

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! The guitars are indeed not so bad

[@dinogoldie9716]

​@@AudioPilz According to this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZzElJloibB0h7M it may have been a U220 because THAT guitar sound was what I remember most. It was definitely one of the Roalnd modules, a Yamaha Clavinova and an Atari ST for sequencing.

[@unclemick-synths]

@@dinogoldie9716 yep that guitar is just one of the great sounds of the U220 that I missed out on by buying the POS Proteus/1.

[@THEREALDATALORD]

We just need to mod these old rolands to have better firmware and take custom roms

[@AudioPilz]

I talked to a guy who does this for the R8m

[@fisk0]

Seems like people figured out how to make custom ROMs for the E-Mu Proteus line at least.

[@socialjay3871]

Nice work! Awesome video as always! Buuut.... better Gear Arturia MicroFreak with v.3 Firmware, when? The Noise Engineering oscillators and Unison Mode just took this synth from "that's interesting" to "I can't live without it"

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! I'll take a look at the MicroFreak

[@TheAstroKid]

The U-110 sound cards are ridiculous expensive on the internet, like the R8 Rom cards and yes this module is boring too lol!

[@AudioPilz]

Yeah, those prices tend to be crazy

[@Roboprogs]

We had one of these in the e-music lab/studio in uni back in 89. Loved it, after only having a basic mono analog synth the first time I took the class a year and a half earlier. Yeah, I’d get more mileage out of a soundfont player on an iPad now, but not then

[@AudioPilz]

Yeah, back then it opened up so many possibilities

[@0b11000100]

You are a genre naming machine!

[@AudioPilz]

Maybe the one thing I'm really good at ;)

[@uxartmusicvideo-andphotogr2043]

Have you ever used and seen one of akais bad samplers "mpx" series what don't sinc in midi correctly and have bad latency?

[@AudioPilz]

Yeah, these are a total nightmare! On my list! Thanks for the suggestion!

[@ObscureModules]

for all of the people who are shit talking the U110, listen to the album Hobbits and Spaceships by Bjorn Lynne and Seppo Hurme. It's available on YT The track Sword of the Past is U20 with some sampled drums that have external effects. Same with Space Train, that definitely has more of these sounds.

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks for posting, I'll take a listen