How To Play Songs On Modular Synths Live

[@geoffreypiltz271]

"and, of course, a Furby" - couldn't do without one!

[@olik136]

there is a combination of 3 things setting this channel apart from all the other electronic/music/synth channels on youtube 1) the technical ingenuity 2) no pretentious BS 3) the music is actually good :)

[@ShouriSeifuku]

4) No annoying top view of an Ikea desk with a little cactus and sticker. Sam is the real deal.

[@LordHando]

The music is....aiiight.

[@EaglePicking]

You forgot one major factor: the host has exactly the right personality and freakyness and brings it all with a thick cool British accent (Manchester? I dunno I'm from Belgium). He's just so genuine :-)

[@astronichols1900]

5) No computer

[@philosoraptor777]

@@astronichols1900 shut up, mom

[@peter.stimpel]

In my experience it was never so hard to figure a certain patch / melody / set / song out, but to repeat it. So, full respect if you play a song live twice in a row, and it sounds like the same song ... and at the same time I love those little differences between two live plays of the same song so much during live concerts ...

[@daviddosne2031]

Imaginez que son esprit est comme un deck avec des pattern qu'il a lui-même créé.....il ne fait que répéter ses gammes dans la tête.... Cordialement 🙏 Dj Masta TNT prod.

[@JimmyHagerstrom]

That is the thing with analogue synths, isnt it? It’s a rather ”dead” instrument in itself, static kinda. Right? It needs a humans imperfectness to awaken it to life. I wish Sam will do a even more detailed video like this but more broken down. It’s my biggest dream in life right now to learn to navigate the tools good enough to do the ”live band thing”. Atm i can get a synced loop going with drums, bass, chord/arpeggio and play lead/sing over. But a loop is not a song :-p. I think i need more gear 😄. For real. I have a modular with a rd-6 and a keystep 37. I would probably need a beatstep pro at least, huh? They are super cheap now.

[@danielmendes5682]

those type of videos providing simple yet insightful commentary about your instruments are always the best! also cant wait for the polyphonic module

[@Triplechorus2]

12:00 „… We've come too far To give up who we are So let's raise the bar And our cups to the stars!“ 😂 Cool Video - thanks for the insight. Greetings from Germany!🇩🇪🤝

[@energylab227]

When Sam says “messed that up” and I’m here hoping one day I could be that good.

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

It's a whole other skill to do live synthesizer song, respect to you brother.

[@TheOrphicCreative]

This reminds me a lot of the sort of complicated nonsense I had to figure out as part of an electronic duo. My partner was the vocalist but didnt play any instruments, so I had to figure out how to run 10+ tracks simultaneously using a combination of Ableton and live playing, while also mixing vocals and effects at the same time. Trying to remember all the cue points, settings, effects changes etc. in real time for a whole set, while also looking like I was having fun on stage was quite the logistical challenge! Oh, and also setting up and packing down suitcases full of gear and cables, often in a dark corner of the atage while other acts were performing 😂

[@padders1068]

Sam! What a brilliant explanation of how you play live. You are a humble and modest guy, which is so cool when you are so talented, but not at all arrogant or up your own arse! Keep up the good work mate and thanks for sharing! 🙂❤

[@simonbartlett5]

All those movements are exactly what makes the music. You’re doing it

[@DankePlace]

The gear you own, respectively is how you should use it. Thanks for being one of those guys who deservingly owns and knows what they're talking about, it makes it a pleasure to watch an listen to. The bonus is, you car fits your gear, just, like it was purposely built for!!!!

[@bontempo1271]

That's just awesome. You're getting better and better. Love the song. The Furby in the modular is awesome too

[@EntropicEcho]

Really cool insight in your musical process. Would love to see more of that!

[@matthewseymour8972]

Great to hear more about your approach. Your music has a really consistent and unique sound, and this all makes a lot of sense.

[@RichardHartness]

You guys remember that song Sam recorded a year or so ago, he screwed up and yelled behind the mike and then kept going? And we all thought it was magic! I wouldn't want those interactions to be forced, but I wouldn't mind seeing more of that either. It makes the experience feel a bit more real and natural, like you're there. Keep making awesome work. I really love this channel.

[@alexandremargat2350]

Yes. I was really hoping for such a video one day. Thanks Sam!

[@MattPerrin]

This was absolutely solid gold advice. Really appreciate it, can't wait to try some of these ideas as I fumble around with my gear.

[@CausticCatastrophe]

love these breakdowns. its really good to simplify things. Guitars "only have one preset", look at how much variety you can get from that. Nothin wrong with experimental modular ambient jams, but i think a lot of us could remember that a whole heck of a lot can be done with a lot less, and its much more manageable and coherent (if thats what you want!!!). a poly module... be still my heart.

[@klassisch3039]

Wow! Sam I have mad respect for your skills!!!

[@DigitalStains]

Quality video! I can never get enough of these type of videos, love how open you are about everything. Great stuff Sam!

[@NBC_7]

Good quality live modular jams can be quite difficult to achieve, especially without lots and lots of preparation and practice. Cool to see a little of your live jam process!

[@zetaconvex1987]

I like seeing the furby activate.

[@Omarshmallow]

Love to see your creative process. Hope you do more videos like this!

[@SiEffen]

Really interesting to see how you do this live! Nice one Sam

[@bricelory9534]

I really love hearing about your thought process about how you perform - it's a really different world of thinking about music than I am used to - really love it!

[@23Hashshashin]

Thanks for the overview of your rig. I've really been digging what you get out of it. Super sweet to get the lowdown on it

[@EdEditz]

Very cool to get to see what goes into a performance like that!

[@PWMaarten]

The MS-10 was the first real synth I heard as well. It was my friends and I never forget the feeling it gave me when hearing the PWM. My friend past away, sadly. He gave the MS-10 to me, which I modified. The schematics of my mods are on the LMNC forum.

[@grekygrek]

Night or day is such a banger brother.

[@autumnbeds]

I've left at least a dozen similar comments, you're a mad genius and i love your for it.

[@jcvb1393]

Thank you for the insights, I really enjoy learning about the thinking behind creative work

[@RehenNodrog]

Like many others I found both the original performance and this breakdown enormously helpful. I'm trying to put together some live songs via modular myself, and it is NOT intuitive or easy, at first. I don't see a lot of folks doing things other than EDM and ambient/experimental with modular, but you're showing us what's possible.

[@althejazzman]

Hats off to you Sam for being able to remember this. I can write and learn complicated music on a few different instruments, but I always get really stressed trying to remember button presses and patch changes on synths when playing live.

[@martink9785]

I fully agree, you build up layers and layers then it’s very difficult to suddenly undo them to move on. I’ve spent years working on my methods and feel like I’m as far away from perfection as I have ever been.

[@soulslip]

It helps immensely if you have your own side-car mixer... you can build and fade and mute ans eq on the fly. Get your sequences and layers of loops built up.... if each has their own mix channel, you can just fade parts or instruments out... helps with elaborate beat parts for example... i love building up drums with the individual parts... like starting with the hi hats then slowly build in the kick and toms etc... works great for IDM

[@OldGothAndy]

You have an amazing brain for this and I'm in awe.

[@francisfortin7913]

Awesome Video Sam! It would be awesome too if you could do a complete breakdown of your modular synth and explain each modules, their function, the reason why their there and how you like to patch them. keep up the good work!

[@curtishoffmann6956]

Love the "behind the scenes" element of this video. Hope the show was good, Sam!

[@cyberpholk]

i really loved this video! I'd love to see more bits where you just go over little techniques and how you go through flicking switches and such mid song. I'm new to synth and am building up my own kosmo format rig so all the examples are super helpful to me :)

[@wolkensaft]

Thanks for the insights. You are a brilliant one-man band. Ok, one man and a Furby.

[@biscuitcookie-t4i]

Bloody hell, I'm love with him again.🤦‍♀️ I can't help thinking about you. Every time I come to see it, the thumbnail pose is the same.🤦🏼 I do this gesture in a good way. And you? I don't know. lol. You’re on fleek! 😘

[@idj20]

I do love your "signature" snare drum and I'm not even a rhythm percussion type person.

[@mikymonky4497]

the decor is so beautiful, I love it, and no, it's not ironic.

[@jesseanderson3835]

Love the breakdown. I use my squarp pyramid sequencer (basically a keystep without a proper keyboard, think modern Roland MC-50) in the same manner connected to multiple synths and a few drum machines to build and remove parts in real time (midi) while also being able to solo over top for one man jams. Had to add second mixer just for that exact reason. Building dynamic loops were great but Im now diving into alternate parts of a song or a bridge which have been the challenge but sequencers these days can get one there with pattern features. Love it, keep the breakdowns coming. 🤘🏼😎

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

Glad you get on with the pyramid! I had a tough time with it. Really wanted to like it! But it scored lower on the button pushes to action than the beatstep 😂. One day the ultimate sequencer will show up! Glad you get on with it tho!!!!

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

But yeah like you say key step isn't great either. Wish it was closer to the beatstep pro just polyphonic. The addition of encoders makes it not as good. Just wish the beatstep pro had a poly channel 😂 oh well.

[@jesseanderson3835]

@@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER Yea, it's unfortunate that the Pyramid takes a few button combos to get things to do what intended but I love the amount of tracks and polyphony it gives. A stand-alone Arturia Sequencer might be answer. Cheers!

[@danniielle]

Great stuff yet again Sam! Love your work! Lovely Jubbly! 😎

[@flekkzo]

Seeing you do this reminds me of an old school astronaut. All those switches and sequences of things that needs to be done. I wonder how kosmo (the irony!) would look reimagined as an Apollo command and service module control panel. Bonus, you’d be sitting down :)

[@Emillionbuxify]

Befaco have a neat crossfadermodule with four sources per side of the crossfader! I use it for slow shanges during performance.

[@Zweibruecker]

Looking forward to see you in London Oslo 22.11.2023. Greetings from Germany :) Flights and Hotel are booked.

[@DetroitMicroSound]

Shop talk is one of favorite things about making electronic music.

[@Colin_Ames]

That was fun to watch. I didn’t understand all the technical terms, but who cares!!

[@digitaIgorilla]

That Furbie's silent scream at the start 😱 Horror

[@GizzyDillespee]

Right at the end, even Sam had to acknowledge, "Furbs was really carrying the weight of this performance." But I'd say those parts were played with machine-like precision. You did great, Furby!

[@MattTester]

I remember you saying quite a while ago that you're a natural guitarist rather than a natural keyboard player, so it's great to see how you make it work. Still looked way too complicated for me because I'm not very musical at all. I Kosmo rocking around adds to the whole atmosphere when you're playing live.

[@heckseven]

this is awesome to see how you do it. i guess i'm not the only one with funky hacks for making sequencing work the way i want. switching songs is always, i think, the hardest thing for me to do as i have to memorize sort of a weird dance of switching settings and queuing up patterns. for the sequences where there isn't much to do, i tend to find things to mess with like filters, decays, or even whacking the doorstopper module i made (modulates pitch on drum samples)

[@neilrhodes4750]

Sliding the Roller/looper on the BSP creates some wicked endings too... Nice one..

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

yes. i have found it somewhat too unreliable for my liking, requires better timing than i have, i use the roller to roll the drums, not to loop. in the live one for instance i forgot to mention in vid i use it to roll the kick drum before the synth lines

[@richielong8822]

The tone a 4:46 sounds like the tone used in the old NES game, Wizards and Warriors 2 (or Ironsword, I can’t remember).

[@jamiemoll796]

Son watching you is as impressive as watching Pete Townsend actually moving around all the chords to each jack when synthesizers were overwhelming.

[@Qwerty543-q3d]

Woosh it went, but it's my favourite thing to not understand. Thanks for sharing your world it makes us happy.

[@blackmoofou6385]

Great Video Sam it's an absolutely banging riff you could really drag it out loads of peaks and troughs. Really interesting seeing how you work. 😊

[@originalsynth]

Nice one, great to see your live workflow broken down. Also, there's now a Cirklon 2 which might have what you're looking for re: live sequencing, although I'm looking forward to the Keystep Pro surgery, and you could buy 6 or 7 Keytep Pros for the same price! Cheers 😀

[@Whistler-007]

For now, the Cirklon 2 behaves exactly the same way as the original. There are a couple of hardware differences. But feature & behaviour is the same... for now.

[@Sitsch2k]

You are amazing!!! Greetz from Germany

[@4L3xN3t]

yyou can like or dislike the result, but this is what "a pipe that connect the brain to the hands pushing out music" looks like :)

[@chicken_flavoured_bacon3230]

as always, good stuff all the way.. cheers man, that was a lot of good ideas, thanks

[@TamDNB]

You're a legend, Sam

[@DewtehDew]

Awesome, thanks for the insight Sam!

[@tomc7299]

Awesome tutorial thanks 4 sharing loved it ❤

[@MarcoPolux]

Cool!!! hey man @09:55 Maybe I get wrong what you want to accomplish, but if I did, of course the BeatStepPro, you hit record and will not record until the second it receives the notes to record.... so you can have it record enabled and standing by wating until you start keying.....

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

Yes but it won't be at start of sequence making stop and starts and sequences difficult to flow

[@MarcoPolux]

@@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER got it. I have a **WorkAround** for that. The BeatStepPro "BSP" in the Drum sequencer has 16 pads. I use one of them pads as a Metronome that only sounds on the last page or a cooler arangement type little sequence that marks jsut as a metronome, but sounds as an arrangement. (I choose a cool sound from a mini Volca or a Pocket Operator and connect it to the BSP using the GATE out of it) (as you know, there are 4 pages of 16 steps each...) and at page 1, Teh Sound I chose, it kicks only the first downBeat, the second page, it kicks first and second beat, third the first 3 beats, and the fourth page, full metronome and the last 2 beats, counting even the 8ths and 16th notes..... pretty much as a ratchet, ...in the down and up beat (so I can be more precise, because I don't always preferr to quantize) That helps me catch up with the sequence and as soon as I record my new sequence, I just go to the Drum sequencer, to the "metronome" pad and mute it.... 'til the next time I need it. And people never listened to a metronome, rather, a "cool" arrangement. (no use for the integrated metronome, I don't like it much) Hope it helps 🤓👍

[@jerrybot3000]

I love it! Wild setup!

[@EdwardUbiera]

I hope you make it to NYC at some point, would love to see you perform

[@stephaneparage2530]

Did you thought about a robotic microphone stand ...? One that can place the mike automatically where you want it to be... One or two different placement near the modular , and another near the MS10 so you can sing while playing it ...;) I guess you did more difficult and silly projects ;) ... Love your content ! :)

[@director2bob]

this dude is brilliant.

[@austinsellers8721]

The mic was the first thing i thought about when i decided i wanted to do live performances. I had this old (i wanna say Polish) gas mask and found a box of rotary phones. and one day goofing around i put it on and acted like the phone was a wireless cellular phone and noticed the canister piece was about the same size. I wish i could upload a picture.

[@pitapitabread]

well done! but for a few months i've been hoping that you would add a gameboy module somewhere near mr. firby

[@AndyKing1963]

The MS10 - my first synth bought from the Synthesizer Centre in London

[@goldenwr6254]

i will pay for a concert with this guy this is soo nice

[@solunasunrise]

and then turning them into reflexes in your muscle memory... welcome to the world of a guitarist

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

I am a guitarist. Been a guitarist for twice as long as I've been a synthesist

[@filipvanek6272]

@@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER Love the term "synthesist"

[@equalequalslopezcartoons3702]

Lettts fuckkkkin goooooo I just started this vid and I'm hyped

[@TheReddkatt]

this guy is a feckin' genius

[@themiltongroupstudios7943]

Good Job as always Bro

[@AnalogDude_]

the AT27C256 / AT27C512 are cool ic's, accept to write at some address you need to change the voltage (vpp) to 13.5V. recommended to check these out. very easy to make multi track sequencers, romplers (samplers) using CD4040 to count and CD4520 to extent to 15/16 bit.

[@ridgerider7402]

Lovely stuff mate 🙌

[@imark7777777]

0:11 I'm not sure what I'm not supposed to look directly at & warning do not some thing and what's this report search to?

[@dannysparrow]

This is cool as hell.

[@Haos-f2i]

Классный синтезатор,такое звучание я люблю.❤❤❤

[@dbzlouis]

Also I think sam that having "not everything into preset" makes it more enjoyable for the audience. Having someone just pressing "next pattern" on a piece of equipment is just not as fun for a live performance... Kosmo format is great for that too

[@NegativeRail]

I’d love to see how you did the Vivaldi. Did you approach it similar or way differently than how Wendy Carlos did switched on Bach?

[@milan-murratti]

Fantastic, simply great

[@fussyboy2000]

Wow! Could you do a video explaining envelopes and how the various different settings come together to produce the overall sound? I never really got the hang of the envelope command on the BBC Model B - just copying in values from other examples nad genreally scrwing them up by changing the wrong parameter the worng way.

[@DayflightTrok]

Great Video thx. I often try to make a live set with only hardware. But its much harder than to do it with e.g. Live + Push. But Hardware is more sexy and haptic

[@McTroyd]

Interesting you're considering replacing the Circlon for a Keystep Pro. I know in the past you've complained about the tiny keyboard, but I suppose the full-size custom keys you have below would easily sidestep that. Maybe consider adding some "UV" LEDs to the control surface? Looks cool, and maintains readability in the dark. 😁

[@BillyBob-ov5ef]

This guy's brain doesn't work anything like mine... and I love it.

[@TwinCitiesOxygen]

Would love to see where ur at today with the key step pro and/or beat step pro

[@radiosnmore]

gettin some c64 SID vibe from the ms10 i love square wave stoof

[@simonbartlett5]

Do you remember the layman’s Korg. The micro preset. Was my first into to synth. Not sure there’s any still about.

[@sictransitgloriamundi230]

Ein schönes letztes Video, das ich auf KZbin mit PC sehen durfte. Danke.

[@spacetrucker2196]

Electronic Music is all about making your console.

[@Haos-f2i]

Есть идея-жать на клавиши а нота будет из генератора случайных чисел.То есть ритм создаешь ты,а нота будет звучать неизвестная.Глядишь какая нибудь новая мелодия возникнет.Для гармонии числа,то есть ноты могут быть в определенном ряде.

[@CygnusOrb]

Have a brain injury that makes memorizing stuff difficult. So glad to have sequencers i can produce on.

[@nickmarkham3743]

Have you done a tour/overview of Cosmo 2.0 yet? Would love to see that.

[@Hoptronics]

Love it.. man you are a badass.

[@dcallan812]

Late to the party, but better late than never. Great video. 2x👍

[@The_Invisible_Hand_Of_CV]

You went to an island off the south shore of Long Island, NY in the US just to shoot a video?? That is wild. Fire Island is wild AF.

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

Huh??

[@The_Invisible_Hand_Of_CV]

@@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER ​ @ 0:16ish you say you took the synth to Fire Island to record a video. That is wild. I would not have expected an island off the coast of Long Island in NY in the US as a choice for a video. It is a lovely island, Fire Island, so I guess it makes sense. It just seems pretty far away from the UK for a video shoot.

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

@@The_Invisible_Hand_Of_CV ohhh its a film studio down the road from me

[@The_Invisible_Hand_Of_CV]

@@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER LOL I thought that must be heck of a shot you needed if you'd fly across the Atlantic to get it.