Michael Jackson's Thriller Bass - Arturia Arp2600 + Minimoog Soundcheck

This is a personal, just-for-fun soundcheck where I've been optimizing and reconstructing sounds with the guidance of the videos by Anthony Marinelli @anthonymarinellimusic :-)
It was a Roland Jupiter-8 - 100% - Anthony Marinelli is wrong. Maybe he remembered the Starlight Demo Session or something. It is really strange he does ignore any advice.
Anthony showed turning Filter Keyboard Tracking Off. This is a wrong move on the sound too.
I'm genuinely impressed by how closely I've managed to replicate the sound, but there are some notable differences. I've been working on getting close using Anthony's patch for the Arturia Arp2600, though I've made a few modifications. When I compare it to the original bassline, here are some distinctions I've noticed:
The attack: The original thriller sound has a much faster and direct attack on the bass.
EQ: It sounds as though the original was run through a guitar speaker or a specialized guitar preamp, giving it a unique quality.
There seems to be a kind of velocity effect, especially noticeable on the higher notes, which have significantly more brilliance.
In the bridge section, it feels like there's some aftertouch applied, creating a vibrato effect on the longer notes.
I truly hope you enjoy listening to it! But now I know - these are not the instruments that where used in the Thriller Session. Thank you, ‪@nef.spring‬
#thriller40 #michaeljackson #arp2600 #minimoog #bass #synthbass ‪@ArturiaOfficial‬

[@Acostavre]

Wuao increíble muchas gracias

[@nef.spring]

Hi, I'd like to inform you that the Thriller bass was programmed on a Roland Jupiter-8. I've gotten some documents from the original recording session that label it as such... If you program the Jupiter-8 with similar parameters as the ARP, you'll get a significantly closer sound; just make sure the voicing setting is set to "Unison" as that's what gives the bass sound its heavy, weighty sound. Make sure that on the Jupiter, you also turn on keyboard follow/tracking; that's what gives the higher notes more sparkle! At the end of the song in the rap section, the Jupiter plays a C# in octaves, which is not achievable on an ARP or Moog. Try it out and let me know what you think! Your recreation is VERY close, by the way. Excellent work!

[@nef.spring]

Also in the chorus, that Duck Lead Synth sound is also a Jupiter, not a Moog.

[@danieljoesch]

Your points are well taken and seem logical from various perspectives. Initially, I contemplated the idea that the octaves were produced using two separate recordings-one for the lower and one for the higher C#-although this approach seemed impractical and left me somewhat perplexed. Moreover, I have a great admiration for Anthony Marinelli, but it's noticeable that he couldn't replicate the sound precisely as it was in the original recordings. This was particularly surprising to me since he was physically present during the original session. Currently, I've managed to achieve a bass sound that is more akin to what's in the video, yet I still notice several distinct elements in the original recordings that simply cannot be reproduced with the ARP2600. The point you made about the Minimoog resonates with me as well, especially the absence of higher harmonics that I'm unable to extract from the two VCOs of the Minimoog, and these cannot be compensated for with EQ. Therefore, I'm inclined to experiment with the JUP8 emulation. ;) Do you have any insights into why Anthony might be offering a different narrative? Additionally, where did you acquire such detailed documentation, if not from the official keyboard programmer of the Thriller album?

[@danieljoesch]

There is one thing I have to add as an additional point. The ARP2600 has a very bad "unfast" /"unsharp" attack. And you cannot fix it with a transient shaper or a tranformer plugin.@@nef.spring

[@nef.spring]

@@danieljoeschHi Daniel, I don’t know exactly why Anthony continues to push the narrative that the bass sound was the ARP-2600; I’ve reached out to him numerous times with friends and given him the documentation, and he’s only left me on ‘seen’. I don’t believe there is any mal-intent, although I’ve been ignored numerous times now. I simply think it’s just misremembered, as it’s been almost 42 years now since the album was worked on. The documentation I’m referring to comes from a Mix-Master Track Sheet by Bruce Swedien during the recording session; he published it in a very old synth magazine that has not yet found its place on the internet publicly. The track sheet was pulled and released in light of the SACD 5.1 mixes that were going to come out around 2001, but MJ would not green light this release. Unfortunately, the FBI raids on Neverland Ranch would cause this entire project to be shut down and put away, although the entire album had been finished by then.

[@nef.spring]

I must also add that Anthony is correct about most of the tracks. The organ IS Synclavier, and the theremin is ARP. Other than that and the ‘Shooting Star’, almost nothing else is ARP on that song. The only thing on ‘Thriller’ that is a Minimoog is the Bass Sweep in the bridge (the one that literally resembles the THX sound). Other than that, nothing on that track is Moog.

[@nef.spring]

Hi, thank you so much for the mention! I'd love to see you make a new video sometime in the future using the Jupiter 8s instead! Thank you for your open mindedness regarding this situation; a lot of people never believe me when I tell them this, but the facts all lie within logic and the EARS!

[@danieljoesch]

Hey @nef.spring I am currently having the same experience. Whenever I tell someone about the Jupiter 8 and even show them the comparison to the original, they still doubt it. Even though the sound is almost 1:1 compared to the original, unlike the Minimoog or ARP2600, without needing to add effects. I don't understand it; some even still believe in the Minimoog story...

[@nef.spring]

@@danieljoesch Some people suffer from derangement LOL

[@PutItAway101]

@@nef.spring So you think Marinelli, who was there, is deranged? Bold strategy, Cotton! Have you two funboys taken into account that his 2600 was a Tonus model with the more Moog-like filters, could explain why so many people think it IS a moog? Seriously dude, what is this "documentation" you have that makes you think is proof it was a Jupiter? Something scribbled on a piece of paper at one session about a track that might have been erased and replaced who knows how many times before they ended up with the final track?