Synclavier Q&A and Patch Creation

[@TheZenguitarguy]

I owned 4 Synclaviers including a full 9600 and D2D. I was very lucky to have been part of a great group of amazing people who really used these machines at their highest level. FM synthesis was just a small part of the overall but I appreciate you posting this. My memory of the Synclav is the ease with which complexity and detail came together. The fluidity of the keyboard interface that was doing things with access to as little as 64mg of ram and 32 voices and then later using D2d for tracking. I loved the years I spent working with these machines and am still convinced there is still nothing comparable.

[@100ThingsIDo]

Sometimes there is nothing the same as the old workflow you knew so well. Prices are still not stupid (yet) for a second hand synclavier but I hear you, I'm doing everything in my power to keep my old Fairlight running until I die, there is nothing in sampling like it and I use it today the same way it was used when new :D

[@Meteotrance]

To be honnest i discover the FM quality of the engine with the Arturia version, it was marvelous that thing was a Yamaha DX 7 killer, it's also an additive multi timbral layer synth with an outstanding sampling capability for the time, i Saw this machine in the making of from Akira and discover that also Skywalker sound use it also for sound design, but i know why Trevor Horn and Steven Lipson made that massive sound in the 80's same for the solo album of Sting using that on the single Russian or Dream of the blue turtle , Zappa was the most wierd user and he like this tool so much that he made crazy album with only this .

[@toitoitoy]

Synclavier stuff is always more than welcome!

[@100ThingsIDo]

Thanks, and thanks for the support :D

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

It didn’t just help me to learn more about the Synclavier. It also helped me to learn more about additive synthesis. It is 6 June 2024 as a comment. Tomorrow, I am set to take delivery of an ASM Hydrasynth Explorer. I hope that its FM features will be comprehensive to me after watching videos like this one.

[@uv77mc85]

According to Wolfgang from Kraftwerk the Synclavier pretty much spelt the end of Kraftwerk because it was so complicated that it took them years to learn how to use it in which time no music was being recorded and released. He says he got fed up waiting and left.

[@100ThingsIDo]

I have also heard that! Indeed its a deep world of synthesis ... :D

[@pierrenic.7682]

Never heard that.... Synclavier Is not so Hard To use .... Very playful interface

[@IanWilsons_profile]

Appreciate the Synclavier content, your patches really bring out the unique character of that amazing machine.

[@100ThingsIDo]

Thanks Ian, athought I am finding the Regen very tempting :D

[@neiljvoice1603]

Such a beautiful sounding synth. I would LOVE to own one. All I have is the UVI and Arturia VSTs.

[@100ThingsIDo]

The Arturia still runs many parts of real Syncalvier code, so its very very close to the real thing... maybe eventually what Cameron would of done himself :D

[@SinclairSound]

Been waiting for you to bring this back out, I have the Arturia version and lust over this synth often

[@100ThingsIDo]

Getting all the features for Arturia money (and Cameron's input to the code) is priceless. I would not have the hardware if it was not for the software versions :D

[@sawsquaresinetube]

Thank you for sharing! Sounds wonderful and great demo. I have one of these I have been unable to get running. I completely restored the keybed (feels great!) and cleaned inside and out. I may be listing on Reverb soon for someone who may be able to fix.

[@100ThingsIDo]

Thats really sad! The lack of technical documentation indeed can be a problem keeping these systems running.. Although my friends in Germany and France can do amazing work in getting these systems up and running! :D I would suggest possibly advertising on the facebook Syncalvier for sale user group first!

[@sawsquaresinetube]

@@100ThingsIDo thanks for the note. I sent a private message to your Instagram if you have a moment, much appreciated!

[@dwaynecarroll6098]

Such a beautiful instrument! Wish I could afford one…

[@modyssey22]

Would love it if the ORK could act as a direct controller for the Arturia Synclavier V. It’s just so beautiful to look at.

[@100ThingsIDo]

I guess someone with enough time could create a ORK to Midi interface. I don't think the Arturia can send back infromation though :D

[@squishmallowfan025]

we had one in college and couldn’t believe how clear it could sound…..also pretty sure I recognized a bit of Doctor Who incidental music at 12 minutes in. Full circle indeed!

[@100ThingsIDo]

I think you are the first to mention noticing the Doctor Who reference thrown in :D

[@matthewmoore5934]

I understand now why NED is selling "the knob". :-)

[@100ThingsIDo]

It does make a huge difference when making sounds or editing :D

[@meneerjansen00]

Fascinating synth. Always wondered what exactly it is: sample player or FM synth...

[@100ThingsIDo]

At its heart its a computer... mostly sold as a base system of FM synthesis but you could add sampling, and later direct to hard drive audio recording. As with the Fairlight its from a time where this was very difficult and expensive to do. :D

[@macronencer]

It's amazing to consider how much these cost when they were released! Obviously things have moved on a lot since then, and even I can hear the slight noise in the DACs - and I'm not known for razor ears. But it was revolutionary in its day, for sure. What's the maximum number of voices the system can support, just out of interest?

[@100ThingsIDo]

That aliasing in the DAC's is indeed a little bit of magic in todays world :D I think they got up to 96 FM voices! :O :D

[@macronencer]

@@100ThingsIDo Wow, 96 sounds like plenty. I wonder what that would have cost!

[@TMA-Torsten_M._Abel]

Hello Mike Thanks so much for your new Synclavier video ❤

[@100ThingsIDo]

Hey Torsten, hope you have recoeverd from SuperBooth I honestly will get there one of these years :D

[@JKVisFX]

When trying to hunt down a vintage unit, how do you know what, of the man flavors and variations, you are looking at? I lusted after that system ever since I was a teen back in the early 80s. That, and the original Moog modular are the two synths that I wished I could have had access to. Nowadays, I have a virtual version form Arturia running in my DAW, and a standalone version running on my iPad. As fun as they are, there really is no substitution for the original hardware that these plugins, by virtue of being software, just don't have.

[@danielpirone8028]

Thank you!!!! More on main frame and accessories SVP!!!

[@100ThingsIDo]

I will see what I can do :D

[@timothyhills3194]

Hey and where to get a synclavier today ? And its Sound great 👌👍😎

[@mattkevin]

Question, is the black bar on top of the Synclavier a pitch bend like the CS-80?

[@100ThingsIDo]

Originally I have been told they shipped as a option for the CS-80 Ribon controller. The story (possibly not true) is that Yamaha stoped suppliying the part and after that it was just wood with black felt as an accent. The connector for the ribon controller is still inside it seems.

[@EricAndre615]

I love how the Synclavier just has one very large knob on it.

[@100ThingsIDo]

Indeed, the idea was the keep the User Interface as simple as possible. FM can be a challenge even for experts :D

[@elcasho]

Wow never knew you could hit the same button multiple times to changes things

[@100ThingsIDo]

I know.. sounds great :D

[@kgbinfo]

It sounds a lot like the budget FM synths from Yamaha like the DX27 or DX100.

[@100ThingsIDo]

Its closer to the Yamaha GS1, if I understand the history correctly even though Syncalvier used their own design of FM they had to licence the technology from Yamaha due to it being so close to their initial attempts. :D

[@artprojectsnz]

Fascinating - never really understood the Synclavier - have the Arturia which I love BUT this is so interesting….love to catch up sometime - are you on Oz? (I’m in NZ but work in Sydney a lot)… JPMusic

[@Scodiddly]

I wonder if all those eBay ORKs came from people buying systems for the voice cards to beef up their own system? Sacrilege I know, but it would be cool to gut a keyboard, turn it into a MIDI controller, and use the LEDs for a light show of sorts.

[@karljanus8308]

😂

[@100ThingsIDo]

Possibly! I suspect its more they updgraded to VPK's and better CPU\Voice and sampling hardware :D

[@argoneum]

Now I understand where "The Fires Of Ork" title came from 🙂

[@100ThingsIDo]

I loved the recent re-issue artwork! Looked so great :D

[@annother3350]

Is there any chance you can show what the back panel connectors can do? How could pedals alter the sound etc? I cant find anything on this. Someone needs to show that bit of history!

[@100ThingsIDo]

I'll see what I can do! :D

[@darrelldiaz]

Great video!

[@100ThingsIDo]

Thanks Darrell :D

[@CaseJams]

I’ve been watching the Anthony Marinelli Music channel on the Synclavier (by the way did you realize you spelled it wrong in the title … forgot the “i”) and this video just got recommended. I’m starting to think this synth needs a re-release (I would want a few analog filter options), stereo panning, and some really nice built in effects … ok that’s my wish list, but it would be mostly all digital but the filters and probably wouldn’t need to be too expensive. It is mostly digital and the CPU needed to run it I’m sure is super cheap nowadays.

[@100ThingsIDo]

Thanks, I fixed the title :D .. They just did a new version Synclavier Regen. Its running the original code (which has been updated to run on modern processors) but also has many new features!

[@udiorockmeamadeus]

why would you use a Synclavier 2 and not an Arturia Synclavier V module where you have 12 partials and also why would you want to use a Regen over a Synclavier 2

[@udiorockmeamadeus]

I just got a Mac mini the M4 model that has everybody going well and I just bought into the Arturia Black Friday collection for about $400. I got myself the entire vintage collection $300 which includes the synclavier and korg ms-20 and Arp2600 and a bubch of other stuff.. It may piss you iff that I'm an UDIO master with 175 generated songs. But I'm visiting my childhood dreams of using high end synthesis.. They then offered to me FX 5 and pigments as $50 crossgrades . Is there anything I should know about why people are not using Arturia stuff I guess it's just because they're soft since that they're not hardware yeah they don't offer you a whole lot of access. Also, what kind of MIDI controller would you suggest? i'm staying away from Bluetooth because it offers way too much latency..

[@geevee7823]

Did they ever release Midi for this particular system? Do you have the sampling option as well?

[@100ThingsIDo]

Yes they did, I had the option to add Midi, more voices, guitar interface or even samping when I got mine. The biggest problem was for me the price (and Tax) of getting the system to Melbourne .. which was almost $1000AUD :O :D

[@WARDISWARD]

Why don't you showcase the frame envelope where it crossfades between the different frames of a partial ,

[@100ThingsIDo]

Because the Able B procressor this Synclavier II has does not support Frame Envelopes. It was a later development around the time of the Sampler to Disk option and processor & RAM upgrade :D

[@baddriddimworkshop]

Interesting, was that reverb from the synclav? Have you tried REGEN lately, if you have may i ask for your appreciation compared to an original? i mean soundwise not regarding options... thx

[@pidmjproductions986]

Thanks a lot for that!

[@100ThingsIDo]

Thanks for checking out the clip :D

[@udiorockmeamadeus]

I wonder if some has bothered to replace the mainframe with a softsynth.. The mac mini m4, has 10 teraflops of processing power, thats a third of a Nvidia A10.. It means its fast enough to use AI for content creation, but not fantastic, more entry level. You can run stable diffusion on it.. If you plan to get one, if you need to upgrade it, upgrade ram first, cause I think its in the M4 chip, so unlike older computers you won't find ram sticks. The solid state drive (SSD) is accessible, but someone said its nonstandard interface. But really who needs more than 256GB SSD. Extra external hard drives don't make up for it cause they are further from the CPU. Distance matters. In college my digital electronics professor would ask "how long is a nanosecond? " and then he would measure about a foot, or was it a yard? The best part of the macs is their operating system is designed to be zero latency , that means it will preempt other tasks to let time-dependent task .. Also the CPU can adjust its clock cycle dependent on activity. Craziest thing of these M4 mac minis. They use less power than your LED or florescent lights: 6 to 40 watts, depending on the work load..

[@jeshkam]

3:53 I thought it was my Skype :)

[@100ThingsIDo]

hahahah :D Love it!

[@MPHORROCKS]

Is the massive reverb from the Synclavier?

[@100ThingsIDo]

Nope thats my Lexicon 224 LX :D I tried to tame it down a little but I am such a sucker for the reverb :D

[@ArgumentShow]

The only synth i regret selling

[@100ThingsIDo]

Ohhh nooo .. My Prophet 5 V3.3 is the same for me, expecially as it ended with the person that I sold it too shipping it incorrectly and getting damaged beyond repair :O :D

[@ArgumentShow]

@@100ThingsIDo It went to a good bands studio "The Who"

[@udiorockmeamadeus]

by the way im 54..

[@issiewizzie]

its heavy

[@100ThingsIDo]

It was more the location and trying to get it down without hurting or scratching anything which was the problem :O, The ORK has almost nothing in it so its actually lighter than it looks :D

[@Mikewood-qq6hq]

U call that new one a piece of shit is as good as this one 😂