SYNTH BASS Secrets of the 80s (Part 1)

How do you make synth bass legendary rather than ordinary? This is the first of three videos on that subject, and part of a larger series “Secrets of the 1980s” where I showcase long lost production techniques and how they can turn a vanilla song into a hit record. In this video I explain the first technique, which breaks into two parts. Then I do a demo using my vintage Yamaha TX81Z, throw some chords and drums together in a speedrun, and demonstrate more. Then I do a live performance where I play synth bass live. All 100% dawless and, as per usual. I only use hardware vintage and modern analog synths, and all programming is done into my hardware Squarp Pyramid sequencer.
Instruments and devices used in this video include:
Behringer DeepMind 12
Behringer Pro-1
Behringer RD9
Drawmer DS201
Korg M1R
Lexicon MX200
Roland R8 Mk1
Yamaha TX81Z
00:00 Start
00:06 How do you make perfect pop?
01:27 Martin Rushent’s rule
02:23 Looking at old multitracks
03:42 Listening to an old demo
05:15 Synth Bass Production Technique #1*
06:35 The first reason
08:16 The second reason
11:45 Speedrun
22:15 Demonstration
31:15 Live performance
* #2 and #3 will be in subsequent videos

[@datcha72]

Teenage electronic musician me would have wept tears of happiness learning this in those heady days of 1986

[@DistortThePreamp]

You and me both 😂

[@daveking-sandbox9263]

It’s very simple, it all came down to money. I was a studio musician in the 70s and the 80s. With the advent of keyboard/synthesisers it was then possible for piano players to play the bass part themselves. I was a bass guitarist. I played bass on Donna Summers first world hit “love to love you baby” in 1975 and I witnessed this new trend happening. Piano players would normally get paid $100 for one title and $50 for any additional overdubs that they played. This is when they started overdubbing the bass parts. of course this changed the sound of pop music and as pop music always has to evolve, the listeners got used to it.

[@jimbotron70]

Bass guitarists were not requested anymore with the emergence of synths and synth bass in pop.

[@erik_gerhard]

Love to Love You is such a classic! Thank you for your contribution to the canon of great music, my friend. It's sad that the trend in music seems to be going further and further from the human element. From live musicians in the studio back in the day, to hand-programmed sequences played back, to now when we have the ability to create fully automated songs without any human touch at all. Technology can be a great tool, but it will never replace the sweet imperfections of human timing and sensibility.

[@christopherfarrington9270]

@@erik_gerhard tech has ruined music in the near future you will be going to an ai concert with an empty stage how boring can it get 😁.

[@UrbanGarden-rf5op]

I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy 𝄢𝄆😎😎😎😎𝄇

[@stormstereo]

@@christopherfarrington9270 People going to Hatsune Miku and ABBAtar concerts seem to enjoy them a lot though.

[@PlectrumShorts]

I stumbled across your Rio arpeggio video and this one was suggested at the end of it. Amazing stuff, man! I’ve learned so much just from these two.

[@DannyBaxter7643]

6:36 let me stop here and say, before I hear any more… this is video already legendary! Okay.. back to the video

[@DistortThePreamp]

Incredible comment! Comments like this really make it all worthwhile.

[@myNoiseDotNet]

Wow! You've excellent presentations skills! Making one to see the entire video without a skip, is a real performance in nowadays culture of fast visioning! Congrats! Keep going the good work.

[@DistortThePreamp]

This is very good to hear! A couple of trolls told me that I was speaking too much and they wanted more demo. But I think the explanation is really critical. Thanks for another kind comment :)

[@myNoiseDotNet]

@@DistortThePreamp You have found a tone that I personally find exquisite to listen to. Top notch knowledge, combined with a humble tone. I wonder who hides behind this channel, with such an experience in the field. May I ask?

[@KaleOrton]

Perfect presentation.

[@AdamWellsMusic]

Great video. I’ve listened to West End Girls so many times and that’s exactly what makes it so huge. Thanks for sharing your passion!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh I’m so pleased you like the video! And that’s not all there is to say about the West End Girls bass - there’s another technique used that will be feature in Part #2 :) Realky appreciate your kind words :)

[@rockknezevic2545]

Martin Rushent was a genius. He was ahead of his time, a brilliant producer, a great programmer, one of the first to get their hands on the newly released Linn Drum LM2. Rushent was a key factor in the sound of The Human League “Dare” album. Interesting stuff. Great channel 👌

[@chrisdorsch9754]

Gorgio Moroder, I feel love broke the code. The bass was hipnotic and everything else replied as it answered the question.

[@DistortThePreamp]

I totally agree. Such an amazing track…

[@dfreeman120]

100%

[@davidbachy5627]

He was a game changer for sure!

[@jasonritchie8475]

Excellent shout, but that was most definitely sequenced, or arpeggiated at the very least. There's too many notes in that run to be able to pull that off manually with some degree of dexterity 🤔

[@Diabolik771]

Your videos are great! These subjects are very interesting. The 80's ruled. Keep making them.

[@KaleOrton]

Absolute GOLD.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you so much!

[@giantsparkplug3462]

Those screenshots of Cubase really take me back...

[@DistortThePreamp]

I know, right. I think we were stil using an Atari though at some stage we (upgraded, or possibly downgraded) to a Mac. The Atari obviously had fantastic connectivity. We also used Digital Performer but I forgot to put the screenshot in when I mentioned it. Whoops.

[@Wizz15]

Learned Cubase on an Atari ST (set to German language for some reason, which I didn’t speak), making sysex dumps of patches on my dad’s TG500 and playing around with his DX7. For some reason this all was great fun to me during my elementary school years, nowadays with VSTs etc I just can’t find the same spark as back then. I guess limitations really do spark creativity. That Atari clock was rock solid though, in my memory.

[@tomhargreaves1835]

That’s what I love about the Pet Shop Boys is their innovation. There’s lots of mundane music but the PSB always have an element of surprise in music in not knowing what’s coming next…

[@DistortThePreamp]

If I were to list my top twenty PSB tracks there would be songs as early as 1987 and as late as 2023*. That’s a 36 year span. No other artists has this amount of consistency. Extraordinary. * The Lost Room

[@CALJ154]

Same.

[@consequenciasinimaginaveis6901]

I have been using your tecnic to program a step sequencer on my Elektron model cicles. First, I hit the rhythm and acceleration on the pad, and then I edited the notes. Now it's much easier to create good melodies. Your videos have been incredibly helpful in improving my music.

[@DistortThePreamp]

This is incredibly good to hear! I was actually worried that I didn’t explain the technique well enough :) Thank you so much for watching, and for the comment!

[@edmorey7935]

Great video. I’m abroad on holiday listening to the EDM playing in the bars and can instantly hear the productions that feature played synth bass. They feel alive. Can’t wait to try it out when I get home.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh brilliant! It’s so refreshing when you hear on a track that it was a captured performance. As you say, it ‘feels alive’. That’s a very good way of putting it!

[@mathumphreys]

Been looking forward to this one! Can't wait for the rest of the series.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you so much!

[@BrizzleRocker]

Still the greatest doctor!

[@DistortThePreamp]

100%. Although I did like David Tennant…

[@spencersmith7266]

I first learnt to play on a Roland monophonic synth before progressing to piano. Spending endless hours copying early DM and Yazoo tracks to memory, so have always naturally played synth parts in myself and then applied quantize - just need to produce a big hit now! Thanks - a great video!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Amazing! What was the old monophonic? Just FWIW Vince Clarke is a bit crazy about timings. He's very much on the programming side and used to use CV/gate, then switched to Midi during Erasure, then back to CV/gate to make everything tighter again. But about ten years ago I asked him, if because he was using cv/gate again, he now didn't have to move the waveforms (in Logic), and his response was "you always have to move the waveforms". He's like the opposite of Pet Shop Boys who play it in quite sloppily, don't quantise (or never used to) and then sell millions of records. Really appreciate you watching and commenting :-) Just out of interest, what was the Roland mono?

[@spencersmith7266]

It was a Roland SH-09 which I had in 1982. Yes, I love Vince's 'metronomic' approach and the Pro 1 at that time. Don't Go blew my mind, I was only 10 years old when I started playing and first heard Upstairs at Eric's - I was very lucky to have a synth at that age. My mum worked hard and saved for months, so that I could have one. Great videos - I feel a deep fundamental connection with what you are doing - Hungry Like the Wolf was my arpeggio obsession! It's lovely to know that I'm not the only one who feels this way about that electronic period. Thanks again.

[@dianamiino7391]

Heck this channel is pure gold for me. Really, really thank you ❤

[@DistortThePreamp]

That’s amazing to hear! So pleased you like the videos :) Really appreciate you watching and commenting!

[@dianamiino7391]

@@DistortThePreamp of course I like the videos, and of course I'm subscribed. I was 20 in 1982, played bass guitar in a garage band here in Italy, now I have a small dawless setup of synths, drum machine etc, trying to figure out how to create some sounds of mine, just for fun and personal passion. Really, your video started opening my mind, again thank you so much for this ❤️

[@dianamiino7391]

@@DistortThePreamp ...and yes, I still LOVE the 80's New Wave a lot ❤️❤️❤️

[@zaidyusoff126]

The video is gold! Another one in my must re-watch playlist!!! TQ Sir!

[@rolandmarckwort]

Ive been doing this for years with my Mini and Pro 1 - really makes a difference!!

[@DistortThePreamp]

It really does, right! I was sceptical before I started doing it (again, a few years ago). My two misconceptions were (1) I wouldn’t be able to keep time well enough, and (2) if I could keep time it wouldn’t sound any different. Both were not true - I could easily keep perfect time and yet it still made a difference.

[@douglasfrazier6455]

I met Tom baker in person back in the 90s in cocoon we sat side by side on a bus I knew who he was I told him I was a fan of the show and always looked at it when it was was on I love synth music and make my own will release soon Douglas

[@doodoogtube]

Him “Not” fixing those Pads he played too early is also part of the “Feel” that he’s talking about which gives tracks that “Special Something”. I’m pretty sure he knows that but is another subject for another day. Awesome video so far!🫡🔥🔥🔥

[@DistortThePreamp]

Haha - you’re of course 100% correct. In reality I would never sequence pads. I would just track them live into the daw. And most pads actually need to be played slightly early ;) Aweome comment!

[@CAMMYSINCLAIR]

One of if not the best such video I've ever seen, what a groove!

[@DistortThePreamp]

That’s very kind! Thank you so much! Really, really appreciate you watching, and this comment :)

[@happyjessus]

Fun and educational. Looking forward to the next one!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! That is very kind, and awesome to hear

[@nightly522]

absolutely fantastic!

[@DistortThePreamp]

That’s very kind! So glad you enjoyed it! Really appreciate you watching, and the comment :)

[@robaire.b]

Have really enjoyed all the videos I’ve watched on this channel so far. Excellent presentation, info and insights

[@markusfuller]

nicely taught and I love the 80s groove, looking forward to the next part. subscribed.

[@DistortThePreamp]

That is sooo awesome. I really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment!

[@GODZINACOMA101]

Excellent content, very much appreciated 👌

[@rockerwill777]

Literally 3 seconds after i thought "...but I'm not very good on the keyboard" you said "...but what if you're not a very good keyboard player". New subscriber, here 👌👌👌

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh I’m so pleased! There’s a real myth that you have to be a maestro to do this stuff and you really don’t :) Thanks for the awesome comment!

[@shey87]

Mate, your videos are amazing! Keep doing great work! I'm happy to join your channel to learn from you.

[@flycrashrepairrepeat6225]

Thanks for uploading this.. It makes a lot of sense, and really well explained. 👍🏻

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! That’s very kind, and very much appreciated!

[@felippeboulderdash8453]

Love it when you are talking about velocity in bass and background track comes with slaps.

[@felippeboulderdash8453]

Thank you soo much for this video. I learned a lot and got inspired too! 👍👍👍

[@nkronert]

The man has a portrait photo of Tom Baker on his synth setup 😎

[@xj900man]

Well this video did travel back in time.

[@LloydMajor]

Thank you for the class!

[@DistortThePreamp]

🙂

[@kaboozle]

This is a great video! Not only applicable to 80ies synth pop but to contemporary productions of all kinds as well! I’ve subscribed and am looking forward to see where this channel goes next.

[@DistortThePreamp]

That is a very kind thing to say, and exactly what I’m hoping to achieve. My whole goal is ‘production lessons from the past, particularly the 80s, that we can apply to modern productions.’ So thank you for noticing :)

[@KaleOrton]

❤ your channel! Thank you brother.

[@DistortThePreamp]

🙏

[@JulesFox]

This was quite amazing - the 'speedrun' was an eye-opener on how great you are with the hardware! Excellent points in how to make a track pop!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thanks Jules! That’s very kind! Really appreciate you watching, and the awesome comment :)

[@WorksopGimp]

Great quote from Martin, Still sounds great today

[@DistortThePreamp]

He was such a legend. Badly missed. Such an amazing producer.

[@drKrollspell]

Splendid 😀 !!!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! Very much appreciated :)

[@DiodeMilliampere]

Your channel is great... Informative, well paced , snappy presentation style that's also unpretentious

[@DistortThePreamp]

I’m so glad that you think so. I’m very conscious of not falling into the trap of taking oneself too seriously, which can be tricky when you’re actually trying to explain something. Really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment :)

[@jasmeerlabeer4591]

Another great vid! 100% right. Much like you , I have been listening to a lot of tracks from the 80s and I've been amazed that a lot are just drums and a bass with the singing overtop. Sure, they'll throw in a melody where needed, but a lot of the verses are just drum and bass.

[@DistortThePreamp]

I remember when I did an analysis of Kids in America a few years ago and realised it was a live band! As a kid I’d always assumed it was programmed synthesisers but it’s all played live at RAK Studio. Even the opening is just a live synth arping a single note. It’s a very, very effective record, and there’s not much to it. Amazing.

[@studiobluem9412]

Good video! Thanks. I really appreciate the clear but also deep dive into the subject. Subscribed. Cheer.s

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! Very much appreciate you watching and the kind words :)

[@bradfordkeithmadison953]

Humility + knowledge + Tom Baker and a great watch = SUBSCRIBED!!! (And also, GREAT taste in tunes!)

[@DistortThePreamp]

Amazing! Really appreciate you watching, and this very kind comment :)

[@etiennejulius1179]

Same. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. 🙏

[@DistortThePreamp]

It’s absolutely my pleasure!

[@blackvx]

Great video!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thanks! Really appreciate you watching, and the comment :)

[@seansnyder7744]

Liked and subbed! That was an absolute treat to listen to 😎

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh amazing! That’s incredibly kind :)

[@StolTechInc]

This guy knows what he's doing. Bought his set for Argon8, so much value for the money!

[@DistortThePreamp]

🙂

[@Paul-Carson]

amazing tips

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thanks Paul! Really appreciate you watching, and the kind comment :)

[@apislapis]

Tom Baker, my favourite Doctor and a Human League track too! The Pyramids of MARRS perhaps? I am reminded that Ultravox's Vienna is played and not programmed on a sequencer like a Roland MC-4 as I originally thought. Every so often there would be an article in music magazines about how to make your computer music programming sound more human, by varying the MIDI note velocity (volume) or note length, switch off the quantize and move the start of the note to be off grid to simulate being slightly out of time or hanging off the beat etc., which was such a time consuming ball ache I'd say stuff it, record playing live and comp several tracks into one. Marvellous video sir.

[@electroinblack6852]

Spot on , I made great music starting out without midi, then made it all midi then spent 3 years using midi wondering why it all sounded crap. Early Human league ,Garry Numan and Kraftwerk were all played live and that their best stuff. I watched a video on Depeche Mode's Martin Gore, he played a phrase in the studio then said to the engineer and interviewer "just copy that, thats what i do".

[@DistortThePreamp]

Haha! Was that in the old days with Gareth Jones producing? I have a complicated relationship with midi - I use it all the time but it’s sooooooo loose. That’s a subject for another video, but I’ll probably do a poll to see if the subject is too dull 😂 Really appreciate you watching, and the comment.

[@Play-gl2yw]

Agree early Synth pioneers created the sounds and played the sounds, the more technology progressed, the less human interaction and the loss of individuality and nuance.

[@CaptainProton1]

Some serious food for thought, there's me going audio to cv for sample accurate timing on my analog synths and you throw this wtf into the mix :) I'll give it a go. Good vid.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Yeah. And even with programming I've had my mind totally changed. Check this story out: I wanted to check is there was a difference between sequencing my vintage Roland R8 drum machine using an external sequencer (I was using a Beatstep at the time) and letting it play using its own internal clock. I kinda expected the internal clock to be tighter because MIDI is, well, MIDI. Both of them were all over the place. I then tried my modern RD9 (Behringer's modern 909 clone) running on its internal clock. That was tighter, but not really very tight. Then I tried my Squarp Pyramid which is *supposed to be a sequencer!* and that was also not tight. I don't just mean that the BPM wasn't correct, I mean it constantly drifted. My first reaction was to freak out! The kicks weren't over the snares, nothing was on the grid, the drift from kick to kick was up to 10ms in each direction so that's up to 20ms, maybe even more. I then decided that the best thing to do was put everything on the grid. I should point out that although I've used Ableton for about 15 years I use Pro Tools for recording and editing so I could easiliy move the transients. Anyway, the whole thing started to sound very weak and like computer music. I was probably getting phase issues with the sounds being on top of each other, who knows. But it sounded like computer music, and not in a good way. So now I record everything 'free' and if I need there to be a grid I *align the Pro Tools grid* with the drifting sequencer grid. So my BPM technically drifts. And it all sounds great. And I *guarantee* that you've never listened to one of my pieces on a video and thought 'Gosh, that sequencer timing sounds so sloppy!' So my worldview has changed somewhat. It's all a very confusing journey ;)

[@plantpoweredmuscle]

I really agree with this! You deserve all the subs!!🎉🎉🎉

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! So much appreciated!

[@NotMarkKnopfler]

This channel is going to absolutely explode! 💥🏆

[@DistortThePreamp]

That would be amazing, because I would then get to interview a lot of producers and engineers! Seriously though, I really appreciate your very kind words. It’s comments like yours that keep me motivated…

[@NotMarkKnopfler]

@@DistortThePreamp You're very very welcome. Continuing our discussion about Blancmange, here they are playing live in 1982 (The Tube, Channel 4) with not much more than a Jupiter 8. My flabber has been well and truly ghasted! kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3e6qaVsidamm9U

[@DistortThePreamp]

So don’t tell anyone but I’m talking to Mike Howlett next week. Shhhh. ;)

[@synthwave7]

Stock Aitken Waterman and Bobby Orlando was the 80 music geniuses in my view. They understood what a good synth song should contain. One thing is inportant - the voice over the synth must be unique, loud and emotional.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Absolutely correct of course :)

[@ablestringer9063]

I was in a synth live band in the early 80s. We managed with a a cassette based 4 track mostly to start with. Latterly it went C-Lab Notator on the Atari ST and the rest was pretty much as you described. We realised that some parts had to be humanised mostly the bass, and it was Lately Bass we used as well.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh brilliant. We also started with a 4-track end used Notator at some point on the Atari ST. Those Ataris were really great.

[@VaughnGeorge]

Very Good video! Thank you!! :-)

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! That’s very much appreciated :)

[@janmuenther]

Just discovered your channel and I’m positively loving it! I always thought the bass in West End Girls sounded surprisingly “human” and now I know why.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Fantastic! Once you try playing synth bass lines…

[@FrankNFurter1000]

Please upload that full demo tape ❤ I actually liked that!!

[@polyphonics557]

Your 80's demo reminds me of Swing Out Sister. Thanks.....I will be playing my basslines from now on.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Hahaha! You will not regret playing your bass lines. It’s the choice of champions!

[@deaudio]

You. Are. Legend.

[@DistortThePreamp]

That’s a very nice thing to say Philip :) Really appreciate you watching and commenting and I’m so glad you like the videos.

[@LifeOnHoth]

The moment I stopped fiddling with all kinds of programming and stuff just to make the bass sound great, and started to just play it instead - it was done in no time and sound great compared to mr robotic.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Exactly right! Totally appreciate you watching and commenting :)

[@infn8loopmusic]

100 this! Great vid. Great point. You've gotta have that hook. That catchy bass line that gets stuck in your head, then... You have a banger!

[@alexwestconsulting]

I remember this coming up when Korg released that Volca FM, where lots of people finally had that Lately bass in an easily accessible form, not having to chase down a TX for a single sound. Except they didn't, because the Volca FM doesn't respond to velocity. I think only a few users really understood the impact this limitation had. Then by the time Korg fixed this with FM 2, everyone had forgot about this limitation and had moved on. But I got one, just for Lately Bass. Maybe one day I'll actually get a real TX. It really does sound nice, doesn't it? Just hearing you play it now is captivating. I've been doing all Moog bass lately but hearing that made me just put the Volca on the desk again. Oh, and the mention of Trevor Horn. His Art of Noise bass lines used to blow my mind.

[@maccagrabme]

The dx7 doesn't sound like the tx81z when it comes to bass, it's not got the same weight or grit.

[@alexwestconsulting]

@@maccagrabme I'm certain this is true, but I think depending on the patch, they are pretty similar, at least when the TZ isn't using some of its other waveforms. But yes, TZ's lately doesn't use a pure sine wave, so audibly different, has more presence. But pretty close.

[@2000stephenellis]

Get a yamaha FBO1 module , loads cheaper (tho as with all hardware gear prices have crept up ) and you`ll get the exact same "Lately" bass sound ...still have mine after all these years , could`nt give the thing away in the 90`s ..so glad i kept it !

[@alexwestconsulting]

@@2000stephenellis yeah ii was just listening to one of those.

[@2000stephenellis]

@@alexwestconsulting Either that or forgot to mention there are a few Kontakt libraries that feature "that" sound , if kontakt`s your bag baby 🙂! it`s out there !.....

[@leanlute7507]

Lookalike One More Time/ End girls mush-up. Nice!

[@veganstevenmusic]

what an opening first line :)

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! That piece took a long time to get right. There was a version that was about 6 minutes, which is about 5 minutes too long 😂

[@synthsei]

Tom Baker, brilliant channel and lesson. I hope your channel blows up and you are able to get the 80's producers you want. I learned a great lesson from this video and instantly subbed! I am a huge 80's synth new wave fan and can't wait to hear more from your channel. I love that your sharing the techniques of bands like the Pet Shop Boys (they and other groups, made me wish I could afford a synclavier back in the day for $100k or more). I really hope you can get into the techniques that Martin Gore used in early Depeche Mode. Especially, "A Broken Frame", as well as Construction Time Again and Some Great Reward. But the list of artists goes on and on. So I will wait for your next video. Thank you.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Really appreciate this comment of support. I actually have my first interview lined up so 🤞

[@stevef2114]

sounds like something i would come up with in my bedroom when i was 14 back in the mid eighties....

[@seanp2k617]

This pad gating led me to pick up a DS501 to play with, it feels like an open secret that everyone else is trying to use comps with SC to do.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh I haven’t tried the DS501 but it looks very good. All Drawmer stuff is great really. Yeah, you’re right about the open secret. I put it down to the fact that when people stopped making music in studios the ‘apprentice’ chain from Producer to Engineer and Tape Op was broken. So nowadays people are learning how to make revirsss by watching KZbin. Uh huh ;)

[@RaquelFoster]

The DS501 is nice but the extra transient only works on normal gating, not on ducking, so for ducking I think it's the same as the DS201. I do think it's funny that the whole Internet collectively went the direction of combining compression with ducking. Building up a mix using my ears seems a lot easier when I'm making room for things specifically and not also trying to dial in compression. That's like if you were trying to sculpt something with filters, but you only ever used screeching resonant self-oscillating filters. I don't know I'm more of a DJ, and DJ-ing is just about making room in the mix. And a ducking gate is a very simple way to do that. A gate is just a VCA. You can gate with any synth with an external input. But most of them don't let you invert it and duck things. The DS201 and Aphex 622 are my favorite anti-synths. Like arps punching holes in things. I mean it doesn't have to be a secret. There are probably a few hundred thousand of them around still, because people got them to gate drums and you need a gate for each drum mic. But most of the Drawmers I see under $200 are really beat to hell like it was a rough boat ride from England to Los Angeles in the '80s I guess. Of course you can still buy them new! But you don't hear about them. There was a SynthMania video a few years ago... But I just assumed I was the only one who was more excited about analog mixers and analog gates than I am about analog synths.

[@xj900man]

At my age I create music for my personal pleasure not profit. This video showed me some good take-aways. If I may say the rim-shot was a bit too loud but hey! You put it together in 10 minutes and your sketch sounded great and inspiring. Look forward to the next one.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thanks Geoff! Yes, the sketches are all a bit rushed and not mixed, and sometimes I feel a bit embarrassed afterwards about the balance, but I think part of what I’m trying to get across is that people should be a bit more, how shall I put this, ‘punk rock’. We all fiddle around in computers but that is *definitely not* very punk rock. So I leave all the mistakes in. Even if, as somebody put it, the rimshot sounds like a ‘crazed woodpecker’ 😂Really appreciate you watching and your comment :)

[@bxtrc1341]

Man this was so great. Real talk from a dude who knows

[@DistortThePreamp]

That is very kind! Really appreciate you watching and commenting. :)

[@whateverman999]

Love the cover page graphic (?)…I don’t know what to call it haha. This channel is going places! 🎉

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! That’s very kind! It would be amazing if the channel got bigger because I would probably be able to get interviews with a lot of the 80s producers which would be really fascinating…

[@JoeMamaBesser]

The two reasons not to just have synth bass play live from MIDI are tape compression and groove. But both of those things can be dealt with and still have live sequenced playback

[@Matthew1981]

to my ear a good bass line often lies within the combination of legato and staccato so it makes sense that this is achieved more straightforwardly by playing live than programming.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Yes I think so. I mean there are always exceptions, but it’s certainly easier to develop a part by playing it. When I’m producing other people I’ll get them to play the part round and round and we’ll work on precise timing points. Then we’ll capture it. And then we’ll tweak it if we absolutely have to (though I would always prefer to tell them to do it again). IMO this works a lot better than programming a part, listening back, and then making changes. Really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment.

[@Matthew1981]

@@DistortThePreamp great video. i really enjoyed it. thank you.

[@humilo3266]

Wow. Haven' t realized this yet. And lets look at the video of weeknd's "save your tears". Which is in fact the perfect incarnation of 80s pop song. Video Starts with someone playing one single bass node. By hand. On guitar AND keyboard. And now understand that this is the secret where the magic comes from... 0:12

[@DistortThePreamp]

I really think this is true. And FWIW all the producers I speak to (by which I mean producers who were making gold records in the 80s and have won Grammies) think it’s true too. Some parts are born to be programmed and the whole point is that they sound programmed. But most of the time that’s not synth bass! Some people have disagreed but, well, haters gonna hate. And they haven’t got any Grammies have they 😂

[@ryanedwardmusic]

finally someone said these things!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh that’s very kind!

[@danap8044]

Awesome vid. Subscribed to u

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! Really appreciate it!

[@AnthonyDunstan]

nice

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you!

[@jedstephensmusic0001]

loving the channel, excellent advice, I'm working my way through your videos so far, do you know if the lately bass was the sound actually used in West End Girls?

[@DistortThePreamp]

I’m so pleased you like it! No, Lately wasn’t used on West End Girls. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for Synth Bass Part 2 to see how that was made because it’s another classic production technique. My next video is about the Rio arps which is done but being checked and, hopefully the second part of synth bass will be out in a few videos time. Really appreciate you watching, and your comment :)

[@TheWarrrenator]

Hi DTP! This is great stuff! As a lyricist and songwriter this is really helpful in how to improve my craft. I’d love to hear your take on Leonard Cohen’s electronic stuff from the 80’s and early 90’s.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh that’s an interesting question! You mean First We Take Manhattan etc?

[@GeorgeLocke]

I hear you on casting a spell on the listener, but there are other options. You can also cast a curse, so they won't be able to listen to anything else, or you can cast a net to get a captive audience.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Most awesome comment ever. This is why whenever you play live you should lock the doors so people can’t leave.

[@peerpaulin8486]

Nice to see the old cubase on the Atari screen.

[@DistortThePreamp]

It feels so nostalgic, right! It was a simpler, and more complicated time…

[@Reg-Edit]

Ahh this has been great Very nostalgic I remember the uniter 2 for striping the tape 😩 Cut n splice Fostex R8 😂

[@DistortThePreamp]

I’m inclined to agree. I did a load of tests last year and none of my drum machines or hardware sequencers keeps anywhere near perfect time. The drift is really astonishing. At first I freaked out and tried to figure out ways of correcting it. I started putting everything on the grid in the daw and, guess what - it sounded lifeless. So my conclusion is that we sense the drift as a kind of organic ‘breathing’. Also, none of the hits actually lines up so you don’t tend to get transient masking. Like the kick and snare are never actually on top of each other with a real drum machine and sequencer. They can’t be because MIDI is a serial protocol, and even when I program the pattern in the drum machine they’re still not on top of each other. Contrastingly computer music has hits on the grid happening at the same time. So IMO there is a huuuuuuge difference. I was going to make a video about this called something like “Why did music from the 80s sound so good?” but I was worried that the subject is too nerdy and technical. And I’m trying to keep my videos at least vaguely understandable to non-engineer music fans…

[@DistortThePreamp]

Hmmm - I think KZbin has added my comment (about MIDI timing) to the wrong comment 😂

[@DistortThePreamp]

I am so very glad! I don’t even remember what we used for striping! Apparently we used a combination of SMPTE and EBU SMP-24, so who knows! If only I’d know then what I know now… etc etc etc ;)

[@Reg-Edit]

@@DistortThePreamp 😂

[@Direktorat]

⁠@@DistortThePreampTry us with the super nerdy stuff! Maybe it will get the views, maybe it won’t, but at least it will delight some of us!

[@AndrewTSq]

Paninaro as thumbnail , i click 😊

[@DistortThePreamp]

Brilliant! So great, obv.

[@mohill1003]

Dope and informative vid... Quick question, what watch do you have on?

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! The watch is a pink fake Rolex with a rubber strap and it’s made by a company called ICE. It’s quite temperamental and I wouldn’t m recommend it for telling the time but, well, you have your phone for that, right ;) Really appreciate you watching and commenting :)

[@mufakkas9731]

Haha, what makes a hit a hit, my experience was that u had to have deep pockets back then, and when I got all needed I got outplayed by Max Martin & Co and their 90s ice hockey arena stuff.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Ah, the ‘song math’ of Max Martin. Complicated times…

[@criddyla696]

Great channel sir, you are a great teacher and music producer… I will be watching your videos… My interest in electronic music ranges from Tangerine dream and similar through Human League and pet shop boys etc. Great luck with your future creative ventures pal …

[@DistortThePreamp]

That’s a very kind thing to say! Tangerine Dream is obviously awesome - a friend of mine did a couple of their albums :) I’m so glad you like the video and the channel!

[@ADHDville]

Back in the day we always played our bass by hand… mainly because we couldn’t afford a sequencer! 😂

[@DroneShots_UK]

Great video, worth the wait due to reworking of the chords!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! It actually worked out better and I’m glad I was ‘forced’ to re-work it. I’ve also learned my lesson: I had a long list of songs I was going to use to demonstrate production techniques, and now I will be doing re-works of them which is much more interesting. Especially under time pressure :)

[@idlewise]

Love Tom Baker!

[@burns46824]

A useful video. Didn’t know “West End Girls” was hand-played.

[@DistortThePreamp]

It turns out that *loads* of PSB stuff from the 80s was hand played. I’m not sure if they still do this - one of the casualties of switching to soft synths is often playing parts.

[@burns46824]

@@DistortThePreamp Ummm they DEFINITELY don’t do this anymore. I’d say they stopped doing this after INTROSPECTIVE or possibly ACTUALLY, if I had to guess.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Well you might be surprised. A lot of Heart and It’s a Sin was played rather than programmed. There are some hilarious tracks on It’s a Sin that never made it to the final mix - like Chris doing a jazz piano solo on the Korg M1 (it’s *very* bad). But yeah, I struggle to hear anything on, say, the Stuart Price albums that was likely played (not that those albums aren’t amazing). Having said that I know that at least some of those albums are real synths so you never know. And Chris is more of a player than people realise…

[@robertdouble559]

"The hassle of playing it?" Playing is not a hassle to a real musician, that's why. It's the vibe man.

[@jedgould5531]

Like the way you share your process. Still think clock is not the issue.

[@jedgould5531]

Don’t say it’s not your day. They are all your days.

[@MegaCraptacular]

Bought a TX81Z just for Lately Bass.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh that is such a good call! Worst case scenario you can sell it for what you paid for it. But it’s such a fantastic bass patch. Leave it on Lately. I mean feel free to check out the other sounds but, really, it’s all about Latelt! Having said that, I’ve used a patch called a bit. I used to rig my TX so Lately and were on different midi channels and separate outputs, and then I used to split the keyboard. But I don’t seem to be doing a lot of keyboard splitting at the moment. Anyway, many congrats!

[@nkronert]

West End girls meets The Shamen!

[@DoctorNemmo]

That first chord starting late because you actually recorded it in the last bar of the loop is a pain that I know too well.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Haha, exactly! Although in reality what I always do with ‘playable parts’ is this: once they’re worked out and stable, I record the rhythm track into the daw (just using it as a tape machine) and then insist that the player (me, an artist, whomever) actually plays the part. And if it occurs multiple times they have to play it multiple times. And if the timing isn’t quite right then they play it again. And if there are layers then they play each later. I know this might sound laborious but the results are an order of magnitude better!

[@martyn5451]

Very enjoyable video, and good simple techniques very well explained. However, to know how the bass was done on "West End Girls" all you had to do is watch Top of the Pops, where Chris Lowe plays the bass. Alex Ball's fabulous video on the Emulator 2 also explains the bass is made up of three parts, and sampled into the E2. The layering is probably just as important as the human aspect.

[@DistortThePreamp]

This is true, although obviously TOTP was mimed and I still assumed he was miming a sequenced part (which he did a lot later in their career). I haven’t watched Alex Ball’s video on the Emulator II, but I always thought the layers were done using MIDI on the omni channel?!? Now I’ll have to look it up 😂 You are exactly correct about the layers being as important as the human aspect, and I couldn’t possibly comment what the subject of the second bass video is ;)

[@DistortThePreamp]

So I have access to some PSB multitracks and I’m inclined to be a bit sceptical about the layers being sampled. Firstly it doesn’t make a lot of sense from a production point of view as you want to preserve the layers for mixdown and then blend and ride them independently. Secondly, the sampling would change the sound quite considerably. I’ll continue to check though. Alex Ball is great but not infallible (and I’m sure I’m not either). For example Numan’s Vox Humana was not just the preset.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Just investigated further and the layers were separate. There was an FM synth, a transitional analog synth (though not a Moog), and a pitched sample of a kick drum for extra transient. They were all midi’d together. However a layered version of the sound was prepared in the Emukator for live shows and that might be where Alex got confused. I’ll go into this in detail in the second Synth Bass video :)

[@3BiRd3]

Зачётно Стас Михайлов всё по полочкам разложил👍

[@markdavis4754]

Mistakes and all but a great bass line on breakout by swing out sister.

[@jasonritchie8475]

Apparently Thomas Leer played manual synth-bass on Matt Johnson's first The The album Soul Mining, and it sounds absolutely fantastic! 😍

[@Captain2Pig]

never heard of that album, worth a blast i assume?

[@jasonritchie8475]

@@Captain2Pig it's great! It's on that list of 500 essential albums to check out before you go to 'the great studio in the sky'. Synth based, but very emotive ❤️

[@Captain2Pig]

@@jasonritchie8475 thanks for that, it's playing already

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh I love Soul Mining obv :) I’d never thought about whether the bass was played and tbh I think I’d always imagined that Johnson did it all himself! (I had to look up Thomas Leer which is giving me self esteem issues 😂) It makes *perfect sense* that the synth bass was played thinking about it now, and I think a record like that would probably have sounded a little sterile if the bass was programmed as it’s dripping in vibe and just screams ‘performance’. Having said that, and without checking, ‘Infected’ feels like it might have been programmed. Not that it matters as it’s also got a fantastic vibe, albeit different to ‘Soul Mining’. Really appreciate you watching and making the amazing comment which has educated me.

[@DistortThePreamp]

How on earth does anyone get their list down to 500 😂 When I started the channel I had an idea I would do a video about 20 of my favourite records from the 80s. There were far to many, so I re-framed it as 20 of my favourite records from, say, 1982. Still too many. I might be able to get away with my favourite records from the first quarter of 1982 provided I also restrict it to UK bands. It was a good year. And a good decade. And there are too many good records 🙂

[@kirstinmckee]

BRO! 🤩

[@DistortThePreamp]

😂

[@johnghadimi]

Great video!! Great tip on playing stuff live and then quantizing it as needed. It indeed makes a big difference. I found it hard to spend $200 on a used TX81Z.. I've been loading up the sysex files inside FM8 with great results. (although I hate how TINY the FM8 UI is.. native instruments never updated it..blah)

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thanks! You’re right about the TX - I had to get my head around spending that (slightly less when I got mine) for, essentially, I single patch 😂 but, well, at least it’s not a plugin that’s depreciated to nothing and I can’t sell. Back in the day I used to have a DX7 brain (can’t remember what it was called) and although I disliked the sounds at the time my view has changed. The trick was and is to combine it with layers from analog. Not that I’m desperate to buy anything else. Quite the reverse really. My setup is stable and I’m trying to operate a strict ‘one in, one out’ policy.

[@johnghadimi]

@@DistortThePreamp Good call on layering instruments.. that's probably a mantra that is true for many instruments. Love these videos.. keep me coming.

[@DistortThePreamp]

👍🙏

[@marknhopgood]

I use take away tubs for organising stuff in the studio, too. What's your favourite take away? Mine is Sun Do Chinese.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Sweet and sour chicken, Hong Kong style, since I was, like, seven 😂