Synth Pop ARPEGGIO Secrets Revealed (Duran Duran)

[@DistortThePreamp]

Ask me a question forms.gle/x2bnJeVJYouZnGZ97

[@billybartcody3591]

As a massive Duran Duran and arp fan, I'm so down for this. I was 12 when it came out in 82, the world was so exciting back then.

[@billybartcody3591]

Excellent content as always, my friend - off to play with arps all weekend, haha. Love that playlist

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh amazing!!!!

[@DistortThePreamp]

It was so colourful, musically. So many of those records were made so well and really captured a vibe. I was talking the other day to the guy who produced Echo Beach and a whole load of other amazing records. So many stories. But, as ever, it’s an absolute given that, where possible, everything was performed.

[@scott3709]

Hey brother! I was 12 in 82 also! A Duran cassette was almost always in my Sony Walkman, amazing memories. Anyone know what those black monitors with the front base ports are? I’ve been looking for some with front ports.

[@GodzillaGoesGaga]

@@DistortThePreamp Echo beach is one of my faves. That era of music was incredible. It will never be as fertile as back then!

[@tomowens7499]

I'm 54, played bass guitar since 85 because of Duran Duran... you are spot on here. Some of my favorite music ever are among the albums you mention. This was great, very well done!

[@smookydj]

The bassline in Rio... 🤩

[@DistortThePreamp]

Fantastic! Hope you're seen John Taylor's video where he breaks down the bass part. He's totally channeling Bernard Edwards (Chic). Such a great part.

[@honeybane]

Did you buy my single Turn and Me On Turn Me Off, it was released in February 1981. Also "I Wish I Could Be Me" It was a 12" with an extended dance mix, produced by Steve Levine of Culture Clubs early hits, and had Culture Club backing me.

[@davormaricic]

hey, I even bought the same bass! kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqObpHR3f8ernbM

[@markp4767]

Totally agree. Taylor's Bass is so cool and full of rhythm. If you are into Bass playing, you must check out Gary Numan's arguably last real synth Album released in 1982 as well - I Assasin. The Bass played by Pino Paladino is just stunning. It was truly ground breaking for the time, though Mick Karn, both with Japan and on Numan's Dance is exceptional as well, and commercialised that frettless Bass sound.

[@TheHorsebox2]

There really was something about 1982. Special year for me...first job, first car, first girlfriend, first pint. Made all the more special by such incredible music. I can't forget driving home after a night out to the rising sun in a souped up Ford Cortina, Roxy Music's Avalon on the tape deck. If I was lucky there was a girl in the passenger seat, if not it was my mate, and we'd reflect on another great Friday night. Great channel, great presenting.

[@rhiannonstudios]

Rising Sun near Hope ? 😃

[@paolopaioli601]

Passion, knowledge, articulation, this video really has it all. Thank you very much for sharing, you are a great teacher 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@DistortThePreamp]

That’s so kind. I get very worked up about this stuff which is just so fascinating.

[@gingerfreak01]

I agree. It's also funny in a nice dry way.

[@DistortThePreamp]

😊

[@jasonwooler801]

Mate, you are a brilliant communicator and I’m very much enjoying the story time but the practical examples you give are great. A how-to with great context.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh ‘story time’ is soooo funny. I’ve just realised that I’m probably subconsciously channelling Jackanory 😂😂😂

[@bigfarma6757]

I loved the early 80’s synth pop scene . There were so many great bands of that genre back then : Depeche Mode , OMD, Human League, Yazoo, VIsage, Ultravox , Japan , Soft Cell, Duran Duran, Blancmange … the list goes on. What a great time to be alive . 😊

[@sumaiyaochoa5743]

Kajagoogoo,Spandau Ballet 😂❤

[@spandel100]

Yes a proper amazing era which will never be repeated again.I started clubbing in 81 and well I am sure you know the rest.Go well.

[@MisAnnThorpe]

That "affectionate punch" microphone reminded me of my favourite band of all; (The) Associates.

[@bigfarma6757]

@@sumaiyaochoa5743 Heaven 17 , Eurythmics, Bronski Beat

[@nicholashylton6857]

Plus New Order, Level 42, and a tonne of others.

[@floating-in]

New Gold Dream was an unbelievably good album. I'm so glad I lived through this era.

[@DistortThePreamp]

It was (and still is) an *incredible* album. It all changed significantly after they did ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ and started doing in stadium rock, but NGD is just immaculate.

[@morbiusAtKrell]

Saw Simple Minds in 1983 or was it 82? Support band was INXS, who were so good I thought there was no way simple minds could be more amazing. Of course they were.

[@darrenjefferies2598]

That has to be one of the best albums ever made. The Bass line in Big Sleep is one of my all time favourites and their keyboard playing in Somebody up there likes you, the hunter and the hunted, and of course The king is white and in the crowd is just incredible. This was the album that got me into simple minds's music. About 10 years ago, I saw them live at a concert and I think they were given free run over their song list because they focused heavily on their more ambient songs rather than their radio hits.

[@floating-in]

​@@darrenjefferies2598totally iconic, sophisticated and just got richer the more you played it. I wore the leather off it and have it in permanent rotation.

[@nichttuntun3364]

I still love this album. 😊

[@NineInchFailz]

Love these detailed long form deep dives. Please continue this style! Watching this on my break at work and can’t wait to get home and try this out on my rev2

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! I’ve had to learn how to make slightly shorter videos *as well* (by which I mean under 10 minutes) but I’m still going to do AT LEAST one long form every month! They’re hard work to make, but also a lot of fun and very creatively rewarding. I’m so glad you like the format 🙏

[@jasmeerlabeer4591]

Another great video! Hands down the best explanation of arps I've seen. The fact that it's taught in relation to it's use in the 80's just makes this video awesome. I rarely get all the way through tutorials, but yours has me glued to the screen.

[@DistortThePreamp]

I'm so pleased! I know this must read a bit like a canned response but, honestly, it's comments like these that keep me going when I realise I have to start the video edit all over again...

[@jasmeerlabeer4591]

@@DistortThePreamp Just know I appreciate the time and effort it takes to put into these videos. I'm a fan.

[@jedstephensmusic0001]

Looking forward to this, I used to be in an 80's synthpop covers band and never did this because I couldn't get the arpeggio right.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Fantastic! Hopefully you’ll approve ;)

[@RodCornholio]

80’s were a Golden Age in entertainment. On a side note…some of those bass lines in Duran Duran’s music are absolute genius.

[@chrishillery]

Absolutely. John Taylor was a master. It's a bit of a shame that his golden years were at a time when the fashion was for pop music to be really light in the bass, so what he's doing down there is more buried than it really should be.

[@darthbigred22]

I like Duran Duran but they're the 80s boy band. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGbIk56gbt1ogdE They did get insightful right before they quit.

[@offshoretomorrow3346]

Was always blown away that a gang of Brummies had access to those levels of production and musicality.

[@smithypeart1]

John learned from chic as Bernard was an excellent bass player

[@Kurt1969]

John inspired me to pick up bass as a guitar player back in the 80's. Just so I could learn the riff to Rio. One of my favorite bass lines ever.

[@robertdouble559]

That headshot of Paul Darrow as Avon.....yes.....what a legend. RIP.

[@robertdouble559]

ahhhh...big payoff towards the end!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Such a legend. My favourite character. Badly missed.

[@morbiusAtKrell]

Servelan…

[@tripledistilled2822]

Blakes Seven, is that a special scale?

[@robertdouble559]

@@morbiusAtKrell ice cold and super hot

[@jacobmarley6781]

Love the purity of your videos. Usually I can't bear to watch more than 2 or 3 minutes of people because it's so low information. Your videos that I have watched, I watched to the end, and was sad it was over. Keep doing what your doing and I'll keep watching. Thank you so much. I loved this video and I have been wondering about that since I was a teen in the 80s.

[@DistortThePreamp]

I’m really thrilled to hear this. I know I can’t please all of the people all of the time (I’m sure there are some people who wish I would shut up!) but it’s great to know that there are people who do watch the whole thing :) Really appreciate your comment.

[@jacobmarley6781]

If you run out of ideas, I would love to see your take on the arp in eminence front. I just checked and lo and behold it was 1982.

[@DistortThePreamp]

@@jacobmarley6781 Oh interesting! I’m currently debating whether a video I’ve got planned with the working title ‘Do Chords Exist? is too theoretical. It’s an extremely complicated subject and making the theory easy to understand might be hard. However there’s a huge prize because I think it would really help a lot of synth-based musicians write. (The theory is centuries old too).

[@jacobmarley6781]

@@DistortThePreamp I would be totally interested in that. I can only speak for myself, but I love thinking about harmony in new ways.

[@unclejerrysworld]

Finally!! Someone tackles this one and CLEARLY explains why it works the way it does!! Thank you!! Excellent job!!

[@danepaulstewart8464]

DEAR LORD what a mountain of exploratory work you’ve done to figure this all out! Excellent work!!

[@DistortThePreamp]

That's very kind! I really appreciate your comment Dane -- it's comments like yours that make it all worthwhile :)

[@paulbrighton3303]

I was in the studio back in 1986 while Scritti Politti was recording their “Provisions” album. I was friends with the studio owner and had been invited to sit in on a few sessions. You are right about musicians being protective. Green Gartside, the bands singer asked me what was in my suitcase because they feared that people were coming into the recording studio to record or figure out their signature sounds, so that was definitely not uncommon. I was lucky enough to have taken karate classes when I was younger with David Gamson, the keyboardist of Scritti Politti. We struck up a conversation and have known each other ever since we were 14 years old. My biggest obsession was trying to figure out many of the sounds on Scritti Politti’s, “Cupid and Psyche” album, which was a lot of different keyboards and some Fairlight, but a surprising number of DX 7’s stacked up to create very unique and original sounds, which David was very protective of. Fred Mayer was also supremely protective of his drum sample sounds. I think that’s what they were most protective of. Those sounds were hugely instrumental in shaping an entire genre of music. I can see why, in retrospect, they were so heavily guarded.

[@DistortThePreamp]

@@paulbrighton3303 That’s extremely interesting. Some of it has come out now - like recording parts at half speed an octave down (which makes the transient very snappy), and I always suspected that Green’s vocals were vari-speeded a semi-tone. But it’s interested to hear you talk about creating an original sound by layering presets. That’s a common technique with bass too.

[@fiddler727]

Strange question, but was the studio Minot Sound in White Plains, NY? I ask because I recorded there and remembered the engineer talking about having just gotten done some work with Scitti.

[@pigknickers2975]

Which studio was that? And I agree the layering of those sounds was extraordinary. Synclavier featured a lot too. Working in studios in the late80s-90s one of the things that would happen was overrun sessions that weren't tidied properly and leaving samplers full of sounds. Then the floppys would come out!

[@BlackMan614]

OMG... you would think they were concealing state secrets. This is rampant in the music biz. Guys I had worked with and others I knew would not divulge anything related to recording - to the point some wouldn't tour with the same synths used in the studio! They were psycho.

[@paulbrighton3303]

@@fiddler727 yes it was! Down a long flight of stairs under a restaurant. David was from Port Chester and I was from White Plains. Ray Bardani engineered tons of records there for Luther Vandross. And Miles Davis, Chaka khan, and others recorded there frequently. The theme from Taxi tv show was recorded there by Bob James.

[@alejandrohualdez5550]

That arp from Hungry Like the Wolf has been bouncing around in my head since I was 13!!!

[@pitpride1220]

This took me back to my musical inspiration. I love what I call Eastern Bloc, Cold War era Red Scare sound. Nothing beats it. It is dystopian, it is inspiring it is technological. It's everything. Thank you!

[@DistortThePreamp]

This is such an interesting comment. What do you mean by your phrase ‘Eastern Bloc…’ - are you talking about some of the colder synth music? Like early Human League? Or music from the actual Eastern Bloc?

[@pitpride1220]

@@DistortThePreamp Yes, I'm more or less referring to the colder synth music. The vibe that music gives me. Those descriptors summed up what the music made me feel like and often visualize as a kid.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh fantastic! All influenced by Kraftwerk but in the 80s a lot of that seemed to come out of Sheffield. Tracks like ‘The Dignity of Labour’ by early Human League. So cold, but so strong.

[@pitpride1220]

@@DistortThePreamp I'm a huge Kraftwerk fan!

[@infindebula]

Great video! A couple things - first, you mention early on that it’s easy to start the arpeggiator in such a way that it doesn’t land on the beat. This applies to modern situations with MIDI or DIN sync, but doesn’t apply to Rio. The JP4 has no MIDI, and its clock is just a crude pulse per note. So you can lift your hands off, play a new chord as out-of-time as you like, and the arpeggiated notes will always land on the grid with this old-skool sync method. Second: you are so totally on the right track, but to understand the key to manipulating this arpeggiator you need some familiarity with two aspects of the JP4. (a) there is no setting for how many octaves the arp plays in. If you play high up on its 4-octave keyboard, notes may only flutter around an octave or two, but play near the bottom and the arp will span 4 octaves. (b) “Random” on the JP4 is absolutely not random. It is a random-sounding string that repeats itself every 30 notes or so. When you play it you become familiar with it, and the arpeggiator lines you create are definitely repeatable.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Very interesting comment. Yes, of course you’re correct about the old pulse clock - I had a longer version of the video where I went into the difference using my Pro-1 (which has a pulse arp trigger) but cut it because I just wanted to show the technique you need nowadays. But I absolutely was not aware of your explanation about the J4’s ‘random’ feature. This actually fills in the remaining gaps for me. I know lots of 80s musicians and producers fibbed, but tbh Rhodes didn’t seem the type. But I simply couldn’t reconcile what he said with how it would work. But having read your comment, now I can. Because the fact that the ‘random’ button was in does not mean he wasn’t manipulating the arp. I actually had a bit of a crisis of confidence about this video because, although I had found a way to get very close, possibly even replicat, his Rio arp sound on modern equipment, I couldn’t be sure about what he had or hadn’t done because (a) I never interviewed him or Colin Thurston, and (b) I’m familiar with the J8 but I’ve never touched a J4. This is why I tried to stress in the video that ‘I don’t know what he did and it doesn’t matter’ and focus instead on showing some interesting arp techniques and also how to get close to the effect on modern equipment. Hopefully that came across. Now you’ve told me this I’m going to try to get my hands on a J4. Thanks for letting me know, and for also saying kind and supportive things about the video. I hope my mistake didn’t ruin it for you!

[@synthnerd4539]

Was going to say something very similar. As a JP-4 owner of many years I can confirm it does things its own way... very quirky machine and that arpeggiator is like no other. My own take on Rio was that it was just a quick change of held notes at regular time intervals while the arpeggiator just did its thing. There's a very much a JP-4 vibe to a number of tracks on the album.

[@infindebula]

@@DistortThePreamp I like your video, like the song, and I’m a subscriber since a few weeks ago when I found you talking about Drawmer gates. (I mentioned the ProMix01 in the comments). So … you ruined nothing for me, I really like the way you tackle the Rio arp problem head-on. Beware of the JP-4. I played one about 3 years ago and I just had to buy it. It cost substantially more than any of the 20 or so synths I own. I was sure I was done, and then suddenly I was seduced by what I can only describe as 1981-1983 in a box. It’s a very simple synth, so with minimal twiddling you suddenly realize you sound just like Nick Rhodes, or Vince Clarke, or Thomas Dolby, or a member of YMO or Depeche Mode or countless one-hit synthpop wonders. And the thing is absurdly heavy and hard to fit in a normal keyboard stack. But goddamn I love that thing :) Anyway, your method is certainly a very convincing Rio arp. I always loved the two-bar breakdown at the end of each verse where the arpeggio comes to the foreground. To achieve it you need to walk that chord down and back up, inversion by inversion. Like you said the “random” setting doesn’t really matter so much. It’s a pleasure to learn and share. I’m a synth lover and techno producer in the Toronto area. I tend to comment a lot so you’ll probably be hearing more from me, as long as you keep the great videos coming!

[@mikemeengs5720]

I'm glad you beat me to it, and you are spot on.

[@therealcaldini]

Best thread on the internet this month

[@justinwillismusic]

Awesome video. I did read somewhere that Nick Rhodes synced his Jupiter with a drum machine for either Rio or hungry like the wolf. Sure it was a really old interview. You have that Jupiter sound bang on.

[@Citizen-Ken]

Your channel is exactly the differentiated content that I have been yearning for in learning 1980's British pop recording and arranging discussion. Thank you.

[@ExperimentIV]

absolutely immaculate playlist. cantonese boy is THE perfect tin drum pick and sat in your lap blew my mind the first time i heard it and every time i ever hear it

[@DistortThePreamp]

I’ve been to get my records today and about 10 Japan singles are simply missing. Either there’s another box I haven’t found, or they’ve been nicked. It’s all a bit depressing.

[@nicholashylton6857]

I lived, ate, and breathed Duran Duran when I was a kid. The 2nd British Invasion of the 1980s created a tonne of bangers, and I'm thrilled that I got to experience them. *Great video!* 👍

[@DistortThePreamp]

You sound like you’re in the states? You guys got your own back in the 90s though ;)

[@justinsayin3979]

You had to wait a year for it, though. 1983 was the year of Duran Duran in the States.

[@ralphygrey]

really cool ... I enjoyed your video ... thank you for your input and your list of albums is a very good selection ...

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh that’s very kind, and it means a lot! Thank your for watching, and for taking the time to comment :)

[@Shaun1894]

This is spot on sir. You explained this in a way I could even understand as intricate as it seems to be. Duran Duran will always be my favorite band, this album being (to me) their greatest. Last Chance on the Stairway is my favorite song. Nick Rhodes is a genius and my favorite musician.

[@mongo6152]

1982 was the best year for synth-pop and one of my favorite years for music. Duran Duran is one of my favorite bands... in 1982, i saw them in concert in July in a little standi g room only hole in the wall in Detroit supporting Rio...2 years later, I went to see them for the Seven and the Ragged Tiger tour at one of the largest arenas in Detroit...they had made it...hit the big time

[@VinnyLePes]

The way you demonstrate this has opened up a lot for me. So many videos have only focused on setting up and programming arps, but playing them can be harder than one might think. Thank you so much for condensing what probably took you years to discover into something accessible.

[@chadjconger]

I greatly appreciate your live performance at the end, with the visual bonus of seeing the virtual keys being played. I remember 1982 very clearly and I'm grateful you do as well. Keep up the wonderful work.

[@BenAngMusic]

Wow it's been a long time since I could watch a 25 minute tutorial video all the way through but your content and your passion reeled me in and kept me all the way to the end. Thank you for analysing this and sharing the knowledge in a very understandable way with a truly classic song. I will treasure this knowledge for years to come in my live synth playing. And now I'm inspired to try more variations on my arpeggiator technique!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Amazing! I’m so glad that you’re taking the technique behind this song - ‘Rio’ was really just a good framework to show the tricks which are such a lot of fun to play!

[@eddielozada3694]

Well when talent and passion get together, you get videos like this. I want to thank you……just great!!!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh that’s extremely kind! Thank you very much indeed!

[@edsonnavarrus7379]

This is precisely why I admire English professional pop music, since the Beatles, every decade they create innovations to maintain a worthy first place in pop music production. And these various videos from the experts corroborate my feeling. Thank you for the valuable entertainment, sir, I will get the other albums that I am missing from that eighties list.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh fantastic! What do you have and what are you missing?

[@edsonnavarrus7379]

@@DistortThePreamp I confess that I can't hear the names very well. Could you write down the list here if it's not too much to ask? Now I remember having that ABC record in my drawers. I really liked listening to it, but I don't have a record player anymore.

[@thegazwaz640]

Love this thank you. I've been chasing arpeggios for the last 20 years myself. Love youre technique.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh fantastic! So pleased you like the video :)

[@4estral]

I've now learned there's more to arps than tapping hold and turning the filter. Great video!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Haha! Although that's a great technique too ;)

[@AntonyStrus]

I love the way you took us through the whole technique from the ground up. Excellent tutorial!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you so much! Very kind words :)

[@danikoenig]

I was 17 at the time and already knew Duran Duran from their first album. I loved the 'Girls on Film' video, for obvious reasons. The 'Rio' album was on my turntable for months, and the album cover hung over my bed next to the Heaven 17 cover and others. 1982 was an incredible year.

[@DistortThePreamp]

That’s so great! Penthouse and Pavement or The Luxury Gap? I’m still stuck in that timewarp…

[@danikoenig]

@@DistortThePreamp Penthouse and Pavement!!

[@CrittendenIV]

Dude, thank you for the great advice. You have great skills and I appreciate you sharing them with me. Have a great day.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you so much! Really appreciate you watching and commenting!

[@NotMarkKnopfler]

Wow... It's Friday night, no work tomorrow, just had a bostin' curry and thought I'd browse the Tube for a bit... And I see this! There is a god. This channel is going to absofrickenlutely explode! This is brilliant stuff.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Comments like this leave me speechless! Thank you so much. You make it all worthwhile…

[@robertdouble559]

Now I want a bostin' curry!

[@jtauber]

Thanks!

[@DistortThePreamp]

I’m not sure what’s just happened here but have you paid me $5?!?!? I’ve never seen that before. That’s incredible, and you’re the first person ever to have done that. If you have ANY QUESTIONS drop me a line at the email in the description and I’ll make you a short private video. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.

[@jtauber]

@@DistortThePreamp they're called Super Thanks and you must have turned them on at some point. Not many people use them but I think they're a great way of saying thank you for a really great video!

[@DistortThePreamp]

That’s so kind! Thank you 🙏🙏🙏

[@jtauber]

@@DistortThePreamp it was a FANTASTIC video!

[@Zaccyonline]

You are brilliant. Your thoughtful explanations are much appreciated. 🙏

[@DistortThePreamp]

That's such a kind comment! Hopefully I'll be able to release the next one in less than ten days!

[@samonik11]

Just discovered you, You speak SO well! You are fantastic! and that which you speak about is rad and very interesting! I too back in the day would become OBSESSED with recreating what I heard on records with my gear amd would buy and sell until i could pull off the close to exact sound. I feel you! :)

[@DistortThePreamp]

That’s very kind! Thank you so much!

[@electrosonicnebula]

Nice effect in the random mode to let go between chords and let the delay fade it out, I didn't realize that's what was going on in that song. Love how the time machine keeps popping up just in case we forgot we were in 1982

[@DistortThePreamp]

Haha. Just to explain how the sausage is made, I did a whole section on how to make Bronski Beat bass that I ended up ditching because it was repetitive and possibly a bit dull. The cut to the Time Machine probably covers up the edit where I took it all out. 😂

[@electrosonicnebula]

@@DistortThePreamp Nice sausage-making! It would be cool if you included an actual 1982 playlist of those songs. That said I could do it myself now that you've done the hard work.

[@rickporayko880]

Bravo. Truly great video. Informative, educational, and great to listen to. My head was bopping along the whole time.

[@gorlaklibhammer9852]

Genius! Of course, Nick is going to obfuscate his how-to. Subscribed. A big fan of 80's synth stuff, this sounds like a perfect channel for me.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Amazing! I'm going to work harder at increasing my output...

[@PrimevalMudd]

​@DistortThePreamp Cool, but please don't let KZbin become your life!

[@janwhitham3494]

Also huge Duran Duran fan since the first album. When you slowed the bpm I thought you were going into Reach up for the Sunrise! Really fascinating insight into Rio and Nick’s technique. Love the fact you’ve a photo of Paul Darrow aka Avon from Blake’s 7!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! BTW regarding your earlier comment I’m already moving a fretless video into production.

[@TastyBeverage]

Bless the algos for bringing this channel to me. 🙏

[@DistortThePreamp]

I, for one, welcome our new Algo Overlords.

[@ChrisB-lt6hp]

I truly appreciate the heads up, your dedication to work it through is fantastic and you do learn such a lot. As a guitarist when I started music, learning some complex phrases accelerated my own learning, and I am with t=you all the way when you mentioned 'indeed to know how this was done' it must have been like an itch.

[@DistortThePreamp]

@@ChrisB-lt6hp an itch is an excellent way of putting it!

[@aureliocarrillo]

I completelly agree your view of 1982, the best year for synth music. The central top point in an eigh-years golden age from 1978 to 1986. Thanks for your videos, go strong with the yt channel.

[@DistortThePreamp]

That’s EXACTLY the correct time period and an answer to the question ‘When were the musical 80s in the UK?’ By about 87 we were already in pre-90s mode…

[@reggiep75]

I was randomly offered this video, via the dubious algorithm, and yet it appears the algorithm has come up good. Good presentation skills (no 20-30 jump cuts), strong knowledge and.... You've bagged yourself a subscription and I've rang the 🔔 too. I'm off to watch the other videos you've posted.

[@myridean2k4]

In 2021, Duran Duran released "Future Past" album and some of its tracks had taken some of their classic sounds and put them into new songs. Rio's arpeggio has been used in their single, "Give it all up". Now, with looping/programming, when Nick needed to "play" the arpeggio, he did so with just pushing a button on his setup and it would play. 😅 For the beginning sound, they created it by dropping a bunch of metal tubes onto a grand piano's strings, recording the sound and then played it backwards. I think that's how it was described. I was a little late to the craze as I live in North America and I got hooked onto DD with "Union of the Snake" (Simon's vocal slide in the chorus & outro was killer) until after the Wedding Album. So, Seven and the Ragged Tiger, then I bought Rio, then the first album. And from there subsequent albums. I got teased by my brother for liking the band & my posters on the wall while in my teens. Just last Christmas however, he said he was listening to them and said they were good! And I was like, "Duh!" 😅

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh that’s so funny. Yeah, so Rhodes always said that the backwards sound was a piano. But it’s not *just* a piano because, well, in doing the prep for this video I sample it and reversed it. It’s very clearly a dull clang like a damped bell and then a low C on a piano. In fact, not to contradict him, but it really sounds played rather than having keys dropped on it. It’s entirely possible that they recorded it a lot of different ways while the tape was reversed and then the whole ‘keys thing’ didn’t make it to the mix because it didn’t end sharply enough. One has to remember that Duran, famously, took enough Bolivian Marching Powder to fund a small country.

[@myridean2k4]

@@DistortThePreamp Yeah you're definitely right on that. As you said, Nick doesn't like giving away his production secrets so that might've been a bit of misdirection drug-induced or not. (I mean seriously, Nick wearing lavender face powder during the tour? Go figure.)

[@nancymartinez7074]

@@DistortThePreamp Nick said in an interview that the backwards sound was him throwing metal bars on the keys of a piano or something like that. He did a lot of sampling back then. I will try to find the interview and post the link.

[@adriantaylor2422]

This is one of the best KZbin posts ever! I love how you took a deep dive into the technique and also gave historical context.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you Adrian! That is extremely kind! I really appreciate you watching, and taking the time to make such a supportive comment :)

[@ChrisMills-AmbientSpace]

From 1981 to 1985 I would eagerly await the latest in British new wave techno pop to be played on public radio out into the wilderness of New Hampshire. I greedily recorded every moment that I could to cassette tape. I was in heaven while listening.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Wonderful years. I was speaking to a University Professor this morning who’s an expert in why music makes us feel emotional and we were talking about whether there was something special about the 80s. Don’t know if that part of the discussion will make it into the video (which is about how to get emotion into pads) but if not I might include it in the afterword…

[@danielx555]

As I listened to this, I started singing Missing Persons if only for the moment."You try to live up to what others believe ..." Missing persons used that random effect and I never knew what it was before. Thank you so much!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh you are very welcome indeed!

[@MegaCraptacular]

Brilliant! It's a bit like learning the magician's secret, after you learn how it's done, you can't believe how easy it really was.

[@DistortThePreamp]

That’s a very nice thing to say! I definite want to repeat what I said in the video that I can’t be sure exactly what he did, but at least the techniques in the video should enable anyone who’s got a synth that can do arps to get very close :) Really appreciate you watching and the comment!

[@spencergroup]

What a year! What a list! I plan to go and listen to all those on your list. But 1982 was a significant year for me as I turned 18, graduated high school, had my first girlfriend and thoroughly enjoyed the new music from the immensely talented bands that were emerging onto the scene. Thanks much for this video. I just subscribed.

[@chriswareham]

I owned a Jupiter 4 for about fifteen years and used the arpeggiator on it a lot. I think you're spot on when you say it's not the random mode on Rio (or Save A Prayer that also features a prominent arpeggio). The Jupiter 4 had much more in common with the typical one oscillator per voice architecture of the later Junos rather than the dual oscillator Jupiter 6 and 8, which is why I'm really looking forward to Behringer's upcoming Juno clone.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Do you mean the Neptune? As you can tell I’ve got a DeepMind 12 which, once you get used to it is amazing. It’s actually a Juno clone with extra features. And you can turn all of those extra features off which I call putting it in Juno mode. For example, although the DM12 has three envelopes, you can link them all together etc etc etc. I always start patches like this and then, if I need to, use the extra capabilities. It’s nice to have a Juno with extra envelopes, an extra LFO, a pitchable sub, oscillator sync, and a few other things, but I *totally get* why people would rather have a straightforward clone with its fantastic interface.

[@chriswareham]

@@DistortThePreamp Yup, I meant the Neptune :-) I hadn't really considered the Deepmind, but having had a quick look at its features it's definitely got that Juno pedigree. Interested to see what the pricing will be like on the Neptune compared to the keyboard version of the Deepmind 12.

[@stevewoitas7217]

So Good. I'm playing this song live on a Roland FA-06, so this was very helpful. Thanks!

[@DistortThePreamp]

@@stevewoitas7217 oh fantastic! Does your band only do covers? Only Duran? A mixture?

[@stevewoitas7217]

@DistortThePreamp Thanks for the reply The band does a mixture of 80's. I'm a Bassist but play synth in this project.

[@DistortThePreamp]

@ sounds like your living your best life. Covers bands are fantastic.

[@Dhachia]

Brilliant! I can assure you, he was using the random feature. I discovered a secret arp technique using the same on a Microkorg. Microkorg has a Hold feature you can save as on when saving a patch. If you enable it with random activated and use the sound shaping capabilities to design the patch, the unique sound of the patch itself is saved, but the arpeggios during playback while producing note variations maintain the flavor of the original arpeggio of the sequence as if you were hitting the correct notes of the chord scale with an occasional note punching through because it’s not in the scale. In a fast sequence,, because most sequences have an even number of cycles, your ear perceives the outside notes as intentional, and therefore musical. Tight quantizing makes it even more so. I’ve used this technique to create Skinny Puppy type sequences that were amazing. It’s similar to how many of the better sequenced 80’s songs were made using the MC-8, without the extreme programming labor of hand programming a CV patch.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Yes, since the video was made I’ve confirmed it. It’s what I concluded anyway, though he was definitely manipulating the arps. Your MicroKorg thing sounds very interesting indeed! I’m going to see if I can get my hands on one and try it. It’s funny what you said about the labour of programming the MC-4. I was speaking to someone a couple of days ago who made big records in the 80s and we were talking about exactly that. It was apalling to programme. But it was so tight…

[@Dhachia]

@@DistortThePreamp Thanks. Pre-Midi CV techniques and DCB are much faster than midi data transfer for sequencing, however, if you're using a master clock source with equidistant cable lengths to your gear the timing issue becomes negligible, Alex Ball just released a vid titled "The YMO Music Computer":, which is all about the MC-8 (More powerful predecessor to the MC-4), He goes over the entire process of programming it (hilarious to watch the complexity). Like you, I've been obsessed with hardware sequencing techniques over the last decade. There is a steadily growing retro movement towards DCB retrofits for Live use because of the tightness, including 808/909 repros fully DCB compatible. But, I want to get more specific about the 80's stuff, as we have similar taste. I made attempts to contact the best sequencing programmers in the field in recent years including Peter Gowdin (Baby's in the mountains), Georg Kajanus of the band DATA, and, as I recall, Andrew Chinich from Slow Children, and it seems the thing they all had in common was their use of the MC4/8 for sequencing, so I think there must be something really special about how being forced to conceptually think about the programming, before even entering a note, leads to better composition. Many other sequencers have their own quirks, but the only other one I've come across which indirectly leads to better compositions is the MSQ- and it's partially because the internal midi clock seems detached from reality, mainly due to those old processors. The unintentional swing it induces into the end product is inherently musical- which still being perfectly sequenced to other hardware running on it's own clock. If you haven't tried one of these, really, go out of your way to find one, you will find yourself easily inspired. It's basically a 4 channel midi tape recorder with Overdub. Run the output to a legit midi recorder and be amazed.

[@keybeardist]

From what I understand the Jupiter 4 random arpeggiator was more of a “shuffle” and because of the way the random seed worked, it was deterministic, provided you play the right chord in the right order directly after power-on, you get the arpeggio from “Rio”.

[@featartists]

Great work, sound and video, sir! Thank you very much.

[@DistortThePreamp]

🙏🙏🙏

[@JgHobley]

Great video. I love NR's arps. Keep up the good work.

[@DistortThePreamp]

I'm sure that this won't be the last Duran video I do. When the channel gets a little bigger I'll try to interview him...

[@dilisdohdi4587]

Thank you for sharing your genius with the world. I am totally amazed and love your song choices as well. I have good taste in music, because of the songs you helped make because you kick ass on music theory and jazz. I am so grateful for your contribution to the history of humanity with your Duran Duran works. "A View to Kill" "Come Undone" "Ordinary World" My Favorites.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! ‘Come Undone’ and ‘Ordinary World’ are from the interesting period where they successfully re-booted with Warren (who co-wrote those). I can’t think of any other bands off the top of my head who managed to pull that off. Spectacular band.

[@AlistairLindsay]

Inspiring stuff! Thanks for sharing. I will definitely be trying out. 👍

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh I really hope these techniques work for you!

[@nicholaspenfold1704]

Informative & great sounds , thanks & well done!

[@dahawk8574]

6:26 - YES, please do explore Johnny Marr's guitar sound story! That would be epic.

[@dahawk8574]

Oh, and Sub'd, btw.

[@DistortThePreamp]

🙏

[@DistortThePreamp]

I’m just a bit nervous about annoying him 😂 However I do it I would want to keep it very respectful. Also, the video would probably be generally about the effect which would not only apply to him but also Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins), Colin Angus (The Shamen), and a few others. So I definitely wouldn’t frame it as an exposé, even though I’m sure that would make the video more successful.

[@prosperity-gospel]

I love the way you describe listening to the song for the first time!

[@DistortThePreamp]

🙏🙏🙏

[@markf.3617]

I guess similar for The Chauffeur,? another awesome track

[@DistortThePreamp]

Such an incredible song. I don’t know if this is well known, but the sound at the end is car keys. My hairdresser in 82 knew them and this is how they rizzed her.

[@myNoiseDotNet]

I came here doubtful… how will you teach me new tricks on the Arpeggio. I’ve been working with synths for more than 30 years. And well… You did. Wonderful video!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh that’s so amazing! This makes me incredibly happy! Thank you so much for your leap of faith, and the comment :)

[@mauriciomandara5946]

Nice to see Fad Gadget in your playlist… ❤

[@DistortThePreamp]

And very nice to see other people appreciate it! I had wondered if the people that watch the videos only like synth pop - but it turns out everyone has excellent taste :)

[@apricotdog]

Fad Gadget and Thomas Dolby ❤

[@JonathanCarterSchall]

That was a huge surprise.

[@_posthuman5769]

Let me tell you man, I fell in love with synths about 7 years ago. I started focusing only on guitar a few years back and sold my synths. I recently came back after finding your channel and it opened the path back to the synth world. I love your channel, very inspiring!

[@mrock828]

Arpeggiated synths are probably, if not my favorite style of sound! LOVE IT!

[@roughtakes7271]

Found you by mistake - just like in the studio - mistakes are the best!! Very nice video, informative and held my attention throughout.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Glad to be a happy accident! Really appreciate you watching, and commenting :)

[@moroderhead]

I love Duran. I reckon 1979-1981 was a special period for synth pop and new wave. John fox, Telex, Japan, ultravox and visage for starters put out amazing stuff in that time.

[@blberman]

Thank you so much for these videos! I too am enamored of the early 80's sound, and have been tooling around with synths for decades trying to conjure up those sounds. I'm learning new things from you that I can easily put into practice because your method of explaining is very effective for me. I appreciate the quality of your videos and the obvious time and energy you put into making them. Carry on!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! I haven’t mentioned this before in comments but you’re right - they take a craaaaazy amount of time. But it’s absolutely worth it. Especially when I get comments like these :)

[@matt_one]

Great video and amazing channel! I agree, 1982 was unique but I think 1983 and 1984 were great as well.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Me too :) and also 1981 and 1980. And probably 1979. But my obsession with 1982 has been a running joke with friends for a long time 😂 Also it goes with out saying that I bought *a lot* of records in the 90s…

[@matt_one]

@@DistortThePreamp Good music is timeless. But I was also obsessed with some 82's tunes. To name few: "Endgames - First, Last, For Everything", "A Flock Of Seagulls - Space Age Love Song", "Peter Godwin - Images Of Heaven"... 1982!

[@raincells]

Ok - this is great. I use to play in an 80s new wave tribute and Rio was one of the most difficult song to cover. This random arp was challenging and Roger Taylor’s bass line was also killer. Thank you for sharing and really well done!

[@0richbike]

Ahhhh....so thats how jmj did it! nice explanation

[@DistortThePreamp]

I’m so pleased you spotted that! In fact he had a very weird special sequencer called the Matrisequencer 250 that was built specifically for him by Michel Geiss. *But* JMJ uses those techniques *all the time*! All the live synth guys have to really understand how to keep the clock going and it become muscle memory to do the handover.

[@taractaylor]

Nice work!!!! It totally works!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thanks Tara! It’s totally awesome that you tried it :) Really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment :)

[@Rattus9000]

Hell yeah, you're on a roll dude.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you!

[@garymcnally6358]

What a fantastic video! I’d assumed I’d stumbled on to some experienced cult KZbinr, this was so well put together and presented. You’ve earned a new subscriber! Keep the useful and interesting content coming!

[@DistortThePreamp]

That’s a very kind comment! Yes this KZbinr is all very new to this. On April 6th (77 days ago) I had uploaded three videos, two shorts, and had six subscribers. That seems a long time ago now.

[@FixerUK]

You had me at 'A Broken Frame'. Most of these were the soundtrack of my youth. You had me at 'A Broken Frame'. P.S. Need tips for the Behringer Neutron at the back for any possible Depeche sounds.

[@Krayv3n]

A framed photo of Paul Darrow as Avon in the briliant Blakes 7 ? Good choice...that character was terrific !

[@DistortThePreamp]

My favourite character from the series :)

[@dam7t]

This channel is amazing. Love the parts about the history and what you were doing at the time.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh I am SO PLEASED to hear you say this! I think the context is really important.

[@CopenhagenCollabo]

Great content, I clearly remember when I went out to buy RIO in 1982 when I was 8 years old,

[@bentropy]

Suggestion: a select tour of your studio gear. Watching on a mobile can’t see much, assuming I’d even recognize your synths, rack outboard, controllers etc. Anyway, the arp vid was fun :)

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! I've been thinking about how to do a studio tour and make it interesting. One option is for me to focus on how the whole thing works as a production studio -- so the way the racks and patch bay and tie lines link in to the sequencer and daw for recording. This might be an alternative to just going through a list of synths. Also, without mentioning names, a fairly big music KZbinr recently published a studio tour and I was a little shocked at how unlike a studio it was. There was one very small patch bay which is okay if you're recording yourself but not if you're trying to actually make records under time pressure. But whatever I do, I promise to make it as interesting as possible!

[@bradfordkeithmadison953]

This episode was FANTASTIC!!! Thank you!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Thank you! Much appreciated :)

[@wavester46]

Gary Numan would have to be one of the most influential UK synth artists way before Duran Duran. In fact I would go so far as to say he influenced many of those 1982 successes by forming synth a band. 2 No.1 UK hit albums in 1979 and another No.1 in 1980 all by the tender age of 21. Then the press destroyed him.

[@DistortThePreamp]

@@wavester46 It’s simply amazing how destroyed he was. But at least the world eventually came around, albeit with a bit of help from Trent Reznor. It’s all a continuum of influences really, but his place is squarely within the category marked ‘Legend’.

[@markdanielt.5100]

@@DistortThePreamp I didn't follow GN that much in the 70's and 80's. I guess my head was in a different space. I knew his hits from the Tubeway Army days and that was about it. Then in 2019 I happened to hear his Savage album on YT by accident and I went......WHAT!??? I started listening to his music and I really like his sound. I don't care what the critics say. I like what I like and I know what I like and I like Gary Numan. (and Duran Duran too). Now I have to go through your play list and see what else I like. I know some of the artists. Don't forget Jean-Michel Jarre, one of the pioneers in electronic music.

[@Srode1999]

​@stevenwood4204I Die You Die is my all.time favorite Gary Numan track. The Living Ornaments 80 is the best version, IMO.

[@stephenroldan5107]

Meh

[@wavester46]

@@stephenroldan5107 Numan style was dark and edgy, still is. Duran Duran was lolly pop synth boy band like a lot during that 80s period.

[@sonicspook007]

I was almost 11 on May 10, 1982, and I remember everything about the DD craze that had begun in the US. Just saw them last autumn and they were just as fun and amazing as they always were. Andy is missed, of course, but they hadn't lost a thing!! Very talented guys. :)

[@DistortThePreamp]

They’re an extremely good live band. I know Arena is a big ‘fixed’ (or maybe a lot fixed) but some of those live versions are amazing.

[@gemini62167]

All these years and we all were convinced it was random lol. I have a feeling that he played his notes on the chords a tiny bit sooner each time as they seemed to flow continously. That is the only way I can think of doing it this way that might emulate that. Boy this was good. :)

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh thank you so much! Yes, there is even more to it than I had time to cover (I didn’t want to completely lose my audience) but although I do think he probably used a J4 on random, he was definitely manipulating the arp. I remember the first time I got the sound for this video the hairs on the back of my arms stood up. Such a great effect. Oh, and the delays are imporatnt too. They’re the kind of thing that’s easy for a producer to hear but hard if you’re not. But once you know they’re there they’re a really important part of the sound because they chase the mono note as it changes and make chords.

[@MisAnnThorpe]

@@DistortThePreamp I've never like the track "Rio", or indeed the album, very much. I actually enjoyed your approximations much more than the actual track itself. For me, the "Rio" album was a big disappointment after their self titled debut.

[@scottsmith4145]

Like you I was always puzzled by the arp in Rio! Epic video! I absolutely love arps!

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh fantastic! So glad you liked the video! Thanks for the awesome comment :)

[@philippkemptner4604]

And the Commodore 64 was released 82, so undoubtedly best year of the decade :)

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh, I’d forgotten that! I have vivid memories of the Connodore 64 and have just generally placed them in the 80s. It’s interesting to know that those memories would have been from 82 or 83.

[@NostalgicExplorer]

I never get sick of the arpeggio, you can have so many music styles with it from acid house, new wave to disco or even horror soundtracks like Halloween or more recently Stranger Things. Duran Durán's Planet Earth's arp intro with some chorus is one of this things you recognize right away when the song first start.

[@DistortThePreamp]

It’s soooo iconic! I’ll probably make another Duran orientated video within the next few months but, well, the backlog is huge!

[@NostalgicExplorer]

​@@DistortThePreampyes it is and I'm looking forward to it!

[@NotMarkKnopfler]

Second comment: I think you're absolutely right about 1982. The creativity was simply off the charts. Although I would say that things were swinging away nicely up until at least 1985 - Songs From The Big Chair being a case in point (masterpiece IMO). I got left behind when "house music" became a thing around 1988. I was thinking about Ultravox's "Hymn". I thought it was '83. Looked it up... Lo and behold... It's 1982. That track really had an effect on me. I was 11 years old and it inspired me to become a musician. Yep. '82. Wow. Last thought: the ZX Spectrum was released in 1982. Coincidence? I think not! 😅

[@DistortThePreamp]

It was such an amazing year. You’re right that really it was the mid-point of a period that started in about 79 and went up to about 86 or 87 (by then the records were starting to feel like we’d heard it all before) but it was such a great time for music. I’m always surprised by how late Pet Shop Boys were. I think of them as early 80s but the first album ‘Please’ was ‘86!

[@therealivalaalien]

Loving the Paul Darrow pic. Avon was easily the best character from Blake’s 7. Just the right mix of good and evil 👽🥃

[@DistortThePreamp]

@@therealivalaalien easily the best!!!

[@EBMZEQUENZER]

I think the king of synth-pop arps is Vince Clarke Cheers 🥂

[@oldschoolebm666]

Agreed!

[@HH-Thorsten]

Definitely!

[@philb7098]

It's Alan Wilder

[@jiros00]

And Giorgio Moroder.

[@davidriley3422]

What a great video on ARP technique! Thanks very much.

[@DistortThePreamp]

Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

[@haroldvaison]

definitely the best channel

[@DistortThePreamp]

This is a very humbling comment, especially given that it’s such early days. Thank you so much.

[@jvburnes]

Excellent and joyfully obsessive breakdown. Brings back so many memories from the 80s. I can hear Rio and then in the background Don't You Want Me from Human League flows in.

[@fa0676]

Under The Flag - Love Parasite is a disgustingly wonderful track stuffed with lush arpeggios

[@DistortThePreamp]

It makes me very happy to hear you say this. I really don’t have enough of a feel for my audience yet and I was wondering if people only liked synth pop because, well, that’s the only subject I’ve covered so far. But one guy on the chat when the video went live had also bought Bauhaus, the Banshees, and all the post-punk and goth records as well as, y’know, Yazoo. So apparently this channel is where people of taste like to hang out. Under the Flag is such an awesome record. I was a kid when it came out but we’d put on For Whom The Bell Tolls every night. As well as some pre-Dare Human League, BEF, Einstürzende Neubauten, Bowie, Queen, Associates, and so on. That’s why I chuckle when people describe themselves as ‘being the 80s’. I think their 80s was very different to mine. We all liked a-ha a bit but we weren’t really feeling Paul Young or Howard Jones at the time. If you see what I mean. My tastes are broader now but 80s music was tribal and a religion. And anyone who liked Fad Gadget would have automatically been in the same musical gang as me.

[@fa0676]

@@DistortThePreamp I play in an 80s synthpop tribute band, so I am dipped in the genre every weekend. Both my musical partner and I (we are a 'classic keys/vocals 80s du0) also have reference points which sit outside the traditional mapping of what the crowd loves us to play. One of mine is Under The Flag which an old colleague of mine introduced me to in 1983. My partner loves his Numan/Ultravox/industrial and I take my flashing lights from Travelogue/Reproduction and as you have said elsewhere, the brilliance of Martin Rushent who practically saved The Human League v2.0. But getting back to basics, just certain track elements of songs raise my heartbeat: the lush phasing of strings on the outro of Underpass and Cars, the strident hammering of analogue in the first HL albums, the fat bassline in Love Parasite (and the distant jingling bell sound suggesting legs dancing inside your chest) and Rushent's superb exploitation of the Linn in Sound of the Crowd and that damned rasping lead line. None of that features in our weekly sets as such but boy oh boy is there still an appetite for it. Please keep up the good work. Great watching and listening.

[@MisAnnThorpe]

@@DistortThePreamp That could be me talking. I remember seeing Howard Jones miming to "New Song" on TOTP (or was that Jed?!) and thinking that things had gone very badly wrong with pop music, seemingly overnight.

[@Izoo8524]

Fascinating. I always enjoy your videos. You really go into depth over a lot of really cool stuff. Thanks so much!!

[@DistortThePreamp]

I am *so glad* you like them! I have a very large number in production and am struggling to get them out as fast as I want. Every time I realise I literally wonder if my audience has moved on… thank you for being there…

[@BeauregardHall]

19:10 is the face of a man who is very happy with himself!

[@DistortThePreamp]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@MisAnnThorpe]

Without being smug, though, of course!