The £200 Vintage Synth Challenge!

[@AlexBallMusic]

BUT YOU USED OTHER GEAR!!!!! With the benefit of hindsight I should have elaborated exactly what I meant. The gear did indeed cost less than £200 and so it was a "£200 vintage synth challenge". Unfortunately, snappy video titles are a necessity for KZbin and whilst that title wasn't untrue, I appreciate it could be misunderstood without further elaboration. So... 1) I didn't mean (or say) that I wouldn't use the rest of my studio. 2) I use the same gear to process synths worth ten or twenty times what these cost, so it's a level playing field. 3) The sounds all still came exclusively from these two instruments. 4) Everything I did could be done in the DAW with free plugins, but that makes for a boring video with a mouse wiggling around. 5) The only member of ZZ Top without a huge beard is the drummer - Frank Beard. 6) I think Norwich might escape relegation this year. They seem to be turning it around.

[@thaJeztah]

Anyone could make their crappy gear sound great by just "adding a great musician". Won't be able to get that for 200 quid 🙄😉

[@AlexBallMusic]

@@thaJeztah What if I have 210 quid?

[@torbenanschau6641]

At the first glance it's ticking none of the boxes. But you wanna know what happens when you add some little mixer and ms 20 to it and explore some further sound experiences.

[@lo-firobotboy7112]

Always wondered if Frank was his real name.

[@reggiep75]

The irony of Frank Beard... He's probably choking as we speak and he's thinking 'Someone is mentioning my damned name again and saying I'm the only member without a beard.. SHUT UP!'

[@kevinsturges6957]

The real difference in your material isn’t so much the equipment, it’s your raw talent. It’s your songs and arrangements.

[@MirlitronOne]

Yes, this is usually true. Dammit.

[@rachelar]

Effects

[@simonjefferytaylor]

Yep

[@Ishkur23]

It's not what you have, it's what you do with it. Good music is good music, irrespective of how it's made.

[@Hainbach]

I love the phasing introduced by the EQ on the Snare. So dreamy. And I love the sequencer trigger idea, supercool.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Cheers. That drum machine is quite the challenge! Trigger - I've since discovered that the bank hold button limits the programme up changes to one bank. As a bank holds eight patches and there are eight waves available I can setup a little wavetable if I plan it out. Will have to try it out...and then run it through an obscure soviet wire recorder. ;)

[@CatFish107]

@@AlexBallMusic Lol at the wire recorder.

[@thehorriblebright]

I had a dw6000 back in the 90s. I was severely envious of my buddy who had the dw8000 that had an arpeggiator. He also had the superdrums, wasn't envious of that.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Haha, yeah. The Super Drums was pretty heavily compromised in order to be affordable. DW-8000 - I have that lined up for the future. Look forward to trying it.

[@Eyepatchfilms]

Its irritating that the ex8000 doesnt have it either

[@riggidyboo]

@@AlexBallMusic I had to pause the video to try that program up trick on my DW8000. Ran a LFO from the modular in an it worked like a charm.

[@Scottzilla1970]

The front panel on that Korg always reminds me of a stitch pattern guide on a sewing machine

[@SamLowryDZ-015]

I started out in the 80s with just a Pro-One, a DR 110, a mono cassette radio and the living room hi-fi that had L-R inputs to the tape deck. Bouncing down and adding a layer each time quickly teaches you how to plan ahead and avoid mistakes.

[@simonjefferytaylor]

Dr110 was good though

[@dreadful_name2924]

These will probably be all valued twice as much now thanks to Alex’s sick jam!

[@AlexBallMusic]

Value has shot up at least 67p already! Might hit £5 by the weekend.

[@DarkSideofSynth]

@@AlexBallMusic Damn! If this were the stock market, you'd make Warren Buffet look like a lame noobie ;)

[@6581punk]

Often the big difference between the cheap and expensive ones is the cheaper ones need more FX, layering and EQ. Sometimes there are engine differences that one will do than another won't (oscillator sync, ring mod, PWM and so on). But you can make a turd of a synth sound reasonable if you're prepared to put the effort in.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Yep, the DW is a bit lumpy prior to compression and EQ. Needs FX too!

[@rietheguyschannel]

Cheap/limited synths with decent FX are wildly underrated. My SH-1000 is pretty lame on it's own but run it through some pedals and it's a magical synth.

[@AlexBallMusic]

@@rietheguyschannel The sawtooth on the SH-1000 is proper good though. So throaty. But the higher waves...yeah, quite cheesy. :)

[@rietheguyschannel]

@@AlexBallMusic oh it can makes some great sounds, just not very many.

[@evskis]

@@AlexBallMusic The Poly800 doesn't, and it's an even smaller engine and even cheaper synth. I used to have one, and remember programming the intro sound sequence for 'Heartbeat City' by The Cars, and it sounding plenty better than whatever Greg Hawkes had used, particularly live (!). It actually sounded better than, cause the internal Poly800 chorus / delay (sort of like the fx featured on NI's Prophet 5 plugin) was just phenomenal - a gimmick, but phenomenally lush sounding. I had the Poly800 with black keys too, cause it was goth times innit. Must say I used to have a Juno 60 for years -exchanged my DX7iis for a Juno 60, Moog Prodigy and the Poly 800 back when-, and yes, the Juno chorus is awesome, but to be perfect it should have had that cheap Poly800 delay fitted in there. And MIDI. And a cigarette holder. That's a **fantastic song** by the way, My Own Reflection. I want that bassline lol.

[@bitspacemusic]

I noticed quite quickly that micro managing songs together in Ableton never gave any results and I wasn't having fun. As soon as I pick simpler things or limit myself into a more confined workflow, things get fun and I get nice surprises. This usually involves hardware for me. These limitations are fun and very rewarding, instead of being stuck in mouse-driven DAW projects.

[@nelsonpuello8722]

Alex, you capture the feeling of the 80s so well, not only with the music composition but including some old VHS footage to go along. I was transported immediately to my middle school days, and brought up a long buried nostalgia from my childhood days. Thank you.

[@dankro279]

Well done, sneaking in that old, lesser-known Beatles song "Back in the A.D.B.S.S.R" into your video!!

[@artisan002]

Your take on melody is so unique. Seriously. It's kind of aggravating, simply because the majority of it is stuff I wouldn't have ever thought of. (Of course, I'm also just flatly terrible at lyrics)

[@jakehendriksen2841]

Using the sequencer to rapidly switch patches in-time is next-level. Brilliant!

[@AmeyahOfficialTV]

Quite happy with that video. I often limit myself to one synth or use entirely only samples from different sources to sound design drums, melodic parts, FX - all FX plugins allowed by no synths. And you did something similar here, i liked the end result a lot. Going with limitation to find an excuss for sound design is just so highly inspiring.

[@martinheath5947]

Very good! Brings back happy memories of me and my Atari 1040ST running Cubase (black and white on a small screen) Taking a MIDI part, copying, transforming notes into programme changes (predelaying track a few ticks), then dividing or multiplying programme changes by different numerical values thereby generating all kinds of "wavetable" sounds from the original synth part. Happy days 😊

[@DestroyER82]

Played on friends DW-6000. It actually does sound pretty awesome, chorus circuit uses same components as Roland stuff from that era (Juno's / JX's) and linked with ctrl controller you then have very decent allround polysynth good for all various kinds of music (especially synthwave, chill, various lo-fi retro or soundtracks). Awesome demonstration.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Yep, thought it would be awful and whilst it can be a bit anemic when you're starting the patch, by the end it can be suprisingly rich and wide. Nice filters and crunchy but complex waveforms I guess.

[@EannaButler]

Super vid as ever. But man sequencing the program change is class! Amazing it reconfigured the voice quickly enough to make the sound work! Excellent 👍

[@AlexBallMusic]

I was expecting the lag in program changes to be too great given it was 1985, but it totally worked!

[@macronencer]

@@AlexBallMusic I think there's some sort of "bloat effect" with modern gear, which makes it take longer even though it's way faster. I often say to people that Windows 98 had software that was often more responsive than what we use now, and it's true. The machines were slower back then, but they had WAY less to do, and when they weren't crashing and bluescreening all over the place they were quite nippy.

[@AlexBallMusic]

@@macronencer Absolutely! I remember a programmer telling me how crazy efficient they had to be when the resources were so limited and how everyone got lazy when the specs improved because you could get away with it.

[@macronencer]

@@AlexBallMusic Spot on! I'm a software developer and I started my career in 1988 so I've seen it all happen :) Every byte counted in those days...

[@infindebula]

@@AlexBallMusic A lot of old polysynths can do program change sequences very musically. I've tried it on the JX-3P, Juno-106 and Poly-800. I've only ever done it using MIDI though.

[@jamesm601]

Alex: "Let's make a little mini-song" Proceeds to play the dopest banger of 2022.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thank you :)

[@SockSockson]

I agree. That's an awesome track. The harmonies remind me of the kind of stuff Bibio does. Amazing.

[@jamesm601]

@@SockSockson Well now I have to look in to this Bibio person. :)

[@neale5j]

Yeah I enjoyed that track!

[@melsonic1463]

Concuring hands down ...

[@jakelawson1]

Love it. Great work. The DW8K has been a mainstay for me for decades. Not the most flexible, but it does sound awfully nice. Really nice filters.

[@ReadAndReturn]

I had a DW6000 for about 2 days about 2 years back. Didn't even have the chance to play it as it showed up completely destroyed in shipping.. I was so sad as it was my first truly 80's synth. Glad to hear one in action though on this channel! Great job as usual!

[@Daphoid]

Fantastic all around. You could totally take that short song and work it into a full single; easily. Love it.

[@cortical1]

Nicely done. I bought the Korg SuperDrums when they were new. Can't tell you how valuable they were initially for helping me learn bass (learning to sync tightly and groove as a full rhythm section) and then later making my own music with a Tascam cassette 4-track recorder. All those limitations, as you said, forced me to become a better writer, producer, and arranger. And the results speak for themselves. I led several bands in the 80s called Dudes Incognito, Red Gemini, and Fallout. Under my leadership, Fallout enjoyed uninterrupted anonymity, sharing stages in Tempe, Arizona with fellow obscurities Not On My Watch, To Each His Bone, and my personal favorite 80s band name: Gorby's Red Splotch. Ah, simpler times. Cheers.

[@johnrobinson5672]

Please tell me those band names are for real!?

[@cortical1]

@@johnrobinson5672 All real, for better or worse. Also all completely unfindable on the internet. That's how popular we were.

[@bluegroove777]

Best comment I've read in awhile. Cheers.

[@Mind-your-own-beeswax]

For cheapness I use a free keyboard/synth which is the PSS680. Yes it’s a home keyboard I hear you say but with midi and an actual synth in it I love it. The drum pads along the front are not bad either plus when ran through some pedals it sounds massive.

[@lo-firobotboy7112]

The PSS-XXX actually have a lot of synthesis power and potential hidden beneath their "home keyboard" exterior. The PSS-480 is a full-on FM synth workstation. It's just very small.

[@clauscombat418]

The Pss480/580/680/780 keyboards are probably the cheapest true synth to buy and they are easier to program than a DX7 😉

[@lo-firobotboy7112]

@@clauscombat418 Indeed! The PSR-36 is another hidden treasure.

[@AlexBallMusic]

I had a PSR-27 that I did a video with on my channel very early on. I'd had it since I was a kid, but I've since given it away. There were some half decent sounds hidden in it, but it was generally awful. Had those drum pads too!

[@lo-firobotboy7112]

@@AlexBallMusic Lol...I think that was the video that led me to your channel in the first place.

[@billyruss]

Starting out with limited gear back in the 80s, I became adept at "thinking about every single part... and eking the most out of it" - a useful experience for when I got better gear.

[@henninghoefer]

Fantastic as always: Wonderful short song, insightful commentary, and some vintage gear to look at! But I think you missed a zero in the video's title? Quick googling and sloppy conversion from € to £: Korg DW6000 + Korg Superdrums: £190 Ibanez RM80: £125 if you're lucky Korg MS-20: £1000 if you're _really_ lucky Boss BF-2: £95 Dr. Scientist Bitquest: £200 Strymon BigSky: £350 + unnamed sequencer for the program changes of the synth: £40 (just because it totals up nicely) Total: £2000

[@AlexBallMusic]

I'm pleased to say that I was _"really_ lucky" and then more than that because this stuff used to be a lot cheaper than it is now and some of it was given to me, but point taken. I could have just used freeware plug-in FX in my DAW as the same techniques are all available in the box, but it isn't as interesting for a video. Also, a point I'm kicking myself for not explicitly making in the video - I use the same stuff with very expensive synths, so it's a level playing field.

[@taggartjs]

Totally agree with your workflow statement. My first synth was a 6000 and it gave me a great head start on learning synth programming. Plus, I came up with some pretty killer sounds back in the day, if I do say so myself. In college, in 198-something, we used a Tascam 1/2 eight track, so we learned pretty fast what was important to the song and what could be tossed out. Yes, I feel that some of that old hardware actually improved my writing and arranging skills. However, OUR drum machine at the college was a DMX. Lots of fun! I’ve still got my 6000 AND I just bought another one about a year ago (the original one needs some work). Anyway, thanks for the trip down memory lane!

[@CatFish107]

Always a lovely time when we get a new Alex video! Cheers fella

[@alexrusso401]

So I kinda love the DW-6000 now. I want to try picking one of those up.

[@IanWaugh]

Hey Alex - Good stuff! Very impressive. The DW-6000 has already gone up in price. Some sold at £290 but most seem to be over £400. That's the power of KZbin 😁

[@Lu_Woods]

Love the low budget innovations. I can spend hours playing with the Casio Sk-1

[@johnrobinson5672]

Not so low these days.

[@ChurchOfTheHolyMho]

I always find it funny what our ears like compared to others... A few friends had purchased Poly 800s/ Polly 800 MkIIs - and I didn't like the sound.... Wasn't a Korg fan... until the DW-8000, and I had to have one myself. Nice to hear its little baby brother sounding pretty darn good when used in the hands of a skilled artist. Nice!

[@RedMeansRecording]

Super drums giving me strong sonic the hedgehog vibes.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Haha! Yes!

[@mastercylinder1939]

There’s probably some ointment for that.

[@louierubio]

Haha that’s exactly it

[@KarlBate]

Especially loved the 80's video and computer insert video, very much gave it the feel of the era. 👏

[@EspenKraft]

Miss my old DW-6000 watching this Alex. ;-) Great demo!

[@AlexBallMusic]

Better to have loved and lost...

[@lennytabtwoo9686]

Here's the sound of two hundred pounds of vintage synths routed through ten thousand pounds worth of other equipment. Not picking on you as I know that's basically the only way you can get a usable result. I once played around with an old Casio toy using a full studio of effects and synths worth nearly $500k with the help of two sound engineer friends. Nothing of the original sound source was basically left, but that $20 toy sure sounded great. Love your videos, please keep up the good work as I'm living in the Dictatorship of Australia were most of us are still locked up and going stir crazy without the great entertainment you provide.😎

[@thebreathalyzer]

As a long time DW8000 owner (and general Korg fan) loved this video so much!!! I spend a lot of time demoing the DW6000 and ended up grabbing the DW8000 to get the aftertouch and digital delay. Great sounding synths and there's a nice emulation now the Full Bucket FB-7999. Great observation about how working within imitations can stimulate creativity.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Hi Shawn. Yes, quite interesting synths. I'm hoping to try the 8000 at some point.

[@12opsynths]

Great chord changes and a fun exercise! This is what synth kids in the 80s were working with. Sometimes my guitar playing friend would bring his ART FX box over and we would non-lin it into submission.

[@imlxh7126]

Damn...I know the DW-6000 waveforms are built into the microkorg, but the DW's filter sounds SO much more juicy 😳

[@georgegeorgio1751]

And different output stage and analog chorus so it will sound much different.

[@TheHorseValse]

Sequencing programs is a fantastic idea! Great video with a takeaway: It's not about the gear or the price of it! :)

[@TDRKB]

Hi Alex, that's a lot of Korg Gear. The 1980's have a lot to answer for. Lots of work on this one as usual and entertaining. I love the Program Change Hack. Espen Kraft would be proud of you.

[@jbognap]

Brilliant bit re: short triggers to simulate wave sequencing. Back in the 80's I used to use the same concept using a TR-606 with a Pro-1, Poly-61 and JX-3P sync and advance the in built-in sequencers and arpeggiators. It's this kind of discovery that is less likely to occur when you have millions of options at your fingertips.

[@KeyRides]

That´s gold - and the "mini" song is just beautiful!

[@pedllz]

This is great!...I used to own a DW800 and a Korg Percussion...and also used the sync to sequence the 8 programs within the bank. The good thing was that when changing the program the envelopes were not re-triggered...so it was more like a wave sequencing...before the Wavestation

[@Mark_Ocain]

Great demo as always, Alex! Amazing how you jazzed up some otherwise 'ordinary' sounds with a few time-based effects. It all sounded nice and full in the mix.

[@krokmouthedragon9258]

Woaw ! I waiting for that for years ! Thank you so much ! Of course, a great vidéo

[@bert_wert]

Brilliant end result! Big fan of the program up connected to a sequencer. Thats just really brilliant!

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks!

[@jamesr2934]

Fantastic Vid, I loved the way you used a sequencer to cycle through the presets to make modulation and movement - pure genius! I recently downloaded a free version of the Kawai K1 VST and started to write a song with just that one synth having inspired by watching a couple of excellent KZbin vids (Espen Kraft and also Bad Gear) about the K1 last year. Blending the sounds together and adding effects, you can get some pretty useable synthwave sounds. You have now inspired me to go back to this song and finish it (out of the many many unfinished projects I have 'ongoing' !!! 🙂). As always thanks for the vid!

[@herrMarfil]

nice and elegant, as usual. you are my comfort digital musical and educational realm. thanks from rome

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks from England!

[@herrMarfil]

@@AlexBallMusic ❤️

[@manupod71]

My first synth was a poly-800 . I know , it's not the "best" synth in the world ... But it's still in my heart and , 30 years later ... i still have it .

[@dkba52]

me too.

[@ChromosomeSyndicate]

The Poly 800 is a lovely synthesizer.

[@doctorhook4022]

Same here

[@bereantrb]

The DW-6000 was my first synth, purchased in high school with lawn mowing money. In the 1990s sold it and bought a used DW-8000 which I still have-brilliant synth.

[@infindebula]

I own some far more expensive synths, but the DW-6000 has always been a 'secret weapon' of mine. It's not really flexible but it is definitely unique. Putting bright digital waves through a resonant analog filter was a really 80s thing to do, and I love it. You can use the resonance to emphasize strange, inharmonic components of some of the waves, especially near the top and bottom of the keyboard where you get artifacts and aliasing. The ESQ-1/SQ-80 take that sound to another level of course, but without those beautiful DW filters.

[@amakat16]

I would love to see more of these, limitations really bring out great creativity

[@jabelsjabels]

I love sequencing program changes. The MS2000 can get a similar effect, and it gives me maximum Max Tundra vibes I think

[@HiGlowie]

Ms2000 is a beast. (Yes, I know the whole people calling synths “beasts” thing and I think it’s hilarious)

[@drbop6951]

Sounds great - but as you’ve noted you probably could have done this with a VL Tone with that vast studio support behind this. Maybe your effects should have been included in the budget and only a straight recorder used as the only additional gear. I did a BBC4 documentary soundtrack just with a Korg Electribe 2 that cost me £120. Wasn’t amazing but the client loved it and it did sound great in the mix. So your point stands - it’s down to what you do with what you have. Congrats on a great channel.

[@andyjames362]

Completely agree with what Alex said about making the most out of what you have!! Limitations are only limiting if you let them be!! Fantastic video as always Alex 👏 👌

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thank you!

[@aleksamrkela831]

The intro jam sounds like the one you made with the Jupiter-8! :D Awesome, as always!

[@jemandhuman5039]

As we see there are NO excuses for lacking creativity! Nicely done video and a good gear choice as well, cheers.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks Jemand, much appreciated.

[@thelysdal]

The cool thing about the DW-6000 is that all the waves are just stored on an EPROM, I've modified mine such that it has several sets of waves you can switch between :)

[@georgegeorgio1751]

Put up a vid with some patches you created with the new waves.

[@KarlozWatson]

Could you link to some instructions on how to do that? I’ve been wanting to do it on mine but can’t find any information on it.

[@nobodynoone2500]

Not sure you helped the drums all that much, but the process was the gold. I always got better basses out of that thing but i remember not liking it and quickly traded it and bought another juno. This time the super secret under-rated Roland MKS-7. Some unholy combination of Juno 106, 707, and extra bass channel. Worthy of a vid in of itself. Using shit (or just limited) gear is awesome. You learn way more about it. great vid.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Funny you should say that..... kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWbYZ2eum8aNmaM

[@glenesis]

This is great, and the song is wonderful, but my takeaway from this is that I'm shocked you managed to find a DW6000 plus a Super drums unit for under £200 😱 Congrats! That's a lovely score!

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks Glenn. Well, a very beaten up DW-6000 and DDM-110 for under £200, yes. I actually found another tatty 6000 but got beaten to the punch by someone else. It would have involved a lot of cleaning as it had stickers all over it, so perhaps I dodged a bullet there.

[@LorenEngo]

The program sequence via foot switch is a brilliant idea! Very interesting and creative.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thank you! I saw that short trigger symbol and recognised it from hooking up sequencers and so....boom! It worked.

[@mutantpixel4063]

If I could rate this video with my face, it would be a big smile from ear to ear. Something special about good songs made on crappy gear, bravo! Excellent job.

[@AlexBallMusic]

😃

[@stephanmobius1380]

Awwww - the smiles of Matthew Broderick, Molly Ringwald and Elisabeth Shue flashed before my closed eyes, and it was a pink bright summer for a moment.

[@battleandroid]

It's always nice to see a DW-6000 getting work.

[@SisterRose]

that DW6000 seems like an incredibly vaporwave synth ngl, particularly the chimey sound you used here

[@georgegeorgio1751]

6000 is great

[@neale5j]

I remember waaaay back in about 1987 when I got a Casio CZ-101 and that was about it. I borrowed a 4-track and had a couple of guitar fx pedals and, happy days, I HAD to be creative. Shame the 101 caught fire…

[@deastman2]

The DW-6000 was my first synth back in the mid-80’s. I’ve long maintained that it was the worst sounding synth ever. In hindsight, there was nothing wrong with its bright additive sound and resonant LPF, but it simply wasn’t the Roland sound which was popular at the time. More recently I’ve added a DW-8000 and EX-8000 to my collection, along with the truly fantastic DW-8P programmer. With some effects, and especially when layering a couple of patches together, these synths can produce some beautiful sounds!

[@LouisSerieusement]

yeaaah ADBSSR !! I love those, especially when you got several of them :D Very cool video Alex thanks !

[@MichaelBlueMusic]

Fantastic, as always!! I was very surprised when I finally got a DW8000 last year how good those things sound! Love seeing you work with pedestrian gear. 👍

[@georgegeorgio1751]

I also love the sound of my 6000 once you know how to program it you can get some great sounds especially with some EQ , COMP & Effects.

[@larryfinke6133]

Oh Gawd, the DW8000 was my first synth. I loved it and I miss it! Thanks for this vid!

[@georgegeorgio1751]

But he’s not talking about that model only the 6000

[@everpuremusic]

That DW-6000 is such an underrated synth. That bass has quite some low end! And yes, that drum machine is probably only useful when being sampled, processed and then played with some velocity dynamics - preferably in an MPC. ;)

[@JJohnkkttran]

This is def my fav Neon Indian song. But seriously, I have new found appreciation for tje DW-6000 from this video. What an odd Synth that doesn't do what other synths do, but does some other very interesting things! It makes me want to pull my Roland D-20 out of storage and try the same thing, as that machine is WEIRD and similarly hated even though it can sound oh so sweet. Side note, I'd love to see an episode on Ensoniq and some of their weirder gear. The ESQ, EPS, and Fizmo in particular are a lot of fun but so complex to me it'd be cool to see what you'd do with them.

[@HiGlowie]

Check out Audiopilz’s episode on the Fizmo.

[@paulcharlesworth9114]

Great video Alex and a sweet banging tune to conclude. Choice is one of the unchallenged tenets of our society and anybody who seriously makes things knows how inhibiting and ironically restrictive unlimited choice can be. (Auditioning 50 reverb plugins and then scrolling through presets like someone spending all evening deciding what to watch on their 3 streaming services and not watching anything.) I get GAS myself from time to time and the best cure for me is to deliberately limit the gear I use. It's like writing to a particular metre and rhyme scheme. It's inspiring and helps you to hone your craft. Free verse can be as effective as any other form, but if that's all you know how to write, then you're not writing it as well as you could. Know your instrument.

[@AlexBallMusic]

You're not wrong Paul! The TV analogy is a good one.

[@dionysiaex5538]

I've always thought you and Pat Sharp had something in common. And there he is!!

[@MusicMindset]

8:32 The song we didn't know we needed right now :-) Thanks for this Alex!

[@Musikkeller-Innsider]

Very instructive, Mr. Ball, very instructive! (And a nice song too)

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thank you!

[@jamesm601]

Love how your little program change trick turned the DW-8000 into a wavetable synth.

[@AlexBallMusic]

After finishing the video I discovered you can use "bank hold" to limit the progression to one bank of eight patches. I could have then saved eight patches using each of the eight waveforms in chronological order and got a neat looping wavetable! I'll have to try it as it would have been even better.

[@jamesm601]

@@AlexBallMusic Wow that's a great idea. That would make it even more musically usable. Would love to hear a track using that technique.

[@tedmuss]

mate....that mini song track is gorgeous, great vid! : )

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks!

[@paolobragaglia]

Respect, Alex. You're a great musician. Limits are fuel for creativity, a fundamental lesson never repeated too much often. And the sounds are perfect for the song! :D

[@AlexBallMusic]

Cheers Paolo!

[@leeselectronicwidgets]

Great demo song, as always! I love my DW-8000, in fact it's the second one I've owned as I missed the first. Really underrated due to its limited front panel interface, it can sound both warm and in unison very powerful

[@georgegeorgio1751]

But he’s not talking about the 8000 here only the 6000 and it sound s great.

[@sssyntax]

Cool vid. The dw6000 is awesome. Loads of great sounds to be made. Very clear, bright and fizzy character to it. Does all the classic analogue sounds most people are after. Like the jx3p and cz5000, its way underated compared to inferior yet over rated synths like the juno series.

[@fiddlestickzmuzik]

always love watching you do your thing.

[@leegreveson]

Back in my secondary school days, the music department had a Yamaha V50 workstation synth. 8 trk sequencer plus separate rhythm track FM 4 op tone generation. It's what got me into making my own music, and certainly didn't seem limited at the time (89-93). I bought one again a couple of years ago, and whilst I still remembered how to use it all this time later, just wasn't the same magic that came from it. I sold it again (the sequencer memory wasn't working anyway, the whole point of getting it was to sequence). However, what I will say is, I nearly always start a Logic project with 8 midi tracks not including drum tracks. Not saying I limit myself to 8 all the time, but just a habit. I'm never parting with my Roland D-50 though and an MC300 I need to get retrofitted with USB storage device

[@lo-firobotboy7112]

$200/year for new gear is what I've budgeted for myself beginning back around 2005. It's amazing what I've been able to find in local classified ads and at garage(boot) sales etc. I've also collected multiple super crappy keyboards and traded them up for one less crappy keyboard. Some of my best sub-two hundred dollar finds: Moog MG-1 $100 Alpha Juno-1 $100 Akai AX73 $200 Univox MiniKorg (traded a couple $50 Speak-n-Spells for it) Roland D-50 Free (was gifted to me when I helped a neighbour move)

[@AlexBallMusic]

Nice approach and the D-50 sounds well deserved. Good times.

[@lo-firobotboy7112]

@@AlexBallMusic It was wrapped in an old carpet. The owner said she knew I like old keyboards and I could have whatever was in the rug. I didn't even unroll it until a got home. I was so surprised I almost dropped the damn thing.

[@normanbriscoe8261]

Ahh Mate, gotta love that vocal synth melodies, chopping it up for 80,s real, gorg.......

[@haroldkarl6708]

I used to own a Korg DW 6000. I loved it, but always lusted after its bigger brother the DW 8000.

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

aww, I miss my little DW-6000, was pretty easy to set it up as a wave table synth by using the old Cubase MIDI maps and sysex commands to switch the oscillator waves in real-time. I may have an old copy of Cubase with one of those maps somewhere, though I’m not sure these days. Using it in that way really beefed up the synths sonic pallet

[@philmarsh5593]

Just goes to show how ideas and creativity can benefit even basic/cheap gear. Nice sounds out of the DW. Back in the mid 80s, I bought a Super Drums - as a step up from my Soundmaster SR-88. At the time it was the cheapest programmable digital drum machine there was - but had no MIDI. All I had was a basic 4 track and a Korg SDD1000 digital delay (no reverb, even), so the drums always went to 1 track in mono, ADT'ed to at least give them a bit of "oomph". I guess it served a purpose at the time but even now the sound of that drum machine makes me shudder. 😆

[@johnrobinson5672]

I currently own both the Korg Superdrums and the Soundmaster Stix (one up from the SR88). I’m a sucker for the vintage/quirky gear.

[@philmarsh5593]

@@johnrobinson5672 I've got samples of both now - but I confess I can't find a use for the Superdrums samples. Maybe 1 day if I write a cheesy synthwave tune or something!

[@rachelar]

The DW6000 sounds surprisingly like a Poly61 at times

[@100ThingsIDo]

Really great Video Alex! Reminds me of when I had a SH-3a, chrous pedal, guitar and 2 track reel to reel! I think I was the most creative a happy musically during this period :D

[@AlexBallMusic]

Yes! Totally, there's something great about using so little, you just get on with it.

[@Froobyone]

I had a DW8000 around 1990. I was by no means a sound designer but I did get some really great sounds out of it. I listen to old tapes from back then I can tell which are the DW8000 sounds. Then I get all nostalgic and misty-eyed while I try to remember where it went. I think I sold it and bought a motorbike. /shrug no regrets.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Well, motorbikes are fun too. Nice to have the tapes to remember it by. I should be borrowing an 8000 soon, I'll try to avoid selling it for a bike.

[@Froobyone]

@@AlexBallMusic :D Made me chuckle.

[@GrumpyTim]

Awesome, I like the affordable end of the market (or at least that's where I reside anyway). I'd have never thought about recording the individual drum sounds then processing them, maybe because I was stuck with very few available tracks at the time, but it did help a kind of rough drum machine. I used to run my Boss DR110 through a harmony generator to add a bit of weirdness and "creativity" to the sound!!! The DW6000 sounds quite good, I've probably got worse stuff. Great video as usual Alex.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Harmony generator - nice idea! I also forgot to try running it through my vocoder and pitch shifters too. Maybe next time, if I can draw the strength to listen to it again, ha. DW-6000 - yeah, suprisingly good.

[@GrumpyTim]

@@AlexBallMusic Haha, you have to do it - wallow in the beautiful sounds of the Korg SuperDrums!!!!

[@MikiStrange]

I really enjoyed this, mostly because there is so much choice out there that few people end up using what they already have to its full potential. If you feel like another challenge in the future how about grabbing a Yamaha MU100 (or other XG, GS, GM sound module) and doing something similar with the XG sounds. Just a thought.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks. Yes, I think more challenges like this would be good in the future.

[@hearseforhire]

I’ve had a DW6000 since about 1995. Wouldn’t sell it for anything. It is capable of crazy stuff if you dive into it a bit. Mostly have used it for really slimy weird pads and fat leads.

[@davidnoir188]

'see what you can do with limitations' ......looking forward to the programming a DX7 with boxing gloves on vid.

[@jefgibbons]

GREAT vid and song! I've got a video coming where I use the DDD-1, the Korg Poly 800, the JX3P and a few others... I find the same thing... gets me out of my virtual instrument ruts!

[@AlexBallMusic]

Nice! Yes, playing with something physical (even if it's limited) gets away from that computer screen for a bit.

[@texacomann]

I love your Videos, because you make music with the gear. And so again, very cool song!

[@jaggass]

The DW-6000 is good because it uses sampled waveforms. I love the Lo-Fi sound of the Korg Super Drums drum machine.

[@McN4styFilth]

A man of good taste. I prefer the Kawai K3 for this very specific sound but it's an underrated era. Analog filter + digital waveforms.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Yes, way more variation. Plus 44 combinations with 2 oscillators. If there was wavetable or modulation then it would out of this world.

[@XavierRadix]

To be honest, that DW-6000 is pretty darn awesome! The Super Drums though... Eh. :')

[@AlexBallMusic]

The Super Drums are the ultimate challenge. ;)

[@georgegeorgio1751]

Agree 6000 sounds great.