THE UNIVOX SR-95 (KEIO MINI POPS) DRUM MACHINE | IS THIS THE MISSING PIECE TO YOUR VINTAGE SOUND? 🎚️

A journey through the history of the Univox SR-95 (Keio Mini Pops 7)! This legendary 1971 drum machine is a warm little box, with analog sound and unique features like the "Quijada" which was captured in recordings of musical innovators like Jean-Michel Jarre and Suicide. We'll explore its birth under Keio Electronics Lab (later Korg!), its technical aspects like its pre-programmed rhythms, and the impact it had on genres like electronic and no-wave music. Even modern artists like Aphex Twin pay homage to this machine!
Take a look and listen to this portable 1970s machine.
00:00 Intro
00:12 History of the SR95 Birth of a Legend
00:48 The Sound That Defined an Era
01:11 Influential Artists that used the Univox SR-95
02:05 Technical Rundown of the Univox SR-95
02:28 Legacy of the Univox SR-95
02:35 How much it cost to buy a Univox SR95
03:00 Overlook of the Univox SR95
03:15 Presets or Rhythms of the Univox SR95
03:52 Additional voices of the Univox SR95 and tempo
04:48 Listening to the Rhythms of the Univox SR95
07:21 Combining Multiple Rhythms in the Univox SR95
08:46 Combining More than Two Rhythms in the Univox SR95
09:40 Outro
09:52 Nostalgic Explorer
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[@mikemeengs5720]

I obsessed over the sounds in this little box for many years! I was delighted when the internet came along and I was able to get info...and samples! Thanks for the video!

[@NostalgicExplorer]

Yes, the sounds are great and I like the way you can combine up to 3 rhythms and thanks for watching!

[@group-music]

The Oxygene rhythm on the Minipops 7 is the Beguine + the Slow Rock presets together. It sounds a bit different on the Univox version though. He also played the volume sliders for variation.

[@NostalgicExplorer]

Love that combination, I have the American version and probably that's why I was never able to get it 100% right. Cheers!

[@mikaelschloenzig9590]

Demoing Oxygen 4 and miss out on the quijada sound?

[@group-music]

​@@mikaelschloenzig9590With the Univox version. Jarre used the Minipops 7.

[@mikaelschloenzig9590]

@@group-music Know that ,my observation was just that there was no Quijada sound at all (level zero) when playing the Oxygene 4 drums, and the Quijada sound is essential part in that famous pattern.........

[@group-music]

Thanks for clarifying that 👍.

[@SpikesStudio3]

Just a great sounding machine. Or is it? Very iconic, none the less. Cheers for putting this together. 👍

[@NostalgicExplorer]

Glad you enjoyed it and I think it is. I was impressed by the warm and gritty sound.

[@sub-jec-tiv]

This type of machine sounds amazing on big speakers.

[@meneerjansen00]

Super interesting! Lovely machine.

[@NostalgicExplorer]

Thank you so much for watching! 🙂

[@sub-jec-tiv]

That Beguine beat is the jam. Love analog latin patterns. Yum

[@NostalgicExplorer]

Who said drum machines are cold, right?

[@jimlampshady]

I think it's also interesting how the SR-95 probably sounds "better" to our 2024 ears that it did back in 1971. When it came out, it's sounds would have been compared to real drum sounds, which were the bench mark. Today, we compare it to 50 years of synthesised sounds, against which it stacks up much better.

[@NostalgicExplorer]

yes, great sounding machine, and it definitely sounds really good. I have been using it to produce some songs and it is a nice machine to use in 2024.

[@sub-jec-tiv]

Analog drum machines can not be beat!

[@VJFranzK]

Beck also used the similar Donkamatic!

[@NostalgicExplorer]

Beck is amazing!

[@StopTryingSoHard]

I think Balance is what was often labeled as "Tone". The Univox and Keio versions use the same PCBs but with different components. Some amount of Univox were converted to the Keio components. I did the conversion once and another damaged unit I turned into a primitive trigger controlled drum machine with knobs to vary the sounds (this got rid of all the presets which were damaged anyways.) It's a fun machine, though I think less useful of the 60s/70s era machines than the CR-78.

[@NostalgicExplorer]

It's great what you did and totally agree with your comment about the CR-78. Way more relevant machine today than this one, but still a nice one to have a use once in a while.

[@sidefish8362]

Roxy Music, "Dance Away" "The Same Old Scene" to name two.

[@NostalgicExplorer]

Dance away is one of my Roxy Music's fav songs and in part because of the opening with the drum machine and then a 4x4 kick and then vocals and melody.

[@anthonyk5496]

It's always a shock the first time you find out what a quijada actually looks like 😅💀

[@NostalgicExplorer]

🤣

[@jimlampshady]

What a cool machine, lovely sounds. However, I can hear a quiet buzzing sound with the kick, not on every pattern, but often. Is that a feature, or a fault with the unit you're using?

[@NostalgicExplorer]

Hi Jim, it is a cool portable machine and probably the buzzing you are referring to is the tambourine sound, that one can be volume controlled or completely muted but not sure that's what you meant.

[@stezzogray6997]

Full Bucket Music, a free VST plugin outfit based in Germany, make a lot of plugin versions of early Korg equipment, often extending the functionality of the original machines! Their version of the Minipops is called, rather unsurprisingly, Bucketpops.

[@NostalgicExplorer]

@@stezzogray6997 I have to try the Bucketpops and thanks for the information.

[@stezzogray6997]

@NostalgicExplorer ​No problem! FB have added a whole new layer of tweakability; more of it, in fact, than one finds on a (stock, first-generation) Roland TR808.

[@NostalgicExplorer]

@@stezzogray6997 That's awesome, it sound like a great option to explore.

[@jimlampshady]

And do you know if there is a VSTi emulation of it out there on the interweb? Both sample-based and virtual analogue would be interesting, and with the latter there are probably sound design possibilities that didn't exist on the original.

[@NostalgicExplorer]

Yes, actually someone just told me that there is a VST version from Full Bucket music, you can download it here: plugins4free.com/plugin/3231/

[@sub-jec-tiv]

@@NostalgicExplorer ahh cool thanks! And, synthesized, not samples! 👏

[@klinkske]

Univox SR-95 is not same as Mini Pops 7. A variant of this instrument was sold in the US under the Univox brand, as the Univox SR-95. This featured slightly different "Beguine" and "Slow Rock" rhythms, and was missing the rimshot of the Mini-Pops 7. I can push more then 3 buttons on my MP7 at once, not sure how much this results in different patterns

[@NostalgicExplorer]

Hey, indeed, that is correct and it is mentioned in the video. Thank you so much for watching!

[@ashfaq1999]

Great video. Did suicide use this on their song cheree from 1978 ?

[@NostalgicExplorer]

Thank you for watching! There is a lot of mixed information regarding the first album. Martin Rev has mentioned that he used Electro Harmonix pedals with a Farfisa organ and a rhythm machine made by a bowling bowl pin company called Seagrams. Also used this machine and perhaps the CR78 borrowed from The Cars' keyboardist Greg Hawkes. It will be great to get to talk to them to clarify this mystery.

[@ashfaq1999]

@@NostalgicExplorer Many Thanks 😊

[@DomikDomik]

Was it also used on Blondie's Heart of Glass

[@NostalgicExplorer]

Hey Domik that was the Roland CR-78, you can listen to it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6KQfGyjg7ukqa8

[@gregmonk9037]

Song for guy. Elton John.

[@VJFranzK]

Did you ever think it sounds like an insect? 🪲

[@NostalgicExplorer]

Totally it reminds me of a cicada.

[@outaspaceman]

Yes, yes I did..😂 I even wrote a song about it..!

[@NostalgicExplorer]

​@@outaspaceman😂