Yamaha TX81Z: Is it still useful today ?

The Yamaha TX81Z is off course famous for its legendary 'Lately Bass' preset but what else does it have to offer ?
In this video I'll showcase the sounds of this classic 4 operator FM synth and create a melodic techno track using this synth as only sound source.
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:42 Showcase of the TX81Z presets (Yes C15 is in it as well, don't worry)
5:50 How to edit and create patches with ctrlr
6:38 ClickBoom
7:46 Hats on
8:44 Make it clap
9:27 Drumvibe - Tuned FM percussion
10:34 Better lately than never bass
11:13 Some strings attached
11:55 Tune Bells: FM warmth
12:51 Fire full FX
13:33 The final track
Want to support the channel ?
The music that has been created especially for the videos here is available on bandcamp: estuera.bandcamp.com/releases
estuera.com
/ jonassteurmusic
/ estuera
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#tx81z #melodictechno #latelybass If you are looking to buy new gear you can use my Perfect Circuit affiliate link: www.pntrs.com/t/TUJGR0tHS0JHS...

[@KrisNebroso]

The 'absolute effort' you're putting into these videos; for your subscribers, is 100% not going unnoticed, Jonas. 💙 Every new video that pops up is guaranteed to be a 'no-nonsense, golden lesson' from yourself. You receive a lot of POSITIVITY. That is, without doubt, because your contribution to Trance/Dance music is 'flawless' and 'everlasting'. 💙

[@Estuera]

Thanks a lot :) Its totally worth it. I love the reactions. There is this really nice creative feedback loop going on. Should have started doing videos about making music a lot sooner :)

[@LightBlazeMC]

agreed 💯

[@birdy369]

@@Estuera I thought I was already subbed, I found this video and went to your channel and KNEW from the thumbnails of certain videos, that I'd seen your channel before & enjoyed it (made SURE I was good and subbed right away this time!) I was so happy to see a song making video on 80s music! Can't wait to see that one next!

[@SoundPeer]

Lovely chords, and that Tune Bells patch is pure mellow goodness. So appropriate for a dreamscape such as this one.

[@rjbush7955]

Nice ‘after hours’ track. Love FM. I never can get enough latelybass.

[@aex2170]

The king of the house dance music from 90s. Thank you!

[@DanFreeman723]

The Tx81z is the best bass synth ever made imo. Deep rich bass & subs are there. The strings & piano are excellent. Crazy synths. It's still at the center of my studio after 30 years. The truth is that there are some patches that never seem to die & have become standard in music. Many are in the TX81Z. It's a good box to buy to give your sound kits some essential classic tones to put along side the crazy stuff you make on a day to day basis.

[@Iofflight78]

I bought mine just for the lately bass. I have an approximation of that bass sound on the Dx7 but it's not quite the same though it's good too. But it's great for so many other things as well.

[@deanandthebeans857]

Good example of how it’s possible to get useful sounds out of any old module if you put the time and effort in - thanks!

[@ANKR_DJ]

Most synth channels just skip through presets and add a bunch of reverb to it. I found anything can sound fine that way. Your approach helps to understand much better what a synth is really capable of. Congratz

[@Estuera]

Thanks. The process of getting from a raw sound to finished track is where all the fun is. Glad its appreciated :)

[@persona83]

Another great video. Loved the track, so chillin'!

[@thb-music]

Dude, you killed this! Love this walk through.

[@dutchtranceproducer2450]

Nicely donne Jonas. I like the sounds and the vibe of the track.

[@GrantWyness]

Outstanding! Super informative video with a big fat gift at the end 🍻

[@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333]

Great video, and I love the track you got in the end!

[@user-un6ob9qu7l]

Any instrument is useful in the right hands, no matter how old is it )

[@maus3454]

Interresting video. Many thanks. Nice song at the end. Well done!!!!!

[@neonether]

Stoked this was toward the top of my search results. Really great demo and info, earned a new subscriber.

[@stephenmorring3370]

Loved the composition and sounds you teased from the TX!

[@oldschoolsoldier1634]

beautiful stuff. I love my TX81z but after watching this I love it even more!

[@edjefferson9175]

Love the track. Well done!

[@ISLAInstruments]

Enjoyed this!, Lovely tune too ,Jonas!

[@jellycoding]

Sounds great. The final track is smooth.

[@romanwisniak]

Thank you so much for this video. The 90's are back!

[@meilstone]

I think this little module sounds great, and your video is awesome!

[@Slurkz]

Wow.... What an amazing end-result. I love it so much 💜 Thanks for creating this wonderful video!

[@dvuemedia]

You have talent, that's for sure. The track at the end is very nice.

[@Coasterdude02149]

I remember when the TX81Z came out. I had a DX7 FD (Mk 2) at the time and didn't really understand for see the need to get the rack mount 81Z. And I was young, very impatient and ended up switching to guitar because I just wanted to play. I didn't want to fiddle with programming and tweaking. So typical for a 20 year old me. Now at 52 I'm getting back into keys and trying to get my chops back to produce trance and ambient music. Taking the time to tweak and programme is more fun now that I'm older. I can appreciate it. Another awesome video Jonas! Thank you so much for the time and effort you put into these videos 🤟🏻

[@Estuera]

My pleasure :)

[@JoseVGavila]

You always find new things to do with those somewhat forgotten synths!. I have a TX81Z and now I see it with other eyes!

[@melvinriga465]

I love your videos man, Cool stuff

[@Trumanday]

Great vid. Thanks a lot for your work.

[@johnnydekock]

Great video once again. Wow awesome track so chilled. Amazing that all of this is from the TX81Z. Keep up the great work man.

[@Estuera]

Thanks :)

[@Niele160]

Sounds like it's very capable still. Great track Jonas. Groetjes from Limburg!

[@Thought-Forms]

Amazing overview and that final track is impressive! Makes me want to go dig deeper on mine. Cheers for the quality content man, keep it up

[@Estuera]

Thanks :) My pleasure

[@E4RLIES]

My TX81Z arrived today!! Thanks for your amazing tunes and vids man you are a massive inspiration to many! 😎

[@Estuera]

Have fun :) and feel free to share some music you made using it !

[@VinceRiviera]

That's a really cool vibe and composition - liked it a lot! Was also not familiar with this synth, so it's a nice new acquaintance. Keep up the good work with these videos!

[@Estuera]

Thanks and my pleasure :) The synth itself has been under the radar quite long but I'm sure you did hear its sounds (especially preset C15) a lot more than you might realize.

[@J._Campbell]

Very talented, man! Great job! So warm sound

[@Estuera]

Thanks 😊

[@tehedx]

Well done, great to hear how you managed to get drum sounds with limited envelopes!

[@SunlightProjectOfficial]

my favourite bass since early 90's ❤❤❤

[@Kludgedean]

Absolutely still useful! Honestly quite gorgeous! Most excellent work good sir!

[@Estuera]

Thanks :)

[@kiko1935]

I'm gonna save this one for later, this is exactly the type of nerdiness I wanna watch when I'm sound designing 👍

[@Estuera]

Hope it brings some inspiration :)

[@gtubgle]

Killer track dude.

[@leajon9849]

That last Track was a banger, well done. Soon be 10,000 subs.

[@Estuera]

Thanks :) Slowly getting towards the 10K indeed. Amazing ☺️

[@aukevalk1536]

Sounds really great!!!!!!!

[@martinberlugue2769]

This is super nice !!

[@m.schmied1714]

Thank's. Great Job!! I love all of the old 4-OP FM Synths...like TQ5, YS100/200, FB-01, B200...and the 4-OP FM-Monster ...V50!!!

[@Estuera]

100% agreed

[@JamesAville]

Quite a nice sound! That bass has some range!

[@buxtehude6669]

Impressive. Especially the drum groove.

[@ljp711]

Haven't used my TX81z in awhile. Thanks!

[@filtomsun]

Loving your videos. We share a love of old gear and it's much more helpful to hear someone use it to make music than just demo factory presets. Loving your accent, too.

[@Estuera]

Thanks, my pleasure :) And can't hide the dutch 😁

[@filtomsun]

@@Estuera Why would you want to? 😊

[@DiscoCitizens240]

This is so awesome. I have the 4op DX100 and have been making drum sounds on it too. 4op fm can yield some realistic results. Great job as always. Greetings from Barbados

[@Estuera]

Thanks :) And yes especially for percussive and bass sounds this synth is perfect.

[@bjharvey3021]

Very interesting, thank you. Subbed.

[@yokushe_music]

Great! You good at using it.

[@chriswareham]

Love those drum sounds! The editor really makes the TX so much nicer to work with, similar to something like Dexed with the original DX7.

[@Estuera]

It really helps unlock the true potential of this machine indeed !

[@86Ivar]

Nice track!❤

[@lairdtomfrenchelectromusic2545]

De la pure F.M !!! Comme j'aime ! Of course yes, this Yamaha expandeur can still used for music production today ! Thank you one more time Jonas, for this excellent title which took me back to a not so distant time (the 90's). : )

[@Estuera]

The 90's are just a year ago ! Right ? ... right.. Merci ;)

[@lairdtomfrenchelectromusic2545]

@@Estuera All right !!! ; )

[@ET2carbon]

Great video

[@bluebull399]

Demo track you made was really nice.

[@mrbottle6466]

Awesome. I have the TX81Z. Not fired it up for a while. One is inspired.

[@FLH3official]

I bought my tx81z new. A while ago 😃 Now I work mainly "in the box" but it's still here in the rack, plugged, connected & ready to use when I want a shot of nostalgy.

[@lukebussey5218]

really nice track

[@ryanbrennan2911]

I was never aware of this synth. Love that bass sound so much and a great song youve made as well. I mostly use an Elektron Digitakt so maybe I can get samples of the presets to use. If you start a patreon you should definitely put together some sample packs.

[@robbelliii]

Very nice track. I always hated all the techno produced with the lately base, but you use it well here.

[@Cryo837]

Used to have 2 16 rack space racks full of gear (~1990) and a lot of synths (TX81Z, U110, MKS-50, Matrix 1000, etc,). I used TX81Z the least because I had a D-50 as my keyboard controller which was my favorite synth at the time followed by the Oberheim Matrix 1000. But after watching this video I realize the TX81Z had more in it than I realized/used. It sounds really good here.

[@johntammaro]

Really enjoyed this one. Reminds me of the chill out Balearic style back in the days when trance was king

[@Estuera]

It certainly has those balearic vibes going on indeed. That was on my mind as well when relistening this track.

[@johntammaro]

@@Estuera I'd love to see you tackle the Roland Alpha Juno and show us your hoover skills 👍😁

[@Estuera]

Yes, I'm also quite interested in this machine. Especially because I already encountered it in other studios years ago but never really dived into creating new patches. I'm starting to run out of space here though :D And I'm not sure if I would be able to let the alpha juno go again once I got my hands on it.

[@gstoelen]

Bought mine today 😄 Guilty pleasure: obviously the Lately Bass but I also love that 6 Tease patch 🥳 Great video!

[@Estuera]

6 Tease is a classic as well indeed 👍

[@pn2543]

Cool, I used to have one, sold on ebay, alas. I really like the electric piano patch. The complexity of tweaking any parameters on it via the buttons was crazy.

[@Flo-M]

Thank you! ❤

[@squoblat]

This is an absolute tune

[@trancextend]

This is why I Follow you! This is amazing!! 😆 I love it Jonas. 🍷😳

[@Estuera]

Thanks again ! :)

[@musicxtn]

Love this video! Great insight. I’ve used my 81z for over 25 years now. One can easily add a guitar pedal or two. ... well done! Ps: now I’m going to go listen to What is Love by Haddaway!

[@Estuera]

Thanks :) And now I'm hearing that bassline in my head again off course 😜

[@fretnoize]

I have a V50, which is essentially two TX81Zs in keyboard form, set up as a workstation with a sequencer and RX era type drums and an effects unit. I'm pretty sure it can pull in TX81Z patches. Interestingly enough it has the nicest feeling keyboard I've played on... not that tried tons... anyway, definitely worth checking out if you think you're interested in what the TX81Z offers. To top it off, I picked it up for about $60 USD!

[@unclemick-synths]

That's good to know.

[@Gatopanzon_1976]

cool video!

[@jasonlaakeofficial144]

Altijd tof om je op YT langs te zien komen :)

[@Estuera]

Thanks en goede tracks btw ! Echt heerlijke dark techno.

[@jamesteej]

That rhodes sound is so fire 🔥 dope track

[@stereofloat]

Nice track Jonas, greetings from Frankfurt.

[@Estuera]

Thanks :)

[@Pan6888]

Great tune with only an old fm synth, so its always what you do with the synth and not the synth itself although the tx is a classic one for some reason, wirh this video you are asking your self why they only used the 'lately bass" patch only in so many productions of the past. Well done Jonas.

[@patrikknoerr9777]

Very impressive. You got skillz.

[@Estuera]

Thank you :)

[@lars-fenin]

i love the perc organ patch as well on this synth.. used it quite often for house and detroit kinda stuff..

[@CesarPantoja0]

Lovely! Has a bit of a Schiller feel to it

[@FashionDeejay]

11:05 - What a boss. Love it. 👏🏼👏🏼

[@johnblumstein]

nice track!

[@KUPHSER]

i still own a dx7, sy99, and recently got a FS1R. yamaha fm will always be relevant!

[@karimayoubi74]

So many great sounds - each patch got my memory firing double-time! Nostalgia central. Great track too. Good work.

[@user-ku8re7zu4p]

Beautifull track

[@Estuera]

Thank you :)

[@texacomann]

Absolute phantastic

[@squishmusic]

Did you mean FMtastic? :P

[@texacomann]

@@squishmusic YES

[@tonycarpenter-Makzimia]

Bought mine in the 80s. Still have it :). Racked along with a JV 1080. Both very useful. BTW, I upgraded my firmware to 1.06.

[@mudi2000a]

Great Demo! I am really surprised how good this old guy sounds.

[@Estuera]

And with some programming it can still be used in any modern (electronic) production. Also a great low end

[@EuroDJ]

Cool Stuff!!!

[@travisguide4516]

I love your friendly opinions

[@deejayemceeflounder4328]

Killer track. I feel like pulling out my TX802. Yeah I know, different beast, but deserves some love.

[@Estuera]

Thanks :) And go for it !

[@natura808]

Short answer - YES, I have two and not planing to sell it.

[@stevereaver]

I've got one. AND I LOVE IT!!!!

[@jamiehamilton7568]

I've got a TX81z I've had from new in storage. I must get it out sometime!

[@roc6030]

Your content is amazing man and the production of the video and tracks your making are sick... By the way i at 5:31 i was expecting the Undertaker from the wrestling to come out haha...

[@Estuera]

Thanks :) And I had to look that up (not really that familiar with all the wrestling ongoings) I see what you mean now 😁

[@roc6030]

@@Estuera haha i havent watched it in about 15 years but i'll never forget that sound as kid haha.. Great work man

[@RUNCNC]

Great song!

[@Estuera]

Thanks ! :)

[@PrimitiveBaroque]

You almost played Cheetahmen at 3:48 XD. I just got myself a MegaFM, and people compare it to this module. Thanks for the demo.

[@Dvd7111]

I watch a view of your videos but an awesome channel. I have subscribe. Greetings from Holland

[@Dvd7111]

Can you make a video of E-80 or Fantom G please? 🥺

[@Estuera]

Thanks !

[@frawa1530]

wow. very creative..

[@danm3570]

great preset show, there's so many of these great partially lost old sound modules. Some of those presets remind me so much of 2Unlimited like A23 Big Church when they put that bach melody at the start of one of their tracks. Will definitely support your music on beatport and bandcamp sometime soon as you provide so much information free of charge, especially for people who want to make similar types of music to you

[@Estuera]

Thanks ! And you're the first one who spotted the '2unlimited' easter egg 😉

[@danm3570]

@@Estuera haha thankyou, they're my favourite eurodance act, its ok to be 100 percent out to make money if people still love your music almost 30 years later

[@Dartagnan65]

Some of my fav bass tracks come from this synth! "Big Church" is an amazing patch. And many others... So hard!

[@Dartagnan65]

Nice... ! - "a melodic techno track using this synth as only sound source." This makes it all that much better.

[@Cream2773]

Fabulous

[@LightBlazeMC]

💯💯love rack mount gear!