From Alex Ball. An in-depth look at Roland’s classic TR-909 from 1983. Beaotic discount code: ALEX909 This gives buyers 50% on their entire order, including the XT-909 mentioned in the video. The code expires 31 Aug 2025. Home For sample packs, Q&As and more: www.patreon.com/AlexBallMusic 0:00 Intro Jam 0:58 History 6:18 Demo 1: Monsieur Donk…

From Alex Ball. A look at Korg’s abandoned music computer system from 1985, part of which was found in Italy recently after being lost for 40 years. 0:00 Intro Jam 1:03 History 3:18 Demo 1: Imaginary Sitcom 3:51 MU-5000 Sounds 7:42 Demo 2: MU & MS 8:42 Why was it abandoned? 10:05 Outro Jam Huge…

From Alex Ball. Quick spank on the Korg Mono/Poly (1981)

From Alex Ball. KORG MS-50 / SQ-10 / DDM-110

From Alex Ball. A look at Roland’s MC-202 from 1983. 0:00 Intro 1:12 History 3:31 Demo 1 4:30 The difference between a 101 and 202 6:38 Demo 2 7:30 Tubbutec 2oh2 / Demo 3 8:52 Legacy of the 202 10:10 Sample pack and Summary 10:42 Outro Jam

From Alex Ball. Of the synths I know intimately, this is the best sounding; The Oberheim Two Voice from 1975.

From Alex Ball. A look at Roland’s rarest phase shifter, the PH-830 from 1978. 0:00 Intro 1:03 History 3:10 Demo 1 – Captain Belcher 4:08 What is a Phaser? 4:56 Difference Between Phasing and Flanging 7:36 Demo 2 – pH Level 8:30 How the PH-830 works 11:15 CV sequencing and Mix sequencing 12:08 Vintage FX…

From Alex Ball.

From Alex Ball. A look at the Moog Liberation from 1980 0:00 Intro jam 0:57 Keytar History 2:30 Musical Interlude 3:24 What is The Liberation? 7:23 Impact and Summary 7:57 Sample Pack 8:20 Outro jam and Patron Shoutout Thank you to my Patrons for their support https://www.patreon.com/AlexBallMusic

From Alex Ball. A look at UDO’s flagship synthesizer, Super Gemini. As the tech spec of this synth is easily found on the internet (and the brilliant Loopop already worked his magic in that regard: https://youtu.be/AUQnF8wjEac?si=fk0ze3Mnti58NO2B) I thought I’d approach it from the perspective of a musician making music. This is a sponsored video, which…

From Alex Ball. A complete recreation of The Human League’s biggest hit, Don’t you want me, using as many of the original instruments and techniques as possible. 0:00 Intro 0:30 Detective Work 1:49 Bass Line 4:16 A Problem 6:45 Drums 9:09 System 700 Perfect 5ths 9:57 System 700 16th Pattern 11:00 Secret instrument 13:21 System…

From Alex Ball. A look at the bass line to Depeche Mode’s classic track ‘Enjoy the Silence’ and how it was created with the Roland System 700. 0:00 Intro & History 1:37 Recreating the Sound 4:46 Making your own version 6:07 Sample Pack 6:38 Cover of Enjoy the Silence Huge thanks to Clemens Wenners for…

From Alex Ball.

From Alex Ball. A look at the use of the Minimoog Model D (performed by John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick) in Bob Marley and the Wailers 1973 recording of "Stir it up". 0:00 Intro 0:27 The Backstory 2:42 Recreating the Sound 5:44 Summary and Sample Pack 6:34 Abridged cover Thank you to my patrons for their ongoing…

From Alex Ball. A look at how Daniel Miller (aka ‘The Normal’) used his first synth, a second-hand miniKORG 700S, to create the cult song Warm Leatherette in his bedroom. The song was the B-side to T.V.O.D and was the first ever release on Mute Records. 0:00 Intro 0:26 The Story of The Normal 2:18…

From Alex Ball. 101 + 102 + 303 + 808

From Alex Ball. A look at the Eventide Clockworks Instant Flanger from 1975, specifically in relation to how it was employed by Tony Visconti to create the unusual piano sound on Ashes to Ashes. 0:00 Intro 0:36 What is flanging? 2:18 BBDs and The Instant Flanger 3:56 How it works 6:38 Sound Medley 8:55 Recreating…

From Alex Ball. I wanted to make some videos about recording to tape and the first port-of-call is multitrack cassette recording. I found a (kind-of-working) Sansui WS-X1 and it seemed an interesting option for the video as there’s not a lot of videos about it. Cassette recording was the only option available to me when…

From Alex Ball. In 2023, Anthony Marinelli aquired a 1969 Moog IIIc modular synthesizer that has a very interesting history. In this video, we tell that story for the first time. Huge thanks to Anthony and team for collaborating with me to make this film and thanks also to my Patrons on Patreon. One small…

From Alex Ball. A look at the reissue of the mysterious Korg PS-3300, first released in 1977, along with some history about it and footage of its creator, Fumio Mieda. Huge thanks to Korg for letting me snaffle their prototype to make this video and for letting use some of their interview footage. NOTE –…

From Alex Ball.

From Alex Ball. A LOT of people have asked me to do this tutorial, so hopefully it’s useful! 0:00 Intro 0:23 The Human Voice 2:42 The best way to do it 7:41 An alternative way to do it 9:42 Another alternative way to do it 10:48 VSTs 11:49 Outro Jam

From Alex Ball. Whilst the E-mu SP machines are most famous for their use in Hip-hop, they were used by numerous artists in different genres and in different ways. To that end, I thought it would be interesting look at why and how it was used on Joe Satriani’s 1987 album "Surfing with the alien".…

From Alex Ball. Roland MC-8 driving the 100m. TR-808 on drums.

From Alex Ball. A look at a wonderful vintage synth, the Korg Trident Mk I from 1980. 0:00 The Intro 1:45 The Synthesizer 3:29 The Brass 5:37 The Strings 8:27 The Flanger 9:16 The Trident 10:55 The Rear Panel Experiments 15:48 The Legacy 17:33 The Outro Jam Huge thanks to my Patrons for their support.…