I had the chance to take a weekend course on the Modular Synthesizer in 1973. They had an Arp just like this one. I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen.
As some seem confused y the musical aspect of this, it should be noted, he is simply showing the process, not a completed composition. Much like showing how to play a pentatonic minor scale on a guitar; that in it self is not music, but is the basis for much music. Benge is showing a few basic techniques in a brief amount of time, that can be employed to create music, nothing more. Browse around, you can see some great finished works online.
I finally understood what a sequencer on an analog synthesizer is, and how it works! This is completely different from sequencing on software, so I was initially confused. Thanks for clearing things up with this concise and clear explanation.
One of the better videos on youtube thanks futuremusic! I've been following Benge's blog for a while now. It's really cool to get to see in his studio.
Nice! Calmly explains and demonstrates features and functions. Oh god i wish i had one of those beauties! Fondly remember making edgar froese laugh with my impressions of their sequencers with my mouth after a gig! Good job Benge!
you can see were a lot of the original new wave and modern music sounds came from back in the old days,it always annoyed me but watching it be created this way makes it seem much cooler to me now.he is like a creative mad scientist,this is awesome.it definitely is musical,what he is showing you is very raw but the finished,refined products have been heard on many famous recordings im sure.
Since I will probably never have the extra money to spend on something like these vintage analog synths, I can only be grateful for the next best thing, Reason. I love being able to connect patch cables to other devices within Reason. It's really handy when you want to make your own instruments/sounds. I would love to have even just one of these synths. Patch cables kick ass!
Yup I've been a reason guy for a long time...it's the next best thing...but those really are nice toys wish I could get them and the space to keep them lol...until then ableton+ reason
You and me both! I've used a couple of modulars in my time and they are truly wonderful. All I can realistically do is own synths (and I do have a few). But that's indeed one of the beauties of VSTis - as I've said there are pros and cons.
Great video. Thanks. I think it is helpful to have a sequence running to show how the filters sound over time, as well as showing the different characteristics of each synth's additional control features...lol, I guess that is why "Benge" made this demonstration. I like all of those modulars...I think they could all be useful and would be fun to own any of them. I like the experimental approach of the Bucla synthesizer. But the ground thumps with that Serge, and the moog. Filters!
They're part of the mixer console - for example, if you've got an artist in a singing booth, you can communicate with them via the telephone on the mixer.
Got to mess with the arp 2500 and learned a lot! For me, the arp 2600 was much easier "see" in terms of using patch cords to connect all the modifiers in whatever configuration that sounded good.
@@Jaesee I'm referring not to the potential of the Machines, but rather to these particular examples of their use :] That having been said... I own Moogs. They are undeniable rich! Would love to snag an Easel someday !
The buchla is the oddball of the lot, as it requires TONS of patching to get anything useful out of it, but what you do get, is some of the most amazing modulation possibilities on any synthesizer, the stackable banana plugs REALLY allow you to go bat shit crazy, and you don't need to waste multiples and mixers to route things. The sequencer is also amazingly flexible, and can act in many different ways, not just linear..but you pay through the nose for such wonderful chaos. His setup is $12k.
From one Benge to another, I really enjoyed this video. I have the Behringer eurorack clones of some of these modules and I really enjoy them. I'm sure they aren't the quality of the originals, but they are a fraction of the cost.
It's too bad, one of the real pioneers of modular synths was Roger Powell.. He worked for both ARP and MOOG.. He also played a large modular moog with Todd Rundgren and Utopia.. He designed and had built the first portable synth, called the Powell Probe.. It was a hand held keyboard controller, controlling a large assortment of synths behind the stage. Han Hammer then had one made, modified the left hand section to be more comfortable.. Years later, everybody and his brother designed a portable controller, so he could roam the stage like a guitar player. Roger released a jazz fusion album consisting all of synthesizers. It was called "Cosmic Furnace".. Later he released a 2nd album called Air Pocket. He also designed one of the first sequencer programs. and then spent years as a programmer.. He did a few concerts by himself with a large modular Moog set-up.. Unfortunately all his MOOG equipment was destroyed in a fire.
I can say, that of all the modulars, the Moog is the easiest one to patch, but it is also the hardest one to wrangle into some sort of usable pitch, as it has a tendency to float all over the place...the System 100/700s are the best middle balance of all the ones shown, they track well, and they're flexible...Serge build quality tends to be all over the map, some are great, some are total lemons and constantly break down..
I must say, the newer single wire patch cords that are banana plug/socket based ,eliminat the irritating dodgy connections on the older,moog etc dual mono jack type connections, this is simply because the surface area of a banana plug/socket is far greater. I built my first modular synth back in the 80's,still have parts of it, shame i have robbed a few pots etc over the years, might reassemble it one day,with banana type instead of the 3.5mm jack connectors. Great Video.
What the e series buchlas have, in comparison to the other synths, is patch memory, in that, each patch connection can have its voltages saved for further recall. You still have to route the signals via cabling however.
Oh definitely. In all honesty within a final mix, you'd have to have EXTREMELY good ears to tell whether a certain synth was virtual or not. Horses for courses and all that. They both have their pros and cons of course, but I stand by that opinion that many other long-time synth users have - there is nothing quite like using them as designed. Manipulating sounds on the fly is my big thing, and I just can't do that properly with VSTis, but each to their own of course.
Modular synthesis more or less follows the basic synth layout used in countless synths. The difference is that you have to wire the connection yourself. The basic signal path could be keyboard or sequencer to oscillator to amplifier ( supply the envelope) and then to a filter (adjusting the spectral content, i.e. timber.) OR you can do things no hardwired synth could ever do because of the flexibility.
Glad this video is on youtube, the cd in my magazine was all jacked up. glad its on here though because I was looking forward to it, been getting into modular.
I always wanted this, so i can make music by physically touching something instead of clicking everything. Also, it looks fun to just produce random sounds and to create new things.
Hey, I know what you mean.. I started playing guitar 20 years ago, from there I gradually continued to learn any instrument I could get my hands on. At heart though I'm a guitar player first, so when I started making electronic-based music in Studio One a couple years ago I was having a really hard time with that exact issue. Using the virtual instruments is awesome, but without physically being able to turn the pots to adjust parameters I was feeling creatively very stifled. So I ended up buying a cheap midi controller and it has changed the game for me completely.. You can map out the pots on the actual controller to individual pots in the virtual instrument and you can physically see them moving on the screen in real time. That bit of tactile synergy between my hands and my eyesight was all it took for my brain to get out of the rut completely. Major game changer, I can't possibly recommend buying a midi controller highly enough to you. For like $100 you can get a fairly decent one with a couple octaves of keys, 4-16 pads + 4-16 pots. More than enough to map out the major parameters of most VSTs.
@ Fierce Wolves I don't see why any female would not love this video, I got totally hooked and now I have some much beautiful noises in my head for the night!
casing's pretty nice, I don't have the tools to do such, and the sounds especially on end... would be nice to hear all it's capable of. Oh, do you have any suggestions for a seq? I am thinking of going with custom Doepfer's A-100 system which could have one by them.
Good to know that even those with albums out there, just play around to see what happens..!! Now that I watched this, off to listen to the album again.
I would appreciate if you could share some more information about how the sounds around 13:00 are created as I want to make something similar in Bazille/Ableton.
Wow, look at all those knobs and doodads! Like an orchestra of programmable robots. Eventually, the robots shall rebel! Just imagine the music they'll make then.
Why do VCS demos sound so great. Is it my imagination, or is there something special about it's sound? I doubt I can recreate that sound closely on my Prophet 12. Sounds like a 1970s sci fi movie, and I like it very much.
I had the chance to take a weekend course on the Modular Synthesizer in 1973. They had an Arp just like this one. I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen.
What a top bloke. Couldn't think of a better custodian of this wonderful collection. Fantastic video :)
As some seem confused y the musical aspect of this, it should be noted, he is simply showing the process, not a completed composition. Much like showing how to play a pentatonic minor scale on a guitar; that in it self is not music, but is the basis for much music. Benge is showing a few basic techniques in a brief amount of time, that can be employed to create music, nothing more. Browse around, you can see some great finished works online.
Wonderful! That honest modular sound without squeezing it through an effect, love it!
I finally understood what a sequencer on an analog synthesizer is, and how it works!
This is completely different from sequencing on software, so I was initially confused. Thanks for clearing things up with this concise and clear explanation.
As a person who had no clue how to set up a modular synth system, this was really informative.
One of the best and most entertaining instructional videos on modular synthesis.
It’s amazing that anyone made any music for from this. - the art of the creative engineer with an ear for music….. and infinite time and patience.
There's nothing quite like a bit of knob twiddling! Fantastic mini tour of a beautiful collection ...
What an awesome video. Thoroughly engrossing. That gear is to die for 😋
This is one of the most beautiful videos I have ever seen! Thank you internet!
very cool vid. Nice to see someone live-working with modular synths. Thanks!!
Mind BLOWN!!! I'll never be able to hear another electronic arpeggio in music without this visual!!! :)
Nice demo! Modular synthesis seems like a very funny way of creating sequences. The value of the analogue signal becomes very visible!
One of the better videos on youtube thanks futuremusic! I've been following Benge's blog for a while now. It's really cool to get to see in his studio.
Nice! Calmly explains and demonstrates features and functions. Oh god i wish i had one of those beauties! Fondly remember making edgar froese laugh with my impressions of their sequencers with my mouth after a gig! Good job Benge!
Nice collection of rare and powerful instruments. Thank you for the tour.
you can see were a lot of the original new wave and modern music sounds came from back in the old days,it always annoyed me but watching it be created this way makes it seem much cooler to me now.he is like a creative mad scientist,this is awesome.it definitely is musical,what he is showing you is very raw but the finished,refined products have been heard on many famous recordings im sure.
Fm is amazing for uploading and sharing this. It really helps new producers to understand the use of synths.
exactly what I was looking for.. Thanks a million. I love learning the basics.
Thank you for the no-BS, ego-free explanation.
Since I will probably never have the extra money to spend on something like these vintage analog synths, I can only be grateful for the next best thing, Reason. I love being able to connect patch cables to other devices within Reason. It's really handy when you want to make your own instruments/sounds. I would love to have even just one of these synths. Patch cables kick ass!
what about a synthesizers.com system?
Arturia has a v.i. Modular Moog with virtual patch cables.
Reason for the win!
( which, although limited... can also interact with my MicroBrute! :] )
Yup I've been a reason guy for a long time...it's the next best thing...but those really are nice toys wish I could get them and the space to keep them lol...until then ableton+ reason
and now Reaktor has Blocks!
Sweet video. it's awesome to see all of these effects/modulations displayed physically.
Crazy - great to see these old modulars put through their paces!
You and me both! I've used a couple of modulars in my time and they are truly wonderful. All I can realistically do is own synths (and I do have a few).
But that's indeed one of the beauties of VSTis - as I've said there are pros and cons.
Great vid! It's nice to see and hear different classic machines.
Highly satisfying 22 minutes! What strange and wonderous sounds to delight the ears!
Great video. Thanks.
I think it is helpful to have a sequence running to show how the filters sound over time, as well as showing the different characteristics of each synth's additional control features...lol, I guess that is why "Benge" made this demonstration.
I like all of those modulars...I think they could all be useful and would be fun to own any of them.
I like the experimental approach of the Bucla synthesizer. But the ground thumps with that Serge, and the moog. Filters!
HAHAHAH This is the coolest thing I have ever seen! I don't understand it but I like it.
What type of vst is that?!?! I need a keygen for that
Tony Woodard hahaha
Loved all the synths, but that crazy Buchla is one unique beast!
13:49 the moment he patched a Steinway
It's nice to have all these. I spend all day on my modulars working on a patch, and never end up making music because it's so much fun.
Astounding results on all Benge ... thanks very much
"So, how many synths do you own?"
"Yes"
They're part of the mixer console - for example, if you've got an artist in a singing booth, you can communicate with them via the telephone on the mixer.
To my ear, the Buchla stuff was the most Musical...
wish we could've heard more of the 2500!!!
What a whacky patching schema!
Got to mess with the arp 2500 and learned a lot! For me, the arp 2600 was much easier "see" in terms of using patch cords to connect all the modifiers in whatever configuration that sounded good.
Buchla systems definitely outplay Moog systems in terms of sonic complexity, but their oscillators come nowhere close to the raw power of Moog's.
@@Jaesee I'm referring not to the potential of the Machines, but rather to these particular examples of their use :]
That having been said... I own Moogs. They are undeniable rich! Would love to snag an Easel someday !
very cool! I wish I had a couple of those modulars
The buchla is the oddball of the lot, as it requires TONS of patching to get anything useful out of it, but what you do get, is some of the most amazing modulation possibilities on any synthesizer, the stackable banana plugs REALLY allow you to go bat shit crazy, and you don't need to waste multiples and mixers to route things. The sequencer is also amazingly flexible, and can act in many different ways, not just linear..but you pay through the nose for such wonderful chaos. His setup is $12k.
i see so much beauty in there - marvelous !
Fantastic
From one Benge to another, I really enjoyed this video. I have the Behringer eurorack clones of some of these modules and I really enjoy them. I'm sure they aren't the quality of the originals, but they are a fraction of the cost.
Nice one Jonathan! (I am the Benge in this video 😁)
It's too bad, one of the real pioneers of modular synths was Roger Powell.. He worked for both ARP and MOOG.. He also played a large modular moog with Todd Rundgren and Utopia.. He designed and had built the first portable synth, called the Powell Probe.. It was a hand held keyboard controller, controlling a large assortment of synths behind the stage. Han Hammer then had one made, modified the left hand section to be more comfortable.. Years later, everybody and his brother designed a portable controller, so he could roam the stage like a guitar player. Roger released a jazz fusion album consisting all of synthesizers. It was called "Cosmic Furnace".. Later he released a 2nd album called Air Pocket. He also designed one of the first sequencer programs. and then spent years as a programmer.. He did a few concerts by himself with a large modular Moog set-up.. Unfortunately all his MOOG equipment was destroyed in a fire.
Dmn
I can say, that of all the modulars, the Moog is the easiest one to patch, but it is also the hardest one to wrangle into some sort of usable pitch, as it has a tendency to float all over the place...the System 100/700s are the best middle balance of all the ones shown, they track well, and they're flexible...Serge build quality tends to be all over the map, some are great, some are total lemons and constantly break down..
I must say, the newer single wire patch cords that are banana plug/socket based ,eliminat the irritating dodgy connections on the older,moog etc dual mono jack type connections, this is simply because the surface area of a banana plug/socket is far greater. I built my first modular synth back in the 80's,still have parts of it, shame i have robbed a few pots etc over the years, might reassemble it one day,with banana type instead of the 3.5mm jack connectors. Great Video.
An entire wall of inputs and outputs. Love it. :)
I would sell my soul to have that set up
Lucifer - take note
Jonny Parker
Now... when u make it, peephole r gonna say ur genius can only b atributed 2 Satan & da ILLumiNAIGHTY.
SMH
Should sell it to God, so you patch around without screaming in pain from your flesh being burned off your bones over and over again.
Be careful for what you wish for!
Your watch was matched to your equipment......awesome!!!!
Amazing to see how these things work.
But have you found the brown note yet?
imagine the electric bill
I think the amp takes most of the power, the modules only require a couple of mA
What the e series buchlas have, in comparison to the other synths, is patch memory, in that, each patch connection can have its voltages saved for further recall. You still have to route the signals via cabling however.
3:19 sound like you were trying to make the DM Aggro mix
I love the sound of analog synths sooooo much!!! It really hurts that I can't afford one...
"doesn't reach" - and I'm dead.
I have no idea what he just said but I like the noise!
Oh definitely. In all honesty within a final mix, you'd have to have EXTREMELY good ears to tell whether a certain synth was virtual or not. Horses for courses and all that.
They both have their pros and cons of course, but I stand by that opinion that many other long-time synth users have - there is nothing quite like using them as designed. Manipulating sounds on the fly is my big thing, and I just can't do that properly with VSTis, but each to their own of course.
Good thig is that Benge knows really well his gear!! Thats not always the same case on other vids!
ah come on! I wanted to hear them all play at the same time!
Modular synthesis more or less follows the basic synth layout used in countless synths. The difference is that you have to wire the connection yourself. The basic signal path could be keyboard or sequencer to oscillator to amplifier ( supply the envelope) and then to a filter (adjusting the spectral content, i.e. timber.) OR you can do things no hardwired synth could ever do because of the flexibility.
Glad this video is on youtube, the cd in my magazine was all jacked up.
glad its on here though because I was looking forward to it, been getting into modular.
Some of those machines sound so awesomely dusty! Eargasm!
The first beat at 11:21 on it's own was perfect.
5:46 ... Ex-Machina! Love this!
The buchla makes some of the best bleepy bloops!
AND a Putney (VCS3)... This guy has it all! All the gems of the analogue era!
Fantastic Demo of the great machines!!!
I love the 3 orange telephones!
So. Much. Incredibly. Beautiful. GEAR.
A fascinating video. This is how magic happens.
I always wanted this, so i can make music by physically touching something instead of clicking everything. Also, it looks fun to just produce random sounds and to create new things.
Hey, I know what you mean.. I started playing guitar 20 years ago, from there I gradually continued to learn any instrument I could get my hands on. At heart though I'm a guitar player first, so when I started making electronic-based music in Studio One a couple years ago I was having a really hard time with that exact issue.
Using the virtual instruments is awesome, but without physically being able to turn the pots to adjust parameters I was feeling creatively very stifled. So I ended up buying a cheap midi controller and it has changed the game for me completely..
You can map out the pots on the actual controller to individual pots in the virtual instrument and you can physically see them moving on the screen in real time. That bit of tactile synergy between my hands and my eyesight was all it took for my brain to get out of the rut completely.
Major game changer, I can't possibly recommend buying a midi controller highly enough to you. For like $100 you can get a fairly decent one with a couple octaves of keys, 4-16 pads + 4-16 pots. More than enough to map out the major parameters of most VSTs.
WOOOW 16:15 - 16:42 sounds so fcking amazing! throw in a good kick and a few effects and you've got yourself one badass hardstyle tune :'D
I like the sound of the Surge the best - if I could choose one, thank you
Benge was a manual telephone operator in a previous life ... "number please".
@ Fierce Wolves I don't see why any female would not love this video, I got totally hooked and now I have some much beautiful noises in my head for the night!
casing's pretty nice, I don't have the tools to do such, and the sounds especially on end... would be nice to hear all it's capable of.
Oh, do you have any suggestions for a seq? I am thinking of going with custom Doepfer's A-100 system which could have one by them.
What a diabolically awesome machine.
Love the sound of that Serge.....
Good to know that even those with albums out there, just play around to see what happens..!!
Now that I watched this, off to listen to the album again.
VCS3, ARP2500 and Moog Modular.... Future music my ass, lol. What a stunning collection!
Thanks for the walk through.
the hair to match the synth, YES
I would appreciate if you could share some more information about how the sounds around 13:00 are created as I want to make something similar in Bazille/Ableton.
OMG, I would love to record him messing around, those sounds are just so amazing.
Wow, look at all those knobs and doodads! Like an orchestra of programmable robots.
Eventually, the robots shall rebel! Just imagine the music they'll make then.
Best YT vid EVER! Especially around 14m20s personally speaking for a minute or so. Squelch.
The Roland sounds pretty good.
Jetset Willy absolutely! a great system with heavy lows and snappy envelopes, good filter! you can make whole tracks with that system
Though they trail Kurzweil, Nord and Yamaha in authentic-sounding piano, organ and orchestral instruments, Roland was always strong with synths.
looks like missile control board, sounds like 8 bit video game.
love it
That analogue sound O.O omg
What the hell are those three Orange telephones in his desk!? :]
( during the VCS3 segment )
+Caalamus LOL that's what i said too! this whole vid felt like stepping back in time to 1960s.
+John Smith The guy's shirt looks more 70's to me... maybe early 80's.
John Smith
Make sure you get your hands on
"Twenty Systems" ...it's really good!
gorillaau
Make sure you get your hands on
"Twenty Systems" ...it's really good!
In ear monitoring. Third one is for ordering takeaway.
Why do VCS demos sound so great. Is it my imagination, or is there something special about it's sound? I doubt I can recreate that sound closely on my Prophet 12. Sounds like a 1970s sci fi movie, and I like it very much.
My god they sound so good!
Thank you Benge for sharing!
Now I understand why he needs so many synths. They all sound and feel different!
Imagine putting all this up onstage!
sounds like something from nine inch nails, it's amazing what these things can do!
No fair Benge!
...your studio is like a UNESCO World Heritage Site!
Not far from the truth
Excellent video!
Every stereo should come with one of these.
what a collection!