Soviet Pif synth: a cute analog synthesizer for children (+ FREE Sample Library)

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  • Опубликовано: 24 янв 2025

Комментарии • 2,9 тыс.

  • @DavidHilowitzMusic
    @DavidHilowitzMusic  2 года назад +1222

    Yes, I’ve seen a DIN connector before. I just meant I had never seen one used for audio. 😂

    • @monsterislandtales5788
      @monsterislandtales5788 2 года назад +22

      First

    • @AiOinc1
      @AiOinc1 2 года назад +29

      MIDI? XLR?

    • @MarsCapone
      @MarsCapone 2 года назад +9

      Got one on an old ass Yamaha keys and my Steinberg UR44c no velocity available but it works so good for bass synths. I sometimes fantasize I am gonna use a multi keyboard live situation like Rick Wakeman or something.

    • @monsterislandtales5788
      @monsterislandtales5788 2 года назад +16

      @@MarsCapone that might be good and all, but let’s not forget who was first to comment in this reply section…

    • @jukesjointOG
      @jukesjointOG 2 года назад +13

      They were fairly common on lots of gear. They became standardized as “a midi jack” in that specific configuration, and now you only see other varieties on old gear. Like, from my era... ;)

  • @uis246
    @uis246 2 года назад +1453

    8:10 All soviet manuals(TVs, radios, etc.) contained schematics, so everything can be repaired anywhere by anyone. Manuals also had instructions how to tune if it's tunable.
    Sometimes even instructions how to make new one.
    I wish everything in present have such manuals.

    • @stoomkracht
      @stoomkracht Год назад

      planned obsolescence is instead what we arrived at. Talking Green for Marketing, doing opposite, especially one Giant called Apple.

    • @gridgaming_
      @gridgaming_ Год назад +181

      thats kinda wild that the USSR had better right to repair than the literal freedom country

    • @CarlG84mm
      @CarlG84mm Год назад +91

      @@gridgaming_ this used to be the case in the west as well. TVs, radios and other appliances all used to come with schematics especially prior to the 90s/2000s from what I remember

    • @clausroquefort9545
      @clausroquefort9545 Год назад +228

      @@gridgaming_ american freedom is the freedom to exploit people as you please and make your products worse if it means that they will generate more profit.
      not freedom from exploitation. not freedom to use the things you bought. not freedom from being homeless.
      Just freedom of any accountablity or consequences if you have enough capital.

    • @thecringequeen31
      @thecringequeen31 Год назад

      @@clausroquefort9545💯

  • @IlyasBoBer
    @IlyasBoBer Год назад +1638

    I'm 29 years old musician from Kazakhstan. We used to sing this song in school. When you started playing it I cried❤

    • @Staubbs
      @Staubbs Год назад

      @@gharm9129 what the hells wrong with you?

    • @gloverelaxis
      @gloverelaxis Год назад +27

      it's a beautiful sentiment

    • @antonius4524
      @antonius4524 Год назад +38

      Та же история, брат. Привет из Узбекистана¡

    • @OfficerKD4-4.4
      @OfficerKD4-4.4 Год назад +11

      I cried too bro

    • @subratvishwas611
      @subratvishwas611 Год назад +4

      What is the name of the song? Please tell i wan to listen this song too.

  • @uhhhclem
    @uhhhclem 2 года назад +1860

    ПИФ is how you write "PIF" in Cyrillic. I am charmed by the way that the treble clef symbol serves as the Ф in the logo. Also I love how early-New-Order the little track you recorded sounds.

    • @thierryruquier9416
      @thierryruquier9416 2 года назад +16

      To me , it sounds more like early OMD but it's really a cool track. Great video by the way.

    • @chriswareham
      @chriswareham 2 года назад +17

      I was getting early New Order vibes as well - part of me was waiting for a heavily chorused bass guitar part to start!

    • @jjosullivan
      @jjosullivan 2 года назад +5

      Yeah, I thought same about New Order. We’d have been dancing to this ditty a few decades ago! 😎👍

    • @rovetri
      @rovetri 2 года назад +5

      I think I recognized some sounds as those present in Yazoo's first album... specially the higher tones... :-)

    • @krasteff
      @krasteff 2 года назад +2

      Haha, had all of you bought New Order OMD and Yazoo back in the day those wouldn't have starved to death, but you preferred ABBA and You can ring my bell and video killed the radio star.

  • @Banchev
    @Banchev 2 года назад +153

    I am from Bulgaria, born 1990. When I was a child my grandfather gave me one of those synths as a present for my 6th birthday. I still remember the sound and those electronics inside since my passion was not music but electronics. The first thing I did was to open it to see what is inside. My grandfather passed away and this video made me really sad but I am grateful to remember it again.

  • @dudeintrouble
    @dudeintrouble Год назад +210

    I'm 38 yo from Russia and when I start to watch this video the last thing I was expected is that I would be crying so much in the end of it... every child in ex USSR grew up in this song in heart.

  • @elyon2966
    @elyon2966 2 года назад +1906

    « It’s not a square wave, It’s not a sine wave »
    It’s sovietwave

    • @jpettltd
      @jpettltd 2 года назад +106

      Its our wave

    • @smithsmithington
      @smithsmithington 2 года назад +49

      @@jpettltd All your wave belong to us

    • @jpettltd
      @jpettltd 2 года назад +7

      @@smithsmithington lol

    • @elyon2966
      @elyon2966 2 года назад +10

      @@smithsmithington More like "all your waves are belong to us" ;)

    • @HakujinTrue
      @HakujinTrue 2 года назад +14

      Red wave

  • @rolandmdill
    @rolandmdill 2 года назад +652

    Pif synths are actually incredibly loud, doesn't seem to be a faulty component. My girlfriend has a Pif (a blue&pink one) and it almost blew my ears off when I tried it first. Its a beast of a bass synth!

  • @StanKOhobbies
    @StanKOhobbies 2 года назад +718

    Wow! That's insane!) The thing is, I'm from Romny, lived there from my birth 1984 till 2004. My mom worked on this factory ATS, and I had that Piff. Thank you for the memories!)

    • @transmutationdotse
      @transmutationdotse 2 года назад +18

      WOW! I'm so happy you got to experience this video 😃❤

    • @chelovek-jpeg
      @chelovek-jpeg Год назад +3

      по ")" вместо смайликов сразу понятно, что пишет русскоязычный) На Западе не понимают эти скобки

    • @StanKOhobbies
      @StanKOhobbies Год назад +12

      @@chelovek-jpeg трохи не вгадали, я україномовний користувач...

    • @chelovek-jpeg
      @chelovek-jpeg Год назад +2

      @@StanKOhobbies это теперь

  • @CrackoKane
    @CrackoKane 2 года назад +184

    This video is a masterclass in creating an engaging RUclips video. It's concise but the attention to detail is astounding. The clip of the children singing overlayed atop your replaying of the Soviet-era song was the kind of touch that wasn't necessary but really puts this over the top. You're really great at this, man.

  • @endlesstime9532
    @endlesstime9532 Год назад +46

    Hello, I am from Ukraine myself and stumbled upon this video by accident. But it was very nice for me to learn about such a synthesizer from my childhood, unfortunately it was not widely known. Thank you for the video, it was enjoyable and intriguing to see your work and curiosity about the instrument's homeland

  • @jonassink
    @jonassink 2 года назад +5120

    Well, I wasn't expecting a review of a Soviet synth to make me cry.

    • @prod.error404
      @prod.error404 2 года назад +243

      Facts, as soon as he started playing that damn song my eyes started leaking lmfaooo

    • @danyvin
      @danyvin 2 года назад +307

      "No to war" was the slogan of the soviet people after World War II. I heard it everywere all my childhood. It's terrible that the russians have forgotten this now.

    • @adamkumpmusic
      @adamkumpmusic 2 года назад +176

      yeah this is totally breaking my heart. "may there always be mommy, may there always be me"??? jeeeez :( :(

    • @TheRCish
      @TheRCish 2 года назад +223

      @@danyvin I would imagine the Russian people have not forgotten, but those in power do not care.

    • @bsvenss2
      @bsvenss2 2 года назад +37

      I didn't understand your comment until 10:45

  • @bingatore
    @bingatore 2 года назад +423

    I love how you went from fixing the synthesizer, making a quick little song to telling us about it's history. Felt like I was watching a documentary

    • @avokka
      @avokka 2 года назад +7

      Almost like a pocket sized documentary. I'm definitely subscribing

    • @exoizlyfe6079
      @exoizlyfe6079 2 года назад +2

      Amazing detail in every way

    • @carloslozano2047
      @carloslozano2047 2 года назад +1

      Yea, he did a nice storytelling

  • @h77-n3l
    @h77-n3l 2 года назад +293

    10:20 my mom used to sing this song to me and my brother when we were little kids in late 70s early 80s. She got her medical degree from Moscow university in the 60s. Although I don't speak Russian, but I still remember this song, it has beautiful melody.

    • @Twiddle_things
      @Twiddle_things 2 года назад +5

      Hah, my dad is around your age; give or take a few years.

    • @FilFPS228
      @FilFPS228 2 года назад +1

      Вот это история😢

  • @prostynick
    @prostynick Год назад +28

    10:40. I'm from Poland, and I'm 40. We were singing this song when I was in kindergarten. All love to Ukraine. BTW when I was young my uncle who were doing a doctorate in math in US brought me Casio PT-10 and it's still operational. I've just googled it to make sure I remember the number correctly and there it is - your video about it :D

    • @naturalnonsense
      @naturalnonsense Год назад

      Would be cool to see synths from PRL covered, I'm convinced there were some!

  • @mburdiyan
    @mburdiyan Год назад +14

    I was born in Kazakhstan in 1991 and lived there until 17 y/o. My family still lives there. Seeing you doing all this research and hearing you play this song got me emotional! Thank you, David!

  • @o72oo4sanya3
    @o72oo4sanya3 2 года назад +1416

    Достаточно забавно смотреть как иностранец разбирается в, родной для меня, технике, особо в момент замены din-5 на джек
    Хочу заметить, что разъём din был придуман и стандартизирован в Германии

    • @doomguyofficial3314
      @doomguyofficial3314 2 года назад +68

      Ооо хоть кто-то из СНГ)

    • @Garberfly
      @Garberfly 2 года назад +123

      Всем скорейшего мира

    • @crystalfaith4662
      @crystalfaith4662 2 года назад +41

      @@ReketSquad1 Ну синт доставлялся из города,который сейчас на линии фронта
      Было бы странно ничего об этом не говорить

    • @crystalfaith4662
      @crystalfaith4662 2 года назад +57

      @@ReketSquad1 Это всё же его личное дело,раз хочет,то пусть оставляет ссылки для поддержки
      Это всё же личный канал

    • @mrnemo204
      @mrnemo204 2 года назад +29

      Translation Via Google translate: "It's quite funny to watch how a foreigner understands my native technology, especially at the time of replacing din-5 with a jack. I want to note that the din connector was invented and standardized in Germany"

  • @GourlieRecords
    @GourlieRecords 2 года назад +301

    I saw this eBay listing! I'm glad you were the one that won this auction. There's actually been quite a few Soviet synths on there. I often do the same thing of browsing eBay for weird instruments in the name of making DS libraries. Just launched my first one earlier this month with a few more already lined up!!

    • @NewMateo
      @NewMateo 2 года назад +3

      How much was the synth? Im curious how expensive an old soviet synth will run you.
      Edit: Nvm got to the end of the video. About 100 bucks!

    • @ChumleyYT
      @ChumleyYT 2 года назад +1

      Same I was kept debating on bidding

    • @SynGirl32
      @SynGirl32 2 года назад +4

      The Polivoks is a great soviet synth.

    • @ligametis
      @ligametis 2 года назад

      @@NewMateo This one seems to be in a quite worse condition. Probably 60 bucks.

  • @Валерій-ъ6р
    @Валерій-ъ6р 2 года назад +1291

    Wow. very funny, because I am from Ukraine and my relatives live in the city of Romny. Thank you for the work done, it's very nice to hear about hometowns)

  • @chanwfat2
    @chanwfat2 2 года назад +33

    Thank you Mr Hilowitz, I ordered the Pif synth after watching your video, and it arrives to Hong Kong today in good shape. Your research and story behind this synth is valuable. This is not just an instrument review but human education. Best wishes to all people Ukraine.

  • @_Adie
    @_Adie 2 года назад +124

    I'm Polish, and during my mom's time they were still learning Russian in schools. "May there always be sunshine" is one of the songs they learned.
    Damn

  • @ohnose4455
    @ohnose4455 2 года назад +234

    Back in elementary school, I had a music teacher who was born in Ukraine and taught us songs that I never heard before or since.
    When you played "May There Always Be Sunshine", I immediately recognized it as one of those songs.

    • @bacicinvatteneaca
      @bacicinvatteneaca 2 года назад +3

      Okay, that made me cry

    • @mistakesregretsandimperfec7740
      @mistakesregretsandimperfec7740 2 года назад +6

      I remember singing this in a choir back in my music school. I finished it back in 2015, I think. Each year we would sing this song: students who are finishing the school, starting it and anything in between.
      It feels strange. This war feels like a really awful fight between very close siblings. Hell, we have some relatives in Ukraine! And my sister has a close friend in Ukraine and every time they call eachother and talk to eachother I fear that it might be the last time she'll hear his voice.
      I am scared.

    • @wladjarosz345
      @wladjarosz345 2 года назад

      look at first seconds of this video and you see a logo of Ukrainian Post! (down left)

  • @vonvavilen
    @vonvavilen 2 года назад +1810

    When you played "May there always be sunshine" I legitimately broke down crying. I was born way too late to live in the USSR, but me and all my Russian friends can recite that entire song by heart. It is something all the kids from the ex-Soviet republics grew up with, the Russians, Ukrainians, Belorussians, Kazakhs, absolutely everyone. It breaks my heart that some of us have lost its meaning somewhere along the way leading to these horrors.
    May there always be peace.

    • @xyzzyx62
      @xyzzyx62 2 года назад +26

      i am in tears....

    • @zaxele
      @zaxele 2 года назад +29

      It's indeed a horror to me, a foreigner who grew up with USSR toys and books. I still have (and collect) books and toys from that era. The first books I had in my life, which were given to me by my mom and late grandfathers, were all published by Mir Publishers. When did things start to go so wrong...

    • @ТарасКоломиец-ж1г
      @ТарасКоломиец-ж1г 2 года назад +34

      @@zaxele I think when USSR was appiered. Everything was wrong with this country. Holodomor, Polland occupation, crimean tatars deportation, Finland occupation, Stalin's repressions, total deficit of everything, propaganda, etc. There is nothing to feel nostalgic. I wish this countri was never existed.

    • @ThrowableOwl
      @ThrowableOwl 2 года назад +62

      ​@@ТарасКоломиец-ж1г People still lived here, built life here.
      They had expierences happy or horrific ones. Every person has a right to feel good about things that made them happy back then.
      It may be a horrible house but it still was a home.
      Goverment always made shit and will make a lot, but it doesn`t mean that people should quit they expierence.
      I was born after USSR collapsing (2000`s) but grew up with soviet parents and always`ve been surrounded by toys, films, books and songs from that era.
      Even with all these horrible things that happened, people still managed to create all of this. These lightheated songs help me to keep hope and faith in future.
      I also have shitty goverment. But I still love my country and I will be nostalgic about different parts of my life... Not the goverment.
      Goverment staged fake attack from Fins and started Winter war.
      Stalin ( The goverment) decided to deport crimean tatars (and also some local germans. I read book "Sugar child" from Olga Gromova and "Wormwood tree" from Olga Kolpakova and these books are telling story of deportet local germans).
      There also some theories that goverment willingly started hungers while they litterally had wagons of food rotting.
      I`m a future teacher and I don`t want to grow canon meat for them...
      Goverment goes, but life stays as art and memories made.
      Don`t let them take away things that make you stronger.

    • @rorepaper
      @rorepaper 2 года назад +6

      Такая жиза...

  • @anmishel
    @anmishel 2 года назад +290

    В СССР был еще журнал, который назывался радио, в одном из выпусков была дана принципиальная схема этого синтезатора и каждый желающий мог собрать его дома (да в те времена мы дома и платы сами травили)

    • @vabka-7708
      @vabka-7708 2 года назад +31

      @@Talla2XXL ну детали можно было достать из других приборов, например.
      Ещё вроде как были всякие кружки юных радиолюбителей, где, по идее, всё можно было достать.
      Не буду утверждать, ибо я в СССР не жил

    • @ЭдгарЧен
      @ЭдгарЧен 2 года назад +14

      @@Talla2XXL а зачем с работы , были радио свалки .. там добра было не меренное количество .. первые радио детали мы там и набрали … далее что было совсем редкое покупали в магазине ,, Юнный Техник ,, …

    • @dlr759
      @dlr759 2 года назад +9

      @@Talla2XXL в гайдаевском фильме ученый искал в магазине нужную деталь, в итоге достал у "барыги" . Вспомнилось. "Иван Васильевич меняет профессию"

    • @dlr759
      @dlr759 2 года назад +1

      @@Talla2XXL угу

    • @ЭдгарЧен
      @ЭдгарЧен 2 года назад +5

      @@Talla2XXL вообще-то Гайдай снимал комедию .. а как было в Реале история умалчивает .. на радио рынке можно было купить ,, черта лысого ,, … когда у меня выгорел блок в плазме , я был согласен продать душу .. хотя все оказалось гораздо проще .. ( купил разбитую плазму на авито ) ..

  • @Ost2316
    @Ost2316 Год назад +10

    Hello, David!
    I am from Ukraine and have been watching your videos for a while now. This is incredible; thank you for this joyful experience and for supporting our country!

  • @KarleonBR
    @KarleonBR 2 года назад +27

    Imagine the dad getting a piano toy for his kid. I'm sure he would have never expected that same piano to be playing for a million of viewers all over the world almost half a century later

  • @pablofurnace
    @pablofurnace 2 года назад +64

    💕 “May there always be mommy. May there always be me.” 😭 This is the most wholesome, yet somber mashup of a vibe ever. Thank you for this review.

  • @badartxd
    @badartxd 2 года назад +229

    I’m Russian-Ukrainian, and while I wasn’t alive back when those synthesizers were widely used, I remember the song very vividly and it brought me to tears.
    Thank you for this video, and thank you for putting such care into the instrument and the research ❤️

    • @badartxd
      @badartxd Год назад +8

      @@zvirb Наполовину росіянка(руська?), наполовину українка. Виросла у Канаді. Що означає московит? Google says it means someone from Moscovia, is it the same as Russian?
      (My Ukrainian is atrocious, I’m sorry.)

    • @mmozg365
      @mmozg365 Год назад +5

      @@zvirb 404.

    • @pimas11
      @pimas11 Год назад +15

      @@zvirb У людей может быть один родитель украинец один русский?? Not that hard of a concept

    • @ЯсенПень-н9щ
      @ЯсенПень-н9щ Год назад +25

      @@zvirb ты просто - зомби

    • @art1434
      @art1434 Год назад +1

      @@ЯсенПень-н9щ Думаю, его можно понять.

  • @sadyakubovich
    @sadyakubovich 2 года назад +49

    This song in the end is so sweet, made me feel nostalgic, we used to sing it in the kindergarten choir

  • @vladislava_sim
    @vladislava_sim 2 года назад +19

    I just clicked on this video to watch something about this synth. I couldnt expect how deep it could be. The part about Ukraine is so touching. Thank you.

  • @RocktheProject
    @RocktheProject 2 года назад +6

    On the list of things I expected out of today, getting teary-eyed while watching a vintage synth video with my morning coffee wasn’t one of them. This is an exceptional video, thank you! I love the original composition you made in the video with this awesome little synth. Budmo!

  • @ihshoo3139
    @ihshoo3139 2 года назад +42

    1:02
    in russian and most other cyrilic based languages
    В is the english V
    and
    Б is the english B

  • @afk4lyf
    @afk4lyf 2 года назад +58

    I normally don't take too much interest in toy synths, but I'm glad I watched this. The level of research you put into this and the way you explained everything really brought it to life. Great video!

  • @MrSquare
    @MrSquare 2 года назад +50

    Wow, you are making some of the best and most interesting 'weird gear' style videos ive seen in a while, knowing that sometimes the context and backstory of an instrument is as important as the noises it can make. Great job man.

  • @akemimcflyclips7130
    @akemimcflyclips7130 2 года назад +44

    Came for the synth, stayed for the feels

  • @felixknysh
    @felixknysh Год назад

    Дякую, Девіде, за цікавий відео огляд та за чудову розповідь.

  • @DmytroShapovalovUA
    @DmytroShapovalovUA 2 года назад +18

    Whoa, man!
    I accidentally ran into the video while chilling on RUclips at night. And then I saw this great analysis of the manufacturer in the middle of the video, I do appreciate your interest in my culture. And then you asked to support Ukraine. That means a lot to me, as I was born here and I'm still living here. Thank you so much!

  • @LouieTaylorMusic
    @LouieTaylorMusic 2 года назад +821

    The way you went down a mega rabbit hole there, amazing.... you're like a conspiracy crackpot but for synthesisers and I absolutely love it hahaha
    EDIT: made this comment before the end of the video and I was touched by your rendition of the song from the manual and i appreciate all you do! Thank you

    • @MrXHCx
      @MrXHCx 2 года назад +2

      yeah and actual information instead of Robert Anton Wilson fanfic 😉

    • @LouieTaylorMusic
      @LouieTaylorMusic 2 года назад

      @@MrXHCx lol true

  • @Vehshya
    @Vehshya 2 года назад +22

    I mean this in the nicest way possible. Between your name, voice, style and the background music, your videos give off a very strong "Radiolab" or "This American Life" vibe. Love when you make these styles of videos.

  • @JayKaufman
    @JayKaufman 2 года назад +4

    I love how you went to dig into the providence of this machine. Amazing that you were able to get that much from so little. I applaud your willingness to document and research where this came from. Seeing as it's so simple, it's probably screaming to be modded.

  • @bloomer.musicuk
    @bloomer.musicuk Год назад +7

    Wow... the end of this got me quite emotional. This is the second video I've come across on your channel and I'm loving the content your doing buddy 🙏👌

  • @sealion375
    @sealion375 2 года назад +812

    I am Russian and man how I cried to this video…. The song you played from that little songbook is actually well known by every single person of 20+. I guess not everybody quite understood the message behind it…

    • @azalvam
      @azalvam 2 года назад +6

      what is the message behind it?

    • @sealion375
      @sealion375 2 года назад +129

      @@azalvam it’s an anti war song.

    • @Awoo-
      @Awoo- 2 года назад +7

      Someone sealioning with the literal username Sea Lion getting 200+ votes fml.

    • @sealion375
      @sealion375 2 года назад +26

      @@Awoo- well your response made me Google sealioning on Urban Dictionary. My comment was sincere though.

    • @yanikkunitsin1466
      @yanikkunitsin1466 2 года назад +27

      @@sealion375 yea, full poem even features a 35 y.o. advising a soldier to see how explosions (presumably from bombs falling from aforementioned 'clear skies') frighten people.
      Interesting that the chorus is from a verse written by a 4 y.o. kid who just learned the meaning of the word 'always' and probably laments about rainy days, when you can't get outside, and lack of attention from fully employed mother.

  • @emma.grunwald
    @emma.grunwald 2 года назад +172

    This is soooo cute. Greetings from Kyiv. I'm originally from Baku (Azerbaijan), we were also part of USSR and the song you were playing, is the song from my childhood, that my grandma was singing 💜 thank you for such a warm video

    • @kensukefan47
      @kensukefan47 2 года назад

      But you hate yourself yourself for it.

    • @bacicinvatteneaca
      @bacicinvatteneaca 2 года назад +1

      @@kensukefan47 ?

    • @kensukefan47
      @kensukefan47 2 года назад

      @@bacicinvatteneaca Ukrainians hate the USSR with all their heart, until it's a positive thing.

  • @cellokid5104
    @cellokid5104 2 года назад +43

    This was surprisingly genuine and nice. Some twists and turns! Great video

  • @GeorgeMilkasIgore
    @GeorgeMilkasIgore Год назад +2

    You are a brilliant mind .. !
    That's a huge dig !!
    I started following you.
    The content you are creating is beautiful.
    Thank you for your hard work!!

  • @ВасяМолодых
    @ВасяМолодых 2 года назад +10

    As a child of the Soviet People. Seeing how you dig into the context awakes so many emotions. Literally inhaling a new life in to this forgotten, and, as many people would say (unnecessary past)...
    "May there always be sunshine"- is a song that even I had to sing as a kid in school. It would be extremely interesting to see more videos like this)))..
    Considering that "Jazz was illegal in USSR, yet still made a lot of musical instruments and music, you can indeed find a lot of interesting stuff)

  • @BadValOfficial
    @BadValOfficial 2 года назад +289

    I am from Ukraine, now I am in Germany because of the situation in the world. When I saw this video in the recommendations, I involuntarily smiled. You treated this instrument with such love, you even tried to translate a lot of things from Russian into English. I have great respect for you. Thanks for the video David Hilowitz!

    • @user-folk1987
      @user-folk1987 2 года назад +10

      Смотался от военкомата?

    • @BadValOfficial
      @BadValOfficial 2 года назад +11

      @@user-folk1987 Я не годен по состоянию здоровья.

    • @ДмитрийС-х1й
      @ДмитрийС-х1й 2 года назад +10

      Z

    • @BadValOfficial
      @BadValOfficial 2 года назад +17

      @@ДмитрийС-х1й ...a Warudo, toki wo tomare!

    • @lens2760
      @lens2760 2 года назад +1

      @@BadValOfficial :D

  • @Астат-ж4о
    @Астат-ж4о 2 года назад +60

    Listening to this song from childhood with these Pif-synth instrumentals feels so nostalgic and a bit melancholic, I like it. I don't speak and understand English so well but this video was very interesting and cute for me. Thanks.

  • @JorbLovesGear
    @JorbLovesGear 2 года назад +38

    Interesting piece of kit, and excellent video about its origins. The journey of individual instruments excites me, and you've done an excellent job of tracing that and bringing it into a touching narrative. Well done, all around

    • @DavidHilowitzMusic
      @DavidHilowitzMusic  2 года назад +4

      Thanks!

    • @maxmeier532
      @maxmeier532 2 года назад +2

      @@DavidHilowitzMusic We come today to mourn the loss of David. His last words will not be forgotten: "I am assuming", "hopefully", "bare wires".

  • @louiemalgre2797
    @louiemalgre2797 2 года назад +4

    there are so many videos of people picking up an old synth or something like it, play around with it a little and then go on to record one sound of it, modify it heavily and make some crappy edm out of it.
    you on the other hand told us the story of this instrument.
    this was great!

  • @MoonSt0n3
    @MoonSt0n3 2 года назад +3

    My dad is french and grew up with Pif the dog comics, so seeing this little dog show up here made me so happy! I had never seen it anywhere outside of my dad's old belongings and his stories :,) Thank you

  • @colinwhitehurst6751
    @colinwhitehurst6751 2 года назад +20

    Wow, I didn't expect to get hit in the feels when watching a video about a synth! Great vid man.

  • @abhikhasnain3263
    @abhikhasnain3263 2 года назад +100

    David is such an amazing personality to watch when you're anxious and need to calm down.

  • @derekfernandez7701
    @derekfernandez7701 2 года назад +14

    10:44 Wow, this was so moving David. Thank you for the amazing video, I thought it was so cool you found the factory it was made! 💙

  • @MarcosRavena
    @MarcosRavena Год назад +3

    Man what a work of art.
    How many people in this world could produce a piece of work like this? The research, the composed music and everything else.
    Thank you so much!

  • @spoutnik7703
    @spoutnik7703 Год назад +9

    "Pif" is still a famous charcter here in France. Especially for "Pif Gadget", which was a kind of newspaper for young people that mixes comics (like Corto Maltes and Rahan) and educational articles about nature, science and many other subjects. Each new publication included a toy with educational value (that you had to build yourself). I did not know that the character was popular in the USSR.

    • @protonfox1669
      @protonfox1669 9 месяцев назад

      Yeah, Pif is a classic character here in France. If I'm not wrong, Pif Gadget had been created by the PCF (French Communist Party), so it may be the reason why there was a Soviet Pif synthesizer.

  • @philmarsh5593
    @philmarsh5593 2 года назад +8

    I can't like this video enough. From resurrecting this old toy keyboard and making an instrument out of it, to the detective work involved in finding the factory (with all clues in Cyrillic) to the song included in the instruction manual. Poignant or what. Wonderful.

  • @porsl11n
    @porsl11n 2 года назад +1108

    вы проделали колоссальную работу в процессе создания этого видео, спасибо за то, что отнеслись к части моей культуры с таким трепетом. когда вы сыграли песню в конце, меня пробрала дрожь. спасибо за видео, спасибо за дань уважения этому синтезатору и частице истории, которую он с собой пронес через годы. настанет день, и больше не будет войны. спасибо. ❤❤❤

    • @ХЕЙТЕРЫ-ы2б
      @ХЕЙТЕРЫ-ы2б 2 года назад

      Вы правы, когда-нибудь запад проиграет многовековую войну против Руси и сгинет на обочине истории...
      Но это - не в ближайшем будущем.

    • @lunarmodule6419
      @lunarmodule6419 2 года назад +42

      Best of luck to Ukrainians!

    • @broken_toy
      @broken_toy 2 года назад +58

      Пусть всегда будет водка!
      Колбаса и селедка...
      Огурци и помидоры...
      Вот такие ми обжоры! 😎

    • @desatta
      @desatta 2 года назад +89

      да, пора эту войну заканчивать. 9й год уже.

    • @АнтонРябинин-ю2щ
      @АнтонРябинин-ю2щ 2 года назад +30

      @@desatta база

  • @MarsCapone
    @MarsCapone 2 года назад +4

    This was bananas! Love the care you took in researching the surprising origins of it not to mention modifying the “toy” into a legit, usable synth. Looking forward to putting these sounds on a track! Cheers

    • @Giguv05
      @Giguv05 2 года назад

      Well, it wasn't not so much modifying, as it was refurbishing :D

  • @PheelACCD
    @PheelACCD 10 месяцев назад

    You have a fantastic channel. When you played the last song it felt emotional. Then I read the comments. Thank you for giving people a window to their childhood!

  • @morbid.curiosity
    @morbid.curiosity Год назад +1

    Absolutely amazing video.. heck of an ending.. I wasn't expecting but fully appreciated the history and teleporting to the original factory. Why am I tearing up...

  • @bryanmartin_
    @bryanmartin_ 2 года назад +12

    You're great with music, so is with electronics, and with researching? Damn, that's insane!!! Very nice video again! I never expected the ending to made me teary like this :((

  • @brainformer2007
    @brainformer2007 2 года назад +111

    Greetings from Ukraine! WOW, I'm amazed what a terrific job you have done: I understand that everyone can translate somehow, but to locate the correct factory it's really not the easiest task for non-russian speaking guy.

    • @alextheukrainianguy
      @alextheukrainianguy 2 года назад +8

      Also greetings from ukraine, hope youre doing alright too, considering whats happening rn

    • @guest8116
      @guest8116 2 года назад

      @@alextheukrainianguy What's going on?

    • @alextheukrainianguy
      @alextheukrainianguy 2 года назад

      @@guest8116 the war with russia, they invaded us hoping they get zelenski and make putin become our president, they failed and now they are non stop attacking us destroying our culture #SaveUkraine

  • @buckycore
    @buckycore 2 года назад +35

    This is so beautiful. The whole journey and the final bit about the relevancy of the song with the current horrors in the Ukraine

  • @thebedroomshow9010
    @thebedroomshow9010 2 года назад +25

    Wasn’t sure why tears crept to my eyes as I watched this, felt better when I saw the other comments mention the same reaction. I’m not sure why it made me cry. Maybe because it reminds me of my mother who was a piano teacher in the Soviet Union and still is in the US. Seeing something directly from her time being connected to a world she grew up in that no longer exists made me feel for her. A whisper from her past I guess. Then I thought about the children who sang this song and fortunately knew nothing of war. And how that ironically doesn’t apply to the kids in Ukraine now. I dunno. But I was overcome with emotion and had no idea where it came from or what to do with while watching this

  • @DxxxN
    @DxxxN Год назад +4

    10:14 GOD OH GOD
    - A synth made in 1990 for a 5-year-old would mean that *_the 5-year-old was like 36-37 now?_*
    And right next you show the lyrics page with the 2nd verse LITERALLY saying:
    «Милый мой друг,
    Добрый мой друг,
    Людям так хочется мира.
    И в тридцать пять сердце опять
    Не устаёт повторять»
    which means, word by word:
    «My dear friend,
    My kind friend,
    People are so eager for peace
    *_And even at thirty-five_* [years old]
    The heart never gets tired of repeating:
    May there always be sunshine,
    May there always be blue skies,
    May there always be mommy,
    May there always be me!»
    And there I had a very heavy kick right in the feels.
    Bonus fact: this 1962 song was built around the chorus which was actually written by a 4-year-old boy in 1928 who was just been told about the meaning of the word «always».

  • @sandakureva
    @sandakureva 2 года назад +30

    Considering Sovietwave is a pretty popular genre, I imagine something like this would be quite popular in musicians who make that type of music.

    • @79keydet
      @79keydet Год назад

      "sovietwave" is not a genre, genre's name is Vaporwave. "sovietwave" and "fashwave" are failed attempts to poison the Vaporwave genre with politics, producing few Vaporwave tracks sampled from Soviet/Nazi Germany music.

  • @alexprokhorov407
    @alexprokhorov407 2 года назад +95

    4:10 The "archaic connector" is actually called 5-pin DIN connector. It was introduced in early 70s in Germany and later on spread throughout Europe for analog audio, midi, and later computer connector standard. It has its roots in connectors used in military aircraft. As a matter of fact early personal computers such as IBM, Apple, etc, used those types of connectors for interface (keyboard, serial, etc) which later on became a more familiar mini-din keyboard/mouse connector which you can still find on modern computers. So, by far, that connector wasn't just a USSR thing.

    • @minmogrovingstrongandhealthy
      @minmogrovingstrongandhealthy Год назад +6

      I would say it's even older. I am from Serbia and my grandfather had a Tesla (Serbian electronics institute and manufacturer) radio from 60s with such connectors. It had input and output options, we use to hook up record players onto it and bunch of other stuff through the years. Decades later devices still had those as connections. Mostly found on high end stuff.

    • @Rachaellittlephotography
      @Rachaellittlephotography Год назад +2

      I remember them from volunteering at our local tv station. They were used to attach the zoom arm controls to the camera. I’m sure there were other uses too….i think my audio recorder as well but it’s hard to say it was awhile ago
      😂

    • @whois1137
      @whois1137 Год назад

      DIN-5 socket is used also in MIDI-standard musical equipment.

  • @johnsuggs3952
    @johnsuggs3952 2 года назад +8

    Being an absolute education hog, your videos are the best. Especially with this one where you talk about the history of the instrument. You hit home runs every time in my humble opinion.
    Excellent work

  • @TheMarkEH
    @TheMarkEH Год назад

    I've only just discovered this channel and it is..., interesting, informative, adventurous, quirky and dare I say wholesome. Anyway, it's way better than most RUclips channels, or of TV programmes where I live, so I have subscribed. And I'm now looking forward to checking out the back catalogue of videos. Thank you David Hilowitz for creating this channel.

  • @alfreascazuri6335
    @alfreascazuri6335 Год назад +1

    the synth and the repair got me hooked. but the deep investigation got me subscribed haha, thanks for this piece, loved it

  • @christopherh4653
    @christopherh4653 2 года назад +162

    I would have been a child when this was produced. I remember the drills we had in school in case we were attacked by the USSR. Most of the 80's was like that. There was no internet, so I always wondered why they would want to attack us? Why did we dislike each other so much? Well, based on that song, it seems like a lot of them probably felt the same way. Now the internet exists and we're still doing the same stupid shit. We all need to reel in our governments because no one actually wants war. No one ever wins.

    • @PetroUralov
      @PetroUralov 2 года назад +28

      войну хочет " Капитал "

    • @made.online2149
      @made.online2149 2 года назад

      The rich elite who run the war machines and oppress all people across the globe win. But humanity never does.

    • @VOVAN781000
      @VOVAN781000 2 года назад +17

      @@PetroUralov Да. Все разборки всегда про деньги. В данном случае, как и во всех остальных 90% случаев, разборки нужны штатам, ибо гос.долг...

    • @Pteromandias
      @Pteromandias 2 года назад +2

      @@VOVAN781000 Это зависит от того, что вы подразумеваете под «капиталом». Частные компании не хотят войны. Это нехорошо для бизнеса. Рабочих уводят. Люди перестают покупать продукты. Есть нормирование. Компании банкротятся. Может быть, некоторые из них занимаются производством оружия, которое приносит выгоду от войны. Но это не большинство предприятий.

    • @vovavak8959
      @vovavak8959 2 года назад +6

      @@Pteromandias Ну если посмотреть на подъем экономики США в золотые 50-е можно запросто усомниться в пагубном влиянии войны на экономику. Тут кому как. Европа понятное дело в руинах, а США в шоколаде

  • @88Spint
    @88Spint 2 года назад +4

    The more I discover music the more I realize that everything can make it, all you need is a way to listen to and record it. So cool!

  • @RobsonNogueira29
    @RobsonNogueira29 2 года назад +7

    Great video! I'm truly impressed at your quest to find any info about the Pif synth as well as your ability to make music from it! Thank you for the samples. May there be peace in Ukraine soon! Greetings from Brazil!!

  • @JustinAngeloSS
    @JustinAngeloSS Год назад +1

    Dude your videos are insane! Been watching now for a little bit and being someone who loves vintage gear and historical backround of it. Your videos are killer and they make me laugh they are so crazy and fun! Thanks so much for this content! Can't wait to see more!

  • @AldoArellanoYcaza
    @AldoArellanoYcaza Год назад

    I've just discover you channel, this is the fourth video I've seen today. Thank you David, your content is kinda magical.

  • @tony1155
    @tony1155 2 года назад +5

    Went into this video not knowing what i would see. The way you tracked down the synth's origin was so interesting and something i had never seen before in such a way. Really makes you think about the quantity of little stories out there which we will never learn.

  • @Leo9ine
    @Leo9ine 2 года назад +7

    Dude this is so cool, you went above and beyond any usual synth review. Subbed!

  • @pashayk
    @pashayk 2 года назад +21

    Hi David! Thank you so much for this video! I am Russian, and when i was a kid (around 1994-1995) i DEFINITELY saw this synth and played with it. it probably belonged to some family friends kids or relatives... You did a pretty good research here! felt like i am watching a whole documentary on Soviet Synths haha.

  • @melectroworld
    @melectroworld 9 месяцев назад

    Your video and the passion you put into it = ❤!

  • @glassychords
    @glassychords Год назад +2

    the song lyrics being just as relevant in this day and age as they were in the past really made my eyes well up. thank you for providing us with such great content.

  • @DanielHolter
    @DanielHolter 2 года назад +9

    Great ep and great job fleshing out the backstory. I loved this, thanks so much.

  • @GerenM63
    @GerenM63 2 года назад +6

    What a great story, David! Thanks for sharing the adventure -- and the sample library!

  • @Edvanderbie
    @Edvanderbie Год назад

    dude this video is amazing, the work you do and the time you put in. so awesome. i was crying when you were playing the song. "may there always be mommy" i have a son who is 1yo and he loves his mother so much!

  • @ProjetHomeStudio
    @ProjetHomeStudio Год назад

    Very nice video, I also love the fact that you went into the backstory, looking for the building etc... it's really deep & interestign

  • @pianoanime
    @pianoanime 2 года назад +40

    I did not know "may there always be sunshine" was Soviet in origin. I remember learning it in kindergarten (in English) with the ASL to sign as we sang. That would have been around the late 90's and I never associated it with anti war because of the context I learned it in (and as a child at the time I didn't know about war)

    • @deflash
      @deflash 2 года назад +8

      In ru everyone knows about the war, it's a thing that's comes with a history classes and with a history connection inside a family, that's one of the biggest emotional thing for more than 70 years+, for many generations, and kinda funny, that modern government scares ru people "how's bad war" for years and start an "operation", that's scare generations who lives in paradigm of "not start a war". The biggest mind reload that I remember in my life. And a biggest mistake.

    • @zewruszewrus3903
      @zewruszewrus3903 2 года назад +6

      @@deflash There is this couplet:
      Do you hear, soldier?
      See, soldier?
      People are afraid of explosions.
      Thousands of eyes are looking at the sky
      lips stubbornly repeat:
      "May there always be sunshine,
      May there always be blue sky,
      May there always be a mommy,
      May always be me"

    • @dp271
      @dp271 2 года назад +4

      well, for the usa it might have been a war with many drafts and sure it wasn't nice for them, the soviets perceived it as an existential war since they knew, in case of loosing they would all be dead or enslaved, or worse

    • @bacicinvatteneaca
      @bacicinvatteneaca 2 года назад

      @@dp271 yeah, it mustn't be forgotten that the explicitly stated goal of the Nazis was to expand eastward like the USA expanded westward, and use the same methods to deal with the "barbarians" living there.

  • @Sesaon3
    @Sesaon3 2 года назад +10

    Great research David - sounded similar to early Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark circa 1979 - excellent work :-)

  • @ivanantipov6962
    @ivanantipov6962 2 года назад +12

    Not sure if you'll see my comment, but the audio output that you see there is actually the same as MIDI (this connector called DIN at the time), so you can use the modern MIDI cable to to connect things, just make sure to solder modern jack on the other side. It was used in many applications and sound was perfect for using DIN for stereo and mono since the jacks did not differ!

  • @austinmillerrr
    @austinmillerrr Год назад +1

    Dude. Well done. Please keep making videos like this. And thank you for sampling everything 😊

  • @soysos.tuffsound
    @soysos.tuffsound Год назад

    That was lovely, the bit at the end was really touching. So looking forward to going thru your channel, thank you!

  • @neilmcgrath1498
    @neilmcgrath1498 2 года назад +5

    brilliant work David - good on you bringing so much of the story of this humble forgotten instrument and company to light - the fact that it is Ukranian and the poetic timing of that song is a major bonus

  • @MaxGavrilov
    @MaxGavrilov 2 года назад +394

    Hey! I'm a Ukrainian and I can tell you for sure that you've pronounced Romny correctly!👍🏻 And thank you for this cool research about the history of this cool synth. I had the same when I was a kid but unfortunately I've no idea about where is it now.

    • @MaxGavrilov
      @MaxGavrilov 2 года назад +14

      @@bekerashes because it's a common thing in Ukraine. People from east regions of Ukraine are mostly russian speaking, which means that some of their ancestors were russians, which means russian surnames are the part of it.

    • @MyPsycholog
      @MyPsycholog 2 года назад +5

      @@bekerashes russian and ukrainian surnames are the same. And a lot of slavic too.

    • @ВасКо-в2с
      @ВасКо-в2с 2 года назад +9

      @@bekerashes There are about 20% of Russians in Ukraine, however, unlike democratic states, they are not allowed to receive education in their native language.

    • @Pavelkozhin
      @Pavelkozhin 2 года назад +4

      @@MyPsycholog можно было просто указать, что народ в обоих странах проживает плюс-минус один. И одинаковые фамилии тут как само собой разумеещееся

    • @kirixoto
      @kirixoto 2 года назад

      @@MaxGavrilov ahahaha you use google translate?

  • @Gusrikh1
    @Gusrikh1 2 года назад +9

    What a delightful story. Poignant as well….. Thank you.

  • @peterlepahin
    @peterlepahin 2 года назад

    Wow, such a great video. I wanted to check it out for so long but only got to it today. And... man! All the research you did, as well as the reparation and tuning process... I watched it with as much excitement as if I was the buyer... but I couldn't even power it on probably. Thank you for the valuable content you create!!!

  • @DarwinNunezFann
    @DarwinNunezFann Год назад

    watching this at 11 pm, put my headphones on and man, your voice is so soothing.

  • @goshgosh89
    @goshgosh89 2 года назад +231

    Впервые поймал себя на том, что готов расплакаться, размышляя, казалось бы, над судьбой советского синтезатора. Дэвид, спасибо вам!
    Миру мир! Нет войне!

    • @AlxG0r
      @AlxG0r 2 года назад +7

      просрали все полимеры...
      но песня хорошая

    • @vladimirbabitsky5639
      @vladimirbabitsky5639 2 года назад +7

      Песня хорошая. Но если выйти сейчас с ней на улицу - легко посадят в тюрьму.

    • @Ermakov_TV
      @Ermakov_TV 2 года назад +5

      @@vladimirbabitsky5639не болтайте ерунду

    • @antikovt
      @antikovt Год назад +8

      @@Ermakov_TV людей с плакатом "война это плохо" арестовывают, штрафуют и отправляют на принудительные работы за "Дискредитацию армии РФ". О какой ерунде речь? Морали нет больше.

    • @godericvpadinsky4716
      @godericvpadinsky4716 Год назад +6

      @@Ermakov_TV за год розовые очки можно было бы и снять.

  • @TheShimming
    @TheShimming 2 года назад +5

    I am 42 y.o. male born in USSR. Before Internet era have encountered Pif only once. I had a book with texts in easy English, some of the texts were illustrated with comic strips with Pif. I had no idea that it was some known character of French origin.

  • @andremorr
    @andremorr 2 года назад +109

    Well, the connector is a DIN5, it's hard to believe that you never saw one, it is used for MIDI now (and since 80s, i think), but in USSR they loved using DINs for audio and all the music stuff had DINs, even the Mixer consoles... Imagine that!

    • @esahm373
      @esahm373 2 года назад +16

      Same standard was used in GDR and probably other East Bloc countries.

    • @wokeil
      @wokeil 2 года назад +7

      I thought it looked like midi but I was like nah that couldn't be it..

    • @garyg68
      @garyg68 2 года назад +20

      DINs were very common in the UK too in the 70s/80s (Deutsches Institut für Normung so I guess all of Europe too), all the gear I can think of as a kid had them (parents record player, radio cassettes). Seemed a standard for connecting units, dumping records to tape etc.
      Great video, the backstory really makes it.

    • @Павел-ш1ц7з
      @Павел-ш1ц7з 2 года назад +12

      Soviet electric guitars had this connector too.

    • @garyg68
      @garyg68 2 года назад +3

      @@Павел-ш1ц7з Guitars too? Wow. I've seen multi pin connectors on guitar synths etc, hex pickups and that but not for regular audio. Thanks.

  • @yorzengaming
    @yorzengaming Год назад +1

    So cool that you turned it into a vst and shared it for free with everyone thats so nice of you kind sir.

  • @georgezoric6953
    @georgezoric6953 10 месяцев назад

    I've been casually watching clips from your channel for a bit now and it's really fascinating to see how you restore and play these rare musical wonders. So I was completely surprised to find myself suddenly tearing up near the end of this randomly chosen clip as you played a bit of one of the childrens' songs from the manual. Thanks very much for what you're doing and thanks for the unexpected feels on this one. 😊