Have you considered putting these RU-vid Doodles on Spotify? It would make some excellent driving music. A car, that is. Well, golf clubs as well, I suppose. Wedges? I'm not sure.
What do you think about a video explaining basic components of synthesizers and showing the construction plans of them? I'd like to know what VCAs and so on are.
@@AlexBallMusic 😱😱😱new album! I so hope it’s a double gatefold including all the incidentals I requested from your films expanded into full tracks? It doesn’t matter, I know it will be excellent and I will be purchasing immediately and streaming constantly on Spotify. And as for the light ... it felt like a subtle change of approach / direction / structure, was it intentional or just a feeling?
@@user-fo3ug3cr4m I wasn't thinking of doing a video on the basics of synthesis, but I have some other tutorials in mind. There are loads of videos, websites and books that already explain all that stuff, so I didn't think it worth doing again.
When you went through the bass options at the top , I must admit I reviewed them with my face. A valuable life skill imparted by RU-vid. Mankind has a future after all.
Have had one of these since 2010..got it for $1500 online, in awesome condition. This is a really special instrument. Neither hardware nor vst will ever come close to recreating this sound in my opinion. Great video!
I absolutely admire the way you structure your end pieces with these long intros, with vocal lines seemingly unimportant somehow, like if you wanted the people to feast their ears with these lush sounds, agile harmonies and well crafted tension builders. And then all of a sudden you drop a top of the tops banger vocal line to die for, and if there is something in the world worth longer wait than this then I don't know what that is... I feel like this structure concept is totally yours, there is no band I can think of that would follow or has ever followed the same path. The long, beautiful intros of Robert Smith and the fellows would ring some pleasant bells in my head, but, man, what a indescribably great light to stand in. One hell of a talent you are, Mr. Hainbach.
Your demonstrations are exactly what a demonstration should truly be, and although I have seen far, far too many demonstrations in my life to really enjoy watching demonstrations, yours are an exception. Just lovely. Also, thanks for the mention! I cheered at your "paraphonic" explanation! Thank you. The music? Amazing. I have to say that I have underestimated this synth to a substantial degree! Maybe I should have tried harder to get one back when I could! Anyone who wants to argue about what "paraphonic" means can hop on over to my channel. Need an incentive? All paraphonic synths (modern usage) are polyphonic synths unless they were made by a company that decided to start using the term to mean "one o' these notes ain't articulated." :D Anyway, thank you, Alex... you rock.
Thanks for tuning in. I'm glad the description was accurate the weirdness of it, your videos are obviously a huge help there. I forgot to mention that roland called the sister Jupiter-4 "Compuphonic" meaning that it had user memory slots! They also used "Computer Interface" for CV/Gate inputs on several synths, so numerous terms are now lost in translation or time. The RS-505: yeah, worth owning if you can get one, but the rarity and price now make it a bit painful. I snagged a Crumar that's tatty, but was inexpensive and sounds absolutely amazing. That's my stringer for the time being. Maybe I'll find a Lambda at some point, someone tells me those are great...
@@AlexBallMusic I really, really can't wait for you to experience a Lambda! Three tuning-independent layers of top-octave-divide... it's the Minimoog of string synths. :D
I first wanted to comment that I already own two '505' roland instruments but while I was typing frantically I realized you probably were being sarcastic....
My first synth in late 70's through mid 80's. Mostly used for slow attack and blended stings/brass pads through the beautiful ensemble/chorus. Paired wonderfully with ARP Odyssey back in the day. Thanks for the trip down memory lane and your song at the end is terrific - sounded progressive pop to me, a hit in any age.
These old Roland synthesizers really do have there own vintage character and sound which in my opinion can not be copied by software or reissues. I think over the decades the electronics take on a warmth all of there own. I have a few synths and one I will never sell is my Roland Juno 106 which I have owned for over 20 years. Another great video Alex thank you for all your hard work in putting these video's together for everyone to enjoy
There are some great modern synths (including digital) and some suprisingly good plugins nowadays, but playing a hand built vintage synth is always going to feel like a huge treat.
Oh God, he can sing too! Not enough that he gets all this cool vintage gear and gets to be witty and informative, then writes cool tunes on them. He sings too. PAH! (Seriously, great vid once again. Not a keyboard I'd lust after but would have in my "lottery win collection" because it just LOOKS so gorgeous, like all Rolys of the period.)
Cheers Phil. Well, I can stack up lots of vocals with lots of FX and seem like I can sing. ;) 505 - yeah I agree, I'm not dying to own one at all costs like I would be for an ARP 2500 or a Jupiter-8, but would be very happy to have it around.
You should hear it live. Ensemble III is one of those things that recordings don't quite capture in all its glory. The psychoacoustics at play here are truly magical. Over 40 years, I've not come across the exact effect in any other product, not even Roland's contemporary RS-505 emulations match it.
Great video. I had this and the VP vocoder. One sat on top of the other, both looked fab (looked very similar) and sounded great. I sold the 505 for £35 and the VP for £100. Not exactly my finest decision considering their worth now! Nice video and great sound quality. Thanks.
★★★★★ As with most things that you demonstrate, I’ve never previously heard of them(!) but it’s always a pleasure hearing you give their history. That bass sounded so good and raw! Also, your end song was top notch, sir. Onwards, dear fellow - not long before that 100k plaque will be in your grasp! 😎⭐️
I had one these, picked up for nothing in a thrift store in Brooklyn. I played it, gigged it, toured it and it never failed. Sold it when i returned to the UK but struggled to find good bass poly/paraphonic that i was satisfied with after that.... Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
Thanks Alex, thanks for doing this, it’s my favourite bit of kit. I really like the second touch envelope switch on it. Being able to retrigger the envelope while playing with both hands opens up all sorts of cool possibilities.
Thank you. It’s always nice to see a new video on the RS 505, and you’ve given me a few ideas to follow up. As you say, you need to work with its limitations rather than against. Possibly my favourite stringer (and I love most of them). As always, the trick is layering and contrasting the sections. I usually play mine ‘orchestrally’. If you do this it sounds absolutely huge. At the time I think this is how Roland intended it to be used. The ‘strings’ section does have a characteristic timbre, but I wouldn’t have said ‘thin’. Carefully mixing the 8’ and 4’ footages available avoids this. There also seems to be a sweet spot if you tune it a minor third down… easily done with the pitch slider, but this could be just me. A feature you didn’t go into is the pitch glide. It’s a bit weird used at extremes, but is also present on the 505’s sister the VP330 (and Behringer’s fantastic clone). With careful use you can extract some sounds vaguely reminiscent of asian music but it requires careful use - a little glissando at the beginning of selected notes. I could go on but won’t. Despite its apparent simplicity the 505 has hidden depths and there are many surprises hidden away in there. One of Roland’s best. I wish their current output was more like this, but perhaps I just haven’t managed to escape from the 1970s/80s
Thanks for the additional info. I didn't cover autobend because I gave it a feature in my previous video with the VP-330, but I guess I should have mentioned it again. I should have the 505 a little while longer so I'll try some of your suggestions.
Petition to have the Contextual Demonstration at the end turned into a full song I can put on my Spotify playlists please. Wonderful video you just earned a new subscriber. Can’t wait to go through your catalogue of videos
Gee, thanks... really got a craving for a Korg Arse now...! Seriously, though, this synth, like all the ones you've covered recently, have one thing in common: power. I find it astonishing that in the middle of OPEC one and energy awareness in the late Seventies, Korg, Roland and Moog all think it's a good idea to make musical instruments that drain more power than your dishwasher or toaster... The upside to all this, though, is the bass. Oh, man. RU-vid cannot begin to convey this, I'm sure you'll agree. It's a score of tubas up your... well, arse!
such an amzing synth... the one piece i will never get rid of despite it's "limitations" it does what it does very well. was lucky enough to find one in a weird little record store in milwaukee for $125 several decades ago.... great final song, Alex!
@@AlexBallMusic Thank YOU! It's playing the 5th time yet and still getting better! As a composer, Vintage-Synth-phobic and music lover i listened to every „Demo“ of you, but THIS is your biggest „socks-knocker“ so far, sittin here with a big smile every time it repeats... damn; I LOOOVE it!!! :D
the Roland Paraphonic RS-505 is my first analog synth I bought after the DX100 (my 1th synth) i saw it in 1990 in a shop for €200.... I listened and I was ♥ imidiately!!!! still one of my favo's!!!
Accidentally watching this with autogenerated subtitles absolutely cracked me up [Applause]. Anyway, now you explained what Roland meant by "Paraphonic", I feel we need a modern definition of "Compuphonic". Maestro?.. :)
@@AlexBallMusic Yes, that was what Roland meant it to signify, but what about the average slightly confused and misinformed millennial vst-plug collector's definition? ;)
Always cool Demos Alex, I like your style doing it always in a musical context, and I am always exiting on the songs at the end, fantastic work, double dumb up is not enough for that.
I love this stuff; in a you-tube world where increasingly a 'tabloid' video title barely disguises a slap-dash conglomeration of stock footage, and research that would make the back of a cigarette packet blush, there's this. Niche? - hell yes! We old farts, need content to fill our increasing sense of emptiness too.😉
I own a jupiter 4 and this fills some blanks : no audio in, one ensemble mode only, multi waveforms possibilities. This is the best era for roland synths. I recently rediscovered the bass capabilities of the jupiter 4 and they are just amazing.
My friend got one of these at goodwill for 50 bucks in 2002 I tried to buy it off him for 500 but he refused. Back then there was little to no info on the internet about this but we knew it was awesome.
I've started to like the paraphonic aesthetics for 10 years now. Most likely I started to grow up. Thank you, Alex!! You've made understanding of this paraphonic transparent for me in such a short time. + This summer shirt with flowers suits you. 😉
Thanks Serge, I'm glad you enjoyed the video and the shirt :) Yes, there's some great sounds to be found in those old paraphonic polys, if you can work around the problems.
Back in the day, I was stuck between the 505 and the ARP Omni 2, both awesome in their own way. The 505 was extremely underrated and brilliant for it's time.
And to add insult to injury Technics had something they called a "harmonizer" on their SX-3800B organ. It was using the polyphonic tone generator from the organ, with polyphonic VCAs, but only one filter.
Why don't we just say that paraphonic is something that plays a lot of voices at the same time but where the "not so polyphonic thingie" is that there are things that there is just one of that are shared among all the voices and that makes it less pleasant.
@@Magnus_Loov Isn't "something that plays a lot of voices at the same time" called "multi-timbral"? I remember that was suddenly a big thing in the late 1980s.
@@organfairy In a polyphonic Synth, some things (like a filter) have multiple copies of themselves. In a multitimbral Synth, "all the things" have multiple copies of themselves...
@@AlexBallMusic Yes as a drummer (my main instrument) I love Simmons gear, I used to have a SDS-1, SDS-8, SDS-9, TMI but the only I kept is the SDSV. Alex please do some doc about the history of Simmons because nobody has done it and I think it there's a lot of interesting info about it and if you got an interview with Dave Simmons will be awesome, he is a very brilliant guy. I think you are the right person to do it like you did with the ARP doc.
Wish a company would come out with a multitimbral analog bass/string/brass machine like an old Crumar Performer or this. I really think these have a unique sound that’s missing in today’s synth market.
I guess it's a very 70s sound. Great for vintage nuts like us, but probably less marketable to general users most likely. Thankfully there's loads of them still kicking around from the 70s.
@@AlexBallMusic Well who knows Crumar said they are working on a synth and paraphonic synths have been making a bit of a comeback (Moog Matriarch, Arturia Matrixbrute, Sequential Pro 3 etc) those might be the best we are going to get.
Mmmmmmmm the sound of analogue goodness. Synthesizing the soul for as long as I can remember 💖 Edit: That outro track.... 1st class feel good movie grade quality.
I agree that the bass sounds on this thing are surprisingly thick. I had an ARP Omni 2 for a while and that had some really meaty bass as well. I was working on a record at the time, and, though I also had access to a Micromoog and an Odyssey, I ended up relying mostly on the Omni for all the synth bass parts. There's something about those old ensemble circuits that add this really subtle but beautiful "rolling" texture to everything and I found that transferred nicely into the overall mix of the songs and gave everything a bit more dimension. Also I loved your song at the end of the video! Really cool bass groove!
The Omni is wonderful, as is the Solina and Solina String Synthesizer. As you say, suprising bass! The ensembles are magical, definitely. Really syrupy.
The best way to come around the limitation of single envelope in string machines is to use volume pedal and good reverb effect to mask the notes being cut off when playing several chords in a row. Vangelis was the greatest artist using this method. Listen, this is highly amazing (can't put direct links to comment) owmL-_4bKUU&t=285s
When Roland set off to build the system 100, but they ran short of panel parts. So, they just ‘burrowed’ some fancy components off of Grandma’s Wurlitzer. BOOM!!?! Paraphonic five oh fizzy!
This is a total long shot - but if anyone knows where to get a whole new set of sliders for one of these, let me know. :) I have one in need of love and repair!
The song at the end, and especially the beginning of it, reminds me of early (late 1970:s, pre "Don't you want me") Human League. "Being boiled" with that bass sound and the percussive sounds (that snare "splash"/"whip")
This is tastier than i thought it'd be. It's not just that classic ensemble chorus that roland used for a number of years (it sounds like multiple units, akin to the BOSS guitar units of the time, with separate audio paths), but their definition of paraphonic, which is actually more akin to Multi-Timbrality. I think this might have been used on more records than most people know. For example, The Warriors soundtrack sounds like (ahem) it has this all over it. Thank you for sharing this👍
@@AlexBallMusic yeah, that bass was completely unexpected. I've got a system 100 (the full set, inc speakers) and it sounds similar to that, rather than the smoother filter Roland used in the 80s.
Hey new to your channel after youtube algorithm recommand your video, synth test was amazing you got me subs, hell yeah the bass sound massive af ! But the end video got me fan also !!! Very nice composition man I really appreciate when vocal enter and didnt expect this, it look like completely out of a 1983 top chart with recent touch ahah !! thanks for this video mate
I've never understood why Roland pushed so many units that tried to emulate real instruments with a complete lack of proper filtering on board. Some sawtooths and a lowpass, yay? Imagine if they had something akin to the Polymoog resonator to pair with the Ensemble. Bliss. As an aside, first two notes of the "Cello" demo made me think you were about to play Little Fugue in Gm.
It was designed for live players to have access to a bunch of different sounds quickly. Largely cover bands I believe, so it makes perfect sense for the time. A bit weird now, but the sounds can be adapted for more modern fun.
