As someone who absolutely adores synth with a deep passion, I'm so delighted to see you talk about a synthesizer!!! Always love your content, keep it up
@@localhost4460 legit, no shade at all but when I heard that $10k for a CS-80 estimate I just softly chuckled remembering the few listings there are all being around $40k-$45k :,) Heck, even my small home studio with mostly VST synths ended up costing me close to 1.5k
"I'm sorry if I bored the pants off of you" I love nothing more than to hear people talk on and on about the stuff they're truly excited about. It feels like a gift to hear your enthusiasm every week.
Yeah, just realized that. Been a guitar player my whole life, but recently discovered Dream Theater and Jordan Rudess, and instantly thought that i need one
I got to go to a music producer's studio and he had a CS-80 in his collection. It was insane! The thing was massive, and he had to pay a professional to get the thing tuned properly. It was the first synthesizer to ever be released with a touchpad aspect, which was a black bar above the keyboard that acted as the pitch shifter. Very cool video, glad to see you're doing reviews on synths now too!
@@m-aronnax1277 no, the GX-1 was an analogue synthesizer that while sold in the form factor of an organ, was literally the test bed for the development of the CS-80.
Mate, this is one of the best explanations of the features of synthesisers I have seen. As someone who is trying to get into producing electronica, your explanations are very helpful for getting my head around the steep learning curve. Thank you for taking the time to make this video. Always love your material 👍🏼
As a music producer, I love that you made this video to get people into the idea of making music! Especially at my level there is a huge expectation of quality and ability, but dang it making music is meant to be fun and satisfying, even if you're just pushing buttons turning knobs and making goofy sounds. I have a plugin version of the CS-80, basically a software version, and even that is wild, there are tons of great little synths and music makers for not much money out there, as well as phone stuff. It's a mega exciting time to be an electronic musician.
@@kaydog890 I can't tell if this is a roast or not. If it is then the fact it's in the comments of a DankPods vid is delightful. 'As a collector of an assortment of various media players that hold no significant valur...'
This is genuinely the most fun I’ve ever had watching one of your videos. You’ve made me fall in love with drums, now you’ve gone and done it with synths. You’re the best, mate.
Welcome to synths! They're very confusing and can be overwhelming at first but if you find someone really into it who can explain how everything works you'll have an absolute blast
As a survivor of New Wave, I remember when Synths were as common as apples at a green grocery. It's nice to see people are getting back into actually learning how to make music with them.
@@singlesideman Congrats, if _you_ never substituted actually programming and playing Synths with ProTools, and Cubase. Because I personally know _tons_ of people today who can't even turn on an MS-20. Those are whom I am referring to here.
@@singlesideman Me, the guy who made the video, everybody in the comment section; it's all about musicians (especially beginners) learning how to be Synthesists; it's fun! Maybe you're in the wrong place?
@@DerpRulesAll it came up as a recommended video, and the title said that it's not a toy, which it is not, so it sounded like the video would actually show off its professional capabilites. The incredible thing is that the title says that it's not a toy, but the way it's being used in the video is very much as a toy, and doesn't demonstrate its timbral power and possibilities. It's very disappointing and misleading.
Why.....why is this only 12 minutes? We need like..AN HOUR of this! I wanna hear the funny aussie man with his slithery friend named Frank scream and tell me hilariously albeit informative stories while using a synthesizer.
I'm an electronic musician (mostly) with a background in audio engineering, so I already knew all of this - but I watched all of it anyway. I love the enthusiasm you show for teaching people about new things, and I bet you manage to encourage people to throw out some of their preconceptions and biases away with vids like this. Keep it up!
Is it just me, or did the sine setting sound more square than the square setting, which in turn sounded more sinusoidal? In the beginning anyway, it's not the case with lower pitches. Maybe I missed something but it seemed off somehow. I agree with all the things you said, that one sound was indeed objectively cool, very dubby. What I didn't know about was this CS reface existing, which is really neat. I'm gonna have to look at deep dive reviews or something.
You can go surprisingly far with software synths you can get for free on a computer or an iPhone! While I love playing on a true analog synth, it really isn't necessary to buy an expensive instrument nowadays in order to get your foot in the door. Start experimenting with what you've got! I bet you'll impress yourself.
If you can afford one, get an Arturia key step. They're built like tanks, and though they lack the knobs to really modulate parameters they have an excellent live sequencer that is just s ton of fun to jam with!
@@discolemonade8570 Oh, I have. 😁 I make a lot of interesting sounds with my current plugins in my DAW. I just think it’s time for me to move up and get something more tactile than my laptop keyboard.
This isn't boring at all! Its super fascinating to see this side of things! As someone who's never made music, but is wanting to kinda get into it, its nice to see!
I love that half of the sounds could be attributed to a sound effect or music we've likely heard in a movie or song. It was like pulling back the curtain on how they were made, but didn't take away the magic 😊
I got the chance to play a yamaha cs80 in melbourne at MESS, and I have to say it's an incredible machine. For those that don't know, it has polyphonic aftertouch, which means after you play a note you can then press the key further down to shape the sound, and each finger can press down a different amount. It feels very organic in a way other synths don't often feel
And polyphonic aftertouch is still kinda rare to this day! The only major synth I've heard that has this is the Hydrasynth, which... definitely isn't an analog synth like the CS80. There's also one weird squishy keyboard that has polyphonic expression, but it's not really a traditional keyboard.
Have you guys heard of the Expressive E Osmose? It's a crazy new synth with poly aftertouch (actually even better but it's complicated) and per note pitchbend on the keys (they pivot side to side)! I think it's the next big step in synth technology
@@maxspencerkarinen6463 still better than the continuum from haken audio, or lord behold an ondes martenot. for the amount of expression you get the osmose somehow is a great deal.
Man, this is easily one of the most entertaining videos you've ever produced. Making sounds is such a fun activity and having one of those would be heaven for me ahahahaha
Whenever I see UA-cam DJ's do their best to remake Daft Punk's loops and stuff, it always amazes me what they have to actually go through to get a 98% close version of it. Thanks for goofing off with this synth and mystifying me a little, my man.
If you had a reply saying you want something, just ask them to put a video proving that you want. It won’t be that hard if they really in the account and it’s the person that you are watching and you commented on.
The audio in this video is awesome. Like I love this kind of sound where you just bang out some notes and it sounds like a beautiful retro game or some music from sonic R. It's so cool.
@@DrKoneko sure but it won’t sound amazing it will just sound boring or video gamey. And it actually doesn’t take much to make pro sounds. Like acid house. Just a beat and bass guitar emulator and done. And you can add to whatever you want.
Richard Tandy from ELO really deserves more spotlight in the synthesizer realm, the experimental noises and styles and skill he has were out of this world! He would end up using 6 or 7 synths if I remember correctly when they were on tour lmao
awesome to see you talking about synthesizers, i started working with VST synths a while ago and these kinds of subtractive synths are actually surprisingly intuitive and fun to use despite how complicated they may seem. i think anyone that doesn't like electronic music needs to realize how fun and easy these are to work with on top of how you won't find another instrument so capable of making such diverse sounds
@@sparklesparklesparkle6318 for that price i think your best bet is a korg volca; the volca keys is definitely the most accessible although i also have a volca modular that can definitely do some interesting stuff if you're willing to watch tutorials about it. you could also maybe get a used arturia microbrute for under 200 if you're lucky
@@sparklesparklesparkle6318 You Could either go for some good VST's that you can use on your p.c which you can get for free all the way up to around $200 or if you want a hardware synth the Behringer model d is a very good buy that sounds great for about $250. there is quite a lot of other half-decent synth which you can buy secondhand for around that money though the Waldorf Blofeld is a decent buy in that price range etc etc.
0:39 fun fact: yamaha not only makes motorbikes, synthesizers, grand pianos and all that jazz, they also made engines for toyota (more specifically, the 1jz) and the exhaust system for the lexus lfa
I have both the Reface CS and Reface DX and these beauties are amazingly fun to use. They sound great and feel great under their toy appearance, I'd love to get the other two as well. The YC seems and sounds amazing.
The YC and CP are great too. The YC is great for grabbing a handful of "drawbars" and manipulating them while I play. The only Reface I don't have is the DX because I already have enough FM synths.
This episode was amazing. Talking about music stuff is an amazing avenue for the channel. You could even talk about old sound cards, or even the history of how we recorded media.
The sound this produces is amazing, and it's so perfectly laid out! Everything is in almost exactly the order it applies in the chain of effects, and it's just so simple and clean, I love it.
I'm really happy to see you broadening your scope with instruments. I'm glad synth makers have started making new versions of their classics. gives people like me a chance to own something real that can emulate that old school sound without having to have one million VSTs. Now if only I had room for them all.
Yeah! I believe Korg (was it? Or maybe another company) have started rereleasing their classic analog synths inside far smaller boxes as "boutique". Yamaha as well, iirc.
As someone who absolutely adores electronic music(especially Synthwave), this just shows how much dedication/effort/skill is needed to make some good tracks. Love this.
People mistakenly believe electronic music is "push button, make must appear out of thin air," and that's one of my biggest pet peeves. Yes, there is lazily made, simplistic music, but it's not lazy because of what tools were used, just how they were used. Some of the most crazy creative stuff I've ever heard has more frequently than not been electronic music.
I'm a young(ish) classically trained musician and I've always loved electronic music. It wasn't until after college that I really started getting into analog synthesis and really understood how complex and intricate of an art form it really is, all on its own! It's been years now since I've been fiddling with synthesis and I've still only scratched the surface. I've only released one song, but it's still been a ton of fun learning a new world of music. Thank you for making this video! I've been around here since the start and I've been waiting for the day you would make a video about synthesizers :) so many people are going to be exposed to it thanks to you, and for that I am very excited! I'll definitely be recommending your video to some of my students. Give Frank a big 'ol "WAAAHHH" on that CS for me. I'm sure she'll love it 😉🐍 Also, Wade mentioned Yellow Magic Orchestra in the video but I just wanted to second that recommendation! They were a group that truly evolved with electronic music over the years and they're a great listen every time.
Analog synthesis is cool and all, but contemporary digital synthesis is where it's at 😎 Like seriously. Ok, cool, we got like the saw wave and the square on on one end, sometimes triangle and sine... On the other we got freaking additive, FM, granular, sampling...
Aphex Twin is one the most influencial electronic music producers from the late 90s who originally trained in classical piano. If you've never heard of him, do a search for Windowlicker. His album Drukqs is half electronic madness and half him playing classical piano
@@radiofloyd2359 why not all the above lol. Honestly something like an Arturia MiniFreak is an excellent centerpiece to a setup, and it’s a hybrid analog/digital. Can’t wait for it to get a MicroFreak-style wavetable mode too
I love this synth so much. Atomic Dog bass to brassy blade runner leads in an instant. The programing is so straightforward but it does not hold back with it's capabilities. Plus 8 voices is a must have for any synth owner and this will get you there affordability lol
@@emmarossignol4445 both are great devices but the minilogue XD goes so much deeper while still being more of a "basic" synth. the rabbithole is endless
@@emmarossignol4445 look man, I've been through some good and bad synthesizer purchases, you have a good synth. The artist that is yourself always shines through no matter what tool you're using, I mean if you care about that sort of thing idk your ideals
Thank you for sharing! 0:37 - Yamaha's Contribution to Synthesizers 1:00 - Exploring the Yamaha CS Reface 2:01 - The Art of Synthesizing 2:53 - Playing with Modulation 3:22 - Creating Unique Sounds 4:08 - Understanding Octaves and Musical Notes 5:01 - The Challenge of Looping 5:30 - Portamento and Polyphony 6:27 - Exploring Attack and Effects 7:00 - Delay, Phaser, and Pitch Bend 8:04 - GarageBand: The Free Synthesizer App 9:14 - The Beauty of Electronic Music 10:59 - Appreciating the Craft of Electronic Music 11:42 - Yamaha Ego6 and the Future of Dank Pods
I've been making songs in BeepBox for years now, just as a fun thing to do on a slow Tuesday, but this video is honestly convincing me to take the next step and get a proper synth. You also explain this stuff so well, almost like you have experience in it or something
You totally should, I got started with music by making stupid stuff in beepbox when I was bored in class and music production and synths are a great hobby
I've been eyeing an Arturia MicroFreak, so it's worth taking a look at! I'm not a professional but I started using software synths more and more in my music in recent years so I feel you
So this semester at my college, I took a class on electronic music. Its honestly so cool to dive into it, and your video couldn't have had better timing. Sythesizers and elec music as a whole are something else
I’m a music producer and I’ve been trying to wrap my head around learning sound design with synths for the past 5 years. It makes me so happy to see you talking about them!
Analogue synths are awesome. The size of it is due to it going from wire wrapping to PCBs. Analogue synths are easy to DIYa and a fun rabbithole, kinda remind me of tracker music.
@Emily Banks, the first one he mentioned was analogue. But i probably shouldve checked before mentioning the wirewrapping to PCBs bit. I would edit it but I can't on mobile browser.
Neat tax write-off I mean video! I love that you're expanding to synths and instruments with your show and tell style, it's a perfect complement to AudioPilz's Bad Gear series. I expect a crossover episode any day now!
A synthesizer is the last thing I expected you to cover, but being enthusiastic about music hardware, this is a very welcome surprise! I loved this video!!
This is a fantastic video!! It’s pretty comprehensive. We had a class or two of my contemporary music history college course dedicated to synthesizer history and how they work, and you have done a great job doing a similar thing!!
8:38 Yamaha takes this a step further on their flagship synths like the Montage. Every preset has an "audition" song, (which seem to be unique for every preset) that give you an idea of what the sound is like when played in a song by a professional musician.
@@tuxedo1557 I discovered the genre with Roller Mobster from Carpenter Brut and it slapped so hard I had to find more. Quickly found out about Kavinsky and Perturbator and went more and more toward Darksynth with Dance With the Dead, Hollywood Burns, Vulta and We Are Magonia. What about you?
@@Nekrozys I think ive been living under a rock but ive pretty much been listening to HOME, 3kilksphillip (technically hes a youtuber) steventhedreamer, tangerine dream.
As someone who has at this point become pretty dang knowledgeable about synths, it was very nice seeing you so excited about them as I am. I hope this inspires some people to give a try to electronic music, cause it has a pretty low floor of entry nowadays and it's a ton of fun.
Still incredibly confusing without a good guide as there are far too many products, ways of playing them, and differing levels of musical skill/knowledge required for each. The biggest hurdle for getting into Euro-rack, Synths, and Midi keyboards to me was that there are just far too damn many of them, and too many old ones that are still good, makes it hard to make any choice at all, plus there are an absolute shit load of terminology you need to learn to be even able to look up what you want to know about the different instruments, it gets frustrating frankly lol.
@@NachozMan Lol, see, that's where lack of money, having a local instruments store with a limited catalogue, and learning how synthesis works through free VSTs prior to making the jump to hardware comes in... But yeah, I agree that it can seem overwhelming at first.
@@radiofloyd2359 as a kid who's synth obsession just started, korg dsn-12 is my best friend. I can take it anywhere and create the worst sounds youve ever heard anywhere !
I worked as a music shop clerk that sold Yamaha stuff and when I got shown the series of these at a product briefing session I was gobsmacked at how cool these were.
Man I truly thought this wasn't going to be the most interesting episode but wow can't believe seeing an electric piano being played like that is very entertaining, makes me almost want to buy one!
Electric pianos and synthesizers are two very different beasts in somewhat similar clothes. Electric pianos are regular pianos amplified like an electric guitar, while synthesizers are completely electric and let you make way more than just piano noises.
My dad has an old keyboard that I used when I was learning piano. Hated learning regular piano, but man was it fun just pressing every single button and seeing what funny sounds would pop up. I'm back into piano thankfully, but it's really tempting to get a keyboard like this, and just start messing around and seeing if I can accidentally stumble into making a song. By far the most versatile instrument in the world. Some of my favorite game soundtrack pieces were made from them, like 'Falling Down' from Megaman Zero 4 and most of the Risk of Rain 2 soundtrack.
Dude this was awesome, I love your music stuff cause you're a) really passionate about it and b) stuff that people outside the music realm wouldn't understand you explain in an understandable but fun way.
As someone who is a REALLY big fan of chiptune, I gotta say I'm shocked that this is my first time seeing this, and I'm more shocked I don't have it. I need this in my life! 😂
In my opinion, this synth is a lot more expensive than it should be in regards to the features offered. If you want to learn analog synthesis I'd highly recommending grabbing a Korg Volca Keys (make sure it's the 'Keys' model, the Volcas are a whole series of instruments). They're really fun to mess around with and figure out how to create good sounds. And it even has features which assist in making real music with it when you decide to hit record! For something closer to the price point of the Yamaha, but with a universe of additional features, I couldn't recommend the Korg Minilogue xd more. It's my go-to while I've been learning synthesis over the past few years. Have fun! :)
As someone who heavily uses wavetable and FM synthesis it always makes me happy to see the early forms of additive and granular synthesis still getting covered and especially still getting physical iterations. I might have to waste some money on one of these, thank you for covering it :)
This has been my favorite synth for a while. The CS has been great but I have never been able to get it. I loved their original synths and the greatness they were, yet tough. It's amazing to see you review this diamond of a synthesiser as I love it. Keep these vids up!
I study media technology with a focus on audio, so I really enjoyed this video. Especially seeing all the equipment I can not afford at my university or on my own. I really love your content, thank you! I hope one day I can reach your level
Not only the synth keyboards, but sound chips as well. Like the Yamaha YM2612. That one meant serious business in the Mega Drive/Genesis. Go listen to the Streets of Rage series' OSTs, people. Yuzo Koshiro doing bangers in the 90s. That's ART.
Thank you for covering the reface CS. This is the only synth I have ever owned. I bought mine in 2017. I absolutely love it. It is super versatile whilst making great sound. And sounds even better in my DAW with extra plugins to add reverb and other effects beyond what is built in. But you can also plug it into hardware effects also. It is just such a fun device!
there are so many crazy and amazing synths out there. even some that have much more knobs and buttons to play around with at cheaper prices, its great. music is amazing and its fun to watch another person just as enthusiastic about it as me
@@kparsons92 honestly im not really the person to ask for that but im sure there are some reviews on youtube. another thing you could do is go out to a local music shop and have a bit of a browse maybe talk to an employee about it. thats what ive done and id say that was quite nice, just so you can get hands on with it before you buy it. otherwise yeah i cant really help you much sorry im not a synth expert, not an expert with anything at all so you know haha... hah. : (
Thank you for the GarageBand love. Too many people dunk all over it, but man for a free DAW, it’s pretty much unmatched for features, ease of use, and even a gorgeous UI. Hell it even supports VSTs on the desktop version. It’s awesome.
Absolutely love the synth, it’s such a complex instrument that is in so many songs, really glad you talked about it and shower us your interest in it! Videos like these are absolutely welcome!
What a lovely machine. Yamaha are fricking mad lads, they cannot decide what they wanna make. I remember when Yamaha were the kings of calculators and my grandfather has about half a dozen yammie bikes
watching the videos you make on instruments genuinely makes me want to try my hand at making some music for fun. I have very little experience, but I think having fun with it and making things that sound nice to me is a good start.
When I started teaching and I saw there was a synthesiser unit I had to teach I honestly bricked it as I hadn’t got a clue. Quite a bit of research and learning later and it is easily now my favourite topic to teach. Telling the kids I can guarantee they will make a sound no one on earth has heard before and showing them what creative possibilities these things unlock. Priceless.
You did not bore me AT ALL; I'm actually very glad that DankPods is run by a musician with lots of experience and passion to share these instruments to the masses. I've been itching to make my own music, so seeing this video along with a demonstration was such a treat to watch, I lowkey wanna buy this (once I have better understanding on chords and music theory lol)
I had the biggest grin on my face watching you experiment with the different sounds and settings on the synth! Thanks for the entertaining video and thanks for making me look like a weirdo on the morning train
I love how you were overwhelmed with just one oscillator, one LFO, one filter, one envelope etc. I’ve got a bigger analogue synth with at least two of each, sometimes 3 depending how you configure it! But you really communicated the experience of using one for the first time. I like the GarageBand/Logic instruments well enough, but I’ve been spoiled by hardware so I always want to get a sweet spot between two of its settings which don’t actually exist lol. You’re absolutely right they’re good for learning on though
As someone who absolutely adores synth with a deep passion, I'm so delighted to see you talk about a synthesizer!!! Always love your content, keep it up
Tb-303 and tb-909 and moog
He thought headphones were expensive :)
@@localhost4460 legit, no shade at all but when I heard that $10k for a CS-80 estimate I just softly chuckled remembering the few listings there are all being around $40k-$45k :,)
Heck, even my small home studio with mostly VST synths ended up costing me close to 1.5k
@@localhost4460 well it is a whole ass computer, so it makes sense
Got a recommendation for synths that do leads and ambient sound design? Something that doesn't break the bank in its entirety?
Love seeing more people introduced to synths/electronic music. Its a truly endless landscape of styles and sounds.
A lot of peeps know it from Seth Everman's vids.
It's a truly endless landscape of I want more effect pedals O_O
Me too friendo, growing up in the 80s and 90s means synth is pure nostalgia and beauty for me.
Just checked out your channel, got some cool stuff over there!
@@RemoWilliams1227 Thank you 🙏
"I'm sorry if I bored the pants off of you"
I love nothing more than to hear people talk on and on about the stuff they're truly excited about. It feels like a gift to hear your enthusiasm every week.
first
The synthesizer is such an under rated instrument. A skilled person can create such cool tunes !!!!!
There's nothing quite like the music you can make with a synthesizer. It's a true beauty that deserves more love
Stop underrating it then, idiot.
Yeah, just realized that. Been a guitar player my whole life, but recently discovered Dream Theater and Jordan Rudess, and instantly thought that i need one
@@supermastater doom soundtrack as well my man
@@linkme3471 or any movie soundtrack from the 80s.
I got to go to a music producer's studio and he had a CS-80 in his collection. It was insane! The thing was massive, and he had to pay a professional to get the thing tuned properly. It was the first synthesizer to ever be released with a touchpad aspect, which was a black bar above the keyboard that acted as the pitch shifter. Very cool video, glad to see you're doing reviews on synths now too!
other synthesisers had ribbon controllers before the cs-80
like, the yamaha gx-1 had it
@@ExperimentIV Technically true, but GX-1's were electronic organs, not the kind of synthesizers like the CS series of instruments
@@m-aronnax1277 no, the GX-1 was an analogue synthesizer that while sold in the form factor of an organ, was literally the test bed for the development of the CS-80.
@@m-aronnax1277 the Moog Micromoog came out in 1975 and had a ribbon pitch bend
Mate, this is one of the best explanations of the features of synthesisers I have seen. As someone who is trying to get into producing electronica, your explanations are very helpful for getting my head around the steep learning curve.
Thank you for taking the time to make this video. Always love your material 👍🏼
As a music producer, I love that you made this video to get people into the idea of making music! Especially at my level there is a huge expectation of quality and ability, but dang it making music is meant to be fun and satisfying, even if you're just pushing buttons turning knobs and making goofy sounds. I have a plugin version of the CS-80, basically a software version, and even that is wild, there are tons of great little synths and music makers for not much money out there, as well as phone stuff. It's a mega exciting time to be an electronic musician.
So trueee
Yeah, it's fun to hear someone explain the basics of something you know a lot haha
As a [insert fake job]
@@kaydog890 I can't tell if this is a roast or not. If it is then the fact it's in the comments of a DankPods vid is delightful.
'As a collector of an assortment of various media players that hold no significant valur...'
@@kaydog890Huh? Music production is a legit job.
This is genuinely the most fun I’ve ever had watching one of your videos. You’ve made me fall in love with drums, now you’ve gone and done it with synths. You’re the best, mate.
Welcome to synths! They're very confusing and can be overwhelming at first but if you find someone really into it who can explain how everything works you'll have an absolute blast
As a survivor of New Wave, I remember when Synths were as common as apples at a green grocery. It's nice to see people are getting back into actually learning how to make music with them.
What are you talking about? Synths never went away. I've been swimming in electronic music making for 40 years.
@@singlesideman Congrats, if _you_ never substituted actually programming and playing Synths with ProTools, and Cubase. Because I personally know _tons_ of people today who can't even turn on an MS-20. Those are whom I am referring to here.
@@DerpRulesAll there is so, so much more to this subject than what you and the guy who made this video are reducing it to.
@@singlesideman Me, the guy who made the video, everybody in the comment section; it's all about musicians (especially beginners) learning how to be Synthesists; it's fun!
Maybe you're in the wrong place?
@@DerpRulesAll it came up as a recommended video, and the title said that it's not a toy, which it is not, so it sounded like the video would actually show off its professional capabilites. The incredible thing is that the title says that it's not a toy, but the way it's being used in the video is very much as a toy, and doesn't demonstrate its timbral power and possibilities. It's very disappointing and misleading.
This is unironically a great beginner's intro to programming synthesizers. Dank's ability to introduce people to things just keeps getting better.
Why.....why is this only 12 minutes?
We need like..AN HOUR of this! I wanna hear the funny aussie man with his slithery friend named Frank scream and tell me hilariously albeit informative stories while using a synthesizer.
yes
yes
Yes
yes
yes
I'm an electronic musician (mostly) with a background in audio engineering, so I already knew all of this - but I watched all of it anyway. I love the enthusiasm you show for teaching people about new things, and I bet you manage to encourage people to throw out some of their preconceptions and biases away with vids like this. Keep it up!
Is it just me, or did the sine setting sound more square than the square setting, which in turn sounded more sinusoidal? In the beginning anyway, it's not the case with lower pitches. Maybe I missed something but it seemed off somehow. I agree with all the things you said, that one sound was indeed objectively cool, very dubby. What I didn't know about was this CS reface existing, which is really neat. I'm gonna have to look at deep dive reviews or something.
SAME lol. Like aw mate no you just gotta follow it
@@0v_x0sinacidal
Cock-end level achieved. Well done, seriously.
@@0v_x0in fairness a square is basically a distorted sine wave
As someone who is addicted to electronic music and is in need of a midi synth, I love this kind of content.
You can go surprisingly far with software synths you can get for free on a computer or an iPhone! While I love playing on a true analog synth, it really isn't necessary to buy an expensive instrument nowadays in order to get your foot in the door. Start experimenting with what you've got! I bet you'll impress yourself.
As someone...
If you can afford one, get an Arturia key step. They're built like tanks, and though they lack the knobs to really modulate parameters they have an excellent live sequencer that is just s ton of fun to jam with!
@@discolemonade8570 Oh, I have. 😁 I make a lot of interesting sounds with my current plugins in my DAW. I just think it’s time for me to move up and get something more tactile than my laptop keyboard.
@@radiofloyd2359 the keystep 37 has modulation over MIDI CC and it’s a bit better than the original keystep
This isn't boring at all! Its super fascinating to see this side of things! As someone who's never made music, but is wanting to kinda get into it, its nice to see!
I love that half of the sounds could be attributed to a sound effect or music we've likely heard in a movie or song. It was like pulling back the curtain on how they were made, but didn't take away the magic 😊
exactly, just about every time dank pressed a key i said “hey i’ve heard this somewhere”
@@lua8501 yeah the phaser sweep was almost identical to the opening for that version of the Doctor Who theme
I got the chance to play a yamaha cs80 in melbourne at MESS, and I have to say it's an incredible machine. For those that don't know, it has polyphonic aftertouch, which means after you play a note you can then press the key further down to shape the sound, and each finger can press down a different amount. It feels very organic in a way other synths don't often feel
And polyphonic aftertouch is still kinda rare to this day! The only major synth I've heard that has this is the Hydrasynth, which... definitely isn't an analog synth like the CS80. There's also one weird squishy keyboard that has polyphonic expression, but it's not really a traditional keyboard.
Have you guys heard of the Expressive E Osmose? It's a crazy new synth with poly aftertouch (actually even better but it's complicated) and per note pitchbend on the keys (they pivot side to side)! I think it's the next big step in synth technology
@@Merlincat007 I'd love to try to play the osmose some day! Unfortunately it's a little bit out of my price range :(
@Max Spencer Karinen Yeah hopefully there'll be used ones for significantly less in a year or so!
@@maxspencerkarinen6463 still better than the continuum from haken audio, or lord behold an ondes martenot. for the amount of expression you get the osmose somehow is a great deal.
Man, this is easily one of the most entertaining videos you've ever produced. Making sounds is such a fun activity and having one of those would be heaven for me ahahahaha
Whenever I see UA-cam DJ's do their best to remake Daft Punk's loops and stuff, it always amazes me what they have to actually go through to get a 98% close version of it. Thanks for goofing off with this synth and mystifying me a little, my man.
pee is stored in the balls
If you had a reply saying you want something, just ask them to put a video proving that you want. It won’t be that hard if they really in the account and it’s the person that you are watching and you commented on.
@DankPods704 give me free robux
The audio in this video is awesome. Like I love this kind of sound where you just bang out some notes and it sounds like a beautiful retro game or some music from sonic R. It's so cool.
and after that he plays something like in 7:58
Btw it’s suppose to sound like this once done professionally. ua-cam.com/video/ViN2bRGrBx8/v-deo.html
@@iseytheteethsnake6290 right, but it's more fun when it's not done professionally, and that's exactly what I'm saying.
@@DrKoneko sure but it won’t sound amazing it will just sound boring or video gamey. And it actually doesn’t take much to make pro sounds. Like acid house. Just a beat and bass guitar emulator and done. And you can add to whatever you want.
Richard Tandy from ELO really deserves more spotlight in the synthesizer realm, the experimental noises and styles and skill he has were out of this world! He would end up using 6 or 7 synths if I remember correctly when they were on tour lmao
ELO used to list the kit they used on the album sleeves, I remember the keyboard list for Out of the Blue was pretty long.
awesome to see you talking about synthesizers, i started working with VST synths a while ago and these kinds of subtractive synths are actually surprisingly intuitive and fun to use despite how complicated they may seem. i think anyone that doesn't like electronic music needs to realize how fun and easy these are to work with on top of how you won't find another instrument so capable of making such diverse sounds
@@sparklesparklesparkle6318 for that price i think your best bet is a korg volca; the volca keys is definitely the most accessible although i also have a volca modular that can definitely do some interesting stuff if you're willing to watch tutorials about it. you could also maybe get a used arturia microbrute for under 200 if you're lucky
@@sparklesparklesparkle6318
You Could either go for some good VST's that you can use on your p.c
which you can get for free all the way up to around $200 or if you want
a hardware synth the Behringer model d is a very good buy that sounds
great for about $250. there is quite a lot of other half-decent synth
which you can buy secondhand for around that money though
the Waldorf Blofeld is a decent buy in that price range etc etc.
0:39
fun fact: yamaha not only makes motorbikes, synthesizers, grand pianos and all that jazz, they also made engines for toyota (more specifically, the 1jz) and the exhaust system for the lexus lfa
They also makes boat engine too
they make pools too
and waterslides
They also make golf carts too.
they also made musical electromechanical sirens
I have both the Reface CS and Reface DX and these beauties are amazingly fun to use. They sound great and feel great under their toy appearance, I'd love to get the other two as well. The YC seems and sounds amazing.
The YC and CP are great too. The YC is great for grabbing a handful of "drawbars" and manipulating them while I play. The only Reface I don't have is the DX because I already have enough FM synths.
I have the CP and man does it sound beautiful. Love me a nice Rhodes with an analog delay.
This episode was amazing. Talking about music stuff is an amazing avenue for the channel. You could even talk about old sound cards, or even the history of how we recorded media.
Well agreed.
I LOVE SOUND CARDS ym2612 my beloved
The sound this produces is amazing, and it's so perfectly laid out! Everything is in almost exactly the order it applies in the chain of effects, and it's just so simple and clean, I love it.
i got one of these for christmas because of this video. best gift i’ve ever gotten thank you wade
I'm really happy to see you broadening your scope with instruments. I'm glad synth makers have started making new versions of their classics. gives people like me a chance to own something real that can emulate that old school sound without having to have one million VSTs. Now if only I had room for them all.
Yeah! I believe Korg (was it? Or maybe another company) have started rereleasing their classic analog synths inside far smaller boxes as "boutique". Yamaha as well, iirc.
As someone who absolutely adores electronic music(especially Synthwave), this just shows how much dedication/effort/skill is needed to make some good tracks. Love this.
As someone
@Repent and believe in Jesus Christ nah
@Repent and believe in Jesus Christ Ave Satanas
People mistakenly believe electronic music is "push button, make must appear out of thin air," and that's one of my biggest pet peeves. Yes, there is lazily made, simplistic music, but it's not lazy because of what tools were used, just how they were used. Some of the most crazy creative stuff I've ever heard has more frequently than not been electronic music.
I'm a young(ish) classically trained musician and I've always loved electronic music. It wasn't until after college that I really started getting into analog synthesis and really understood how complex and intricate of an art form it really is, all on its own! It's been years now since I've been fiddling with synthesis and I've still only scratched the surface. I've only released one song, but it's still been a ton of fun learning a new world of music.
Thank you for making this video! I've been around here since the start and I've been waiting for the day you would make a video about synthesizers :) so many people are going to be exposed to it thanks to you, and for that I am very excited! I'll definitely be recommending your video to some of my students.
Give Frank a big 'ol "WAAAHHH" on that CS for me. I'm sure she'll love it 😉🐍
Also, Wade mentioned Yellow Magic Orchestra in the video but I just wanted to second that recommendation! They were a group that truly evolved with electronic music over the years and they're a great listen every time.
Analog synthesis is cool and all, but contemporary digital synthesis is where it's at 😎
Like seriously. Ok, cool, we got like the saw wave and the square on on one end, sometimes triangle and sine...
On the other we got freaking additive, FM, granular, sampling...
Aphex Twin is one the most influencial electronic music producers from the late 90s who originally trained in classical piano. If you've never heard of him, do a search for Windowlicker. His album Drukqs is half electronic madness and half him playing classical piano
@@radiofloyd2359 why not all the above lol. Honestly something like an Arturia MiniFreak is an excellent centerpiece to a setup, and it’s a hybrid analog/digital. Can’t wait for it to get a MicroFreak-style wavetable mode too
@@SiliconBassist Yeah, I got the microfreak and love that thing to bits lol.
@@radiofloyd2359 ye I also have the micro, and I use it all the time! It is great fun and I like the form factor too!
This is my favorite synth. Music-making on it is immediate and fluid, and absolutely fun.
I love this synth so much. Atomic Dog bass to brassy blade runner leads in an instant. The programing is so straightforward but it does not hold back with it's capabilities. Plus 8 voices is a must have for any synth owner and this will get you there affordability lol
I got a Korg Minilogue XD and it sounds great but I've always kicked myself because the CS is almost half the price with double the polyphony.
@@emmarossignol4445 both are great devices but the minilogue XD goes so much deeper while still being more of a "basic" synth. the rabbithole is endless
@@emmarossignol4445 look man, I've been through some good and bad synthesizer purchases, you have a good synth. The artist that is yourself always shines through no matter what tool you're using, I mean if you care about that sort of thing idk your ideals
Yep! I’ve got a 12 voice one just to ensure I’ll run out of fingers before polyphony in my extremely-extended chords lol
im a part time solo music producer and seeing ol danky explaining how a basic synth works is just really awesome.
I take it for granted knowing how synths work, this reminds me not everyone knows wtf ASDR is
@@EddieBurke Omg same, I immediately knew attack, sustain, release, decay like it was second nature lol
Thank you for sharing!
0:37 - Yamaha's Contribution to Synthesizers
1:00 - Exploring the Yamaha CS Reface
2:01 - The Art of Synthesizing
2:53 - Playing with Modulation
3:22 - Creating Unique Sounds
4:08 - Understanding Octaves and Musical Notes
5:01 - The Challenge of Looping
5:30 - Portamento and Polyphony
6:27 - Exploring Attack and Effects
7:00 - Delay, Phaser, and Pitch Bend
8:04 - GarageBand: The Free Synthesizer App
9:14 - The Beauty of Electronic Music
10:59 - Appreciating the Craft of Electronic Music
11:42 - Yamaha Ego6 and the Future of Dank Pods
I've been making songs in BeepBox for years now, just as a fun thing to do on a slow Tuesday, but this video is honestly convincing me to take the next step and get a proper synth. You also explain this stuff so well, almost like you have experience in it or something
You totally should, I got started with music by making stupid stuff in beepbox when I was bored in class and music production and synths are a great hobby
I've been eyeing an Arturia MicroFreak, so it's worth taking a look at! I'm not a professional but I started using software synths more and more in my music in recent years so I feel you
So this semester at my college, I took a class on electronic music. Its honestly so cool to dive into it, and your video couldn't have had better timing. Sythesizers and elec music as a whole are something else
5:24 you can't just play the most heartwrenchingly beautiful chord i've ever heard and then just Keep Going like you didn't just do that
It really is gorgeous
I’m a music producer and I’ve been trying to wrap my head around learning sound design with synths for the past 5 years. It makes me so happy to see you talking about them!
Analogue synths are awesome. The size of it is due to it going from wire wrapping to PCBs. Analogue synths are easy to DIYa and a fun rabbithole, kinda remind me of tracker music.
reface cs is digital
@Emily Banks, the first one he mentioned was analogue. But i probably shouldve checked before mentioning the wirewrapping to PCBs bit. I would edit it but I can't on mobile browser.
I made a synth for an Uni project using an fpga. You can also use stuff like the Juce framework if you want to get into audio programming.
@CascadeController I made one with an active buzzer and resistors
the little melody you played at 6:59 inspired me to make a cool song jam! thankyou!
There is something about the "Physical control" that is so fun, even though we can do this all with software modeling these days. Thanks so much Wade!
Neat tax write-off I mean video! I love that you're expanding to synths and instruments with your show and tell style, it's a perfect complement to AudioPilz's Bad Gear series. I expect a crossover episode any day now!
u the type of person that describes what u like in an entertaining format, nice
A synthesizer is the last thing I expected you to cover, but being enthusiastic about music hardware, this is a very welcome surprise! I loved this video!!
that is indeed a banana
A very yellow one at that
I thought it was an orange
don't you touch my 🍌
@@ZiggyCoyote well, the more you know
@@cachenko what?? I thought it was a kiwi
This is a fantastic video!! It’s pretty comprehensive. We had a class or two of my contemporary music history college course dedicated to synthesizer history and how they work, and you have done a great job doing a similar thing!!
Thank you for the AAs! They always make my day. As someone who learns to play keyboard with a synth, big appreciate this episode.
8:38 Yamaha takes this a step further on their flagship synths like the Montage. Every preset has an "audition" song, (which seem to be unique for every preset) that give you an idea of what the sound is like when played in a song by a professional musician.
Korgs also have a ‘demo’ song for each voice, but some instruments share a song
Roland does this too.
probably my favorite dankpods video in a while
Far from boring, I absolutely loved this.
I love synthwave music and I find synthesizers incredible.
Same synthwave is definitely my favorite genre. Whats your favorite synthwave artist?
@@tuxedo1557 I discovered the genre with Roller Mobster from Carpenter Brut and it slapped so hard I had to find more.
Quickly found out about Kavinsky and Perturbator and went more and more toward Darksynth with Dance With the Dead, Hollywood Burns, Vulta and We Are Magonia.
What about you?
@@Nekrozys I think ive been living under a rock but ive pretty much been listening to HOME, 3kilksphillip (technically hes a youtuber) steventhedreamer, tangerine dream.
This wasn't boring at all! Watching you explain something you're passionate about is not boring and will never be boring!
synths are incredible machines, anyone that says they don't play music is crazy... in the right hands, these instruments are absolutely nuts
YES! I am so on board for synthesizer content. Excited to watch this!
As someone who has at this point become pretty dang knowledgeable about synths, it was very nice seeing you so excited about them as I am.
I hope this inspires some people to give a try to electronic music, cause it has a pretty low floor of entry nowadays and it's a ton of fun.
Still incredibly confusing without a good guide as there are far too many products, ways of playing them, and differing levels of musical skill/knowledge required for each. The biggest hurdle for getting into Euro-rack, Synths, and Midi keyboards to me was that there are just far too damn many of them, and too many old ones that are still good, makes it hard to make any choice at all, plus there are an absolute shit load of terminology you need to learn to be even able to look up what you want to know about the different instruments, it gets frustrating frankly lol.
@@NachozMan Lol, see, that's where lack of money, having a local instruments store with a limited catalogue, and learning how synthesis works through free VSTs prior to making the jump to hardware comes in...
But yeah, I agree that it can seem overwhelming at first.
@@radiofloyd2359 as a kid who's synth obsession just started, korg dsn-12 is my best friend. I can take it anywhere and create the worst sounds youve ever heard anywhere !
I worked as a music shop clerk that sold Yamaha stuff and when I got shown the series of these at a product briefing session I was gobsmacked at how cool these were.
Man I truly thought this wasn't going to be the most interesting episode but wow can't believe seeing an electric piano being played like that is very entertaining, makes me almost want to buy one!
Electric pianos and synthesizers are two very different beasts in somewhat similar clothes. Electric pianos are regular pianos amplified like an electric guitar, while synthesizers are completely electric and let you make way more than just piano noises.
Its not a piano. Its a synth.
Not boring at all, this is very cool!
The '80 have my favorite sound, and how you played around with that synthesizer was fricking awsome!
I bought one of these a few years back and I still love using it to this day. Awesome little thing!
The synth is literally like my fav instrument of the band. You can do just so much stuff with it and it can make some music sound AMAZING
My dad has an old keyboard that I used when I was learning piano. Hated learning regular piano, but man was it fun just pressing every single button and seeing what funny sounds would pop up. I'm back into piano thankfully, but it's really tempting to get a keyboard like this, and just start messing around and seeing if I can accidentally stumble into making a song. By far the most versatile instrument in the world. Some of my favorite game soundtrack pieces were made from them, like 'Falling Down' from Megaman Zero 4 and most of the Risk of Rain 2 soundtrack.
If anyone is wondering the song at 10:14 is "candy boys" on dankmus
Thank you! You're literally the only person to have said that!!
Oh my goodness I started to lose hope, thought that this track doesn't exist! Thank you so so much
Dude this was awesome, I love your music stuff cause you're a) really passionate about it and b) stuff that people outside the music realm wouldn't understand you explain in an understandable but fun way.
As someone who is a REALLY big fan of chiptune, I gotta say I'm shocked that this is my first time seeing this, and I'm more shocked I don't have it. I need this in my life! 😂
In my opinion, this synth is a lot more expensive than it should be in regards to the features offered. If you want to learn analog synthesis I'd highly recommending grabbing a Korg Volca Keys (make sure it's the 'Keys' model, the Volcas are a whole series of instruments). They're really fun to mess around with and figure out how to create good sounds. And it even has features which assist in making real music with it when you decide to hit record!
For something closer to the price point of the Yamaha, but with a universe of additional features, I couldn't recommend the Korg Minilogue xd more. It's my go-to while I've been learning synthesis over the past few years. Have fun! :)
As someone
As someone who heavily uses wavetable and FM synthesis it always makes me happy to see the early forms of additive and granular synthesis still getting covered and especially still getting physical iterations.
I might have to waste some money on one of these, thank you for covering it :)
At 8:50 the subtitles say “thank you” to Yamaha for being cool ᵐᵃᵗᵉ
This has been my favorite synth for a while. The CS has been great but I have never been able to get it. I loved their original synths and the greatness they were, yet tough. It's amazing to see you review this diamond of a synthesiser as I love it. Keep these vids up!
I study media technology with a focus on audio, so I really enjoyed this video. Especially seeing all the equipment I can not afford at my university or on my own. I really love your content, thank you! I hope one day I can reach your level
All of those sounds, even just in a fun way, sounded like things I’ve genuinely heard over my life in movies, songs, and games. Crazy!
4:51 man accidentally played the original Donkey Kong death sound
Doo doo, doo, dooooo.
Hey Frank! I really just wanna say your channel is one of the best nostalgia reviever I've ever seen your videos make my day
Not only the synth keyboards, but sound chips as well.
Like the Yamaha YM2612.
That one meant serious business in the Mega Drive/Genesis.
Go listen to the Streets of Rage series' OSTs, people. Yuzo Koshiro doing bangers in the 90s. That's ART.
your uploads always make my day better, keep doing what you’re doing!
Doctor Who being mentioned in a DankPods video is something I never expected to happen
Wait I might be an idiot WHERE
I absolutely love the Yamaha Reface series, especially the DX one, they're amazing instruments.
Yes. I have the Reface CP and it is great fun!
Very happy to see you dive into analogue synths. This episode sounded a lot like my first month of playing with my MicroBrute.
The shear speed the Patreon names have to go in order for them all to fit is astounding!
Great job man, the video was actually really engaging!
Thank you for covering the reface CS. This is the only synth I have ever owned. I bought mine in 2017. I absolutely love it. It is super versatile whilst making great sound. And sounds even better in my DAW with extra plugins to add reverb and other effects beyond what is built in. But you can also plug it into hardware effects also.
It is just such a fun device!
there are so many crazy and amazing synths out there. even some that have much more knobs and buttons to play around with at cheaper prices, its great. music is amazing and its fun to watch another person just as enthusiastic about it as me
Any recommendations?
@@kparsons92 honestly im not really the person to ask for that but im sure there are some reviews on youtube. another thing you could do is go out to a local music shop and have a bit of a browse maybe talk to an employee about it. thats what ive done and id say that was quite nice, just so you can get hands on with it before you buy it. otherwise yeah i cant really help you much sorry im not a synth expert, not an expert with anything at all so you know haha... hah. : (
Bro please do more of this type of thing, I'm a massive electronic nerd, seeing you cover this warms my stupid heart
id genuinely love to see you make a channel like this specifically for instruments, i love this
Man I love getting home from school just to get a notification from this channel. Loving the content Wade, keep it up please. :)
The pain in my chest when he called it "mooooog" made me realize that I too have become the thing that I hate
Thank you for the GarageBand love. Too many people dunk all over it, but man for a free DAW, it’s pretty much unmatched for features, ease of use, and even a gorgeous UI. Hell it even supports VSTs on the desktop version. It’s awesome.
Absolutely love the synth, it’s such a complex instrument that is in so many songs, really glad you talked about it and shower us your interest in it! Videos like these are absolutely welcome!
Bought the Reface CS day 1, also the Reface DX.
Great pieces of gear that will keep you creative and entertained for hours!
What a lovely machine. Yamaha are fricking mad lads, they cannot decide what they wanna make. I remember when Yamaha were the kings of calculators and my grandfather has about half a dozen yammie bikes
Ya want sum’m, ya go to Yamaha
They also developed V8s for Volvo and tuned the exhaust note for the Lexus LFA.
@@andrewduong2740 they go from genre defining synthesizers to pianos to supercars to boat engines and calculators thats actually crazy
Finally, an instrument that I own too! Seriously, I've loved the hell out of my CS and I'm glad to see you enjoy yours too
watching the videos you make on instruments genuinely makes me want to try my hand at making some music for fun. I have very little experience, but I think having fun with it and making things that sound nice to me is a good start.
@INBOXMr_Dankpodsi wonder how the real dankpods would react to one of these bots
When I started teaching and I saw there was a synthesiser unit I had to teach I honestly bricked it as I hadn’t got a clue. Quite a bit of research and learning later and it is easily now my favourite topic to teach. Telling the kids I can guarantee they will make a sound no one on earth has heard before and showing them what creative possibilities these things unlock. Priceless.
I loooove synth stuff. The sounds they produce are so mint.
You did not bore me AT ALL; I'm actually very glad that DankPods is run by a musician with lots of experience and passion to share these instruments to the masses. I've been itching to make my own music, so seeing this video along with a demonstration was such a treat to watch, I lowkey wanna buy this (once I have better understanding on chords and music theory lol)
As someone who only got into synths pretty recently, I'm so happy to see you talk about this ! It's such a fascinating topic imo
I had the biggest grin on my face watching you experiment with the different sounds and settings on the synth! Thanks for the entertaining video and thanks for making me look like a weirdo on the morning train
Oh my gosh that thing sounds beautiful. I need one
I can’t express how happy I am that you keep playing my favorite chord. It’s like seeing seeing a celebrity in public.
Didn't expect a synth review here, but happy nonetheless. Hopefully more to come :)
8:02 *alien noises* dank:ÆÆÆÆHHHHHHH
Love danky’s encouragement to get more people into music creation!!! Whatta guy!!
I love how you were overwhelmed with just one oscillator, one LFO, one filter, one envelope etc. I’ve got a bigger analogue synth with at least two of each, sometimes 3 depending how you configure it! But you really communicated the experience of using one for the first time.
I like the GarageBand/Logic instruments well enough, but I’ve been spoiled by hardware so I always want to get a sweet spot between two of its settings which don’t actually exist lol. You’re absolutely right they’re good for learning on though
lmao wait till this man finds out about serum
@@buhlboy3530 better yet FM8 or Massive which aren't necessarily more advanced they just have less intuitive UIs lol
Audiokit’s Synth One is also an awesome free synth. It can be overwhelming at first but it gets easier and cooler over time
I never noticed him being overwhelmed by anything? He seemed to know exactly every single feature
i love this style of video man! its like a video essay but youre just infodumping about music stuff its great
1:13 I get so excited whenever someone mentions ELO, I love them, and I feel they're underrepresented when it comes to love of classic rock.
Same