The £19.99 Lidl Synthesizer Is it any good and can we make music with it?
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- Опубліковано 14 січ 2024
- The £19.99 Lidl Synthesizer
Is it any good and
can we make music with it?
A couple of weeks ago I made a video about some interesting things I found In Lidl recently, I also mentioned they did a Synth for £19.99. Well this week I bit the bullet and bought one and thought I would give it a go.
In this video I do the following
Unboxing and quick test
Modify it so you can have a line out
Demo of every sound that it has
Compose a piece of original music using just the Lidl Sheffield Keyboard
I hope you enjoy this video It was a lot of fun to do and one of the reasons why I started to do UA-cam in the first place.
PS As a footnote to the comments that say 'Its not a Synthesizer' well.. Does It look like a Synth? Yea kind of, Does it Sound like a Synthesizer? Well Ill let you be the judge of that after watching the video. But I say it does.
If you like to support me, why not buy some music matthewnorth.bandcamp.com
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#matthewnorthmusic #lidl #synthesizer
A lot of people dont realize the big synth sound you can achieve by putting a few fx pedals on those keyboard tones. good vid!
It's ceratinly as good sounding as OG Fairlight 8-bit 24kHz 16kB samples that made incredible-sounding early-'80s hits, BUT much of that relied heavily on effects, dynamics, mixing, and other post processing, mixing, etc., too.
If it will encourage kids or anyone to play and make music it's got to be worth 20 quid. These days basic recorders are this price in proper music shops - if you're lucky enough to have one that is - this little keyboard might lead someone to a grand piano one day. Thank you for posting this video and being positive despite the budget price
Thanks you I do like to make videos about things that are affordable to everyone
Beats melearning music on a Dolmetsch descant recorder!
I expected a truly cheesy keyboard, but your piece at the end shows that even a cheap piece of kit like this can produce something worthy of a soundtrack for a scene in a TBV Series or Film in the right hands. Well done, mate.
Wow thank you very much
This is exactly what makes the difference: the artist. Same with photography where you don’t need an expensive camera. It probably still has more internal memory for the recording than the computer that brought people to the moon 😂
I expected that and that’s what I got. Nothing much new since the supermarket keyboards they sold in the early 90’s for maybe 20-30 euros? Incredible that there’s still market for these. I would love to have one. My old one stopped working two years ago after being my essential composition tool for over three decadea or so….
@@MatthewNorthMusichi,
with 2 of these can it be done one stereo and with a double size keyboard?
@@joyoussound I literally wept when my SK 01 Sampler gave up the ghost. I even took it to a technician, but he said it was beyond repair (or his skills?). Do you remember them? They were the first cheap sampler - no permanent memory, but a fun tool to use while the power was switched on. 😁
Poor parents who dont realise theres no headphone socket hahaa😂
Worst -neighbours
Crack open the soldering iron swap speakers for a headphone 😃
Or do what he does 😂
You can just run a Headphone socket from the Speaker terminals.
Can probably wire a power supply as well.
Sounds more interesting than MOOG
I work at Lidl and we’ve just got these in to my store. Was really intrigued to find out how these sounded and played.
Please tell the bosses about my video
@@MatthewNorthMusic store bosses are too small to really appreciate your video. They are just some local boss with no power outside the store.
That was awesome! With the simple addition of an output jack, you transformed it from a toy into an actual tool :)
Last Christmas we were visited by a family from the Netherlands with a 8 yo girl. She was bored so I took her apart to my Yamaha DGX-640 and let her play with it. After one hour she was still playing (kind of). A product like this is ideal for children to start enjoy making music. If it does not work out it is no financial disaster...
@@LOKEY-Giant_Atom The joy of a dirty mind...
As someone with little knowledge of electronics or DAWs, I salute your skill, knowledge and ability.
Thank you very much that's very kind of you.
@@MatthewNorthMusic You're welcome. If you have any recomenations of a step by step series of video tutorials on Garage band it would be appreciated.
I love that it's called "Sheffield" - Northern home of electronic music!
The naming puts me in mind of Look Around You's Bournemouth computer..
That piece of music is lovely, and wouldn't have been out of place on many early 80s electronica albums
Nice video, thank you :-)
I might have to get one of these, just because it's named after my home town! 😂
I was gonna say, but I also had the bleep scene in mind
Thanks Duncan, Thuncan
You know you're still just starting on your musical journey when you realize a random person on UA-cam can make a better song in a $30 grocery store keyboard than I can on on my $800 Yamaha MX61. 😢
Whatever you do, there's always some random dude on youtube doing it better than you 🤣
The piece is nice and has potential. Reverb helps here, as it does always.
@@enrique5167 (And that knowledge can take a lot of joy out of doing stuff :( It's not that you think you're the best, it's just the crushing realization of how far from even "pretty good" you actually are...or ever will be.)
Exactly why, as a middle aged hobbyist, I refuse to throw a lot of money into it. I just bought an EWI and a cheap midi controller and want to get started but feeling intimidated by the process of learning how to put it all together.
I’d say that is the ache that you feel before a burst of learning. A true beginner just assumes that all their stuff is great. The further along you get, the more critical and nuanced you’ll likely be towards how you assess your music.
Absolute genius Matthew! A thoroughly engaging video with the piece at the end being the icing on the synthy cake. Fabulous! Also - “the Clangers”!
Thank you x
Really Impressive! Art Of Noise would have saved a lot of money in equipment at that time. Lol
Be great to see more manufacturers create more of these little beauties. Synths usually cost a fortune, but Lidl have proved I think that you can make something affordable, especially for the younger generation's. Hat's off to the little Sheffield !!! 😊
Best thing I've watched on UA-cam for a long time - hooked from the beginning from the end, and as the music came together I was cracking the biggest smile! Very Art of Noise - liked and subscribed - thank you Matthew
Thank you very much I do try my best
@@Chris_Sheridan You are not wrong 😁
This randomly was recommended to me UA-cam is pushing your video through the algorithm and so it should be a very refreshing review I hope you keep this content going
Love the way you use your new composition as the outro!!
Thanks for this sound journey. Worth to watch every second.
Great video and very inspiring for anyone who thinks they need expensive plugins or synths to make music. Thank you for sharing :)
Your Song at the End really touched my heart, you are the magic Lidl-Composer🤩❣
thanks for your review
What an interesting video! And your composition at the end was amazing!
I actually picked up one of these keyboards the other day in my local Lidl. I gave the box a once over and put it back with a sneer. For £19.99 I reckoned it would sound like a Stylophone. Shame on me!
Wonderful video. Makes me happy that there are blokes like you out there doing this. Reminds me of growing up in Mossley, Ashton Under Lyne etc... I am looking forward and recording the voices of now and wondering where it all went wrong.
That was really impressive. Thank you so much for your efforts, showing the potential of this tiny mighty giant from Lidl's.
Thank you very much
Wonderful. I love this type of hacks... it's possible to make art with what you have; you don't need fancy/expensive stuff if you are creative! This is the first time I stumble into one of your videos... I am subscribing, I am sure you have more cool stuff. Keep up the awesome work! On a side note: LIDL (/Sheffield) never ceases to amaze: a few years ago they also had a DRUM Set .... which has really crappy internal sounds BUT it has even MIDI OUT support... so you can actually use those pads (altough they are very simple, implemented using a piezo, internally... converting the volume of the record noise into velocity...).
sounds class, plenty of atmosphere
Dude. This is awesome. So many commenters get this is a 30 dollar keyboard apparently and expect way too much from it and you. This is designed for kids and beginners, and because of the it wont be made of metal, have midi ins and out, and the features youd find in something that cost ten of these. Anything can be made to be usuable if youre creative enough. Every sound as a place. You can add effects or other things once you add an output. Which i have done on a ton of cheap kids keyboards and childrens toys. I have analog, digital synths, and samplers but if i want something a little different and unique these kinds of things with some minor tweaks can be good sounding instruments. I believe anyone can get a sound they like out of something if they spend enough time with a piece of gear. Price doesnt matter. If it sounds a little flat you can always add things and fx.
Its basic. Its features are also basic. I feel these people complaining are either insanely spoiled or entitled. Maybe even lack the creativity to get a good sound out of something like this. With sound almost nothing is impossible. If youre musical and brain activity is limited then yeah you will probably hate it. I hate my one and only volca (an fm) but ive managed to use it in all sorts of stuff and tweak it to my liking.
Literally anything that puts out sound can be used productively and sound good if you put the effort in. I get the feeling some of the "musicians" dont like effort.
Best things in life is the reward you get struggling.
What a bargain! The sounds are really quite decent. Perfect for 80's pop, rock, and electro, hiphop, house and reggae :)
Very very good Matthew. Thank you for that. Most impressive.
The way you toss the instructions to one side (2:45) earned you a sub. :)
As Derek Trotter would say Instructions are for whimps. :)
Been following you for ages! Glad to see these numbers on your vid!
Thank you very much
Great video, and great Dennis the Menace jumper 😂😂
Very much enjoyed this! Great work! 👏🏽
Thank you
Cool video 😎
Great way to start the day 😁
Love this video absolutely love recording music the mod give me loads of ideas 👍🏻 cheers for this .
Thank you.
I'm impressed. Even though it needs some mods for proper "work" - and a multitrack recorder. But the sounding is absolutely nice. Thanks for sharing !
That was good and your compilation sounded great...
This was a quite brilliant vid mate, thx for it.Very informative.
Thank you.
Never seen any of your videos before but totally loved the Lidl keyboard video. Have now subscribed. Brilliant track! Inspirational. I've recently bought NI64 midi controller and am very slowly learning it.
Good luck with it
excellent, fun and learning, thank you, subscribed
Terrific! Thanks, mate! Now I somehow want "Promenade" from "Pictures at an Exhibition" done with the "t52" setting.
❤❤❤
BRILLIANT!!! SPOT ON!!! BRavo!!! And congrats on the music piece... WONDERFULLY DONE!!! Blessings!!
Thank you so very much.
Really impressed by this, thanks for the demo.
Thank you
SUPERB THANK YOU ❤
Brilliant Matthew! Particularly worth waiting for the tune you composed!!
Thanks John
Brilliant demo. Many thanks. Mike
My pleasure
Thanks, Matthew, really interesting, and really helpful to see that it isn't too hard to fit a headphone socket etc.
You've proved it to be fantastic value for money...................great analysis.............
love this mate
Brilliant video, the first one of yours that I have watched. I'll definitely check out the others.
Thank you
best shirt ive seen on this platform you now what good music is
Really interesting. Great stuff.
LOVE yourT-shirt ❤
Hook it up with a Big Sky and you can probably use it to record a full length album
Like others below my first, maybe only requirement for something which calls itself a 'synthesiser' is that it should allow the user to create new sounds either by directly working with the oscillators, VCF, VCA and ADSR envelope shaping, or at least by mixing several base sounds (samples and / or waveforms) together in a controlled way to make new sounds - what Roland used to call 'Linear Additive' synthesis. Since this has none of those I think it would be more correct to call it a 'Keyboard'. Thanks for the comprehensive review, but having seen it I would suggest that anyone considering spending £20 on one of these should instead put it towards the purchase of an old Yamaha PSS-795 - although essentially also just a a 'keyboard' that has full MIDI / multitimbral capability plus a built in multitrack recorder, the ability to blend 4 of its normal sounds together via its 'Vector sound' joystick and a pretty hefty sampled drumkit as well. I bought one for exactly the price of this LIDL keyboard a few years back. Of course the difference is that you can just go around the corner and buy one of these (while stocks last?) and you may have to wait a while to find a reasonably priced PSS-795.
Agree. OT: If you are building sound studio or kind of, you might use function generators instead of synthz.
Maybe something lost in translation if it started in the German market? I agree though.
Good presentation, & nice bit of music at the end, thx
Fantastic video, thank you sir.
Impressive! Subscribed
Great sound for the price a take away curry ! Thank you for going through all the sounds they were fun. I see from your T shirt and vids you are a Marrilion fan for that alone you have my sub !
I love stumbling on stuff like this. Brilliant pal💯👍
Thank you so much much appreciated
Would be cool to make a sample pack out of it. Some of the sounds are pretty cool.
Nice job on the song too, amazing what you got out of it.
Thank you
oh this is really cool!! didn't expect to run into another cakewalk user with an interest in sounds like this, but this is exactly the kind of video I'm interested in!! subscribed :)
I have been using Cakewalk since 1996, on some of my other videos you can see Cakewalk for Windows 3.1 ua-cam.com/video/YT9CINO011E/v-deo.html in action and in this video ua-cam.com/video/vWu3qcQdCfM/v-deo.html you can see Cakewalk for Dos on a almost 40 year old PC!!
I like the lo-fi sounds this little machine produces. The neat thing is, it reminds me of some of those sounds you hear from early 90s Tracker software. Some of those strings and pads, especially the brass instruments sound synthetic. I think it would make a potential synth if it was patched through a few effects pedals.
The drum machine isn't too bad either. Very 80's sounding.
Not a bad sounding little toy for what it is.
It's definitely a mass produced chassis. Kinda like the Yamaha PSS series, or the Meledi model keyboards you see on the market.
Nice review.
When I was a kid around 1981 I remember the Yamaha portasound keyboards coming out they were revolutionary
Great video Matthew!
Thank you.
enjoyed that ! Twin Peaks'esque tune at the end :)
Fantastic, Matt.
Good interesting video cheers Mathew 🎉
Definitely worth the price. Although the headphone upgrade is almost mandatory, to access its full potential. It is a hit-and-miss, but the good ones are really cool indeed. Would have killed to have something like this as a kid. I received my first Casio CTK-200 keyboard at my 13th birthday. It was 1994.
My first was a (totally crap sounding) Bontempi Reed Organ back in 1972. One tone and it was fan powered and the fan was loud.
If LIDL decides to manufacture this keyboard with direct computer connectivity or midi outlet and sell it in a similar price region they'll have a hit.
@@SpeccyManThere's a comment on here from someone called Bontempi!❤❤😂
My kid found bontempi memoplay from fleamarket by 10 euros. @@SpeccyMan
Great tune. Love the Marillion t-shirt.
Good stuff mate.
Sending love and best wishes from your Scottish brother.
🤟😉🤘
I like that!! Well done & Thanks.
Amazing and impressive.
Hi Matthew
That was interesting. Thank you.
Well this was enjoyable whilst on my treadmill, cheers!
This is giving me an almost identical vibe to Super Nintendo game soundtracks, especially Japanese RPGs, when in a dungeon.❤
Awesome t-shirt!
I love it! Last week I bought a Joyo AC TONE (Vox AC30 emulator) pedal in Cash Converters for £21.99. These two would make a fantastic pairing for under forty five quid, especially with the beefy AC30 amp sim drive cranked!
I love this kind of video.
I really enjoyed this. Cheers matey 😁
That's actually quite a lot of keyboard for a penny under £20. I still can't imagine Mark Kelly adding this to his touring rig. Also, Fugazi, cracking album, and one of my all time favourites.
I remember The Human League record Open your Heart. A casio VL Tone was used, it cost £35 in 1981
Loving the tshirt!
Great stuff, really interesting on many levels. Subscribed.
That was an excellent video! Thank you.
Thank you very much
It's a great video ,Matthew. Yes .I'm of the thinking too that you can make anything out of anything ,and this keyboard proves just that. Also there is this philosophy that there is no such thing as a bad sound when its used in a certain context. what I mean is that a sound may sound bad on its own, but when its used in an arrangement and a recording alongside orher stuff ,then its sounds really different and works. keep up the good work
Thank you so much means a lot.
I've dabbled with composing original tunes and re-creating favourite hits over the years. I love finding sounds and using them as a springboard to make something. I had a Commodore Amiga and that was so good in the 80s/90s for sound synthesizing and track building that people were using it to make records and get charted. You can now do everything 90s computers could do on a £30 single board computer and more. Even then I am impressed with what this £20 keyboard can do. It wasn't that long ago that a keyboard for that price would only be suitable for five year-olds to muck about on. This thing is actually useful. Yes it works better as a tool when plugged into music editing software, but even at the highest level of music making that's what you do anyway. It's just a difference of scale and cost. Surprisingly nice bit of kit. Reminds me that I must make time to flex my atrophied music muscles again this year.
Hey, thanks for showing us this, it’s not bad for the price eh? I think with a bit of creative effects work some decent lo-fi hip hop or synth-wave could be squeezed out of it. Great starter kit for any aspiring bedroom artist, nice one Aldi.
Very nice surprise. Quite a few usable or even good sounds, esp. once you add effects. Even if you don't modify it for jack output, place a pair of mics over the speakers, and you can even have some more 'character' out of it ;)
Lovin the Freddie kruger jumper 😄
Yes, LOL
Dennis the Menace jumper - the Beano one, not the lamearse American one.
I saw this keyboard before Xmas in my local supermkt .wondered about buying it ,i was put off by the cheap price, as i play guitar and dont like any cheap sound jobs .
I was pleasantly suprised at the good sounds you found on there .Loved it .I am not handy with wiring or puting jacks in though ..Im still looking for a keyboard as ive always wanted to play piano .So this is the year i will do .Thank you for the Video Mathew .
Thank you my pleasure
Neat little synth!
Nice vid mate , nice bit of kit for a score.
Great video! Subbed.
Great video. It would be interesting to see a demo video of how a beginner might use this as a keyboard learning tool, out of the box without any modifications. I’m sure the people at Lidl would share and promote that over this video of how to take apart and modify.
Bought one for my 1 year old grandson. At some point he might upgrade to the large Roland organ I play! It's got some good sounds for £20!
Wow you sir are a very gifted man. Thank you for the experience.
Being gifted won't get you any skills.
That's an interesting saying. For the record I'm not gifted at anything. ally learning was an uphill struggle
@@MatthewNorthMusic Many people seem to think that skills somehow magically fall of some sort of talent tree.
You probably have at least one great gift, namely the ability to overcome constant challenges and persevere in the face of difficulties.
Really good review for a cheap as ++++ instrument. Great work ❤
Really impressed with this, would love to see how you went about composing and producing the tune. I thought it was really impressive and inspiring.
great vid, classic calendar👌
Thanks!
Very interesting! Did you take some photos of the soundchip? Would be nice to see.
The track you made ,reminds me of dead can dance , well done sir.
I love DCD
Great video, and really informative. Subscribed!
Thank you