Nice - it's quite a full sound you've ended up with. I can hear the beginnings of something, just in your playing around with it - you should make a Pianobook sample library with it.
Really enjoyed seeing and hearing your process Stephen, cheers! I had a Yamaha PSS-170 keyboard from the same era as a kid which was hours of fun, though I imagine the VSS-30 would be infinitely more so!
Thanks Ollie, that’s really nice of you to say! Ha! I remember the PSS-170! We had a load of them at school and used to use them in our music lessons. I fell like I can still hear the music the demo button plays!
Thanks Stephen - much appreciated! I'm going to have a fiddle around and see if I can turn these samples into a Pianobook submission using the Monolith template.
Thanks Steven! That Dimension C is great. One of those effects that as soon as I turned it on and played something through it I went - Oh that’s where that sounds comes from on all those records!
@@StephenCaulfield Does the C stand for Chorus? and if so, what does the D stand for in Dimension D? :D I never knew of this Boss Pedal. Might investigate as a poor-mand Dim-D
Thanks Jim! Anything you'd be interested in seeing in future? I was thinking about doing a video on one of my other favourite toy instruments - the Onmichord. Possibly another one on the Akai S950 too.
First time viewer just love your personality and amazing set of gear! I have a little collection of old samplers (really want an s950 but can't afford one), every single boss and roland sp unit, casio sk 1 and 5 and vss 200 and recently bought the vss 30 I found with the sk and vss, it can be mega fun to take a loop and stretch it to double time, sample it, then play it an octave down on them to get really super gritty textures, melodies and drums, especially for trip hop and lofi jungle/hip hop, even vaporwave. OR if you're feeling really lofi, out from the casio into the sp 202, into a 303 with vinyl sim, into a tape machine, MEGA lofi chain
Hey there - thanks so much, that's so nice of you to say! I have a VSS-200 as well and I really like playing with that too. It has a read-out, which is handy for programming specific values, but I end up using the VSS-30 more because I actually found it more fun to just use my ears when making adjustments. One thing I really do like about the VSS-200 though that the VSS-30 can't do is resample the on-board sounds through the sampler. Great tips about sampling loops and playing them an octave down and I have to say (sorry to add salt to the wound) that this is one of my favourite things about the S950. There's something so distinct about the way it varies the clock speed to change the pitch of the sample that doesn't sound like most others samplers, and it sounds particularly good on samples that are pitched down.
Great video Stephen, really enjoyed seeing your process for Winter Voices. I have a VSS-30, it’s my favourite piece of gear in the studio, I’m currently running it through the Korg NTS1. I’ve also recently bought a microgranny which I’m looking forward to exploring more.
The NTS1! That’s a brilliant idea! Really glad you enjoyed the video, it was lots of fun to do. I’ve not heard of the microgranny, I’ll have to check it out.
Great video Stephen and like what you've done with the Yamaha and the pedals. Seeing the JX-3P in the background took me back to 1983 - I tried the Boutique version recently but it did nothing for me - if only I had the foresight to have put it into storage for the time I couldn't play - ah well we all have degrees in hindsight :-)
Thanks so much! I had a couple of the boutiques, but I kept getting annoyed by the 4 note limit so after a lot of searching managed to grab the real thing for a good price. I like having the Juno and the JX3P, as they both offer something different. The JX3P has a more options; the 2nd oscillator means you can do cross mod/sync and I love that you can do sample and hold from the LFO, and the overall sound is bright and very 80s in a pre-DX7 kind of a way. However the Juno really hits the sweet spot sound-wise for me. It just sounds incredible, even when just playing a simple pad sound. It’s also so simple that it’s very quick to use and tweak to get what you want.
Someone I knew at uni had a digital sampling mini keyboard one time when I visited, genuinely fun piece of kit! Not sure if it was the same as the Yamaha but I dug it. Great setup you have!
Hey Stephen! I’m Brittany. I had a question since I just got that keyboard, the Sample in jack. Can I run an RCA to XLR ? Will a mic work in that jack? My yahama works but I have to really get up in the mic to get a voice sample. Thank you. Take care
Really great vid. I wonder if anyone could help me? when I’m recording the vss30 though my audio interface I only get sound out of my right speaker. Any ideas?
Hi there. Thanks, glad you like the video. The output is mono only, but you should still get signal out of both sides of a mini TRS jack like from headphones for example as the same mono signal is sent to both sides. Might be something like a dodgy solder joint or connection within the socket, so have a look if you are up for that sort of thing. If not, you should be able to use a splitter cable/adapter/mixer to split the 'good' side into two signals again. Hope this helps!
Hey there! It has a minijack output (I guess for headphones primarily), so I used a minijack cable that split it into left and right 1/4 TS jacks. I tested the output and it is dual mono, so I just used one of the jacks into the pedals. I just left the other one unplugged. You have to be a bit careful with level of the output as it is line level, so could be too hot for pedals, so just bring down the output volume if you are getting unwanted distortion.
Hi there. Thanks for watching. Yes indeed, I took the output from the minijack and used a cable to convert to standard 1/4 TS jack. It has a stereo output, but I tested and it is just dual mono, so I just used one of the channels.
Nice - it's quite a full sound you've ended up with. I can hear the beginnings of something, just in your playing around with it - you should make a Pianobook sample library with it.
Great idea! I’ll see what I can come up with for a Pianobook library.
Very nice sounding lo-fi tapey vocal samples. :) Cool sampler and good 👍 work.
Thanks! I’d forgotten what fun that sampler is.
Hey Stephen! Nice to see your channel and hear your music, which sounds superb!
Thanks Kevin. Really appreciate that!
Really enjoyed seeing and hearing your process Stephen, cheers! I had a Yamaha PSS-170 keyboard from the same era as a kid which was hours of fun, though I imagine the VSS-30 would be infinitely more so!
Thanks Ollie, that’s really nice of you to say! Ha! I remember the PSS-170! We had a load of them at school and used to use them in our music lessons. I fell like I can still hear the music the demo button plays!
@@StephenCaulfield Haha yes I can still hear the demo too!
Beautiful music and video 👍beautiful work 🎉love it 💓
Thanks so much, really glad you like it!
Fantastic video Stephen - love the walk through and glad Pianobook has been a source of inspiration
Thanks Stephen - much appreciated! I'm going to have a fiddle around and see if I can turn these samples into a Pianobook submission using the Monolith template.
hi, just found this video while I'm editting my entry for Winter Voices. Good stuff!
Thanks, really appreciate you saying so.
This looked like a lot of fun!
Lots of fun! Great little keyboard.
lovely chain of effects there! ❤
Thanks, I managed to grab some nice ones over the years. eBay should come with a warning 😋
@@StephenCaulfield ahaha, yeah, not only ebay.. man, I love the pianobook community
Nice man! You’re doing alot of stuff I love here. That Dimension C makes me happy. The sample has a great, majestic grit to it. Well played! 🤟🏼
Thanks Steven! That Dimension C is great. One of those effects that as soon as I turned it on and played something through it I went - Oh that’s where that sounds comes from on all those records!
@@StephenCaulfield Does the C stand for Chorus? and if so, what does the D stand for in Dimension D? :D I never knew of this Boss Pedal. Might investigate as a poor-mand Dim-D
Nice, very cool
Thanks Jim! Anything you'd be interested in seeing in future? I was thinking about doing a video on one of my other favourite toy instruments - the Onmichord. Possibly another one on the Akai S950 too.
@@StephenCaulfield The Akai sounds interesting. In truth all old synths are to me as I'm a guitarist really and missed them the first time round
First time viewer just love your personality and amazing set of gear! I have a little collection of old samplers (really want an s950 but can't afford one), every single boss and roland sp unit, casio sk 1 and 5 and vss 200 and recently bought the vss 30
I found with the sk and vss, it can be mega fun to take a loop and stretch it to double time, sample it, then play it an octave down on them to get really super gritty textures, melodies and drums, especially for trip hop and lofi jungle/hip hop, even vaporwave. OR if you're feeling really lofi, out from the casio into the sp 202, into a 303 with vinyl sim, into a tape machine, MEGA lofi chain
Hey there - thanks so much, that's so nice of you to say! I have a VSS-200 as well and I really like playing with that too. It has a read-out, which is handy for programming specific values, but I end up using the VSS-30 more because I actually found it more fun to just use my ears when making adjustments. One thing I really do like about the VSS-200 though that the VSS-30 can't do is resample the on-board sounds through the sampler.
Great tips about sampling loops and playing them an octave down and I have to say (sorry to add salt to the wound) that this is one of my favourite things about the S950. There's something so distinct about the way it varies the clock speed to change the pitch of the sample that doesn't sound like most others samplers, and it sounds particularly good on samples that are pitched down.
awesome!
Thanks!
Great video Stephen, really enjoyed seeing your process for Winter Voices. I have a VSS-30, it’s my favourite piece of gear in the studio, I’m currently running it through the Korg NTS1. I’ve also recently bought a microgranny which I’m looking forward to exploring more.
The NTS1! That’s a brilliant idea! Really glad you enjoyed the video, it was lots of fun to do. I’ve not heard of the microgranny, I’ll have to check it out.
Great video Stephen and like what you've done with the Yamaha and the pedals. Seeing the JX-3P in the background took me back to 1983 - I tried the Boutique version recently but it did nothing for me - if only I had the foresight to have put it into storage for the time I couldn't play - ah well we all have degrees in hindsight :-)
Thanks so much! I had a couple of the boutiques, but I kept getting annoyed by the 4 note limit so after a lot of searching managed to grab the real thing for a good price. I like having the Juno and the JX3P, as they both offer something different. The JX3P has a more options; the 2nd oscillator means you can do cross mod/sync and I love that you can do sample and hold from the LFO, and the overall sound is bright and very 80s in a pre-DX7 kind of a way. However the Juno really hits the sweet spot sound-wise for me. It just sounds incredible, even when just playing a simple pad sound. It’s also so simple that it’s very quick to use and tweak to get what you want.
Super rad man. Love the old portasound they sound so great. If u ever find a 480 give it a try
Thanks Sean. You'll never guess what I just found on eBay :-)
@@StephenCaulfield ohhhhh buddy ur gonna have fun
Noice. My VSS200 is en-route to me from UofK. I was going to just fix/clean it up and sell on, but maybe I will hold on...to IT for a bit :D
Awesome! Hope you managed to get some good stuff out of it.
Very Boards of Canada'ish. I like it a lot.
Thank you very much, love Boards Of Canada!
Someone I knew at uni had a digital sampling mini keyboard one time when I visited, genuinely fun piece of kit! Not sure if it was the same as the Yamaha but I dug it. Great setup you have!
Ah yes! Could be that one, or maybe the Casio one? Super fun!
@@StephenCaulfield Could have been the Casio I reckon. Very dinky and lofi but super fun.
Hey Stephen!
I’m Brittany.
I had a question since I just got that keyboard, the Sample in jack. Can I run an RCA to XLR ?
Will a mic work in that jack?
My yahama works but I have to really get up in the mic to get a voice sample.
Thank you. Take care
Really great vid. I wonder if anyone could help me? when I’m recording the vss30 though my audio interface I only get sound out of my right speaker. Any ideas?
Hi there. Thanks, glad you like the video. The output is mono only, but you should still get signal out of both sides of a mini TRS jack like from headphones for example as the same mono signal is sent to both sides. Might be something like a dodgy solder joint or connection within the socket, so have a look if you are up for that sort of thing. If not, you should be able to use a splitter cable/adapter/mixer to split the 'good' side into two signals again. Hope this helps!
What cord do you need to play it through pedals? Standard 1/4 will work?
Hey there! It has a minijack output (I guess for headphones primarily), so I used a minijack cable that split it into left and right 1/4 TS jacks. I tested the output and it is dual mono, so I just used one of the jacks into the pedals. I just left the other one unplugged. You have to be a bit careful with level of the output as it is line level, so could be too hot for pedals, so just bring down the output volume if you are getting unwanted distortion.
how did you connect the pedals to the vss30? was it just through the output on the keyboard?
Hi there. Thanks for watching. Yes indeed, I took the output from the minijack and used a cable to convert to standard 1/4 TS jack. It has a stereo output, but I tested and it is just dual mono, so I just used one of the channels.
this is hilarious,even if you fart,with all those pedals it will sound cool
Ha! I'm making a note about future video ideas! 😉