Synth Lab

Armed with the renowned reverb powers of the Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail guitar effects pedal, Bill Holland aims to create some sound effects from space. The only twist is, we're on Earth, just like in Planet of the Apes.  

Darth Vader and Tron team up for some synth bass sequencing fun. Check out how the Korg KP3 works with a Peruvian synthesis module.  

In this video, Gearwire's Bill Holland peruses presets on the Korg R3. Check out what types of sounds Korg has placed in their many banks. Watch to the end for some sizzling vocoder.  

Check out DJ Puzzle Jason Donnelly's epic conclusion to his Korg Electribe EMX-1 series on creating an original rhythm out of a preset. Be sure to stay tuned all the way to the end for the prize at the bottom of the cereal box.  

Gearwire's Bill Holland takes a look at the Korg R3, which is similar to the microKorg with some improvements. The full-sized keys are notable as I no longer have to grow my fingernails out and shave them to narrow points to play a mini-synth with an on-board vocoder.  

In DJ Puzzle's series on using the Korg Electribe EMX-1 to make an original pattern out of a preset, he's stripped the synth sounds down to the raw beat. The preset beat isn't customized enough yet, though, until this video.  

DJ Puzzle continues his tutorial on creating patterns from presets on the Korg Electribe EMX-1. This segment has little to do with creation and more to do with destruction. All preset synth parts must be exterminated.  

Gearwire's Bill Holland takes a look at Native Instruments FM8 for a good old fashioned walkthru. In part one, Bill explainss how to set up your MIDI controller with FM8 to get started.  

A lot of musicians look forward to nothing more than replacing presets on their gear with custom creations. If you're not in a creative mood, however, DJ Puzzle shows how to use the Korg EMX-1's presets to spur something that is your own.  

When Future Retro Revolution named their 303 emulator, they had two things in mind. Not only was their circular design a change from anything else out there -- the sequencer revolves around the center of the unit. Check out how you can use the sequencer to control your effects.  

DJ Puzzle sets himself up for a tongue twisting demonstration in this video where he connects the Future Retro Revolution to the Quasimidi Rave-O-Lution. See how the Revolution acts as a filter on an external drum machine.  

Using only the Roland V-Synth XT, an external vocoder and a microphone, DJ Puzzle aka Jason Donnelly demonstrates some of the built-in vocoder patches. Remember, kids: vocoding is more addicting than cigarettes cooked with baking soda, so use with discretion.  

The year was 1987. People everywhere were walking like Egyptians, Full House premiers and warms hearts across America, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Leader Gorbachev agree to stop making missiles -- leaving Bill Pullman to wonder, "doesn't anybody have any missiles left?" and the Roland D-50 Synthesizer was king. Now the sounds of the D-50 are back in the Roland VC-1 D-50 card, heard in this video.  

DJ Puzzle continues his exploration of the Alesis Bitrman, an intuitively designed effects box that allows you to get a number of experimental sounds through permutations and combinations of six effects in six configurations  

The Alesis Bitrman is a Mod FX processor that gives the user five funky effects types to work with. DJ Puzzle demonstrates the sounds attainable in this video.  

Jason Donnelly aka DJ Puzzle shows us how to make a sine wave bass line using the Cwejman S1 MK2. Be sure to take special notice of his arm-wear accessories. They're integral to the whole process.  

DJ Puzzle is back with the Roland SH-32, and in this video, he shows us how to preview and program your drum sounds on the SH-32.  

We've seen a lot of synth modules that have arpeggiators that are ready to use. In this video, DJ Puzzle shows us how to create your own arpeggiations.  

DJ Puzzle uses his knowledge of the glide feature on the Quasimidi Rave-O-Lution 309 to compose what seems to be an ode to stunt hang glider Tim Travers, whose death defying mid-air hang gliding stunts captivated the imaginations of his audience.  

Jason Donnelly has already performed multiple beat making steps on the Rave-O-Lution 309 by Quasimidi. In this video, he put some effects on the beat he has sequenced.  

Jason Donnelly, AKA DJ Puzzle, dives into the bass sequencer on the Quasimidi Rave-O-Lution 309. In some ways, it is similar to the previously walked through drum sequencer on the unit, and the good DJ breaks that down in this video.  

DJ Puzzle is back with the Quasimidi Rave-O-Lution 309, and in this video, he shows you the basics of beat-making on this groovy box.  

Jason Donnelly, also known as DJ Puzzle, shows us a synth that came out in the year Beavis and Butthead did America. The Rave-O-Lution 309 groove box emulated analog synthesis, recalling sounds from inspiring Roland units and more.  

Bill Holland thoroughly examines two more patches in the Korg M3. The first is Drums N' Hits, part basic drum patch, other part hits. It's followed up by Horror World, which you can probably imagine just by the name of the patch.  

The Korg M3 Combinator patches in this video include Wah Organ, Brass, and some Ethnic Beats. Bill turns on the KARMA and lets the Wah Organ rip.  

Bill Holland overviews some more patches on the Korg M3, starting with Fireside in this video. He also gets into pads and the velocity options pad users have to work with.  

Bill Holland examines the Beatbox patch on the Korg M3, displaying what happens when you use the keys, the pads, KARMA, the ribbon and X/Y controllers and more.  

Bill Holland is back with more patch work on the Korg M3, and this time he examines two patches. Coming from the cheesy Colored Impressions to the standard Mixed Strings, Bill works on two tones that are a pretty odd couple.  

Propellerhead Reason 4's new step sequencer can help users make a lot of changes to their sounds. We took a look at the step sequencer already, and now it's time to fire it up and really mess things around to the extreme.  

Chorus has been around since the days of yore, long before becoming a digital effect with more parameters to control than ever before. Bill Holland gets more in depth with chorus in Propellerhead Reason 4, fine tuning it to fit his loop.