5:05 - As soon as you said "Let me show you what happens when I switch it off" the power in my apartment building shut off momentarily. This device apparently has powers beyond all human comprehension!
That reminds me of an old joke by stand up comic, Steven Wright. _“In my house there's this light switch that doesn't do anything. Every so often I would flick it on and off just to check. Yesterday, I got a call from a woman in Madagascar. She said, 'Cut it out.'”_
delighted by how much of the j-pop from the e-kara machine i knew. you're right on the money with the music sounding like tracker music - the sound patches are just a stock set licensed from roland, the same stuff that's on their sound canvas boxes
Electronics Engineer: The electronics are probably looking for the coin mechanism output to be active for an exact amount of time, so only the right weight coin triggers it. That's what that springy thing is for, to slow down the coin enough that it can use the time to determine the mass.
Yeah, the wire coil would be to detect if it's got the correct magnetic content too. He looks like he's got the standard 'Sakura' 100 yen coins rather than any special collector's edition and they apparently haven't changed since 1967, so in theory unless the mechanism is really sensitive or broken they should work.
The coil will be used to determine the magnetic signature of the coin. I worked with Mars coin systems in the 1980s 90s. It doesn't have a return mechanism so if you put the wrong coin in, it would be tough luck, and you lose it unless the owner was kind enough to open the box.
Yeah, I heard the coin mass was extremely tuned in these machines, as far as I know also to make machines not accept tokens that are otherwise right size - or if you were running such an establishment, reverse could be done I assume? Where you would tune the machine coin mechanism to accept tokens but not real money makes customers happy. I am always fascinated and appreciative of mechanical solutions in devices. Everything being computerized becomes tad boring these days.
I've seen a very similar device to the first one in action before, the basic idea is it calculates a score by how well your voice is staying in rhythm with the song.
Makes sense. Nowadays you can see it in tv shows where this score is employed. Also, the DAM website had it, too. Best part in those shows is when they have the actual singer doing their song and only getting 80 out of a 100 points. lol
I only learned a couple weeks ago that current Karaoke tech is crazy gamified, with leaderboards and rankings. Always had the impression it was just a salaryman serenading a bar not a video game, but it also makes total sense given the popularity of rhythm games.
@@treelineresearch3387 oh, the bar singing still exists too. But the much bigger and more normal situation is to have a huge place that only does karaoke. It’s well shown in Lost in Translation. You go there even with who company groups. That machine will have been placed in what is called a snack I guess. A small bar with a small karaoke machine where this meter will have been placed at the wall as an additional feature.
@@otherSmallCities Yeah I watched a "what is karaoke anyway" type video on here about the big karaoke complexes because I'm going there in the fall and was curious if it offered anything to a solo traveler. I'll probably try it, even better if I can find a native or two that wants to go.
There is two kinds of people: Those who don't watch a karaoke Techmoan video, and those who get amused by dry bloke dryly not-even-singing to karaoke backing. A skit you can repeat as much as Monty Python's parrot shop.
speaking of the parrot shop sketch is very apt for the 1st one: this karaoke machine is no more, it has ceased to be, it's gone to meet its maker. This is an ex karaoke machine
Alright guys, we have six months to organize a campaign to get Techmoan to release a "Fankastic Beats Body Body Rock It" single and we all buy a copy to make it this year's Christmas #1.
I was sure his would be the top comment under the video, talking of how he would have used x or y tool for 5 seconds to get it open (twice, so we can see it was not a fluke)
My ears immediately pricked up when I heard the tune playing at 16:56 One I've not heard for at least 20 years, back when I had a Japanese pen pal, (more like e-mail pal), who sent me a cassette tape full of J-Pop tunes. And, one of them was 100 kai no KISS by Aya Matsuura!
@@linalmeemow She was one of a number of, 'idols', of the period, I believe. I did look up a few videos of hers, and sure enough, she definitely fitted into the category that appealed to young teenage girls at the time, no doubt. Somewhat infantilised with a squeaky, childlike voice. Luckily, the tape I had also had more grown-up sounding artists on it, which were more my style.
12:52 That's the Mini-Moni! A sub-group of Morning Musume with 4 members smaller than 1m50 (hence the Mini ) singing children songs about cakes, cell phones, and other meaningless stuff. The meme "dramatic prairie dog" comes from one of their show (just look for "dramatic prairie dog original").
This was like a "Mat's Greatest Hits" video. First device doesn't work, can't be fixed, and even if you do, you have no idea what it does. The second does work, but you'd frankly wish it hadn't. Then - Karaoke. The perfect Techmoan video! You go dude!
Thanks Matt.. a great video as ever. It’s not so much the quality of the tech, but the way that you present it that keeps me looking forward to Saturday mornings.
Check the chips by the LED grouping that is not working properly. They're most likely shift registers. Could be as simple as corrosion on the pins or a trace. When you put pressure in a certain area, the faulty ones lit up so it's most likely a simple fix.
this is what modern day archeology ought to be interested in frankly. there's no one else even digitizing the existence of these types of gizmos that i'm aware of, of course this type of technology seems to have the almost existential cutthroat understanding that it will be forgotten, but it's far too interesting for that honestly
The MAME guys are very interested in that sort of thing, even emulating the thing so it gets truly preserved Mamehaze has some videos on his channel documenting the e-Kara core for MAME and what's missing for it to work perfectly
All of those JPop carts are from the period when I first started getting into the genre, and yes, Judy And Mary is phenomenal -- highly recommended. But your journey through those carts was very nostalgic for me, as I recognized a lot of songs I haven't heard in years. And I always love seeing Hello! Project stuff pop up in unexpected videos, lol!
To drill out those types of lock you first need to centrally drill a small pilot hole all of the way through the lock followed up by a 7mm drill then listen for the lever of the lock falling off the back of the lock mechanism.
What I noticed was those ring keys are standard keys, they're not security keys at least in this country. Commercial washing machines use these standard keys for parts that need to be serviced not for keeping money safe. There should be a different sort of key at the bottom where the coins actually fall. The key for the service area should be a standard one anyone can buy. The key for the actual coin box should be as custom as a house key, not one you can get off a shelf to open it.
@@joshuascholar3220 What country are you speaking of? In the USA, it's very common for vending machines (including laundry machines) to use these tubular locks on the cash box. They don't all have the same bitting on the key, though. Like most house keys, the blanks are readily available and not controlled.
@@ThetaReactor I am talking about the US. I guess laundry equipment are different from vending machines. In laundry I've seen 3 keys, 777, 888 and whatever GE uses.
18:55 I think it’s using the same technology the SNES was using called wavetable and FM synthesis, probably the Yamaha YMF278 now here instead of the Sony SPC700 in the console. The drum sounds remember me of the PSS Keyboard Series. Samples operate at 12 Bit - hence the muffled sounds.
I suspect that 12-bit shouldn't (in theory) actually be all *that* bad, since I've heard that 14-bit was considered acceptable for professional use in the early days of digital recording. Even some of the better 8-bit samplers could sound quite good using techniques to get round the resolution limitations. Then again, this thing isn't a remotely professional piece of equipment, and I can believe they cut every corner they could!
I was thinking the same. As an electronic musician, it hurts me when people say MIDI to refer to a type of sound as it's just a control mechanism. It's like saying books that are written on a computer are different to books written on a typewriter. Similarly, Trackers are just using a different control mechanism. Virtually all modern music is done using MIDI - it's just that it's controlling powerful VSTs and external synthesisers instead of cheap soundcards. But there's been high quality music that's been written on Trackers, you just need to connect them to high end synths instead of things like Amigas...
@@deanolium Well yes and no. While Midi is the most common protocol, there's also still cv/gate for analog synths. Also most audio interfaces were never controlled by midi at all (maybe the high end stuff with integrated DSPs). What you are probably referring to is driver access to embedded fm sound chips on sound cards, which was heavily used by games (famously known ad Sound Blaster Standard). Today standard midi cabling has been mostly replaces by usb, because it's easier than dealing with channel configuration and additional power supplies for many devices. Also I've noticd that some Behringer devices seem to have stripped parts of the Midi protocol implementation (e.g. program change on Midi Thru).
Man I remember when Techmoan claimed he didn't know much about repairing. Now he's becoming a full fledged electronics technician with every video. It's inspiring really.
I've been watching you for about 2 maybe 3 years now. Cause I'm a techie, and also, I have been a KJ for almost 25 years here in America. Now this you think has not been your finest moment, but I think it's been your funniest moment! I love your kind of dull sense of humor. It really cracks me up. None of this is a put down. Just merely saying you took and bad situation and made it fun! Thank you so much for that.
I had one of those ekara TV devices when i was a kid! You just unlocked a core memory of us screaming childish obscenities into the tv with the voice filters. 😂
Because it used GBA like cartridges, and the graphics do look like what the GBA would produce, and guys from Nintendo were involved in this, I wonder if that microphone was actually a GBA but repurposed as a karaoke system. He mentioned that the cartridges had their own processor in them enabling enhanced graphics later on, but this might have been a coprocessor kind of like the Super NES Super FX chips. If the cartridges are electrically comparable with regular GBA cartridges, I wonder what would happen if you inserted an ordinary GBA game?
Ha, as soon as you said "Takara" I thought "Huh, I wonder if Hasbro sold a version of that over here?" Hasbro and Takara go way back--the first generation of Transformers toys, for example, were resold Takara products. And then, lo and behold, there it was. :)
I recall the Xavix system when I lived in Japan in 2004. They had demo setups at many electronics stores. The biggest selling point was a DDR like mat for exercise games.
15:42 Back in high school in the 1980s I did lighting and sound work, and we always rented a huge sound system for our christmas assemblies. One year the rental system included a decent effects rack, and one of its digital processors had an effect called Berge Bundles, basically a high quality version of this. You just triggered some great memories...
There is a part of me that wants to crawl around that first device with an oscilloscope, and there is another part of me that wants to remain at least somewhat sane. Also, not trying to hit the Take On Me high note is simply criminal! The people deserve to hear that note!
I certainly appreciate your ability to laugh at yourself and continue on. We seem to have lost that in many places of the world, not limited to the USA. I appreciated the effort that went into this video. Thank you for uploading and sharing.
Two of those 7 cartridges have Steps singles on, and neither single even charted in the US, so I suspect those cartridges are actually being squarely aimed at the UK, but were just in an era when a lot of the music in the UK charts happened to be by US artists anyway.
I'm from the states and only found out about Steps a couple years ago. My thought was maybe these were released both here and in the UK and they wanted to split the difference. I wonder if there are any tracks on here that a UK listener would think unusual?
Steps had a little bit of success in the US. 5,6,7,8 was a hit over there and they opened for Britney Spears on her first tour. Granted, they were label mates, but still. Anyway, since he bought the device from Japan, my main point is that Steps were much more successful in Japan and Australia (where I’m from). Or it could be a cheap licensing thing. “These guys make pop music that tweens like, shove them on it.”
I am watching this late at night and the unexpected Jabba the Hut Karaoke cameo at the end caused a spontaneous belly laugh so loud that I woke the whole house. Thanks a lot. 😅
Also, if you want the songs on the e-kara cartridges identified (for... some reason), I'm more than willing to help! 49 has songs by the band Judy and Mary, 45 has songs by the band Mr. Children (none of whom are children) and G-16 has songs by the group Minimoni, who were aimed at children. The others are compilations by various artists who were popular at the time. By the way, the first song you played was 100kai no KISS by Matsuura Aya :)
Mmmm, that Ad-Lib sound (did they splurge for a real OPL2 chip?). 20:30 That's "The Starry Sky", which was used as the ending for the anime _Angelic Layer._ One of my favourite ending themes in fact.
Mr. Children and Judy and Mary where (and are) super hyper popular. My wife is a huge Judy and Mary fan and whenever we went to Karaoke, that sure came on :D
That is a coin comparator, You need to find a coin of that era in most cases. it checks the magnetic field of the coin to a know coin. So if the metal content of the coin or size etc. has changed from the time that coin comparator was programed. You might have a problem. It is done so people are not dropping washers into the unit for a free be ext. Normally the flop part is to keep people from doing the old cartoon string on a coin trick and pulling the coin out of the machine after credit as been given. Granted I work on US slot machines and pinball machines, but this is the basics of how they work in the US on a gambling device.
I know you already drilled out the tube lock out, but in the future you can open a tube lock by using a softer-body plastic pen. You just remove the ink cartridge so that you're left with a hollow plastic tube. take a pair of pliers and widen the open end of the pen body by inserting the closed pliers head into the body until it fits around the center cylinder of the tube lock. then press the pen body repeatedly into the lock while gently rotating it in the direction the lock would rotate (most likely clockwise). Eventually the pins will force the shape of the key into the pen body and make it into a makeshift key. For legal reasons, I should state that this ONLY WORKS on tube locks that you legitimately own.
I don't think mod tracker music in itself has inheritly bad sound, as early "Unreal" / "Unreal Tournament" series games in 1990s had it and they were amasing.
5:05 - As soon as you said "Let me show you what happens when I switch it off" the power in my apartment building shut off momentarily. This device apparently has powers beyond all human comprehension!
That reminds me of an old joke by stand up comic, Steven Wright.
_“In my house there's this light switch that doesn't do anything. Every so often I would flick it on and off just to check. Yesterday, I got a call from a woman in Madagascar. She said, 'Cut it out.'”_
For a man that doesn't like karoke , Mat has quite alot of Karoke machines by now.
Maybe he's trying to remove them from society?
We're up all night to get lucky!
@@jimbles5071I'm not
How many have english lyrics?
He's up all night to get lucky, not to sing karaoke
That device looked like if you sang well enough into it it would dispense a packet of cigarettes.
Or something for the weekend.
Damn, it does. Is it the color?
And the second one looks like it should be shaving his beard.
yakuza side mission
thanks for the giggle xD
"What is it?"
"I don't know."
"I'll take it!"
E-kara never released it's 90's gangsta rap cart to appeal to Techmoan which is a missed opportunity.
Lets be Thankful for that
Now I wanna hear Techmoan karaoke Wu Tang clans "shame on a wigga" with terrible midi BGM
They were very short-sighted. No thought for long-term applications of this technology. Disappointing.
"Never have so many owed so much to so few" - Winston Churchill
"I've never spent more time doing less" - Techmoan
You should send it to Techmoan. I hear he's into this kind of thing.
+10 points for mentioning trackers on the Amiga
Who?
Never heard of her.
@@monotonehell But is sounds nothing like tracker. More like AdLib.
Big Clive!
delighted by how much of the j-pop from the e-kara machine i knew. you're right on the money with the music sounding like tracker music - the sound patches are just a stock set licensed from roland, the same stuff that's on their sound canvas boxes
My wife is Japanese, I recognise many of those track names, they were very popular tracks some time between 1990 and 2006
Even if you don't get everything working, the content you make in the videos you produce are still fun to watch. Thank you for uploading it
Any content is good content when it comes to a Techmoan video! :)
Agreed! And the pun at the end was a cherry on top
totally I always enjoy techmoan
That MIDI render of "Take On Me" hurts my heart. I can't imagine Norway's favorite musicians would be too happy with it either.
Think of how much it hurt when that MIDI was played through a Soundblaster 16 clone in a Packard Bell PC. Yikes!
A1's cover version wasn't much better.
norway: *sad honking noises*
utterly fantastic, no notes. 10/10
Yes, that was fankastic beats
Electronics Engineer: The electronics are probably looking for the coin mechanism output to be active for an exact amount of time, so only the right weight coin triggers it. That's what that springy thing is for, to slow down the coin enough that it can use the time to determine the mass.
Yeah, the wire coil would be to detect if it's got the correct magnetic content too. He looks like he's got the standard 'Sakura' 100 yen coins rather than any special collector's edition and they apparently haven't changed since 1967, so in theory unless the mechanism is really sensitive or broken they should work.
he was using a bag of 100¥ coins though? unless i am misunderstanding
Or not
The coil will be used to determine the magnetic signature of the coin.
I worked with Mars coin systems in the 1980s 90s.
It doesn't have a return mechanism so if you put the wrong coin in, it would be tough luck, and you lose it unless the owner was kind enough to open the box.
Yeah, I heard the coin mass was extremely tuned in these machines, as far as I know also to make machines not accept tokens that are otherwise right size - or if you were running such an establishment, reverse could be done I assume? Where you would tune the machine coin mechanism to accept tokens but not real money makes customers happy.
I am always fascinated and appreciative of mechanical solutions in devices. Everything being computerized becomes tad boring these days.
I've seen a very similar device to the first one in action before, the basic idea is it calculates a score by how well your voice is staying in rhythm with the song.
Ok, that makes sense. I was wondering what it could possibly do.
Makes sense. Nowadays you can see it in tv shows where this score is employed.
Also, the DAM website had it, too.
Best part in those shows is when they have the actual singer doing their song and only getting 80 out of a 100 points. lol
I only learned a couple weeks ago that current Karaoke tech is crazy gamified, with leaderboards and rankings. Always had the impression it was just a salaryman serenading a bar not a video game, but it also makes total sense given the popularity of rhythm games.
@@treelineresearch3387 oh, the bar singing still exists too. But the much bigger and more normal situation is to have a huge place that only does karaoke. It’s well shown in Lost in Translation. You go there even with who company groups.
That machine will have been placed in what is called a snack I guess. A small bar with a small karaoke machine where this meter will have been placed at the wall as an additional feature.
@@otherSmallCities Yeah I watched a "what is karaoke anyway" type video on here about the big karaoke complexes because I'm going there in the fall and was curious if it offered anything to a solo traveler. I'll probably try it, even better if I can find a native or two that wants to go.
There is two kinds of people: Those who don't watch a karaoke Techmoan video, and those who get amused by dry bloke dryly not-even-singing to karaoke backing. A skit you can repeat as much as Monty Python's parrot shop.
He's not dry, he's pining for Akihabara.
@@andreasu.3546 I never wanted to be a karaoke singer; I wanted to be a lumberjack.
@@MarkTheMorose You'd be OK, you could sing Karaoke all night and work all day (edit: got the lyrics the wrong way round)
@@andreasu.3546 it's ok as long as he can wear suspenders and a bra just like his dear Mama he'll be fine
speaking of the parrot shop sketch is very apt for the 1st one: this karaoke machine is no more, it has ceased to be, it's gone to meet its maker. This is an ex karaoke machine
The world needs a Techmoan album right now.
I think there is some TH-cam-poop where he sends his album to the 8-bit-guy.
@@Shilorius I need this! ))
@@badger_grol I think the video is called "Techmoan annoys the 8-Bit Guy"
Just like it needs Whoflu v2.0! The World will pass on this generous offer kthxbye!
Alright guys, we have six months to organize a campaign to get Techmoan to release a "Fankastic Beats Body Body Rock It" single and we all buy a copy to make it this year's Christmas #1.
'Techmoan trying to do karaoke' is my new favourite segment on this channel.
It could be an evolution of the retired muppet segments. Mat ends up doing karaoke at a pub at the end of a video singing a summary of his experience.
I am sure @lockpickinglawyer is weeping about that lock removal technique!
A ruddy big drill on one...
@lockpickinglawyer's inbox must be flooded with "Have you seen this?" by now
I'm sure LPL sells a pick for that sort of lock.
And 30 seconds after I put the comment Techmoan mentions the lockpick kit! 😂
Omg I just said that lol you are right! I think he chose the Big Clive way of getting into electronics 😂
I was sure his would be the top comment under the video, talking of how he would have used x or y tool for 5 seconds to get it open (twice, so we can see it was not a fluke)
My ears immediately pricked up when I heard the tune playing at 16:56 One I've not heard for at least 20 years, back when I had a Japanese pen pal, (more like e-mail pal), who sent me a cassette tape full of J-Pop tunes. And, one of them was 100 kai no KISS by Aya Matsuura!
Ayaya! She was everywhere when I moved to Japan 22 years ago -the musical equivalent of giving a 7 year-old a big bag of speed, if I remember right.
@@linalmeemow She was one of a number of, 'idols', of the period, I believe. I did look up a few videos of hers, and sure enough, she definitely fitted into the category that appealed to young teenage girls at the time, no doubt. Somewhat infantilised with a squeaky, childlike voice. Luckily, the tape I had also had more grown-up sounding artists on it, which were more my style.
0:51 "Can you figure out what it is?" 100% it's either karaoke or pachinko.
or both
@@docwhogr Kachinko also known as Japanese Fentanyl.
This.
@@tarnvedra9952karichinko w/ slimy beans
Pachioke
I think we'd all welcome a whole video of just Techmoan helium karaoke.
It's a foolproof way of never getting a content match that's for sure.
They see me rolling.
They hating.
Patrolling me. Trying to catch me riding dirty.
12:52 That's the Mini-Moni! A sub-group of Morning Musume with 4 members smaller than 1m50 (hence the Mini ) singing children songs about cakes, cell phones, and other meaningless stuff. The meme "dramatic prairie dog" comes from one of their show (just look for "dramatic prairie dog original").
This was like a "Mat's Greatest Hits" video. First device doesn't work, can't be fixed, and even if you do, you have no idea what it does. The second does work, but you'd frankly wish it hadn't. Then - Karaoke. The perfect Techmoan video! You go dude!
Another winner! I love having lunch and watching our man Mat fiddle with old tech. What more could one ask for? 😸
1 - Thank you really fun.
2 - Somewhere out there LPL is twitching
3 - Japan lives 10 years ahead of us.
19:06 Hikaru Utada's "Distance" makes it onto this channel yet again ;)
Thanks Matt.. a great video as ever. It’s not so much the quality of the tech, but the way that you present it that keeps me looking forward to Saturday mornings.
Check the chips by the LED grouping that is not working properly. They're most likely shift registers. Could be as simple as corrosion on the pins or a trace. When you put pressure in a certain area, the faulty ones lit up so it's most likely a simple fix.
That could be but the leaked battery does not instill any optimism in me
@@jwhite5008 Not sure if it leaked or not, he said rusted whereas an actual leak usually does far more damage than that.
@@alexatkin I guess you're probably right. although that sort-of depends on the battery type and board manufacturing process
this is what modern day archeology ought to be interested in frankly. there's no one else even digitizing the existence of these types of gizmos that i'm aware of, of course this type of technology seems to have the almost existential cutthroat understanding that it will be forgotten, but it's far too interesting for that honestly
The MAME guys are very interested in that sort of thing, even emulating the thing so it gets truly preserved
Mamehaze has some videos on his channel documenting the e-Kara core for MAME and what's missing for it to work perfectly
All of those JPop carts are from the period when I first started getting into the genre, and yes, Judy And Mary is phenomenal -- highly recommended. But your journey through those carts was very nostalgic for me, as I recognized a lot of songs I haven't heard in years. And I always love seeing Hello! Project stuff pop up in unexpected videos, lol!
SAME lol I was like oh my God I see so many great Morning Musume songs on there. I saw one of my all time faves, Do It! Now!
To drill out those types of lock you first need to centrally drill a small pilot hole all of the way through the lock followed up by a 7mm drill then listen for the lever of the lock falling off the back of the lock mechanism.
What I noticed was those ring keys are standard keys, they're not security keys at least in this country.
Commercial washing machines use these standard keys for parts that need to be serviced not for keeping money safe. There should be a different sort of key at the bottom where the coins actually fall.
The key for the service area should be a standard one anyone can buy.
The key for the actual coin box should be as custom as a house key, not one you can get off a shelf to open it.
@@joshuascholar3220 What country are you speaking of? In the USA, it's very common for vending machines (including laundry machines) to use these tubular locks on the cash box. They don't all have the same bitting on the key, though. Like most house keys, the blanks are readily available and not controlled.
@@ThetaReactor I am talking about the US. I guess laundry equipment are different from vending machines. In laundry I've seen 3 keys, 777, 888 and whatever GE uses.
If this is a disappointing and mediocre video , then every other similar TH-camr content creator should hang up their hat !
Loved this 😎
18:55 I think it’s using the same technology the SNES was using called wavetable and FM synthesis, probably the Yamaha YMF278 now here instead of the Sony SPC700 in the console. The drum sounds remember me of the PSS Keyboard Series. Samples operate at 12 Bit - hence the muffled sounds.
I suspect that 12-bit shouldn't (in theory) actually be all *that* bad, since I've heard that 14-bit was considered acceptable for professional use in the early days of digital recording.
Even some of the better 8-bit samplers could sound quite good using techniques to get round the resolution limitations. Then again, this thing isn't a remotely professional piece of equipment, and I can believe they cut every corner they could!
@@NotATube I’ve got a Kawai R-50 drum machine which’s also uses 12-Bit samples. I love that gritty sound.
I was thinking the same. As an electronic musician, it hurts me when people say MIDI to refer to a type of sound as it's just a control mechanism. It's like saying books that are written on a computer are different to books written on a typewriter. Similarly, Trackers are just using a different control mechanism. Virtually all modern music is done using MIDI - it's just that it's controlling powerful VSTs and external synthesisers instead of cheap soundcards. But there's been high quality music that's been written on Trackers, you just need to connect them to high end synths instead of things like Amigas...
@@deanolium Well yes and no. While Midi is the most common protocol, there's also still cv/gate for analog synths. Also most audio interfaces were never controlled by midi at all (maybe the high end stuff with integrated DSPs). What you are probably referring to is driver access to embedded fm sound chips on sound cards, which was heavily used by games (famously known ad Sound Blaster Standard). Today standard midi cabling has been mostly replaces by usb, because it's easier than dealing with channel configuration and additional power supplies for many devices. Also I've noticd that some Behringer devices seem to have stripped parts of the Midi protocol implementation (e.g. program change on Midi Thru).
SNES uses samples, not wavetable or FM synthesis.
16:32 SPEEEEEEN
Man I remember when Techmoan claimed he didn't know much about repairing. Now he's becoming a full fledged electronics technician with every video. It's inspiring really.
Karaoke, Go, and JRPG, three things that will never disappear from Japanese pop culture.
I've been watching you for about 2 maybe 3 years now. Cause I'm a techie, and also, I have been a KJ for almost 25 years here in America. Now this you think has not been your finest moment, but I think it's been your funniest moment! I love your kind of dull sense of humor. It really cracks me up. None of this is a put down. Just merely saying you took and bad situation and made it fun! Thank you so much for that.
Techmoan vs. Aya Matsuura. I never thought I'd see the day!
I love the fact that even if stuff doesnt work how you planned, you still share it with us.
I had one of those ekara TV devices when i was a kid! You just unlocked a core memory of us screaming childish obscenities into the tv with the voice filters. 😂
I had one as well 😂 only one cartridge tho. I remember it had "Hit me baby one more time" on it.
Because it used GBA like cartridges, and the graphics do look like what the GBA would produce, and guys from Nintendo were involved in this, I wonder if that microphone was actually a GBA but repurposed as a karaoke system. He mentioned that the cartridges had their own processor in them enabling enhanced graphics later on, but this might have been a coprocessor kind of like the Super NES Super FX chips. If the cartridges are electrically comparable with regular GBA cartridges, I wonder what would happen if you inserted an ordinary GBA game?
Sounds a lot more fun than actually singing. Or maybe that's just me being immature lol.
Hearing a Stevie Wonder song with a guttural metalcore vocal can now be checked off on my bucket list.
AS my wife's grandma would have said "Lovely tone dear" - she was VERY deaf!
By any chance, was she a relative of the Bei Fong family? 😂
you should've sing "Daisy, Daisy Give me your answer, do. I'm half crazy all for the love of you" with that extra low voice
'I'm sorry @MRooodddvvv , I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission, and I want to help you', probably.
Ha, as soon as you said "Takara" I thought "Huh, I wonder if Hasbro sold a version of that over here?" Hasbro and Takara go way back--the first generation of Transformers toys, for example, were resold Takara products. And then, lo and behold, there it was. :)
Sadly, Hasbro is now just reselling failure and shame.
Beyblade is probably the only other notable Takara/Hasbro partnership these days aside from Transformers 😅
That shambles brought a very big smile to my face. Thank-you for continuing to brighten up my Saturday evenings :)
Mat, this is exactly the type of content I come here for, thank you..
Love a Saturday that gets to start with Matt demonstrating something, or failing to.
I recall the Xavix system when I lived in Japan in 2004. They had demo setups at many electronics stores. The biggest selling point was a DDR like mat for exercise games.
This is one of your best in ages, I love the suspense that someone must surely know what that thing does
15:42 Back in high school in the 1980s I did lighting and sound work, and we always rented a huge sound system for our christmas assemblies. One year the rental system included a decent effects rack, and one of its digital processors had an effect called Berge Bundles, basically a high quality version of this. You just triggered some great memories...
i felt nostalgia for a life i've never lived. i'm sure there's a german word for this. this video is a vibe!
Anemoia is a decent approximation
There is a part of me that wants to crawl around that first device with an oscilloscope, and there is another part of me that wants to remain at least somewhat sane. Also, not trying to hit the Take On Me high note is simply criminal! The people deserve to hear that note!
Never a dull video with you.... you show some weird and wonderful things that otherwise we'd never see
I certainly appreciate your ability to laugh at yourself and continue on. We seem to have lost that in many places of the world, not limited to the USA. I appreciated the effort that went into this video. Thank you for uploading and sharing.
It's not a Saturday morning unless there's a new Techmoan video.
Great video, I always enjoy watching them on a Saturday morning.
I was waiting for a shepherd's crook to come in from the side and drag you off screen!
I had an ekara as a kid in the US, I remember trying to collect all the Britney Spears cartridges. Thanks for the memories :')
Two of those 7 cartridges have Steps singles on, and neither single even charted in the US, so I suspect those cartridges are actually being squarely aimed at the UK, but were just in an era when a lot of the music in the UK charts happened to be by US artists anyway.
I'm from the states and only found out about Steps a couple years ago. My thought was maybe these were released both here and in the UK and they wanted to split the difference. I wonder if there are any tracks on here that a UK listener would think unusual?
Steps had a little bit of success in the US. 5,6,7,8 was a hit over there and they opened for Britney Spears on her first tour. Granted, they were label mates, but still. Anyway, since he bought the device from Japan, my main point is that Steps were much more successful in Japan and Australia (where I’m from). Or it could be a cheap licensing thing. “These guys make pop music that tweens like, shove them on it.”
Watched this after work on the home computer with my husband. Loved how you ended this one!!! Awesome ❤
I am watching this late at night and the unexpected Jabba the Hut Karaoke cameo at the end caused a spontaneous belly laugh so loud that I woke the whole house. Thanks a lot. 😅
Loved it! The 1960 El Camino has always been one of my favorite cars. And I loved the gas pumps. Thanks!
Mat, your karaoke will win the day regardless of the kit it’s played on!😂
When the new techmoan video drops at 5AM, I watch it. 😁
It's so fitting that you finished by singing Stevie Wonder sounding like the Clitheroe Kid! This is one of the funniest things you have done.
Another great video from the Internet's number one karaoke channel.
At this point you could start a channel that's just your muppets doing karaoke.
PLEASE. THIS MUST BE.
Also, if you want the songs on the e-kara cartridges identified (for... some reason), I'm more than willing to help! 49 has songs by the band Judy and Mary, 45 has songs by the band Mr. Children (none of whom are children) and G-16 has songs by the group Minimoni, who were aimed at children. The others are compilations by various artists who were popular at the time.
By the way, the first song you played was 100kai no KISS by Matsuura Aya :)
Thanks for this.
Brilliant! I love the way this video jumps the shambles shark all the way into total classic territory at the end!
Crying with laughter at the echo/voice bits. Brilliant.
No, I'm not happy. I enjoy when you sing earnestly - it brings a smile to my face.
Dude I loved this video.
I 100% shouted MINIMONI and MORNING MUSUME when he showed the cartridge lol
Techmoan is my favorite idol
You drilling the lock out gave me the giggles which on a Saturday is awesome
29:45 There is no Techmoan. Only Zuul!
Does this mean he sleeps SIX inches above his blankets?
@loginregional Four feet, actually 😄
I just called
To say
HELL AWAITS
lol I love that you posted this even tho you were disappointed with things not happening how you expected or originally envisioned it
5:15 The fact it looks like a big Y, makes me think that the large display on the far right means Yen? "8¥"
..Except Japan pronounces it as "en" no "Y". I have no idea why the English-speaking world puts a Y in there.
@fireaza The whole device displays English text on the front at least. The ¥ symbol looks like a Y. It seemed a reasonable assumption to make.
@@fireazabecause the yen symbol still looks like a Y
@@hanspecans A token counter? 8 tokens?
@@fireazaProbably from Chinese "yuan" and confusion between the two
I enjoy a good cluster video from time to time. Good job!
Mmmm, that Ad-Lib sound (did they splurge for a real OPL2 chip?).
20:30 That's "The Starry Sky", which was used as the ending for the anime _Angelic Layer._ One of my favourite ending themes in fact.
The Starry Sky is SOOOO good
Mr. Children and Judy and Mary where (and are) super hyper popular. My wife is a huge Judy and Mary fan and whenever we went to Karaoke, that sure came on :D
And the sound is like from some Karaoke box in the late 90s :D or later for songs that where not really popular. 懐かしい！
That is a coin comparator, You need to find a coin of that era in most cases. it checks the magnetic field of the coin to a know coin. So if the metal content of the coin or size etc. has changed from the time that coin comparator was programed. You might have a problem. It is done so people are not dropping washers into the unit for a free be ext. Normally the flop part is to keep people from doing the old cartoon string on a coin trick and pulling the coin out of the machine after credit as been given. Granted I work on US slot machines and pinball machines, but this is the basics of how they work in the US on a gambling device.
I know you already drilled out the tube lock out, but in the future you can open a tube lock by using a softer-body plastic pen. You just remove the ink cartridge so that you're left with a hollow plastic tube. take a pair of pliers and widen the open end of the pen body by inserting the closed pliers head into the body until it fits around the center cylinder of the tube lock. then press the pen body repeatedly into the lock while gently rotating it in the direction the lock would rotate (most likely clockwise). Eventually the pins will force the shape of the key into the pen body and make it into a makeshift key. For legal reasons, I should state that this ONLY WORKS on tube locks that you legitimately own.
Finished on a high note 🤣
That was a hoot, Mat. Thanks for trying to make sense of that format!
I hope humans are watching this a thousand years from now
spotted ayumi hamasaki on some of those karaoke cartridges!! really happy to see her here haha
I don't think mod tracker music in itself has inheritly bad sound, as early "Unreal" / "Unreal Tournament" series games in 1990s had it and they were amasing.
I think they're likely just MIDI as well, but with a very poor synthesis chip.
Thats the best Matt has ever sounded while demonstrating Karioke machines.
I think this video was "fankastic" 😂
Haha I’m happy I made it to the end, that demonstration was pure gold
Imagine buying something like this for the kids at Christmas and then having to spend the next 18 hours to figure out how it works
Check the voltage supply, also any A/C on the DC 5 volts will cause really odd problems.
Karaoke with Mat is always worth watching. And as Stevie said: I mean it from the heart of my oh crap is that the time?
This video was the exact opposite of a "shambles" this was great and it 's always great to see tech like this even if it doesn't work out.
That voice changer makes you sound like the mice from Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Excellent as always. Karaoke has a fascination that seems to be universal. Remarkable.
More Barry White than Stevie Wonder.
I was picturing Tim Curry’s devil character from the movie Legend.
I’d venture to say more Mephistopheles or Astaroth than Barry White
The end really made this video worth it… a TH-cam wonder, still don’t get how is this not trending 😂