A bit late in the piece looking at the date on this video, however, I am in awe of you setup and capabilities.. I really appreciate you sharing your in-depth knowledge. I am recently retired and decided to take up learning keys (Not previously an instrumentalist... Engineer... Nerdy ) with a passion for Vangelis. Can't say I am great yet but get a blast out of trying. I purchased some Vangelis sheet music (Piano in an Empty Room, Lonesome, Longing, Antarctic Echoes, Abrahams theme etc.) but that really is for a solo instrument. You are opening my eyes to incorporating the other important sounds such as vocals and bass that will help me get more out of my attempts. :) Thanks so much for taking the time to share your endeavors and though late in the piece, I hope to watch and learn more. Much Appreciated.
Many thanks for the encouragement! Each time I have made one of these talking videos, I have been insecure about posting it, so I'm always pleased when people enjoy them. I think many keyboardists come from a STEM background, as you need to have a certain type of mind to get some of this stuff. I also love that many people, like you, are getting more involved in music now that they have more time in retirement. I'm especially curious about the music that you purchased: Where did you find sheet music to Piano in an Empty Room, Lonesome, and Longing???
Abrahams Theme Alpha C# Minor Antarctic Echoes Blade runner Love Theme Conquest Of Paradise Five Circles Lonesome Longhing Love Them (For Simple Saxaphone) Memories of Green Missing Db Major Piano in an Empty Room Prelude Unfulfilled Desire To a Friend@@TaurusTarkus
Thanks for your comments! And thanks for the idea; I really enjoy the music of Stranger Things as well. I am not as familiar with the specific instruments that they use, but there are always different ways to get very similar sounds.
Very nice. Thanks for sharing. Yes, please do more of these videos. I also like to listen people sharing experiences about exploring Vangelis musical world.
Thanks for watching and for all your comments. I really appreciate them. I was nervous about publishing these talking/demo videos given all the online negativity, but people have been supportive. I love talking about keyboards, and so I try to make something that I would have found interesting and helpful a year or so earlier.
@@TaurusTarkus I understand your nervousness but I don't understand why people must be negative. One of the best things that the social networks offer, is the ability to share knowledge and experiences and there's nothing to be negative about it, unless people are sharing lies or obnoxious issues. I never shared my knowledge in a TH-cam tutorial... never thought about it, but I did and keep sharing (what I can and know) with people that I become friends with trough the social networks. Unfortunately, sharing music in TH-cam never got many likes (like many issues that are mostly irrelevant but shocking or funny) but to me, tutorials or sincere conversations about human issues always will have an interesting place in the media space. I like to imagine that after all the noise is filtered, the human race is building an interesting "Video-pedia" where one can find honest, scientific and fundamental truths or in many cases explanations for almost anything human. Resuming, never be ashamed or feel nervous about sharing or promote healthy conversations. About Keyboards and tech related to music, yeah... I love those. In fact, recently I decided to gather all the information I could /can about Vangelis system because I'm trying to replicate it on my own studio, using modern available tech. If this interests you, I can share more about it. Stay safe.
Thanks. Glad you liked them. I've thought about doing one of my Hammond setup, which currently is a rig job so that I can use a guitar amp to drive the Leslie, but I think most of my audience is more interested in the synthesizers.
Thanks! At some point, I do think I will make a video about my Hammond setup, which is pretty unconventional. I have the Phantom of the Opera songbook, and used to play around with it with a pipe organ sound on my DX7. But I would really love the score that they actually play in the theater, which has a lot more going on.
Really like the howto information. I've been listening to Vangelis since the mid 70s and you've done a great job of deconstructing the sounds. I have a Hydrasynth Deluxe as well and it's great to hear about the small tweaks you've done to get just the right sound... gonna tweak some of my own Klaus Schulze patches based on some of your approaches... Anyway, great covers and in-depth explanations... more please.
@@TaurusTarkus some comments about the Hydrasynth will say don't touch the mutants if you want analog sound... but I think you can get some nice movement and also sculpt the sound by using them... very small amounts and then modulate them a little... I like to try them out with the filter wide open and try out different waves to hear what a mutant does and then set the filter up. But I'm pretty much a hacker at it, far from any wizard. Oh and turn down the OSC volume a bit as some of them can really get nasty.
@@robinchard9464 Thanks! The mutants are the most confusing part for me, but then again, I'm almost always going for analog sounds. Thanks for the tips.
I should have mentioned those opening sounds. White noise wind on the lower layer. The upper patch can be summarized with a fairly short list of parameters: Triangle waves (one single oscillator jumps out at you more, although I blended two slightly detuned together with one being a little louder), filter key tracking about 1/3, Filter around 30, Resonance 40, Filter Amount 35. Filter EG 0, 45, 87, 70 and Amp EG 0, 52, 0, 70. That will get you pretty close.
When I was looking to get my first and only poly synth, I was torn between the Prophet and the Hydrasynth. In the end, I got the Prophet because it had 5 octaves vs Hydrasynths 4, 16 voices vs 8 and you could split and layer the sounds on the Prophet. Then, a couple of months after buying the Prophet, ASM came out with the Deluxe with 6 octaves, 16 voices and split and layering, on top of having polyphonic aftertouch and the ribbon controller. I really like my Rev 2, but if the timing had been a little different, I think I might have ended up with the Hydrasynth. If you could only have one, which would you pick?
It's a great question, and I'm not sure I should answer it yet. When I first bought the HydraSynth, I was mostly disappointed with it. I have not found the presets very pleasing. So for most of the last 14-15 months of owning it, it would have been an easy decision with me much preferring the Rev2. It has the benefit of also having all the sounds that I programmed into the Prophet '08 years ago, which could easily be transferred over. I have programmed enough sounds that I really love in the Rev2 that I should probably make a collection to sell. But as I mention in "Sounds of Blade Runner," the HydraSynth is definitely growing on me. I should probably try to program some of my favorite patches of the Rev2 into the HydraSynth and see how they compare. I have only really done that once: That patch is close, but the Rev2 does sound better.
I've heard very good things about Arturia's CS-80. I saw Eddie Jobson several times, and he was using it, which is a great endorsement given what he did with the CS-80 years ago.
Thanks! Live in NY? There are lots of Fender Rhodes patches in the Montage. On the Montage, do a search for Keyboard and then Electric Piano. There was also and may still be a free set of Chick Corea Fender Rhodes patches. I had downloaded it to check them out but didn't keep them, as I was trying to save memory. I think the two I used in this cover are: One of the options in "Rd1 Gallery 2" and "Case 73 Soft", on which I turned up the Depth of the Trem/Rtr effect which Auto Pans from Left to Right in a pleasing way. I use Valhalla VintageVerb.
@@newYorkStories We were there last weekend to see Come From Away again before it closes. I bought my Montage from Armen's, the Hydrasynth from Three Wave Music, and at least one of the Prophets from Pro Audio Star.
@@TaurusTarkus Thank you so much! I found the sound and the Trem/Rtr effect, but how can you turn up the depth? I only have options like E-Piano, Smooth, Oval, Right Turn, Super Slow. Not trying to recreate your sound, just trying to understand how my synth works ;)
Cool video, thank you. The Hydrasynth Deluxe is the closest we have right now to the CS80, with its polyphonic aftertouch, ribbon and two synth parts, each with 8 voice polyphony. Yes it is digital, but it is very good.
Thanks! Yes, I forgot to mention the two synth parts! While many synthesizers are two oscillators blended together, the CS-80 is basically two single oscillator synthesizers blended together. Much more powerful! Each can have its own E.G. for Filter and Amp, etc. Additionally, the Hydrasynths's ability to have a 12-pole high pass filter going in series into a low pass filter (each with resonance) has additional potential to get us closer to those CS-80 sounds.
@@TaurusTarkus Have you ever tried the Arturia PolyBrute? Fully analog, bi-timbral, 2 filters, very nice ribbon controller, and a kind of fake poly AT. Drawback: only 6 voices. The Hydrasynth is excellent, but the PolyBrute comes even closer to the CS-80.
@@RayyMusik I only played it briefly in a store. I am sure that I would love it. ...perhaps more than the HydraSynth. The number of voices can be an issue with big string pads. I sometimes use the Prophets in 16 voice mode rather than 8 because of voices cutting out. But I would surely love the analog oscillators. If I had one, I would definitely get the VCM sound pack by Creative Spiral. His work made a huge difference with my Prophets.
The first sound after the white noise... Yes, I should have said something about that! As you can see at the beginning, I played the patch on the Prophet. I made the patch with two Triangle wave Oscillators. The Amp EG is around A = 0, D = 50, Sus = 0, Rel = 70. The Cutoff was 25, Res 40, Env Amt 34. I play the first 12 measures with little if anything repeating... (sometimes it sounds like single notes, and some are two note chords.) I then land on five measures that repeat for much of it until the Choir part, where it is a little different... and then sort of goes back to the beginning for the end. Given how it moves around I tend to think that it was played by hand, but then, I don't know as much about sequencers.
Love this vid. I love my Hydra. I use mostly to play my Peak tbh. The best of both worlds. It's not that the Hydra doesn't have great sound. I feel I just have to work harder to get it if you ask me.
Many thanks! Yes, we have to work a little harder to get what we want out of the Hydrasynth... This is also true of the Prophet Rev2 compared to, for example, a Prophet 5 or even a Prophet-6. I think the Prophet Rev2 (with DCOs) can hold its own with these VCO synthesizers, but it takes a little more work to program. The first Hydrasynth lead I used in Rachel's Song is my attempt to copy one of my favorite Rev2 patches into the Hydrasynth, and the Hydrasynth holds up pretty well, especially for single notes.
OK this may sound dumb? What’s the difference of a workstation synth an arranger and a sequencer? An old analog guy asking? Anyone feel free to chime in!
I'm not the best person to ask, but: We had sequencers back in the analog days. (A favorite example is the end of Karn Evil 9 by ELP.) Most people think of sequencers as playing a sequence of notes/pitches automatically, but a sequencer can make other changes as well: alterations in tunings, cutoff frequencies, etc. An arpeggiator plays the notes of a chord that you hold in various patterns. (Duran Duran used those on a number of hits.)Some say the main difference between a workstation and an arranger is that the arranger keyboard does auto-accompaniment: The keyboard will provide backing tracks that automatically match the playing. Even very cheap keyboards have cheesy version of this. I think the workstation term may have started with the Korg M1, which allowed us to sequence higher quality bass, drums, and a variety of other sounds all together and then play along with it. I had an M1, and it was a big step forward and had some lovely sounds.
A bit late in the piece looking at the date on this video, however, I am in awe of you setup and capabilities.. I really appreciate you sharing your in-depth knowledge. I am recently retired and decided to take up learning keys (Not previously an instrumentalist... Engineer... Nerdy ) with a passion for Vangelis. Can't say I am great yet but get a blast out of trying. I purchased some Vangelis sheet music (Piano in an Empty Room, Lonesome, Longing, Antarctic Echoes, Abrahams theme etc.) but that really is for a solo instrument. You are opening my eyes to incorporating the other important sounds such as vocals and bass that will help me get more out of my attempts. :) Thanks so much for taking the time to share your endeavors and though late in the piece, I hope to watch and learn more. Much Appreciated.
Many thanks for the encouragement! Each time I have made one of these talking videos, I have been insecure about posting it, so I'm always pleased when people enjoy them. I think many keyboardists come from a STEM background, as you need to have a certain type of mind to get some of this stuff. I also love that many people, like you, are getting more involved in music now that they have more time in retirement. I'm especially curious about the music that you purchased: Where did you find sheet music to Piano in an Empty Room, Lonesome, and Longing???
Abrahams Theme
Alpha C# Minor
Antarctic Echoes
Blade runner Love Theme
Conquest Of Paradise
Five Circles
Lonesome
Longhing
Love Them (For Simple Saxaphone)
Memories of Green
Missing Db Major
Piano in an Empty Room
Prelude
Unfulfilled Desire
To a Friend@@TaurusTarkus
There is more sheet music available for Vangelis that I had thought. I usually end up doing a lot of transcribing, which I find very tedious.
I like this type of video, like the vangelis soundtrack. Greek brilliance.
Many thanks.
I love this series! Keep it up! Would love to see you do Stranger Things synth analysis (if you also enjoy it as much as I do)
Thanks for your comments! And thanks for the idea; I really enjoy the music of Stranger Things as well. I am not as familiar with the specific instruments that they use, but there are always different ways to get very similar sounds.
Thank you. Love this!
Thanks! It's fun talking about this stuff. Hopefully you found my new one about Tears in Rain: Sounds of Blade Runner.
Very nice. Thanks for sharing. Yes, please do more of these videos. I also like to listen people sharing experiences about exploring Vangelis musical world.
Thanks for watching and for all your comments. I really appreciate them. I was nervous about publishing these talking/demo videos given all the online negativity, but people have been supportive. I love talking about keyboards, and so I try to make something that I would have found interesting and helpful a year or so earlier.
@@TaurusTarkus I understand your nervousness but I don't understand why people must be negative. One of the best things that the social networks offer, is the ability to share knowledge and experiences and there's nothing to be negative about it, unless people are sharing lies or obnoxious issues.
I never shared my knowledge in a TH-cam tutorial... never thought about it, but I did and keep sharing (what I can and know) with people that I become friends with trough the social networks.
Unfortunately, sharing music in TH-cam never got many likes (like many issues that are mostly irrelevant but shocking or funny) but to me, tutorials or sincere conversations about human issues always will have an interesting place in the media space.
I like to imagine that after all the noise is filtered, the human race is building an interesting "Video-pedia" where one can find honest, scientific and fundamental truths or in many cases explanations for almost anything human.
Resuming, never be ashamed or feel nervous about sharing or promote healthy conversations.
About Keyboards and tech related to music, yeah... I love those. In fact, recently I decided to gather all the information I could /can about Vangelis system because I'm trying to replicate it on my own studio, using modern available tech. If this interests you, I can share more about it. Stay safe.
Amazing Thanks for the Demos
Thanks. Glad you liked them. I've thought about doing one of my Hammond setup, which currently is a rig job so that I can use a guitar amp to drive the Leslie, but I think most of my audience is more interested in the synthesizers.
@@TaurusTarkus Thanks again for all you do!
@@TaurusTarkus would love to see your Hammond setup! I learned phantom of the Opera on a Hammond with foot keyboard from sheet music
I appreciate the encouragement! Having a TH-cam channel is mostly a lonely pursuit, and comments like yours really keep me going.
Thanks! At some point, I do think I will make a video about my Hammond setup, which is pretty unconventional. I have the Phantom of the Opera songbook, and used to play around with it with a pipe organ sound on my DX7. But I would really love the score that they actually play in the theater, which has a lot more going on.
Really like the howto information. I've been listening to Vangelis since the mid 70s and you've done a great job of deconstructing the sounds. I have a Hydrasynth Deluxe as well and it's great to hear about the small tweaks you've done to get just the right sound... gonna tweak some of my own Klaus Schulze patches based on some of your approaches... Anyway, great covers and in-depth explanations... more please.
Thanks! I'm still trying to get my head around some things with the HydraSynth. I have a lot to learn, but there's only so much time in a day.
@@TaurusTarkus some comments about the Hydrasynth will say don't touch the mutants if you want analog sound... but I think you can get some nice movement and also sculpt the sound by using them... very small amounts and then modulate them a little... I like to try them out with the filter wide open and try out different waves to hear what a mutant does and then set the filter up. But I'm pretty much a hacker at it, far from any wizard. Oh and turn down the OSC volume a bit as some of them can really get nasty.
@@robinchard9464 Thanks! The mutants are the most confusing part for me, but then again, I'm almost always going for analog sounds. Thanks for the tips.
I'd love a video on how you programmed those opening rain notes..
I should have mentioned those opening sounds. White noise wind on the lower layer. The upper patch can be summarized with a fairly short list of parameters: Triangle waves (one single oscillator jumps out at you more, although I blended two slightly detuned together with one being a little louder), filter key tracking about 1/3, Filter around 30, Resonance 40, Filter Amount 35. Filter EG 0, 45, 87, 70 and Amp EG 0, 52, 0, 70. That will get you pretty close.
Excellent presentation!
Many thanks!
When I was looking to get my first and only poly synth, I was torn between the Prophet and the Hydrasynth. In the end, I got the Prophet because it had 5 octaves vs Hydrasynths 4, 16 voices vs 8 and you could split and layer the sounds on the Prophet. Then, a couple of months after buying the Prophet, ASM came out with the Deluxe with 6 octaves, 16 voices and split and layering, on top of having polyphonic aftertouch and the ribbon controller. I really like my Rev 2, but if the timing had been a little different, I think I might have ended up with the Hydrasynth. If you could only have one, which would you pick?
It's a great question, and I'm not sure I should answer it yet. When I first bought the HydraSynth, I was mostly disappointed with it. I have not found the presets very pleasing. So for most of the last 14-15 months of owning it, it would have been an easy decision with me much preferring the Rev2. It has the benefit of also having all the sounds that I programmed into the Prophet '08 years ago, which could easily be transferred over. I have programmed enough sounds that I really love in the Rev2 that I should probably make a collection to sell. But as I mention in "Sounds of Blade Runner," the HydraSynth is definitely growing on me. I should probably try to program some of my favorite patches of the Rev2 into the HydraSynth and see how they compare. I have only really done that once: That patch is close, but the Rev2 does sound better.
@@TaurusTarkus you are one of the only channels that respond to us normal people! Lol
Some massive sounds there! I’ve got into the CS-80 via the Arturia VST lately and the Library for Yamaha MODX/Montage.
I've heard very good things about Arturia's CS-80. I saw Eddie Jobson several times, and he was using it, which is a great endorsement given what he did with the CS-80 years ago.
Amazing! Where can I find Fender Rhodes for the Montage? And what kind of reverb are you using?
Thanks! Live in NY? There are lots of Fender Rhodes patches in the Montage. On the Montage, do a search for Keyboard and then Electric Piano. There was also and may still be a free set of Chick Corea Fender Rhodes patches. I had downloaded it to check them out but didn't keep them, as I was trying to save memory. I think the two I used in this cover are: One of the options in "Rd1 Gallery 2" and "Case 73 Soft", on which I turned up the Depth of the Trem/Rtr effect which Auto Pans from Left to Right in a pleasing way. I use Valhalla VintageVerb.
@@TaurusTarkus oh right. I have the Chick Corea set as well.
Yes, I live in NYC
@@newYorkStories We were there last weekend to see Come From Away again before it closes. I bought my Montage from Armen's, the Hydrasynth from Three Wave Music, and at least one of the Prophets from Pro Audio Star.
@@TaurusTarkus Thank you so much! I found the sound and the Trem/Rtr effect, but how can you turn up the depth? I only have options like E-Piano, Smooth, Oval, Right Turn, Super Slow. Not trying to recreate your sound, just trying to understand how my synth works ;)
@@TaurusTarkus Do you live a day trip away from NYC? I got my MODX at Sam Ash, my Hydrasynth from Sweetwater, and my Prophet is virtual ;)
Cool video, thank you. The Hydrasynth Deluxe is the closest we have right now to the CS80, with its polyphonic aftertouch, ribbon and two synth parts, each with 8 voice polyphony. Yes it is digital, but it is very good.
Thanks! Yes, I forgot to mention the two synth parts! While many synthesizers are two oscillators blended together, the CS-80 is basically two single oscillator synthesizers blended together. Much more powerful! Each can have its own E.G. for Filter and Amp, etc. Additionally, the Hydrasynths's ability to have a 12-pole high pass filter going in series into a low pass filter (each with resonance) has additional potential to get us closer to those CS-80 sounds.
@@TaurusTarkus Have you ever tried the Arturia PolyBrute? Fully analog, bi-timbral, 2 filters, very nice ribbon controller, and a kind of fake poly AT. Drawback: only 6 voices. The Hydrasynth is excellent, but the PolyBrute comes even closer to the CS-80.
@@RayyMusik I only played it briefly in a store. I am sure that I would love it. ...perhaps more than the HydraSynth. The number of voices can be an issue with big string pads. I sometimes use the Prophets in 16 voice mode rather than 8 because of voices cutting out. But I would surely love the analog oscillators. If I had one, I would definitely get the VCM sound pack by Creative Spiral. His work made a huge difference with my Prophets.
what about this "pluck" aperggio? it's maybe a random sequence in the jupiter 4?
The first sound after the white noise... Yes, I should have said something about that! As you can see at the beginning, I played the patch on the Prophet. I made the patch with two Triangle wave Oscillators. The Amp EG is around A = 0, D = 50, Sus = 0, Rel = 70. The Cutoff was 25, Res 40, Env Amt 34. I play the first 12 measures with little if anything repeating... (sometimes it sounds like single notes, and some are two note chords.) I then land on five measures that repeat for much of it until the Choir part, where it is a little different... and then sort of goes back to the beginning for the end. Given how it moves around I tend to think that it was played by hand, but then, I don't know as much about sequencers.
@@TaurusTarkus thank you!
Love this vid. I love my Hydra. I use mostly to play my Peak tbh. The best of both worlds. It's not that the Hydra doesn't have great sound. I feel I just have to work harder to get it if you ask me.
Many thanks! Yes, we have to work a little harder to get what we want out of the Hydrasynth... This is also true of the Prophet Rev2 compared to, for example, a Prophet 5 or even a Prophet-6. I think the Prophet Rev2 (with DCOs) can hold its own with these VCO synthesizers, but it takes a little more work to program. The first Hydrasynth lead I used in Rachel's Song is my attempt to copy one of my favorite Rev2 patches into the Hydrasynth, and the Hydrasynth holds up pretty well, especially for single notes.
OK this may sound dumb? What’s the difference of a workstation synth an arranger and a sequencer? An old analog guy asking? Anyone feel free to chime in!
I'm not the best person to ask, but: We had sequencers back in the analog days. (A favorite example is the end of Karn Evil 9 by ELP.) Most people think of sequencers as playing a sequence of notes/pitches automatically, but a sequencer can make other changes as well: alterations in tunings, cutoff frequencies, etc. An arpeggiator plays the notes of a chord that you hold in various patterns. (Duran Duran used those on a number of hits.)Some say the main difference between a workstation and an arranger is that the arranger keyboard does auto-accompaniment: The keyboard will provide backing tracks that automatically match the playing. Even very cheap keyboards have cheesy version of this. I think the workstation term may have started with the Korg M1, which allowed us to sequence higher quality bass, drums, and a variety of other sounds all together and then play along with it. I had an M1, and it was a big step forward and had some lovely sounds.