I never appreciated how hard it is to write "how to" content until I had to do it for work (accounting software lol!). You never know what they don't know, lol!
Would be cool to hear more about your time at Quasimidi, honestly. I bet those must've been interesting days and as these sounds are the ones I grew up with, I'd love to hear about the people behind them.
@@Superjenson it's so '90s that the name coincides with 1991's Argentine cyberpunk comic Cybersix (later made anime in '99 as サイバーシックス). I wonder if it's just coincidence or it was some kind of homage but it screams '90s nonetheless.
"German" Quasimidi logo with Belgian flag. I know you did it on purpose to get people to engage in the comments. I like it. You deserve the engagement ;)
Two majors you missed on that one 1.turn all fx off and you'll be amazed. 2. Every parameters off the synth works on the drums as well if you hold the select channel keep holding and twix the synth parameters. Keep up the great job !!
This was my first synth I bought at age 16 from my first self earned money. Synced up with ReBirth RB-338 it was an endless source of jamming fun with my friend! Thanks a lot for finally making this episode! Looked forward for a long time and wasn't disappointed at all. I just KNEW you'd make banging jams with it!
The Spectralis can have a very steep learning curve for the first 5-10 hours, but/and it sounds so good you might take longer (like I did). Arguably the most professional-sounding and possibly most capable of all 'grooveboxes' next to the RS-7000.
Holy shit though, that workflow is pretty brilliant with the pattern change knob per "motif" and the "special loop" motifs you can throw in. Sounds like a dream for live performance! It would be awesome to see a remake of this with the advances we've made in technology and more modern sounds!
That concept of motifs and patterns seems (to me at least) to be some sort of proto-clip-launching, way better than the usual pattern/song style of most groove boxes.
@@thedoublek4816 Yeah, even today it's still uncommon to find hardware which uses a clip/scene workflow instead of patterns. The first time I encountered something like clips+scenes was back in ~2000 or so with Jeskola Buzz, and I could tell immediately it was a huge upgrade compared to a chain of patterns... ... but it has been weirdly unpopular. I wasn't able to do that sort of thing in hardware until I got an Akai Force, two decades later. And it hasn't really caught on like its pattern-based siblings like MPC or Digitakt. So it's 2021 and most of our electronic music hardware _still_ pushes people to make short loops instead of focusing on melodic progression... and that makes me sad.
@@ToyKeeper great comment it is the sort of thing that makes 70s bands like Heldon sound fresh even today as they did melodic synth lines over disssonant percussion beds.
Would love to see more effects covered with synths and drum machines! There's a massive amount out of reviews out there, but very few good ones without guitars.
@@AudioPilz Do a Boss Metal Zone! You can start off under the typical guise of using it as distortion for acid bass lines and then trying it on other gear & sounds (wonder if it would make good gabber/hardcore drums?)
I am sick of the obligatory guitar solo on effects that would excel on a synth.... Out of the countless effects videos only 1 or 2 guitarists played something sublime, the rest was, well.... you know
It's so obvious that Schaaf worked on this beast. I sold my Accelerator to a friend and in the past two years we still can't figure out a reliable method for saving our patches...but Radikal and Quasimidi sound so damn good! So worth it.
I've actually seen the xx7s recommended as good sequencers fairly often (a few years ago); but who cares, anything being on this show is good (and I never want him to run out of gear, heh)
I cannot believe it. This is like seeing an old friend on holiday. My mate had one and it was basically what got me into hardware properly. Back then it felt like only scientists would understand it though and I always wanted to buy one but couldn't afford them and they're soooo rare! I was gonna ask if I could buy your one until you said it was on loan. OMG so many instant flashbacks from those sounds. They sounded soooo deliciously brash.
Oh GOD I wish you made more music like this, I was seriously pumping my Stereo to the MAX during your 3 examples, and images of the historys greatest scientist so lovlingly framed in gold in my home, nearly fell off the walls during the time I listened to your pumping throbbing techno attempts!
Finally a synth that I actually had myself, it was my first synthesizer after toying around with trackers on PC. Happy to say that after many years and currency units spents on varying pieces of hard- and software my music output hasn't gotten much better than with the 309 anyway.
With an Atari ST, MMt 8 or MC50 to drive it ,the 309 wasn't too shabby. The sounds were decent for their day, but the dsp which managed the multi-timbral crushing activity on the main (only) output was the weakpoint on all of Quasimidi's synths. I owned a "KwahZah" for a few years, and multi-timbrally, it sounded dire in that particularly over-ambitious 90s way, but with a multi firing on a single midi channel, it was immense. The music shop I worked in sold gazillions of 309s, and vast amount of the output expansions. The fact that there were always a few customer returns in the synth sickbay was a sign that the OS and DSP occasionally had a fight which neither won.
I met Freidhelm and Jorg in 2000 at a Synth Museum event, and we got properly tipsy with the good doctor. I would hazard a guess that after the company folded, they went back to being devs for hire.
@@AudioPilz There were only four or five people at Quasimidi, , so they could never keep up with demand, and that also meant that debugging and dev support was a bit limited. There were two major updates to the OS that I recall, but flashing them was fraught with peril.
@@secretelitemusic "I would hazard a guess that after the company folded" - do you know why it folded, exactly? I couldn't find any article that gave an actual reason for it - especially since their products were quite popular.
I really love your content. Hadn't had this much fun with an electronic music production channel in youtube since, well, ever. Congratulations on producing such enjoyable videos.
I had one of those and sold it about 13 years ago, and sometimes I think "should I have saved it?" but like you said , it was super frustrating to use, and the lack of saving made me hate it. I think I got $300 for it on eBay at the time. It is very easy to hate if for those reasons. Great vid again, and the dancing anime guys at the end fit like a Michael Jackson glove.
I get upset when channels like Bo’s has all these subscribers- but this gem is still under 50k. A synth channel with originally content and boss video editing.
You must spend a lot of time getting all the pop culture reference bits together. Great vid once again. Quasimidi might just be the best ever name for a 'zehr Deutsch' synth/gear company.
What I find amusing about this hardware instrument is the kind of appearance that on 2D image only makes it look like it actually is a plug-in. I can almost picture teens of 2020’s looking at this and going “Wooooow, dad! Did you 3D-print the VST? That’s so cooool!!!”.
Keep in mind that so many of gadget-related common sense we have lived by do not make slightest sense to them - so much so that they would fearlessly ask you what it is that you are rewinding, and/or express that CDs are way cooler than phones because they can provide music playback even when you are offline. Oh, and they would probably assume that you actually recreated “Save button” on a 3D-printer if you were to hold a floppy disk in front of them.
the fact that he played his boiler room sets and recorded his albums WITH ONLY a MC-303 is a feat of legends. infinitely inspiring, i desperately wanna bring a single piece of all encompassing analog hardware/groovebox and effects to the live sets i play just like Dixon.
Apart from the 2-line display, that both looks and sounds like tons of fun. I am actually rather jealous of the 8-bar pattern length (cries in digitakt).
I loved my fully maxed out rave o lution so much back in the day. The interface was quite user friendly and it's midi was rock solid. The samples itself didn't age that well and needed a lot of work to make them sit in the mix. But it was used by my hero Klaus Schultze and anything he used I craved for. Fun fact: my first beats were made with an Amiga and used samples of the album Timewind. Later in life I could sell mine for a very decent price and I used the money to buy an MPC 1000. That machine was and still is a class in itself.
Thanks for posting, I had that in but had to rigorously edit the whole overview section as it was getting much too long for people who are less into the technical aspects (or will most probably never see a 309 in the flesh;)
People: "the MC303 is useless" Terrence Dixon: *plays a full 40-minute set on one* People: "The MC303 gets too slow when you use all the tracks" Terrence Dixon: *uses fucking 3 of them at once*
Apparently Charlie Clouser used one of these when they were recording drums for the Nine Inch Nails album "The Fragile." I believe the "Starfuckers, Inc" drum beat was borne out of the Rave-O-Lution 309 (most likely quite heavily edited with post processing as most things were on that album). It's pretty cool. Too bad they're not easier to afford.
Sounds like Quasimidi are all over late 90s KMFDM also. I used to play with the Sirius they had at the Wurlitzer store in Boston, and when "Symbols" came out my ears and hands remembered.
Had one of these for about 10 years and although it was constructed well, had pretty good sounds and panel layout the workflow and menu system was absolutely HORRENDOUS. Confusing as ever and very easy to accidentally delete or screw up loads of work accidentally. The person I bought it from had thrown it across the room several times in frustration and I thought I'd rescue it by buying it off him. The only thing I regret is not gutting out the inside and redesigning the internals because it's a pretty awesome layout.
If we're talking the rave scene and serious menu diving, I wonder what's your take on the E-MU series, especially the over-engineered and yet ubiquitous Proteus 2000. Though if you can get your hands on a XL-7....
The key advantages to the 309 was that you could make it sound good in a club no matter how much ecstasy or meth you had ‘accidentally’ ingested before the gig. I promise I do not speak from experience.
Awkward , Complicated And Frustrating No Doubt But As A Drum Machine , I Think It's A Great Piece Of Gear If You Can Get One At The Right Price . I Love It . Awesome Review As Always !
My very first gear at all I bought in 1996... the passion has never ended and love was even stronger so that there´s still enough room for 309s... plus lots of more Quasimidi sibblings 😇
I have 2 x Sirius (I got sent two by mistake when I only ordered one) and a Raven. The Sirius is also "Bad gear" but I still love it. I never Owned the 309 as the Sirius could do the same things, plus a bit more.
This Quasimidi is more serious than the Sirius Quasimidi, imho. Actually... I just prefer the absence of a keyboard. From my notes... and suggestions for future shows. * = you already nailed it! Quasimidi Caruso (1993) Quasimidi Quasar (1994) synth module Quasimidi Raven (1995) dance music synth Quasimidi Cyber 6 (1995) master keyboard *Quasimidi Technox (1995) synth module *Quasimidi Rave-O-Lution 309 (1996) synth module/groovebox *Quasimidi Sirius (1997) [this thing is pretty!] Quasimidi Polymorph (1999)
I really liked quasimidi, real innovative company in meeting demand that the big companies seemed to ignore at the time. Maybe sound a bit dated and despite of their limitations, if they were a bit more affordable I’d still buy their old tech now! Hope you can get your hands on a raven/cyber6 one day to see what you can do it.
I have tried so many times to justify owning one. After getting a basic model which needed all the pots to be replaced, got an upgraded one and it sounded flatter than the other, oh well! MIDI would always drift and let’s not talk about programming the sequencer. It’s a great form factor, full of functionalities yet the software was never refined
this was a good one. not a drop touched all episode until the memefunk finale then at least five or six thirty gulps at the end. all that suspense then a twist at the end. not to mention the refil or timetravel for the shoutouts. epic stuff
I have TWO of these and they are the most amazing boxes! One does NOT work right and holy moly does it to strange things for me. I NEVER used it to save anything. I would use these for Live PA and use the drum patterns MIDI OUT to trigger other synths since my 2x EA1's limited me to 4 synth tracks. I am happy to have two, hoping to get the one weird one going again right some day, but it worked then and will still work for me now. What an epic box. I paid a LOT for these things 15+ years ago. Like $350!!! One has the expansion, cost the same :D
Such a shame these expanded things cost two kidneys and a little toe because it just looks fun. Might not have the most elaborate synth ever onboard, but a fun little device to make sketch out some little ideas on. Or so it seems. Drums sounds nice and punchy!
Hey there to save a pattern you just created. ------ Edit button > pattern select user > OK > Motif:USR*00 then Page arrow 3 times to (drumgrid) insert your pattern on the drumgrid then exit out of edit mode then press Write button. choose option 2- store pattern > OK to pattern P 01 OK exit edit mode and should be sorted
Oh my i still have one fully functioning with all the extra output channels and latest official firmware. What really killed the mood with this one is the squencer hiccups while live editing. It's kinda usable to use it with a external sequencer (like beatstep over MIDI for example) and turning off all internal effects and shenanigans.
Hi. I bought mine in1996 I still have it and use it. It’s has the expansion synths. Can you please tell me what OS are you with ? And how does one upgrade the OS. Thanks
@@grandmasterjo1 The OS can only be upgraded by getting a new Firmware Chip (ebay for example). If you are technically experienced there are ways to get an unofficial firmware (3.0b i think) and flash the EEPROM yourself, but thats not an easy task. I just opened up the 309 to look at the Chip - It says V 2.0 e.
@@i_never_asked_for_an_alias Thank you so much. I just checked for the chip on eBay. It’s available for $29.99. Is there any link to see the details what the ver. 3 has to offer ? Thanks again
Luckily the Polymorph later was quite improved, great sequencer and better synth engine. I never thought that the Quasimidi prices would increase that much, bought ours used for round 650 Euro early 2000's... now these are 1200-1500. (???)
Damn, i bought one about 7 years ago fully upgraded with the sounds and outputs for about 470 euro. Sold it for the same price too about 2 years later. If only i knew 👀
Nice to see all the gear thats have been made over the years I didnt know about this musicstation before Its sounds good though and your own comments are so damn entertaining, the video and photoclips brings it to an even higher level love your channel . Every friday is Audio- Pilz day....
Superb. Your channel is the go to place to review gear I owned once! I miss the 309, it was a gnarly money pit - the software upgrades came from a distributor in Miami on EEPROM chips - expensive - and delivery was.. erratic? I upgraded a few times and got the audio output, but ended up selling it. You totally nailed the frustration of accidentally losing work. It might still be my favorite drum machine, but the synth part, and the bugs, I don't miss. Banging channel, mate, keep it up.
@@AudioPilz I have the sirius on the wantedlist for quite awhile now. I'd trade it for the 309. Have you tried that other Quasimidi monster Raven yet? Huge and heavy motherf***!
Whaaat, you’re destroying my youth - the best machine we had at this time. Blame Roland. Ok, joking. But wait - German machine🇩🇪 with a Belgian flag 🇧🇪 ????? Wrong pill?
Actually I am the guy who had to write those manuals back in the days! I'm happy that you enjoyed them so much!!! :-)
I hope there are no hard feelings;)
@@AudioPilz 🤪
@@AudioPilz no! The QM-trauma has been processed! And I‘m glad to see that you are a proud Sirius-Owner too! 👍👍👍
I never appreciated how hard it is to write "how to" content until I had to do it for work (accounting software lol!). You never know what they don't know, lol!
Would be cool to hear more about your time at Quasimidi, honestly. I bet those must've been interesting days and as these sounds are the ones I grew up with, I'd love to hear about the people behind them.
Nothing says 90's like the product name "Quasimidi Rave-0-Lution" despite the almost Buchla-like design language
Yeah, it won't get any more 90s than this;)
@@AudioPilz Quasimidi also had the Cyber-6
@@Superjenson it's so '90s that the name coincides with 1991's Argentine cyberpunk comic Cybersix (later made anime in '99 as サイバーシックス). I wonder if it's just coincidence or it was some kind of homage but it screams '90s nonetheless.
Smell O Vision!
@@Superjenson But the Cyber-6 is not a synth though.... it’s “only” a master keyboard 🎹
"German" Quasimidi logo with Belgian flag. I know you did it on purpose to get people to engage in the comments. I like it. You deserve the engagement ;)
Thanks! Geography was never my strong suit;)
Haha, I know people in Bavaria who call Austria Süd-Bayern ;)
This show is aging like fine wine. Not a friday evening goes by without Bad Gear :)
Agreed! The only issue is that it is early saturday morning in my time zone X-)
Thank you so much!
M
Mhh
Jmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmhm
The main loop in NIN’s Starfuckers Inc. is a Rave-o-lution through a fuzz pedal.
I've heard that too, certainly sounds that way!!!
Yes, we WOULD like pedals on a bad Gear episode!
Nice, thanks for the feedback!
I can't hear you I am listening through a wah wah peddle.
Blow this comment Up! Yes please!
Bro I can't wait for him to do his best to make a Metal Zone sound good 😂
@@NullFX Why would he have to do his best if it already sounds good?
And extra points for the Space Dandy dance scene. Awesome sauce.
Thanks! Space Dandy is truly weird!
He is truly a dandy. In space. Love ya channel dude, all ableton myself but consistently impressed with the noises you coax out.
Two majors you missed on that one 1.turn all fx off and you'll be amazed. 2. Every parameters off the synth works on the drums as well if you hold the select channel keep holding and twix the synth parameters. Keep up the great job !!
Agreed on both accounts. I had these in but the episode was already much too long for the less-initiated;)
This was my first synth I bought at age 16 from my first self earned money. Synced up with ReBirth RB-338 it was an endless source of jamming fun with my friend!
Thanks a lot for finally making this episode! Looked forward for a long time and wasn't disappointed at all. I just KNEW you'd make banging jams with it!
Thanks you so much! Great first synth!
Everything Quasimidi makes me wish it had survived the 90s they all sound great but could all be done better now.
Have you tried the gear of Jörg Schaaf's Radikal Technologies?
@@AudioPilz Sounds like something I have to do.
The Spectralis can have a very steep learning curve for the first 5-10 hours, but/and it sounds so good you might take longer (like I did).
Arguably the most professional-sounding and possibly most capable of all 'grooveboxes' next to the RS-7000.
Finally the best part of Friday, bad gear brings me joy every week
Have a nice weekend!
Same!
Absolutely.
Holy shit though, that workflow is pretty brilliant with the pattern change knob per "motif" and the "special loop" motifs you can throw in. Sounds like a dream for live performance! It would be awesome to see a remake of this with the advances we've made in technology and more modern sounds!
That concept of motifs and patterns seems (to me at least) to be some sort of proto-clip-launching, way better than the usual pattern/song style of most groove boxes.
Yeah, Quasimidi really upped the game back then
@@thedoublek4816 Yeah, even today it's still uncommon to find hardware which uses a clip/scene workflow instead of patterns. The first time I encountered something like clips+scenes was back in ~2000 or so with Jeskola Buzz, and I could tell immediately it was a huge upgrade compared to a chain of patterns...
... but it has been weirdly unpopular. I wasn't able to do that sort of thing in hardware until I got an Akai Force, two decades later. And it hasn't really caught on like its pattern-based siblings like MPC or Digitakt. So it's 2021 and most of our electronic music hardware _still_ pushes people to make short loops instead of focusing on melodic progression... and that makes me sad.
@@ToyKeeper great comment it is the sort of thing that makes 70s bands like Heldon sound fresh even today as they did melodic synth lines over disssonant percussion beds.
I didnt know this machine but now I love it.
“Life begins at 130 BPM” Haha! I love that
It's a scientific truth;)
Would love to see more effects covered with synths and drum machines! There's a massive amount out of reviews out there, but very few good ones without guitars.
I thought the exact same thing, thanks for the feedback!
@@AudioPilz Do a Boss Metal Zone! You can start off under the typical guise of using it as distortion for acid bass lines and then trying it on other gear & sounds (wonder if it would make good gabber/hardcore drums?)
I am sick of the obligatory guitar solo on effects that would excel on a synth.... Out of the countless effects videos only 1 or 2 guitarists played something sublime, the rest was, well.... you know
@@i-never-look-at-replies-lol there's already an MT2 episode out there (it was one of the first on the channel;)
This is the drum machine I'd want today with Quasimidi Polymorph
Maybe try to recreate JMJs "wall";)
Anything that has rave in its name is going to produce nothing but bangers.
Wise words!
It's so obvious that Schaaf worked on this beast. I sold my Accelerator to a friend and in the past two years we still can't figure out a reliable method for saving our patches...but Radikal and Quasimidi sound so damn good! So worth it.
Yeah, Mr. Schaaf is a great guy too!
There's a write button and then you can use the scroll wheel to choose pattern, song, sound, fx, etc. It's not difficult to save your work
Maybe an emu groovebox like the MP7 next
Agreed, this channel is completely under-EMUed;) thanks for the suggestion!
The Proteus 1 is among the "worst" gear ever. By the time the XX-7's came along, they had mostly gotten their act together.
or EMU orbit 9090 and all the old instrumental grime sounds.
I've actually seen the xx7s recommended as good sequencers fairly often (a few years ago); but who cares, anything being on this show is good (and I never want him to run out of gear, heh)
@@slipknotboy555 excellent sequencers!
I cannot believe it. This is like seeing an old friend on holiday. My mate had one and it was basically what got me into hardware properly. Back then it felt like only scientists would understand it though and I always wanted to buy one but couldn't afford them and they're soooo rare! I was gonna ask if I could buy your one until you said it was on loan. OMG so many instant flashbacks from those sounds. They sounded soooo deliciously brash.
Yeah, these have become hard to find!
@@AudioPilz is it worth grabbing for 300 dollars/270 euros?
@@AnalogFlava not a bad price. They most certainly won't get much cheaper
Friday started ;)
🥳....🤯
Have a nice weekend!
@@AudioPilz waiting for my (referenced) MC-707 to arrive ;)
@@felixpeccatum1705 Nice!! You're going to have a great weekend 😉
Friday bad gear gang represent
Oh GOD I wish you made more music like this, I was seriously pumping my Stereo to the MAX during your 3 examples, and images of the historys greatest scientist so lovlingly framed in gold in my home, nearly fell off the walls during the time I listened to your pumping throbbing techno attempts!
Thank you so much!
Another Friday, Another splendid installment of Bad Gear 💜
Thank you❤️❤️❤️
Finally a synth that I actually had myself, it was my first synthesizer after toying around with trackers on PC. Happy to say that after many years and currency units spents on varying pieces of hard- and software my music output hasn't gotten much better than with the 309 anyway.
Nice first synth! Maybe add an external sequencer...
With an Atari ST, MMt 8 or MC50 to drive it ,the 309 wasn't too shabby. The sounds were decent for their day, but the dsp which managed the multi-timbral crushing activity on the main (only) output was the weakpoint on all of Quasimidi's synths. I owned a "KwahZah" for a few years, and multi-timbrally, it sounded dire in that particularly over-ambitious 90s way, but with a multi firing on a single midi channel, it was immense.
The music shop I worked in sold gazillions of 309s, and vast amount of the output expansions. The fact that there were always a few customer returns in the synth sickbay was a sign that the OS and DSP occasionally had a fight which neither won.
I met Freidhelm and Jorg in 2000 at a Synth Museum event, and we got properly tipsy with the good doctor.
I would hazard a guess that after the company folded, they went back to being devs for hire.
Yup, they really maxed out the possibilities of the time!
@@AudioPilz There were only four or five people at Quasimidi, , so they could never keep up with demand, and that also meant that debugging and dev support was a bit limited. There were two major updates to the OS that I recall, but flashing them was fraught with peril.
@@AudioPilz what exact year did it come out and has it got a slicer effect?
@@secretelitemusic "I would hazard a guess that after the company folded" - do you know why it folded, exactly? I couldn't find any article that gave an actual reason for it - especially since their products were quite popular.
How do you manage to produce something so entertaining and so musical every week? Fantastic. And shoutout to the shoutouts!
Thanks! Shoutout to the shoutout of the shoutouts!
I"m impressed that you got that last bit of snark about Roland nailing "every detail about the MC-303" with a straight face.
Thanks. It took me a few takes;)
Wow - Amazing '96-Box!!
And these vocoder shout-outs are beginning to take shape as a quasi-genre of their own! 🤘💀
Thanks, Rocco!!!
I just rewatched the MC303 episode... Thank you, it's amazing how far you've taken this show in under 2 years!
Thank you so much!
I really love your content. Hadn't had this much fun with an electronic music production channel in youtube since, well, ever. Congratulations on producing such enjoyable videos.
Thank you!!!
I've never heard of this machine. So far ahead of it's time, it seems almost perfect. Bravo Quasimidi!! You should be proud!
Yeah, true pioneers!
This video ticking all the boxes, thanks Pilz and Merry Holidays!
Thanks! Merry Christmas!
I have to say, the equipment really helps determine how much I enjoy your Friday updates. This machine here is particularly peculiar.
The redefinition of particular peculiarity
I had one of those and sold it about 13 years ago, and sometimes I think "should I have saved it?" but like you said , it was super frustrating to use, and the lack of saving made me hate it. I think I got $300 for it on eBay at the time. It is very easy to hate if for those reasons. Great vid again, and the dancing anime guys at the end fit like a Michael Jackson glove.
Thank you!!! It's a bit like holding stocks, you never know;)
Yes, you did it! I had suggested the clunker in the comments a few weeks ago. Many thanks for that. 😘
Thanks for watching!
Great episode as usual, Florian! Yeah... let's definitely add pedals and effects units to the Bad Gear rotation. :D
Thank you!!!
I get upset when channels like Bo’s has all these subscribers- but this gem is still under 50k. A synth channel with originally content and boss video editing.
Thanks but Bo's fame is well deserved. Working on it!!!
I can't believe I didn't realise until now that using tracker based sequencing was like building a spreadsheet.
I wouldn't mind being able to backup groove boxes to Office files
I was NOT expecting the Space Dandy reference today. Nice.
Yeah, weird stuff. Thanks!
You must spend a lot of time getting all the pop culture reference bits together. Great vid once again.
Quasimidi might just be the best ever name for a 'zehr Deutsch' synth/gear company.
Zenk yu!!!
What I find amusing about this hardware instrument is the kind of appearance that on 2D image only makes it look like it actually is a plug-in.
I can almost picture teens of 2020’s looking at this and going “Wooooow, dad! Did you 3D-print the VST? That’s so cooool!!!”.
Keep in mind that so many of gadget-related common sense we have lived by do not make slightest sense to them - so much so that they would fearlessly ask you what it is that you are rewinding, and/or express that CDs are way cooler than phones because they can provide music playback even when you are offline. Oh, and they would probably assume that you actually recreated “Save button” on a 3D-printer if you were to hold a floppy disk in front of them.
Lol, just like the save button;)
Every synth should have an Overblast and Fox-Tickle knob on the output section! Edit: if you're going to do effects, how about the Zoom 1201?
Great idea, I actually had one of these in a live mixing setup. A true nightmare;)
When
I saw the OVERBLAST on my quasi midi I thought it was the coolest thing ever.
@@AudioPilz i have both the 1201 and 1202 if you need review units haha.
Quasimidi made some awesome gear. The synth you have by these guys is a gem..
Yeah, classic 90s!
@4:48 made cottage cheese shoot out my nose. More disturbingly tho, I wasn't eating cottage cheese at the time.
Thanks for the pictures in my head...😂😂😂
i remember when i subscribed when youre still on 1k
what a wonderful bad gear year
Thank you so much!!!
Wow, was not expecting to see Terrence Dixon here. The man's a criminally underrated genius!
Agreed, his MC303 sets are legendary (like all his other stuff)
the fact that he played his boiler room sets and recorded his albums WITH ONLY a MC-303 is a feat of legends. infinitely inspiring, i desperately wanna bring a single piece of all encompassing analog hardware/groovebox and effects to the live sets i play just like Dixon.
i loved mine, maxxed out spec - played everywhere with it
Nice! Great with all the upgrades!
Apart from the 2-line display, that both looks and sounds like tons of fun. I am actually rather jealous of the 8-bar pattern length (cries in digitakt).
Yeah, 8 bars should be a standard!
@@AudioPilz Is it weird to feel mild resentment every time i have to switch the pattern length to 128 and the track scale to 1/2? 😂
Trig conditions are your friends for making your 4 bar patterns feel "longer and more varied"
@@sunilsolanki Yes, imagine what you could do with 8-bars! :)
Yes!
I really don t get this 4 bars max limitation trend!
Even a 25yo RM1X can make loooong patterns...
I loved my fully maxed out rave o lution so much back in the day. The interface was quite user friendly and it's midi was rock solid. The samples itself didn't age that well and needed a lot of work to make them sit in the mix. But it was used by my hero Klaus Schultze and anything he used I craved for. Fun fact: my first beats were made with an Amiga and used samples of the album Timewind. Later in life I could sell mine for a very decent price and I used the money to buy an MPC 1000. That machine was and still is a class in itself.
MPC 1K is the logical next step;)
Very cool! I know Kraftwerk used one of these at one point for their live performances in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Yeah, I've heard that! NIN Starlovers featured one too
@@AudioPilz oh cool!
I had one in the 90ies, and I loved that box...
3:25 You miss the killer feature. If you hold the "select" key of a drum part, you can modify it using the synth part knob's...
Thanks for posting, I had that in but had to rigorously edit the whole overview section as it was getting much too long for people who are less into the technical aspects (or will most probably never see a 309 in the flesh;)
YES! I've been waiting for this. I got to play around with one of these a few times and really enjoyed it.
Thanks for your patience!
People: "the MC303 is useless"
Terrence Dixon: *plays a full 40-minute set on one*
People: "The MC303 gets too slow when you use all the tracks"
Terrence Dixon: *uses fucking 3 of them at once*
I think I saw a vid the other day where he was using 5 of them;)
I’ve always loved this thing tbh
Yeah, it's got Rave on it - it must be great;)
Apparently Charlie Clouser used one of these when they were recording drums for the Nine Inch Nails album "The Fragile." I believe the "Starfuckers, Inc" drum beat was borne out of the Rave-O-Lution 309 (most likely quite heavily edited with post processing as most things were on that album). It's pretty cool. Too bad they're not easier to afford.
Sounds like Quasimidi are all over late 90s KMFDM also. I used to play with the Sirius they had at the Wurlitzer store in Boston, and when "Symbols" came out my ears and hands remembered.
Yeah, legend has it (and it certainly sounds that way)
I have one since late 90s it's a box of wonder ...
One question to a long time user: does the "messing up the whole pattern by pressing the wrong button" thing ever end?;)
Someone should make a super-cut of all the funny genre name songs
I'd watch that;)
Quasimidi, my first contact with Synthesizers in the mid 90s…great company!!
Yeah, Jörg Schaaf of Radikal Tech is still around!
these were really expensive when they came out. I definitely wanted one.
True! You definitely needed the expansions as well;)
It just dawned on me why I enjoy your content so much. Your video release coincides with my microdosing moment kicking in. 😼
Thanks! This box should go with macrodosing, though;)
Awww! I wanted one of these so bad! I was convinced it was all I needed to be the next all singing all dancing electro superstar. Haha.
...you forgot all cursing (because you, again, deleted the entire pattern bc you pushed the wrong button;)
@@AudioPilz ah the ‘magic’ of the all in one hardware box. Don’t worry, you can re-experience the ‘magic’ with the Digitakt. 🤣
Great video. Definitely not bad gear !! For its time you had a great unit for basic 808/909 & synth basslines.
Thank you!!!
@@AudioPilz Most Welcome 👍
Had one of these for about 10 years and although it was constructed well, had pretty good sounds and panel layout the workflow and menu system was absolutely HORRENDOUS. Confusing as ever and very easy to accidentally delete or screw up loads of work accidentally. The person I bought it from had thrown it across the room several times in frustration and I thought I'd rescue it by buying it off him. The only thing I regret is not gutting out the inside and redesigning the internals because it's a pretty awesome layout.
True, I lost about 2 days this week because of hitting the wrong knob at the wrong time
I had one of these in the mid 90's and was able to make a lot of interesting music with it! Thanks for the video!
Thanks for watching!!!
@@AudioPilz Thanks to you for your channel!
If we're talking the rave scene and serious menu diving, I wonder what's your take on the E-MU series, especially the over-engineered and yet ubiquitous Proteus 2000. Though if you can get your hands on a XL-7....
So true but it's not all too easy to find them around here. I'm on it, thanks for the suggestion!
is the proteus 2000 a nice grab if you can find one for 300 dollars or so?
Great episode as always! Don’t remember anyone complaining about the 309 back in the day. :)
Thank you!!! I wouldn't have complained back then either;)
The key advantages to the 309 was that you could make it sound good in a club no matter how much ecstasy or meth you had ‘accidentally’ ingested before the gig. I promise I do not speak from experience.
1 Water Please
"... the 'I have no idea what I'm doing phase.'"
Wait, that's a PHASE?!?!?!?!?
I live there.
Lol, I know that feeling!
Awkward , Complicated And Frustrating No Doubt But As A Drum Machine , I Think It's A Great Piece Of Gear If You Can Get One At The Right Price . I Love It . Awesome Review As Always !
Thank you!!!
That sounds actually pretty good ! Not bad at all.
Yup, the drums hit really hard!
i would have been too tempted to sing the one patron’s name as micco rosco, rocco misco
Never mess with the Patrons (maybe a little bit;)
@@AudioPilz well i mean, if the patron in question likes telex you ought to do it next time (but i guess ask first!)
My very first gear at all I bought in 1996... the passion has never ended and love was even stronger so that there´s still enough room for 309s... plus lots of more Quasimidi sibblings 😇
They are so hard to get. Polymorph is the one I like
I have to admit that I prefer the Sirius. Very similar sound but more convenient to use
I have 2 x Sirius (I got sent two by mistake when I only ordered one) and a Raven. The Sirius is also "Bad gear" but I still love it. I never Owned the 309 as the Sirius could do the same things, plus a bit more.
Apt that the sine wave is labelled 'Sinus' on the front, as the synth mode does actually sound quite nasal!
Sine IS actually called Sinus in German
@@AudioPilz Another school day for me..
Sinus is also the Latin word where sine partially comes from, roughly meaning curve, bend, or fold. ∿ ·´¯·.¸¸.· ∿
You are, and shall continue to be... a LEGEND.
Thank you so much!!!
I love quasimidi! Oh, is there a Raven in the sky? :D
Are you Sirius?;)
This Quasimidi is more serious than the Sirius Quasimidi, imho. Actually... I just prefer the absence of a keyboard. From my notes... and suggestions for future shows. * = you already nailed it!
Quasimidi Caruso (1993)
Quasimidi Quasar (1994) synth module
Quasimidi Raven (1995) dance music synth
Quasimidi Cyber 6 (1995) master keyboard
*Quasimidi Technox (1995) synth module
*Quasimidi Rave-O-Lution 309 (1996) synth module/groovebox
*Quasimidi Sirius (1997) [this thing is pretty!]
Quasimidi Polymorph (1999)
Great list, thanks!
I really liked quasimidi, real innovative company in meeting demand that the big companies seemed to ignore at the time. Maybe sound a bit dated and despite of their limitations, if they were a bit more affordable I’d still buy their old tech now! Hope you can get your hands on a raven/cyber6 one day to see what you can do it.
Yeah, more Quasimidis to come!
@@AudioPilz excellent 👍 look forward to it!
I had a Technox. It was terrible, horrible, noisy, thin wirery sound. I felt guilty that someone actually gave me money for it when I sold it.
Much respect for mentioning Terrence Dixon Jr in relation to the MC303.
Who else here watches Bad Gear in the mornings with breakfast?
I watch Bad Gear at noon with some tea - that's my breakfast
6PM CET for life!!!
I bought this in the 90’s when it came out. It was fun for its time!
True that!
I have tried so many times to justify owning one. After getting a basic model which needed all the pots to be replaced, got an upgraded one and it sounded flatter than the other, oh well! MIDI would always drift and let’s not talk about programming the sequencer. It’s a great form factor, full of functionalities yet the software was never refined
It was - after all - the 90s;)
this was a good one. not a drop touched all episode until the memefunk finale then at least five or six thirty gulps at the end. all that suspense then a twist at the end. not to mention the refil or timetravel for the shoutouts. epic stuff
Thank you!!! Stay hydrated!
I have TWO of these and they are the most amazing boxes! One does NOT work right and holy moly does it to strange things for me. I NEVER used it to save anything. I would use these for Live PA and use the drum patterns MIDI OUT to trigger other synths since my 2x EA1's limited me to 4 synth tracks. I am happy to have two, hoping to get the one weird one going again right some day, but it worked then and will still work for me now. What an epic box. I paid a LOT for these things 15+ years ago. Like $350!!! One has the expansion, cost the same :D
Nice setup!
@@AudioPilz Bad 1990s early 2000s gear was my best investment lol
I like the Space Dandy clip in the final demo lol
Thanks!
Nobody cared how rubbish it was, in an age of boring black boxes with a two line digital interface this thing had.....KNOBS!
Yeah, it's extremely tweakable!
This is nice. It Was my first piece of gear. And I still use it now and then.
Nice starting point!
Such a shame these expanded things cost two kidneys and a little toe because it just looks fun. Might not have the most elaborate synth ever onboard, but a fun little device to make sketch out some little ideas on. Or so it seems. Drums sounds nice and punchy!
Really liked the drum sounds too!
Hey there to save a pattern you just created. ------ Edit button > pattern select user > OK > Motif:USR*00 then Page arrow 3 times to (drumgrid) insert your pattern on the drumgrid then exit out of edit mode then press Write button. choose option 2- store pattern > OK to pattern P 01 OK exit edit mode and should be sorted
Oh my i still have one fully functioning with all the extra output channels and latest official firmware. What really killed the mood with this one is the squencer hiccups while live editing. It's kinda usable to use it with a external sequencer (like beatstep over MIDI for example) and turning off all internal effects and shenanigans.
Agreed, it really shines with an external sequencer or DAW
Hi. I bought mine in1996
I still have it and use it. It’s has the expansion synths. Can you please tell me what OS are you with ? And how does one upgrade the OS. Thanks
@@grandmasterjo1 The OS can only be upgraded by getting a new Firmware Chip (ebay for example). If you are technically experienced there are ways to get an unofficial firmware (3.0b i think) and flash the EEPROM yourself, but thats not an easy task. I just opened up the 309 to look at the Chip - It says V 2.0 e.
@@i_never_asked_for_an_alias Thank you so much. I just checked for the chip on eBay. It’s available for $29.99.
Is there any link to see the details what the ver. 3 has to offer ?
Thanks again
Adding the legends of bad guitar gear of the 505 and pod is genius
Thanks! I love both tbh
Luckily the Polymorph later was quite improved, great sequencer and better synth engine. I never thought that the Quasimidi prices would increase that much, bought ours used for round 650 Euro early 2000's... now these are 1200-1500. (???)
Yeah, these are highly sought-after
Damn, i bought one about 7 years ago fully upgraded with the sounds and outputs for about 470 euro. Sold it for the same price too about 2 years later. If only i knew 👀
I already know from the beginning that this video is gonna be hysterical
❤️❤️❤️
Does it come with a pills dispenser?
Nah but try scraping it off with a credit card...
Or considering where it came from, a pils dispenser.
Pilz dispenser;)
Nice to see all the gear thats have been made over the years I didnt know about this musicstation before
Its sounds good though and your own comments are so damn entertaining, the video and photoclips brings it to an even higher level love your channel . Every friday is Audio- Pilz day....
Thanks!
The real question is are there more bad 90s electronic music gear or scenes in The Matrix for you to super impose them on?
Let's hope the new Matrix helps us out;)
Superb. Your channel is the go to place to review gear I owned once! I miss the 309, it was a gnarly money pit - the software upgrades came from a distributor in Miami on EEPROM chips - expensive - and delivery was.. erratic? I upgraded a few times and got the audio output, but ended up selling it. You totally nailed the frustration of accidentally losing work. It might still be my favorite drum machine, but the synth part, and the bugs, I don't miss. Banging channel, mate, keep it up.
Thank you so much! I've heard of their shop in Florida;)
By the way, mr Pillz, you also had the Sirius once. Is the lore accurate that the Sirius is everything 309 with extra's? Incl filters and all that?
I found the Sirius to be much more appealing because of the (IMHO) nicer waveforms and more straight forward UI
@@AudioPilz I have the sirius on the wantedlist for quite awhile now. I'd trade it for the 309. Have you tried that other Quasimidi monster Raven yet? Huge and heavy motherf***!
Space Dandy clip was much appreciated, baby!
Yeah, baby...
Whaaat, you’re destroying my youth - the best machine we had at this time. Blame Roland. Ok, joking. But wait - German machine🇩🇪 with a Belgian flag 🇧🇪 ????? Wrong pill?
Geography was never my strong suit;)
@@AudioPilz Says the guy from Australia! 🇦🇺
It's Friday November 5th and I am shaking like an addict waiting for this week's baaad gare, why have you forsaken me? :-)
I'd never!!!