It would be great if you could do the Red Sound Elevata at some point. If you can find one I think fewer than 1k units were made, probably one of the rarest VAs that were produced in significant number. I had the opportunity to buy one half-price clearance from guitar center in the early 2000s and didn't take it god DAMN it. alternatively, the Ensoniq Fizmo - unique synth that sometimes destroyed its own power supply
The Monkey Island 2 soundtrack is a true marvel when played through the SC-55 or MT-32; Afaik it is the first "Adaptive" soundtrack in a video game that changes seamlessly as you play depending on your actions! It was composed as a bunch of 1 or 2-bar chunks that seamlessly change. Imagine trying to write music that way? What a pain! So cool. So. Cool.
I have a strong urge to go on a three-day bender playing Wolfenstein, Rise of the Triads, Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Wacky Wheels, Nascar, Grand Prix 2, Hexen and Quake.
The Soundcanvas was created in a time where every pizza place and bar had a band playing. I had friends who used to play on two venues the same night. If you were a keyboard player, you would have two synth on one site and two synths on the other site, OR you would switch with another keyboard player. So you would bring the Soundcanvas and connect the midi ins from each synth outs and have the set of the band recorded in the player and you are all set. For that sort of job it was a miracle. You could have two very cheap "synths" like casiotones or any cheap Yamaha and have the quality of the Soundcanvas. It was meant for that era.
General Midi, as far as I remember commanded some tanks in a desert war back in the days (in my imagination, back in the days, since Midi was just a word with 4 letters and in this case a name ;)
There's real quality to these productions. There is wittiness with the host. The musical creativity is here. This guy is fire that hasn't caught on yet.
Yessss I've been waiting for this episode!!! I love this thing and did a whole video on it myself, it's fantastic! A couple small notes though: 2:19 The SC-55 doesn't use LA synthesis at all, that's a rumor that's been falsely spread based on a misunderstanding of Roland literature. The actual synthesis chip inside is a completely PCM based digital model. 2:30 Any SC-55 can be updated with GM support - it's more accurate to say early firmwares are incompatible. I have the same model as you and it has proper GM support, since someone got the 2.0 firmware in it. 5:14 You can't do anything more than what you can do from the front panel sadly, the internal engine is locked off as it is on every SC unit.
@@AudioPilz To add a little extra info to this, units from the SC-88 and up have some parameters like attack, release, cutoff, and resonance controllable via MIDI CCs. The rest are still only accessible via SysEx though, like on the SC-55. This is a nice video by the way. I've had an SC-55mkII myself for a few years now, and it really is very powerful, especially once you dive into some of the lesser known features and otherwise neat tricks you can use to get unique sounds out of it. The most standout "secret" feature of it to me would honestly be the MT-32 sound bank present which, while absolutely awful for playing back MT-32 music, contains a lot of sounds that aren't found in the regular GS map. Another little trick I like would be applying a strong, fixed pitch bend, to in a very hackish way shift the sample mapping up or down, resulting in darker and brighter variants of instruments.
This series hits home yet again. Since I bought it new in 1989, my main studio tool, main MIDI controller and bread-n-butter sound library has been the ROLAND JV-35. It's essentially the same sound engine as the SC-55 in a proper keyboard format. It also adds envelope and filter controls plus the ability to add sound and voice expansion cards. Most of the sounds are retro-gamer cheese but with a bit of tweaking there are some real gems. the 8080 samples are great but I prefer the "power" drums with a pitch-shifted snare. As always, love the series!
I just got a jv35 and came to rewatch this video when I figured out it’s weird history! A flea market gamble for 40€ who knew. I totally forgot they made sound canvases with keys, now I can play the Doom soundtrack myself!
The intros to each video are like a comedic hit to the nervous system that i so desperately need in the day. And that's not even mentioning how good the actual videos themselves are! Keep rockin, man.
Hi AudioPilz! What a pleasure you talk about the SC55! I have the desktop version, the SC155 and I really love it. Like a good old friend I wouldn't take apart. ^^
The first time I have actually become a patron... Your content is just so good and it feels like theft to watch it for free! I hope you have the ability to create a full time job with your content. I wish you all the best!
I've always wanted one of these. I have a U-220 and I love it. Always viewed the sound canvas as an upgrade to the U-220 ROMs but having a multi timbral instrument with only 4 RCAs as opposed to 6 1/4 inch jacks made me go with the U-220. Anyhow, great video. Thanks for all these videos - you are my new favorite YT channel.
@@AudioPilz lol, he was back in the day, the drum parts were much different, then he got pretty lazy lol. Certainly no Neil Pert or Tool drummer, dude from Primus is amazing too, yeah I love Lars still, at least he makes fun of himself now days too. Last time I saw them was a few years ago at Rosebowl, must admit, it was blood sweat and tears and just unreal. Was glad to see.
Oh goodness! I screamed when I saw this pop up because I took delivery on a mkii about 3 weeks ago and have not only been BLOWN AWAY by how good it sounds, but have been working on a General MIDI album with it. Great video as always!
With everything mixed properly, including reverb, this thing is just over the top. There is a neat trick too where you can create tremolo and even ring mod effects by rapidly changing the volume on a channel.
This show is so great. Even though it wasn't specifically the sound canvas (as far as I know), these old Roland ROMpler sounds are the sound of my childhood. Shows I watched as a kid like Theodore Tugboat and Hey Arnold are full of them.
The 3D graphics at the end made me think of the old Silicon Graphics demos which had some really interesting/unique music, possibly done on the Sound Canvas also by the sounds of it. I'd love to bring that back as a genre!
This box is a perfectly preserved time capsule of 80's and 90's cheese and is therefore perfect for my musical tastes and interests. I want it and thanks for making me aware of it. Getting in on that Patreon right now. Very happy to have the opportunity to support this channel.
@@AudioPilz not a problem! I'm getting that top tier subscription once covid ends. I'm a musician with no gigs at the moment so it's been tough. I want those samples as soon as I can play in public again. Thanks for everything you do.
Oh yeah, the day has come! Was looking forward to if these gems would appear! Absolutely loved a mkI I sold years ago and would get a mkII in a heartbeat if the opportunity arises at the right time! :P You can edit a fair chunk of the "extended" functions over CC commands, but it involved using NRPN or something. You have to set the bank for the command with one CC, then the actual CC with a second CC, and then adjust the CC with...a third CC! There's too many CC's to be involved, really. Absolutely rad groove on your demo track too!
The Sound Canvas has a special place in my heart! My very first one was the SC-50. Thanks to this little thing I learned how to use a very early Cakewalk version with Windows 3.1!!! I also familiarized with System Exclusive (and that was not easy... not a musician not a tech...) I had in total 4 SC's and I still own two of them: the Roland M-GS 64 (which is the SC-88 in a 19" format), and the SC-880 (which is a 19" Sound Canvas on steroids!)
@@AudioPilz The SC-50 was a light version of the SC-55. It was not expensive! I created so much tunes with this guy! And it was my only Bad(a$$) Gear for many years. I'm still not a musician now I have a very full home studio.
I have fond memories of the SC-55. It was simple to use and full of decent bread and butter sounds. I remember it having a really nice Jazz guitar patch.
If you like this, check out Lazy Game Review's video building his "MIDI Mountain" A game-focused module stack including Korg, Yamaha, and a few different computer-centric Roland modules, including the CM-32.
@@AudioPilz I assume you have rectified this problem, since you mentioned it in the video? Btw, I have both an SC-55 and SB-55, and playing .MIDs through a hifi audio system via 720kb floppy disks in 2021 is a thing you should try. There is a certain charm to the disk crunching along to load between tracks. Just sayin'
I had an SC-88, and it was my "go to" for starting my composing experiences in the 90's. I used it throughout college as a composition major, and it was the gold standard. It was a major improvement over the Gravis Ultrasound, which was in and of itself a major improvement over any Soundblaster or the like. Today, the Integra-7 is clearly a much better module with its Super Natural sounds and the like, but to be honest, the SC products were pretty amazing for the 1990's.
Wait, they used this to make the soundtrack for one of my favorite DOS games Descent? Fun fact: In 1996 I was on no. 38 on the official Descent ladder. I remember I lost 3-10 in the MP level Minerva when I challenged the person on rank 3. His nickname was Satan...no wonder why I lost 😄
I still remember the night Descent first dropped. The wife and kids were out of town (I was on call at work and couldn't go with 'em). I downloaded it at 7pm and installed it. Thought I'd play a couple levels and go to bed early. Next thing I know I hear this weird sound echoing down the hallway. Yep, my alarm clock, going off at 6am the next morning. GROAN. :D :D :D
@@AudioPilz I got pretty good at it, but I had to custom-configure a CH FlightStick Pro, which was the only decent multibutton ambidextrous joystick available at the time. Gaming could sometimes suck for the left-handed. :D
Ha, didn't expect this one, though in hindsight, i should have! Love the Sound Canvas! The whole series is recognisably cheesy, especially the 55, but then, who wants a box without character? Also although the timbres aren't in a hurry to sound too convincing, they are smooth and well-honed. A lot of videogame composers used the Sound Canvas, i suspect pretty much really all of them. Not only is the in-game MIDI pretty much guaranteed to sound right with it across the whole DOS game library, Mario 64 and Final Fantasy 6-8 and numerous other have the SC-55 or SC-88 immortalised as the main part of the game soundtrack that you hear off the original console - so basically sampling individual instruments to be reproduced by the console's soundchip. It just makes sense, since sample memory in the console is scarce, and Roland samples have that juicy smooth sustain so you can chop off most of the attack, loop them super short at barely a handful wavelengths, and rebuild the ADSR and it still won't sound too bad, they survive this treatment better than others. I've seen haters around. I've got a theory that some SC-55 hatred is probably from people who have some hands on experience with the SC-88 or newer but never heard the SC-55 for real. Those had an SC-55 mode which just... doesn't sound right, it's broken, the patch envelopes and volumes are wrong, lowpass is broken, and it's much too dry, in general you're best off ignoring it and using the standard mode instead - while you're likely to encounter some substitutions in the depths of GS, they might just fit regardless. I suspect it might be manufacturer's little trick to get people to buy newer gear, because when testing it at a store, they're unlikely to have the older model at hand, but they might take the compatibility mode as a stand-in... and it'll just lie to their face trying to convince them how much better the newer generation is. But fact of the matter is, all devices in the series stand on their own with very pleasant sound, and given the choice, who knows how one would decide? One might choose familiarity. The weirdest GM kit i have heard is WinGroove and it's a soft-synth for Windows 3.1-XP. It sounds... nothing like any other GM kit, and yet surprisingly, it... works. It's got 1MB of 4-bit ADPCM samples. I don't understand how it's not just ruining every piece of music it comes across.
Loved this when I was at college in the 90's it was my first ever MIDI sequencing , Cubase, Atari ST and sound canvas. Thanks , took me back :-) Funny they also had a Yamaha TX802 - now that really was awesome/horrible
@@AudioPilz Yes. You'll have to take a very clinical approach when reviewing them. (And yes, I'm responding to this comment two years later. Usually my comebacks are slightly quicker.)
This was do great to see. Never owned a Sound Canvas myself but opped a few in my time plus adjacent internal ISA cards etc. Brings back memories & your memes are on point XD oh dear, are we your people now??? It's good to celebrate the past without getting stuck in it tho, I do still rock new gear & sound, & thank goodness for modern advancements. Always great to look back tho! Thanks as always for another outstanding video!!
Audiopilz, you really do have the best gear videos I've seen on TH-cam, even if they are all Bad Gear. Can't wait till August when you introduce the "Rad Gear" videos.
In the early 90's, I would have cut off my foot to own a module like this. (I was a student on a limited budget.) Although the tones it generates seem outdated now, back then they sounded very professional, not out of place in a Hollywood movie sound track.
Reminds me of my old Korg AG "AudioGallery" synths! Sometimes I could get new hybrid sounds out of the AG-10 by sending rapid program and parameter changes and the unit glitched out. Fun times!
The thing is with the top GM models, you can do pretty much anything to any standard. I've lost count of how many people, that when they hear a really well programmed composition, with controller data and system exclusive data etc that they are amazed and then ask what gear was used, as they assume it must be the latest cool tech. Their jaw drops when you tell them it was a GM box like the Roland SC88 or Yamaha MU100R etc.
How dare you!? I had an internal Roland SoundCanvas plugged to my SoundBlaster AWE32 next to my Gravis UltraSound with 1MB Sample memory... Those were the days!!!
Thanks for the video. It brings back memories. The SC-55 was my first sound module. I bought it brand new when it first came out and still have it today. Besides using it to make music, I had it hooked up to my Mac in M-32 mode to play the MIDI music for games like the Quest series. 😀
@@AudioPilz You're welcome! Yes, those Sierra Online games of that era were fantastic. Please checkout my channel when you get a chance to see how far I've come since then. 😀
This was so useful to me as a young boy working placement in a rock and roll music shop. I did very good backing tracks with mine (Boss DS330) almost the same.
Great review again. I love how you take just about anything and make it work. I want you to fit the words Gemutlich and Naturwissenschaft into one of your song titles.
In all of your instrument reviews the sounds of the reviewed instrument of that era is very strong and recognizable. It's not until you bring the instrument out of it's bubble and connect to modern processing gear, along with modern song composition, that the instrument sounds unique and fresh. It clearly sparks new creativity and sounds great in todays music. Your last demo song of the instrument always proves this. Is it bad gear? Sometimes that is not an easy question to answer. Today, the SC-55 probably doesn't add up to our modern day expectations. But in the 90's I'm sure it was more than adequate for the right group of musicians. Excellent review!
Hey I know lots of people say this about you, but it’s true, your vids deserve way more subscribers, you got great character and your vids are tops, take care man.
i love my sc88 to death (and get a ton of Real Use out of it) and so many of the sounds from the sc55 bank are incredibly nostalgic, but the 88 really does take it to another level.
I lived long enough to see cheesy lofi 90s midi music be cool again! Kudos to Roland engineers, the company has survived all this time as myriads went under.
Hey I actually have the newer VST plugin version of the SC-55 as I picked it up for use with DOS emulation as I was using a laptop at the time and didn't want to deal with hardware. Works good for that use case. Slight pain in the ass though I'll admit. But the VA VST is a nice to have around for it.
Several times now I spied that Zoom MS-50G. Every time I cheer a little bit inside, as most places I see Zoom manifest (in a synth context) it is their CDR-70 Proud owner of a 50G myself (very useful for aggressive guitar, bass guitar, and exploring synth use cases), and would love to see some coverage on pedal chains that pair well with [bad|good] gear. Thanks for your continued standard of excellence in delivery (while maintaining the humor!) :-D
I remember that I wanted to trade in my only synth at that time, a MT-32, for a SC-55 when it came out, but I quickly realized it's not really a synth and kept my MT-32 :)
As a kid I remember obsessing over the SC-55 in some gear magazine. Parents never did give in, but I did get a JV-1080 a few years later, so that was rad. Also, that looked like a Video Toaster demo reel at the end there. Niiiice.
My stress level has just decreased 50% by watching this video. High quality content as always! Do you have any suggestions for music like that D&B track you created, really liked the style.... Cant find similar stuff on youtube
You’re killing’ me, man! I just bought a SC-55 MKII from Japan - As in it’s in the hands of DHL being shipped currently. I did not buy it for music composition though. I solely will use it for vintage DOS games. Many game music creators at the time used it as the default GM sound reference for most or all of their games.
"Join my Patreon" _ho hum_ "....Get access to the music clips from the show without me babbling over it, videos of extended jams and other additional content" _SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!_
I keep going back to the Roland ones. No one skewers Roland quite like bad gear! I hope their engineers/designers watch. Maybe one day we'll get a Roland manual that makes sense?
The SC-55 might’ve been cheesy, but it’s a true gem when it comes to computer music’s history. I had an X5DR (poor man’s half-rack 01/w with GM support) and it could easily knock the sc-55’s socks off in terms of sound. The pianos are kinda 🗑 though, but the chromatic, woodwind and some of the drum sounds are very very good! Although some sounds were stolen from the fairlight III library and the old prosonus cd libraries afaik.
I really like the SC-55. I have two of its successors, the SC-88pro and the SD-90. Both are really good synths, and they kick-started my MIDI addiction.
I have a Mini Engine Pro from the manufacturer Midplus, it is a module that has the same GM sound bank, but it does not accept all CC midi's, it is quite decent if you need one instrument or several and you do not have a PC. Good video!
@@AudioPilz Ich hätte übrigens noch nen Vorschlag für dich: Das Roland Pro E. Das gibt's auf eBay Kleinanzeigen ab und zu für 50€, könnte interessant sein.
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Yes! Proud Patron. Keep 'em coming! Roland RA-50 (have one available).
It would be great if you could do the Red Sound Elevata at some point. If you can find one I think fewer than 1k units were made, probably one of the rarest VAs that were produced in significant number. I had the opportunity to buy one half-price clearance from guitar center in the early 2000s and didn't take it god DAMN it. alternatively, the Ensoniq Fizmo - unique synth that sometimes destroyed its own power supply
Do a dang video on the UNO Synth Pro. PLEASE.
For a split second there, I wasn't sure if this was going to tick all the boxes.
It mostly does ;)
It was indeed a frightening split second!
The Monkey Island 2 soundtrack is a true marvel when played through the SC-55 or MT-32; Afaik it is the first "Adaptive" soundtrack in a video game that changes seamlessly as you play depending on your actions!
It was composed as a bunch of 1 or 2-bar chunks that seamlessly change. Imagine trying to write music that way? What a pain! So cool. So. Cool.
Liked for the fresh Sound Canvas compositions, great stuff 😁
Oh, the one and only LGR! I feel honored!!!
Can you guys do a collab?
I love LGR's videos
I have a strong urge to go on a three-day bender playing Wolfenstein, Rise of the Triads, Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Wacky Wheels, Nascar, Grand Prix 2, Hexen and Quake.
Alex, you are a man of taste!!!
Solid list.
Doom with Mods alone will keep you busy for eternity. 😎
That's cool and all, but Quake isn't a General Midi game. Streamed CD audio courtesy of Trent Reznor :^)
Who said it was....
You forgot Strife!
Teacher: What do you want to do when you grow up?
Florian: Invent crazy long music genre names and spike up prices of old gear
Story of my youth ;)
😀😀👌🏼
@@AudioPilz Literally this comic imgur.com/gallery/PjCV87N?nc=1
I knew it! It's all a big pump and dump scheme ;-)
@@daan3298 We have to fight it like they're doing with GameStop :)))
The phrase "Welcome to bad gear the show about the
world's most hated audio tools" always makes my day, keep it up!
Let's call it a tradition!
I concur.
I definitely agree
The Soundcanvas was created in a time where every pizza place and bar had a band playing. I had friends who used to play on two venues the same night. If you were a keyboard player, you would have two synth on one site and two synths on the other site, OR you would switch with another keyboard player. So you would bring the Soundcanvas and connect the midi ins from each synth outs and have the set of the band recorded in the player and you are all set. For that sort of job it was a miracle. You could have two very cheap "synths" like casiotones or any cheap Yamaha and have the quality of the Soundcanvas. It was meant for that era.
True! I should have covered that aspect in the episode
I was expecting a picture of "General Midi" when I saw the titles and... This channel never disappoints!!
My favorite super hero!
General Midi, as far as I remember commanded some tanks in a desert war back in the days
(in my imagination, back in the days, since Midi was just a word with 4 letters and in this case a name ;)
Beyond the info, the video imagery on these is super entertaining.
I prefer his colleague - Private Browsing
Ahaha)))) same with me, mate)
Watching these has become my favorite Friday ritual
Great! Thanks!
@@AudioPilz I get warmer whenever I hear that intro than a CS80
There's real quality to these productions. There is wittiness with the host. The musical creativity is here. This guy is fire that hasn't caught on yet.
Thank you so much!
Yessss I've been waiting for this episode!!! I love this thing and did a whole video on it myself, it's fantastic! A couple small notes though:
2:19 The SC-55 doesn't use LA synthesis at all, that's a rumor that's been falsely spread based on a misunderstanding of Roland literature. The actual synthesis chip inside is a completely PCM based digital model.
2:30 Any SC-55 can be updated with GM support - it's more accurate to say early firmwares are incompatible. I have the same model as you and it has proper GM support, since someone got the 2.0 firmware in it.
5:14 You can't do anything more than what you can do from the front panel sadly, the internal engine is locked off as it is on every SC unit.
Thanks for the clarification!
@@AudioPilz To add a little extra info to this, units from the SC-88 and up have some parameters like attack, release, cutoff, and resonance controllable via MIDI CCs. The rest are still only accessible via SysEx though, like on the SC-55.
This is a nice video by the way. I've had an SC-55mkII myself for a few years now, and it really is very powerful, especially once you dive into some of the lesser known features and otherwise neat tricks you can use to get unique sounds out of it. The most standout "secret" feature of it to me would honestly be the MT-32 sound bank present which, while absolutely awful for playing back MT-32 music, contains a lot of sounds that aren't found in the regular GS map. Another little trick I like would be applying a strong, fixed pitch bend, to in a very hackish way shift the sample mapping up or down, resulting in darker and brighter variants of instruments.
This series hits home yet again. Since I bought it new in 1989, my main studio tool, main MIDI controller and bread-n-butter sound library has been the ROLAND JV-35. It's essentially the same sound engine as the SC-55 in a proper keyboard format. It also adds envelope and filter controls plus the ability to add sound and voice expansion cards.
Most of the sounds are retro-gamer cheese but with a bit of tweaking there are some real gems. the 8080 samples are great but I prefer the "power" drums with a pitch-shifted snare.
As always, love the series!
Nice one! Thanks for watching!
sc88 with some tweaking sounds fantastic too
especially some of its epiano patches
I just got a jv35 and came to rewatch this video when I figured out it’s weird history! A flea market gamble for 40€ who knew. I totally forgot they made sound canvases with keys, now I can play the Doom soundtrack myself!
The intros to each video are like a comedic hit to the nervous system that i so desperately need in the day.
And that's not even mentioning how good the actual videos themselves are!
Keep rockin, man.
Thank you! It means a lot to me
Your command of diverse made up but spot on musical genres remains impressive.
Maybe my biggest talent!
This also highly-accurate.
I would pay good money for a party where they play only the style of music from this spontaneous jam, and where the bar lines are short
Always really happy whenever i see a new episode of bad gear!
Thanks for watching!
>dear friend wendy
>this wendy has a lot of vintage synth gear
dude are you mates with Wendy Carlos lol
Is Ms Carlos using a Sound Canvas? ;)
Shes HOT even at age 75 or whatever she is.
Hi AudioPilz! What a pleasure you talk about the SC55! I have the desktop version, the SC155 and I really love it. Like a good old friend I wouldn't take apart. ^^
Great piece of gear to complete a setup
That ADSR pic... too real man. Too real.
Soulcrushing...
@@AudioPilz did you stay that from Synth Memes?
The first time I have actually become a patron... Your content is just so good and it feels like theft to watch it for free! I hope you have the ability to create a full time job with your content. I wish you all the best!
Thank you! Looking good at the moment!
that good feeling when there is 15 minutes of musical memes content packed in an 8 minute long video review
We live in a world where people watch stuff at 1.5 speed. ;)
I've always wanted one of these. I have a U-220 and I love it. Always viewed the sound canvas as an upgrade to the U-220 ROMs but having a multi timbral instrument with only 4 RCAs as opposed to 6 1/4 inch jacks made me go with the U-220. Anyhow, great video. Thanks for all these videos - you are my new favorite YT channel.
Thanks! Us are really nice!
Ok that image flash of an "amateur musician" is now the greatest thing you've ever done
That was pretty fuckin funny, but as a Metallica fan since the 80s, Lars was pretty bad ass.
Metallica wouldn't be the same without him but he's not exactly what I would call a good drummer
@@AudioPilz lol, he was back in the day, the drum parts were much different, then he got pretty lazy lol. Certainly no Neil Pert or Tool drummer, dude from Primus is amazing too, yeah I love Lars still, at least he makes fun of himself now days too.
Last time I saw them was a few years ago at Rosebowl, must admit, it was blood sweat and tears and just unreal. Was glad to see.
Oh goodness! I screamed when I saw this pop up because I took delivery on a mkii about 3 weeks ago and have not only been BLOWN AWAY by how good it sounds, but have been working on a General MIDI album with it. Great video as always!
With everything mixed properly, including reverb, this thing is just over the top. There is a neat trick too where you can create tremolo and even ring mod effects by rapidly changing the volume on a channel.
Cool, didn't know the tremolo/ring mod trick!
This show is so great. Even though it wasn't specifically the sound canvas (as far as I know), these old Roland ROMpler sounds are the sound of my childhood. Shows I watched as a kid like Theodore Tugboat and Hey Arnold are full of them.
Thanks! True, U-110 comes to mind
Brilliant fun as always. Thanks for finally setting up a Patreon - I'm a supporter now!
Thanks for being a Patron!
The 3D graphics at the end made me think of the old Silicon Graphics demos which had some really interesting/unique music, possibly done on the Sound Canvas also by the sounds of it. I'd love to bring that back as a genre!
The Mind's Eye ;)
This box is a perfectly preserved time capsule of 80's and 90's cheese and is therefore perfect for my musical tastes and interests. I want it and thanks for making me aware of it. Getting in on that Patreon right now. Very happy to have the opportunity to support this channel.
Thanks for your support! Highly appreciated!
@@AudioPilz not a problem! I'm getting that top tier subscription once covid ends. I'm a musician with no gigs at the moment so it's been tough. I want those samples as soon as I can play in public again. Thanks for everything you do.
Q: what do you call someone who hangs around musicians?
A: Lars Ulrich
Lol, classic!
How can you tell Lars is at the door? The knock speeds up.
Lars created the first timestretching algorhythm to fix his takes (the only rhythm he actually nailed)
"...originally designed as an instrument for amateur musicians" 😄
Haha, I was surprised at that picture I didn't realize synth people hated Lars too, poor guy!
Oh yeah, the day has come! Was looking forward to if these gems would appear! Absolutely loved a mkI I sold years ago and would get a mkII in a heartbeat if the opportunity arises at the right time! :P
You can edit a fair chunk of the "extended" functions over CC commands, but it involved using NRPN or something. You have to set the bank for the command with one CC, then the actual CC with a second CC, and then adjust the CC with...a third CC! There's too many CC's to be involved, really.
Absolutely rad groove on your demo track too!
Thanks! I was pretty sure it was deep in Sysex territory. Gonna check it out
The Sound Canvas has a special place in my heart! My very first one was the SC-50. Thanks to this little thing I learned how to use a very early Cakewalk version with Windows 3.1!!! I also familiarized with System Exclusive (and that was not easy... not a musician not a tech...) I had in total 4 SC's and I still own two of them: the Roland M-GS 64 (which is the SC-88 in a 19" format), and the SC-880 (which is a 19" Sound Canvas on steroids!)
Didn't know the SC-50, interesting!
@@AudioPilz The SC-50 was a light version of the SC-55. It was not expensive! I created so much tunes with this guy! And it was my only Bad(a$$) Gear for many years. I'm still not a musician now I have a very full home studio.
Another win! I love this channel. I have no problem becoming a patron.
Happy to hear that! Thank you!
I have fond memories of the SC-55. It was simple to use and full of decent bread and butter sounds. I remember it having a really nice Jazz guitar patch.
True, this episode is seriously under-guitared ;)
I have the SC 155 in my Studio it is the same but with faders and mute buttons. I love this device.
Nice!
If you like this, check out Lazy Game Review's video building his "MIDI Mountain" A game-focused module stack including Korg, Yamaha, and a few different computer-centric Roland modules, including the CM-32.
Especially liked the one where all the units played in unison ;)
Can't believe I wasn't already subscribed with how often I watch your videos.
Thanks for subscribing!
The SC-55 really wasn’t too bad. And the Sound Brush was cool too!
I have to admit that I have never heard of the 'brush' before
You brush with it on the canvas to make colorful music...
@@AudioPilz I assume you have rectified this problem, since you mentioned it in the video? Btw, I have both an SC-55 and SB-55, and playing .MIDs through a hifi audio system via 720kb floppy disks in 2021 is a thing you should try. There is a certain charm to the disk crunching along to load between tracks. Just sayin'
Man your show is just getting better and better. Keep up the good work!
Thank you!
I had an SC-88, and it was my "go to" for starting my composing experiences in the 90's. I used it throughout college as a composition major, and it was the gold standard. It was a major improvement over the Gravis Ultrasound, which was in and of itself a major improvement over any Soundblaster or the like. Today, the Integra-7 is clearly a much better module with its Super Natural sounds and the like, but to be honest, the SC products were pretty amazing for the 1990's.
Nice!!!
Great video Florian can't believe these units are 30 years old already.
Thanks! Yeah, time is flying!
Wait, they used this to make the soundtrack for one of my favorite DOS games Descent? Fun fact: In 1996 I was on no. 38 on the official Descent ladder. I remember I lost 3-10 in the MP level Minerva when I challenged the person on rank 3. His nickname was Satan...no wonder why I lost 😄
Wow, I totally sucked at playing Descent ;)
@@AudioPilz You did the "turn by bouncing off the walls" thing too eh?
Think he means you could use it to play the midi soundtrack of Descent. Not that it was made on it.
I still remember the night Descent first dropped. The wife and kids were out of town (I was on call at work and couldn't go with 'em). I downloaded it at 7pm and installed it. Thought I'd play a couple levels and go to bed early. Next thing I know I hear this weird sound echoing down the hallway. Yep, my alarm clock, going off at 6am the next morning. GROAN. :D :D :D
@@AudioPilz I got pretty good at it, but I had to custom-configure a CH FlightStick Pro, which was the only decent multibutton ambidextrous joystick available at the time. Gaming could sometimes suck for the left-handed. :D
god damn it AudioPilz, you killllled it on that 80s track dude, loved it!
Thanks!
Ha, didn't expect this one, though in hindsight, i should have! Love the Sound Canvas! The whole series is recognisably cheesy, especially the 55, but then, who wants a box without character? Also although the timbres aren't in a hurry to sound too convincing, they are smooth and well-honed.
A lot of videogame composers used the Sound Canvas, i suspect pretty much really all of them. Not only is the in-game MIDI pretty much guaranteed to sound right with it across the whole DOS game library, Mario 64 and Final Fantasy 6-8 and numerous other have the SC-55 or SC-88 immortalised as the main part of the game soundtrack that you hear off the original console - so basically sampling individual instruments to be reproduced by the console's soundchip.
It just makes sense, since sample memory in the console is scarce, and Roland samples have that juicy smooth sustain so you can chop off most of the attack, loop them super short at barely a handful wavelengths, and rebuild the ADSR and it still won't sound too bad, they survive this treatment better than others.
I've seen haters around. I've got a theory that some SC-55 hatred is probably from people who have some hands on experience with the SC-88 or newer but never heard the SC-55 for real. Those had an SC-55 mode which just... doesn't sound right, it's broken, the patch envelopes and volumes are wrong, lowpass is broken, and it's much too dry, in general you're best off ignoring it and using the standard mode instead - while you're likely to encounter some substitutions in the depths of GS, they might just fit regardless. I suspect it might be manufacturer's little trick to get people to buy newer gear, because when testing it at a store, they're unlikely to have the older model at hand, but they might take the compatibility mode as a stand-in... and it'll just lie to their face trying to convince them how much better the newer generation is. But fact of the matter is, all devices in the series stand on their own with very pleasant sound, and given the choice, who knows how one would decide? One might choose familiarity.
The weirdest GM kit i have heard is WinGroove and it's a soft-synth for Windows 3.1-XP. It sounds... nothing like any other GM kit, and yet surprisingly, it... works. It's got 1MB of 4-bit ADPCM samples. I don't understand how it's not just ruining every piece of music it comes across.
Wow, didn't know about WinGroove!
It always amazes me what you end up doing with these machines Flo. Especially doing all of this in a week! Amazing!❤️
Thanks!
Loved this when I was at college in the 90's it was my first ever MIDI sequencing , Cubase, Atari ST and sound canvas. Thanks , took me back :-) Funny they also had a Yamaha TX802 - now that really was awesome/horrible
great channel by the way
Thanks man!!!
Went camping and saw this as soon as I got service, had to watch this first🔥 great video👀
Thanks! You gotta set priorities ;)
Old school sounds and retro gaming snippets including the island's monkeys! Both of my nerdy interests covered, thanks a lot!
Same here! Pleasure!
Always a treat to see your thumbnail!!
Always wanted to be the Doom guy ;)
I love old MIDI rompler boxes. I'd love to see some of the Yamaha MU modules featured in a future video.
Don't they look like lab equipment? ;)
@@AudioPilz Yes. You'll have to take a very clinical approach when reviewing them.
(And yes, I'm responding to this comment two years later. Usually my comebacks are slightly quicker.)
This was do great to see. Never owned a Sound Canvas myself but opped a few in my time plus adjacent internal ISA cards etc. Brings back memories & your memes are on point XD oh dear, are we your people now??? It's good to celebrate the past without getting stuck in it tho, I do still rock new gear & sound, & thank goodness for modern advancements. Always great to look back tho! Thanks as always for another outstanding video!!
Thank you so much! All gear is good!
Lars (or Bob) should have just used a Sound Canvas SC-55 snare on St. Anger
St. Anger Sound Canvas version!!! (incl. guitars;)
@@AudioPilz go for it^^
Remember the "Sound Canvas" option in many DOS games, it was the best for games, also with the sound blaster AWE64.
Great video!!!!
Thank you!
This was the most aesthetic episode so far.
Thank you!
Audiopilz, you really do have the best gear videos I've seen on TH-cam, even if they are all Bad Gear.
Can't wait till August when you introduce the "Rad Gear" videos.
Thanks!
In the early 90's, I would have cut off my foot to own a module like this. (I was a student on a limited budget.) Although the tones it generates seem outdated now, back then they sounded very professional, not out of place in a Hollywood movie sound track.
Indeed, it seems like they were everywhere
I regret not buying one of these now because they will be through the roof, but still love these so much, great video!
Thanks but I think you're overestimating the reach of this channel ;)
Reminds me of my old Korg AG "AudioGallery" synths! Sometimes I could get new hybrid sounds out of the AG-10 by sending rapid program and parameter changes and the unit glitched out. Fun times!
Wow, didn't know these beauties
I like how a lot of your music has a Robert Miles vibe going on. Its super tasteful and I appreciate it bunches.
Thank you!!!
Those strings are rad, ultimate strings and no other strings ever sounded so good. Unironically.
I agree! Mindblowing. They are quite similar to those in the U-220
I've used the "slow strings" and "pizzicato strings" on many many tracks. Love them.
We have come a long way yo!!! Groovy track btw
Thank you!!!
The thing is with the top GM models, you can do pretty much anything to any standard. I've lost count of how many people, that when they hear a really well programmed composition, with controller data and system exclusive data etc that they are amazed and then ask what gear was used, as they assume it must be the latest cool tech. Their jaw drops when you tell them it was a GM box like the Roland SC88 or Yamaha MU100R etc.
Yeah, they really upped their game back then
Top notch episode Pilz! I managed to pick up an SC-88 Pro last month purely out of nostalgic gear lust from memories of Final Fantasy VIII
Thank you!
How dare you!? I had an internal Roland SoundCanvas plugged to my SoundBlaster AWE32 next to my Gravis UltraSound with 1MB Sample memory... Those were the days!!!
Always wanted to have one of these back in the day ;)
Thanks for the video. It brings back memories. The SC-55 was my first sound module. I bought it brand new when it first came out and still have it today. Besides using it to make music, I had it hooked up to my Mac in M-32 mode to play the MIDI music for games like the Quest series. 😀
Thanks for watching! I should have included some "Quests" too!
@@AudioPilz You're welcome! Yes, those Sierra Online games of that era were fantastic. Please checkout my channel when you get a chance to see how far I've come since then. 😀
I don't think I've ever heard a variant of the intro tune sound this banging, imagine what you could have done with the SC-88 pro
IMHO it is only surpassed by the R8m. That snare is really bangin'
This was so useful to me as a young boy working placement in a rock and roll music shop. I did very good backing tracks with mine (Boss DS330) almost the same.
DS-330 is rad!
Those pizzicato strings in the opener :D
They're actually really good!
@@AudioPilz Instant Enya :)
Great review again. I love how you take just about anything and make it work.
I want you to fit the words Gemutlich and Naturwissenschaft into one of your song titles.
Thanks! Innerer Schweinehund ;)
I love how it’s a vaporwave channel posing as a gear review channel 😉
This time I even sped up the vaporwave so it sounded like DnB ;)
In all of your instrument reviews the sounds of the reviewed instrument of that era is very strong and recognizable. It's not until you bring the instrument out of it's bubble and connect to modern processing gear, along with modern song composition, that the instrument sounds unique and fresh. It clearly sparks new creativity and sounds great in todays music. Your last demo song of the instrument always proves this. Is it bad gear? Sometimes that is not an easy question to answer.
Today, the SC-55 probably doesn't add up to our modern day expectations. But in the 90's I'm sure it was more than adequate for the right group of musicians.
Excellent review!
Thank you!
I just got a JV1010 and boy, does it live up to today's standards and way beyond...
1:47 is that DOOM running on a thermometer or pregnancy test thingy!?...
It's the legendary pregnancy test of Doom ;)
Hey I know lots of people say this about you, but it’s true, your vids deserve way more subscribers, you got great character and your vids are tops, take care man.
Thank you so much!
i love my sc88 to death (and get a ton of Real Use out of it) and so many of the sounds from the sc55 bank are incredibly nostalgic, but the 88 really does take it to another level.
I've yet to try that one!
The music you produce (?) in these videos are outstanding👍
Thank you!
I lived long enough to see cheesy lofi 90s midi music be cool again! Kudos to Roland engineers, the company has survived all this time as myriads went under.
Yeah, Roland is a true behemoth
okay, that "pianos from a happier time" dnb was pretty lit 🙏 debut AudioPilz album when?
Thanks! Which AudioPilz album? ;)
Hey I actually have the newer VST plugin version of the SC-55 as I picked it up for use with DOS emulation as I was using a laptop at the time and didn't want to deal with hardware. Works good for that use case. Slight pain in the ass though I'll admit. But the VA VST is a nice to have around for it.
I've yet to try the software version!
the video quality, the quality memes, the amazing host. Thats a subscribe from me bro.
Thank you so much!
The swan-print pterodactyl really made that late 90's CGI video splash ring true . The Cringe is strong with this one .
The Mind's Eye ;)
I remember seeing The Mind's Eye on TV in 1990 and it utterly blew my mind.
Several times now I spied that Zoom MS-50G.
Every time I cheer a little bit inside, as most places I see Zoom manifest (in a synth context) it is their CDR-70
Proud owner of a 50G myself (very useful for aggressive guitar, bass guitar, and exploring synth use cases), and would love to see some coverage on pedal chains that pair well with [bad|good] gear.
Thanks for your continued standard of excellence in delivery (while maintaining the humor!) :-D
Thanks! I've had a rather complex FX chain in the Yamaha SHS-10 keytar vid. Massive sounds!
I remember that I wanted to trade in my only synth at that time, a MT-32, for a SC-55 when it came out, but I quickly realized it's not really a synth and kept my MT-32 :)
It's like a synth on tranquilizers ;)
As a kid I remember obsessing over the SC-55 in some gear magazine. Parents never did give in, but I did get a JV-1080 a few years later, so that was rad.
Also, that looked like a Video Toaster demo reel at the end there. Niiiice.
It's from The Mind's Eye and actually pretty rad ;)
Hey, that's @Foone's Doom playing pregnancy test!
Also: I installed Descent yesterday on a whim. Coincidence?
There. Is. No. Such. Thing. As. Coincidence. ;)
My stress level has just decreased 50% by watching this video. High quality content as always! Do you have any suggestions for music like that D&B track you created, really liked the style.... Cant find similar stuff on youtube
Thanks! Try some oldschool LTJ Bukem
So is this where the "Microsoft GS Synthesizer" gets the sounds from?
Indeed ;)
This comment is underrated...
You’re killing’ me, man! I just bought a SC-55 MKII from Japan - As in it’s in the hands of DHL being shipped currently. I did not buy it for music composition though. I solely will use it for vintage DOS games. Many game music creators at the time used it as the default GM sound reference for most or all of their games.
True that! Bobby Prince's axe ;)
"Join my Patreon"
_ho hum_
"....Get access to the music clips from the show without me babbling over it, videos of extended jams and other additional content"
_SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!_
Thanks for being a Patron ;)
@@AudioPilz NGL, I signed up right away. You earned it! Keep up the good work. :)
I keep going back to the Roland ones. No one skewers Roland quite like bad gear! I hope their engineers/designers watch. Maybe one day we'll get a Roland manual that makes sense?
I think Roland's problem is not their engineers;)
The SC-55 might’ve been cheesy, but it’s a true gem when it comes to computer music’s history. I had an X5DR (poor man’s half-rack 01/w with GM support) and it could easily knock the sc-55’s socks off in terms of sound. The pianos are kinda 🗑 though, but the chromatic, woodwind and some of the drum sounds are very very good! Although some sounds were stolen from the fairlight III library and the old prosonus cd libraries afaik.
Good to know, thanks for posting!
always cheers me up every friday, love ur stuff
Thank you!
Uploaded 2 minutes ago. I'm down. Der Kanal ist einfach zu lecker!
#nonotification
Danke!
I just love your video editing. 😊
Happy to hear that, thanks!
My favorite string ensemble of any synth ever. Absolutely artificial sounding but beautiful.
Agreed, good one. Reminds me of the U-10 or U-20
@@AudioPilz Yup, I have that patch on my u220!
I really like the SC-55. I have two of its successors, the SC-88pro and the SD-90. Both are really good synths, and they kick-started my MIDI addiction.
The high range of the piano at 2:39 sounds truely awful
Not exactly a Steinway;)
I have a Mini Engine Pro from the manufacturer Midplus, it is a module that has the same GM sound bank, but it does not accept all CC midi's, it is quite decent if you need one instrument or several and you do not have a PC.
Good video!
Thank you! I have to check it out
I definitely think that the later Sound Canvas modules were a lot more advanced, the earlier ones are a bit rough in comparison...
Heeeeeeeey you mentioned one of my favourite old games that nobody mentions.
...no I won't say which one it was. :)
True, we should talk more about Doom ;)
@@AudioPilz Hehehe well there's that one too :D
Wie immer ein super Video! Glückwunsch zu den 30000 Abonnenten :)
Besten Dank!
@@AudioPilz Ich hätte übrigens noch nen Vorschlag für dich: Das Roland Pro E. Das gibt's auf eBay Kleinanzeigen ab und zu für 50€, könnte interessant sein.
Those 16 part romplers make HUUUGE pads when you pile all 16 parts on 1 channel and only play 1 note at a time. lol
True! Stacking is king with this one
Da fuq that intro i just heard - great stuff man ^^ (as per usual)
Getting out my old DosBox right now.....
DosBox is my gaming console ;)