A Closer Look at the Roland System 100m from 1979!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 มิ.ย. 2024
- A closer look at Roland's System 100m synthesizer from 1979.
I demonstrate four patches to give a little flavour of this fantastic synthesizer and then explain each patch in order to give an understanding of how it works.
0:00 Intro
0:44 Patch 1 Drum n Bass (Demonstration)
1:44 Patch 1 Drum n Bass (Explanation)
4:04 Patch 2 Rate Speech (Demonstration)
4:39 Patch 2 Rate Speech (Explanation)
6:01 Patch 3 Jupiter 100m (Demonstration)
7:11 Patch 3 Jupiter 100m (Explanation)
8:00 Patch 4 Dial-Up (Demonstration)
9:30 Patch 4 Dial-Up (Explanation)
14:12 Outro
Modules used:
110 VCO / VCF / VCA
112 Dual VCO
121 Dual Filter
130 Dual VCA
131 Output Mixer
132 Voltage Processor / Mixer
140 Dual Envelope / LFO
150 Ring Mod / S&H / Noise / LFO
165 Dual Portamento
172 Phaser / Audio Delay / Gate Delay / LFO
182 Sequencer
184 Polyphonic 4CV Keyboard
191-J 5 module case with multiples
Huge thank you to the owner of this System!
If you want to delve deeper into the System 100m then check out my webpage on the subject: www.alexballmusic.com/system100m
Social:
/ alexballmusic
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0:00 Intro
0:44 Patch 1 Drum n Bass (Demonstration)
1:44 Patch 1 Drum n Bass (Explanation)
4:04 Patch 2 Rate Speech (Demonstration)
4:39 Patch 2 Rate Speech (Explanation)
6:01 Patch 3 Jupiter 100m (Demonstration)
7:11 Patch 3 Jupiter 100m (Explanation)
8:00 Patch 4 Dial-Up (Demonstration)
9:30 Patch 4 Dial-Up (Explanation)
14:12 Outro
Patch 4 is a supercool track! Jacked :)
@vekter 303 There's two 110s in this system yes. They sound exactly the same as the 112, 121, 130 modules but there's differences.
Only two signal inputs into the VCF and VCA instead of 3 on the dual modules. Ditto modulation.
110 oscillator has manual PWM _or_ external PWM but not both. 112 has both.
112 oscillators have oscillator sync and the 110 doesn't.
121 filters have switched hi pass and the 110 doesn't.
But the 110 is incredibly handy for getting VCO, VCF, VCA into a single module so great from a real estate perspective.
If I had money, I wouldn't have money.
Correct. ;)
Welcome to the club, and I'm just sitting here with a pretty minimal starter studio by most standards.
Pretty profound statement
@@jordanzish Thats all you need man! some off the best stuff has been made on minimal gear!
@@jordanzish i've had tons of equipment in the past - right now i use ableton with some good vsts, a midi keyboard, decent audio interface good studio monitors, good studio headphones, a simple midi controller from novation that i dont use and thats about it...
even that minimal setup is quite a bit and you can do almost anything with just this...
Man, I LOVE seeing/hearing “song” stuff on modular systems instead of just ambience and techno. (Which I do also enjoy btw)
And this guy can do it I like how his stuff is always melodic and catchy.
We need a modular-pop movement. Like synthpop but with less focus on synths in general and more of the unique sounds modulars are good at.
@@ArtFluids gee, wouldn’t it be nice if they were regarded as instruments rather than fart machine?
I'm the opposite
What a start in the morning! You make my day great! Thank you! ❤️
Love so much theese musical sound designs.. This is what modulars are made for (not just for random bleeping). Thanks a lot Alex for yet another amazing demo and all the best!
Thank you! I really enjoyed the level of detail you went into for each patch. An amazing system :)
Always go full nerd. 🤓
Sooo cooool. Love this synth. Played with the EMIS one years ago. Ballsiest oscillator I ever heard. Thank you for this!
Great video, this synth sounds simply awesome. Thanks Alex! :)
All wires aside, I love how you make actual music with this instrument! Great stuff!
Brilliant! I love all the detailed info thanks as ever Alex!
Alex, you are truly my favorite subscription. Thank you for bringing us such joy during these troubled times.
Thank you Cary. 🙂
Amazing demo and a clever use of the mixer for composition!
Love your videos! Keep 'em coming!
What a nice surprise to wake up to this video Alex . puts me in a good musical mood for the rest of the day.
Thanks Markus. 🙂
Wow. I’m so glad I preordered the Behringer 100 modules. You always make it look easy, Alex. Thanks man!
You'll have to try out the same patches to compare.
Thanks for sharing this, i'm totally in love from this system, cheers from Argentina!
I'm in love with it too. 🙂
This has actually given me a better understanding of modular synthesis in general terms. Nice one!
Great!
just SUPER! thanks Alex
Incredible demo Alex!
Just awesome! Congratulations
Great stuff! Very clever using S&H for digitizing audio and 'down-sampling'.
Thanks Alex for this great, great video!
This has made my day. Cheers!
It is highly probable that you'd simply find my dead electrocuted body hanging off of those cables trying to reproduce just one of those sounds.
keep that optimism going buddy :))
very pleased with you right now and just made the speech patch (amazed I've come close to this sound but never quite as close as you on my trusty 100m... Freddy Fresh
Fantastic video! In the first part of the video the arpeggiated-sounding sequence reminded me of Equinoxe Part V!
Great video and very helpful. i will need to go through this a few more times to absorb it all and apply what i can to the S500. Thank you.
sounds so sick! great video
Magnificent machines, I always wanted them but they cost a fortune even back in the day! But now I am very grateful to be the recent, and very proud owner of all the System-500 eurorack modules based upon them. Wonderful stuff! ;)
I have fond memories of owning & using a system 100m. I had a 3 191j cabinet system, and acquired the polyphonic 4 voice keyboard you have there as well. I used it with a kenton pro4 and it worked well most of the time. It always took pride of place in my studio.
Your brilliantly done video demonstrates how clean, zingy and versatile it can sound, providing you put the time in regards programming the patches; your patches sound excellent.
At the time, i had a lot of work on with libraries and licensing, and the odd tuning issues on one of the dual vco modules, would cause a fair amount of bother. It was an 'all around the world ' purchase via ebay (per cabinet) and that may explain it, as they're usually more stable than any other modular due to the use of Curtis chips on all the vcas, vcos and vcfs; its the same chipset as the sh101, later prophet 5s and countless other mono & poly synths.
As alluded to, i sold it on and had a tinge of regret, which my ever trusty system 100 managed to fill. I'm glad that roland made the 500 modules, but I'm waiting to see (and hear) the behringer ones in action. The latter can allow you to build up a powerful system for about the same money as it cost in 1979 to 1984; less if you factor in inflation.
Here's hoping behringer's system is the dog's dangly bits. Better still, it can literally be combined with anything else now, due to the eurorack footprint.
Coming out in 1979, the 100m was built upon the designs and technology that went into other Roland synths from that era. So Jupiter 4, SH series synths and the System predecessors from earlier in the 70s. This gives you discrete circuitry oscillators, a filter based on the ba662 and a VCA also utilising the ba662. Not a Curtis chip in sight. Which makes its stability and useability impressive but not surprising given the outstanding job they did with the 700 a few years earlier.
I've never understood how music didn't evolve into new genres quicker back in the day with this sort of kit. The Dial-Up patch is a perfect example of something that certainly sounds post 1990 dance culture. Generational inertia perhaps LOL. Awesome as ever Alex :-)
RAP MUSIC HAPPENED. STONER GENERATION THAT LISTEN TO DREK LIKE GREEN DAY. NOW ITS CUNTRY MUSIK.AMERICANA.
@@markorendas1790 ...dang
this just blows my mind, especially the dial-up patch.
Oh my God I hear Duran Duran “Careless Memories” intro. Fabulous
Outstanding vid, btw
Great video for a Wonderful Instrument!
Fabulous Alex! Fabulous!!!
Another brilliant video! That last patch is just the cat's meow! So very creative and fun. You done justice to the beast, son, you done justice.
Thanks Ned. I wanted to do something bigger for the end and it's surprisingly easy on the 100m.
Nice!
thanks for the patch notes
Cheers for the shout out in this one. Always nice to share synth ideas with each other.
No, thank you sir! Funnily enough, I'm trading 100m ideas at the moment. I say trading, I'm getting all the benefit, but still. 😀
love this! It sounds amazing!
Thanks. One of my favourite synths ever.
Simply wonderful Alex, thank you for sharing another gem.
Such a nice demo and such a big 100M set up!
Thank you. Yes, momma is big.
Awesome stuff as usual! Gonna have to try that S&H down-sample trick.
Yes, one of those "this is so obvious, how did I miss it" moments.
If you run drums through it and down sample it sounds ace.
Alex, Wonderful :)
Thanks
I so love these sounds- so similar to my old Roland Sh3a!
Lovely ideas... Cheers!
3:33 Oh man, suddenly it's 1981. Flanged noise, eh. I need to use that to get that Duran Duran feeling, clearly.
🕺This 👨🎤is 👩🎤Planet 🌎 Earth
Yeah, spot on DD...exactly...\\\
Careless memories came to mind at this exact point
Patch 3 just blew me off my chair. Awesome!
Memories of cheese! Good stuff...feels liket travelling back in time. Very well done video, thanks for explaining the patches. Can't wait for the release of the Behringer clones which will make the System 100m affordable at last...
The best beginning of the day
great content as always.
Thank you
Not a "cheesey" demo (Jupiter patch) imho! Another great video with wonderful patches and explanations. Tip of the hat Alex! 🎩
I like your cables. They are good.
FUUUUNKY!!! (FUN AND QUITE WELL EXPLAINED AND PERFORMANCE!) THANKS!!!
love it!!
Wow! Four minutes in and my creative brain is screaming at me OOOOHH, PLAY THIS! CONNECT THIS TO THAT! WHAT IF I SEND THIS HERE?! Thanks for the instant inspiration my dude! 😄
I've never really lusted after a system 55, 35, 15, or 10 but the 100m is a different kettle of fish. Perhaps, it's because I became really interested in owning synths around 79/80, a generational thing? A good way to start the weekend, any weekend, thanx Alex.
The System 100m is interesting because it's very late for an analogue modular synth given that was where things were a decade earlier and the direction had changed completely by 1979.
So it's like the very tail end of modular and it's much slimmer and more bitesize than the monsters from the late 60s and early 70s. Guess that gives it a different appeal.
that prophet rev 2 shirt is awesome!
Lovely!
70s era Roland: wicked fast & tight envelopes....my fave.
thank you
Love the way you wince with the high resonance at 9:24
Totally did. Pushed it just a smidge too far.
Heh... and I scored the 808th like on the vid. Awesome vid man!
Nice video. 3:35 reminds me of the Duran Duran's Careless Memories intro.
Fabulous video, loved your demo. Cheesy? Remember cheese is loved by billions and is a global mega industry. Bring the fromage, I say.
Loved by me too, that's why I did it. :)
Channeling a bit of OMD there, I thought he was going to do a cover of Souvenir...
What a fantastic instrument!
My favourite. Since this video I collected the entire thing, all 13 production modules and even a 1-of-a-kind prototype module. I have 6 cabs as the centerpiece of my studio. Endlessly inspiring.
Hey Alex Ball, I tried your patch 2 and I found that it was the decay time that altered the vowels!!. Sadly I only have 1 cab so couldn't try the other patches. Good job though!
Yes, totally. The whole envelope shape alters the vowels, I should have said that. In my particular patch I was using the attack to move through them but decay will also do that.
Thanks. Another wonderful lecture from Alex Ball University. I wonder how the new Behringer modules will compare?
Thanks. Behringer - we'll find out when they're released. Their other analogue stuff I've played sounded very good.
Great demo! Thanks for sharing! Enjoyed every minute of it. Although I suspect that your TR-77 (9:38) sounds were "tuned" slightly higher? Because they don't quite sound like those on my own TR-77... ;-)
I'll have to check back, but I think they were off the unit and I'd run them through an analogue mixer and eq'd and driven them a bit. Any tuning would be a digital mistake somewhere!
Oooh baby, gear porn in the morning! Oh my! :D
And don't underestimate the cheese there mate.. it's my bread and butter! Love those harmonies and bassline.
Oh, I love a bit of cheese as much as the next person. 🧀🎹
Alex that cheesy segment sounded amazing, would love to here it in a complete song. Anders, also enjoyed your cheddar on the latest 8 bit keys video.
@@riggidyboo Rightly so.. I pulled out all the cheddar, swiss, and all the other cheese I could find! LOL! :D
I like your avatar pic.
the Adlib FM synth music comes to mind.
This makes me extremely excited about the Behringer 100m eurorack clones.
If only we could get the full delivery schedule
Think they're cloning every single module.
They should go the whole hog and do the 160 prototype designed to connect to a Commodore 64. Then clone the Commodore 64.
@@AlexBallMusic
HA!!! 😃
You are crazy Alex! 😁👍
Cardboard 100m coming to your studio soon? ;)
@@AlexBallMusic that's a lot of cardboard, might have to order some new synths first... 😁
Can't wrong with a Vintage Roland. 🤟
Nicely covered. Is the composition in Patch 3 inspired by music from Peter Gabriel's 'Passion'? The chord progression feels familiar. (Have to dig out my CD to figure out which track I'm thinking of.)
Thanks, Alex! Thank you for keeping us entertained on these gloomy days!
Totally off topic: I like the pinboard to the top left of the System 100m with your MIDI channel mappings. Very retro!
It was going spare, I thought it would look cool. :)
Hey Alex, where did you get the cool cables? These are really nice!!!
Saw that Mr.Ball Released a video.. Parked my butt in the sofa to watch the video with some cheese doodles. Thats how entertaining these videos are!
Thanks. How were the doodles?
@@AlexBallMusic great, althou I had to wash my face and hands. Doodles sure are a messy treat xD
That jam at the 8 minute mark sounds like some classic Mr. Oizo stuff!
Most excellent! Have you had the chance to try the Behringer clone of this system? Having an original would be beyond me (and most mortals on the planet) but putting together a modern equivalent is now a possibility.
Not tried the Behringer clone. Heard it in demos and it sounds good, but not had it for a side-by-side comparison with the original. I guess it's best to judge it on its own merit anyway.
Pretty competitive prices for the modules! Especially as a four cab System like the one in this video is worth about £12,000 these days. 😬
super curious about the list of synths towards the upper left. upcoming videos perhaps??
It's the channels on my midi router.
Not only epic sounding but it looks SOOOOOO good - I wonder if I cut off both arms and sold them on ebay whether I could afford one of those..........
One of my absolute favourites. Wonderful thing.
Hello Alex! love you videos , they are superb! Do you ever consider doing a doc on Korg analog synths? Of course Triton and new gen synths could be a great adding, but doc on MS 20 alone would be nice, especially with its impact on new wave in the 80s and its revival in the electro scene and indie in the late 90, early 2000s. Cheers!
Hi. A Korg documents would be a massive undertaking as there's six decades of history. I'm reluctant to take on something that big at the moment
Although it would be fascinating, there is already an old Japanese Korg documentary made in the 90s that goes over those early days: th-cam.com/video/ue0a902JYqA/w-d-xo.html
But yes, a single Korg instrument film might be more doable.
Alex Ball Appreciate the feedback! Best of luck with great work!
@@whatistau Thanks for watching. :)
Strong candidate for best sounding synth. Eighventies Roland was so good.
"Eighventies" is the perfect description of the sound. :)
Credit for that lovely descriptive word goes to the Chart Music podcast, definitely worth a listen and sometimes features David Stubbs author of Mars By 1980, a really good read on Electronic music.
Hi ! Really nice video !
I was wondering, what kind of modules would you recommend to create drums, and monophonic sound (Bass, Zap, FX) ?
Best regards !
You'd just need the standard building blocks of an analogue synth - oscillators, noise, filters, envelopes, lfos (preferably that goes into the audio range), vcas and then maybe sample and hold and a ring modulator.
Alex Ball thx for the answer ! :)
Love the dial-up. I've got a couple of original Hayes 33.6 Kbps modems that I just can't throw away for sentimental reasons 🤷♀️
Oh I remember that sound well. And also annoying my parents by blocking the phone line.
1986 I had an ADM-3A in my bedroom and a 28k style modem that made that sound. I used it to work do college work on the University of Houston VAX-11 and to chat on BBS systems that were the Internet of the time. My dad was a lawyer and had a Wangwriter word processor and then a PC with Wordperfect, I would help dad, who knew nothing about computers at all. One day dad was in my bedroom and I showed him the new ADM-3A that was oh so cool at that time, and to my great surprise he sat down and started typing COBOL code!!!! I was stunned. he must have had some COBOL classes back in undergrad school.
Getting strong N5 from outer space vibes! 🖖
6:13 F yeah, 10/10 would see that piece live!
ok Dial Up is pretty goofy cool too.
wow !! Thank you Alex ! It sounds so great !
Is there a place somewhere where we can listen to your music (made with the system 100m) ?
Cheers :) :) :)
Thanks. I've got a full length performance coming with this very system soon....
@@AlexBallMusic Ah so cool :D Thank you so much for sharing !!
Happy I stayed up
Thanks Zach. :)
I like this
I like how the system 100m sounds but I don't understand any thing!
I'm even unable to create the sound I like on my Roland SH-01 (Gaia)
The only patching synth I own is the tiny Korg MS 10 and I can barely patch it the right way!
Anyway, I found your channel a couple of month ago and I enjoy all your videos!
If you can find a copy online, a fascinating read is *Electronic Musical Instrument’s: What They Do, How They Work,* written back in 1984 by an author named Larry Kettelkamp with a forward by Herbert A. Deutsch. It comes to mind mainly for featuring a photograph of a single cabinet from this system in chapter 3. It’s slim and 36 years old, but it’s still (potentially) worth a look.
Thank you for the tip off. Herbert A. Deutsch is the same Herbie Deutsch of Moog fame I assume?
You assume - correctly, Mr. Ball.
That was excellent Alex. You own these??
Thank you. There were actually five cabs in this video and one is mine, the other four were borrowed.
Another fabulous video. Having spent some time with a system 55 at the Mooglab I’ve always wanted to get my hands on a 100m system and compare. How do you think Rolands new 500 series compares sonically with the 100m?
th-cam.com/video/hbb1-T27O-Y/w-d-xo.html
tuftynuts thank you - I should’ve guessed Alex had made a film on this subject. And the SH-5 too - excellent.
Late reply and tuftynuts has answered above. As a bonus, here's a direct comparison of the System 100m 172 to the System 500 572 from my Instagram.
The 500 is great and it sounds very similar. The only downsides are that it's a lot smaller and therefore more fiddly when you've got patch cables everywhere (like all Eurorack), the oscillator scaling is a bit funky and it makes an audible "blip" when you switch octave and the case it comes with isn't quite the right size so you have this odd little panel on one side.
Other than that, fantastic.
instagram.com/tv/B_D32unhkWJ/?
Alex Ball thanks for the info I will check it out. Thanks for all the great films you make - the porn music one was especially good and the recent ARP film was an absolute pleasure to watch.
tuftynuts watched it - great as always from Alex - that SH-5 sounds fab!
5:58 AM EDT. Hell yeah as the coffee makes.
Great demo Alex! I think the 100m unfairly gets a bit of a bad rep for being "too vanilla" OK, so most system don't include the esoteric stuff, but if vanilla equals "musical" as it so often does with the 100m, then I'm all for the flavour! Wish I could have held onto my systems, but am sure they are making tasty tones somewhere still...
Yes, I've heard the same criticism. I don't understand that myself.
The only good argument I've heard is from someone whose music didn't suit the sound of the 100m and did suit others modulars better, which was totally logical.
Hey! Nice instructive videos! I have a question. In patch 4, is the sequencer triggered externally? the steps have different duration ..
Yes, the 182 sequencer has a "Trig in" and if you send it a 5v gate or the right kind of audio signal it will step to the rhythm you give it.
@@AlexBallMusic thanks. I appreciate your work. Very inspirational
@ You're welcome.
I have a lot of fun recreating your sound with the Behringer modules.Even if i cant to 100% ge the same result just likethe flanger/audio delay. Pure fun .
Excellent, glad you're having fun!
I've heard from owners of both that the 172 is the module that's a quite wide of the mark on the Behringer 100, but I've not tried it myself.
The other bits sound good from the demos I've heard.
@@AlexBallMusic Please tell me works the portamentoslider on your system100m at the upper 10% of the fader just like that behringer modul here? Many thanks th-cam.com/video/adrBd2y_ZQE/w-d-xo.html
@@Tinyvince1971 No that's not right. With the 165 module on the 100m you have to give it a wiggle to reset the value (which you see me do at 9:05), but you have a range across the whole fader and it isn't just at the very top like the Behringer.
Seems to be a calibration issue.
@@AlexBallMusic Alex a other user found out thats must be a +10V voltage into the cv input of the portamentochannel to use the full range of the slider. In this case i get a portamento about 2 octaves and the slider are full down.Its that the same on your system or it works without this additional voltage over the full sliderrange?? You have a On/Off switch on you original but not the behringer modul.Many THANKS
"Yay"!