Colossus: A once in a generation synthesizer
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 มิ.ย. 2024
- A look at the outrageous and jaw-dropping Colossus from Analogue Solutions.
A "colossus" thank you to Tom at Analogue Solutions for the very generous loan of this remarkable instrument.
www.colossus-synth.com/colossus
Thank also to Simon and Eli for their help with the video.
For my music, stems of my music, sample packs, Q&As and to help keep this channel going, please consider my Patreon:
/ alexballmusic
0:00 Intro Jam
1:07 Colossus
2:11 Demo 1: Fireflies
3:47 Synthi 100
4:28 Whistle Stop Tour Pt 1
7:34 Demo 2: Heft Side Brain
8:52 Whistle Stop Tour Pt 2
10:07 Demo 3: Peggio
11:31 The Colossus in the room
12:37 Demo 4: Helix - เพลง
That right there is perhaps the best-sounding midlife crisis ever ❤
😂
As someone born in 1975 and just enough money that it's dangerous.... 😂 I'm totally not worthy for such an amazing machine.
@@MeriaDuck Can relate, but you're looking at it from the wrong angle. Nobody who can afford this is *really* worthy, unless they're a musical genius - and in that case they are probably already making their music on something else with similar results. I think a better angle would be: you're getting to support a guy who is doing something special and great, instead of giving that same money to a big corporation for a car or something.
It costs substantially less than a new sports car.
@@anonymoushuman8344 and it retains its value more
I think the greatest thing about this synth is that you get to feel like a scientist performing a dangerous experiment in a 1950s b-movie when you're working on it.
I worked for IBM in the 90s and still have my anti-static labcoat. I'd definitely dig it out and wear it when I was playing this thing! Pretend I was a big important, serious sciencey man!😂
I'd only wear a white lab coat when using it especially if I have visitors 😀
You could build your own modular and feel the exact same way.
@@gladlawson61Don't tell me how to feel
This synth has been purchased by mostly Schools and Universities, as a teaching tool.
This monstrosity is a straight up nuclear plant control panel and I love it.
They should've called it the T-437 Safety Command Console.
Exactly what I thought, "Don't forget to lower the control rods before they go critical!!"
Also worth noting that in 1971 the EMS Synthi 100 cost around £6500, equivalent to more that £117K in todays terms. Tom’s Colossus is a bargain!!
Yep!
It's good to know there are at least 60 studios that have a Colossus in them.
Wouldn't the world be dull if some people didn't dream big
This.
This synth is perfect for a electronic music program at a school. One could learn basically everything about synthesis and signal chain on this monster.
I agree 100%! I learned on a Synthi100 in university
Having seen this behemoth at Synthfest last year......it is simply staggering in person. And the fact that you have been able to produce this video, demo it in your own style and that Tom let you "borrow" it. We are so very lucky
The Colossus... when just the transport of your synthesizer costs as much as buying a regular synthesizer.
Oh look, there’s a double one… I laughed out loud. Glad I caught that. Especially after that surreal last piece. Beautiful.
😉
Magnificent. Isn't it wonderful to know there are instrument makers out there that still have the will to create such masterpieces? Thanks for letting us have a brief look at this awesome synthesiser, Alex! I bet you enjoyed having it in your studio to play with! This has taken some of the concepts of the EMS Synthi 100 and arrived at a place where it can be as raw or as musical as the imagination allows. A brilliant piece of kit!
Every living room across the world should have a Colossus unit.
...and every nun needs one.
@@MirlitronOne And every picnic as well!
The World is so not ready!
"If you can afford a truck, you can afford a synthesizer" - Moog
Yes i need it in my lorry
That synth is absolutely mental.
Your Peggio and Helix demos are lovely.
Oh awesome I often see pictures of it but I don't think I've heard it. That thing sounds amazing and you can totally hear the Analogue Solutions signature in there. What a beast.
It is glorious, yeah!
Rumor is if you strike the right sounds you will summon the ghost of Keith Emerson. Lovely machine. Thank you for sharing your time with it.
Those filters sound incredible. I'm very pleased that there are eccentric geniuses around who can make these kind of beauties.
Yeah, he's tweaked the designs I believe. The 2-pole is particularly potent.
I would endlessly listen to an album of the type of music that you have made with this machine toward the end of the video. So beautiful and relaxing!
Cheers! Nice to experiment with something different.
I'd defo play that first track out
I have to say that the Peggio track was my absolute favourite, but Helix was a close second. As always, great to see these dream synths demonstrated in a more musical way as opposed to a bit of knobtwiddling and talk about how fat the sound is.
I'd love to see what it took to get it into the studio.
I wonder how they deliver it when you order one!
they make one that is double the size
@@JohnLloydDavisIf I understand correctly, Tom from Analogue Solutions actually arrives with it, wearing a lab coat, to give it to you. He then presents you with an honorary lab coat of your own. No, seriously!
@@brianmorton4127 do you mean half the size? There is the Quartz, recently reviewed by @starskycarr
One thing that's neat is that, unlike the 100, they designed it to fit through doorways.
12 oscillators... because why not. Why not indeed?
Whoa! thats immense, love what looks like a lab oscilloscope bolted into it
Yeah, that's a nice touch.
It's testament to your musicianship and programming skills that you can make anything resembling actual music using this monster. It looks incredibly intimidating and I'll never complain about my synths having too few LFOs and envelopes ever again.
A master at work.
Look your 2 minutes in and I"m already in love with the sound of this thing, and Googling the cost. WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!
yeah....colossus is the perfect name for this brilliant monster.
Gosh! I think I'm in love. Nothing mental about this.
Wow. Fine particles of dust blew out from my studio monitors unless it was actually the cone paper itself. Yes. The world does need the Colossus. It's by far the greatest single invention known to man at this point. The wheel, fire and the Colossus. And not necessarily in that order. Thank you, Alex.
Love it! Sounds and looks spectacular. 1972 Doctor Who, The Sea Devils, was done with a Synthi 100.
That track at the end deserves a release
I suspected a pulsing drone might attract a passing Hainbach. 😀
Utterly spiffing demo, Bubba. I freakin LOVE the sound of this thing. Tom really outdid homself - and everyone else - when he created this thing. Blew my mind when it made its first appearance. Happy synthing! 🥳
it took me 10 minutes to realize this is _not_ a vintage gear review. gorgeous!
Yep, this unit is about 2 months old. Newest synth I've ever had in my possession.
I can't imagine the complexities of designing the circuit boards and wiring ! It's a miracle of engineering.
Dr Forbin is impressed.
Ah sir, another massive organ on display. And a fine specimen as well! 😍
Imagine having this at your school? Today kids We are going to learn about synthesizers.
One of those Synths that most people may never ever get to have their hands on, let alone own. And for those (unlucky) many, you've created some incredible demos to listen to and enjoy this beast. One of a kind and despite how overwhelming it is, the musicality you managed to squeeze out is yet again second to none! Totally fell in love with that last demo!
Something Alex missed is that this Synth was intended for schools and Universities.
@@HOLLASOUNDSThe Synthi 100 was. The Colossus is built in a different era and meant for naughtiness.
@@AlexBallMusic I'll take your word for it. 😀
It sounds as big as it looks!Gorgeous!
This thing is absolutely gorgeous. There's just so much this thing has to offer. And I love the inclusion of not one but two built in oscilloscopes.
Such a beautiful and epic synthesizer.
Wow what a beautiful sounding work of electronic art. Thanks Alex for your amazing knowledge and musical talent.
“Oh look, there’s a double one!” at the end made laugh out loud! 😂
The double is real and on YT
@@webup1789 I know it, for those that find 12 oscillators is just not enough! 😆
That’s clearly an amazing sounding piece of audio gear just to begin with. The bottom end of it had such an ease and firmth.. and the mid range of all the tones were so rich and juicy sounding. No question it will be a sought after piece of gear forever
Love AS products! I had a Nyborg 12 for a long time, sold it to a friend after getting a fusebox, and their Generator sequencer is amazing as well. One foot in the past while looking towards the future.
absolutely fantastic demos
Imagine 30 EMS made and yet the talk and the desirability - I think you can say there is a serious demand for these. There are some products we have enough of and that we maybe don‘t need more made - like a Dx7. And then again there is this, and maybe we do need more of these. What a wonderful instrument! Thank you for the fantastic demo. All the best, Tobi
Your demos are always really good.
Keep em coming!
Absolutely fantastic content. You were reverant, honest, and not trying to bill it as the greatest synth in the world. This is a lovely tour of the configuration of modules and controllers coupled with tasteful demos.
Wooow! What an amazing analog monster! Great video!
Oh mate… your videos are ALWAYS a treat. Many thanks, please keep at it!!
Amazing synth! Thanks for your work!
Now that's what I called a Synth Space Station! I'd imagine how long it took for you to learn how to use this beast of a synthesizer.
Incredible synth, and definitely feel you've surpassed your high quality bar with your musical demos on this one Alex!
Some of the best demo songs I've heard you do. Brilliant!
It sounds so awesome. All the examples are stellar as usual. Interesting ambient bit at the end.
Ahhh, the good old days of the experimental music labs by national radio channels and university around the world: Italy, Germany, Japan, France, U.S.A., U.K......
They all probably have liked this masterpiece!!
Sounds amazing, nice demos.
Thanks!
Excellent demonstration/exploration as always, and that last track Helix was so beautiful. It was really special to be able to hear this synth in that way
This is very good. I always wanted such a sound structure. I really enjoyed it.✌️🙃
Now we’ve got something that would make even the greatest of synthesizers cry patch cables at this incredible instrument that is truly from another world of sound!
Maximum Kudos to Dave Cockerell who designed the EMS Synthi-100!
Dave Cockerell created what most people feel outer space is supposed to sound like.
The EMS guys are absolute heroes.
@@AlexBallMusic Absolutely. Any chance you could do one of your brilliant documentaries on EMS? We lost Peter Zinovieff last year, but Dave Cockerell is still knocking about, and it could be a last chance to interview the genius behind the VCS3, Akai S-series samplers and several innovative Electro-Harmonix pedals?
Particularly enjoyed the demos for this instrument, especially the intro jam. Awesome job, and great sounds!
What a crazy, glorious instrument.
Genuinely brilliant instrument beautifully demo-ed. thank you!
Wow!! Just WOW!! what a monster... Great demos too
Thanks a lot!
.....but there's also a DOUBLE Colossus!!!
Amazing synth and some vintage Jupiters have been selling for that sort of money too
Astounding in every way Alex!
That was the best sounding patches I've ever heard. So musical too.
What a phat sounding monster system! And you can also use it for playing battleships.
I love how knowledgeable you are of every synth you put your analogue mitts on!
The best video explaining the function of the Colossus that I have seen to date, totally inspires me to dream of one day having this majestic instrument, congratulations!
Hey Ramón! Glad you enjoyed it.
Majestic, haha, that is definitely one way of putting it. What a machine!
Your little demos are always great, I really loved that last piece.
Thank you very much!
You might have the greatest studio I've ever seen
It's not bad. 😉
Blimey! The thumbnail alone nearly crashed my laptop
Jpeg girth.
That’s one Hell of a machine!!! Great video as always Alex!
Holy moly this thing is awesome, had the whole house shaking with the tone sweeps …absolutely sublime synth.
If I ever win the lottery I wont tell anyone but there will be signs.
I saw the Synthi 100 when Tom had it in his garage! At the time it looked cosmetically perfect, but he did say it was a work in progress from a technical perspective.
As for your demos, the second one reminded me of the mighty Cabaret Voltaire with those sampled bits of dialogue. Appropriate, since the Cabs are in the news today as some vinyl copies of Taylor Swift's new album have been mispressed with one of their songs on it!
I saw it in his garage too 😊 and the mass of wires hanging out the back 😊
This can only be an improvement on Taylor's album.
Thank you for the presentation. A wonderful piece of analog work of art!
What an absolutely delightful and ridiculous monstrosity.
I thought Colossus was of Rhodes, but this is clearly a synth. Then again, the Hydra(synth) does a decent Rhodes, so you never know!
Hermes is the god of synth deliveries.
Very nice
😀
Another great video @alexball . I appreciate how you included other gear in your jams to show how the Colossus could fit into a studio environment if one had the $$ and physical space.
Incredible video, thank you, Alex
OOOOH LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT etc etc
Wowee. First minute is by far the best demo of the Colossus I've seen so far. Nice one Alex 🙌
Thanks a ton!
It sounds like the BBC Radiophonic workshop, 1975
Perfect.
@@AlexBallMusic Any chance of a cover of the boinkity-boing version of the Doctor Who theme?
Gorgeous video! You deserve your place as {insert word for representative of synth world}, so glad Alex Ball exists and makes videos synths
Awesome presentation of an awesome synth / monster ❤
I really didn’t want to love the sounds. I tried. But boy… does it sound glorious! I have no space for it, it is way too expensive… it crazy. I wish I had access to it.
Its target buyers are schools, and universities.
@@HOLLASOUNDS ok, I’ll have to start a school. clear.
A synth that looks like the control console of a nuclear power plant from the 60ties. Maximum GAS! I need a sedative.😵💫
What a thing! Really nicely done music examples too.
“Oh look, there’s double one.” Classic Ball 😬
Not a single mention of the Radiophonic Workshop - or Malcolm Clarke's score for the Sea Devils.
That wasn't this synth.
@@AlexBallMusic Oh I know but as you said the Collosus is based on that one. (ps. asked my employer if I can switch to a Sunday Paper round)
@@SamLowryDZ-015Sure, but it would be a weird tangent to then discuss music not made by this synth. They have different features and functions too, it's just broadly inspired by it.
I would absolutely love to do some videos on EMS synths, they're at the top of the list, so all that stuff can wait for that.
Paper round - just take the extra Sunday run and you'll have saved up in no time.
sell everything else and buy a colossus? 🤔
what a wonderful synth and well played
This is insanity. And the Helix demo is so beautiful
Too much of everything is just enough.
You made a great point at the last exposition point
and personally I definitely see you Alex, blessed with your patience and attention to detail, surrounded by kids patching away on this Collossus and teaching the art of sound design on analog subtractive modular matrix based synthesis
BUT only on the double one... you only live twice!
I had a like at first listen for all four demos. So in my view, this amazing tool has justified its existence.
Great! I'll take two!
Fantastic video! As always, thanks
Hello Alex: I really like the music you composed at the end. Have a wonderful day.
Simply joyous, Alex! Thanks you!
Cheers Andrew!
Outstanding review and demo!
Thank you kindly!