A song with an old analog synth, the KORG Poly-800. The Poly-800 was released in 1983 so it's quite old but it sounds lovely still. The track is entirely made with sounds from the Poly-800 except for the drums. Every track is recorded playing live into the DAW. There is no quantization done here. Song (c) Espen Kraft 2015
Do you want to make old school synth pop using old gear and techniques, while at the same time wondering how to do this? This tutorial is for you then. I go through what it takes and I'll even perform the work-in-progress live.
These patches are created by me and some of the sounds is taken directly from my album "Those Days" which is a tribute to the glorious 80s synth-pop and synthesizer sounds used in tv/movies at the time. I use the 8P extensivly on that album.
Do you want to make old school Italo Disco/ Synth pop using old gear and techniques, while at the same time wondering how to do this? This tutorial is for you then. I go through what it takes and I'll even perform the work-in-progress live.
Today I give you a walkthrough of one of the more obscure, but never the less, great analog synths of the mid 80s. The Elka 22 analog synthesizer and its module sibling, the EM 22. With its 6 CEM3396 chips inside it has much of thr same sound as the Oberheim Matrix 6 and 1000, but not the extensive routing capabilities of those. Instead it has a gorgeous analog chorus onboard and some interesting flexible DCO oscillator routings/sync-options that set it apart from many og the more famous Roland and Korg synths from the same time.
In this tutorial/workflow I show you how I usually sample drums from audio files into the Akai S1000 sampler for a live session/gig. I show you how I build the program, define keygroups and set the samples up to be triggered off my Roland TR-626 or a MIDI keyboard.
In this episode of my ongoing focus on 80s synth-pop, I show an example of how chords and melodic structure was done in the 80s synth-pop tradition to add tension, depth and elegance to a composition. I strongly suggest you check out the finished track before watching the tutorial to get a feeling of the actual song I use to demonstrate.
32 Original patches for the Roland D-50. These patches are created by me to emulate classic analoge synth sounds for use in all kinds of electronic music.
Have you ever wondered why 80s pop music sounds so different from pop music made today? I show you why and I explain how you can make your own tracks the same way.
I wanted to make something in the ballpark of Jan Hammers more slow , dark, beautiful and melancholic themes from the show. I came up with this track called "Sheeba", and I rely heavily on digital synths and samplers from the mid 80s. Some analogs too!
The Roland TR-626 is one of the best 80s drum machines out there. It's also way cheaper than the 707.
The smash 80s hit "Forever Young" by Alphaville is a prime example on how the simplest of chords, pretty much repeated throughout the whole song, can be the most beautiful and effective way to make a great song. With a great singer on top and the vocals going higher in register as the song progresses the impact is of an epic journey.
The Yamaha RX11 drum machine from 1984. This is the drum machine Erasure used for their live gigs after their debut album "Wonderland". The RX proved itself to deliver the sound they were going for and it's also very easy to use and setup for both live and studio applications.
The Roland S-550 sampler is one of the best sounding vintage samplers out there. It has a really present sonically character and it "degrades" the sound in a very musically way that's pleasing to the ear.
The Casio RZ-1 drum machine from the mid 80s was soon forgotten, but today I revive it and take a look at the very smooth internal groove, its 8 bit sampling capability and how it sounds together with some synths.
Roland MSQ-700 - The worlds first MIDI sequencer. I use this for more pattern based grooves, fast sketches and arpeggios. No hidden menus, chuncky "good-feel" buttons and a cool futuristic (in 1983) look that today has gone full circle and it looks cooler than ever.
Akai X7000 sampling keyboard in module form. A stripped down S900.
Casio SK-1 sampling keyboard from 1985. Is it just a retro toy these days? Is it possible to make a full production using only sounds and samples from the SK-1?
When my good friend Anders Enger Jensen, a very accomplished musician and retro oriented artist, wanted to make a remake of my little Akai S612 demo song, I did not hesitate. I said "go" and he did an excellent job. Not only that, he did a full lenght video tutorial on how he did it as well, how awesome is that?
Over the years I've come to rely on the Korg DW-8000 as one of my secret weapons. It's gone under the radar of many, especially since it was pretty much neglected back in the day as it fell between the digital revolution of the Yamaha DX7 and the Roland D50 at the time. The Korg DW-8000 should really cost as much used today as the Sequential VS, as it's so good at creating that hybrid PPG-like sounds. It can blend a totally analog sounding saw with a complex bell waveform into a truly amazing new sound.
The small, but punchy Boss Dr.Rhythm 220A drum machine from 1985. Great value for money! A quick overview and tutorial on how to use it after the demo track.
In 1985 Roland released the last of their analog Juno synths, the Alpha Juno 1 and 2. Excellent synths that failed to impress the world at the time where everyone wanted digital synths and samplers. The 5 octave Alpha Juno 2 with velocity and after touch is still my fav master keyboard and I love it dearly.
Late 1983 Fiction Factory released their only true hit single "Feels Like Heaven". It charted around the world in 1984 hence the "1984" tag. I've always loved that song and since I've had some requests to do something on that I just thought I'd cook up a little "live in the studio" thing on it.
After many requests I've made a video on how I arrange, record and mix my vocals, 80 style. 80s vocals were often lush, large and reverb drenched and I love that sound. To accomplish that I use a large variety of plugins and hardware effects.
I compare the Eventide H3000 and the Eventide H3000 Factory plug-in, side by side. Can the plug-in replace the mighty hardware? What are the differences?
The Atari ST series of computer, (first out was the Atari 520ST in 1985) are by many considered the best music computers ever made. Rock solid, great MIDI capabilities (and built-in MIDI ports) and loads of software made in its day, it soon became the choice of professional musicians wanting in on the computer boom.
From 1989 to 1993 this combo was my main sequencer workhorse and I just churned out so much music with this super combo. Always on time, always in sync with other gear and it just worked non-stop. I relive one of my most productive years with my Atari 1040ST and Notator in this video. :)
There will often be days when you lack inspiration and creativity is long gone. That's when you pull a trick out of the hat. This is one of them. By setting your synth up for a "Negative Pitch Follow" you will reverse your keys so that the highest note will be at the bottom of the keys and the highest note will be at the top. Now try to play a few chords. Not so easy is it? Everything is in reverse and the usual chords are not possible to play using the finger settings you're used too.
The SSL SiX has been a cornerstone in my setup for every single day for the last (almost) 5 years. As a monitor mixer, recording mixer and audio hub. It feeds all my monitors, audio interfaces and the preamps are crystal clear with lots of headroom. It's built like a tank and everything is quality.
A reverb using real recordings from all the places you never got to go. Then you can use that space as your reverb.
Famous for being the sequencer of choice by Liam Howlett of the Prodigy, the Roland W-30 from 1989 had a very capable, easy to use and great 16 track sequencer. Pretty much the same as the MC-500mk2, but with a bigger screen. The MC-500 only had 8 tracks. In this video I'm not using any internal sampled sounds at all. I'm using the W-30's sequencer to trigger external sounds over different midi channels as usual, but instead of using a midi module of old, I'm triggering different plugins inside Cubase 11 pro. Setting up the different plugins to respond to different midi channels. Don't forget to filter out the other channels from each plugin inside Cubase if you're going to do this.
My Top-10 list of synths to buy in 2025 includes... NOTHING. I can't find ONE synth that I'm interested in buying. Not ONE synth that will make me a better composer. Not ONE synth that will make me a better player and not ONE synth I find original enough in terms of sound, and therefore it won't make an impact on my creativity. It will be much cheaper to dig in and use what I have instead of just buying new stuff.
In 2016/17 I did a remix of a Robert Parker track called "85 again", for a remix competition he invited to. I think this was on Soundcloud. At the time I thought it was a good move to kick-start the channel. Why my remix never ended up on his Soundcloud playlist with about 75 other entries, I have no idea, but for the short period it was on there I read that many listeners said my version was far better than his original, so I guess he didn't like that.
I like to protect my most valued vinyl records and laserdiscs with outer sleeves. I've never had much problem with that, but over age the plastic has often yellowed, crimped and generally become quite unpleasant. If these Big Fudge protective sleeves will end up like that I have no idea, but I assume I'll be dead when that eventually happens, and as such I don't give a rat's ass about it. For now I'm very happy with these. They're transparent, crystal clear, wrinkle free and they hold everything from 12" maxi singles up to triple gatefold laserdisc releases, quite thick. No problems whatsoever.
The Korg Mono/Poly belongs to a friend of mine who (if my memory serves me right) did find it in a garage somewhere, alongside a Roland Jupiter-4 which was beyond repair from what I can remember he said. This is a short edit from a longer video I once had on my channel. Oscillator 1 on the Mono/Poly did not work and that prevented me from doing a couple of things with it, but it still worked and what you hear in this video is what I got out of it. Only the kick drum is a sample. The rest is the MP you see here.
The best Yamaha DX samples and patches inside your Prophet X. I've layered and recorded my best patches from over 30 years with the DX7, TX816 and TX802. All put into 64 epic multi-samples which I've recorded with focus on making the most beautiful and musically DX patches you'll ever need in your PX. Some of the samples have up to 5 velocity layers.
A short edit of a longer Yamaha TX16W sampler tutorial that can be downloaded if you're on my Patreon page. All the sounds in this demo song are coming from the TX16W. Everything sampled from analog synths. Drums are sampled drum machines.
How do you make authentic sounding 80s pop/synth-pop in 2025? In this video I will look at chords, sounds, arrangement and how we can put together everything to make it sound like it could have come from the 80s. Tons of tips and tricks from over 35 years of experience making this type of music.
Just to be clear, out of all the extended versions Suno did of the template, this is the only version where everything came together in a cool way. Every time I fed it the 30 sec template it didn't produce something I really liked. Sometimes the vocals (vocal sound or top line melody) were bad, sometimes the sounds, structure or just everything.
8 worst vintage synths you can get today. I never ever want to play or see these synths again.
My 6 recommended vintage synths are: 1. Yamaha DX7 2. Roland D-50 3. Roland Alpha Juno-2 4. Kawai K3 5. Yamaha Electone Organ models 605, D-65 or D-85 6. Commodore 64 (I accidentally say this is a 4-voice, when it has 3 voices. It has 4 waveforms in the oscillator though.)
I'm using an Intel i7 2600K system from 2011 as my main computer because it runs so smoothly. I have no plugins or software that requires any online connection (I don't even have a network card installed) and my 2005 32-bit DAW (Nuendo/Cubase) is set up exactly how I want it. Newer versions are simply inferior to me for daily work. I'm also relying on so many useful plugins that will not run on a 64-bit system. As such I have to do regular backups of the hard drives as well as having spare components at hand that works as a direct swap if problems occur. That's really the true risk of running an old system like this. Spare components.
In 1984 Simmons began to expand their product line with smaller kits and pads, including the SDS 800 (bass, snare, and 2 tom system). This was aimed at acoustic drummers who wanted to add a couple of Simmons pads to their kit on a budget. This is an edited reupload of a longer video I once had on my channel.
The video showcases a collection of 12-inch maxi singles, including popular tracks from the 80s like "Reflex" by Duran Duran and "Life on Your Own" by The Human League. The owner discusses their significance as learning tools for understanding music production and highlights specific examples of differences between the 7-inch and 12-inch versions.
Michael Omartian, Oingo Boingo (Danny Elfman), Anthony Marinelli, tips & tricks, patches, ads and much more.
The Golden Boy is by far my most popular and known track. First heard on my 2017 album "Those Days", but also part of compilations. It's also been used in documentaries, games and it's also been released on vinyl.
Stock, Aitken and Waterman used a lot of DX7 basses in their hits. In interviews in the 80s they would occasionally talk about their cartridge with DX7 bass patches and how no one would get access to it. Many decades later and the patches can now be found online. Just to make sure I asked Phil Harding if he was able to verify that these are indeed the real mythical patches and he, in turn, asked Ian Curnow. Ian Curnow is of course the guy that actually did the programming of most of it. He also made the Fairlight patches/sounds for "Never Gonna Give You Up" which uses one of these bass patches. Ian Curnow did confirm this is it.
The ultimate memory cartridge for your old 80s Roland gear. It's equivalent of 64 Roland M-64C carts. Fully compatible with all the Roland gear that could use these. It's also battery free using F-RAM tech and as such i will hold the stored data for 100 years or more without ever needing a battery.
You can get fully customised "plug and play" displays that looks fantastic, but cost upwards of $150 or more. Or, you can buy the cheapest you can find online, do the legwork yourself and it'll cost you less than 10 bucks. In this video I do just that. I install a very expensive one in my Yamaha QX3 sequencer and I install a very cheap one in my Roland MC-500.
Working in the box, even with a retro sound, is not difficult these days. There are lots of software and plugins that emulate vintage gear very well. The quality/authenticity is no longer an issue ITB.
Top 20 Keyboard/Synth Intros // All of these songs were chart hits
A brand new sample pack for the Roland S-10, MKS-100 and S-220. 51 different samples taken from my vintage collection of synths and drum machines. These are QD image files so you have to have a QD floppy emulator installed in your S-10 to use these. Price is $15USD or €15Euros if you prefer that currency. Send me an email if you're interested. I only sell these through email. You'll find my email in the "about" here on my channel. All the sounds heard in the demo video are coming from this pack. External reverb is on some of the samples in the video. I think the Roland 12-bit S-samplers from the 80s has a special sound to them. If you have a S-10/MKS-100/S-220 and you just want some new cool sounds for it then this pack might be for you. These sounds can not be found anywhere else. They're all made by me one way or the other.
Yamaha KX88 - the gold standard of 80s master keyboards. After 40 years it's time to change out the original factory battery to be able to store setups and controllers etc.
NewsBreak: Bandcamp is kicking out PayPal for Stripe. I think this is bad news as I've made my whole payment infrastructure on PayPal. I don't like the idea of having to migrate like a digital lemming every time someone gets political ideas or whatever. This is the bitter reality though, when you're building on someone else's land.
I've worked with DAWs since 1992 (Cubase Audio) I've spent a lot of time (experience) finding out how to work as fast and efficient as possible in the DAW. I live by all these tips myself as I don't like to waste time.
This offer is only available from me directly. Not from other sites that sell my patches. Send me an email and get 50% on everything! Email address: espenkraft69@gmail.com Copy the whole line(s) of the pack(s) you want and paste this into the email.
The Donner Essential L1 analog mono synth. A desktop portable synthesizer that pays tribute to the classics with legendary sound. Equipped with a detachable magnetic keyboard system, allowing seamless switching between playing modes anytime, anywhere. Easy to operate, full of playability.
Synth history lesson with Espen Kraft - Episode 1: Roland DX7 Today, I unravel the untold — and totally factual — story of the Roland DX7, the most important instrument in human history. Forget the Beatles. Forget Bach. Forget electricity. None of them matter without this plastic, key-covered slab of pure divinity. Join me as I dive deep into the cold, glassy soul of the DX7 — the synth that defined the ‘80s, ruined countless ballads, and made everyone think they could program FM synthesis (spoiler: they couldn’t).
A collection of the absolute best Roland Super Jupiter MKS-80 AND Sequential Six-Trak samples and patches inside your Prophet X. A fat powerful VCO collection ready for your P X. I've layered and multi-recorded 32 sounds from a Super Jupiter MKS-80 (Rev.5) and 18 of my best custom sounds from the Six-Trak. All put into 50 epic multi-samples/instruments for your P X.
Scammers are targeting YouTubers by pretending to be potential sponsors. They often send you an email or DM offering a “sponsorship deal,” then include a link or attachment. If you click it, you could be exposing your computer to malware, phishing attacks, or even losing access to your entire channel.
The Roland MKS-80 Super Jupiter is a mix of the Jupiter-6 and and Jupiter-8. Fat, lush and powerful analog sweet/rawness. Used on a numerous 80s hits. This patch bank is brand new with 64 new tones/patches. In a sysex-format.
I'm back with another in-depth breakdown/tutorial where I talk about my thought process when making the song that would kick off my 2017 album "Those Days". The song "Jenny, please come home" had certain criteria I needed to fulfil for it to be the banger I wanted it to be.
Bandcamp is now forcing everyone over to Stripe as the way of being paid for the music they sell. PayPal is out. Unless you comply, Bandcamp will simply take your money. Like stinking thieves. Stripe is known for really bad security and they sell your personal info to anyone paying them for it. That includes your passport picture and data, as well as other info. Good luck with Stripe. My days at Bandcamp are now over and may the rot in Hell.
DX Reverb Light from Anwidasoft. Released 2005. Free, light on the CPU, easy to use and it sounds great.
If you're going to ask me for advise, provide some context. Don't think I'm Marvin the Mindreader.
Quick demo of how I use the Yamaha DM3 digital mixer as my audio interface for Cubase. Routing and patching physical inputs to USB outputs. Synths and external effects processors going to the DAW. 18x18 USB interface.
SonEQ from Sonimus. Released 2010. A free, great sounding Pultec styled EQ.
Ferric TDS - Tape Dynamics Simulator I use this as a bus compressor/saturator and it's superb for that. Use your ears, more than your eyes when you do music. We're after emotions, not science.
I'm always on the lookout for great electric piano patches I can use in my own music or for other purposes. I've found that piano patches from the D-50 will blend nicely with DX7 electric pianos, like Rhodes-type of sounds. The more slick timbre of the D-50 combined with the more course DX7 piano takes effects very well and smooths everything out beautifully. It's crucial to find the optimal blend (mix) between the patches for the track I'm working on. I use the combined patch you hear here in one of the songs coming on my new album which I'm working on between other tasks.
Spectrasonics Omnisphere 3 seems to be a lot of synth for the money. So much that I can't really see much use in hardware workstations any more, especially since these now are glorified VSTs in a box. They all have small computers inside them anyways, so it's just the hardware knobs and faders that are different.
When using a very transparent type of electric FM piano it can be very cool to have a dense, lush and saturated type of strings/pad underneath, pretty low in the mix. The D-50 can do very nice thick and dense strings. Much more so than any analog synth which can also be nice, but analog isn't always the better solution. For the second patch combo I use the TX802 for the more airy, blowing attack type of sound. Usually this is where the D-50 shines with its PCM attack samples, so it was fun to turn it around and create a cinematic timbre with D-50 filling out instead.
As a Patreon request/top tier bonus I made this cover of a very nice track by Depreciation Guild from 2010 called "Dream About Me". The original is made in a very "shoegaze" style which I've sort of replicated, but in a synth-pop style. Gear used: Casio FZ-10M, Roland JX-8P, Sequential Prophet X, TAL sampler
Genesis - In Too Deep from the album Invisible Touch from 1986 I made this cover as a bit of fun. Making covers has always been a way of getting a break from making my own music and to learn something about composition and arrangement. Making covers can be a great way of getting out of writers block as well as you'll get new ideas just out of doing them.
Made with the Prophet X and samples of vintage synths. Real bass. Not meant as anything else than having a good time while making it. I had no intention of making the full thing, but maybe I'll revisit it in the future. Making covers have always been rewarding for me as it can give me new ideas for my own music as well as learning more about composition and arranging. When I was young and wanted to learn about music, making covers was very inspirational.
The first track from my album "Those Days" from 2017. Jenny, Please Come Home was made in 2016 and was always meant to be the opening song on the album. The whole album was made before my channel took off and before I had fully decided in what direction I wanted to go with my music. I only knew I wanted it to salute the 80s, my musical roots.
Cover of A-ha "Take On Me" from the album Hunting High and Low 1985. Cover done totally unrehearsed and improved with the chords and melody.
Originally part of a longer Ensoniq ESQ-M tutorial/demo video from 2019, here is the demo track I did for it. Back then it was vocal based. Here it is instrumental. All the sounds except the drums and orchestra hits are coming from the ESQ-M you see in the video.
In Between Days by the Cure - Cover by Espen Kraft
This is a cover of "Crazy Crazy Nights" by Kiss. I've been a casual Kiss fan since the early 80s.