Building a House track with the Akai S900 & ASQ10

[AshleyMarkPomeroy]

"Say kids, what time is it?"

[lcaise]

realy excelent clip, waiting for more !!!!!! Respect

[blackmagicita]

Thank you man!

[blackmagicita]

Drum samples are from boss dr110?

Excellent video!

[snolan1990]

@blackmagicita The Clap is from the DR-110, the Kick is from a Juno-60 and the rest are samples from records.

[shayeasy]

friggin brilliant.

[ElasticMinds]

loving your old school productions here. Glad to see im not the only one who jumped off the daw revolution and went back to working with real hardware. I need to post more deep house tracks after hearing this :3

[andrewwalsh20]

you're doing it right

[rockmanjackson]

GOOD JOB ... I STILL HAVE THE ASQ ... LOVE IT.... FACEBOOK ME ROCKMAN JACKSON

[coolshit28]

Dope.

[Funktrainer]

Great stuff, funky song! Forget about all this software shit. Hardware still rulez. It's so amazing direct and fun to work with it. And you'll never get this shuffle out of another gear than an old AKAi sequencer. I'm still using my MPC60 as my core studio production unit and will never use anything else. Love it! Great video!

[akyerit]

GREAT GEAR! And dope ass house beat :)

[radiolands]

hi, just wanted to comment cause ive watched this video a lot. i love everything, the gear, the song, the blurbs. all excellent. thanks.

[snolan1990]

@radiolands Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad to hear some people are enjoying these videos.

[lbjoshbal]

that's great man!

[harrymerchant456]

You can really hear the excellent swing from the ASQ. Definitely wont get that cool groove from Ableton Live no matter what you do. And for that matter it wont really be achieved in any DAW. Closest groove to the ASQ can come from an Akai MPC4000 which has underrated swing imho. Its the best of all MPC apart from the MPC 60 which is in fact the same sequencer as the ASQ

Anyoe who says all sequencers are the same dont know what their talking about and have no sense of groove.

[snolan1990]

@harrymerchant456 The MPC 3000 and MPC 60 (ASQ10) sequencers have the Roger Linn magic and I think the later MPCs such as the 2000, 2000XL and 4000 basically copied Linn's design features but just didn't officially employ him so they didn't have to pay him. Stuff like the Roland TR series also has some pretty good swing settings but I will they are a different kind of feel to Akai swing.

Whatever you use though swing makes all the difference.

[harrymerchant456]

@snolan1990

Indeed they do. There is something very special about the 60, 3000, and ASQ sequencers. Clearly that magic can be heard in your tune there which is a very good old school bit of Detroit(eque) house/techno. Incidentally I'm certain that tune of yours, just the way it is (live style) could be released. An online store called Stompy sells a lot of that style. My only critique is the vocal goes on a bit to long. Oh, and its damn annoyingly catchy :)

[s1Mii]

@snolan1990 any thoughts on the yamaha RM1X swing? I've been trying to get a nice groove going on with the drums (i sequence a novation d-station with the RM1X). I just put notes down tr808/909 style in grid edit and then quantize the hi-hats with swing (around 56-60%). But I can't seem to get it as funky as alot of the mpc videos I've seen on youtube. (Or maybe I just don't recognize the swing effect :s)

[snolan1990]

@s1Mii I have never personally played with an RM1X so I can't really comment that much on how it's sequencer works but you will undoubtedly recognise the swing when you hear it. If you haven't already seen the video titled “Making Old Skool Sounding House Music” by vinyljunkie07 then you should check it out, you can see how much of a difference swing makes in that video and it's not something you wouldn't notice.

[s1Mii]

@snolan1990 yea I know that video and have watched it a couple of times. I can hear a difference, but I find it hard to recognize what exactly it is, that has changed. I understand the 'theory' behind swing, but can't seem to judge very well if it's better or not.

I'm not sure about the settings either, it has the same parameters as an mpc (swing between 50% and 75%, strength, note length), for exemple : for hihats i use 58% swing, strength 100, and 16th notes.

Guess i need more practice.

[felipesancho]

great!! you even got a stylophone!

[LTACS]

whats the LPF>?

[snolan1990]

@LTACS LPF stands for Low Pass Filter, it removes frequencies above a certain frequency. They are an essential part of analogue subtractive synthesis but are also more obviously for disco loops in tracks like Daft Punk - Indo Silver Club.

[PerseusTraxx]

I really liked that - thanks.

[DJPeteMarriott]

Does the ASQ-10 have 4 Midi Outputs like the MPC-60 and MPC-3000 does? If so that would make a great addition to my studio if I can find one.

[snolan1990]

@DJPeteMarriott The ASQ10 is just an MPC-60 without the sampler or pads so yeah 4 MIDI Outs 2 MIDI Ins. Arguably the best stand alone sequencer ever made but they are quite rare, I totally lucked out and got mine for £100 but it was in need of an almost full restoration, half the buttons were shot, the disk drive was dead, the battery was dead and the backlight was dead, I have fixed everything now other than the backlight and I don't know how I lived without it :).

[DJPeteMarriott]

@snolan1990 Thanks! I have a Akai S-900, Ensoniq ASR-10, Emu Emax and Casio RZ-1 which I have midied to DAW but I want the MPC-60/MPC-3000 feel to my tracks instead so I've been looking for a MPC-60 but the ASQ-10 appeals to me more for the sake of ergonomically being that I currently don't have enough space in my studio.

[iwskh]

Good set

good track

[boombap28]

I love your studio!!! So many vintage goodies!!

[snolan1990]

@boombap28 Thanks, hardware and software both have their benefits but when it comes to House, Techno and Hip Hop I just don't think software can do it as well as hardware yet.

In regards to your comment on my 727 vid about Vinyl I will hopefully be getting a finished version of this track, a finished version of the Reel to Reel House jam and a remix of one of them out on wax by the end of the summer. I will post more info up about it closer to the time.

[boombap28]

@snolan1990 Dude!!! You've got to keep me posted!!! Your tracks are dope and I would love to spin these out!! Congrats on the vinyl deal!!

[hiphopdied1213]

lol I do the same thing. For some reason I have been making kicks with my Juno, resampling everything back to the s950. Using the 909 for hi hats. And all tracks ran through a SSL G buss compressor. The compressor does WONDERS!

[snolan1990]

@hiphopdied1213 I set up a self resonance synth perc patch on the Juno and the nice keyboard filter tracking means I can get 808 kicks, through 70's synth toms and all the way up to lazers in a single patch. As nice as the SSL compressors look my budget restricts me to 3630s. I currently have one and I'm after another so I can compress 2 channels on the way in and then the whole mix on the way out. Luckily for me the 3630s are cheap and are the sound of House. Although I would like an SSL :).

[ClarkTrentMusic]

This video is superb!  Really informative.

Thank for the up man.

[Vacher12]

nice one dude. how much that 909 set you back?

[snolan1990]

@Vacher12 The 909 cost me £850 about a year ago which as you probably know is a couple of hundred pounds under the average price for a 909 but the handclap circuitry needs repairing which will probably cost me about £100 so in the end it evens out. I got it via Gumtree (which is essentially a UK version of Craigslist if your unfamiliar with it) and I have never looked back :-).

[Vacher12]

@snolan1990 Nice bargain then! I recently bought an Sp1200 which I'm loving hooked up with my s950. the s950 seems an arse to program atm, but hopefully a goodread of the manual will change that. I like your tracks by then way, very much on my deep/housey vibe. I don't have any tracks on here but I do have a soundcloud/marcvacher if you want to check out.

[snolan1990]

@Vacher12 yeah it wasn't a bad price at the time, how much did you pay for your 1200? I'm listening to Higher right now and it's oldschool hotness, nice. You should check out the S900 video manual, its old and cheesy but it teaches you everything you need to know and is much more direct than the manual. Once you learn it you will see the S900/950 is very user friendly. I am working at finishing this track and the reel to reel track at the moment so that I can press them to vinyl this summer.

[Vacher12]

@Vacher12 Thank you, glad you like it. I've only had one release so far and that was with BOE recordings back in December, but hope to release more this summer. You have some nice stuff here on your profile; do you intend a self release or through a label? The sp1200 set me back over £1000 - pricey but is about the going rate. It's a great machine and hope to get that 12grit (along with s950) into future productions. Do you have the link for the s900 tutorial?

[goredsox1792]

haha dope set up homie!

[rebop75]

Nice vid mate! I don't like vocal samples but that is a really cool track. ASQ10 rules! Keep it up

[zblowfish]

Is that mad mike from underground resistance saying "technological revolution first"?

[virtusxful]

fantastic....................

[AnthonyDavid94]

Just watched that techno documentary... "Technological revolution first"

[gasfgiop]

Sweet play.

[jedimastert0810]

what chord is the juno chord? i like it

[snolan1990]

@jedimastert0810 I can't remember exactly what it was but if you want to do deep house just go through the minor chords until you find some you like, do a funky bass line, add some jackin' drums and if you have an intersting lead or sample to tie it all together all the better.

[JiggyGinJoints]

inspiring stuff!

[jauqq]

Cool video.

On the ASQ10 can you record on one track, and then move onto a second track to record without stopping the sequencer?

[snolan1990]

You can't change patterns while recording, or change track without stopping the sequence no but the ASQ10 is without doubt one of the most user friendly sequencers of all time.

[derekkatwijk]

The 909 really makes it complete.

[ruslanio]

Release an album, I wanna freely listen to your music without going to youtube everytime.

[snolan1990]

Thanks for the kind comment :)

Well I am working towards getting an EP out sometime in the next year or two. But this track, the track in the the Reel To Reel video and a couple of others that I'm working on I plan to release as a free digital EP once I get my external soundcard working for high quality recording and once I actually knuckle down and come up with a proper arrangement for them all.

[ruslanio]

@snolan1990 What sound card are you planning on getting? I'm actually contemplating on getting a Delta 1010 rack version, though I would be upset if the next day some nicer PCI-e card comes out.

[snolan1990]

Well I have an E-mu 0404 USB with some kind of a dry joint in the USB socket that I picked up for £40 with the plan being to repair it but then my computer died so now I am waiting for a nice new laptop to arrive then I can look at fixing it. I know the 0404 isn't the best but I am going to uni so I need portability, the Delta looks gooood.

Like I said I do have a couple of ideas sketched out just waiting for a decent interface to record them on so I can't wait to get everything up and running.

[samdaftpunk]

wow you have an incredible setup ! i love the way you can sample all sorts of different sounds with the first synth in the video :)

[BlizzardOfTheCoast]

Hearing this again, it is twice as good as the first time.

[daftendirekt97]

I really like your stuff. Are you on a label? If not than you should be. I would definitely spin your music. Reminds me of Thomas Bangalter and other 90s House Music. Most House music these days sucks unfortunately.

[snolan1990]

Thanks. I'm not on any label yet although me and a friend are working towards releasing stuff in the next few years on vinyl. To be honest I havent finished many tracks yet, but I have 3 or 4 grooves including this one that I am going to work into an EP that I will release free online sometime later this year or next year.

I agree very little good house music gets released today but I'm going to stay making the oldschool tracks with the oldschool methods.

[AnthonyDavid94]

6 stars. Those Juno 60-generated chords are addictive! is there a possible way to create a similar patch for the the Alpha Juno, DX7, etc., since I don't own any synth and don't know which sound is the best...btw I'm not totally new into synths :)

[snolan1990]

The sound of the chords in this is influenced alot by the fact that they are sampled into the Akai S900 and then heavily filtered in it, giving them that squidgy bouncey sound. If you sampled any analog string chord with a quick attack into a 12 bit sampler you would get a similar result.

The patch could be fairly acurately recreated on most analog synths with a fat chorus effect. But if your looking for the same sound as in this video then the sampler has as much to do with it as the synth.

[AnthonyDavid94]

@snolan1990 thak you. it´s a shame that I have an s1000....s950 will come later (btw, its got even better filters, turn sample rate down to 40 and voila)

[snolan1990]

If you have an S1000 your halfway there. If you have some analog or analog imitation synth or even a good VST then try sampling a chord into the S1000 and then just play about with it. The S950 will do the same job of adding crunch like you say. In terms of synths there are alot out there that are worth looking into but Alpha Juno's JX-3P, JX-8P are all good analogs for under a couple of hundred pounds but there are hundreds of less popular synths that go for dirt cheap worth looking at aswell.

[AnthonyDavid94]

@snolan1990 Thank you. The Akai is my only equipment (+ Atari w/ Cubase), since I'm just getting into music production (completely oldskool)....But that Juno 60 sounds great! I'll check out those JX-es.

[ISBAILEYDEADYET]

That's some cold ass original techno sound. Loved the keys on the juno 60.

[basementdweller1]

Can someone say Detroit?

[stoffenl]

Yummy! Just the type of cut i wanna hear entering a club :) Really entertaining to follow your skills in realtime!

[xrsland]

bravo!

[MaynoDolphin]

Nice usage of the Atkins sample. ;)

[snolan1990]

I will do your break crunch test as soon as I have a decent plan of action for the best way to show the various crunch comapirsons. ;)

[enmetertre]

you got some nice house skills :-)

[subtexthiphop]

I miss the 707 & 727. =(

This track is nice! How are your switching through instruments on the Oxygen? Just MIDI out channels? Or you going up in octaves/keygroups?

[snolan1990]

The S900 lets you set up to 9 Keygroups with different samples in each. So bottom C is the kick, C# the snare and so on.

To be honest I'm surprised to see this is one of the only videos showing the S900 being used as it was designed because it's actually very good at sampling synths aswell as breaks and loops.

7X7 will return ;)

[samdaftpunk]

nice sounds :) too bad that house isnt so mainstream now, you could make serious money wth those skils :)