If you were doing Chicago house what synths

[princefan3]

Hi all, if you were doing Chicago house what synths should I be aiming at.

I've got the drums sorted...I have a DX 21 which sits nicely....

What else should I consider.

[Psy_Free]

TB-303 & Poly61.

[madtheory]

Casio CZ-101 (for organs and bass mainly).

[ninja6485]

rack sampler. period specific wouldn't hurt, depending on how similarly textured you want the sound to be. If you were only going to have two pieces of gear to capture the sounds of a house track, i think it would be rack sampler and drum machine.

[ninja6485]

Also, it would be worth tracking down Datafile1, which is floating around somewhere on the internet.

[princefan3]

Im tending to struggle with the strings they used in the day.....very mellow stuff.

i have a Juno 60 but it seems to take me in a different disco direction with the strings....i cant seem to get near the vibe.

CZ 101...? would that be the answer as mentioned...not so sure.

I have a korg micr sampler, but it does my head in trying to use the bugger...it has to many settings and the dials are frigging too loose....but its prob the best thing to use...esp with the vocal option..

[madtheory]

Sampler for the strings, so Mirage or S900 etc. Or a ROMpler like the ESQ-1 would also be authentic. CZ can do strings in its own unique way but I don't recall ever hearing that sound.

[hinotori]

I'm reviving an old thread I know, but I've been enjoying a lot of early Chicago house again recently.

It kind of depends which artists sounds you're being inspired by.

Is is a more Mr Fingers / Virgo Four "deep" sound or the more acid side of things?

Virgo Four speak in interviews of using the Roland Alpha Juno and TR-505. Lots of the early Trax records releases feature the Roland TR-707 on drum duties. Of course there are lots of uses of the TB-303 on the acid side of things and of the TR-909 (but less than the 707 or Casio RZ-1 imho).
if I was going to try to get the early Chicago sound I would get something like the following, depending on availability and budget.
Drums = Roland TR-707 / Casio RZ-1 / TR-909 / TR-505 (could add 727, 808 or 626). Alternatively get a TR-8 an R-8.
Bass = Roland SH-101 / SH-2 / SH-9.
Pads/Chords = Roland Alpha Juno / Juno 106, 60 or 6 (or Ensoniq ESQ-1, Korg Polysix, Akai AX-60 or similar)
Sampler = Ensoniq Mirage / Akai S-950 / Ensoniq EPS-16 / Akai S-612 / Korg DSS-1.

At the moment I would choose 707, 101 and Juno 106 just for the pure fun aspect of those machines, trigger the 101 sequencer from the 707 trig out and probably sequence the 106 from one of the Roland MC-? midi sequencers or an Alesis MMT-8 then Record it to tape, preferably Tascam or Teac 4-track

any Yamaha DX or TX would be good for the FM "clonk" duties

[madtheory]

Your sampler or computer could do all of those drum machines (except 909) because they're sample based. If you must go for a sample based drum machine, the TR-505 is a piece of s**t. TR-626 is far better, probably better than the 707 with feature count but not as immediate UI.

Does anyone know if the brassy orchestra hits in "Strings of Life" are from the Mirage factory library? I have an incomplete set of disks and it's not on there.

[sequentialsoftshock]

Buyers Guide.

[madtheory]

That's wrong.

[hinotori]

without opening the unhealing wound that is the hardware vs software debate I think we all can agree that there are at least physical and cosmetic differences between each piece of tech used that may contribute to influencing how the music making set up is interacted with by the user, and that in turn they may alter the composition and sounds produced. I am a fan of limitations and how they can influence creativity and can see the draw of the TR-505, especially as it is the cheapest of the TR machines on the second hand market, and that the Virgo Four (M.E.) records that used one were great.
I would also say that the workflow with using a real SH-101 and TR-707 is very different to using samples and a virtual 101 plug in. Inputting notes into the 101 sequencer, triggering them from the trig out of the 707 and then tweaking faders (which have a different feel and action to the faders on any of the midi controllers I use) has an effect on the feel of creating a track.
And then it also sounds different.
Just my 2 cents considering how early chicago house was made, that the forum is for vintage synths and the OP asked a what synths question, sorry to go off topic with the mention of drum machines.

[madtheory]

Agreed- I'm not totally down on hardware. But the TR-505 is a piece of s**t. 707 has better sounds, facilities and UI. 626 has same UI but better sounds and facilities. But it's nothing you couldn't set up with any number of hardware controllers, which gives you unlimited sounds and facilities. For example, a virtual 909 saves you thousands and a better UI.

[creativemind]

What is Datafile1?

Wouldn't the Yamaha DX7 have been used too?

Also, for strings, I know not used at the time but the strings on the Korg M1 are probably workable. I like the patch called TheStrings found in the combi patches under strings. This is the vst version found in the Korg Legacy Collection on the Korg website.

[madtheory]

What is Datafile1?

World's first sample CD:
https://www.discogs.com/Zero-G-Datafile ... se/4994507

Wouldn't the Yamaha DX7 have been used too?

Not much- too common and generic at the time I guess?