Making a 90s Banger with the Yamaha TX81Z!

This week we're going to take a quick look at the Yamaha TX81Z which was an affordable 1U FM synthesizer released in 1987.

Whilst other FM synths are more revered, (DX1, DX5, DX7) the TX81Z made a name for itself because it contains sounds (particularly the "Lately Bass" preset) that became favourites for producers in the late 80s and early 90s.

In fact, the "Lately Bass" equivalent on the earlier DX100 called "Solid Bass" was equally popular. I've listed a few well known songs that used either of those versions of the sound below.

In this video we use that patch (and others) as well as related sounds to make a (not very serious) track in the style of the era.

Sounds / gear used:
Yamaha TX81Z (with Stereoping controller)
Roland Cloud TR-909
Roland TB-303 (midi modded)
Arturia KeyStep Pro
AMS DMX 15-80S
Roland Juno-6
Korg M1 Organ patch
Vocals recorded with an AKG C414S

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Lately bass / Solid bass examples:

Orbital - Chime
Whigfield - Saturday Night
Ultra Nate - Free
Technotronic - Get Up
Freddie Mercury - Living On My Own (1993 remix, not the original)
Real McCoy - Another Night
Inner City - Good Life
Black Box - Ride On Time
Culture Beat - Mr Vain
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Theme
Tony Scott - That's How I'm Living
Color Me Bad - I Wanna Sex You Up
Madonna - Express Yourself
Ace of Base - All That She Wants
Janet Jackson - What Have You Done For Me Lately
Bizarre Inc - I'm Gonna Get You
Corona - The Rhythm of the Night
Haddaway - What is Love

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Видео Making a 90s Banger with the Yamaha TX81Z! канала Alex Ball