Inside Physical Modeling | The VL1 Synth Revolution - Ep.1/4

Great video Claudio! Looking forward to the next episode.

Maybe also a serie about Analogue modelling, with The Yamaha AN1x as star ❤

where can i get this breath controller? i have a Studiologic Acuna73 Controller and it has an input port for breath controller. Would it work?

Great video. Loving that you got a little interview with the sound designer. Woodwinds sounds amazing on this.

I have a VL1 module (rack mount!) and two VL70s plus WX5 and 7 controllers. One of the great beauties of VL technology is the ability to create impossible instruments such as bowed flutes that sound entirely possible and realistic.

VL still lives on in flagship electones

Always sounded very real, until people start playing legato runs. Yamaha should have included some very short samples, like the D50, for making key or valve clicks. The instant jump between notes, when playing legato, sounds unmistakably electronic, in a bad way.

Great video! BTW: the VL-Series and the very rare VP-1 were developed by Yamaha R&D in London, which had worked on FM synthesis including the DX series before. VL and VP are completely based on Motorola 68k CPU and many 56k DSPs.

I used to have a VL1m. I regret selling it, too. But I have to say, you can get better physical modeling sounds (in software) these days. So I don't really need it anymore.
I also have a VL70m. A nice compact unit, but the sounds on it are a bit more synthetic and not so good.

素晴らしい音✨よく使わせて頂いた👍懐かしい

In the 1990's major keyboard manufacturers did bring on the market sophisticated synthesizers. But let's be honest. They didn't sell very well back in then, but at the same time such basic romplers did sell quite well, and romplers was the thing in the 90's and 00's, such as Korg Trinity and later Triton, and also Yamaha Motif series was really popular. So it's completely understandable that the major keyboard manufacturers brought mainly romplers to the market, primarily because they did sell well, coz if you want to stay in the market you have to offer what sells. Especially Korg Triton's presets are pretty much overused in 2000's popular music overall. So those sophisticated synthesizers of the 90's which wasn't very desirable amongst musicians back in then, are now way more popular what they used to be, when they came on to the market.

Yamaha is a weird company. One the one hand, they produced absolutely legendary instruments such as the CS-80 and the GX-1. They were the ones who ushered us into the digital age, for better or worse. They produced some quirky yet wonderful instruments in the late 1990s, notably the AN1x, EX5, and FS1R. But then, they just stopped. We got one Motif after the other, and everything has been boring since. Dependable, yes, but no longer quirky.

The VL1 cost as much as a new car when it came out. And because collectors drive up asking prices, they've essentially become unobtainium again. Given my interest in pure synthesis, by rights I should have a VL1m in my collection... but I don't. Instead, I have an Yamaha EX5 – fabulous in its own right – and a Korg Prophecy.

Perhaps, then, the Technics SX-WSA1R, which reputedly is extremely rare, yet is offered up for sale all of the time. From a friend who used to have one, I heard that it sounds wonderful, but is difficult to use in an actual production. And, of course, not easy to program.

I'd read all the articles in Keyboard Magazine to motivate me to buy it... it arrived at my local dealer... very motivated... with my money...
Only 3 Octaves... Ok.... Mono shit/shift.... ok....
I tried the sounds... I felt like that big loser Eric Serra (The Big Blue... and I'm French...)

This thing... this thing... is everything that's wrong with modeling, and it cost the price of a nice used car!!!

I really Like/love you, Mister DrMix, you made me laugh out loud when I found out I had a very painful and lifelong orphan disease... but... I don't follow you CLAUDIO on this one !!! <3

Nice video thanks for sharing, that is a fantastic sound. I must get into my Vl70m sounds again. My Wx7 only has 5 preset buttons, so my trpt , flute , chroma harp, moog and violinn are always on hand. Looking forward to hearing your more programming tips. Thanks again for a tremendous resource.

Cold beer for Manny!🍺

This is a really cool instrument. So much articulation and natural sounding voices.
But ... for me the first 3 minutes were even a whole lot 😎 cooler 😎, because ...
Claudio, you found a solution to replace the broken floppy drive from my 1993 Yamaha SY77.
Thanks a mil for that! You made me very happy!
Let's see that Chris gets this stuff shipped to the EU without too many troubles.

In a world of throw-away-electronics, it is satisfying to watch YT videos where old HiFi and keyboards are beeing repaired ☺️

Sick!

Personally I don't understand why physical modeling is not already the standard?
It seems so superior in so many ways to traditional sampling.
I mean, I understand why sampling was used before, when we didn't have so powerful computers, but today, physical modeling should be the best choice. Especially when you combine it with for instance some controllers like breath controller you use, or MPE keyboards like Seaboard etc.
I hope this mini series of yours will provide some answers and more insights.
Thanks!

So much ahead of its time just like the Roland D50

Wait a sec... This is a simulator, really? Isn't it? Algorithmically controlled output? No samples, no oscillators... Algorithms makes the sounds? It doesn't really synthesise sound. It simulates real instruments? Huh? This is one class by itself! Wow!

Grande Claudio !

👍❤

If I'm not wrong, the Sitar sound from Super Mario 64 got sampled from this synth!

"It" was an impressive machine at the time but the sound even in physical modeling has aged well

Amazing that you’re meeting Julius O’Smith in person!! He helped me out 10+ years ago when I wrote Zed-Synth, a physical modelling synth for iOS.

Claudio, I eagerly await your reconstruction of D-Train Keep On or, if you must, You're the One for Me... c'mon.... ya know ya wanna..... ;-)

I never expected to hear one of these. Reviews of the past were raving on how uncanny it can sound and surprisingly holds up! Shame the last major Yamaha keyboard that supported the breath controller was the Motif ES. Now you won't be letting go of that one, are you? ;)

question - since that time, was anything as inventive as this was created?

I have a lot of sinth and my Vl-1 still is my favorite synth . Many Fernandez is a myth. I am happy you are trying it with a breath controller, it is the only way to honor this instrument.
What Manny says is very important, not only for programming but also for playing the instrument. You have to find the sweet spot, where the sound is musical, exactly like a real instrument. You have to learn to play every single patch with all the controllers AT, 3 wheels an BC.

very cool.
It was very innovative in the 90's , may be too much for its time.
Hardware synths with physical modeling were rare after this one, while it was changing from other usual synthesis .
But this year we have at least two hardware synths based on Karplus strong synthesis .

I had a Korg Z1 for over 15 years and used it extensively on two albums. It was the world's first multi-timbral physical modeling synth. It sounded SUPERB, but it was a bear to program. Most all functions were layered in menus after menus. If it had more knobs and less menu diving, it'd still be part of my studio.

By most synth enthusiasts and experts alike, the Korg Z1 is still considered one of the greatest synths of all time. Jan Hammer used a Korg Z1 all over his Miami Vice soundtracks, along with a Korg Wavestation.

It's a shame that Korg hasn't released a Korg Z2 with a full-blown knob filled interface. If they did, itd turn the synth world upside down!!

I'm not that impressed, which is good because these units are beyond expensive!

I fully appreciate the role of this synth in the history of synthesis, and would've been blown away but this 30 years ago, but in 2025, we have options!

Patchman Music has some great sounds for the whole VL series. Amazing stuff.

All he had to do was replace the rubber belt in the original floppy drive.

I have owned and used a VL-7 for years. It's not duophonic like the VL-1 but monophonic. Although sound programming on the panel is limited, I managed to make a Persian ney sound on it, which I used on my piece 'The magic carpet'. The VL series had been superior in terms of realism and expression for decades untill Audio Modeling introduced SWAM.

How on earth it is possible to beat VL1 up to this state (missing parts etc.)? I hope Claudio will restore it to pristine state - that instrument truly deserves that.

Chris helped me get a floppy emulator for my Roland sequencer. Legend!

I lime the new steampupe modeling stnth. Hope Dr. Mix can showcase that machine as well

Please do some equipment give-away Dr Mix to Africa, in one year, I'll repay by doing a give-away to a hundred talented but lacking opportunity talent like myself.
You can even try me out, I'm ready to show what I've got.
Thank you Dr.

THE OBOE DOESN'T GO THAT HIGH!!! YOU'RE RUINING THE LITTLE AUTHENTICITY THE OBOE HAS!!

Love your posts. I am also privileged to have a VL1 . André from SA

Fascinating insight.

Doctor Mix!!!! The first time I heard about this technology was in the early 90s on a program about science and technology called Globo Ciência that aired on Sunday mornings on TV Globo here in Brazil. I was very impressed with how it imitated a flute perfectly. The musician demonstrated how to play the real flute, then play on the keyboard and a prototype from Yamaha. A few were built. The sound was identical to the real flute, and the musician said that this technology would soon be available on the market for studios and musicians.

Yamaha VL1-m / Version 2 / RACK Better ];-D.

Please Yamaha, release this as software!

The floppy drive conversion from this company is excellent. They have just supplied a similar unit for my vintage Yamaha instrument and it really was plug and play with no setup drama whatsoever.

It’s just so goddamn organic, yet alien as hell. Like the opposite of uncanny valley, it just feels good to listen to

Very Cool, Claudio !

Floboe was one of my personal favorite sounds. Some of the best VL patches what we called ’Syncoustic” sounds — synthetic hybrids of acoustic instruments from different families. Floboe was the result of my trying to meld the harmonic structure of an oboe with the articulation, embouchure & modal behavior of a flute. In other words, what kind of instrument results when you put a flute mouthpiece on an oboe body.

Looking forward to your talk with Julius Smith !!