Top 10 Synthesizer Riffs Of All Time

[Music] hi and welcome to dr mix how you guys doing you guys are right yes i'm going to play for you the top 10 synthesizer riffs of all time i know you've been waiting for this so let's cut to the chase number 10 gershon kingsley popcorn this insanely pervasive global hit dates back to 1969 when gershon kingsley composed it for his visionary album music to mogby link in the description obviously which was completely centered around you guessed it the mug synthesizer which at the time was only available in its gigantic modular form i have my 1973 minimoog right here and i'm going to use it to recreate the iconic popcorn sound for you right now so if i turn everything off but just leave the first oscillator on [Music] so now i'm gonna just choose some decay here in the modifier yeah then what i want to do is i want to turn down the cutoff then maybe add a bit of contour [Music] and that's pretty much it [Music] this outrageously catchy instrumental piece has been a global hit across every decade following its first release and the most famous popcorn covers are the 1972 version by hot butter the anarchic system version from the same year in my view the best version and the inexcapable crazy frog version from 2005. even swedish shot from the muppet show had his own very viral popcorn version interesting piece of trivia although the sin loosely replicates the sound of corn popping in a cooking pan the title was a tongue-in-cheek commentary on how corny pop music was getting at the time pop corn get it get it next number nine van halen jump there is no question that this is one of the most memorable synthesizer riffs ever composed simple and yet powerful the official video shows that an oberheim obxa was used but rumor has it that in actual facts in the studio they used an obx which is the previous model i don't own any oberheim synthesizer but i do have a great sounding plug-in version by uvi let's play with it shall we [Music] i really love the oberheim and on vintage vault 4 you can find tons of great oberheim sounds along with a humongous collection of classic vintage synthesizers including most of the ones i will mention in this video check out the link in the description for vintage vault 4 by uvi next number 8 ray parker jr ghostbusters this unforgettable title track from the 1984 movie ghostbusters was composed by one of my guitar heroes ray parker jr what a man what a sound the clever synthesizer hook was apparently made with a cog poly 61 which was considered an affordable synth at the time only to become way more famous later on in the 90s for its classic rave chords tabs the poly61 was in many ways similar to the juno 6 with two digitally controlled analog oscillators six voices and a solid construction i don't have apollo 61 but i have a juno six so let's play ghostbusters shall we [Music] [Music] ghostbusters by the way if you're looking and you're liking then why don't you please hit that like button it doesn't cost you anything and it helps me a lot so that i can keep on making great content with this channel and if you really like it then please do subscribe to it there's a button there there is a bell there that's awesome thank you where was i oh next number seven darude sandstorm produced by finnish dj darud this 1999 trans anthem took the world literally by storm with a half million copies sold in the united states alone sandstorm is famous for its earth shattering synthesizer width which was performed on a roland jp 8080 virtual analog modeling synthesizer the rock module version of the roland jp8000 what makes the synth rift different to anything else is the surprising use of two oscillators at two octaves and a fifth distance to one another that was unheard of before let me show you how to do it on a mini mog because it's much easier to explain it on it all right firstly let's destroy the popcorn sound by opening up the filter putting all the sustain level up decay down contour down all right so the first thing that we do is we take this oscillator and we put it on to square wave and we're already kind of there aren't we but check out now oscillator number two is going to be on a sawtooth let's unit right and we're gonna send it back one octave [Laughter] two octaves and then even more like a fourth below [Music] [Laughter] [Music] i love when that plant comes together number six herbie hancock rocket now this has to be my personal favorite because i love herbie hancock having just finished blowing our minds with his seventies disco era herbie hancock dropped this atomic bomb synthesizer riff in 1983 with a single rocket a mind-bending mix of hip-hop electro afro-cuban and space rock now around this time herbie hancock already had a few dream synthesizers including the fairlight cmi however it was particularly enamored with the rhodes chroma let's go check it out thanks to the uvi vintage volt4 chroma you know herbie hancock during that time he used this sounds a lot [Music] yes but let's go to the riff the famous riff which i have found a sound on the chroma which is this one [Music] [Music] probably used a combination of sounds but i'm sure that the chroma must have been there i love that guy it i said this is my favorite what's your favorite okay here's what i'll ask you to do please watch this until the end and tell me which one is your favorite and leave a comment in the comment section number five eurythmics sweet dreams beautifully haunting and iconic electro anthem from 1983 sweet dreams has a very very complex synthesizer riff apparently this is the result of dave stewart working on a sequence when annie lenox got off the floor and up on an oberheim obx and started counter-pointing the synth part and that's how the double riff was born let me play both parts for you so that you can understand yes so for the lower part i'm going to use uvi's m6k and it has this sound [Music] and let me record this [Music] right then all i need to do is close this quantize that trim here trim there ctrl d forever and now i'm going to go to the second part which is this one all right [Music] yeah i'll play it slower for you [Music] and together it sounds like this [Music] now let me just quantize it trim it duplicate it and there you go sweet dreams are made of these who am i to disagree next number four yazoo don't go this unstoppable synthesizer riff from 1982 is probably one of the most obsessive of the entire decade and it was performed on an arp 2600 i happen to have a 2600 m let's play this riff here it is i have connected the sawtooth waveforms into channels 1 and 2 of the mixer i have added a touch of attack touch of decay a whole lot of sustain and a little bit of release and this is the result you can play this forever never gets tired [Music] uh ah next number three harold faltermayer axel f from the hollywood blockbuster movie beverly hills cop starring eddie murphy here comes the ultimate ear warm synthesizer riff you hear it once it will be with you forever it was also played by daddy the roland jupiter 8 and it's a classic example of two sawtooth oscillators with a bit of detune synthesizer sound yes i don't have a jupiter 8 so it's time for vintage vault 4 again ready [Music] personally i think that there would be no axle f without rocket but again i love herbie hancock i digress axle f is one of those evergreen melodies that allowed it to explode two times already once in 1984 when the film was released and again in 2005 with here we go again the crazy frog version 3 billion views with a b billion views see all you need in life is a short simple piece of melody and you're set i'm telling you my friend you're set next number two aha take on me unleashed in 1984 yes the golden arrow of synth pop by norwegian band aha take on me has one of the most classy synthesizer riffs that i ever heard on a pop song whilst the bass line was crucially voiced by the yamaha dx7 in an ocean of ppg waves bells the rift duties were given to the ultimate walk horse of the recording studio the roland juno 60. here is my presetless version of the journal 60 the june 6. i am going to play take on me for you right now [Music] are you ready for number one and at number one europe the final countdown yes yes yes yes yes this epic 1986 glam metal anthem is probably the most recognizable synthesizer riff ever written with its long articulated melody and its dramatic tensions and resolutions this riff was recorded on a yamaha tx816 aka 8 dx7 in a box and doubled by a roland jx 8p the truth is that this is just another great example of brassy detuned sawtooth synth sound that can be recreated with a good synthesizer like this one [Music] yes yes yes if you like synthesizers there's one thing that you should do click on that link in the description for vintage vault 4 by uvi there are so many incredible synthesizers you will love it otherwise i hope you're doing super well you are being inspired by music making beautiful music yourself and being happy and fulfilled and loved and watching this video next this video will change your life [Laughter]

Channel: Doctor Mix

Views: 2,722,878

Keywords: Doctor Mix, Dr Mix, top ten, synth riffs, uvi, best synth lines, synths, top 10

Id: fvBhnXKGz_Q

Length: 17min 27sec (1047 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 22 2022