Samples From Mars – SK1 From Mars (KONTAKT, EXS, NNXT, STRUCTURE, REX2, AIFF, WAV)

SK-1 – unpretentious 8-bit synthesizer and keyboard sampler mid-80’s. Its sound is unembellished and Lo Fi in almost every way. But what distinguishes this almost toy tool from all other keyboards sold? And yet this is sound, of course! In combination with ease of use, it’s no wonder that almost all users appreciate this synthesizer (seriously, try to find negative feedback about this guy). The sound of SK is grainy, unique and charmingly archaic.

The beauty of simplicity and cheapness : a lot of cheap and cheerful synthesizers, and many of them have nostalgic roots that justify their desirability. But SK-1 keeps its popularity for many years, rising over thousands of other keyboards of the initial class, because its sampler engine is special and convenient to use. Write down your voice, bark the dog or clank your fork over the glass, and instantly spread the sound over the keyboard. This inexpensive digital converter sounds and does not look like anything.

Recording process : Our main problem with sampling SC was to expand its narrow audio borders, and it was required to clear the tone a little (not too much). Writing custom vocal and percussion samples through the internal microphone and SM57, we also captured all the original presets and drum loops of the synthesizer, applying some additional processing with various equipment (Overstayer MAS, Reddi, API 550B and even spatial echo). We multi-sampled vibrato, sustain and anti-aliasing. SK definitely has an elusive lo-fi flavor that creates perfect shaky pianos, gloomy vocal sound, granular copper pipes and sliding synthetic patches. And with the touch of the onboard vibrato (one of its two sweet FX!), You can get a spooky, trill-filled grand piano, worthy to accompany the “Prince of Darkness” on Halloween

Conclusion : We sample many high-quality materials, so why do not we give this synthesizer a chance? Because its low-frequency converter can give you this particular grainy sound that can not be achieved with higher-end synthesizers. Try to get these smoothed pads or an 8-bit piano from Voyetra – it’s impossible. In a world full of expensive synthesizers for all tastes, the sounds of SK1 remain musical, unique and unpretentious. It’s an unassuming little keyboard full of surprises and inspiration that can not be found anywhere.