You know these riffs — but do you know which synths played them? I recreate 10 iconic tracks/hooks on the original (or closest practical) keyboards: DX7, Korg M1, JD-800, JP-8080, Jupiter-4, Prophet-5 and more — with quick narration before each performance.

This is a performance-based recreation: I’m playing the parts, rebuilding the patches, and giving a quick intro to each track — then straight into the music.

Accuracy note:
Some originals are well-documented; others vary by source or studio method. Where a part is recreated on a closely related synth (or a plug-in), I’ve stated it clearly below.

Watch the full video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eeRGPLkKNEg

Tina Turner — What’s Love Got To Do With It (1 min edit)
Fender Rhodes + DX7 (flute) + Roland MKS-80 pads + Minimoog bass (played live to match the original line) + harmonica solo

The Prodigy — Poison (riff)
Recreated on Roland JD-800 (JD-era Prodigy texture recreation)

Depeche Mode — Just Can’t Get Enough (intro + verse 1)
Roland Jupiter-4 for bass/lead + Korg Rhythm 55B style drums

Usher — Yeah! (riff)
Nord Lead 3 recreation of the classic intro hook

Nightcrawlers — Push The Feeling On (track)
TR-909 drums + 3x Korg M1 parts: sax lick, organ riff, and the string riff from the MK Mix vibe

Prince — When Doves Cry (track)
DX7 mallet sound + LM-1 style drum recreation

D-Train — You’re The One For Me (track)
Prophet-5 parts + LinnDrum drum recreation

Darude — Sandstorm (riff)
JP-8080 recreation of the classic synth string hook

The Prodigy — Charly (track)
Alpha Juno lead + full backing recreation

Mouse on Mars — Future Dub (track)
All parts recreated using JD-800 plug-in (Roland Cloud)

Tina Turner — What’s Love Got To Do With It (full version)
Full-length recreation using the same keyboard/synth setup as Track 1

Chapters / timestamps

0:00 Intro
0:24 Tina Turner — What’s Love Got To Do With It (1 min edit)
1:31 The Prodigy — Poison
1:57 Depeche Mode — Just Can’t Get Enough
2:46 Usher — Yeah!
3:02 Nightcrawlers — Push The Feeling On
3:53 Prince — When Doves Cry
4:29 D-Train — You’re The One For Me
5:58 Darude — Sandstorm
6:34 The Prodigy — Charly
7:11 Mouse on Mars — Future Dub
7:45 Tina Turner — What’s Love Got To Do With It (full version)
9:38 Outro

Thanks @SamB-z4r (YouTube) for engineering

🔧 Work with Andy

· Production, mixing & mastering: https://www.andywhitmore.com/

· Studio: https://greystokestudio.com/

📲 Connect with Andy

· YouTube: @AndyWhitmore
· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andywhitmore2014/

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndyWhitmoreMusic

· TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andywhitmore9583

Support the show

Comment prompt: Which riff surprised you most — and which synth did you think it was?

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Iconic JD-800 riffs you know—Faithless, Prodigy, Depeche Mode, Prince, Genesis—plus hardware vs plug-in A/B comparisons and patches programmed from scratch.

Take a tour through the punchy, glossy world of the Roland JD-800 with a stack of iconic riffs and signature hooks you’ve definitely heard before… but maybe didn’t realise were JD-800.

You’ll hear Faithless, The Prodigy, Depeche Mode, Prince, Genesis—plus a few deeper cuts. For this episode I programmed most of the sounds from scratch (very few factory presets). My original JD-800 is working great, but the YES/NO buttons are dead, so I can’t easily tweak/save lots of edits on the hardware.

To solve that, I built many parts using a JD-800 plug-in that sounds scarily close to the real thing. And where the track uses a factory preset (unedited), I play it on both so you can compare hardware vs plug-in.

Question for you: Which riff surprised you most—and can you hear a difference in the A/B tests?

🎧 More Synth Icons episodes:

· Hohner Clavinet D6 – Famous Riffs You Instantly Know

· Roland Jupiter-4 – Famous Riffs You Know (But Didn’t Realise Were Jupiter-4)

· Korg M1 – Famous Riffs You Know (But Didn’t Realise Were M1)

🔧 Work with Andy

· Production, mixing & mastering: https://www.andywhitmore.com/

· Studio: https://greystokestudio.com/

📲 Connect with Andy

· YouTube: @AndyWhitmore

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andywhitmore2014/

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndyWhitmoreMusic

· TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andywhitmore9583

Support the show

A fast countdown of the 11 most valuable synthesizers of all time — famous owners, iconic tracks, and the wild prices behind the GX-1, CS-80, Moog modular systems, Jupiter-8 and more.

Welcome to the top 11 most valuable synths of all time. From the Yamaha CS-80 to the legendary Yamaha GX-1, this episode counts down the rarest, most iconic synthesizers ever made — the ones with the biggest reputations and the most stratospheric values.

You’ll hear the famous owners, classic songs they’re associated with, and what makes each machine special — including the EMS Synthi AKS, Roland Jupiter-8, Moog Model 15, Analogue Solutions Colossus, Polyfusion System 2000, Moog System 55, Yamaha DX1, EMS Synthi 100, and the ultra-rare Emerson Moog Modular System.

Chapters:

· Intro

· EMS Synthi AKS

· Roland Jupiter-8

· Moog Model 15

· Analogue Solutions Colossus

· Yamaha CS-80

· Polyfusion System 2000

· Moog System 55

· Yamaha DX1

· EMS Synthi 100

· Emerson Moog Modular System

· Yamaha GX-1

· Summary / Outro

💥 YouTube: @AndyWhitmore
🧢 Website: andywhitmore.com
🎛 Studio: greystokestudio.com

If you enjoyed it, leave a comment or review — your comments are our oxygen.

🎧 More Synth Icons episodes:

· Hohner Clavinet D6 – Famous Riffs You Instantly Know

· Roland Jupiter-4 – Famous Riffs You Know (But Didn’t Realise Were Jupiter-4)

· Korg M1 – Famous Riffs You Know (But Didn’t Realise Were M1)

🔧 Work with Andy

· Production, mixing & mastering: https://www.andywhitmore.com/

· Studio: https://greystokestudio.com/

📲 Connect with Andy

· YouTube: @AndyWhitmore

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andywhitmore2014/

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndyWhitmoreMusic

· TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andywhitmore9583

Support the show