Top Five Synth Riffs (and what made them?)

[Synthman2000]

It is not really what I am into now but Eurythmics Sweet Dreams is pretty much a master piece of synth/vocal melodic work in my mind.

[dark water]

I'm not so hot on names, but I know the top 5 riffs:

5) Mmmm... PUM PUM PUM PUM-pur, pur PUM pur purdur pur.

4) Bur-bur durrrr burrrr, bur-bur dur-bur durrrrr.

3) Dun, der... DUN, der... Dun, der... DUN, der...

2) Wooooorrrrr.. Tun Tun Tuntitun Tun Tun, Tun Tun Tuntitun Tun Tun, Tun Tun TAR deetun titun tun tur.

1) Ping.

Funniest thing I have seen in KVR for months. I was laughing from the belly in the middle of the office. Thanks Dark Water!

Thanks Colin




A great riff (one I can actually remember the name to anyway...) features in a song originally created by Bach but covered here on synthesizer by Galbatron.
Other bands such as Sky have chosen to do it on organs/keyboards instead:

[ramseysounds]

In no particular order:

Smalltown Boy - Bronski Beat
Just can't get enough - Depeche Mode
Don't you want me - Human League
Don't go - Yazoo
Love in itself - Depeche Mode

[thecontrolcentre]

I Feel Love - Giorgio Moroder / Donna Summer
Love Action - The Human League
Blue Monday - New Order
Born Slippy - Underworld
From The Beginning - ELP

[Ingonator]

The synth part (not the bass...) played by Tony Banks on his ARP Quadra in Abacab by Genesis (the organ part is played on a SCI Prophet 10):

[fmr]

Vangelis alone (however, I am not certain how we distinguish between a riff and a sequence):

Heaven and Hell: Symphony to the Powers B:

Vangelis Opera Sauvage: Hymne:

Vangelis Albedo 0.39: so many... Alpha is a good example, as is Pulstar:

Vangelis Spiral: Everything in this album is about riffs (or motifs, as I prefer to call them), but "To the Unknown Man" is a long, long, riff:

And so on - I couild be here forever...

[ccDuckett]

Just a thought- isn't the Royksopp "Vision One" line mentioned earlier very reminiscent of the main bass line for Stevie Wonder's "Too High"?
Stevie:
Royksopp:

Also, The Moog on Joni Mitchell's "Jungle Line" terrified my toddler-self.

Synth riffs? (for me, not in any order)
Jan Hammer, "Darkness/Earth in Search of a Sun" off the Jeff Back live album. Sounds HUGER live!
Steve Winwood, "When You See A Chance"
Howard Jones, "New Song"
Pink Floyd, "On the Run"
Human League, "Don't You Want Me"
Stevie Wonder, "Boogie On Reggae Woman"

[chrisby]

Saw a few 80's lists but not this which for it's day was pretty iconic -



The Cure, The Walk

[layzer]

the bassline in this:

[Gamma-UT]

Just a thought- isn't the Royksopp "Vision One" line mentioned earlier very reminiscent of the main bass line for Stevie Wonder's "Too High"?

That would be because Royksopp sampled the bassline and then (probably) ran it through a vocoder.

[fluffy_little_something]

So you're rather interested in opinions than facts?

Well, there are subjective people with an agenda writing on Wiki, and objective people on KVR

Anyway, I just remembered this thread as I was listening to my 80's playlist, this song in particular, the synth during the chorus:


80's music had so many catchy synth melodies since people used synths differently than today, maybe those synth parts were more striking as they often contrasted with electrical instruments such as guitars and bass guitars, as well as acoustic drums in the same songs.

[fluffy_little_something]

The rhythmic synth choir sound, maybe a Fairlight?



Still an awesome track in every way

[Etienne1973]

The rhythmic synth choir sound, maybe a Fairlight?

[Zombie Queen]

Well, here's a couple riffs in no particular order... don't know what synths.



Actually the riff is really annoying alone, but there's something in the whole, 80's nostalgia, I guess.

[fluffy_little_something]

The rhythmic synth choir sound, maybe a Fairlight?

Air's Xpand2 has that patch as well