The synth is far from an Alpha Juno, i don’t really like the sound but if you want to dig deeper, don’t hesitate. This entry was posted in VST plugins and tagged freeware, hoover, synth, techno on 13 November 2014 by Wavosaur. Monique virtual synthesizer is available starting with 2020 for free and comes in VST, VST3, and AU plugin formats for PC and Mac. Exakt Lite is a FREE intuitive and user-friendly FM SOFTWARE synthesizer plugin. Capable of creating a wide range of sounds, from harsh digital and cold sounds known from the FM era to warm and organic. A nice virtual version based on the technology of my Strings/Choir-Synth 3.0 Shown in a vid before. I tried to get as close as possible to the original. It also has 12 Oscillators in 4 Groups. Each Group is detunable and has its adjustable Volume. Also the whole Machine.

Hoover sound refers to a particular synthesizer sound in electronic music, commonly used in gabber, breakbeat hardcore, trance and hard house. Originally called the 'Mentasm', the name that stuck was the one likening the sound to that of a vacuum cleaner (often referred to via the genericized trademark 'hoover' in the UK and Ireland).

The sound[edit]

The Hoover is a complex waveform that can be created with three oscillators, each spaced an octave apart, a heavy use of pulse-width modulation and a thick chorus effect. The sound is characterised by its thick swirliness that stems from a fast LFO controlling the PWM and the chorus. It was originally created by Eric Persing for the Roland Alpha Juno,^[1] although the term 'hoover' was not introduced by him.

It is traditionally created with the Roland Alpha Juno-2, Alpha Juno 1, or rack mount version MKS-50 synthesizer using the built-in What thepatch. The hoover sound generated on these synthesizers is unique for the use of a 'PWM' sawtooth wave, which inserts flat segments of variable width into a sawtooth waveform.^[2]

History and popularization[edit]

The hoover sound is believed to first have appeared in a commercial production in 'Mentasm' by Second Phase (1991), produced in a collaboration between Joey Beltram and Mundo Muzique, and sometimes is referred to as a 'mentasm'. However, mentasm normally refers to the sound sampled from this tune and re-used.^[3]

Another notable example of a record using a hoover sound is 'Dominator' by Dutch techno pioneers Human Resource. This track gained fame in 1991 and became a top 10 hit worldwide. Characteristic for this track was not only the hoover, but also the over-the-top rap: 'I'm bigger and bolder and rougher and tougher, in other words, sucker, there is no other... I'm the one and only dominator... Wanna kiss myself!'

The sound has also been used in video games such as Streets of Rage 3, which was composed by Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima and Robotron X by Aubrey Hodges.

Works featuring the hoover sound[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Vail, Mark (2014). The Synthesizer. New York, New York: Oxford University Press. p. 322. ISBN978-0-19-539481-8.
2. ^'Alpha Juno-2 Owners Manual'(PDF). Roland. 1985.^{[permanent dead link]} p. 21
3. ^ ^abcdSimon Reynolds (July 22, 1998). Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture. Little Brown & Co. ISBN978-0316741118.
4. ^Phil Moffa (May 26, 2014). 'Key Tracks: Mundo Muzique on Second Phase's 'Mentasm''. Redbull Music Academy. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
5. ^ ^abcFutureMusic (March 10, 2016). 'The 'Hoover' – we talk to AudioRealism'. Retrieved December 10, 2019 – via PressReader.
6. ^ ^abc'Hoover Samples, Covers and Remixes'. WhoSampled. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
7. ^'Music/EDM history'. Liz's EDM World. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
8. ^ ^ab'A Bullshitter's Guide to Hard House'. Vice.com. April 17, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
9. ^'Dad Noise: The Hoover'. Techno Dads. September 5, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
10. ^St. Asaph, Katherine (2011-11-14). 'Rihanna – Talk That Talk reviewed: Birthday Cake'. Popdust. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
11. ^''Unapologetic' – Rihanna'. MusicRiot. December 12, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2019.

External links[edit]

• Reverse-engineering the rave hoover - includes some technical analysis of the sound
• ALPHA JUNO / MKS-50 / HS HOMEPAGE - A Website Dedicated To The Alpha Juno-1 / Alpha Juno-2 / MKS-50 / HS-10 / HS-80 Synths ▻▻▻ Tones, Utilities, Info, DIY's and Reference Materials ◅◅◅

Let’s go techno :

1. Phutura VSTi by PhutureTone

Hoover !!
https://blog.wavosaur.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/hoover.mp3

80s Synth Vst Free

A nice clean interface, and a good sound. This is the only free “Alpha Juno” VSTi that can do a decent “hoover”. It can do hoover but not only ! There are some great bass and cool sounds in the factory presets.

Soft Synth Vst

2. SMC Joono VST

SMC Joono Alpha Juno VST

Fm Synth Vst

Created with SynthMaker, the project seems to be stopped.
It doesn’t really sounds like a Alpha Juno, but It can do interesting sounds.

3. EFM AlphaII VST

Free Bass Synth Vst

direct download, info : http://ele4music.blogspot.fr/

Hoover Synth Vst Free Plugin

A synthedit creation. The synth is far from an Alpha Juno,
i don’t really like the sound but if you want to dig deeper, don’t hesitate.