Thursday, May 21, 2009

Showroom Dummy

Now that my setup is complete (I mean, for the time being), I think the time is ripe for a little explanatory tour.
As you can see, my studio is mostly hardware, which I tend to prefer for workflow and audio quality.
As usual, the pics links to higher resolution images.


The analogue bunch :

Moog Little Phatty : monophonic analogue, 2006 Tribute Edition, the signature Moog sound, all basses on my songs are played on this, and obviously it excels in leads. With the new arpeggiator, it's also a good source of interesting effects.



DSI Prophet 08 : polyphonic analogue (8 voices), 2007... beautiful and sophisticated sound. It's the instrument I usually use for lush, warm textures. The on-board sequencer and the ability to layer two patches are most useful to create loops and percussive grooves.



Roland Alpha Juno-1 : polyphonic analogue (6 voices), 1986... this is the one for eighties sounds with a lo-fi, dark edge. The classic Juno sound, in a punkier sort of way.




The virtual analogue connection :

Korg Microkorg : polyphonic virtual analogue (4 voices), 2002… a most successful, retro looking and sounding instrument, often derided for its toy-like appearance, but it’s a serious, surprisingly deep instrument, with great arpeggiator and a vocoder full of character.


Korg Electribe EMX-1 : polyphonic virtual analogue (16 voices), 2003… most underestimated drum machine and synth module… great sounds, great effects, and a handy 5-parts synth sequencer, allowing you to program a whole song in there.


The digital collective :

Roland D-550 w/ PG-1000 programmer : polyphonic digital (16 voices), 1987... one of the finest digital synths ever, cleverly using truncated samples to add "realism", which sounds dated today but that's what I love in it! Great strings, ethereal pads, but also a fantastic source of strange effects.


Korg Wavestation : polyphonic digital (32 voices), 1990… another fine digital instrument, of outstanding depth. The lack of a proper filter renders the sound a bit cold, but it’s the perfect tool for soundtrack or ambient work. With a little bit of programming, a single patch can provide a whole complex atmosphere.



Yamaha QY70 : portable workstation… in my bag on most vacations and weekends, a great tool to work out song ideas on the move, with very decent sounds.


And various Bontempi, Casio and Yamaha...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Et c'est quoi le gros cube rouge "FAT 1" ?

khoral said...

C'est un compresseur.
Un gros compresseur stéréo.

khoral said...

(Je m'en sers pour compresser méchamment la voix et également entrer la guitare électro-acoustique en direct)