Studio Equipment

My main studio setup consists of a pair of Spirit Absolute Zero Speakers. A Spirit Folio F1 14 Channel Mixer, an ESI 4000 Hardware Sampler from Emu systems, Roland JV 10-10 Synthesiser, Novation Super Bass Station. I also have a Korg X5D synth keyboard and a Boss DR-202 drum machine.

 

Korg X5D Syntheseizer

The Korg X5D Synthesizer was the first keyboard synth I bought. Korg launched the X5D in 1996, with its impressive range of string, choir, bass, lead sounds. I use the korg on nearly ever piece of music I write. It is especially good for string and lead sounds. The X5D comes with 2 banks of 198 patches each. Labeled bank A and bank B. The good thing about the X5D is that you can download more patches to the synth and some of the public domain patches available are stunning in quality. This synth is a little gem and comes in with a good 5 octave keyboard.

Novation Super Bass Station

The Super Bass Station has some superb sounds built in. Including, some lovely acid sounds and deep bass thumpers. The most impressive thing about the station is the 24db Filters. When pushed, the filters can produce amazing acid lines and screeching leads. I bought the rack mount version in 1998 and I tend to use it on most of my music. A very solid unit with impressive sounds to boot.

EMU Esi 4000 Hardware Sampler

The ESI 4000 is a very good hardware sampler. The midi is very tight and i used the sampler for many years before going over to a software sampler. The Filters are very good and the interface is easy to use. The good thing about the ESI 4000 is, that i bought many sample cd`s made directly for the unit. I then converted the cd`s over to my computer and can now use the sounds on the computer, instead of using the hardware sampler. This piece of equipment would be excellent for live gigging. It has 16 channels of midi and various midi options.

Roland JV - 1010

If there is one bread and butter synth for you to buy, I recommend snapping this up before it it to late to get hold of one. The JV-1010 is a slightly cut down version of the 1080. Sonically, I can not really tell the difference though. It comes with the Session board already in the internal memory and I bought 2 expansion cards for the synth. The expansion cards are the Techno card, which is superb, and the Vintage card, which has some nice old skool sounds. The main unit has about 1000 patches consisting of string, pad, keyboard, organ, lead, ethnic, drums and sound fx. The pads range from lush, through to haunting and the rest of the sounds are also superb.

Spectrasonics Atmosphere

This Software Synth is amazing. I bought Atmosphere in 2005 and it has some amazing Sounds. It was created by the same man who made the sounds for the Roland JV Series, so you know it is going to be good. That man is Eric Persing. Atmosphere comes with about 1000 patches, made up of strings, pads, leads, bass, bells, synth etc. I tend to use it in every song I create and the pads are brilliant to layer over anything.

Spectrasonics Stylus

Stylus is a drum machine with hundreds of drum loops available for manipulation. The loops are also groove control, which means you can load them into your sequencer and alter the speed of the track without effecting the sound. I like to pitch shift a loop and filter it at the same time. The Stylus also comes with hundreds of kick, snare, hi hat and tambourine sounds. This is a must for any serious musician.

Spectrasonics Trilogy

The Trilogy is a fantastic bass module with hundreds of bass sounds. Everything from real bass sounds through to hard, acid, funky, booming bass. I tend to use trilogy on most of my songs and the bass sound fits in great in the mix. Every genre of music is covered in the bass department and the whole package is just brilliant.

Rob Papen - Albino 2

This synthesizer has some great pad sounds and lovely leads. The filter section is top notch and can take a good tweaking. Albino 2 come with about 1000 patches covering pads, strings, synth, bass, lead, techno and acid sounds. I use this mainly on ambient tracks for pad swirls and on some drum and bass songs.

Novation V Station

The V Station is like a better version of the Super Bass Station, but in software form. Although it does not come with hundreds of sounds, the ones it does include are very good. Deep bass sounds, acid lines, nice pads, keyboards and sound fx, are all there to cover the majority of sounds. The Filter is also very good, with a 24 db low pass and high pass filter. Excellent synth.