SYNTHESISERS & ELECTRONIC WIZARDRY
THE BEST ANALOG DRUM MACHINE EVER MADE
Love them or hate them, there is no doubt that drum machines are very useful and creative tools. From Prince to Daniel Lanois, virtually everyone uses them for writing or tracking.
Many years ago I owned a Roland TR-808, Linn Drum LM-1 and Oberheim DMX but gave them away!
I did look for a number of years to find something great and then discovered Roger Linn and Dave Smith had come up with a new drum machine with both digital and analog oscillators. You can never go wrong buying something designed by these guys!
It is a fiendishly complex device to get into as it had a lot of depth - you can edit everything - but I love almost everything about it, especially the old school step programming features.
Suzy and I adore this beautiful machine and are very proud to be Sequential artists.
WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE?
MOOG MATRIARCH
SEMI-MODULAR MAGIC
I am of course principally a guitar player but when recording STARLITE.ONE realy buckled down to learning keyboards.
Historically, I do have a good knowledge of what they do and how to create sounds but playing is a different matter.
I ended up creating arpeggios, playing the synth bass and lead lines but sensibly leaving Starlite to deal with the chords, pads and stabs - i.e. the tricky stuff.
This is what MOOG say about the Matriarch:
“The pinnacle of Moog’s semi-modular family of synthesizers, Matriarch’s patchable architecture and classic Moog circuits reward open exploration with endless sonic possibilities and unparalleled analog sound. Matriarch’s 4 analog VCOs can be split into 4 notes of paraphony that can be sequenced, shifted, and stored with the instrument’s intuitive 256 step sequencer, or stacked in unison to create a massive 4 oscillator mono synth.”
I wrote an article about my love affair with Analogue synthesisers and you can read the article by clicking the button below.
MONSTER BASS
We all remember the huge bass sounds from MOOG Taurus bass pedals popularised by Geddy Lee (Rush), Chris Squire (Yes), John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Mike Rutherford (Genesis), Daniel Lanois and The Police.
This tiny box is basically the innards of the bass pedals updated to work as a part of a MIDI based keyboard rig.
Both Suzy and I have used them with our Studiologic MP113 bass pedals.
Here's me in stocking feet playing the Duesenberg D6 Baritone through the Leslie 145 and the pedals.
Simultaneously rubbing your stomach and patting your head springs to mind…
MOOG ETHERWAVE PLUS
WEIRD AND WONDERFUL
In the '70s I saw pictures of Jimmy Page waving his arms around a strange box like a sonic sorcerer wondering what the hell it was. I later discovered it was a theremin.
The theremin was the product of Soviet government-sponsored research into proximity sensors and was invented by a young Russian physicist named Lev Sergeyevich Termen (known in the West as Leon Theremin) in October 1920.
To say these are tricky to set up and play is an understatement but there are a few incredible exponents of the art!
I am not one of these but have managed to use this wonderful instrument on quite a few recordings combined with my Maestro Echoplex EP-3.
Check out the ethereal vibes on 'Do You Want Me'.
