I’ve got a spreadsheet I found somewhere that has the Syro gear list all organized properly. I can’t find it now though. There’s also this spreadsheet of his Soundcloud dumps and the gear used. I’ve not looked at it too much though.
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Well he uses a ZAHL AM1 Mixer, pretty much the best analog mixer ever built as far as sound and quality goes. They ain´t cheap! but they are glorious…
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He’s a prime example of how although he has all the gear, it really isn’t about the gear. He makes amazing tracks on a monologue or a BS2. That new Barcelona EP track is the reface dx and it’s a belter.
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At this point I reckon he uses a ton of mixers with a ton of outboard. Neotek was used too.
Sure he’s probably had plenty of mixers… But the AM1 is his latest and greatest thats for sure.
Not that it matters he’s made good music with whatever he got his at hands on in the past… The AM1 is a Trophy really but built to last forever… it’s on my maybe one day dream list.
How much time do you think he spends on a Mixer?
A lot… the AM1 has a CV channel that literally is a performance channel on its own allowing you to cv control eq and filters etc on the analog mixer or 4 CV controls of your modular with one knob so you can do a lot of real time performance recording on it.
It was designed with Electronic music in mind, hence one of the minds behind the whole thing was Mark Ernestus (Basic Channel).
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Perhaps, I honestly have no idea what he’s using. Considering all the gear he has, it’s most likely he’s got a ton of separate setups for recording. Maybe the AM1 is his main for mixing the other mixers.
It’s a lovely console indeed, it’s really nice to see a new player enter the high end world and do things differently.
I think, in general, it goes like this:
Until ICBYD - hardware recorded to cassette, maybe reel-to-reel, maybe dat, maybe computer
HAB/RDJ through Drukqs - almost all computer
Analord/Tuss - return to hardware, some sequenced on MC-4 but others ?? I think some computer at least for the Tuss stuff and maybe other hardware sequencers (Yamaha QYs, etc… who knows)
Syro until Today - hardware sequenced by computer, then mixing cirklon in, some computer plugins used, recorded through a variety of mixing desks, Syro was recorded live to 2 tracks (he claims), a lot of live jams recently, probably a mish mash of all kinds of techniques
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Makes sense, just record a lot of takes and pick out the best one.
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Perhaps Sequentix P3, but not sure if it was released by then.
wasn’t he saying he had his buchla 700 (maybe 3-4 ever made) in his bathroom or bedroom setup or something 
Yes, thanks, I always forget the name of the pre-cirklon sequencer.
Seems like he used a “Atari 520ST computer and a Korg SQ-10” for his early stuff, and the Yamaha SY7000 around Tuss era. I wonder if he ever sequenced with a MPC since there’s that well known pic of him with one.
thanks, I had missed this. Fits right into this thread
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This one that was originally on the Mt Fuji tape I think, and then put on soundcloud recently. Quite good!
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This is one of my all-time favorite songs for a variety of reasons. It has those tiny thin long-release pad sounds he uses so well, a fascinating bassline, the warbly lead synth during the ‘chorus’ section is just grand, and the drum programming is absolutely on point. The second ‘verse’ in particular is everything I love about his music.
Does anybody have a clue how I could go about recreating the bass sound during the ‘not chorus’ sections? There’s almost certainly chorus FX on it (he uses a CE-1 according to the Syro Gear List, though that could also primarily be on those warbly saw pads during the chorus section), but what’s giving it that rubbery quality? And the way the sound “shuffles” when he plays multiple notes in quick succession - I’ve never quite been able to imitate that. Is that the envelope settings of whatever synth he used? Obviously he’s masterful in manipulating the resonance/cutoff and with the programming piece, and I’m wondering on yet another listen if that’s actually where the magic in this is coming from?
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Don’t really know where to put this but there are a lot of 90s AFX (and Autechre) tracks on here and I think it’s a bit too nice to get buried in a mix or listening-to thread, 8:08:00 (yes 8+ HOURS) downloadable mix of mostly 90s idm/braindance/electronica/ambient/whatever you call it focusing on warp and adjacent artists, highly recommended
YT version:
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thx 4 sharing this!
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An article from The Quietus on Selected Ambient Works Volume II
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Since I haven’t been in this 6 year old thread yet - anything and everything, but the first album I ever bought was RDJ Album when I was ~12. I think it’s a good entry point for someone who hasn’t heard his music before. And I credit it with opening up a world of musical ideas for me. But what a catalog… there’s no right or wrong answer here 
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