Find out how one of our top electronic producers/composers creates music with a studio constructed on his own. Includes complete gear checklist and pictures of the setup.
The way I go about creating music is rather the old fashion midi-audio route. It means I record every midi note, which later commands my hardware gear to record it into wav in my favorite digital audio program. This might seem slow to some but I've manage to get used to my system very well and I'm able to crank out tracks faster and faster each time. It all starts with my Akai MPC2000XL. This is not just a sampling drum machine known to the hip-hop world, but a center stage to my synthesizers, sound modules and drum machines. Since MIDI is the controller language, the MPC understands it via 4 inputs and outputs. Glued to my MPC like conjoined twins is my 61 key Korg triton. The triton is the controller for my studio and it's MIDI output is routed into my MPC. From there, everything else gets controlled with the MPC as the master, keeping track of the tempo and all MIDI note record functions. Its easy to see how these two pieces of hardware are the main elements to my studio. Morningstar's Gear List hardware Synths Korg triton Korg ms2000 Korg poly800 Korg ea-1 Kawai k1m Roland u-110 Drum Machines Korg er-1 Roland mc-307 Boss dr-202 E-MU Drumulator Samplers/Sequencers Akai mpc2000xl (studio) Akai s3000xl (not working!) Roland sp-808emix Mixers Allen&Heath wz16:2dx Processors Focusrite voicemaster pro Line6 bass pod pro (rack) Art tube preamps DBX 266xl compressor Behringer denoiser Sony tc-730 (reel2reel) Pioneer pdr-509 cdr deck Akai mfc42 (analog filter) Electro. Harmonix big muff (stomp box) Microphones Rode NT1-A Shure and Sony handhelds Computer/Audio.Midi Interface Gateway PC P4 1.5GHZ 512mem. XP Motu 828mk2 DJ Equipment Technics 1210 (2) Vestax pmc-07pro Roland dj-2000 Numark cdn-88 (cd players) Monitors Roland rsm-90 (2) Polk Audio 8"sub AKG K240monitors Pioneer Headphones (vintage) Other LTD bass guitar Behringer electric guitar Software Ableton Live3 wavelab4 sonar 1.0 FL studio4 The recording process is one that I continue to improve every time I start on a new project. My recording audio interface is the MOTU 828 mk2; it is connected to my PC via a firewire cable. I use all 10 analog inputs as well as the coaxial digital inputs, this gives me a good audio flexibility in case I wanted to record multiple tracks at once. My favorite digital audio program is Ableton's Live3. I find this program to fit me like a glove with its simple user interface and it's rock solid MIDI sync capabilities. I began to record a few bars usually about 2-4 on my MPC, which is triggering different sound modules and synthesizers. After I have some sort of backbone to a track, I proceed and record everything in Live3, which is being synced by my MPC through my 828mk2 interface. When I have all of that recorded, I begin to lay tracks over it, sometimes programmed in my MPC, or live input using my keyboard. Vocal recording is my hardest task as I have no isolation booth and sometimes controlling noise levels becomes very difficult. I use a Rode mic condenser amped threw a Focusrite VoiceMaster Pro. The addition of these two pieces of gear really has helped me improve on vocal recordings. For the longest time I was using a Shure handheld mic with no processor, it was extremely hard to get vocals right with that set up. The software programs I use the most are limited to Live3 and Wavelab4. I use Live3 for all my sequencing of audio data and for multi-track recording and editing. I use wavelab4 for final mix down editing and mastering purposes. I have FL Studio, but just can't use it with what I'm working with. I intend to make full use of softsynths in the future but for right now I work well with what I have and find it a bit cumbersome trying to get the sounds out of VSTs. My monitoring system includes 2 Roland RSM-90 speaker monitors, Polk Audio 8" sub and AKG K240 monitoring headphones powered by an Onkyo stereo receiver. Most of my work is done under my headphones, but from time to time I peak out and monitor my lows and highs with my…