The Syro progress

[cern]

It always facinates me when it comes to Richards gear because he have so much equipment but do you think he really use everything so much for his tracks?

Is he really this hardcore? Is he so hardcore that he must have a technical genuis to help him out with patching his machines? Sounds like space mission! 

On Syro he says he used this for his XMAS_EVET

 

XMAS_EVET10 (thanaton3 mix) - Basement & Lodge

AKG Contact Mics Allen Organ Spring Reverb ARP 2500 Bode Vocoder Chandler Delay Black Chandler Zoner Limiter EML 101. Modded EMS 2000 Vocoder EMT 140 Plate/Stereo/Tube EMT 240 Gold Foil EMT 258 x4 Filters Eventide DSP4000 Fulltone Tape Echo HAT Mechanical Drums JH Tau Phaser Korg PS3300 x3 Lexicon 480L Lynx Aurora 16 Marion PROSynth x2 Meinl Water UDU Midimoogs x2 Moog Memory Lintronics Mum&Dad Vocals Neotek Elite 64 Channel Custom Oberheim OBX, racked Oberheim Modular SEMs, racked Pearl Syncussion, racked/midi/mod x4 Plugins, various Roland D550 Roland MKS70 Roland R8/R8M Sci Prophet VS Sci Prophet5, racked/keyboard Sound Devices 722 SPL TD4 SSL X desk Studio Electronics Code8 Full Synton Syntovox 221 x2 TC1210 Tongue Drums Valley People Gain Brains Valley People Kepex x10 Wildlife Yamaha EX42 Yamaha FS1R Zither AFX-scale

From wikipedia:

"One audio engineer spent three months with James, helping him wire together patch panels before the engineer "realised he was doing it all wrong and had to start again". Describing the overall process as "brutal", James referred to the in-studio technical issues as the catalyst for writing new music that would be featured on Syro.

 

[KovalainenFanBoy]

 

[sweepstakes]

And yet it only sounds like 1% better than software...

[YangYing]

6 minutes ago, sweepstakes said:

And yet it only sounds like 1% better than software...

His best stuff was made on playerpro imo, hardware can only do so much.. Unless you started out with hardware I think is a big big trap. I becomes more abou the hardware than the music.

[Bubba69]

1 hour ago, cern said:

It always facinates me when it comes to Richards gear because he have so much equipment but do you think he really use everything so much for his tracks?

Is he really this hardcore? Is he so hardcore that he must have a technical genuis to help him out with patching his machines? Sounds like space mission!

Would love to see a documentary behind the scenes of him working in one of these studios, see how it's all hooked up.

[beerwolf]

17 hours ago, MIXL2 said:

His best stuff was made on playerpro imo, hardware can only do so much.. Unless you started out with hardware I think is a big big trap. I becomes more abou the hardware than the music.

Which is highly likely the reason why Syro does nothing for me. When I read the gear list my hunch was as you say that it more about the hardware than the music. That's just a hunch though...

[d-a-m-o]

18 hours ago, MIXL2 said:

His best stuff was made on playerpro imo, hardware can only do so much.. Unless you started out with hardware I think is a big big trap. I becomes more abou the hardware than the music.

True, my fav music from Richard is the computer based stuff (RDJ album, CTD, Windowlicker, Drukqs)

[zkom]

4 minutes ago, d-a-m-o said:

True, my fav music from Richard is the computer based stuff (RDJ album, CTD, Windowlicker, Drukqs)

Yeah, this is for me also. And the early analog stuff he did with what I understand was just a few of modded synths, sampler and a tape recorder is more interesting to me than Syro.

[d-a-m-o]

Don't get me wrong I love Syro but I really hope his next big album will be full fucked up beat mode.

[Cryptowen]

i don't remember the SAW gear kit off the top of my head, but from what i recall some of the lushest sounds on those albums (imo) were from non-analogue synth sources: the quadraverb, the dx7, what i'm assuming are a lot of digital voice samples, etc. i'm guessing a lot of the hazy sound of those albums that people love so much comes down not to the particular synths used, but to the fact that he would have been running everything through tape

in my own experience that final layer can have a huge impact on the overall sound. like i've had a lot of people tell me that certain albums i've done (not all of them, intentionally so) sound really analogue, but the truth is with those ones i was still making them entirely with jeskola buzz like usual & then just running it through an actual korg MS-10 filter. My hot tip to new producers who want that fuzzy sound: don't spend a shitload of money on analogue gear, just get one thing you can run your entire chain thru & that'll be good enough. and maybe like a midi knob controller if you're a taurus & need that tactile sensation

[chronical]

I always hoped rdj would release an unmastered version of syro. also how good is end e2?

[cern]

I just wonder what the heck all those mixers, EQs, FXs routings, Samplers and recorder devices do to the sound when the result is exteremly clean and mastered to perfection.. I mean doesn't the sound lose alot of that analogue gear jizz? 

And what is all that complicated patch programing? 1 month of patching together with a enginering dude to get a detuned lead? 

[pizza]

5 minutes ago, cern said:

1 month of patching together with a enginering dude to get a detuned lead?

lol

[xox]

What really matters is that you like the gear you use, that you feel comfortable during the process. Imo that’s the most important thing bc electronic music is hard and complicated to produce so we need to enjoy along the way. 

Afx loves analog! He was lucky enough to have enough time and money to use his fav tools, ... add his talent to the equation and you get Analord and Syro. 
 

Ae described their process and interaction with their max system as playing Grand Theft Auto. Imagine that! That must be fun!

Edited January 24, 2021 by xox

[hijexx]

I’ve always thought the same thing when I see some drummers and their drum sets. Like man you gonna use all that?

 

[Ginerpri]

I guess it's all about enjoying the process, more than the final result. You might recreate something similar ITB but having an actual instrument, cables and other hardware mess for some people is what drives them to certain tones, sequences and so on

[jejunum]

I just wonder what the heck all those mixers, EQs, FXs routings, Samplers and recorder devices do to the sound when the result is exteremly clean and mastered to perfection.. I mean doesn't the sound lose alot of that analogue gear jizz? 

And what is all that complicated patch programing? 1 month of patching together with a enginering dude to get a detuned lead? 

I understand what you mean but listen to the hihat on ”Produk 29”. It’s noisy as hell and that gate don’t really hide it either.

[psn]

 

[ignatius]

i've always imagined he has multiple long term ongoing experiments with certain things.. they run their course. also, i think since the cirklon that's his centerpiece and the gear around it changes.. or maybe he has a few of them set up with different gear. multiple little jam stations to try different things. dude's been doing this a long long long time. obviously he knows the ins and outs of all the things he has and can do whatever comes to mind. 

i interpreted the "i have a tech who took months to wire up the studio" as hiring a guy to do some custom things w/CV and audio in a patch bay so richard can more easily patch and combine etc whatever he wants. that's not simple and can be tedious shit. autechre said back in the day they would set up the studio differently for different tracks. rewire the whole studio to do different things. 

as for what sounds better.. the hardware or software.. i don't know.. it really depends on whose hands its in. think squarepusher Go Plastic which is basically a sampler, 303 and DSP and peavy PC1600 midi controller nad endless streams of fucking hexadecimal and his qy sequencer. 

people like to elevate and create mystery about these people but they're talented, pretty smart, been doing it a long time and mostly they work really hard a lot of the time and ya know.. they make good shit.

some of aphex's hardware stuff is so amazing and mindblowing to me. not the fact that he's doing it w/hardware but that is' just really good and all melody harmony beats and fx are so intertwined that it really does become a techno orchestra at times.  analord stuff is fantastic. and i know song i mention below is come to daddy era so probably tracker based but still the magic is sometimes you can't really tell. 

i mean.. 28 organ 1.1 [ru,ec,+9] 

https://aphextwin.warp.net/tracks

pretty much wrecked me in a good way for like a month and still when i hear it i marvel at the melody but also that beat and the bassline that is some not really acid type acid thing that just talks its way through the track. so very heaven. 

so, yeah, i think he's that hardcore about chasing the ideas he has right? i mean.. why wouldn't he? btw, i know people who are gear makers, designers, builders and there's a culture of obsession about a lot of it and it's usually because they are building something or trying to build something that recreates or takes up the torch of that think. so, talking to some of these people is an eye opener when they're properly caffeinated and on their shit about it.. whatever that thing is. 

i'll add.. after seeing the message board post up there that it's true.. i've played 2 really nice devilfish 303s side by side and the owner of them sold on to someone and later was like "fuck.. i should've sold him this one and kept the other one.. the one i sold is the better one" even though i played both of them and was thinking they both sounded amazing and my day at work went at warp speed. but there was something specific about it that he heard and much preferred. have had similar conversations with various people about 808s.  it's certainly not a way many people can afford to operate. 

fucking rambling wall of text. why do it do it. 

Edited January 25, 2021 by ignatius

[chronical]

1 hour ago, ignatius said:

i've always imagined he has multiple long term ongoing experiments with certain things.. they run their course. also, i think since the cirklon that's his centerpiece and the gear around it changes.. or maybe he has a few of them set up with different gear. multiple little jam stations to try different things. dude's been doing this a long long long time. obviously he knows the ins and outs of all the things he has and can do whatever comes to mind. 

i interpreted the "i have a tech who took months to wire up the studio" as hiring a guy to do some custom things w/CV and audio in a patch bay so richard can more easily patch and combine etc whatever he wants. that's not simple and can be tedious shit. autechre said back in the day they would set up the studio differently for different tracks. rewire the whole studio to do different things. 

as for what sounds better.. the hardware or software.. i don't know.. it really depends on whose hands its in. think squarepusher Go Plastic which is basically a sampler, 303 and DSP and peavy PC1600 midi controller nad endless streams of fucking hexadecimal and his qy sequencer. 

people like to elevate and create mystery about these people but they're talented, pretty smart, been doing it a long time and mostly they work really hard a lot of the time and ya know.. they make good shit.

some of aphex's hardware stuff is so amazing and mindblowing to me. not the fact that he's doing it w/hardware but that is' just really good and all melody harmony beats and fx are so intertwined that it really does become a techno orchestra at times.  analord stuff is fantastic. and i know song i mention below is come to daddy era so probably tracker based but still the magic is sometimes you can't really tell. 

i mean.. 28 organ 1.1 [ru,ec,+9] 

https://aphextwin.warp.net/tracks

pretty much wrecked me in a good way for like a month and still when i hear it i marvel at the melody but also that beat and the bassline that is some not really acid type acid thing that just talks its way through the track. so very heaven. 

so, yeah, i think he's that hardcore about chasing the ideas he has right? i mean.. why wouldn't he? btw, i know people who are gear makers, designers, builders and there's a culture of obsession about a lot of it and it's usually because they are building something or trying to build something that recreates or takes up the torch of that think. so, talking to some of these people is an eye opener when they're properly caffeinated and on their shit about it.. whatever that thing is. 

i'll add.. after seeing the message board post up there that it's true.. i've played 2 really nice devilfish 303s side by side and the owner of them sold on to someone and later was like "fuck.. i should've sold him this one and kept the other one.. the one i sold is the better one" even though i played both of them and was thinking they both sounded amazing and my day at work went at warp speed. but there was something specific about it that he heard and much preferred. have had similar conversations with various people about 808s.  it's certainly not a way many people can afford to operate. 

fucking rambling wall of text. why do it do it. 

i dig the wall of text. it's completely ridiculous saying afx having a guy come over doing custom work for him is basically someone wiring up his studio for him.. rdj just eating grapes, his disklavier playing a song in the background while some techie has to hook up envelope generators lol,  can you imagine?

[Amen Warrior]

There a tons of crusty old white men hoarding gear, just be thankful our Rich is still using it to pump out bangaz and not just doing vangelis covers in his basement for his 10 subscriber youtube channel while his wife sits upstairs alone day-drinking and questioning all her life choices

[DucksOpinion]

On 1/24/2021 at 11:59 AM, Cryptowen said:

My hot tip to new producers who want that fuzzy sound: don't spend a shitload of money on analogue gear, just get one thing you can run your entire chain thru & that'll be good enough. and maybe like a midi knob controller if you're a taurus & need that tactile sensation

I do this with video work. Will mainly shoot on the best format available, avoiding filters and plugins which claim to give a downgraded look.
Once done, I'll run the entire thing through some sort of analogue process to get to where I need it to be...Far more authentic.

[YEK]

I read that he has more than one studio/setup at a time..  So yeah 

[chim]

It's more amazing that he keeps track of it all on pieces that took some time to complete. The setup changes a lot and he always seemed like a "every channel is named 'track #'" project kinda guy. 

[mcbpete]

1 hour ago, chim said:

he always seemed like a "every channel is named 'track #'" project kinda guy. 

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