A list of our gear

Another thing that was lost from our website when we updated it recently was this rather long list of equipment. We've updated it for the 21st century, because it was a little on the old side.

The date is an approximation of when we acquired it. As we said at the time, the list is long, and it definitely isn't comprehensive. It probably isn't very interesting either, but here goes...

• Ukulele - Musical Instrument, 2012. Is it a souvenir or a serious musical instrument? It's difficult to know, but it is fun.
• Korg Monotron - Synthesiser, 2012. Like a Stylophone, only not quite as silly.
• Korg iElectribe - Software, 2011. Great if you want to make some drum and bass or UK Garage of a Sunday afternoon.
• Korg iMS-20 - Software, 2011. Used to make silly noises, including several of the sounds on the Funnelweb mix of Golden Wheel.
• Apple GarageBand for iPad - Software, 2011. Rollo uses this as a general sketchpad and sounding board for ideas.
• Apple iPad 2 - Computer, 2011. Good for messing with when "on the road".
• Chimera Synthesis BC9 - Synthesiser, 2010. Second and last purchase from the now defunct bedroom company. Great for making very silly noises.
• Chimera Synthesis BC16 - Synthesiser, 2009. It took about a year to arrive, but it was worth it. If only I could work out how to use it
• mda DX10 - Software Synthesiser, 2009. DX-10 clone
• TAL Bassline - Software Synthesiser, 2009. Fun software synth
• TAL Elek7ro - Software Synthesiser, 2009. Fun software synth
• TAL U-No-62 - Software Synthesiser, 2009. Another nice Juno clone
• mda JX10 - Software Synthesiser, 2009. Another clone
• mda Piano - Software Synthesiser, 2009. Piano clone
• NUSofting daHornet - Software Synthesiser, 2009. Amazing Wasp clone, used to make lots of ridiculous noises on Transmission era tracks.
• Apple Intel iMac - Computer, 2008. Used by Rollo for everything from 2008 onwards.
• Paia Theremin - Other Instrument, 2008. Kit theremin which Rollo hasn't got round to finishing yet.
• Soundcraft Compact 10 - Mixer, 2008. Used from The End onwards for pretty much all Rollo's vocal recording and sampling.
• TAL U-No-60 - Software Synthesiser, 2008. Nice Juno clone
• TAL Vintager2 - Software Synthesiser, 2008. Nice SH-101 clone
• Steinberg Cubase Studio 4 - Software, 2008. Not quite as good as its predecessors, but entirely usable.
• AKG Perception 100 - Microphone, 2008. Lovely warm-sounding microphone
• Evolution MK-??? - MIDI Controller, 2007. Another handy controller, bought in 2007. 
• Apple iMac G4 - Computer, 2007. Bought by Simon in 2007 and not yet broken, although the power board did die a couple of years ago. Originally came with a pirate copy of Ableton installed, but now running Logic Audio which is much better, and legal. 
• Korg MicroKorg - Synthesiser, 2005. Bought new (yes, we were surprised too) in 2005. Capable of some of the best sounds ever, and very twiddleable. 
• Korg NS5R - Synthesiser, 2005. Slightly dodgy 90s synth module which makes great MIDI and aeroplane noises. 
• Native Instruments Absynth - Software Synthesiser, 2004. Soft synth bought in 2004, which makes nice noises although we haven't used it for ages as this version only runs on Mac OS9.
• Native Instruments Pro-53 - Software Synthesiser, 2004. Soft synth widely used on Dusk. Again, we haven't used it for ages as this version only runs on Mac OS9.
• Apple Powerbook 3400 - Computer, 2004. Simon's second laptop, which broke in about 2008, delaying Transmission in the process. When it did finally break (by refusing to start up) it forced us to update our technology, which was no bad thing.
• Apple iBook Clamshell - Computer, 2004. Bought in 2004, and used by Rollo until about 2009. The hard drive makes slightly more noise than an average jet engine. 
• Novation A-Station - Synthesiser, 2003. Nice synth module. Used pretty much continuously and on every track on Dusk and almost every track on Transmission.
• Roland Electribe EA-1 - Synthesiser, 2003. A little box containing many very fat arpeggios, used and sampled regularly. 
• Alesis NanoSynth - Synthesiser, 2002. Box of noises used a lot around 2002-2003 for Empires. Not used so much now as the range of sounds is a bit limited.
• Korg Prophecy - Synthesiser, 2002. Monophonic, but a thing of beauty nonetheless. Used very regularly.
• Akai S-3000XL - Sampler, 2002. Less dodgy mid 90s sampler, bought in 2002. Connected to a Mac via a SCSI link. Used regularly until we finally discovered software samplers. 
• Acoustic Guitar - Musical Instrument, 2001. Used when writing Not a Million Miles and Golden Wheel.
• Akai S-01 - Sampler, 2001. Dodgy early 90s sampler, bought in London in early 2001, and used extensively until we upgraded
• FAT FB-383 Freebass - Synthesiser, 2001. 303 emulator, bought in early 2001. It makes 303 noises. We haven't used it a huge amount. It features on Closer to the Sun (7" version).
• Apple Powerbook 3800 - Computer, 2001. Bought in 2001, now in a cupboard gathering mould, and in rather more pieces than Apple originally intended.
• FAT Procoder PCP-330 - Vocoder, 2001. Complicated vocoder, which we used a few times before selling a few years ago.
• Korg Poly-800 - Synthesiser, 2000. Bought in early 2000. It makes fantastic string sounds and is still used regularly. Like the CZ, it also re-sets itself in protest when it gets lonely. You have to feed it the default patches via an audio message.
• Yamaha PSS-780 - Keyboard, 2000. Bought in Wales in mid 2000. Some of the keys still work. 
• Roland D-110 - Synthesiser, 2000. Bought in mid 2000, and used a couple of times since, mainly on a couple of Ephemeris tracks. We pretty much gave up on it because it (a) sounds awful and (b) is an absolute pigdog to program, so we sold it.
• Akai SG-01v - Synthesiser, 2000. Bought in summer 2000. The mainstay of the Ephemeris and Zero eras. It's a very handy little box because so many sounds are packed in it.
• Evolution MK-125 - MIDI Controller, 2000. Mini controller, not really used much, if at all.
• Roland Juno-106 - Synthesiser, 2000. A thing of beauty, bought in London, late 2000. I think that a few of the chips have gone with age, since it doesn't always like playing all of the notes that you tell it to. We still use it regularly.
• Apple Macintosh LC - Computer, 2000. Bought for £50 in 2000. Using a MIDI interface and some cheap software, we made a valiant attempt to make some music, but the memory kept running out.
• Apple Powerbook 1400 - Computer, 2000. Simon's first laptop, which he bought in 2000 and used until it died in 2002.
• Roland SH-101 - Synthesiser, 1999. Red. Bought and repaired in America in 1999. Fantastic for basses, particularly if you don't need them to be in tune with anything else. We used the onboard sequencer a couple of times before we finally entered the age of midi. The 101 is still used quite a bit and is particularly prominent on Heaven Only Knows and The Broken Generation. Unfortunately it now seems to have stopped working, so maybe one day we'll get both it and the Juno properly serviced and restored to their former glory.
• Acorn BBC Model B - Computer, 1999. Stopped working around 2002. We never actually used it for music, because it sounded dreadful, but we managed to get to level 22 on Chuckie Egg. 
• Viglen 286 - Computer, 1999. Never really worked properly, but was good for playing Reversi.
• Philips CD-780 - CD Recorder, 1999. Used extensively until about 2002, when we started doing everything on computers. It's in storage now, and I'm not clear whether it works any more.
• Tascam Porta-05 - Recording Device, 1998. Used from late 1998 until 2002, it served a very worthy purpose, until it fell apart, and all the tapes we'd made with it became pretty much useless. It was great fun though.
• Casio CZ-1000 - Synthesiser, 1998. Procured from a man in Wagga Wagga in 1998. It makes very good noises and is still used regularly, although it has the annoying habit of re-setting itself if it is abandoned for too long. This is solved by sticking a bent paper clip into one of its holes, but you should not try this with other objects without a responsible adult present.
• Yamaha PSS-460 - Keyboard, 1997. Also bought in 1997, and used whenever we wanted white noise effects. 
• Yamaha PSS-380 - Keyboard, 1997. Bought in 1997, and featured a couple of nice sounds, the likes of which none of our other synths produce. Still used every now and again, although we tend to sample it these days. Featured most recently on Signs of Life.
• Apple Macintosh Plus - Computer, 1993. We used HyperCard and APL68000 to make noises, but it would probably be unfair to call them music.
• Yamaha PSS-50 - Keyboard, 1993. Bought in about 1993 to replace the PSS-150, because it had temporarily stopped working. This model featured 100 sounds; 20 rhythms; and other features. We used it in the 1990s. 
• Yamaha PSS-150 - Keyboard, 1985. Bought some time in the early eighties; it has four preset sounds; four rhythms; and real programmable drum sounds, which, according to the manual, give all the excitement of being a real drummer. It also has a demo tune. And a headphone socket. And... no, that's everything. It stopped working at some point in the early 90s, but then Rollo soldered it back together again.