Aphex Twin’s Syro Gear List… Or Is It?

[wub]

Users of Muffwiggler and Reddit have spent the last few days analysing and decoding a graphic created by The Designers Republic as part of the package for Aphex Twin’s forthcoming Syro LP. The result is this spreadsheet of all the equipment apparently used on the album, cross-referenced by track. The locations listed are also assumed to be the studios in which each track was recorded.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the tracks with ‘circlon’ in the title might refer to the Sequentix Cirklon sequencer, or that ‘s950tx16wasr10’ makes use of an Akai S950, Yamaha TX16W and Ensoniq ASR10, but how about the rare Rocky Mountain Instruments Harmonic Synthesizer, the Yamaha EX-42 organ or the modified DX100?

But wait. Hold on a minute. Before we get carried away nerding out over the kit list for a load of music we haven’t even heard yet, can we take a moment to question why an artist who’s made a hobby of misleading people and bending the truth when discussing his production methods would suddenly decide to reveal the details of his creative process? Maybe we should take this one with a pinch of salt?

The clues are already out there. According to Creative Review’s blog post on TDR’s artwork for Syro, the gear list is described as a ‘disinfographic’. Given James’s predilection for disinformation in the past, there seems to be a pretty good chance we’re all being taken for a ride again this time around.

This is, after all, the same man who once claimed that he made all his music in the nude and recently told an interviewer that his studio setup consisted of the obscure 1970s computer music system UPIC, a bunch of lame 90s synths such as the Quasimidi Rave-O-Lution 309, plus “all the Behringer effects that copy other things“.

Check out the full gear list below, but don’t come crying to us if it turns out to be another piece of RDJ misdirection.

A Designs Reddi
A Designs Pacifica
ADT Toolkit x4
Akai S950HXC
AKG Contact Mics
Alice Mixer
Allen Heath Mix Wizard
Allen Organ Spring Reverb
AMS RM16
API 3124+
API 550A
API 550A orig
API 550B API 560
API 8200A
ARP 2500
Atari 1040 + Midi Expansions + HXC
Avedis E27
Bode Vocoder
Boss BX16
Boss BX8
Boss GE7
Buzz Audio Arc1.1
Calrec Minimixer
Calrec RQP3200
Casio FZ10 + FZ20M + NXC
Chandler Delay Black
Chandler Delay Cream
Chandler Zoner Limiter
Cirklon Sequencer
Court Acoustics Graphic
Crumar Bit01 White
Cwejman RES4 x3
Cwejman VC06
Disklavier MKIV Pro Custom
DPA 4052
Drawner Stereo Gate Dytronics FS1
Elysia Mpressor
EML 101. modded
EMS 2000 Vocoder
EMT 140 Plate/Stereo/Tube
EMT 240 Gold Foil
EMT 252 FX
EMT 258 x4 Filters
Ensoniq ASR10 Eventide DSP4000
Eventide H3000 DSE
Eventide H949 x4
Focusrite ISA110 Orig x8
Focusrite ISA430
Fulltone Tape Echo
Harrison 32EQ GR500
HAT Mechanical Drums
Helios x2
Intellijel Rubicon
JH ARP Quadra Phaser
JH Storm Tide FLanger x2
JH Tau Phaser
Jomox Sunsyn V1 x2
Kawai K5000R
Klark Teknik DN780
Korg DS8
Korg Minipops7 Midi. sepouts
Korg PS3200
Korg PS3300 x3
Lexicon 480L
Lexicon PCM70
LPG
Lynx Aurora 16
Make Noise DPO
Marion PROSynth x2
Meinl Water UDU
Micmix Dynaflanger
Micmix Masteroom 2
Midas Venice Desk
Midimoogs x2
Modular Systems/Eurorack
Moog Memory Lintronics
MIT Ensemble
Mum & Dad Vocals
Musicmaid Claptrap x4
Nagra IV-S
Neotek Elite 64 Channel Custom
Neumann V473 x2
Oberheim OBX, racked
Oberheim Modular SEMs, racked
Orla DSE24
Pearl SC40
Pearl Syncussion, racked/midi/mod x4
Plugins, various
Pultec EQP-1A3
Quad Eight 248 x2
Quantec Room Simulator
Retro Instruments Powerstrip
Rhodes Chroma
RME Fireface800
RMI Harmonic Synth
Roland 101s, modded
Roland CE1
Roland D550
Roland MK550
Roland MK570
Roland R8/ROM(?)
Roland TR606 / 666?, modded
Roland TR808
Sci Prophet VS
Sci Prophet5, racked/keyboard
Sennheiser VSM201
Serge Modular 9-panel
Shure Auxpander
Siemens V78 x2
Simmons SD53(??)
SM Pro PEQ505
Songbird Tri Chorus x2
Sound Devices 772
Soundcraft Ghost
Soundworkshop 262
SPL TD4
SSL 4000 Channel Strips x5
SSL X desk
Studio Electronics Code8 Full
Synthoma Elkorus
Synton Syntovox 221 x2
Tantek Flanger/Delay
TC1210
Tongue Drums
TR727
TR9090
Valley People Gain Brains
Valley People Kepex x10
Wildlife
Yamaha CS80
Yamaha D5000
Yamaha DX100, modded
Yamaha DX11
Yamaha EX42
Yamaha FS1R
Yamaha RX11
Yamaha TX16W x2
Zither AFX-scale

Taken from here - http://www.attackmagazine.com/news/aphe ... gear-list/

[AxeD]

Would be sick if no hardware was used at all.

They did get me excited about a new Chandler limiter though

[wub]

Sequentix Cirklon again getting a mention.

[fragments]

I pretty much believe in nothing surrounding Aphex Twin these days. I'll just enjoy the music when the album is available lol. Crazy ass gear list though, whether true or not.

[hubb]

I know from a m8 who worked at rephlex that a lot of it is fluff. He's not as obsessed with gear as with music and music history itself.
Squarepusher is on the other hand obsessed with gear and reconstructs some of the units right after he buys them and have helped in development with some hi-end gear. And have made musical sequencers out of a construction site cpu. (the machine bit in the lola music doc; it's the same one as the one with photek and source direct)..

What Aphex does a lot of the time is a form of natural reverberation/ slapback where you might just have a simple software inst. playing and then you record the room or mic up the monitors, which gives that two dimensional aspect to the sound - that could be confused or have a similar effect to the way a hardware unit drifts. It's quite apparent in this track
I think Autechre where a inspiration in that regard. But lol even Bryan Eno was rumoured to be a part of Gescom at one time so there's grounds to think anything - tbh. Safe to say that all f it goes in line with Kraftwerk and their opinion of what role the musician could play.

[fragments]

Honestly, I can't even imagine figuring out a place for all that gear in a single album. At that point it would seem one were more interested in tinkering with gear than actually making music.

Of course each piece of gear has its own unique characteristics and sound, but I think by and large that is lost on 99% of even Aphex Twin's fans, even ones that are gear heads.

[RKM]

but can he create fire using only a playstation

[Samuel_L_Damnson]

I need to reamp synths more. Natural room sound and tube saturation. Peng.

[fragments]

I need to reamp synths more. Natural room sound and tube saturation. Peng.

I need to buy some damn microphones...

[Samuel_L_Damnson]

Yea i need more than the c1000 nicked from college.

[nowaysj]

I need more talent.

[fragments]

I need more talent.

talent store is open 24/7 you need to rob that place with a gritty, but functional .45

[nowaysj]

Stick to smaller calibers, more accurate follow up shots.

[fragments]

Stick to smaller calibers, more accurate follow up shots.

.22 caliber compressors