Dean Grenier & Pilo

Dean Grenier & Pilo – My Studio

Dave Smith’s Prophet-6 Desktop + Ableton Push 2

Dean & I both have this synthesizer module in our studios… we absolutely love the sonic possibilities on this beast.

This Polyphonic synth is the heart and soul of ‘Take Form’, the title track of our new EP. It was a user preset we crafted over the whole session & Dean was using a program in Ableton that quantized the notes + shifted the notes to a certain scale/mode.

Both the tremolated bass & euphoric shifting pad in the breakdown were made from this. It continues to be a staple in our collaborations….

Korg Volca Bass

Deans ‘‘GO – TO’’ bass synth, it has his name written all over it! He can’t get enough of the Reese Bass & honestly… it works almost every single time.

It is a true analogue bass synth that has such a gritty roar to it. I am always wow’ed by how powerful it is… You can hear this one come in our title track Take Form @ 1:15.

Native Instruments Reaktor 6

I LOOOOOVE Reaktor 6…the possibilities are endless.

A year ago or so I started diving deep into Reaktor 6 — Building my own patches with OSC/FILTERS/REVERBS/ETC and even getting ridiculous with crafting FX/processing chains with Primary, which can get very complex.

The sound I get from Reaktor is remarkable & probably one of the best sounding digital plug-ins I use for synthesis. I was toggling through presets I had collected & stumbled upon one that I really liked. You can hear it through out Portra-400 & I also did a lot of granular synthesis as sound design on nearly every track on this EP.

A huge staple for my (Pilo) sound.

Strymon Big Sky

This reverb is legit a cheat code for atmospheric textures.

I can feed anything through this reverb & toggle it to a ‘’CHOIR’’ preset which sort of imitates a choir singing in a mega cathedral and you can toggle through different vowels like ‘OOOOO’ ‘AAAAAA’ etc.

I used this a lot on the main parts of the songs to create the atmosphere for each track.

Elektron Analog Rytm MKI

THIS IS THE KICKDRUM MEGASYNTH.

The drum synth engines are massive… Honestly, you can make any kick on this machine & they have such weight to them (if processed).

I made the kick for Take Form & Winterset in this machine… First I recorded it and then added heavy compression/distortion. This machine is our go-to for kick synthesis but even hi-hats and snares works a treat.

Roland TR-8

Whenever we are in the studio, Dean instinctively uses the TR-8 to craft his patterns/rhythms. I think it’s a very useful drum machine for writing drum loops.

Even if we don’t use the actual sounds, I think we get a lot of rhythmic ideas from it. TR-8 is all over Take Form & Skalitzer.

Elektron Analog Four MKI

Dean used this machine on Winterset for the main riff. This machine can get very deep with synthesis & its easy to get lost but when it works… it works very well.

Serge Modular System

I don’t think this was used on the record but it has been a staple in our recent productions… Dean usually creates great polyrhythmic sequences on this bad boy. When processed, it sounds so good…

Rupert Neve Designs Portico II Master Buss Processor

Really amazing piece of gear but we didn’t use it on the record. We created our homemasters on this before the finals were released. Lovely for mastering.

Api 5500

Same as the Rupert Neve Master buss processor…. Only used on homemasters but we have definitely ran through some stems or drum channels through it. Amazing EQ.

OTO BIM 12-BIT DELAY UNIT

Personally haven’t used this Delay too much yet but I know OTO is an incredible company & I’m sure we will be using it on future records.

Elektron Analog Heat

So much Elektron has been used on this record! Analog Heat is always great for processing multiple sounds together. I usually use this to add some aggresiveness to a record. This is all over the Take Form EP.

Club-Mate

We are both addicted to Club-Mate & it has saved our lives multiple times.

Apfel Rings

These are dangerous & usually knock us out at the end of our studio sessions. We will never learn from our mistakes with Apfel Rings!