Doug Wyatt | The Dream of 'I'

The Dream of 'I': Instruments

Here are some of the instruments used in the making of The Dream of 'I'. Click on an instrument for sound samples and commentary from Doug...

Yamaha CS-60

Nothing sings quite like this synth.

from Where You Lay:

solo

in context

Akai S2000

Sampler

Hammond organ (model unknown)

from Thrill of the Chase:

solo

in context

Kurzweil K2000 (not used)

ARP Pro Soloist (not used)

Hohner String Performer

from Where You Lay:

solo

in context

Two lines recorded separately, doubling string quartet. I was surprised at how much of the sound comes from this instrument as opposed to the real strings.

Logan String Melody II

from Implications:

solo

in context

Phasey gooey goodness.

Hohner Clavinet D6

I was surprised to learn recently that musicians as old as 35 don’t know what a Clavinet, that staple of 70's funk, is. It’s a bit like an electric harpsichord, with guitar pickups.

Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” might be the best known example.

from Artifacts and Fantasies:

solo

in context

Distorted, through a guitar amp.

Fender Rhodes Mark II

from Where You Lay:

solo

in context

Run through a guitar amp with distortion, tremolo on high.

Moog Taurus bass pedals

from Agents of Change:

solo

in context

Minimoog

from Cobblestone Mirrors:

solo

in context

The Minimoog was the surprise of the sessions for me. We did end up keeping some of the synth bass tracks I’d done on the Virus (including one doubling the Moog here), but that Moog sound is inimitable.

Wurlitzer organ

from Artifacts and Fantasies:

solo

in context

VCS synth (not used)

Wine glasses

from Don't Know I Know:

solo

in context

Toy piano

from Cobblestone Mirrors:

solo

in context

There was something really fun about playing one of the spookier passages on the album on a toy piano.

Hammer and chair

from Remembering Breath:

solo

in context

Christoffer thought the track could use some “pokier” sounds and handed me a hammer. On the first pass I played a cymbal with my right hand and beat a wooden baffle with the hammer with my left hand. On a second take I took the hammer to a broken wooden chair Christoffer had tossed out the door a few days earlier.

Tack piano

from Don't Know I Know:

solo

in context

Pump organ

from Don't Know I Know:

solo

in context

Cembalo

from Thrill of the Chase:

solo

in context

Minimoog Voyager

After using the Minimoog at AGM, I was hooked. I bought my Voyager shortly after Bob Moog’s passing in August.

from Agents of Change:

solo

in context

Two tracks of Voyager, different sounds, different performances, controlling the filter with the touchpad. Recorded at home (along with the vocals) 6 weeks after returning from Sweden, with this song incomplete.

Roland JV-1080

from Artifacts and Fantasies:

solo

in context

Every time I used a sound like this, Christoffer labelled it “Tony Banks pad” (referring to Genesis’ keyboardist).

Electrix Repeater

Looping device

Roland UM-880

USB-MIDI interface and router

Evolution UC-33

MIDI control box

Access Virus Classic

Possibly the best of the modern digital simulations of analog synths.

from Talking Points:

solo

in context

Alesis QS-7

I never got far into programming this beast, but it has a decent selection of sounds in ROM.

from Agents of Change:

solo

in context

Roland RD-700

from Implications:

solo

in context

Electric piano run through a guitar amp. The acoustic piano on this track is also the RD700.