Top 5Uses
Ableton
LiveSeen in Bonobo Breaks Down His Sampling Process | "Me and You" Ableton Session Breakdown, September 2026
Photo: Krists Luhaers · CC BY 2.0
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Bonobo. Every item links to its public source.
27 items · Last checked What's in Bonobo's studio?
Bonobo uses Ableton Live, a Yamaha reface CP on the desk and a Sequential Prophet-5, with plug-ins such as FabFilter Simplon, Valhalla Shimmer and oeksound soothe. They have said they use Moog Subharmonicon, Mother-32 and DFAM modular gear and an Avalon VT-737SP.
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Top 5
Where to start with Bonobo's gear.
01
02
Top 5Uses
Yamaha
Reface CP“I have an actual Rhodes sitting here in the studio, but I have the CP on the desk, because it's right there and it's closer.”
03
Top 5Uses
Sequential
Prophet-5“I have a Prophet-5 synth in my house and I made a patch on it and it all came together easily after that.”
Said in Breaking the cycle: Bonobo's evolution is entering a new phase, September 2026
04
Top 5Uses
Korg
Mono/PolySeen in Bonobo Breaks Down His Sampling Process | "Me and You" Ableton Session Breakdown, September 2026
05
Top 5Uses
Audio Damage
QuantaSeen in Bonobo Breaks Down His Sampling Process | "Me and You" Ableton Session Breakdown, September 2026
What studio gear Bonobo uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Studio
Uses
Ableton
LiveSeen in Bonobo Breaks Down His Sampling Process | "Me and You" Ableton Session Breakdown, September 2026
Uses
Yamaha
Reface CP“I have an actual Rhodes sitting here in the studio, but I have the CP on the desk, because it's right there and it's closer.”
Said in "I have an actual Rhodes in the studio, but I used the little Yamaha CP on my desk": Bonobo reveals why he chose a $499 Reface mini keyboard , September 2026
Also at
Uses
Sequential
Prophet-5“I have a Prophet-5 synth in my house and I made a patch on it and it all came together easily after that.”
Said in Breaking the cycle: Bonobo's evolution is entering a new phase, September 2026
Uses
Korg
Mono/PolySeen in Bonobo Breaks Down His Sampling Process | "Me and You" Ableton Session Breakdown, September 2026
Has said they use
Avalon Design
VT-737SP“I've always used the Avalon VT-737 Channel Strip for pretty much everything, whether it's guitars or synths”
Said in Bonobo: "If I look at a piano I tend to reach for the same keys and progressions, whereas with modular you often don't even know what key you, January 2022
Also at
Plug-ins
Uses
Audio Damage
QuantaSeen in Bonobo Breaks Down His Sampling Process | "Me and You" Ableton Session Breakdown, September 2026
Uses
Cableguys
ShaperBoxSeen in Bonobo Breaks Down His Sampling Process | "Me and You" Ableton Session Breakdown, September 2026
Uses
FabFilter
SimplonSeen in Bonobo Breaks Down His Sampling Process | "Me and You" Ableton Session Breakdown, September 2026
Uses
oeksound
sootheSeen in Bonobo Breaks Down His Sampling Process | "Me and You" Ableton Session Breakdown, September 2026
Uses
Polyverse
WiderSeen in Bonobo Breaks Down His Sampling Process | "Me and You" Ableton Session Breakdown, September 2026
Uses
Valhalla DSP
Valhalla ShimmerSeen in Bonobo Breaks Down His Sampling Process | "Me and You" Ableton Session Breakdown, September 2026
Uses
Celemony
MelodyneSeen in Bonobo Breaks Down His Sampling Process | "Me and You" Ableton Session Breakdown, September 2026
Has said they use
Soundtoys
Decapitator“I use Soundtoys' Decapitator quite a lot to add character”
Has said they use
ToneBoosters
ReelBus“ToneBoosters' ReelBus tape emulator, which glues everything together really nicely.”
Said in Bonobo: "If I look at a piano I tend to reach for the same keys and progressions, whereas with modular you often don't even know what key you, January 2022
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Modular
Uses
Make Noise
MorphageneSeen in Bonobo Breaks Down His Sampling Process | "Me and You" Ableton Session Breakdown, September 2026
Has said they use
Moog
Subharmonicon“One is based around Moog stuff like the Subharmonicon, Mother-32 and the DFAM percussion synth linked to some auxiliary LFOs, function generators and effects.”
Has said they use
Has said they use
Has said they use
Mutable Instruments
Clouds“I was more interested in using resonators and interesting delays like Make Noise's Morphagene and Mutable Instruments' Clouds.”
Has said they use
Qu-Bit Electronix
Surface“I just found the idea of building generative patches exciting, especially how resonators like Rings or the Qu-bit Surface module can sound like acoustic modelling.”
Has said they use
Has said they use
Records that shaped me
Has said they love
“I love how it weaves in and out of these acoustic, experimental pieces into more drum-heavy electronic stuff.”
Said in Bonobo: "I don't like to dwell in nostalgia", September 2026
Has said they love
Has said they love
On my nightstand
Has said they love
Faber & Faber
The New York Trilogy by Paul AusterSaid in Inbox: Bonobo, April 2010
Has said they love
Faber & Faber
The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif KureishiSaid in Inbox: Bonobo, April 2010
Questions
About Bonobo's gear.
What DAW does Bonobo use?
Bonobo uses Ableton Live, opening the Me and You session on the Tape Notes podcast in 2026, and has said they print and process modular sounds in Ableton.
What plugins does Bonobo use?
A 2026 Tape Notes breakdown lists Audio Damage Quanta, Cableguys ShaperBox, FabFilter Simplon, oeksound soothe, Polyverse Wider, Valhalla Shimmer and Celemony Melodyne. In 2022 Bonobo said they use Soundtoys Decapitator and ToneBoosters ReelBus.
What synth does Bonobo use?
Bonobo uses a Sequential Prophet-5 at home and a Korg Monopoly, and has said they use two Eurorack cases built around the Moog Subharmonicon, Mother-32 and DFAM plus Make Noise and Mutable Instruments modules.
What keyboard does Bonobo use?
Bonobo uses a Yamaha reface CP kept on the studio desk, choosing it over a real Rhodes for Me and You because it is closer to hand.
What albums would Bonobo take to a desert island?
In a 2010 XLR8R Q&A, Bonobo has said they love Loveless by My Bloody Valentine and Eureka by Jim O'Rourke among four desert island albums. In 2026 they named DJRUM's Under Tangled Silence as a reference record.
What books does Bonobo read?
Bonobo has said they love Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy and Hanif Kureishi's The Buddha of Suburbia, both picked as desert island books in 2010.
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B
Bonobo
About this guide · Last checked
Bonobo is Simon Green, the British producer, live act and DJ behind albums from Black Sands to Distance in Static, based in Los Angeles. This guide covers the software, keys, modular synths and outboard he has named in interviews and session breakdowns, plus records and books he has picked.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Bonobo didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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