Top 5Has said they use
Spectrasonics
Omnisphere 2“There was more sampling this time, and there’s a lot of Omnisphere, too.”
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Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Caribou. Every item links to its public source.
26 items · Last checked What's in Caribou's studio?
Dan Snaith has said Suddenly leaned on Spectrasonics Omnisphere, an Oberheim OB-8 and a Synthesis Technology E370 driven from Reaktor Blocks. His basement studio has been seen with a Roland Juno-106, TR-8S, Minimoog Model D and Ableton Push 2, and he has named Ableton Live as his arranging tool.
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Top 5
Where to start with Caribou's gear.
01
02
Top 5Has said they use
Synthesis Technology
E370 Quad Morphing VCO03
Top 5Has said they use
Native Instruments
Reaktor 6“I used my modular gear and Reaktor Blocks and I designed this software/hardware hybrid thing.”
04
Top 5Has said they use
Oberheim
OB-8“What if I didn’t have an OB-8? It just would have been a different record.”
05
Top 5Has said they use
Fender
Rhodes electric piano“There's a drum booth in the corner, a Fender Rhodes with a pile of cables on it”
Said in Tape Op #105: Caribou's Dan Snaith on His Decade-long Electronic Music Evolution, January 2015
What studio gear Caribou uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Studio
Has said they use
Spectrasonics
Omnisphere 2“There was more sampling this time, and there’s a lot of Omnisphere, too.”
Has said they use
Synthesis Technology
E370 Quad Morphing VCOHas said they use
Native Instruments
Reaktor 6“I used my modular gear and Reaktor Blocks and I designed this software/hardware hybrid thing.”
Has said they use
Oberheim
OB-8“What if I didn’t have an OB-8? It just would have been a different record.”
Has said they use
Fender
Rhodes electric piano“There's a drum booth in the corner, a Fender Rhodes with a pile of cables on it”
Said in Tape Op #105: Caribou's Dan Snaith on His Decade-long Electronic Music Evolution, January 2015
Has said they use
Ableton
Live“It's very similar to the way I use Ableton Live”
Said in Tape Op #105: Caribou's Dan Snaith on His Decade-long Electronic Music Evolution, January 2015
Seen using
Has said they use
Seen using
Seen using
Seen using
Seen using
Andorra era
Has said they use
“The Boss Dr. Sample SP-303. As well as it being a sampler, it also has a line-in, a pre-amp, and a whole ton of effects on it.”
Said in XLR8R: Caribou In the Studio, October 2007
Has said they use
Records that shaped him
Has said they love
Shuggie Otis
Inspiration InformationSaid in The Quietus: Beautiful Colours Everywhere, Dan Snaith Of Caribou's Favourite LPs, October 2014
Buy
Has said they love
Aphrodite's Child
666“It's incredible on so many levels.”
Said in The Quietus: Beautiful Colours Everywhere, Dan Snaith Of Caribou's Favourite LPs, October 2014
Has said they love
Silver Apples
Silver ApplesSaid in The Quietus: Beautiful Colours Everywhere, Dan Snaith Of Caribou's Favourite LPs, October 2014
Has said they love
Pharoah Sanders
Karma“If this list was only five albums long, this would definitely be on there. It's so incomparably good.”
Said in The Quietus: Beautiful Colours Everywhere, Dan Snaith Of Caribou's Favourite LPs, October 2014
Has said they love
Neutral Milk Hotel
In the Aeroplane Over the SeaSaid in The Quietus: Beautiful Colours Everywhere, Dan Snaith Of Caribou's Favourite LPs, October 2014
Has said they love
Arthur Russell
World of Echo“It still sounds like absolutely nothing else to me, it was such a revelation.”
Said in The Quietus: Beautiful Colours Everywhere, Dan Snaith Of Caribou's Favourite LPs, October 2014
Buy
Has said they love
Madvillain
MadvillainySaid in The Quietus: Beautiful Colours Everywhere, Dan Snaith Of Caribou's Favourite LPs, October 2014
Has said they love
Albert Ayler Trio
Spiritual UnitySaid in The Quietus: Beautiful Colours Everywhere, Dan Snaith Of Caribou's Favourite LPs, October 2014
Has said they love
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Axis: Bold As LoveSaid in The Quietus: Beautiful Colours Everywhere, Dan Snaith Of Caribou's Favourite LPs, October 2014
Has said they love
Steve Reich
Music for 18 MusiciansSaid in The Quietus: Beautiful Colours Everywhere, Dan Snaith Of Caribou's Favourite LPs, October 2014
Has said they love
J Dilla
DonutsSaid in The Quietus: Beautiful Colours Everywhere, Dan Snaith Of Caribou's Favourite LPs, October 2014
Has said they love
Alice Coltrane
Journey in Satchidananda“Again, her whole catalogue is amazing. I love her music back to front.”
Said in The Quietus: Beautiful Colours Everywhere, Dan Snaith Of Caribou's Favourite LPs, October 2014
Questions
About Caribou's gear.
What DAW does Caribou use?
Dan Snaith told Tape Op in 2015 that he works in Ableton Live as a looping, multitrack arrangement tool, and Future Music photographed an Ableton Push 2 in his studio in 2020. On early records like Andorra he used Sonic Foundry's ACID.
What plugins does Caribou use?
He told Future Music in 2020 that there is a lot of Omnisphere on Suddenly, including many of the guitars and the piano, and that he built a hybrid polysynth with his modular gear and Reaktor Blocks.
What synth does Caribou use?
He has named an Oberheim OB-8, saying it does not sound the same in plugin form, a Roland Juno-106 and a Synthesis Technology E370 wavetable module. Future Music's 2020 studio photos also show a Minimoog Model D and a Roland TR-8S.
What sampler did Caribou use on Andorra?
He told XLR8R in 2007 that the Boss Dr. Sample SP-303 was his secret weapon, running vocals, guitar and keys straight into it for its preamp and effects, and that he recorded drums with a Shure SM58 under the floor tom.
What are Dan Snaith's favourite albums?
For The Quietus in 2014 he picked records including Shuggie Otis's Inspiration Information, Aphrodite's Child's 666, Pharoah Sanders's Karma, Arthur Russell's World of Echo, J Dilla's Donuts and Alice Coltrane's Journey in Satchidananda.
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Named in this guide
C
Caribou
About this guide · Last checked
Caribou is Dan Snaith, the Canadian producer based in London behind Swim, Our Love, Suddenly and Honey, who also records as Daphni. This guide covers the synths, drum machine, controllers and software from his studio interviews with Future Music, Tape Op and XLR8R, plus the 13 records he picked as his favourites for The Quietus.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Caribou didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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