Top 5Uses
Ableton
Live“I use Ableton because that's my DAW and there's a lot of stuff already in there.”
Said in Resident Advisor: The Art of Production: Kevin Saunderson, February 2025
i
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Inner City. Every item links to its public source.
29 items · Last checked What DAW does Inner City use?
Kevin Saunderson uses Ableton Live, the Native Instruments Maschine+ and a Moog Sub 37, he told Resident Advisor in 2025. Dantiez has named an Arturia MatrixBrute and Barefoot monitors. In 1992 Kevin described an Akai MPC60, Akai S1000s, a TR-909, a Roland JD-800 and a Yamaha TX81Z.
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Top 5
Where to start with Inner City's gear.
01
02
Top 5Uses
Native Instruments
Maschine+“It's just like the Maschine, which I've worked with before, except it's a standalone, which I love.”
Said in Resident Advisor: The Art of Production: Kevin Saunderson, February 2025
03
Top 5Uses
Moog
Subsequent 37“Then I have a Matrix synthesiser that I like to tweak and a Moog Sub 37.”
Said in Resident Advisor: The Art of Production: Kevin Saunderson, February 2025
04
Top 5Has said they use
Arturia
MatrixBruteSaid in 15 Questions: Inner City about songwriting, technology and creative roots, July 2023
05
Top 5Has said they use
Barefoot Sound
Studio monitorsSaid in 15 Questions: Inner City about songwriting, technology and creative roots, July 2023
No store page for this one.
What studio gear Inner City uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Studio
Uses
Ableton
Live“I use Ableton because that's my DAW and there's a lot of stuff already in there.”
Said in Resident Advisor: The Art of Production: Kevin Saunderson, February 2025
Uses
Native Instruments
Maschine+“It's just like the Maschine, which I've worked with before, except it's a standalone, which I love.”
Said in Resident Advisor: The Art of Production: Kevin Saunderson, February 2025
Uses
Moog
Subsequent 37“Then I have a Matrix synthesiser that I like to tweak and a Moog Sub 37.”
Said in Resident Advisor: The Art of Production: Kevin Saunderson, February 2025
Has said they use
Arturia
MatrixBruteSaid in 15 Questions: Inner City about songwriting, technology and creative roots, July 2023
Has said they use
Barefoot Sound
Studio monitorsSaid in 15 Questions: Inner City about songwriting, technology and creative roots, July 2023
No store page for this one.
Classic Inner City
Has said they use
Roland
TR-909 Rhythm Composer“It was the right drum machine at the right time and we got our hands on it.”
Said in Resident Advisor: The Art of Production: Kevin Saunderson, February 2025
Has said they use
Akai Professional
MPC60“After that I just kind of gave up on computers and stuck with the MPC.”
Has said they use
Akai Professional
S1000
Has said they use
Alesis
D4 drum module
Has said they use
Has said they use
Roland
JD-800“It's a good unit, though, especially for strings sounds. I used it a lot on the album.”
Has said they use
Yamaha
TX81Z“The bass on 'Faith' is from the TX81Z”
Yamaha
TG77
Has said they use
Yamaha
TG55
Has said they use
Yamaha
TG55Said in Music Technology (June 1992): Inner City, Kevin Saunderson on the Praise album studio, June 1992
No store page for this one.
Has said they use
Ensoniq
VFX
Has said they use
Has said they use
Roland
Juno-106“Sometimes I mix it with the Juno 106, and sometimes I use the Memorymoog”
Has said they use
Has said they use
Sequential
Prophet-5“The Prophet 5 is a good unit for bass, too, 'cos it's real thick.”
Said in Music Technology (June 1992): Inner City, Kevin Saunderson on the Praise album studio, June 1992
Has said they use
Avid
SampleCell
Has said they use
Avid
SampleCellSaid in Music Technology (June 1992): Inner City, Kevin Saunderson on the Praise album studio, June 1992
No store page for this one.
Opcode
StudioVision
Has said they use
Opcode
StudioVision“Through reading magazines, I saw that StudioVision was rated very high.”
Said in Music Technology (June 1992): Inner City, Kevin Saunderson on the Praise album studio, June 1992
No store page for this one.
Apple
Quadra 900
Has said they use
Apple
Quadra 900Said in Music Technology (June 1992): Inner City, Kevin Saunderson on the Praise album studio, June 1992
No store page for this one.
Otari
MX-80 24-track tape machine
Has said they use
Said in Music Technology (June 1992): Inner City, Kevin Saunderson on the Praise album studio, June 1992
No store page for this one.
Sound Workshop
Series 34 console
Has said they use
Sound Workshop
Series 34 consoleSaid in Music Technology (June 1992): Inner City, Kevin Saunderson on the Praise album studio, June 1992
No store page for this one.
TASCAM
2524 MIDI-automated mixer
Has said they use
“It's very affordable, they put their board together really good for the price.”
Said in Music Technology (June 1992): Inner City, Kevin Saunderson on the Praise album studio, June 1992
No store page for this one.
Has said they use
Genelec
Genelec studio monitors“The ones with the built-in automatic limiter to keep you from blowing them up.”
Said in Music Technology (June 1992): Inner City, Kevin Saunderson on the Praise album studio, June 1992
No store page for this one.
Tannoy
Studio monitors
Has said they use
Tannoy
Studio monitorsSaid in Music Technology (June 1992): Inner City, Kevin Saunderson on the Praise album studio, June 1992
No store page for this one.
Commodore
Commodore 128
Has said they use
Commodore
Commodore 128Said in Music Technology (June 1992): Inner City, Kevin Saunderson on the Praise album studio, June 1992
No store page for this one.
Questions
About Inner City's gear.
What DAW does Inner City use?
Kevin Saunderson told Resident Advisor in 2025 that Ableton is his DAW. In 1992 the Inner City studio ran Pro Tools, SampleCell and Opcode StudioVision on an Apple Quadra 900.
What synth does Inner City use?
Kevin uses a Moog Sub 37 (RA, 2025) and Dantiez has named an Arturia MatrixBrute. For the 1992 Praise album Kevin described a Roland JD-800, Yamaha TX81Z, TG77 and TG55, Korg Wavestation A/D, Ensoniq VFX, Juno-106, Memorymoog and Prophet-5.
What drum machine did Inner City use?
Kevin told RA the Roland TR-909 was the right drum machine at the right time. In 1992 he also used a Roland R-8 and an Alesis D4 module, with samples on the Akai MPC60 and S1000s.
What studio monitors does Inner City use?
Dantiez named Barefoot monitors in a 2023 interview. In 1992 the main Inner City studio mixed on Genelecs, with Tannoys in both rooms.
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Named in this guide
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Inner City
About this guide · Last checked
Inner City is the Detroit group Kevin Saunderson started in 1987, the act behind 'Big Fun' and 'Good Life', now with his son Dantiez on production. This guide covers the studio gear Kevin and Dantiez have named, from the early 90s Praise sessions to the band's studio today.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Inner City didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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