Top 5Has said they use
Steinberg
Cubase“I did all the sequencing in Cubase.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Moby: Recording Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, February 2000
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Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Moby. Every item links to its public source.
31 items · Last checked What's in Moby's studio?
Moby made Play in Cubase with Akai samplers including an S3200 and S1000, a Roland TR-909, a Juno-106 and Yamaha SY22 and SY85 synths, per Sound On Sound. He has said he keeps a TR-909, Juno-106 and TB-303 from the late '80s, and his later studio ran Pro Tools HD with Yamaha NS10 monitors.
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Top 5
Where to start with Moby's gear.
01
02
Top 5Has said they use
Avid
Pro Tools HD“With Pro Tools you get instant results, you can record as many parts as you want”
Said in MusicRadar: In pictures: Moby's bedroom studio, August 2009
03
Top 5Has said they use
Ableton
Live“I also love working with some of the newer software programs like Reason and Ableton [Live]”
Said in MusicRadar: Moby: "I still use hardware", September 2008
04
Top 5Has said they use
Reason Studios
ReasonSaid in MusicRadar: Moby: "I still use hardware", September 2008
05
Top 5Has said they use
Roland
TR-909 Rhythm Composer“I still use a lot of the equipment that I was using the late '80s, whether it's a TR-909 or 106 or 303”
Said in MusicRadar: Moby: "I still use hardware", September 2008
What studio gear Moby uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
DAW and computer
Has said they use
Steinberg
Cubase“I did all the sequencing in Cubase.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Moby: Recording Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, February 2000
Has said they use
Avid
Pro Tools HD“With Pro Tools you get instant results, you can record as many parts as you want”
Said in MusicRadar: In pictures: Moby's bedroom studio, August 2009
Has said they use
Ableton
Live“I also love working with some of the newer software programs like Reason and Ableton [Live]”
Said in MusicRadar: Moby: "I still use hardware", September 2008
Has said they use
Reason Studios
ReasonSaid in MusicRadar: Moby: "I still use hardware", September 2008
Drum machines
Has said they use
Roland
TR-909 Rhythm Composer“I still use a lot of the equipment that I was using the late '80s, whether it's a TR-909 or 106 or 303”
Said in MusicRadar: Moby: "I still use hardware", September 2008
Has said they use
Roland
TR-808 Rhythm Composer“I have an old 606, 303 and 808 which are non-MIDI instruments.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Moby: Recording Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, February 2000
Has said they use
Seen using
Roland
TR-707Seen in MusicRadar: How Moby carefully crafted Play and rescued his career, November 2025
Seen using
Alesis
HR-16Seen in MusicRadar: How Moby carefully crafted Play and rescued his career, November 2025
Synths
Has said they use
Roland
TB-303 Bass LineSaid in MusicRadar: Moby: "I still use hardware", September 2008
Has said they use
Roland
Juno-106“I think I paid $100 for the Juno-106.”
Said in MusicRadar: In pictures: Moby's bedroom studio, August 2009
Has said they use
Roland
Jupiter-6“The Jupiter 6 cost me virtually nothing.”
Said in MusicRadar: In pictures: Moby's bedroom studio, August 2009
Seen using
Seen using
Yamaha
SY22Seen in Sound On Sound: Moby: Recording Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, February 2000
Seen using
Yamaha
SY85Seen in Sound On Sound: Moby: Recording Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, February 2000
Seen using
Casio
CZ-101Seen in Sound On Sound: Moby: Recording Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, February 2000
Seen using
Waldorf
Pulse PlusSeen in Sound On Sound: Moby: Recording Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, February 2000
Samplers
Seen using
Akai Professional
S3200Seen in Sound On Sound: Moby: Recording Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, February 2000
Find it on
Seen using
Akai Professional
S1000Seen in Sound On Sound: Moby: Recording Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, February 2000
Seen using
Akai Professional
S3000Seen in Sound On Sound: Moby: Recording Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, February 2000
Seen using
Akai Professional
S950Seen in Sound On Sound: Moby: Recording Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, February 2000
Outboard and monitors
Has said they use
Yamaha
SPX900“The only effects I use are an SPX900 reverb on the piano and the vocals”
Said in Sound On Sound: Moby: Recording Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, February 2000
Seen using
Eventide
DSP4000Seen in Sound On Sound: Moby: Recording Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, February 2000
Has said they use
Yamaha
NS-10“The NS10s sound crappy, but if you get it working on them, you know you're doing something right”
Said in MusicRadar: In pictures: Moby's bedroom studio, August 2009
Guitar and bass
Seen using
Seen in Sound On Sound: Moby: Recording Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, February 2000
Records that shaped me
Has said they love
Suicide
SuicideSaid in The Quietus: Corrupting Sonic DNA: Moby's Favourite Albums, September 2013
Has said they love
Nick Drake
Bryter Layter“This is such a perfect record, the songs are perfect, the singing's perfect”
Said in The Quietus: Corrupting Sonic DNA: Moby's Favourite Albums, September 2013
Has said they love
Brian Eno and David Byrne
My Life in the Bush of GhostsSaid in The Quietus: Corrupting Sonic DNA: Moby's Favourite Albums, September 2013
Has said they love
Eric B. and Rakim
Paid in FullSaid in The Quietus: Corrupting Sonic DNA: Moby's Favourite Albums, September 2013
Has said they love
David Bowie
Station to StationSaid in The Quietus: Corrupting Sonic DNA: Moby's Favourite Albums, September 2013
Has said they love
New Order
MovementSaid in The Quietus: Corrupting Sonic DNA: Moby's Favourite Albums, September 2013
Questions
About Moby's gear.
What DAW does Moby use?
He told Sound On Sound in 2000 that he did all the sequencing for Play in Cubase. By 2009 his bedroom studio ran Pro Tools HD on a Power Mac G5, and he has said he also loves working with Reason and Ableton Live.
What drum machines does Moby use?
He has named a Roland TR-909, TR-808 and TR-606 as part of his studio, and the TR-909 drives the main drum part of Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?. MusicRadar also credits TR-707 and Alesis HR-16 beats on Play.
What synth does Moby use?
He has said he paid about $100 for his Roland Juno-106 and next to nothing for his Jupiter-6. Sound On Sound's 2000 gear list adds an Oberheim Matrix 1000, Yamaha SY22 and SY85, a Casio CZ-101, a Serge Modular and a Waldorf Pulse Plus.
What samplers did Moby use on Play?
Sound On Sound listed Akai S950, S1000, S3000 and S3200 samplers in his studio, and the Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? choir vocal was played from the Akai 3200.
What studio monitors does Moby use?
In his 2009 bedroom studio he had a pair of Genelecs and Yamaha NS10s. He said the NS10s sound crappy, but if a mix works on them you know you are doing something right.
What albums inspired Moby?
In a 2013 Quietus interview he named Suicide's first album, Nick Drake's Bryter Layter, Eno and Byrne's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, Eric B. and Rakim's Paid in Full, Bowie's Station to Station and New Order's Movement among his formative records.
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Named in this guide
M
Moby
About this guide · Last checked
Moby is the New York born producer behind Everything Is Wrong, Play, 18 and Wait For Me. This guide covers the drum machines, synths, samplers, DAWs and outboard from his studio interviews with Sound On Sound and Future Music, plus the records he has named as formative.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Moby didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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