Top 5Uses
Kilohearts
Phase Plant“The lead in Halo started out as pure Phase Plant chaos”
Said in Celebrating Phase Plant's Sixth Anniversary! (Kilohearts), May 2025
Photo: wonker · CC BY-SA 2.0
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Pendulum. Every item links to its public source.
58 items · Last checked What DAW does Pendulum use?
Pendulum's Rob Swire has said the band's records are built in Steinberg Nuendo with Kontakt, Reaktor, FM8, Cakewalk Z3TA+ and GForce impOSCar, plus an Alesis Andromeda and Sequential Prophet-10. Swire uses Kilohearts Phase Plant, and guitarist Peredur ap Gwynedd has said they use a Line 6 Helix and PRS guitars.
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Top 5
Where to start with Pendulum's gear.
01
02
Top 5Has said they use
Cakewalk
Z3TA+“For some reason it's one of the quickest go-to synths for anything I want to do.”
Said in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
No store page for this one.
03
Top 5Has said they use
GForce Software
impOSCar“It's clean and trance-like, which is probably why I like it for leads.”
Said in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
04
Top 5Has said they use
Native Instruments
Reaktor“I use Reaktor, ImpOSCar and Albino for lead sounds mainly”
Said in In pictures: Pendulum's studio and live setups (MusicRadar / Future Music), December 2010
05
Top 5Has said they use
Native Instruments
FM8Said in In pictures: Pendulum's studio and live setups (MusicRadar / Future Music), December 2010
What studio gear Pendulum uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Studio
Steinberg
Nuendo
Has said they use
Steinberg
Nuendo“I switched over to this from Logic, I think when Nuendo 1 came out.”
Said in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
Uses
Kilohearts
Phase Plant“The lead in Halo started out as pure Phase Plant chaos”
Said in Celebrating Phase Plant's Sixth Anniversary! (Kilohearts), May 2025
Has said they use
Cakewalk
Z3TA+“For some reason it's one of the quickest go-to synths for anything I want to do.”
Said in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
No store page for this one.
Has said they use
GForce Software
impOSCar“It's clean and trance-like, which is probably why I like it for leads.”
Said in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
Has said they use
Native Instruments
Reaktor“I use Reaktor, ImpOSCar and Albino for lead sounds mainly”
Said in In pictures: Pendulum's studio and live setups (MusicRadar / Future Music), December 2010
Rob Papen
Albino
Has said they use
Rob Papen
AlbinoSaid in In pictures: Pendulum's studio and live setups (MusicRadar / Future Music), December 2010
Has said they use
Native Instruments
FM8Said in In pictures: Pendulum's studio and live setups (MusicRadar / Future Music), December 2010
Has said they use
Native Instruments
Kontakt“For the live stuff we just sample everything into Kontakt and load it up onto Muse Receptors.”
Said in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
Has said they use
Waves
Waves plugins“That’s what Waves plug-ins are for.”
Said in In pictures: Pendulum's studio and live setups (MusicRadar / Future Music), December 2010
Krakli Software
Cygnus
Has said they use
Krakli Software
CygnusSaid in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
No store page for this one.
IK Multimedia
AmpliTube 2
Has said they use
IK Multimedia
AmpliTube 2Said in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
No store page for this one.
TC Electronic
TC Thirty plug-in
Has said they use
TC Electronic
TC Thirty plug-inSaid in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
No store page for this one.
Mitchell & Todd
Active monitors
Has said they use
Mitchell & Todd
Active monitors“They're really flat.”
Said in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
No store page for this one.
Has said they use
Lynx Studio Technology
Aurora converterSaid in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
TC Electronic
PowerCore (VSS3 reverb)
Has said they use
TC Electronic
PowerCore (VSS3 reverb)“I can't find a better reverb than that without buying something stupid like a Lexicon 480L.”
Said in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
No store page for this one.
Focusrite
Liquid Mix
Has said they use
Focusrite
Liquid MixSaid in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
No store page for this one.
Has said they use
AMS Neve
8816 summing mixerSaid in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
Roll Music
Super Stereo Compressor
Has said they use
Roll Music
Super Stereo Compressor“It feels like pushing a mix into a pillow!”
Said in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
No store page for this one.
Synths
Has said they use
Alesis
Andromeda A6“I love how much you can do with it. It's like the Reaktor of analogue.”
Said in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
Has said they use
Sequential
Prophet-10“With the Prophet there's a sort of Blade Runner-esque thing you can't really get from anything else.”
Said in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
Has said they use
OSC
OSCarSaid in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
Has said they use
Yamaha
DX100“We do it with a physical talk box, with a DX100 sound piped through.”
Said in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
Recording
Brauner
VMA microphone
Has said they use
Brauner
VMA microphone“I recorded them with a Brauner VMA”
Said in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
No store page for this one.
Has said they use
Universal Audio
1176 Blue Stripe CompressorSaid in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
No store page for this one.
Has said they use
Ludwig
Black Beauty snare“For the live drums, we went as John Bonham as possible, with the big 26-inch bass drum and Ludwig Black Beauty snares.”
Said in Pendulum: Rob Swire, Recording In Silico (Sound On Sound), June 2008
No store page for this one.
Stage
Has said they use
Muse Research
Receptor plug-in host“The Muse Receptor has become an integral part of the live setup”
Said in In pictures: Pendulum's studio and live setups (MusicRadar / Future Music), December 2010
No store page for this one.
Avid
VENUE live mixing system
Has said they use
“That baby has changed the whole way we think about playing live and mixing the live show.”
Said in In pictures: Pendulum's studio and live setups (MusicRadar / Future Music), December 2010
No store page for this one.
Starr Labs
Ztar Z6S-XPA MIDI guitar
Seen using
Starr Labs
Ztar Z6S-XPA MIDI guitarSeen in Pendulum's huge arena show proves the electro-rockers are still at the top of their game after two decades (MusicTech), April 2024
No store page for this one.
Guitars
Has said they use
“For me, as I hit the guitar so hard, the Floyd Rose is perfect.”
Said in The Collection: Pendulum's Peredur ap Gwynedd (Guitar.com), June 2021
No store page for this one.
Has said they use
PRS
Silver Sky“But in terms of playability and for recording, the PRS Silver Sky just beats them all”
Said in The Collection: Pendulum's Peredur ap Gwynedd (Guitar.com), June 2021
PRS
SE Hollowbody
Has said they use
“The SE Hollowbody is amazing, it’s like a brilliant ES-335”
Said in The Collection: Pendulum's Peredur ap Gwynedd (Guitar.com), June 2021
No store page for this one.
PRS
P24
Has said they use
PRS
P24“This is totally stock; there’s nothing out of the ordinary”
Said in Rig tour: Pendulum (MusicRadar), November 2016
No store page for this one.
Gibson
Les Paul Classic (1995, Honeyburst)
Has said they use
“I basically wanted to get as close to a Burst sound as possible without paying £250,000!”
Said in The Collection: Pendulum's Peredur ap Gwynedd (Guitar.com), June 2021
No store page for this one.
Peavey
HP Special
Has said they use
Peavey
HP SpecialSaid in The Collection: Pendulum's Peredur ap Gwynedd (Guitar.com), June 2021
No store page for this one.
Dobro
Angelus resonator (1931)
Has said they use
“I mainly use it for slide”
Said in The Collection: Pendulum's Peredur ap Gwynedd (Guitar.com), June 2021
No store page for this one.
Hughes & Kettner
GrandMeister 36
Has said they use
Hughes & Kettner
GrandMeister 36“I don’t think I’ve played a better amp than the GrandMeister 36, it’s amazing.”
Said in The Collection: Pendulum's Peredur ap Gwynedd (Guitar.com), June 2021
No store page for this one.
Hughes & Kettner
TubeMeister 18
Has said they use
Hughes & Kettner
TubeMeister 18Said in The Collection: Pendulum's Peredur ap Gwynedd (Guitar.com), June 2021
No store page for this one.
Pedalboard
Has said they use
Line 6
Line 6 Helix“It’s phenomenally good.”
Said in The Collection: Pendulum's Peredur ap Gwynedd (Guitar.com), June 2021
Has said they use
Line 6
DM4 Distortion ModelerSaid in The Collection: Pendulum's Peredur ap Gwynedd (Guitar.com), June 2021
Has said they use
“You can get some amazing pads out of this thing.”
Said in Rig tour: Pendulum (MusicRadar), November 2016
Has said they use
Electro-Harmonix
POG2“It’s a very creative pedal and actually a great tool for songwriting.”
Said in Rig tour: Pendulum (MusicRadar), November 2016
Has said they use
Line 6
M9 Stompbox Modeler“There’s an effect on this Line 6 pedal called The Growler that I absolutely adore.”
Said in Rig tour: Pendulum (MusicRadar), November 2016
Has said they use
TC Electronic
BodyRezSaid in Rig tour: Pendulum (MusicRadar), November 2016
No store page for this one.
Has said they use
Ernie Ball
VP Jr 250K volume pedalSaid in Rig tour: Pendulum (MusicRadar), November 2016
Has said they use
Has said they use
TC Electronic
PolyTune“The PolyTune mark one is still the most important pedal I own out of them all!”
Said in Rig tour: Pendulum (MusicRadar), November 2016
Audio-Technica
System 10 wireless
Has said they use
Audio-Technica
System 10 wirelessSaid in Rig tour: Pendulum (MusicRadar), November 2016
No store page for this one.
Drums
“we got my Tama kit in there and set it up in a rock formation”
Seen in Pendulum's drum setup revealed: KJ Sawka's kit in pictures (MusicRadar / Rhythm), January 2011
No store page for this one.
Seen using
Seen in Pendulum's drum setup revealed: KJ Sawka's kit in pictures (MusicRadar / Rhythm), January 2011
No store page for this one.
Seen using
Tama
Metalworks snareSeen in Pendulum's drum setup revealed: KJ Sawka's kit in pictures (MusicRadar / Rhythm), January 2011
No store page for this one.
Tama
Iron Cobra double pedal
Seen using
Seen in Pendulum's drum setup revealed: KJ Sawka's kit in pictures (MusicRadar / Rhythm), January 2011
No store page for this one.
Evans
Onyx drumheads
Has said they use
Evans
Onyx drumheads“I use Evans Onyx heads which are controlled and perfect for electronic music.”
Said in Pendulum's drum setup revealed: KJ Sawka's kit in pictures (MusicRadar / Rhythm), January 2011
No store page for this one.
SponsoredHas said they use
Said in KJ Sawka - Artists (Meinl Cymbals), December 2019
No store page for this one.
SponsoredHas said they use
Said in KJ Sawka - Artists (Meinl Cymbals), December 2019
SponsoredHas said they use
Said in KJ Sawka - Artists (Meinl Cymbals), December 2019
Also at
SponsoredHas said they use
Said in KJ Sawka - Artists (Meinl Cymbals), December 2019
No store page for this one.
Records that shaped me
Has said they love
AC/DC
Back In Black“hearing Back In Black for the first time was transformative.”
Said in The Collection: Pendulum's Peredur ap Gwynedd (Guitar.com), June 2021
Has said they love
Iron Maiden
The Number Of The BeastSaid in The Collection: Pendulum's Peredur ap Gwynedd (Guitar.com), June 2021
Questions
About Pendulum's gear.
What DAW does Pendulum use?
Rob Swire has said the heart of the Pendulum studio is Steinberg Nuendo on a Windows PC, which Swire switched to from Logic around the time Nuendo 1 came out (Sound On Sound, 2008).
What plugins does Pendulum use?
Rob Swire has named Cakewalk Z3TA+, GForce impOSCar, Native Instruments Reaktor, FM8 and Kontakt, Rob Papen Albino and Waves plug-ins. In 2025 Swire said the lead in Halo started out in Kilohearts Phase Plant.
What synth does Pendulum use?
Rob Swire has said the studio holds an Alesis Andromeda, a Sequential Circuits Prophet-10 and an OSC OSCar, and that a Yamaha DX100 was piped through a talk box for vocal effects.
What studio monitors does Pendulum use?
Rob Swire has said the main playback system in the Pendulum studio was a pair of Mitchell & Todd active monitors with Dynaudio drivers.
What audio interface does Pendulum use?
Rob Swire has said outboard gear was patched into Nuendo through a Lynx Aurora converter, with a TC Electronic PowerCore and a Focusrite Liquid Mix adding DSP.
What guitar does Pendulum's guitarist play?
Peredur ap Gwynedd has said a grey black PRS Custom 24 Floyd is the one guitar they could not live without on Pendulum tours, played through a Line 6 Helix and a Hughes & Kettner GrandMeister 36.
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Named in this guide
P
Pendulum
About this guide · Last checked
Pendulum are the Perth-born drum and bass band led by producer and singer Rob Swire. This guide covers the studio gear Swire has named in interviews, guitarist Peredur ap Gwynedd's live rig, drummer KJ Sawka's kit, and a few records that shaped the band.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Pendulum didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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