Top 5Has said they use
Fender
Jazzmaster“So although his favourite guitar is a Fender Jazzmaster, he uses whatever instrument fits the project.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Recording Third, November 2008
Photo: mattbuck (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Portishead. Every item links to its public source.
31 items · Last checked What gear does Portishead use?
Adrian Utley has said a Fender Jazzmaster is his favourite guitar, and Sound On Sound has seen a Minimoog, an EMS VCS3, an ARP 2600 and a Moog Voyager in his studio. Geoff Barrow has said all of Dummy was recorded on an Akai S1000 sampler, and he has used Oberheim Two-Voice synths and Boss RE-202 Space Echoes.
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Top 5
Where to start with Portishead's gear.
01
02
Top 5Seen using
Fender
Jaguar“Alongside a Jaguar with all strings tuned to E, which he used to play with Glenn Branca”
Seen in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Recording Third, November 2008
03
Top 5SponsoredHas said they use
Rotosound
British SteelsSaid in Rotosound: Portishead's Adrian Utley, Our Generation, November 2023
04
Top 5Seen using
WEM
Westminster“he is as keen for a photo to be taken of the crappy Zenta as of the beautiful, collectable WEM Westminster.”
Seen in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Recording Third, November 2008
05
Top 5Has said they use
Fender
'70s Twin Reverb“I've got a '70s Fender Twin amp reverb which has a really warm sound and I know what that sounds like.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Portishead Sound Shaper, June 1995
What gear Portishead uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Adrian Utley's rig
Has said they use
Fender
Jazzmaster“So although his favourite guitar is a Fender Jazzmaster, he uses whatever instrument fits the project.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Recording Third, November 2008
Seen using
Fender
Jaguar“Alongside a Jaguar with all strings tuned to E, which he used to play with Glenn Branca”
Seen in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Recording Third, November 2008
SponsoredHas said they use
Rotosound
British SteelsSaid in Rotosound: Portishead's Adrian Utley, Our Generation, November 2023
Find it on
Seen using
WEM
Westminster“he is as keen for a photo to be taken of the crappy Zenta as of the beautiful, collectable WEM Westminster.”
Seen in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Recording Third, November 2008
Find it on
Has said they use
Fender
'70s Twin Reverb“I've got a '70s Fender Twin amp reverb which has a really warm sound and I know what that sounds like.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Portishead Sound Shaper, June 1995
Find it on
Seen using
Moog
Minimoog“The synth area includes an old Minimoog, a bit battered and out of calibration”
Seen in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Recording Third, November 2008
Has said they use
Moog
Minimoog Voyager“I now use a Moog Voyager, while in the past I would have used a Minimoog.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Recording Third, November 2008
Has said they use
EMS
VCS3“There's quite a lot of VCS3 malarkey on Third, so I programmed sounds on my Voyager which were like it”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Recording Third, November 2008
Find it on
Has said they use
ARP
ARP 2600“I do love that ARP synth, it's been on a couple of things.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Recording Third, November 2008
Has said they use
ARP
Odyssey Mk1“I've now got an ARP Odyssey Mk1, which has very distinctive sound.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Portishead Sound Shaper, June 1995
Has said they use
Korg
MS-20“I had my MS20 there, so I just put it on with it.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Recording Third, November 2008
Has said they use
Roland
SH-09“For example, a synth sound from a Roland SH09, which is integral to a new track we've been working on”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Portishead Sound Shaper, June 1995
Has said they use
Roland
SH-101“I've got a Kenton Pro2 MIDI/CV interface for my Roland SH101, SH09, ARP Odyssey and Pro One synths.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Portishead Sound Shaper, June 1995
Has said they use
Sequential
Pro-One“I've got a Kenton Pro2 MIDI/CV interface for my Roland SH101, SH09, ARP Odyssey and Pro One synths.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Portishead Sound Shaper, June 1995
Seen using
Arturia
MiniBruteSeen in CDM: Portishead's Adrian Utley Tours His Synth Collection, and New Arturia MiniBrute Video, September 2012
Seen using
Maestro
Echoplex EP-4“Featured kit includes the Arturia Minibrute, a Maestro Echoplex EP-4 tape delay and some seriously vintage Moogs.”
Seen in FACT: Portishead's Adrian Utley shows off synth collection, September 2012
Has said they use
Akai Professional
S950“Geoff uses an S1000 and I've got an S950, which is also really excellent.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Portishead Sound Shaper, June 1995
Has said they use
Audio Ease
Altiverb“It's got some brilliant spaces in it, incredible springs, and reverb chambers from the LA studios the Beach Boys used to use.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Recording Third, November 2008
Has said they love
Oktava
MK-219“I actually like the weird tones, and I love those Oktava mics.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Recording Third, November 2008
Has said they use
Neumann
U 47“I have a lovely valve Neumann U47 we've used on tons of stuff.”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Recording Third, November 2008
Beth Gibbons
Has said they use
RØDE
NTK“We did most of the vocals on a Rode NTK valve mic, even though Beth has a beautiful Soundelux”
Said in Sound On Sound: Adrian Utley: Recording Third, November 2008
Also at
Geoff Barrow's rig
Has said they use
Akai Professional
S1000“All of Dummy was recorded on an Akai S1000 sampler.”
Said in The Skinny: Geoff Barrow talks DROKK, May 2012
Oberheim
Two Voice
Has said they use
Oberheim
Two Voice“So as soon as I got this Oberheim Two-Voice, which Ade helped me find, basically I went and bought another one”
Said in The Skinny: Geoff Barrow talks DROKK, May 2012
Find it on
Has said they use
“The RE-202 does what it says.”
Said in BOSS: Reverberations: Geoff Barrow of Portishead and BEAK, December 2022
Records that shaped us
Has said they love
Wu-Tang Clan
Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)“This record's roughness and the pure energy of the whole thing is still fresh and unstoppable now.”
Said in The Quietus: Bakers Dozen: Portishead Choose Their Favourite 13 Albums, August 2011
Has said they love
Can
Ege BamyasiSaid in The Quietus: Bakers Dozen: Portishead Choose Their Favourite 13 Albums, August 2011
Has said they love
Serge Gainsbourg
Histoire de Melody Nelson“The players totally vibe with each other using dynamics of playing”
Said in The Quietus: Bakers Dozen: Portishead Choose Their Favourite 13 Albums, August 2011
Has said they love
Massive Attack
Blue Lines“Blue Lines is a masterpiece.”
Said in The Skinny: Geoff Barrow talks DROKK, May 2012
Has said they love
John Coltrane
A Love Supreme“A Love Supreme is powerful, dedicated, spiritual music which is incredibly recorded.”
Said in The Quietus: Bakers Dozen: Portishead Choose Their Favourite 13 Albums, August 2011
Has said they love
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Axis: Bold As Love“I love it and it was one of the earliest influences on me playing the guitar”
Said in The Quietus: Bakers Dozen: Portishead Choose Their Favourite 13 Albums, August 2011
Has said they love
Public Enemy
It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back“I'd never heard hip hop this powerful before and I was confused and elated by its construction.”
Said in The Quietus: Bakers Dozen: Portishead Choose Their Favourite 13 Albums, August 2011
Questions
About Portishead's gear.
What sampler did Portishead use on Dummy?
Geoff Barrow told The Skinny in 2012: "All of Dummy was recorded on an Akai S1000 sampler." In 1995 Adrian Utley told Sound On Sound that Geoff worked on an S1000 and that he had an Akai S950 himself.
What guitar does Adrian Utley play?
Sound On Sound wrote in 2008 that his favourite guitar is a Fender Jazzmaster, alongside a Fender Jaguar with all strings tuned to E. Rotosound lists him as a user of its British Steels strings.
What synths did Portishead use on Third?
Adrian Utley told Sound On Sound the ARP 2600 made the helicopter sound on Plastic, that he added his Korg MS20 to The Rip, and that there is a lot of EMS VCS3 on the album. Live, he swapped the Minimoog for a Moog Voyager.
What synth did Geoff Barrow use on Drokk?
Geoff Barrow told The Skinny he wanted a synth with an onboard sequencer, so he bought an Oberheim Two-Voice that Adrian Utley helped him find, then bought another one.
What mic did Portishead use for Beth Gibbons' vocals on Third?
Adrian Utley told Sound On Sound they did most of the vocals on a Rode NTK valve mic, even though Beth has a Soundelux and he has a valve Neumann U47.
What records inspired Portishead?
In The Quietus Bakers Dozen, Geoff Barrow chose Wu-Tang Clan's Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Can's Ege Bamyasi and John Carpenter's Assault On Precinct 13, and Adrian Utley chose John Coltrane's A Love Supreme and Public Enemy's It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back.
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Named in this guide
P
Portishead
About this guide · Last checked
Portishead are the Bristol trio of Beth Gibbons, Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley, the band behind Dummy, Portishead and Third. This guide covers the guitars, synths, samplers, mics and studio kit named in Sound On Sound's visits to Adrian Utley's studio in 1995 and 2008, Geoff Barrow's interviews on Dummy, Drokk and Space Echoes, Adrian's synth collection tour, and the records Geoff and Adrian named in The Quietus Bakers Dozen.
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