Top 5Has said they use
Ableton
Live“for cutting up my vinyl to sample and arrange it, I simply used the 'Arrangement View' in [Ableton] Live or Drum Rack”
Photo: swimfinfan (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Pretty Lights. Every item links to its public source.
13 items · Last checked What DAW does Pretty Lights use?
Derek Vincent Smith has said he cut and arranged A Color Map of the Sun in Ableton Live with Drum Rack, sequenced his modular synth from a custom Akai MPC 2000XL, wrote chords on a Wurlitzer and Access Virus TI Polar, and recorded sessions to an Otari MTR-15 tape machine.
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Top 5
Where to start with Pretty Lights's gear.
01
02
Top 5Has said they use
Ableton
Sampler“I use other stuff now, like Sampler and all the NI [Native Instruments] stuff and UAD-2 [plug-ins]”
Said in Pretty Lights Breaks Down 'A Color Map of the Sun' Sessions (Electronic Musician), July 2013
No store page for this one.
03
Top 5Has said they use
Avid
Pro Tools“I already knew Pro Tools and Logic.”
Said in Pretty Lights Interview Extras (Electronic Musician), June 2013
04
Top 5Has said they use
Apple
Logic Pro“I already knew Pro Tools and Logic.”
Said in Pretty Lights Interview Extras (Electronic Musician), June 2013
05
Top 5Has said they use
Wurlitzer
Wurlitzer electric piano“I had a Wurlitzer and a small Virus Polar polyphonic synth so I could come up with chord progressions on the fly”
Said in Pretty Lights Breaks Down 'A Color Map of the Sun' Sessions (Electronic Musician), July 2013
No store page for this one.
What studio gear Pretty Lights uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Studio
Has said they use
Ableton
Live“for cutting up my vinyl to sample and arrange it, I simply used the 'Arrangement View' in [Ableton] Live or Drum Rack”
Ableton
Drum Rack
Has said they use
Ableton
Drum Rack“I love Drum Rack!”
Said in Pretty Lights Breaks Down 'A Color Map of the Sun' Sessions (Electronic Musician), July 2013
No store page for this one.
Has said they use
Ableton
Sampler“I use other stuff now, like Sampler and all the NI [Native Instruments] stuff and UAD-2 [plug-ins]”
Said in Pretty Lights Breaks Down 'A Color Map of the Sun' Sessions (Electronic Musician), July 2013
No store page for this one.
Native Instruments
Instruments and effects
Has said they use
Native Instruments
Instruments and effects“I use other stuff now, like Sampler and all the NI [Native Instruments] stuff and UAD-2 [plug-ins]”
Said in Pretty Lights Breaks Down 'A Color Map of the Sun' Sessions (Electronic Musician), July 2013
No store page for this one.
Universal Audio
UAD-2 plug-ins
Has said they use
Universal Audio
UAD-2 plug-ins“I use other stuff now, like Sampler and all the NI [Native Instruments] stuff and UAD-2 [plug-ins]”
Said in Pretty Lights Breaks Down 'A Color Map of the Sun' Sessions (Electronic Musician), July 2013
No store page for this one.
Has said they use
Avid
Pro Tools“I already knew Pro Tools and Logic.”
Said in Pretty Lights Interview Extras (Electronic Musician), June 2013
Has said they use
Apple
Logic Pro“I already knew Pro Tools and Logic.”
Said in Pretty Lights Interview Extras (Electronic Musician), June 2013
Akai Professional
MPC 2000XL (custom)
Has said they use
Akai Professional
MPC 2000XL (custom)“I used a custom-made [Akai] MPC 2000XL to sequence my modular synth”
Said in Pretty Lights Breaks Down 'A Color Map of the Sun' Sessions (Electronic Musician), July 2013
No store page for this one.
Dave Smith Instruments
Prophet polyphonic synth
Has said they use
Dave Smith Instruments
Prophet polyphonic synth“I also purchased a polyphonic Dave Smith Prophet for the chord synthesis.”
Said in Pretty Lights Breaks Down 'A Color Map of the Sun' Sessions (Electronic Musician), July 2013
No store page for this one.
A Color Map of the Sun sessions
Access Music
Virus TI Polar
Has said they use
Access Music
Virus TI Polar“I had a Wurlitzer and a small Virus Polar polyphonic synth so I could come up with chord progressions on the fly”
Has said they use
Wurlitzer
Wurlitzer electric piano“I had a Wurlitzer and a small Virus Polar polyphonic synth so I could come up with chord progressions on the fly”
Said in Pretty Lights Breaks Down 'A Color Map of the Sun' Sessions (Electronic Musician), July 2013
No store page for this one.
Otari
MTR-15 quarter-inch tape machine
Has said they use
“I want to use the [Otari MTR-15] quarter-inch stereo tape machine and run it on 7.5 ips”
Said in Pretty Lights Breaks Down 'A Color Map of the Sun' Sessions (Electronic Musician), July 2013
No store page for this one.
Leslie
Rotary speaker cabinet
Has said they use
Leslie
Rotary speaker cabinet“Like with the brass section, we would mic through a Leslie and then run the Leslie and have a separate aux through the plate and mix those together.”
Said in Pretty Lights Interview Extras (Electronic Musician), June 2013
No store page for this one.
Questions
About Pretty Lights's gear.
What DAW does Pretty Lights use?
He has said he made A Color Map of the Sun in Ableton Live, slicing his acetate recordings in Arrangement View and Drum Rack. He has also said he knew Pro Tools and Logic from his studio engineering days.
What plugins does Pretty Lights use?
He has said that after the album he moved to Ableton's Sampler, Native Instruments software and Universal Audio UAD-2 plug-ins.
What synth does Pretty Lights use?
He has said he wrote chord progressions on an Access Virus TI Polar and a Wurlitzer, built his own modular synth for monophonic parts and bought a Dave Smith Prophet for chords.
What MPC does Pretty Lights use?
He has said he used a custom-made Akai MPC 2000XL to sequence his modular synth.
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Pretty Lights
About this guide · Last checked
Pretty Lights is the Colorado producer Derek Vincent Smith, known for sample collage built from soul, funk and hip-hop records. This guide covers the studio tools he has named, mostly from the making of A Color Map of the Sun.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Pretty Lights didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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