“I'm not using that many plugins because I feel I start losing myself behind all the processing.”
What DAW does Riva Starr use?
Riva Starr uses Ableton Live for recording, plus a Roland Juno-X, Oberheim OB-6, Nord Stage 4, Waldorf Pulse and Moog Minitaur, per a 2025 MusicRadar studio visit. He has also said he owns a Roland TB-303 and TR-707, and has named the SH-101 and an Empirical Labs Distressor.
Shop Riva Starr's setup.
Where to start with Riva Starr's gear.
What studio gear Riva Starr uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Studio
“I'm not using that many plugins because I feel I start losing myself behind all the processing.”
“But the quality of this one is amazing, and I've been using it a lot.”
“I also have the original Juno-106, and every now and then I still like to play with the original because it's got that vintage feel that I still like.”
“I use this when I want to get some raw sounds.”
“I bought that expressly for the musicians that were coming in to do sessions.”
“It has amazing bass. I really love using some of the leads and bass from here.”
“I also sometimes use the Moog Minitaur for bass.”
“I have some of the Roland originals, like the TB-303.”
“I have a few drum machines, like the 707.”
“For basically the first two years of Riva Starr productions, all the synth sounds and the bass came from this.”
“I use my Distressor all the time.”
“I use this for drums.”
Early days
“We were using an Atari as a sequencer, an Akai S950 sampler.”
About Riva Starr's gear.
What DAW does Riva Starr use?
Riva Starr uses Ableton Live, mostly for recording. In a 2025 MusicRadar studio visit he said he does not use many plugins and prefers to get the sound right on the hardware first.
What synth does Riva Starr use?
In 2025 he said he uses a Roland Juno-X a lot, plus an Oberheim OB-6 for raw sounds, a Waldorf Pulse and Moog Minitaur for bass, and a Nord Stage 4 for sessions. He has said early Riva Starr synths and bass came from a Roland SH-101.
What drum machine does Riva Starr use?
He has said he owns a Roland TR-707, and was seen using a Steda Electronics SR-909 replica to trigger his SH-101.
What outboard gear does Riva Starr use?
In a 2012 Attack interview he said he used an Empirical Labs Distressor all the time and an SSL G Series bus compressor on drums.
Riva Starr is the house alias of Naples-born, London-based DJ and producer Stefano Miele, who runs the Snatch! label. This guide covers the synths, drum machines and outboard he has shown and named in studio interviews.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Riva Starr didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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