Top 5Has said they use
Apple
Logic Pro“In the studio we usually sync the gear with Logic and just improvise with the instruments.”
Said in Elektron: Chemical Brothers, July 2006
Photo: Pcavaller · CC BY-SA 4.0
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by The Chemical Brothers. Every item links to its public source.
26 items · Last checked What DAW does The Chemical Brothers use?
The Chemical Brothers have said they use Logic in the studio to sync hardware and improvise, plus Elektron Machinedrum and Monomachine units on stage. Their live rig has been seen with a Mackie 32:8 mixer, Ableton Live, a Roland Juno-106, a Korg ARP Odyssey and Native Instruments Maschine.
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Top 5
Where to start with The Chemical Brothers's gear.
01
02
Top 5Has said they use
Elektron
Machinedrum“I find the Machinedrum especially good to layer over grooves to give an off kilter feel.”
Said in Elektron: Chemical Brothers, July 2006
03
Top 5Has said they use
Elektron
Monomachine“As I said, we also have the Monomachine keyboard which I think is a great idea.”
Said in Elektron: Chemical Brothers, July 2006
04
Top 5Has said they use
“I was used to working with MPC and SP-12 and all these kinds of instruments.”
Said in Elektron: Chemical Brothers, July 2006
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05
Top 5Has said they use
What studio gear The Chemical Brothers uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Studio
Has said they use
Apple
Logic Pro“In the studio we usually sync the gear with Logic and just improvise with the instruments.”
Said in Elektron: Chemical Brothers, July 2006
Has said they use
“I was used to working with MPC and SP-12 and all these kinds of instruments.”
Said in Elektron: Chemical Brothers, July 2006
No store page for this one.
Has said they use
Serge
Serge modular synthesizer
Seen using
Seen in Sound On Sound: Matt Cox, MIDI Tech For The Chemical Brothers, December 2011
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Stage
Has said they use
Elektron
Machinedrum“I find the Machinedrum especially good to layer over grooves to give an off kilter feel.”
Said in Elektron: Chemical Brothers, July 2006
Has said they use
Elektron
Monomachine“As I said, we also have the Monomachine keyboard which I think is a great idea.”
Said in Elektron: Chemical Brothers, July 2006
Seen using
Ableton
LiveSeen in Sound On Sound: Matt Cox, MIDI Tech For The Chemical Brothers, December 2011
Seen using
Apple
MacBook ProSeen in Sound On Sound: Matt Cox, MIDI Tech For The Chemical Brothers, December 2011
Seen using
Mackie
32:8 mixing consoleSeen in Sound On Sound: Matt Cox, MIDI Tech For The Chemical Brothers, December 2011
Find it on
Seen using
Roland
Juno-106Seen in Sound On Sound: Matt Cox, MIDI Tech For The Chemical Brothers, December 2011
Seen using
Seen using
Elektron
Monomachine SFX-60+Seen in Sound On Sound: Matt Cox, MIDI Tech For The Chemical Brothers, December 2011
Seen using
Dave Smith Instruments
Poly EvolverSeen in Sound On Sound: Matt Cox, MIDI Tech For The Chemical Brothers, December 2011
Seen using
Future Retro
777 squelch boxSeen in Sound On Sound: Matt Cox, MIDI Tech For The Chemical Brothers, December 2011
No store page for this one.
Korg
nanoKEY
Seen using
Korg
nanoKEYSeen in Sound On Sound: Matt Cox, MIDI Tech For The Chemical Brothers, December 2011
Seen using
Seen in Sound On Sound: Matt Cox, MIDI Tech For The Chemical Brothers, December 2011
No store page for this one.
Innerclock Systems
Sync-Lock
Seen using
Innerclock Systems
Sync-LockSeen in Sound On Sound: Matt Cox, MIDI Tech For The Chemical Brothers, December 2011
No store page for this one.
Kenton Electronics
LNDR MIDI line driver
Seen using
Kenton Electronics
LNDR MIDI line driverSeen in Sound On Sound: Matt Cox, MIDI Tech For The Chemical Brothers, December 2011
No store page for this one.
Seen using
Radial Engineering
SW8 auto switcherSeen in Sound On Sound: Matt Cox, MIDI Tech For The Chemical Brothers, December 2011
Mungo Enterprises
Sync 2
Seen using
Mungo Enterprises
Sync 2Seen in Sound On Sound: Matt Cox, MIDI Tech For The Chemical Brothers, December 2011
No store page for this one.
Seen using
Native Instruments
Maschine+Seen in MusicRadar: How many of the synths, drum machines and effects in The Chemical Brothers' Coachella live setup can you spot?, April 2023
Seen using
Seen using
Seen using
Seen using
Records that shaped me
Has said they love
Ron Hardy
Sensation (Ron Hardy)“Ron Hardy's 'Sensation,' for example, has an amazing naïve sound in that he sounds like he doesn't know what he's doing but he really does.”
Said in The Talks: The Chemical Brothers, That feeling lives with you, April 2019
No store page for this one.
Questions
About The Chemical Brothers's gear.
What DAW do The Chemical Brothers use?
The Chemical Brothers have said they use Logic: in a 2006 Elektron interview they said they sync the studio gear with Logic and improvise. Their 2011 live rig, covered by Sound On Sound, ran Logic and Ableton Live on MacBook Pro laptops.
What synth do The Chemical Brothers use?
The Chemical Brothers have been seen using a Roland Juno-106, a Roland Jupiter-6, a Dave Smith Poly Evolver, a Korg ARP Odyssey, a Korg opsix and an Elektron Monomachine on stage, with a Serge modular in the studio.
What drum machine do The Chemical Brothers use?
The Chemical Brothers have said they use the Elektron Machinedrum, running two of them live in 2006, and have said they worked with an E-mu SP-12 and an Akai MPC before that. A Machinedrum was still in their 2023 Coachella rig.
What mixer do The Chemical Brothers use live?
The Chemical Brothers have been seen using a Mackie 32:8 mixer at the centre of their live show, which Sound On Sound described in 2011 as the heart of the rig.
What MIDI keyboard do The Chemical Brothers use?
The Chemical Brothers have been seen using a Korg nanoKEY mapped to scenes in Ableton Live, according to Sound On Sound's 2011 look at their live rig.
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Named in this guide
TC
The Chemical Brothers
About this guide · Last checked
The Chemical Brothers are Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, the English duo behind Block Rockin' Beats, Hey Boy Hey Girl and Galvanize. This guide covers the DAWs, drum machines, synths, effects and sync tools they have named or been seen using in the studio and on stage.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. The Chemical Brothers didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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