Hello all you gear-heads!

Ok, here´s the high tech section (a.k.a. Johan´s stuff...)

Keyboards and modules:

Rhodes MK 80
Roland bought the Rhodes brand and collaborated with Mr. Harold Rhodes on this keyboard. It’s all sample based but the Rhodes sounds are OK. Best thing about it is the great keyboard action though. The closest I’ve come to a real grand piano keybed. My master keyboard.

Alesis QS 6.1
Quite powerful when it came out. They were not as big sellers in Europe as in the US. It’s got some lovely and powerful pad and ambient sounds and ok Rhodes and Wurlys. Not top notch but still ok. I also have a set of expansion cards and currently use a vintage keys card with some great Mellotron and Wurly sounds.

Roland JV1010
A budget work-horse in the studio. Actually sounds great and when considering the price paid, it sounds fantastic. Really good Grand Piano that stills works.

Oberheim Matrix 1000
Module with the true analogue fat sound from Oberheim. It’s basically identical with the Matrix 6. It’s got analogue oscillators although they are digitally controlled so they will not drift out of tune. Maybe not as meaty as the big ones (Matrix-12 and Xpander) but close enough and still better that the virtual ones. Designed as a preset module but from a computer, every single parameter is editable and there is 200 RAM-slots for my own sounds.

Korg WS
A classic synth from Korg. Not your average bread and butter but really great on pads and long evolving, rhythmic, sounds. You only need to hold down a key and you’ve got the score for a film. On the soundtrack of 100% of the American soaps from that time and actually I still here it’s rather distinctive sound on new productions.

Novation KS4
A virtual analogue synth 16 voices, 4 parts multibimbral with full set of effects. Not so highly regarded by those who like their Nords and Viruses, but I think it sounds really great and it is a treat to play and tweak all the knobs in realtime. After all, it’s in the hands of the guy who plays it, isn’t it?
I use this mainly for lead sounds and other analogue type of sounds. I just made a really good impression of the sound for the synth-riff in Separate Ways, you know the Journey song from Frontiers. I’m quite sure Jonathan Cain used a Jupiter 8 (Roland) on that but this sound is spot on.

When you surf the internet and forums, you’ll find a lot of people who claims that only their truly analogue gear, or maybe a Nord or a Virus, is worth playing. Quite often their music sound like shit anyway, why is that? Well crap is crap and it tastes like that even with a lot of sugar on it…

I also have a Hammond T100 and a Leslie 122 (it is actually called something else, maybe 522, since the cabinet is made for touring and not as classy as the big 122, but it’s got the 122 amp and the right sound). The Leslie needs to go to the repairman, but it’ll have to wait another year or so. When recording, I use the Native Instruments B4II plug in and that is easier and sounds great.

I currently have a NI Kontakt Software sampler playing a sampled drumset that I play from my keyboard...

 

And here´s the low tech section (a.k.a. Pär´s stuff...)

Guitars and amps:
(click each instrument to read more and see some pics)

Ares No 078
My main guitar, basically...

Yamaha AEX 500
Semi-acoustic, 1 mini humbucker...

Carvin Vintage 33
33 watt combo tube amp...

Kustom Sienna 16
Tiny (and cheap) 16 watt...

Shiro WS-25
Low budget acoustic steel-stringed...

Used my wifes nylon-stringed Landola C-25...

I´m also owner of a George Dennis wah-wah...