Aphex Twin – Syro

Aphex Twin lists the A Designs Reddi amongst the gear used in the recording of his 2014 album Syro.

Aphex Twin lists the Akai S950HXC amongst the gear used in the recording of his 2014 album Syro.

The official and extensive Syro gear list mentions "Roland R8/R8M", which stands for two pieces: The Roland R-8 Human Composer and the Roland R-8M Total Percussion Sound Module, respectively.

The official and extensive Syro gear list mentions "Roland R8/R8M", which stands for two pieces: The Roland R-8 Human Composer and the Roland R-8M Total Percussion Sound Module, respectively.

In the album artwork for Syro, Aphex twin lists the "AMS RM16" in the extensive/completist list of gear included. The "AMS RM16" isn't a product AMS ever produced, but the RMX16 is a famous early digital reverb from AMS that is 100% in line with the classic digital and boutique analog gear in the list, and with the sound of the album itself. It's a 1-letter typo.

The API 550A is listed on the Syro album packaging as being one of the pieces of gear used on its recording. It is important to note that this list indicates that Richard has used both the original and the reissued version of the API 550A.

Listed on the Syro packaging as one of the pieces of gear used on the recording of this album.

Listed on the Syro album packaging as being one of the pieces of gear used to make the recording of some song(s).

To the right of him is clearly an Atari Mega ST 2 or 4 with Atari monitor taken from a performance in Paris circa: 1993. Likely he was sequencing with it, but it's unclear what software he might have used as the monitor is turned off.

Listed on the Syro album packaging as one of the pieces of gear that was used sometime during recording. Note that on the Syrobonkers 2014 interview, Richard confirms that this list is not 100% accurate. There are a few mistakes and he also missed tons of gear. Check the interview on: https://web.archive.org/web/20141103131334/http://noyzelab.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/syrobonkers-part1.html

The infamous release artwork that accompanied Syro, detailing every piece of equipment used to make the album, lists a "Bode Vocoder". This refers to the Bode Inc, Model 7702 Vocoder, developed by Harold Bode. From 1978 onward, the Bode Vocoder was distributed by Moog under the name "Moog Vocoder", and Moog even offered up a reissue of the Bode in 2020.

Aphex Twin lists the Cirklon Sequencer amongst the gear used in the recording of his 2014 album Syro.

The packaging for Aphex Twin's latest album "Syro" includes an exhaustive list of the gear he used to make the record.

Listed in the Syro "gear list", and used entirely in the japanese bonus track of the album "MARCHROMT30A edit 2b 96 [104.98]"

This is one of the tracks where it is confirmed the TX16W was used. The TX16W was also used on a Syro track, "S950tx16wasr10" [the title is made up of equipment used]. Aphex Twin confirmed usage of the TX16W in the description of this SoundCloud track.

Appears on the equipment list used to make Syro.

Besides being confirmed on Richard David James's SoundCloud page, it also appears on the Syro gear list. "soz not all the drums, sampled loads of sounds in the fz20m, forgot".

Listed on the Syro album packaging as being used at some point on the recording.

Listed on the Syro album packaging as being one of the pieces of gear used on the recording of it. It is important to note that the list is not 100% accurate, as it is confirmed by Richard on the 2014 Syrobonkers interview by Dave Noyze. Also, not everyone believes what Richard says on interviews since he has been accused of lying excessively on many of them.

Listed on the Syro album packaging as being one of the pieces of gear used sometime during the recording of it. The list is not 100% according to Richard (https://web.archive.org/web/20141103131334/http://noyzelab.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/syrobonkers-part1.html) on the 2014 Syrobonkers interview, and many do not believe what he says during interviews due to his reputation of compulsive liar, which is only one of the mysteries that surround the artist.

Despite being noted as "not 100% accurate" by Richard himself (source:https://web.archive.org/web/20141103131334/http://noyzelab.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/syrobonkers-part1.html), the list on the Syro album packaging confirms the usage of the Calrec Mini Mixer on the recording of the Syro album.

This list, present on the Syro album packaging, regards equipment used on the recording of this album. In this case, the list specifically mentions two different units: The first one being the "Chandler Delay Black" and the second one being the "Chandler Delay Cream". It turns out that these names actually refer to rare units known as the Chandler Stereo Digital Echo (sometimes referred to as the Chandler SDEs). Richard is known for having quite expensive rare gear, and these two fit in these categories. It is important to note that these aren't two completely different units. The only thing that differs one from the other is the finish (notably the color). The reason for them to be treated as two "different" units on this list must be to bring the importance of the rarity of these two.

Used on the recording of the Syro album according to the list on the album packaging.

Listed on the Syro gear list as being one of the pieces of gear used on the recording of such album.

Listed on the Syro gear list as being one of the pieces of gear used on the recording of this album.

Explicitly on the Syro album packaging, the EMT 140 Plate Reverb is mentioned. It is important to keep in mind that Richard owns the stereo version released in 1961, not the original 1957 mono version.

Listed on the Syro album gear list as being one of the pieces of gear used sometime during the recording.

Also listed on the Syro album packaging as being one of the pieces of gear used on the recording of it. For some reason, this piece is mentioned as "EMT 252 FX", but the product is often referred to as simply "EMT 252".

Listed on the Syro gear list as one of the pieces used on the recording of such album.

Listed on the Syro album packaging as being one of the pieces of gear used sometime during the recording of such album is the famous Ensoniq ASR-10.

Another item mentioned on the Syro album packaging as being one of the pieces of gear used on the recording of such album is the Eventide H3000 D/SE.

Mentioned on the exhaustive list present in the Syro album packaging as being one of the pieces of gear used on the recording of some song(s).

Also on the Syro gear list, provided on the album packaging, is the Fulltone Tape Echo.

On the Syro album packaging, this piece of gear is listed as being a device used sometime during the recording of some song(s). But, there are a few details to keep in mind: It is as common for Richard to get expensive rare gear as it is for him to modify his gear. In this case, the list mentions this device as "Korg Minipops7 Midi sepouts", which indicates MIDI implementation and separate outputs.

Also on the official album packaging of Syro (2014), the Lexicon 480L reverb is mentioned.

Also listed on the official Syro album packaging is the Lynx Aurora 16-channel Analog/Digital Digital/Analog Converter.

On the Syro album packaging is the official list of gear used on the recording stage of each song(s). The list mentions "Micmix Masteroom 2", but since there's no actual gear with that name, it can be assumed that it means it is another version (perhaps a successor) of the original Micmix Master Room XL-121 Reverb, or some sort of MKII. Taking that in consideration, the Micmix Master Room XL-210 Reverb meets this condition. Not only that, but the "2" on the gear list could mean that it's the 2-channel version (i.e also the XL-210).

Also on the Syro gear list present on the album packaging is the Nagra IV-S Reel To Reel 2-Track Tape Recorder.

Also according to the Syro album packaging, Richard owns two instances of the Neumann U473 Compressor Expander Limiter.

The Syro gear list mentions "Pultec EQP1A3", which refers to the Pulse Techniques Program Equalizer EQP-1A3, probably because there was no room on the list for such a long name.

The Syro album packaging mentions the Quad Eight 248 Console. But it is important to keep in mind that this particular console is different from usual ones since it's a module-based mixing console, which means that you can buy separate modules and reorganize the modules you already have the way you want. This is appearent when looking for pictures of the console, one will notice that every picture shows a mildly different setup of modules with different placements. It is so customizable that it even suited radio TV needs. The reason this relates to Richard David James is that we can't know exactly how he used this console (or rather, two instances of it like the list says) because there are loads of probabilities that he can come up with. We just know that he has the console, but nothing about the modules or its organizing whatsoever.

Present on the extensive Syro Gear list is the famous RME Fireface 800 Audio Interface.

Also present on the extensive Syro gear list is the Roland MKS-70.

In an article of Future Music Magazine, written in April 1993, the author claims that Aphex Twin used the Casio FZ10 sampler on 80% of his tracks.

Key portions of this interview have been reprinted by MusicRadar here for easier search/reading... enjoy!

The FZ-10 and FZ-20M are also listed in the Syro gear list and Richard is still talking up the Casio FZ line more than a quarter century after his first FZ tracks in this archived 2014 interview.

Also on the Syro gear list is the Sennheiser VSM-201 Vocoder.

Also on the Syro gear list is the Klark Teknik DN780 Digital Reverb.

The official Syro gear list mentions the Micmix Dynaflanger.

The Syro gear list present on the official album packaging mentions "MTI Ensemble", which actually refers to the MTI ADL-100 Analog String Ensemble.

On the official Syro album packaging, there is a gear list which shows WHERE, WHAT gear was used in EACH song. One of the entries reads "Musicaid Claptrap x4", which indicates that Richard owns four instances of the very first Clap Trap. The first one was produced by Musicaid and has distinctive knobs, the second one was produced by Simmons, has three distinctive grey keys and is a follow-up to the original. The third and final one is the Digital Clap Trap.

Also on the official Syro gear list present on the album packaging is the Shure Auxpander.

Also on the Syro gear list is the 5-band Parametric Equalizer by SM Pro Audio: the PEQ505.

On the Syro gear list is written "Songbird Trichorus", which indicates that Richard uses the Tri Stereo Chorus from Songbird. It is important to be very specific here, since this rack effect has lots of other versions, from probably 3 different brands. Notably Dyno-my-Piano and That-80s-Rack-Chorus, which makes this unit rather common in a way but still rare in other.

Also mentioned on the official and extensive Syro gear list present on the original album package is the 722 Digital Recorder (based on 2-Track Recorders) by Sound Devices.

On the list present on the album packaging of Syro, you can spot "Soundcraft Ghost" written on the lower left. Since it's not written "Soundcraft LE", we assume it's the standard version. However, it is not specified wether he uses the 24-channel (standard) version or the 32-channel version. Not being specified, we assume it's the standard (or in some cases, most common or earliest) version.

Also present on the official and extensive Syro gear list present on the album packaging is the SSL X Desk.

On the Syro album packaging, there is a list that shows us WHAT gear was used, WHERE it was used and in WHICH song of the album it was used. On the left side of this list, one can see written upside-down "TR727", which refers to the Roland TR-727 Rhythm Composer, a close brother to the 707 (almost a clone) but with different sounds and colors.

In the epic gear list included with the Syro album artwork, a "Court Acoustics Graphic" is listed, which refers to a dual 30 band graphic equalizer that Court Acoustics sold in the UK under various names in the late 20th century (likely 70s and 80s). Court Acoustics only sold this one type of graphic EQ from all the info I can find. Regardless of what name they used (sometimes "GE60"), it was the essentially the same exact dual 30-band model for the whole run.

In the epic gear list accompanying the Syro artwork, a "HAT Mechanical Drums" is listed. This entry refers to the HAT musical robot that Logos Foundation was commissioned to create for Richard James. The HAT robot can mechanically strike a surface (such as a drum) in response to midi input.

Richard James elaborated on his use of HAT and other Logos Foundation robots in this archived Noyzelab interview.

See also: Logos Foundation HAT homepage

In the gear list of Syro can be seen some Valley People Gain Brains

In the infamous gear list within 2014's Syro album artwork, Aphex Twin lists a "TR9090", which was a common way to refer to the open source Project 9090, a TR-909 clone project that was in its prime at that time. Building your own TR9090 gave you a rack-mounted TR-909 cone that could be triggered via MIDI.

Examples of builders calling these things "TR9090":

https://reverb.com/item/10314998-tr9090-analog-drum-synthizer

https://reverb.com/item/75277264-trevor-page-tr-9090-analog-drum-synthesizer

Building a more-controllable TR-909 clone from a kit is pretty on-brand for Richard James. BTW, these things sound great.

In the gear list printed within Syro's album artwork (2014), a "JH ARP Quadra Phaser" is listed. This refers to the designs that wizard Jurgen Haible developed and made available online back in the decades before his passing in 2011. This is a stand alone clone of the ARP Quadra's phaser unit.

Richard James (aka Aphex Twin) is a notorious solder hound. Assembling a phaser like this from the online schematics would have been no problem for someone of his skill and experience.

Jurgen's original schematics for the standalone Quadra Phaser project are here.

In the epic gear list included with the album artwork for Syro, a "Lexicon PCM70" is listed. It seems he'd finally outgrown the Alesis Quadraverb (maybe) by the time he got around to Syro.

Aphex Twin lists the ADT Toolkit (x4) amongst the gear used in the recording of his 2014 album Syro.

Aphex Twin includes the A Designs Pacifica Stereo Microphone Preamplifier/DI in the gear list for his album "Syro," as shown in the user-uploaded photo on Imgur.

The API 3124+ is listed on the Syro album packaging as being one of the many pieces of gear used on the recording of the album.

Despite being noted as "definitely not 100% accurate" by Richard David James himself on the Syrobonkers 2014 interview (link:https://web.archive.org/web/20141103131334/http://noyzelab.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/syrobonkers-part1.html), this list confirms the usage of the Calrec RQP3200 Channel Strip sometime during the recording of Syro.

Besides being listed on the Syro gear list, there are a couple of details one must keep in mind. Richard owns 8 of the limited version of the ISA110. The differences between this version and the original one are: "The Focusrite ISA 110 Original Mono Mic-Pre & Equalizer is a limited-edition version of the famed single-channel ISA 110 EQ module. The new ISA 110 differs from the original in that it is packaged in a horizontal one-rackspace unit with an internal power supply. However, the electronic circuit design, the componentry and the performance specifications are all exactly the same as the original ISA 110." (source: http://www.barryrudolph.com/mix/focusrite.html).

In the infamous gear list that accompanied the Syro album art, the Buzz Audio Arc1.1 analog recording channel is listed.

'The SH-101 didn't survive the surgeon's screwdriver: "It doesn't look like a 101 anymore – I use the sliders, but for different things."'

On the Syro gear list, the Yamaha DX100 is mentioned. It is important to note that it is not a regular DX100, but a modded one.

On the official and extensive Syro gear list, the Yamaha FS1R is mentioned amongst other pieces of gear used on the recording of the album.

On the list of gear used for Syro.

On the list of equipment used to make Syro.

Appears on the equipment list used to make Syro.

Appears on the equipment list used to make Syro.

Richard David James seems to enjoy the usage of this piece of gear, as he mentions the Yamaha RS7000 quite a lot. Notably on his SoundCloud page, with comments like "oh , u gotta check it, the midi feedback, you can do stuff like press one key and get a whole load of cascading notes ascending or descending and u can even have the repeitions increase or decrease, lilke bouncing ball or inverse, sounds a bit like a pitchshifter, top 4 a bloody rs7000" and "yo eod, RS7000 has some cool tricks though, i like the user LFO's and the midi feedback parameters!" (these comments can be found on user18081971's [i.e Richard's SoundCloud page] track called "Love 7"), as well as his own appeal to Yamaha on his now-archived-extremely-lenghty Syro interview: "used fz's on many things ,like the kik & snare drum on isopropophlex! Which got used in some yamaha gear like the rs7000! i was so chuffed when i heard it, i was like yeah yamaha got one of me sounds! they even have a description of it in the manual, rs7000's are dope btw yamaha please release the source code for that ffs you bastards!"

Besides being mentioned on the Syro gear list, Richard gives more details about this piece of gear with a comment about microtunings left on his SoundCloud page (user18081971). Comment can be found on his uploaded track called "Love 7": "with the chroma, i just use midi for sysex midi tuning dumps to get them in, bit more tricky getting them out but doable."

Listed on the Syro album packaging as being one of the pieces of gear used at some point on the recording.

Listed on the Syro album packaging as one of the pieces of gear used on the recording.

Present on the Syro gear list, which is part of the album's packaging.

Also listed on the Syro album packaging is the rare Korg PS-3200.

Richard David James appears to be an extensive collector of expensive rare gear. On the Syro album packaging, the gear list shows us that he owns not one, but three instances of the Korg PS-3300 Polyphonic Synthesizer. It is important to note that this is not an ordinary synth: Sources claim that only 20 to 50 units have been produced. This synthesizer is not only the biggest, but one of the most expensive pieces of rare analog gear ever. Of course, to some people, this list can be somewhat of a fraud, based on the various rumours that surround the Aphex Twin's history. The rumours that he owns a tank, a submarine, has a bank converted to a house, at the age of 11 made a Sinclair ZX Spectrum produce sound after tweaking it and many others has led many to believe that the artist is a compulsive liar. Especially in some interviews. Some of these were confirmed, some weren't. The Analord series itself has its own mythology of what was used to produce it. But after all, this is for each one to decide. Despite having a few mistakes according to Richard himself on a 2014 interview with Dave Noyze, the Syro album packaging is an official product, and it is one's choice to decide wether he/she believes what is written there.

Also to add on Richard's list of rare gear, the Marion ProSynth (mentioned on the Syro album packaging), made by Tom Oberheim and claimed by some to be more Oberheim than many after it.

Mentioned on the Syro album packaging as one of the pieces of gear used on the recording of the album. Richard has 2 instances of the Midi Moog.

Also on the Syro album packaging is mentioned the rare Orla DSE-24 FM Synthesizer.

The official gear list included in the packaging of Aphex Twin's album Syro mentions the "Sci Prophet 5 racked/keyboard," suggesting Richard D. James owns both the traditional Prophet-5 synthesizer and a racked version. Although the list is somewhat ambiguous, it indicates his use of the Prophet-5 in some form. Known for extensively modifying his equipment since 1993, James could have customized a Prophet-5 himself or had someone else do it. Regardless, the core sound remains consistent across variations, aligning with his collection of rare vintage gear.

Also on the official and extensive Syro gear list present on the album packaging is the Sequential Circuits Prophet VS.

on the syro gear list it is listed as Jomox Sunsyn V1x2 which suggests he has two of them.

In the epic gear list that accompanies Aphex Twin's Syro album artwork, a "Kawai K5000R" is listed.

Aphex Twin lists the ARP 2500 modular synthesizer amongst the gear used on his 2014 album Syro.

Aphex Twin's album Syro packaging includes a detailed list of gear used in its production, featuring the Make Noise DPO modular synthesizer.

The cover artwork for Aphex Twin's Syro album, designed by The Designers Republic, lists the Intellijel Rubicon VCO as being used in the production of the album.

Listed on the Syro album packaging as being one of the pieces of gear used on the recording of such album. It was confirmed by Richard that this list is not 100% accurate, and contains few mistakes. Besides that, the list indicates that Richard owns not 1, but 3 of these.

Listed on the Syro album packaging as being one of the pieces of gear used sometime around the recording.

Appears on the equipment list used to make Syro.

Despite being considered a little innacurate by Richard himself on the 2014 Syrobonkers interview by Dave Noyze (https://web.archive.org/web/20141103131334/http://noyzelab.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/syrobonkers-part1.html), the list on the Syro album packaging confirms the BOSS GE7 as being of the devices using during the recording of it.

Also on the Syro gear list is a Water Udu Drum by Meinl.

Stated on the Syro gear list as one piece of gear used on the recording of some song(s).

On this 2014 interview, Richard mentions using this kind of headphones to make some tracks off the Syro album.

In the epic gear list accompanying the Syro album artwork, a "DPA 4052" is listed.