Matt Berry – Witchazel
The music gear and equipment used by the artists, producers, engineers, and more involved in the making of the 2011 album Witchazel.
Music from Witchazel
Artists on Witchazel
Gear Used On Witchazel
Explore the instruments, equipment, software, and production tools used in the making of Matt Berry – Witchazel (2011). Click more on each item to see exactly how it was used.
Matt Berry
Roles:
Keyboards and Synthesizers used by Matt Berry on Witchazel
Avg price: $2,100.00
Listed on the back cover of Witchazel and visible in this photo used for the back cover of Music for Insomniacs and the back cover of Music for Insomniacs Part IV. It is also mentioned in this December 2020 Sound on Sound interview.
Among Berry’s workhorse synths are his Minimoogs, Korg MS‑20, Prophet 6, ARP Odyssey and Solina, and Roland Jupiter‑4. Meanwhile, in the newer analogue synth department, he’s the proud owner of both Korg’s ARP 2600 FS and KMR’s Antonus 2600, along with the Arturia MatrixBrute. His latest acquisition is a Roland Jupiter‑X, which he clearly loves.
Avg price: $529.99
On the back of the Witchazel album is a list of instruments used which says
Effects Pedals used by Matt Berry on Witchazel
Boss FDR-1 Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb
Avg price: $130.00
Mentioned in this March 7, 2011 Roland & Boss TV interview at 8:58.
[Berry] I just gotta say before... the Fender Reverb pedal, the Boss one, is amazing and...
[Interviewer] The Deluxe Reverb one?
[Berry] Yeah, yeah, yeah and the other one... the '63 one. Yeah, it sounds like real, you know, spring reverb, well done.
[Interviewer] Wow, I didn't ask him to say that either.
[Berry] No, no, no, no, you know, where credit's due. It's good, it's a decent pedal. I've put synths through it, I've put, you know, sort of guitars through it, obviously and, I kind of thought I don't know how this is gonna, this isn't gonna sound like a, you know, spring reverb, 'cause it's [shapes small Boss enclosure with hands], and it did! It was great.
Avg price: $380.85
Mentioned in this March 7, 2011 Roland & Boss TV interview at 8:58. it is also pictured in this December 2020 Sound on Sound interview.
[Berry] I just gotta say before... the Fender Reverb pedal, the Boss one, is amazing and...
[Interviewer] The Deluxe Reverb one?
[Berry] Yeah, yeah, yeah and the other one... the '63 one. Yeah, it sounds like real, you know, spring reverb, well done.
[Interviewer] Wow, I didn't ask him to say that either.
[Berry] No, no, no, no, you know, where credit's due. It's good, it's a decent pedal. I've put synths through it, I've put, you know, sort of guitars through it, obviously and, I kind of thought I don't know how this is gonna, this isn't gonna sound like a, you know, spring reverb, 'cause it's [shapes small Boss enclosure with hands], and it did! It was great.
DAWs used by Matt Berry on Witchazel
Used for Witchazel, as mentioned in this December 2020 Sound on Sound interview.
In fact, Witchazel was recorded in Berry’s two‑roomed flat in London and found him exploring a DAW for the first time in the shape of GarageBand. “I enjoyed recording that more than most of the albums,” he says. “It was such a sort of magical experience because of what you could do technically with GarageBand. The speed of it obviously suited me because I’m impatient.
“But I still had that sensibility of tape where you must be bold and stick to your guns. Tape was expensive if you didn’t have any money, so you had to make use of the tape. And I kind of applied that to GarageBand even though I didn’t need to. If I started a song, I had to finish it, or at least kind of mark it to be used later on or something. I didn’t waste time and effort.”
(...) These days, based in his studio just outside London, Matt Berry uses Logic as his DAW, having made the move from GarageBand during the sessions for Kill The Wolf.
Software Plugins and VSTs used by Matt Berry on Witchazel
Avg price: $189.99
Used for Witchazel, as mentioned in this December 2020 Sound on Sound interview.
Berry played almost all of the instruments on Witchazel, apart from the drums, played by James Stapleton, and recorded in the living room, using a pair of ADK condenser mics.
“Facing the drum kit, I just had one at head height right, and one at head height left, either side of his kit,” he recalls. “I kept it as basic as possible. I’d try and nail whole takes. I still do that now because of feel, and you want it to sound like it was sort of one idea. I would always push to get one take where everything kind of kicked off in the right place.”
Key to the sound of the album was GForce’s M‑Tron plug‑in, modelled on the Mellotron. “It was just the best, because I can’t play brass instruments and I didn’t have a vibraphone. But I didn’t want sampled brass or vibraphone. I wanted it to sound authentic, which is where the Mellotron comes in. It has its own atmosphere. So, if there’s an instrument that I can’t play, like a flute or something, I would never go for a preset or a sample, I would go for the Mellotron.”