Big Beat Gear: Synths & DJ Gear Used by Big Beat Artists
Drawn from the documented rigs of 262 Big beat artists and the Equipboard community — ranked by real usage, not opinion.
The Gear That Shapes the Big Beat Sound
The essential categories, ranked by how much more Big beat artists lean on them than the rest of Equipboard.
Most-Used Big Beat Gear
Counts are artists & fans on Equipboard who own or saved each item and are associated with Big beat.
Big Beat Synthesizers
6.1× site average-m.webp?v=1784818702)
$962.10
in Synthesizers Rank
#1 · Owned or saved by 17
-m.webp?v=1784818708)
$1,116.49
in Synthesizers Rank
#2 · Owned or saved by 17
$1,999.00
in Synthesizers Rank
#3 · Owned or saved by 14
-m.webp?v=1784818703)
#4 · Owned or saved by 13
$20,256.12
in Synthesizers Rank
#5 · Owned or saved by 12
#6 · Owned or saved by 12
-m.webp?v=1784818708)
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-m.webp?v=1784818679)
Big Beat Drum Machines
4.6× site average-m.webp?v=1784818699)
$4,800.00
in Drum Machines Rank
#1 · Owned or saved by 16
-m.webp?v=1784559385)
$4,599.00
in Drum Machines Rank
#2 · Owned or saved by 15
$499.00
in Drum Machines Rank
#3 · Owned or saved by 8
$1,600.00
in Drum Machines Rank
#4 · Owned or saved by 5
$273.67
in Drum Machines Rank
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#5 · Owned or saved by 5
Gear That Defines Big Beat
Not just popular — disproportionately Big beat. Multipliers compare usage among Big beat artists & fans to usage across all of Equipboard, so gear everyone owns doesn't crowd out the gear that makes this genre sound like itself.
Akai S1000
Audio Samplers
3.4× vs site-wide
2
Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer
Drum Machines
3.2× vs site-wide
3
Roland SH-101
Synthesizers
3.1× vs site-wide
4
Roland TB-303
Synthesizers
3.0× vs site-wide
5
Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer
Drum Machines
2.7× vs site-wide
6
Technics SL-1200MK2 Turntable
Turntables
2.6× vs site-wide
7
Atari 1040 ST
Computers & Peripherals
2.5× vs site-wide
8
Oberheim Matrix 1000
Sound Modules
2.3× vs site-wide
9
E-mu Vintage Keys
Sound Modules
2.3× vs site-wide
10
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Yamaha NS-10M
Active & Passive Monitors
2.3× vs site-wide
-m.webp?v=1784455238){kind=small}
The Artists Behind the Data
This page is built from the documented rigs of Big beat artists on Equipboard — a few of the 262:
How We Built This Guide
Documented artist rigs
Every count starts with the sourced, evidence-backed gear of 262 Big beat artists on Equipboard — interviews, photos, and rig breakdowns, not guesswork.
Community signal
Saves and gear-photo tags from players who love this genre add weight, so the lists reflect who actually plays this stuff.
Distinctive, not just popular
We compare Big beat usage to all of Equipboard — so a tuner everyone owns doesn't drown out the gear that makes this genre sound like itself.
Keep Exploring
Gear guides for genres in Big beat's orbit.