Porter Robinson

Porter Robinson produces using FL Studio DAW software. In an interview with Image-Line, he says he gravitated towards it after a friend recommended it, and he stuck with it because it was "more intuitive and usable than ACID," which is the software he was using prior.

He also mentions that he programs the majority of his bass sounds using Sytrus and 3xOSC. Other features he cites are useful are the new playlist, which "eliminates pattern blocks," and Edison, which he claims is critical to his workflow: "Hard cuts are crucial to the complextro style I produce, so processing audio with Edison and using its linear phase equalizer to get all my chops to roughly the same color saves me so much time."

Original source here.

Also, around 1:17:00 in this video Porter Robinson Full Twitch Livestream, he talks about being in his bedroom studio, and says:

This is where I produce. I'm in my "studio" right now, though it's not a studio because I don't use any hardware or anything. I don't know if it could strictly be called a studio because it's just me using FL in my bedroom.

Ableton Live was used to run Worlds Live, and is seen many times throughout this video. (2:15-2:25)

He would later use the software for his Nurture Live show, and when performing as Virtual Self with G Jones.

On SMILE, Porter used Live alongside FL when producing and mixing alongside groups Wavedash and Frost Children.

When asked about his favorite equipment in the studio, the ever-popular Sylenth makes the cut for Porter Robinson.

"I’m programming a majority of my bass sounds with Sytrus and 3xOSC, and it’s because the slide functionality of FL’s piano roll is amazingly useful."

In a stream in 2024, Porter said he has ended up using 3xOsc for practically every synth in his projects.

According to this reddit thread:

I have no idea if anyone has said anything about this before or if he himself has mentioned it, but the sample at the beginning of "Divinity" is from a Kontakt sample called HandySound from the factory library in Electronic Toys.

In the thread, a sound clip of the HandySound sample is included.

He uses Ableton Push 2 for live editing in secret sky 2021. In 2:04 and 1:06:08, you can see it clearly from the right of keyboard.

Also, he is live editing a song with ableton push in 16:29- 35:25- 44:45-

Porter Robinson's home studio includes this M-Audio Fast Track Pro audio interface. It can be seen on the left in this photo, from the MusicRadar article Me in my studio: Porter Robinson.

"Did I say I don't have any hardware? Sorry, I meant I don't /use/ any hardware. This is my Roland JP-8000, it's good for collecting dust and making retro super-saws."

Porter owns this classic synthesizer by Roland, but has never used it in a production. He affectionately referred to his as "unnecessary" and "a 10 lb Sylenth," complete with lots of dust and a busted F key.

Sytrus makes the list of Porter's favorite synths. Sytrus is part of FL Studio.

He used a preset from SQ8L called "COOL-CHOIR" in his track Goodbye to a world right at the beginning

Another one of Porter's indispensable soft synths.

Before FL Studio, Porter Robinson was using Sony's ACID. As stated by him, "I started with Sony’s ACID, and then progressed to FL Studio, which is now is my only sequencer/DAW."

"...I’ve started using the EastWest Composers’ Collection which has some incredible orchestral components."

Porter Robinson can be seen wearing the DT 770s in this photo of a live performance.

In the Porter Robinson´s power user page he said "Edison is also absolutely critical to my workflow. Hard cuts are crucial to the complextro style I produce, so processing audio with Edison and using its linear phase equalizer to get all my chops to roughly the same color saves me so much time."

Porter has used a Macbook Pro since the Spitfire era to run Traktor for his DJ sets. He also prefers macOS for production, previously only keeping a Windows laptop to run FL Studio, before the software had its Mac release. Now it powers his home studio as well, as can be seen in this photo from the 2024 Crunchyroll Anime Awards.

In this studio photo, you can see the M-Audio Keystation 49 on the desk. Original source here. The caption reads:

Studio Design: Custom studio design set ups for Porter Robinson and Madeon

"This is my complete setup. It consists of a computer monitor, some software, the lowest-end M-Audio soundcard and some KRK Rokit6's.

"This setup is actually more hi-fi than what i produced my EP Spitfire on. For that record, I used my computer's onboard soundcard and those $100 logitech consumer speakers from best buy I mentioned earlier. Again: no hardware"

"I'm really looking forward to putting out this song [Sad Machine] which is, like, the first one that I sing on, and it's a duet with a robot singing voice, like, the Vocaloid program... she's named Avanna—that's the name of the program— at first I was like, let me just make some demo vocals with this program, but she had this very very eerie quality that was cutesy but at the same time uncanny valley weird... and I wrote, like, three songs with it..."

"I used my computer's onboard soundcard and those $100 logitech consumer speakers from best buy"

Porter Robinson's main DJ controller when playing live is the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 DJ. He mentions he likes that it's a comprehensive solution, easy to set up, and that it has a sound card built in.

In this photo of Porter Robinson performing live during his 2014 Worlds tour, the Roland Gaia SH-01 Synthesizer can be seen to Porter's right.

In an April 2015 article with GQ, "The Eight Things Porter Robinson Can't Travel Without," Porter Robinson explains that:

"This might be weird coming from somebody who specializes in music production, but my favorite headphones on Earth are the Apple EarPods. I’ve bought no less than 30 pairs–I keep losing them! Since so many people use them, they’re like a gold standard for listening to music. If I don’t have one on the way to the airport, I’ll go out of my way to buy a pair."

Article link here.

Porter Robinson is using the Vocaloid4 Editor by Yamaha, as shown in his Instagram post, where distinct interface elements are visible in the background.

Another essential component of Porter's live DJ setup is the MIDI Fighter controller.

At around the 3 minute mark In Porter Robinson's "The Language Tour 2012 Mini Documentary", you can see a black Korg nanoKEY2 which he uses as a keyboard controller.

We spotted Porter Robinson wearing these Pioneer HDJ-500T-K headphones in a photo of him performing live.

Clearly seen being used while on tour. He is also a model for the bag on Tessel's official site

You can see Porter Robinson using the Sennheiser HD 26 headphones in this video.

Due to budget constraints, Porter Robinson started out using "$100 Logitech speakers" in his studio. Of course, it's not a bad idea to have a pair of these around to test your mix on more "consumer" systems.