James Newton Howard

This is a picture of the composer's studio in Santa Monica, California.

"True Strike is a permanent part of my palette. I use it in all my scores."

"Having new sounds at my fingertips is always an inspiration and these new EastWest/Quantum Leap PLAY plug-ins have plenty of great sounds to choose from."

The Lexicon 960L appears on the right side of the picture.

This is a photo of the composer's studio in Santa Monica, California. The Bowers & Wilkins SCMS can be seen on the wall, for monitoring the Surround.

The Avalon VT-747sp Mic Preamp can be seen in the back of the composer's desk.

Composer James Newton Howard praises Heavyocity Damage, highlighting its impressive capabilities. This endorsement is featured on Native Instruments' page for Komplete Professional Instruments and Effects.

James Newton Howard has praised Spectrasonics Symphony of Voices, highlighting its effectiveness by stating, "Sometimes your samples work better than real singers. The best in the business." This endorsement is featured on Spectrasonics' official legacy products page.

The picture is from his studio in Santa Monica, California, as shown in this link: http://mainroom.pro/2013/63-james-newton-howard.html. He uses an Apple Cinema Display 30'' as his main screen.

The Exphonix MC Mix Controller appears at 2m52s in the video.

The Bowers & Wilkins ASW855 (subwoofer) can be briefly seen behind the main console in this picture of the composer's studio.

The TC Electronic Reverb 6000 can be seen the video at 2m52s, in the background, over the main console in the composer's studio.

James Newton Howard utilizes the Eastwest Quantum Leap Orchestral Hollywood Series, as noted by Eastwest.

James Newton Howard utilizes Sample Logic's CinemorphX, as highlighted on the Sample Logic LLC. community page.

The picture is from his studio in Santa Monica, California, as shown in this link: http://mainroom.pro/2013/63-james-newton-howard.html. He uses 3 Apple Cinema Displays 23'' as secondary screens.

Two DBX 165A compressors can be seen in the back of the composer's desk on this picture.

The Neve 33609C Stereo Limiter/Compressor can be seen in the back of the composer's desk.

The GML 8200 Equalizer can be seen in the back of the composer's desk.

Vermutlich arbeiten Sie heute in einer modernen Recording-Umgebung – mit einer DAW als zentrales Element…

You probably work in a modern recording environment today - with a DAW as the central element...

Ja, ganz richtig. Ich arbeite mit Steinberg Cubase und Ableton Live, nutze aber noch immer das alte Yamaha KX88 Masterkeyboard (lacht). Da ist natürlich noch einiges mehr an Technik in meinem Studio, was mich aber nicht daran hindert, zusätzlich auch Bleistift und Notenpapier zu nutzen.

Yes quite right. I work with Steinberg Cubase and Ableton Live, but I still use the old Yamaha KX88 master keyboard (laughs). Of course there is still a lot more technology in my studio, but that doesn't prevent me from also using a pencil and music paper.

With three to five major film projects each year, Howard relies on Cubase 5 on the PC to simplify his sequencing tasks. "The ease with which I can manipulate audio has become better and better," he notes. "The technology has made it possible for me to work about 35 times faster than in the old days! Though I learned long ago that I would be more effective as a composer if I chose what I spent my time doing. So I don't program as much as I used to, although I'm very facile with all the soft synths."

In both his pop and film music, Yamaha keyboards have been a recurring theme in Howard's musical life. As a young session player and producer, he helped demonstrate the capabilities of Yamaha synths such as the GS1 and DX7. "I've been involved with Yamaha since 1982," he says. "I used to perform at NAMM shows, and tour, and do all kinds of things on behalf of Yamaha keyboards, which I've always loved."

In both his pop and film music, Yamaha keyboards have been a recurring theme in Howard's musical life. As a young session player and producer, he helped demonstrate the capabilities of Yamaha synths such as the GS1 and DX7. "I've been involved with Yamaha since 1982," he says. "I used to perform at NAMM shows, and tour, and do all kinds of things on behalf of Yamaha keyboards, which I've always loved."

Even now, Howard remains a fan of Yamaha's 1980s-vintage KX88 weighted keyboard. "I still use a Yamaha KX-88," he says. "I've always used the KX-88! I buy up every one I can find. I've got a stack of them, because I love the feel of that keyboard."