Jaytech

Roland AIRA TR-8 Drum Machine on his desk

Beatport: Are there any particular Native Instruments you turn to for specific sounds? Do you have a preferred bass synth? Pads? Percussive parts?

Jaytech: "For pads, strings and melodic elements I use Native Instruments FM8 for nearly everything. It’s versatile, easily tweakable and doesn’t use too much processor."

Beatport: Are there any particular Native Instruments you turn to for specific sounds? Do you have a preferred bass synth? Pads? Percussive parts?

Jaytech: "For grittier sounds and some seriously cool basses, Native Instruments Massive usually does the trick."

Jaytech wrote a blog article where he details his monitoring setup in his "Berlin Studio Bunker of Love." He talks about his monitoring headphones of choice, the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x. He says, "Next great addition to my studio this year is a pair Audio Technica ATH-M50x headphones, which were first demo’ed to me by Boom Jinx in the car as we were driving through the rolling hills of the Czech Republic. These cans are super cheap as far as headphones go and can probably give you more detail in your mixes than your room currently can. They’ve allowed me to get more meaningful work done on the road with results that I can continue in my studio with success. They also have their blind spots – like all headphones, they won’t give you a feel for how the sound waves are going to shoot out of the speaker and travel through the air. You probably can’t create bass with them that will translate well to a club system, however you can use them to help the bass you created in your studio translate better."

The original blog post can be found here.

Jaytech's primary studio monitors are the ADAM Audio A7X. They can be seen in this photo of his Berlin studio gear setup which he posted to his blog. He uses the ADAMs alongside a pair of KRK VXT 6.

"At the moment I’m rocking some Adam A7X monitors alongside some KRK VXT 6. Also hooked up in the corner is a single Alesis M1 Active Mk2 (my first ever monitor speakers) for mono/bass reference. Three different kinds of speakers with three different characters of sound, and you can discern these characteristics largely just by looking at them. The A7X come in a sleek, black wooden cabinet and have a soft, detailed sound with a stereo image that lets you really listen into the music and hear what you need to hear. They are well suited to modern styles of production. ...your best bet is to have a few options, and get into a habit of switching to these different systems to get only what you need from them. I’ll mix for three hours on the A7X and then come back to the KRKs for 30 minutes, to bring some fun back in the mix when it’s sounding quite clinical."

The original post can be found here.

Jaytech's secondary monitors are KRK VXT6 Active Studio Monitors. In a blog post, he talks about how he uses them:

"At the moment I’m rocking some Adam A7X monitors alongside some KRK VXT 6. ...The KRKs, on the other hand, are built more like a child’s toy with a yellow and black plastic exterior, and their sound reflects this. They are more “fun” to use, giving the listener a more similar experience to a home hi-fi or car stereo, with pounding bass and a noisier sound overall. There’s actually a karaoke joint here in Berlin that uses them in their booths.

Here’s the thing about KRK speakers. I know a lot of producers buy these in the hopes that it’ll give them a complete monitoring solution but in reality they’re not really capable of that. They can give you about 60% of what you need, and they do that 60% very well – especially when it comes to clubby punch and warmth in the lower mids and bass). However, mixing a complete record on them is probably going to lead to a kind of “plastic-ey” sound in your music that lacks the pristine clarity people are used to hearing nowadays. So, your best bet is to have a few options, and get into a habit of switching to these different systems to get only what you need from them. I’ll mix for three hours on the A7X and then come back to the KRKs for 30 minutes, to bring some fun back in the mix when it’s sounding quite clinical."

When detailing the three types of studio monitors he uses in his Berlin studio, Jaytech mentions using just a single Alesis M1 Active Mk2 Bi-Amplified Studio Monitor, to reference his tracks in mono. He says, "Also hooked up in the corner is a single Alesis M1 Active Mk2 (my first ever monitor speakers) for mono/bass reference." Original Jaytech blog post can be found here.

Beatport: And your sequencer/DAW of choice?

Jaytech: "I’ve been using Ableton Live for a number of years now.

Before that I was a Logic guy, and I still have a lot of respect for the Logic working environment, especially with the new improvements version 8 has brought.

At the end of the day though, I feel I can achieve results quicker and more efficiently in Ableton as the interface is better suited to working on a laptop, and you can edit and manipulate sound incredibly quickly as well."