Mark Isham

"Vapor Drawings was done on a Roland MC8, which was one of the first dedicated sequencers. Before that you had to make click tracks, do overdubs and splice out choruses etc. On Vapor Drawings everything was done off code, I sequenced everything. All the drums were machines or they were being played off Simmons pads."

Mark uses an M-Audio keyboard called a Pro-Keys 88, and Dynaudio Speakers.

"On the tour I used a TC Electronics 2290, which is a computer-controlled digital delay line. It is very expensive and utilises the natural expressiveness of the instrument. It has 32 seconds worth of delay and you can also sample in real-time live. I've just gotten into it and haven't yet learned all the possibilities or the more higher advanced uses of it. It can do more things than just delay though."

"I've been investing in the studio as I go along. I have a Sony F1 digital 2-track, which is quite inexpensive, although I would prefer to have a high quality analogue 2-track."

Mark writes on a 12-core Mac Pro computer running Apple Logic Pro 9. Mark has been a Logic user from the very early Emagic days, and for the super old school guys, Mark was a StudioVision user before that. A second computer, an 8-core Mac Pro, sits at his console running Pro Tools 10HD. This computer runs the video that Mark will score to. Mark uses a very, very long list of plugins, and he is always experimenting with new sounds. Some of Mark’s favorite plugins come from Universal Audio, Native Instruments, Spectrasonics, East-West, Rob Papen, Waves, Plugin Alliance, DMG Audio, U-He, among many others.

Mark’s writing computer uses an SSL MADI Xtreme card and an SSL Alpha Link MADI AX, and the video computer uses a Digidesign/Avid 96i/o and 192 Digital, along with an SSL Delta Link MADI HD.

Mark’s writing computer uses an SSL MADI Xtreme card and an SSL Alpha Link MADI AX, and the video computer uses a Digidesign/Avid 96i/o and 192 Digital, along with an SSL Delta Link MADI HD.

Mark’s writing computer uses an SSL MADI Xtreme card and an SSL Alpha Link MADI AX, and the video computer uses a Digidesign/Avid 96i/o and 192 Digital, along with an SSL Delta Link MADI HD.

Mark uses a number of outboard effects as well, including a number of classic effects like the Universal Audio LA-2A, 1178, Eventide H3000, Urie Limiters, and Lexicon reverbs.

Mark uses a number of outboard effects as well, including a number of classic effects like the Universal Audio LA-2A, 1178, Eventide H3000, Urie Limiters, and Lexicon reverbs.

Mark uses a number of outboard effects as well, including a number of classic effects like the Universal Audio LA-2A, 1178, Eventide H3000, Urie Limiters, and Lexicon reverbs.

All audio in Mark’s studio is routed through a Euphonix CS3000 console.

"I've got two racks of DA88 — a 32‑track rack and a 16‑track rack, which is sort of configured for film mixing with timecode everywhere. It's a standard now in the film industry. We've also got a 24‑bit Digidesign Pro Tools system, but I'm the Pro Tools fan; Steve prefers tape. He's waiting for a hard‑disk system that he feels comfortable with. There's a couple he's interested in right now — Euphonix is coming up with one he's probably beta‑testing."

Isham's 'orchestra pit' is, however, no slouch, with several Akais (S3200, CD3000, S1000, S1000PB and three S2000s), three Emu E4Xs, three Roland S760s, plus a selection of older units. "They each have their own characteristics — the Akais have a tremendous transient response, and for percussion they're just brilliant; the Rolands have a warmth about them. I also have so many because of the various different programmers that work in the different formats. Eric Persing of Spectrasonics pretty much works for Roland, and he's just so good that I had to have some Roland gear to take advantage of his wonderful work."

Isham's 'orchestra pit' is, however, no slouch, with several Akais (S3200, CD3000, S1000, S1000PB and three S2000s), three Emu E4Xs, three Roland S760s, plus a selection of older units. "They each have their own characteristics — the Akais have a tremendous transient response, and for percussion they're just brilliant; the Rolands have a warmth about them. I also have so many because of the various different programmers that work in the different formats. Eric Persing of Spectrasonics pretty much works for Roland, and he's just so good that I had to have some Roland gear to take advantage of his wonderful work."

Isham's 'orchestra pit' is, however, no slouch, with several Akais (S3200, CD3000, S1000, S1000PB and three S2000s), three Emu E4Xs, three Roland S760s, plus a selection of older units. "They each have their own characteristics — the Akais have a tremendous transient response, and for percussion they're just brilliant; the Rolands have a warmth about them. I also have so many because of the various different programmers that work in the different formats. Eric Persing of Spectrasonics pretty much works for Roland, and he's just so good that I had to have some Roland gear to take advantage of his wonderful work."

Isham's 'orchestra pit' is, however, no slouch, with several Akais (S3200, CD3000, S1000, S1000PB and three S2000s), three Emu E4Xs, three Roland S760s, plus a selection of older units. "They each have their own characteristics — the Akais have a tremendous transient response, and for percussion they're just brilliant; the Rolands have a warmth about them. I also have so many because of the various different programmers that work in the different formats. Eric Persing of Spectrasonics pretty much works for Roland, and he's just so good that I had to have some Roland gear to take advantage of his wonderful work."

Isham's 'orchestra pit' is, however, no slouch, with several Akais (S3200, CD3000, S1000, S1000PB and three S2000s), three Emu E4Xs, three Roland S760s, plus a selection of older units. "They each have their own characteristics — the Akais have a tremendous transient response, and for percussion they're just brilliant; the Rolands have a warmth about them. I also have so many because of the various different programmers that work in the different formats. Eric Persing of Spectrasonics pretty much works for Roland, and he's just so good that I had to have some Roland gear to take advantage of his wonderful work."

Isham's 'orchestra pit' is, however, no slouch, with several Akais (S3200, CD3000, S1000, S1000PB and three S2000s), three Emu E4Xs, three Roland S760s, plus a selection of older units. "They each have their own characteristics — the Akais have a tremendous transient response, and for percussion they're just brilliant; the Rolands have a warmth about them. I also have so many because of the various different programmers that work in the different formats. Eric Persing of Spectrasonics pretty much works for Roland, and he's just so good that I had to have some Roland gear to take advantage of his wonderful work."

Not that Isham has entirely forsaken his 'synthetic' past — far from it, in fact. Even his beloved analogue collection — now expanded to incorporate an Oberheim Xpander, a Roland MKS80 with MPG80 programmer, and a rare Moog Model 12, one of those 'big modular Moogs' he once admired from afar — regularly gets a look in: "I just did an entire film score that used the 2600, MIDI'd via an old Roland MPU101 MIDI‑CV converter" says Isham, with a hint of bravado. Isham's studio also contains an extensive selection of more modern synths. Of his Korg Trinity Plus, Z1, Prophecy, Wavestation A/D and ubiquitous M1, Roland JD800, and newly acquired, knob‑laden Access Virus, the latter is currently proving most agreeable with the composer.