Stephen Hague

Stephen Hague discusses programming the bassline for the Pet Shop Boys' "Love Comes Quickly" with an MSQ-700 sequencer:

The bassline of [Love Comes Quickly] is interesting because, originally, it was going to be a down-beat set up as it is in the intro. I had programmed it on an MSQ700, but something got screwed up when it came back sync'd from tape and the whole thing was delayed by exactly half a beat. I thought it sounded really cool so I had to re-write the bass sequence with that in mind.

Stephen Hague used the Emulator II a lot on the Pet Shop Boys' Please album, released 1986. At that time the Emulator was his workhorse. He even played the "West End Girls" trumpet solo on the Emulator.

According to International Musician & Recording World March 1986 issue, the Yamaha DX7 was one of the synths used for the composite bass part on the Pet Shop Boys' "West End Girls". It provided a low percussive bass sound. Stephen Hague programmed and played everything on that track alone as per this article.

According to International Musician & Recording World March 1986, a Roland Jupiter-6 provided the body of the sound for the bassline in Pet Shop Boys' "West End Girls", on which Stephen Hague plays and programs everything himself.

"I then load the mix and the instrument I'm working on info Sound Tools, so that I can hear the instrument in context and don't have to keep winding the tape backwards and forwards. I use a little Roland M120 mixer for that purpose, which is connected to the Sound Tools output."

The two Macs are interfaced to the outside world with two Opcode Studio 3 units and a Studio 5. Hague has plenty of sound sources to drive with these. There's an M3R, a DX7II, two rack-mounted Roland Super Jupiter modules (with programmers), a Roland JD800, DS50 and U220, a Korg Wavestation A/D, and an Akai/Linn MPC60, plus a few oldies. Amongst the latter are a Korg MS12, his original Yamaha CS80, and an Oberheim OB8.

The two Macs are interfaced to the outside world with two Opcode Studio 3 units and a Studio 5. Hague has plenty of sound sources to drive with these. There's an M3R, a DX7II, two rack-mounted Roland Super Jupiter modules (with programmers), a Roland JD800, DS50 and U220, a Korg Wavestation A/D, and an Akai/Linn MPC60, plus a few oldies. Amongst the latter are a Korg MS12, his original Yamaha CS80, and an Oberheim OB8.

Hague uses a Roland A80 as his master keyboard — "I don't actually use many of its functions; the only reason I have it is because I like the way the keyboard feels" — and professes a particular fondness for his Dynacord CLS222 Leslie simulator. "I use it on all kinds of stuff: guitars, vocals, keyboards. It gives you an effect of motion, but it's not chorusing or flanging. It particularly brings digital organ sounds to life, which can otherwise be a bit dull."

Hague uses a Roland A80 as his master keyboard — "I don't actually use many of its functions; the only reason I have it is because I like the way the keyboard feels" — and professes a particular fondness for his Dynacord CLS222 Leslie simulator. "I use it on all kinds of stuff: guitars, vocals, keyboards. It gives you an effect of motion, but it's not chorusing or flanging. It particularly brings digital organ sounds to life, which can otherwise be a bit dull."

According to International Musician & Recording World March 1986 issue, an Emulator I was used to blend with the Emulator II for the string sounds on Pet Shop Boys' "West End Girls". Stephen Hague programmed and played everything on that track alone as per this article.

As well as the Emulator II, Hague favours the Akai S900 and is particularly interested in stereo sampling. Multi-layered sounds, like the bass on 'West End Girls' tend, however, to come direct from various synthesisers and be concentrated in one channel of the mixing desk rather than being sampled and used as a single sound.

The Siouxsie material was rehearsed and recorded by the band on sequencers, allowing Hague to make extensive use of his computer music gear (based around a Mac SE30 and a Mac IIci; see box) was put to intensive use.

The Siouxsie material was rehearsed and recorded by the band on sequencers, allowing Hague to make extensive use of his computer music gear (based around a Mac SE30 and a Mac IIci; see box) was put to intensive use.

"I used Digidesign Sound Tools, which is great because I could cut and paste audio information as if it was MIDI information. I would select the best parts of performances and paste them back into the track, trying to save playing nuances, so that you don't give the game away."

In conjunction with Sound Tools Hague uses Digidesign's SampleCell sampler board, with its library on CD-ROM. Never having taken to the Akai samplers, which he finds too "fiddly" and their top end too "brittle", he enjoys SampleCell: "It has amazing fidelity and is incredibly easy to work with."

The two Macs are interfaced to the outside world with two Opcode Studio 3 units and a Studio 5. Hague has plenty of sound sources to drive with these. There's an M3R, a DX7II, two rack-mounted Roland Super Jupiter modules (with programmers), a Roland JD800, DS50 and U220, a Korg Wavestation A/D, and an Akai/Linn MPC60, plus a few oldies. Amongst the latter are a Korg MS12, his original Yamaha CS80, and an Oberheim OB8.

The two Macs are interfaced to the outside world with two Opcode Studio 3 units and a Studio 5. Hague has plenty of sound sources to drive with these. There's an M3R, a DX7II, two rack-mounted Roland Super Jupiter modules (with programmers), a Roland JD800, DS50 and U220, a Korg Wavestation A/D, and an Akai/Linn MPC60, plus a few oldies. Amongst the latter are a Korg MS12, his original Yamaha CS80, and an Oberheim OB8.

The two Macs are interfaced to the outside world with two Opcode Studio 3 units and a Studio 5. Hague has plenty of sound sources to drive with these. There's an M3R, a DX7II, two rack-mounted Roland Super Jupiter modules (with programmers), a Roland JD800, DS50 and U220, a Korg Wavestation A/D, and an Akai/Linn MPC60, plus a few oldies. Amongst the latter are a Korg MS12, his original Yamaha CS80, and an Oberheim OB8.

The two Macs are interfaced to the outside world with two Opcode Studio 3 units and a Studio 5. Hague has plenty of sound sources to drive with these. There's an M3R, a DX7II, two rack-mounted Roland Super Jupiter modules (with programmers), a Roland JD800, DS50 and U220, a Korg Wavestation A/D, and an Akai/Linn MPC60, plus a few oldies. Amongst the latter are a Korg MS12, his original Yamaha CS80, and an Oberheim OB8.

The two Macs are interfaced to the outside world with two Opcode Studio 3 units and a Studio 5. Hague has plenty of sound sources to drive with these. There's an M3R, a DX7II, two rack-mounted Roland Super Jupiter modules (with programmers), a Roland JD800, DS50 and U220, a Korg Wavestation A/D, and an Akai/Linn MPC60, plus a few oldies. Amongst the latter are a Korg MS12, his original Yamaha CS80, and an Oberheim OB8.

The two Macs are interfaced to the outside world with two Opcode Studio 3 units and a Studio 5. Hague has plenty of sound sources to drive with these. There's an M3R, a DX7II, two rack-mounted Roland Super Jupiter modules (with programmers), a Roland JD800, DS50 and U220, a Korg Wavestation A/D, and an Akai/Linn MPC60, plus a few oldies. Amongst the latter are a Korg MS12, his original Yamaha CS80, and an Oberheim OB8.

The two Macs are interfaced to the outside world with two Opcode Studio 3 units and a Studio 5. Hague has plenty of sound sources to drive with these. There's an M3R, a DX7II, two rack-mounted Roland Super Jupiter modules (with programmers), a Roland JD800, DS50 and U220, a Korg Wavestation A/D, and an Akai/Linn MPC60, plus a few oldies. Amongst the latter are a Korg MS12, his original Yamaha CS80, and an Oberheim OB8.

The two Macs are interfaced to the outside world with two Opcode Studio 3 units and a Studio 5. Hague has plenty of sound sources to drive with these. There's an M3R, a DX7II, two rack-mounted Roland Super Jupiter modules (with programmers), a Roland JD800, DS50 and U220, a Korg Wavestation A/D, and an Akai/Linn MPC60, plus a few oldies. Amongst the latter are a Korg MS12, his original Yamaha CS80, and an Oberheim OB8.

The two Macs are interfaced to the outside world with two Opcode Studio 3 units and a Studio 5. Hague has plenty of sound sources to drive with these. There's an M3R, a DX7II, two rack-mounted Roland Super Jupiter modules (with programmers), a Roland JD800, DS50 and U220, a Korg Wavestation A/D, and an Akai/Linn MPC60, plus a few oldies. Amongst the latter are a Korg MS12, his original Yamaha CS80, and an Oberheim OB8.

The two Macs are interfaced to the outside world with two Opcode Studio 3 units and a Studio 5. Hague has plenty of sound sources to drive with these. There's an M3R, a DX7II, two rack-mounted Roland Super Jupiter modules (with programmers), a Roland JD800, DS50 and U220, a Korg Wavestation A/D, and an Akai/Linn MPC60, plus a few oldies. Amongst the latter are a Korg MS12, his original Yamaha CS80, and an Oberheim OB8.