deadmau5 on compression (1up bonus rant)

Watch Deadmau5 go deep into sound design and compression with some outboard gear and some in-the-box.
This video was a select clip from a longer stream from / 106275002
For your convenience I hope you find it helpful.
Subscribe:
/ deadmau5
live.deadmau5.com/
~-~~-~~~-~~-~
Please watch: "Feedback Sampling pro tip - New Sound Design technique??"
• Feedback Sampling pro ...
~-~~-~~~-~~-~

[@OperculumAudio]

Wow he described phasing as a cup filling up with water that's probably the best description I've ever heard of or perhaps a jet flying by in the air but that was brilliant

[@Oskillator]

Great observation!! I’ve pinned it!

[@Oskillator]

What’s the time stamp?

[@OperculumAudio]

@@Oskillator 6:20

[@Aeoxmusic]

Fancy seeing you here :D

[@OperculumAudio]

@@Aeoxmusic lol im all overthe place like a ADD 5 year old at the mall

[@jarodgibson584]

More technical info here than his master class lol

[@jasonzdora]

Ha.. was thinking the same thing.

[@2009shumy]

Jarod Gibson I didn't actually like the masterclass... didn't learn much tbh.

[@Vixikats]

To be fair, his Masterclass is directed at people with almost zero experience in electronic music. And for what it is, it's very good information. It's just a class you don't get too much out of if you've already been working at it for a couple years and are looking for something more advanced.

[@Saskiequelle]

Jarod Gibson the masterclass was for the "numnuts"

[@dirtsawmusic9295]

Kats - then why is it called a "Masterclass"? it was a waste of money

[@LarryPanozzo]

I like Deadmau5 more and more every time I hear something new from him. And I've liked him for years.

[@coffeebeaan_]

Larry Panozzo get in line

[@AndJusticeForAll...1985]

suck em up

[@Bucking_Fastard]

Thank god he's talking again. I prefer streams, where he actually explains stuffs.

[@MamianDonge]

When he is working on songs for his albums, like Imaginary Friends while he spends hours straight doing it he doesn't prefer to talk because it's a lot of wasted time. And he is right by doing it. It would take a lot more of time to finish a song.

[@thefreewaychampion522]

"It's like the Cymatics FM AIDS that has plagued the dubstep community" I love Joel man.

[@heliumsession7461]

Not really... You just hate Dubstep

[@yourunemployedfriendat2pm]

@@heliumsession7461 brostep isnt dubstep

[@urphakeandgey6308]

@@yourunemployedfriendat2pm "yEs iT Is mUh 140 BpM aNd hAlF TiMe bEaTs bRo" People really say this shit too, as if a genre is determined by nothing but BPM. Meanwhile there's a million bullshit "-step" subgenres, but "pure dubstep" is "the same shit bro." Seriously, are these people fucking deaf? The stylistic jump from "brostep" to "dubstep" is much bigger IMO than between Riddim, Brostep, Deathstep, etc., yet they ALL get proper subgenres???

[@elliotberg4572]

@@urphakeandgey6308 yeah, there definitely is a huge difference between them. Riddim is a bit different though because even though it's different it is very very close to pure dubstep, the vibe is similar, the style is basically a reincarnation of pure dubstep just slightly different. New school riddim varies A LOT from pure dubstep though.

[@lucasgerow1221]

@@urphakeandgey6308 subgenres are called such cuz the "sub" means they literally ARE the other genre, w a small special thing that marginally sets it apart. Riddim could very much be argued to be brostep primarily using claps in the place of snares. That's the other thing, genres and sub genres aren't labeled so you can feel right about your taste and make fun of others who don't hear the same things you do. Music is totally subjective, and nobody is making music thinking, "gosh I hope no one calls this 'dubstep' cuz it's actually 'brostep'." I'd argue saying brostep isn't dubstep is way more cringeworthy than saying it is. How is it not? That's like saying punk rock isn't rock. I wouldn't call it "rock and roll" in conversation, but it's not like it's not absolutely rock music.

[@utleychase7]

*_"Marshmello ain't gonna use it"_* LMAO

[@conorvincent9793]

I love how he is loving talking about all this, no wonder he is a boss, he literally loves music production

[@panduevank8356]

"ey bro wanna teach?" ahahahahahhaha

[@mitch150]

I died

[@NoizyBoyUS]

"Marshmello ain't gonna fuckin' do it!" I had a good laugh at that part

[@dlrss1v274]

LMAOOO

[@Whopcap]

Masterclazz raw version

[@swiftleigh9706]

13:05 daymn, his coffee really gives him a quick kick

[@ryanharrison3118]

In soviet Russia, waveform compresses you

[@michaelb.3482]

thats Bullshit.... :-)

[@R3BBiT]

Micha eyL No shit

[@Oskillator]

+R3BBiT yeaaaa

[@TUTOSANDROIDtutorialesymas]

haahahahahahhah

[@NOSTRSS]

lmao

[@swish007]

when he said "they're not just for sidechaining the fuck out of everything.. numnut" i burst out laughing

[@maglerdon]

15:42 exactly. I listen to a lot of EDM and it gets sooooo tiring hearing the same shit with a different melody. When someone comes along with something unique that I enjoy, I can listen to it years later and still feel the same way. Immortal Light by G Jones is one of those tracks for me.

[@ClintMoody]

Super weird to see someone like Joel, whom is so much smarter in areas of tech than a lot of people, fumble with figuring out BPM to milliseconds when all he has to do is zoom in to Ableton, highlight the length of time and read the bottom right corner of the screen which tells you the time in milliseconds. Or he could just do 60000/BPM = quarter note.

[@martinacuna9556]

ty for the info

[@EternalJourneys]

I’m all about using my ears. If it sounds right, it is right ;)

[@aarongarcia7960]

there’s one thing about being technical with numbers, visual or by ears. if it works either way it works!

[@lloyd5554]

@@EternalJourneys yeah I’d say that’s right for 95% of it. but sometimes what your hearing out your speakers or headphones is wrong if they aren’t calibrated right. In that case “trust the numbers” so to speak. For example, most people roll off from 30hz not by ear (unless you have insane speakers lol) but from a technical standpoint it just muddies the mix.

[@jaydekaytv]

Bottom left

[@chipcroswell1738]

Drinking game: Take a shot every time he says "uhh" Rip.

[@entropy_v1]

Chip Croswell Advanced drinking game: take a shot every time he drops an f-bomb. (Not so much in this stream, but in many previous ones)

[@tvd-theremedy2515]

River BK = trashed in 2 minutes

[@SuzukiBoy69]

Now I'm drunk.

[@xzaviastreet]

Chip Croswell If you take a hit everytime instead you won't rip :))))))))))))))))))))))))))

[@LoveStarRecords]

Ended Up Locking Myself Inside My Car, Instructions Were Unclear.

[@edgeofsins]

Would be amazing if he made a series of videos teaching us how to make basic tracks with some of the iconic sounds

[@Nox-Eldar]

The rant at the end somehow made sense. Looking forward to the new creations, upgraded studio is fucking nice Mr. mouse

[@tribbybueno]

i actually learned from getter that 99% of professional electronic music production isn't synth patches, it's *processing*

[@finnprince2163]

That’s bull

[@tribbybueno]

@@finnprince2163 it's 100% not my dude, sorry

[@tribbybueno]

@@finnprince2163 there's a reason why your serum patches don't sound even 30% as full as deadmau5's or anyone else man. processing is key, learn signal chain and how to use plug ins man or you'll always be making kmart synths

[@finnprince2163]

@@tribbybueno I process my synths a ton, but would argue that only like 40% of electronic music production is processing. There's more to just getting a fat bass or whatever. I get what you mean though, it is important. Not that important though.

[@tribbybueno]

@@finnprince2163 it is that important tho. good luck w your career tho 👌

[@WadeWoodring]

I would pay to sit in that room for 10 minutes. No questions, just watch and listen because this studio puts mine to shame. Thank you.

[@chrisk23571]

that marshmellow dig ahahaha

[@keithkamholz5271]

Hahaha, the rant at the end is SO SPOT ON and perfect!

[@temjanz]

You got my like at the end for the explanation of the character of the sound with the effects! That was sooo true! At 14:05 Good job! :)

[@johi5951]

Nah, I'll stick to carnage's compression and eq. He makes way more thumpier sounds

[@Oskillator]

+Anjo CaidoX which one is that?

[@johi5951]

Oskillator have you seen the razer tutorial by carnage? It is cringy af

[@cody42693]

"I'M NOT SURE WHAT THIS DOES BUT IT JUST MAKES IT MUCH MORE WAY STRONGER AND WAY MORE THUMPIER" (proceeds to turn up the volume knob on an 808)

[@catzilla6279]

Thanks for the upload btw, I've been doing something similar to this and hearing Joels insights is really helpful!

[@Oskillator]

Max Cherry awesome thanks! It all helps demystify things I find.

[@digitaldiezel5870]

I love this guy!!! And I agree with all that shit he said at the end!! Invest in your process and your sound, presets are just a starting point. I'm still working on finding a good balance between sound design practice and beat making. I normally just get sucked into making a beat immediately after playing with some drums or a melody, so designing, learning and exploring possibilities with sounds at that point hinders the beat making process; grabbing presets/samples and making relatively quick adjustments to fit the beat is normally what happens...I'm creating a plan to do better in the future.

[@camthaman87]

Not the humblest of fellows, but he has very solid knowledge, that's for damn sure.

[@SOADslipsURknot]

+Cameron McPhee No need for humility when you know exactly what you're taking about.

[@elminster710]

especially when it's all one big joke to you.

[@camthaman87]

His attitude and honesty are the very reason I am a bid deadmau5 fan.

[@johngddr5288]

He is really humble.

[@StratixGaming]

Yeah he's a great dude in person, but majority of people know and see him for his Twitter feuds and jump to the "hes a dick" conclusion.

[@tangofizz77]

When you've bought all the gear in the world and have nothing else to fill the empty void...

[@prod.galaxxy]

):

[@ChrisDarkMentaL]

In the case of dynamic range compression, attack and release times have nothing to do with bpm, that's why a mix can be flat or dynamic no matter the bpm. Attack and release times are actually the time it takes for the compression to fully affect the signal and then to deactivate back, that's why they're related to the decade (db/s) of the signal which has a duration depending on the cycle rate from quit to loud. Therefore if you match the attack and release times to the decade of the signal there will no unwanted distortion introduced by the compressor.

[@crystalmystic11]

XD @ cymatics fm aids.. too true.

[@mbonar2694]

in ableton you can just measure a 16th note and it will tell you the time in ms

[@Oskillator]

Max Bonar-Law where do you do that?

[@posebukse]

Just take a look at the bottom timeline

[@Oskillator]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHq8qIODrstof8k

[@VitaKet]

except ableton is notorious for crapping out mid set

[@mitchiemasha]

60,000 divided by the bpm, divided by 4, divided by 4 again. Quarter, 16th, 64th. Divide or times by 2 in the right place depending on the result you require.

[@JimGriffOne]

That's exactly what I do. So much quicker than finding an online calc to do it.

[@mitchiemasha]

In the near future we should see time synced reverb predelay etc become more of a thing. Originally even normal delays where in ms. I can't believe it's took them this long.

[@splinefusion6986]

lol

[@mitchiemasha]

Care to share the joke?

[@splinefusion6986]

I note a bit of sarcasm in Jim Griffiths' comment, don't you? I think he's comparing the mental effort required to calc, say, 60000/128, and making a joke "That's exactly what I do. So much quicker than finding an online calc to do it."

[@linusbehrend2242]

or you just slap a limiter on the master amirite

[@Fenonity]

Linus Behrend fuck ya

[@futurebeats898]

Put sum ott on dat bishh boï

[@catzilla6279]

bpm / 60 = x 1000 /x = ms for 1/4 note easy! :)

[@Minib34ts]

Noted.

[@memeyselfandi]

Max Cherry isn't it 1000 * x ?

[@catzilla6279]

VRTX No because frequency is times in 1 second and 1 second is 1000 ms. 60 bpm = 60 beats in 1 minute. 60 / 60 = 1 1000 / 1 = 1000 ms/ 1 second per beat

[@catzilla6279]

You can do the same for frequencies and bpm is just the frequency of a time length but is x 60 because we measure it by minutes not seconds... say you want to know how long a kick drum's fundamental frequency will last.. you take the frequency of the root note (say 55 Hz) 1000/ 55 Hz = 18.18181818181818 ms.

[@DaveBessell]

Joel is not always great at explaining stuff in words but he has a gut feel for things. For example what he says here about giving a sound character and how you might go about it is spot on. His attempt to explain how you might go about setting up release times is more confusing than helpful, but listen to the end result and you can hear he gets exactly the quality of sound he was aiming for. There are other good tips in here too but you have to read between the lines a bit in places.

[@Tapepusher]

ye the masterclass isn't exactly masterful either but that's just Joelly boy and he gets the job done

[@mAdgAmer4127]

i love his rants omg

[@nunnukanunnukalailailai1767]

Lol i come 6 years late but this sm lmao, i am here just for the cymatics fm aids marshmello rant

[@yoyothe3rd]

A whole lotta words to say: OTT on the master.

[@TheGodofthunder115]

Would've been nice if we could see what he was doing on screen

[@languist]

So this is how "Maths" was made

[@jonnie2bad]

i dont really like his style of music but I love listening to him explain his process

[@Pulse2AM]

When in doubt use your ears. For the latency take a side stick snare sound or similar and record the signal going out through your device and back in to the DAW. Figure out how many samples it is delayed against the source signal and there is your number to compensate for the latency. Depending on your DAW you may have to convert samples to ms to adjust.

[@Oskillator]

2nd that...use your ears

[@Oskillator]

Here's the EZ solution kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHq8qIODrstof8k (from you fellow oskillators)

[@pericagrgic4635]

wow thank you soo much for puting this on youtube!!!

[@Oskillator]

you are welcome

[@PopsiclesInMyCellar]

16:01 - 16:10 LOL

[@MixTheVision]

Awesome breakdown on compression. Learned something.

[@ianvjones]

I come for the compression, but I stay for the rant

[@WHITERATPRIME1234567]

If you want to calculate it properly, throw a sine wave through your gear. Or a quick transient and record the input and measure the ms difference between what you send out and what you record back in.

[@ernestoguerra1599]

love this fucking guy!

[@jeremiahreed3499]

he put marshmello out there😂😂😂 15:13

[@jsadecki1]

so cool how deadmau5 even didn't /doesn't know that it tells you the ms at thee bottom of Ableton when you select something in arrangement view gives me hope lolol

[@camthaman87]

I don't use Ableton, but I am guessing the bottom window is the effects tab. Is he using an arpeggiator plugin separate to Serum?

[@JCAlder]

That's right, bottom window is your instrument chain, MIDI effects -> Instruments -> Audio effects. The arpeggiator is here the first block indeed (Ableton native).

[@claytonreardon42069]

Yup the bottom window is the effects. He's using the native Ableton arpeggiator prior to Serum. That's where the stabs are coming from even though the midi track is just solid chords.

[@camthaman87]

Clayton Reardon Thankyou

[@camthaman87]

JC C. Thanks very much.

[@MohammedHarb24]

he uses Xfer Cthulhu

[@jonathanmorgan23]

Instead of using a BPM to MS calculator, i just mark the 1/16 on the arrangement view in ableton and it shows the MS on the left button side of the screen.

[@claytonreardon42069]

HAHA!!!! Tearin a new one into Cymatics and good old marshmello. Hilarious I love it. I dig mello but I get his point. Cymatics are a god damn plague though their shit is so stock it's almost impressive. Like sometimes I listen to their stuff and I'm like wow I don't know if I could make something this generic if I tried. They are really good at finding whatever songs are currently playing in shopping malls and making the lowest common denominator of the sound. Anyway this guy is hilarious and that studio is beautiful! It looks like he's on board a space ship somewhere.

[@jeromejazz4597]

Joel You're amazing.

[@Dougie-]

Why add compression on a synth like Serum? Serum has multi stage envelopes where you can edit the dynamics to the very last detail. You need more spank? Shorten the decay or just curve it more. Bus compression I get. Individual (digital) synth parts I don't get. Just shape the sound you want.

[@deaddolph1n465]

I saw this livestream live during my math class

[@nanotrax]

i love the way you go to create naturaly sounding Pices.

[@tothefinlandstation]

Calculating how many milliseconds a given beat division is at a given tempo and then setting that as your compressor's release time... is stupid and doesn't mean anything. The number of milliseconds attached to a certain release setting is *utterly* arbitrary; it is how long it takes to "release" a certain number of decibels (often 10) of gain reduction. They could have picked 15dB or 5dB or 100dB or .05dB. It is *not* going to make the compression effect "in tempo" with the song. How long the compressor takes to return to 1:1 is going to depend on *literally* every other factor in addition to the release time: attack time, threshold, ratio, the volume of what you're compressing, etc.

[@AleLoy]

I thought about it too. Although, by calculating the ms, the release time will still be half of a beat long. This means that the start of the release effect will not be in sync, but its lenght will. Hence the bouncing effect of the compressor will be a sort of polyrhythm of the beat. Maybe this is not what Deadmau5 was aiming for, but probably still matching his usual crossrhythm composition style.

[@tothefinlandstation]

@@AleLoy the release time is misleading provided in milliseconds. it is more like speed or acceleration than time. knowing you are going 100 mph doesn't tell you how long a journey will take without also knowing how far it is. it really should be provided in something like "decibels of gain released per millisecond". to know how long the release is going to take you also have to know how many decibels are going to be released.

[@Acekorv]

Sounds amazing!

[@ralfkrumian]

cant calculate that way because, the release time on the compressor is also depended on the attack time you set. the attack time should be 0-1ms so that the transient of the kick which might be 1-50ms long, in this case the release time should be the MS calculated with the converter minus the transient length in ms. lets say according to the bpm to ms converter you get for 1/16th note the length 150ms then you shoud do 150ms - 50ms = 100 ms thats would be the appropriate release set on the compressor with a 0-1ms attack, that way the whole beat will be compressed and released in sync with the tempo. if the attack on your compressor is set at 10ms then the formula will be : 150-50+10=90ms release time since 10ms of the audio passes the treshhold before the 40ms rest get compressed so the compressor has less time to release in order to keep the 150ms per 1/16th timing. hope this makes sense to anyone who is reading :D

[@tberdal]

but hey , if the transient length is 75 ms , deadmau5s method would work , since 75 is half of 150 ?

[@justice6480]

No you are not understanding This is about release time Attack doesn’t matter

[@Arcessitor]

@@justice6480 No, YOU don't understand. On compressors, the release time is a signal that occurs AFTER the initial attack. You must add those numbers if you're going to calculate the delay time.

[@ryanwalsh5019]

Here he is with a giant studio. And then there's me with a $99 mpk mini controller and lmms

[@4Sight1010]

Thank you @Deadmau5

Does he ever use all that equipment surrounding him or is it just for display purposes, like decoration etc?

[@Oskillator]

M1NT sometimes he uses it....some of the time.

[@MrGamingDJ1]

Yes, if he uses them, he mostly uses the modcan ( lower right) the eurorack (top right) and some of the moogs ( parts of the left side :) )

[@oreofudgeman]

M1NT dude he uses tons of outboard gear lol you can tell in how his synths sound

[@MrGamingDJ1]

FEDORA TIPPER 1995 that video is legend :D

[@GriffenJohnson]

Dizzy Viper IKR

[@willmcpherson2]

Psst, Joel, highlight a 16th note on the arrangement and your selection will be displayed in ms at the bottom of the screen

[@dustinhxc]

Awesome studio! Love all the analog modules.

[@AFRoSHEENT3ARCMICHAEL69]

Upbeats are on the “and” of the 8th note counted 1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and-1. He means 4 quarter notes not 4 16th notes too. 4 16h notes would fit before the 2nd quarter note of the downbeat counted 1-e-and-ah-2

[@CrimsenScarr]

Omg at 4:45 when that window appeared with the green graphic in it, I instantly experienced PTSD from all the shear/moment diagrams I had to do in my structures class

[@MoreDenseThanRationals]

Thank Steve Duda for those aesthetics.

[@dirtsawmusic9295]

That BPM/2 release was GOLD.

[@wavesofgrey-vb9gw]

A few plugins, like fdp plugin for fl studio, has a randomization feature. Also, FL Studio has a make unique function, to tweak midi loops in the playlist. If possible, layer slightly different sounds by velocity, so that one button/key can produce multiple sounds, adding some realism.

[@TsoLIt]

did anyone else notice his audio routing for the external audio effects is 133/134.... that's amazing

[@Oskillator]

+Yung Alien his audio interface has more ins and outs than a tijawana crack lady-of-the-night

[@polyspace]

15:12 marry me joel

[@BeatNazty]

Joel “Gnarly in the low end” Zimmerman

[@neroverweiss7533]

Deadmau5 without a bonus rant is not Deadmau5

[@larsony6674]

So you have to apply compression reduce delay according to tempo and then the level manually by comparing with / without compression and then link to a parellel compressor and then do the same switching the parallel compressor on and off

[@larsony6674]

How do you use a parallel compressor.

[@kevinreign6160]

love this guy..... "Marshmello ain't going to do it" lol..

[@chuckler2k]

This is great. Can post more stuff like this?

[@Chingacckook]

Helps a lot . Tranks g

[@nolank2166]

thanks for this!

[@catrinaoneill9531]

Nolan Koskinen ùffjhhu💔❤

[@GB3770]

The mad professor at work - lol.

[@xBLACKOUT19]

Great advice at the end

[@inadream1212]

He is so right, He is a very good person.

[@jfoldger1184]

was this taken from one of his recent live streams?

[@R3BBiT]

Fruit salad Yup.

[@ryanwalsh5019]

I wish I had that setup! No wonder he produces such phat beats!

[@BenDover-vh9rs]

not to be that guy but just divide: 60 / bpm ... which is second per beat

[@Cadesworth]

Anybody know what song he's working on?

[@theeaustrianway9193]

I'd also wanna know

[@BrilliantBenGaming]

Love watching process

[@insightfulgarbage]

Why bother calculating the time with the tempo, you can just select 1/16th bar and read in the bottom how long that is

[@samkemsley5381]

Did he finish this song?

[@michaeljoel4654]

HComp by waves has a release that can be timed to the BPM. Interesting little thing

[@halion9]

I cant believe he has to use a calculator to divide 134 by 2.

[@crashpig1]

halion9 he slept during classes tho

[@oBseSsIoNPC]

And here is me, thinking compressors are way overused, especially when the side chain compression is so severe, it makes you sea sick listening to voices winding up and down like a bad motor in a record player. I am not sure I understand the full advantage of such detailed compression, other than making things loud. But hey, I am learning.

[@Minib34ts]

8:01 deadmau5 confirmed as producer for/on OST for Death Stranding? EDIT: Top right corner.

[@Choniez23]

oh shitttt

[@Choniez23]

let us dream

[@AFRoSHEENT3ARCMICHAEL69]

The 2 and 4 where your snares typically are are not upbeats they are downbeats. 1:20

[@420troll]

all that modular and not a single patch cable plugged in

[@GB3770]

its wallpaper

[@zooanzoo9519]

i thought the same thing, seriously a shame.

[@xXSubZeroGamesXx]

GB3770 Idk, I enjoy stabbing my walls with cables

[@YUNGBISCH]

GB3770 lol

[@cody42693]

I don't think any of that is wallpaper. I've seen the synths light up on the sides and I've seen people walk in and out of the back part of the room.

[@serioustech87]

Thanks for this. Very cool.

[@bullet_tooth_tony]

I'm trying to understand his proccess. To get that sound did he do: Signal-> distortion-> compressor-> delay-> compressor-> reverb ??

[@woodsdenis]

Love him

[@francobuzzetti9424]

i still don't know what i need to do to make a saw sounds like that only by compressing it

[@FatRussianGamer]

Distortion from Thermionic and Distressor + compression.

[@francobuzzetti9424]

@@FatRussianGamer any insight on settings? not exactly ofc just a guide to come a little close to the technique as i have no clue what makes the distressor any different from another compressor.thank you for the reply even if it's a 5m old comment ahaha

[@FatRussianGamer]

@@francobuzzetti9424 I think my reply was deleted, anyway check my channel I uploaded the way I would go about that sound. Could get closer by trying different distortions and combinations, though hardware has that extra grit sizzle and punch that is not easy to get with plugins.

[@francobuzzetti9424]

@@FatRussianGamer even later reply, gonna check that edit:your channel is empty XD

[@edinjahic1190]

60000ms/bpm=4/4 :)

[@-__-_-_--__--_-__-_____--_-___]

The end saved this video

[@htxcris713]

Dumb question. But does deadmau5 ever actually use any of that hardware inside that studio. I can see tons of expensive hardware synths, modular rigs, and outboard gear but from the videos I've seen, he's never used them. My only exposure to deadmau5 producing in the studio has been the videos on this channel of him basically doing everything digitally on ableton, so excuse my ignorance if he very well does use the studio equipment.