My rig is my instrument through which I express myself artistically and musically. Unlike traditional musicians, electronic musicians can take on the role of instrument builder by using technology to creation sound and music. For software-based artists, this also means you become system administrator – lol. Below is an account of my ongoing work on my rig.
How Did I Get Here…
I grew up playing organ. In college I switched to keyboard-based hardware synthesizers and hardware drum machines. My first synthesizer was a digital hardware synth – the Korg Poly 800. I spent more than a decade working with various hardware synthesizers and then in 2002, I switched to a hybrid model where I used hardware synths in combination with computer software.
Move Towards Virtual and Controllerism
Hanging out with Moldover the “Godfather of Controllerism”
As time went on, and computers become more powerful I began using virtual instruments more and more. By 2006 I switched almost 100% to a “controllerism“ model where I use the hardware controllers to play virtual instruments hosted on my laptop. In this this model, the controllers themselves make no sound and instead send MIDI signals to the virtual instruments allowing me to play notes expressively.
2009 Controllerism Rig
A 2009 concept drawing of my rig
From 2006-2012 I used Ableton Live almost exclusively for all my production and performance work. In 2009 I decided I wanted to create a show rig that would allow me to play music from my albums in a one-man show format. My goals were to create a rig what would allow me to perform with computer-based instruments..
