About me :
My name is Aart and it all started with a Commodore 64.
Funky drummer, the rock monitor and ofcourse that SID (Sound Integrated Device) chip that support all the great music and FX in games.
Besides playing the piano and guitar, my fascination was always about electronic music also. Herbie Hancock in the early 80’s with ‘Rockit’ and Jean Michelle Jarre. Talking about a Yamaha DX7 but no clue what a synthesizer really is.
Kept on playing on the C64 and then there was a stop and got into heavy metal and guitars.
A few years later I saw at a friends place a Commodore Amiga, what is this ? Do I hear real voices and sounds ? The graphics were incredible. I saw the demo ‘space balls with the song sampled from Felix ‘don’t you want my love’ Can this machine do this ?
I bought A second hand Commodore 500 and then it got started. The 8 bit Paula sound sample chip was incredible and sounds really in you face (still till this day a really good 8 bit sound)
Octamed, Protracker were the main music make tools and it was a crime because you don’t (can’t) really play notes etc. into the Amiga. You have to insert with your mouse or tick the right key on time with the right sample BUT you could make music.
Don’t forget that samplers in the beginning of the 90’s still were very very expensive. 10.000 guilders was nothing. No way kids good buy pro stuff.
Then I got into hardware synths and bought my first one, a Korg Wavestation SR second hand for 1800 Dutch guilders. Great machine with a wopping 20bit DA converter, clean open sound the Amiga could not do. Then I bought my first analog synthesizer, a Roland JX3P with some issues but analog….. Wow this is phat sounding and organic. I still have the JX3P today (another one and fully working) with the programmer, will never leave the studio.
Then the ball keeps rolling and bought my first Moog Prodigy, sampler (Emu), FX etc. etc.
Nowadays I have actually too many gear, it is ridiculous. Too many gear…. Less production BUT it is heaven with endless possibilities and that makes electronic music so great. Ofcourse the mix with acoustic instruments is no problem when you have a microphone ;-)
Nowadays my job as a electronic engineer is to repair and overhaul tape echo’s and also electronic studio equipment. This gives me joy and let’s keep the vintage gear alive ! The character of those machines will never be reached with plugins I think. Electricity has to flow thru the circuits. Best of both worlds I always say and plugins can be great on there own too but software replica’s of the vintage machines misses that organic feeling and the flaws they have, despite which great algorithm they use !
Now….. make great music and see my store for vintage gear !
