Our guest this time is Welsh electronic music producer, performer and YouTuber Rachel K Collier. Known for using all the latest tech to create incredible live shows, Rachel is an Ableton Live expert who builds full, studio-grade songs on the fly. But she’s also a fan of limiting gear choices when writing, so will her forever studio be the perfect live rig or something out of the ordinary? In this episode, find out which $10,000 microphone she'd want above any other, how she makes her impressive live electronic show work, and how she overcame the prejudice of fellow producers when moving from toplining to production work.
Our guest this time is Welsh electronic music producer, performer and YouTuber Rachel K Collier. Known for using all the latest tech to create incredible live shows, Rachel is an Ableton Live expert who builds full, studio-grade songs on the fly. But she’s also a fan of limiting gear choices when writing, so will her forever studio be the perfect live rig or something out of the ordinary?
In this episode, find out which $10,000 microphone she'd want above any other, how she makes her impressive live electronic show work, and how she overcame the prejudice of fellow producers when moving from toplining to production work.
We also talk about this stuff [BEWARE, SPOILERS]
https://www.instagram.com/rachelkcollier/
https://www.apple.com/sg/imac-pro/specs/
https://www.uaudio.com/audio-interfaces/apollo-x16.html
https://www.focal.com/en/pro-audio/monitoring-speakers/sm9/monitoring-speakers/sm9
https://www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com/microphones/ela-m-251e
https://teenage.engineering/products/op-1
https://www.patreon.com/rachelkcollier
https://soundcloud.com/rkc-patron-playground
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LA2A--universal-audio-la-2a
https://sxpro.co.uk/universal-audio-teletronix-la-2a/
https://www.sequential.com/product/prophetrev2/
https://www.moogmusic.com/products/moog-one
https://reverb.com/p/moog-one-16-voice-polyphonic-analog-synthesizer/used
Chris Barker:
I'm Chris Barker.
Will Betts:
And I'm Will Betts. And this is the MusicTech My Forever Studio Podcast.
Chris Barker:
In this podcast, we speak with producers, engineers, DJs, and industry figureheads about their fantasy forever studio.
Will Betts:
The studio that our guests dream if will be one that they have to live with forever, but there are some rules in studio forever land, totally rational made-up rules.
Chris Barker:
Yes. There are a few rules. Our guests can select a computer, a DAW, an audio interface. Those are standard. Then they can have the brain melting challenge of selecting just six other bits of studio kit, plus one non-gear-related luxury item.
Will Betts:
But let's not forget the most crucial rule of all. No bundles!
Chris Barker:
No bundles!
Will Betts:
That's it. Any collection of software or hardware sold as a single item is banned
Chris Barker:
Yes. Today, we have Welsh electronic music producer, performer, and YouTuber Rachel K Collier.
Will Betts:
Known for using all the latest tech to create incredible live shows, Rachel is an Ableton Live expert who builds full studio-grade songs on the fly, but she's also a fan of limiting gear choices when writing. So, will her forever studio would be the perfect live rig, or something a little more unexpected?
Chris Barker:
Well, let's dive in and find out. This is My Forever Studio with Rachel Kay Collier.
Will Betts:
Welcome.
Rachel K Collier:
Hey, guys. How's it going? Jumped in there a bit early to say hello.
Chris Barker:
It's all right. It's all right. It's good to be keen!
Rachel K Collier:
Enthusiastic. Yeah.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. Exactly. So, you heard a little bit there about what we do on this podcast, and we heard a little bit about what you do. I mean, the first thing we always talk about is where you would put your perfect studio in the world if you could be anywhere, in a kind of fantasy situation. I mean, you've travelled around, you've probably been to many other studios. I mean, are there any that you would steal or any locations where you'd love to build something?
Rachel K Collier:
I mean, I saw this amazing picture. My friend, Dressage, she's a producer and artist as well from LA, and she went, I think, to the west coast, wasn't it, and had an incredible beach Pacific studio. I think that would be absolutely insane. But as it goes, I am actually in the process of moving studios, and I'm going to be having a sea view, which is kind of cool.
Chris Barker:
Oh, wow. Nice.
Rachel K Collier:
So, I'm moving... Well, sort of renovating a place in my hometown, which I'm hoping is going to be pretty awesome, actually. The room is massive and one wall is all windows. Yeah. It's going to be quite fun. So, I'm just currently thinking about how I'm going to treat the room and all of that. And then I think I'm going to last there a couple of years, and then eventually my plan is to build this place, it's an absolute wreck that we've got, going to build it up another floor. And then there's the garden, it's like this jungle, it was a real jungley garden. It goes up a hill. And eventually, the whole back of the house, I want to have a glass wall that overlooks the garden. So, currently, I'm happy with these plans.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. I mean, this sounds like you're starting the dream studio already. I mean, is this on the Welsh coast?
Rachel K Collier:
Exactly. On the Welsh coast? Yes.
Chris Barker:
Nice.
Will Betts:
Wow.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah.
Chris Barker:
Is it the part of Wales where you get dolphins as well?
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah, you do, actually. Yeah. If you go out on the boats, you can see dolphins and things like that. Yeah, it was really cool. It was sort of inspiring to get somewhere there because it's a lot cheaper, and figured out that I could get somewhere that was three times the size of in London or something like that. And obviously, as my career has evolved, I've really not really needed to be so much in the city anymore. You know? Yeah. So, I'm taking the plunge and going to be out now in the sticks.
Will Betts:
So, the only upgrade you would make in the fantasy studio would be the weather, essentially?
Rachel K Collier:
100%. That's the only bummer. But you know what? I always say this, right? When it rains and it snows and all of that, just makes you feel better for spending 48, 24 hours in the studio, doesn't it? Because you're like, "Oh, it's minging out there. Just stay inside anyway." So, I've never really minded the bad weather being a music maker, because sometimes when the weather is great, but you really just want to work on tunes, you feel a bit, "Oh, I should have gone outside today really, but the weather's crap," then no reason to go outside. So, I don't really mind.
Chris Barker:
Plus, if you were in LA, when it does rain in LA, that's like headline news and cars start crashing, people are like, "What the hell is this coming from the sky?"
Rachel K Collier:
What's going on? Yeah.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. It's a bit dramatic over there when it rains, like the whole city just can't cope with it.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. It's purely standard in Wales. That is standard. So, I've had the real luxury, through COVID, this has turned out an absolute by chance. I've actually been renting a ladies' flower workshop for the past year, and it changed my mind about my dream studio. So, my dream studio before was, "Oh, we can't have any windows. We want to light it exactly the same every single time. It needs to be secure. But I've been working in the middle of nowhere and I've got... You guys can't quite see it now, but you probably see in all my social media, whatever, it's just surrounded by windows and light. And the daylight has just had a huge impact on the way I feel when I'm working. And now I'm like, "No, I'm going for the maximum daylight."
Rachel K Collier:
Obviously it's a bit harder to control in terms of shooting, and you're seasonal with it. You're like, "Right, in the summer, I can shoot from this time to this time. And then the winter, it's this time to this time. Or we're going all dark." You get used to it. But the daylight, I feel, I just love working in this light and just being surrounded by the view of green, so that was really... Because, before, I was thinking, "No, I want this kind of dark vibes, LED lights, really slick," but now I'm like, "Nah, just going to get the sun in here and just the natural feel." Yeah. I love it.
Rachel K Collier:
I feel like – and touch wood – working in here this past year, all the sorts of projects I've been doing, I've had hard deadlines, some not so hard deadlines, but I don't know, I've been able to create even through COVID. I've had had one terrible time in the summer, a couple of weeks of serious beat block when you're just like listening to your old tunes thinking, "Did I actually produce that? If I did, how?" Those feelings. Yeah. But the daylight here and just the surroundings, I realised, is a really big part of, I think, how I want to spend every single day and every single hour, what I'm looking at.
Will Betts:
So, what are we firming up for the location of the forever studio? Are you going to go with your place on the west coast or you're going to go Pacific ocean?
Rachel K Collier:
I think I'm going to stick with the Welsh coast.
Chris Barker:
Good choice. Good choice.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. It's great, Wales, as you know. I am pretty proud of being from Wales. It's cool. And I realised that a lot of my followers are just not in Wales, obviously, and some people don't even know where it is. So, last night-
Chris Barker:
Are you talking about Americans?
Rachel K Collier:
Well, I don't know, but people are like, "Where's the accent. Never heard it before. Oh gosh. Where's she from?" So, I think I need to put it on the map more. "Guys, this is Wales, it's the sideways pig of the UK if you look at the map. We've got our own language, Welsh-speak. We wear daffodils and leeks on St. David's day, which was yesterday." Yeah, I'm quite proud. I would prefer to... And wouldn't it be cool, in future, if we ever go back to real life projects, it was like... America's like, "Oh my God, I'm going to this place called Wales to do a session."
Chris Barker:
Yeah, totally, though. I mean, people are going to probably want this kind of mixture of remoteness because they're going to get used to being isolated, but they're going to want to travel in a weird way, as well. So, I think studios, the kind of residential studio thing, might come back quite a lot where people want to lock themselves away in these great facilities.
Rachel K Collier:
I hope so. Yeah. So, like I said, it's like a little jungle outside, so it's all green and just cool. Yeah. I want to be the one in Wales, like 10 year goals here, music producer that you go to in Wales, a lady. Yeah, there's a girl there who does good productions in the middle of nowhere. Let's work with her. Yeah.
Chris Barker:
I love it. I love that location. So, the next step on the mind of a studio is the three free items that you get. Everybody gets a computer, an audio interface and a DAW.
Will Betts:
But before we get there, the inside of the studio, what's your studio vibe? Because we can see into your studio here, but people listening won't quite be able to because of-
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah, sure. So, the flower workshop where I am now?
Chris Barker:
Well, yeah. And your dream studio, what's the decor like? What's the vibe?
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. So, the flower workshop, which, like I said, is really inspired... The blinds are down now, so you guys can't see, but there's windows pretty much on every wall, big doors, which are glass. There's also a huge window above me where the light's coming shining down onto my head. I've got mirrors on the other wall, so it all reflects. So, the dream studio, like I said, I want to have the whole glass wall pretty much all glass, which obviously is not great for acoustic treatment, but apparently, you can mod it a bit.
Will Betts:
We'll find a way. Yeah, yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
But it sounds crazy, isn't it? You have to consider, as much as production is a thing, I have to consider what I'm filming. Because I'm turning on the camera a lot and it totally sucks every time you have to redo the lights and set up lighting. So, the view and the look is as important, actually, as the acoustic treatment, probably. Might get few people arguing about that, but it really is. So, yeah, my dream studio, yeah, like I said, just outside views, basically bringing the outside in. That's the vibe.
Will Betts:
Got it. Okay. So, lots of plants and wooden stuff?
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. Plants, wood, and I think I'm going to have like a patched roof, as well, so it's quite a high ceiling, quite a high ceiling too.
Will Betts:
Nice. Good for acoustics. Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. And I'm just chatting to these awesome guys, as well, who make these panels, acoustic panels, which actually have lighting, as well. Cy Acoustics. And you can have like cool artwork and stuff that you want ,and the panels light up. So, I'm going to have a load of them in there, as well. And to be honest, though, when it comes to the actual mixing, I'm going to have another little, tiny space somewhere where the room is dead, and if I want to take the mix of the next level, go and check it, go and reference, it probably wouldn't be in the creative space. Do you know what I mean?
Chris Barker:
Yeah. I think that makes sense. I think a lot of people miss that now. They try and make a space that gets them creatively excited, but also his dead and acoustically treated, and the two don't really go together and they never did.
Rachel K Collier:
I know.
Chris Barker:
Like bands back in the day would write and record and track and make demos somewhere a lot differently to where things were mixed.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. I think you can go so far. Like I'd be mixing all my own stuff lately, and I've been doing that here. And it's not majorly treated at all. I've got these rugs down here, got like big, I don't know what... Wool rugs on the floor. And the shape of the space, that's one thing I'm going to do, I'm going to make the shape of the space, the glass not flat. Obviously, it's going to probably cost so much money, the architects and things like that. Have to save. Get a few more subscribers.
Chris Barker:
So, let's move on to the three items that you get for free, so first off, you get a computer. I mean, a dream studio computer, what's it going to be?
Rachel K Collier:
Oh, God, I guess just the highest spec Mac I can get my hands on. The most RAM. But yeah, 100% Mac. Would never-
Will Betts:
Nice.
Rachel K Collier:
... would never go back to using PC. Yeah. And I guess probably an iMac. I like my iMac. I think it's great.
Chris Barker:
So, that's not the cheese grater-y one then. That's the-
Rachel K Collier:
Not the trashcan, as they call it.
Chris Barker:
No.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. Oh, well, they got a new one now, haven't they?
Chris Barker:
Yeah. The cheese grater is the new trash can, basically. Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
Cheese grater. Oh. Yeah, I don't know. I like the iMac. I just always got on with this. It's obviously not the most portable, but it's good. It's good vibes.
Will Betts:
Okay. And you want that maxed out. Did you want the iMac Pro or something? I think that's even more beefy than the-
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah, iMac Pro. Like I said, the most RAM that you can fit in it.
Will Betts:
I'll see what I can do for you.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. Yeah. Thanks, Will. Sort that out for me, that'd be great.
Will Betts:
No worries.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. Is it a 5K screen, as well? It's pretty-
Will Betts:
That's right. Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
The screens are ridiculous, aren't they?
Will Betts:
Yeah, yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. Yeah. They're nice.
Chris Barker:
And I guess, it's going to be Ableton for the DAW I guess?
Rachel K Collier:
I mean, no questions there, really, is there? Yeah. I mean, Ableton, as well, obviously with 11, life-changing changes now with the comping. Because I was going back and forth to Logic for years, which actually really sucked with the flow of things for me, because now I can obviously just be sitting here, lay down the vocals, chuck them into the process track straight away. I can really hear how it's going to sound, rather than recording all these layers in another DAW with no processing and just hoping for the best when I bring it back into Ableton. Yeah. So, 100% Ableton. I mean, I have a lot to thank for that software. Even since the day I first used it, there was just like, I don't know, this kind of feeling of just like, "What is this? Who made this? This is so great." And that feeling has continued. And then, obviously, over the years, just them even then working with them, as well, was obviously like a dream come true. And then the relationships continue to flourish.
Chris Barker:
So, were you on Logic before, then?
Rachel K Collier:
Do you know, I actually use Pro Tools before that? I had a random job once doing the sound dubbing, so I worked in Pro Tools in a Welsh television company Teledu Cymru Cymraeg. So, we would work on Welsh TV programmes. So, I used Pro Tools probably the most, but I don't know, I never really loved it. It was obviously great for tidying up sound and editing and things like that, but it was... Yeah, it was this funny transition period where I was in Logic, but I didn't really love it. And then I remember I went to EMRI one day... And what it was, it was in this transitional period, actually, in my career where I was doing a lot of top line work, so I was...
Rachel K Collier:
I went from like all this making music at college, and then I started doing toplining. I went to Ibiza one summer. I was like, "Yeah, I want to write the vocals on these tracks. I want to do this." I don't know how I ended up doing it. I plopped myself in London, went to a few raves and parties, met a few people, said I'm a songwriter, someone gave me a CD to go and write on. I ended up in this world, then, for a bit, which all happened very, very fast. And actually, I did have some success there, as well, which was like, oh gosh, it was almost bittersweet in the end because I was really young and didn't really understand the industry at all. So, I definitely got done over, things like that. But also, I had Radio 1 A list at a really young age without really being in the industry for very long and just thinking, "Oh, this is easy. This is great."
Chris Barker:
So, what track was that? Do you mind telling us?
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. It was a song called Boom Boom Heartbeat. It went like top 20 in the UK and on the Radio 1 A list. And then I worked with Matt Zo, as well, and his... I think you guys have had him on the podcast, isn't it? His album was Grammy nominated. I was featured on one of the tracks on that. So, it was cool, man, but it just didn't feel like... It was just a bit like, I don't know, it was just kind of... It's the most important part, right, the vocal? It could be considered. When I was doing it then, it was, right? Because the beats were kind of boring, some of them not Matt Zo, obviously. He's incredible. I fully rate him. And it was really cool working with him as well. Because he was actually quite new to the game, too, so we were both just a bit shy and like, "Yeah, okay, here we go. Let's make a tune."
Rachel K Collier:
But the way you get treated is not very good. They send it out to like 50 different singers and then they don't even reply sometimes. After a while, it was just like, "This sucks." And then it was just like, "Actually, these beats suck." And then it was just like, "Actually, I really want to make beats. Why am I just doing the vocals?" And then when I made that decision, my managers at the time were like, "Oh, good luck, love." They were like, "Well, we can't really work with you if that's what you want to do." And I was just like, "Oh, okay."
Rachel K Collier:
But then I was working... I was down at EMI and recording with some other guys down there, and that's when... Well, my manager now actually, known him for a long time. And he wasn't my manager for awhile. We were just collaborating on something. And he was like, "Oh, well, why don't you just start producing?" And I was like, "Oh yeah, but I hate Logic." And then he was like, "Well, why don't use Ableton?" And I was like, "Ableton." I was like, "I love that thing." But I was like, "Yeah, but it's only for looping and doing live stuff," because that's all I'd used it for, so just in session view. And there was this moment I'll never forget. He literally hit the Tab key and was like, "No, you can produce in this." And I was like, "You are joking me," and then that was it. He was like, "download the trial, give it a go."
Rachel K Collier:
And honestly, I just never looked back after that. I got Machine, got a pink one, started making beats with Machine. And then it was like people sending me top lines. It's like, "Sorry, no, goodbye. I'm in producing world now."
Chris Barker:
Yeah. And I guess it's like a never-ending train with that stuff. And it's how do you measure that success? Because there's success financially and-
Rachel K Collier:
Exactly.
Chris Barker:
... and creatively.
Rachel K Collier:
Yes. Yeah.
Chris Barker:
You can get on a playlist and stuff, but if somebody else's getting all the credit and all they did was output a 909 drum beat, it's kind of a bit... Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
Exactly.
Chris Barker:
A bitter sweet.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. So, I had a few tough years of learning to produce and absolutely loving it though, and I think that's the thing, that I didn't care anymore. I was like, "I'm so happy doing this." I was teaching piano, teaching nursery kids, whatever, doing other jobs to earn money, which I never cared about, really. It was just like, "Well, this is just a means to an end. As long as I can make it, whatever, pay my rent."
Chris Barker:
You didn't tell the kids that, though, right?
Rachel K Collier:
No. But actually, my piano students, I did enjoy that. I liked breaking out of that really intense creative zone sometimes and just being brought back down to earth. But yeah, it was just great. So, it didn't really matter that I was skint and that I wasn't on the A list anymore because I was just like, "Man, this is the dream, though. This is everything now." And that's actually, you say about measuring success, it's taken me a while, a long time, to get the resilience now to basically measure my success on if I can spend a day working in the studio. It's like, well, that's a successful day because I've built my career so that I have this luxury to just sit here and play. So, I'm a big kid, really. I just like creating time just to play.
Rachel K Collier:
And actually, then, it was this whole horrible time of like I would produce these tracks and I play them to people, and they say, "We're featuring on it, yeah?" I'm like, "No, no, I made the beat..." And I remember quite a few comments that was just like, "Oh, but you just sound like a featured artist on this." That was just so rude.
Chris Barker:
What does that even mean? What does that even mean?
Rachel K Collier:
It was just horrible. I got so much of that. And I was just like, "Oh." I was really trying to find my sound as well as a music producer. And I'd come from this dance world, so some... And it was actually that track, Nothing is Forever. I remember the producer who said it, as well, and I just thought... And he wasn't a bad person. He was just being honest, just like saying what came to his mind, but it did suck. And I got a lot of that for a long time. I don't know, I just never really took it to heart that much. Whatever. Screw you.
Chris Barker:
Well, if that stuff mattered, you wouldn't have given up in the first place. It's like you don't care about that stuff. Like you say, it's measuring your success in a different way, in the correct way, pretty much.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. Exactly.
Chris Barker:
We got that flashy Mac, we got Ableton suite, and now we've got the last free item, which is the audio interface.
Rachel K Collier:
Audio interfaces. Gosh. So, I have used a lot of audio interfaces, but I got to see I really rate Universal Audio and my Apollo and my... Yeah. I love it for my studio, basically.
Will Betts:
As you can imagine, it's the most popular choice on the podcast.
Rachel K Collier:
Is it? Yeah. I mean, controversially, I don't like it for life.
Chris Barker:
Ooh, tell us the difference on what you require in an audio interface between live and studio.
Rachel K Collier:
I like the matrix and the rooting system of RME, actually, for live performances. And also, not to mention the size, I actually chose my interface because I'm travelling India, whatever, going to Europe. We did actually take the Apollo 16 to South by Southwest. Absolute Disaster. we had to take it out the flight case because it was too heavy for the plane. Yeah. So, after that trip, I was just like, "Right, I need a small, I need a half rack interface that I can put..." I've actually got this little handbag. It's so cute. I call it the handbag, but it's basically a half rack for you. And we got like my DIs, my PSM 300, which is my wireless monitoring, my RME Fireface UC, and then space for some cables. So, I've got like a half rack for you, really cute, pink flight case. Where is it? I can't see it now. But it's called the handbag.
Rachel K Collier:
So, I literally plunk the handbag down, pull out the Luma at the back, panned it over to the stage box, here we go, six XLRs here. All my routing is done in the handbag. When you're doing these really fast changeovers at festivals, you don't need to fanny about getting the flip in, your monitors right, and all of this. I'm not a big artist like flipping Anne Marie. I don't have that luxury. So, it was just about streamlining my live set up to make it really, really easy and also accessible and portable.
Will Betts:
What are you given to front of house then? You're not giving them a stereo feed. You're giving them-
Rachel K Collier:
That's the other thing. It is a bit limiting. I've got eight ins, eight outs. I have a stereo myself, so I have line seven and eight for my own monitoring. One and two, I send out like all the drums and track stuff, beef up tracks, so all the stuff that I can't physically play live myself. So, they come out of a stereo pair. Then I have my vocal effects. They come out of channel three and four. They're stereo effect, so really important that we have the stereo. And then five, I think I have my synths, and six I think might be my bass, so like the sensor and mono, which a bit annoying, but it's like I have to make some sort of compromises somewhere.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. So, I've got my monitoring. And then my vocal you might be thinking, "How she's doing a vocal?" So, what I do, I'm on stage and I've got my microphone and I've got a few little pedals, actually. Because what I do, I send a dry signal to the engineer, so he has a dry vocal signal, and then I split the signal with an XLR split so I get that dry signal into my interface. So, I can monitor with that signal, but that signal that goes into my interface, it doesn't go out, that just goes in for monitoring. So, then my engineer actually has a dry vocal, a stereo pair of wet stereo effects. Like I said, anything that's on track, on the beef up track, on one and two, synths on five, and my bass on six.
Rachel K Collier:
So, he does have that dry vocal, and also that means if anything, God forbid, did happen with Ableton Live, then I have got a dry vocal signal going direct to front of house. I also play with musicians, as well, so if I've got one of my percussionists on stage, we always said, if anything happens, all their mics are obviously going to front of house. Yeah. If anything happened there, we'll just do some kind of a capella percussion.
Chris Barker:
So, you work with your own... You bring your own front of house engineer.
Rachel K Collier:
Only the last two shows, but before that, no, we give them a little, obviously, the tech spec, and we say, "Here we go, you got on one and two, you got beef up track three and four, you got vocal effects." Oh sorry, vocal effects and vocal loops is one, as well. Yeah. So, they might come out on the same channel as the vocal effects. To be honest, it's been so long I've done a show, I can't actually remember what to do. But it's along those lines.
Chris Barker:
But considering it's so compact, it's pretty complicated in a good way. You know what I mean? You've got a lot going on, like you say, for such a small package to travel with, and that little RME delivers a lot.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. It's great. It's great. It's awesome. Honestly, that interface is so great. And the matrix on it is so simple. It's like, I want you to come out of three and come out of nowhere else. Three. I want you to come out of three, and actually, I'd quite like you to come out of seven and eight, as well. It's really, really nice. And actually, I've done a little bit of MD work, as well, for other artists, and we've done smaller rig stuff, and I'll just take my RME. I'm like, "We're using that because I know how to use it. And the rooting always works." Yeah. Whereas other interfaces, I'm not going to name names, had issues with.
Rachel K Collier:
Like I had a show... Oh my God, I'll never forget this. I had a show in Czech Republic, it was called Beats for Love Festival. I was setting up my monitoring and it was still when I was kind of new to this. Hadn't made all of the mistakes I needed to make to get to the point where I am now. I had this interface, and it's a very popular brand of interfaces, actually. And I was practising , and what was happening was it was just ducking out of Ableton. So, I was midway through song, and then all of a sudden, Ableton was gone and was just dry vocal and any of the synths, obviously, that were coming into the interface. And I just started to have major panics. I was just like, "Oh my God, this cannot happen on stage. What the hell?" And then I was up till like 3:00 AM tweeting, "Help!" And actually somebody, I think this dude from Gorgon City actually tweeted back, "Are you stuck, Rach?" I was like, "Oh my God."
Rachel K Collier:
But you know what I had to do in the end? To sack that interface off and take the Apollo 16 again, which is what I was trying to avoid. Derigging my Apollo 16 in the studio to go to a show became an absolute nightmare. And then it was like, every booking was almost as stressful taking the whole bloody studio as like... So, that's when I was like, "I have to invest in a second rig because this is just a joke." Yeah. So, the Apollo, don't get me wrong, it's great, it's worked absolutely great loads of shows, but it was more about portability. I need something small that I can just...
Rachel K Collier:
Also, the handbag's pretty big, so sometimes when I travel, I actually take the interface out and put it in a little bag and whatever. It depends if I'm travelling alone or if I'm travelling with somebody. If I'm with somebody, I've got an extra pair of hands. For example, I travelled alone to India, so I had... Oh my God, it was hilarious. I had like a huge backpack, a massive suitcase, and my King Korg. So, I was just walking through Bangladesh airport, proper bag lady. That's a big deal. You don't think about that when you start. You're like, "Cool, I'm going to bring that synth, going to bring that synth, going to bring..." Then suddenly you're like, "Now I need to get the tube."
Will Betts:
The MusicTech My Forever Studio Podcast is supported by EVO by Audient. The fantastic EVO Start Recording Bundle and the EVO four and EVO eight interfaces. Yes. If you're a beginner, you can enter the world of audio recording with the EVO Start Recording Bundle. Professional, powerful, and versatile solution for home recording from studio-grade audio brand Audient. This comprises the EVO four audio interface, the remarkably robust SR1 large diaphragm condenser mic shock mount, and a set of the Audient EVO SR2000 monitoring headphones.
Chris Barker:
That's right. Featuring loop back and smart gain, the new EVO bundle and compact interfaces make sure you can achieve studio quality recordings from the start.
Will Betts:
Smart gain means you don't have to worry about setting input levels, making it ideal for music makers who want to spend time creating, not engineering, and loop back lets you record everything you hear through the interface, making it a great fit for home recording rigs, podcasters, streamers, and content creators.
Chris Barker:
EVO Start Recording Bundle is suggested to retail at 199 pounds, 220 euros, and $249 in the USA.
Will Betts:
Discover EVO online at evo.audio.
Chris Barker:
Let's get to your first item. So, we're locking in the UAD for the Forever Studio, right? The Universal Audio...
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. And I've got an octo, as well, here as well.
Chris Barker:
Oh, an octo.
Rachel K Collier:
I know.
Chris Barker:
Well, you can have the flashiest one available for the Forever Studio.
Rachel K Collier:
I'll just have the top DSP Apollo.
Will Betts:
Okay.
Chris Barker:
There's one above an octo now, isn't there?
Will Betts:
Not sure about that, actually. I think-
Rachel K Collier:
This is the octo satellite one. I got that for extra power.
Will Betts:
Oh, okay. But the biggest one you can get on this X16 is the Hexa, so you will have to live with it, unless you want to upgrade later in your items.
Rachel K Collier:
I'll upgrade to the top. Yeah. Because obviously that's a thing, isn't it, the DSP. Yeah.
Chris Barker:
Fair, fair. Okay. So, now we've got those out of the way, it's your first choice out of six for your forever studio. What's going to be the first bit of kit? So, you've got an audio interface, you've got a Mac, and you've got Ableton, and that's all you've got so far. And you've got-
Rachel K Collier:
You guys want to guess?
Chris Barker:
I'm going to guess you're going to need some speakers.
Rachel K Collier:
Oh yeah. Good hint. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Yeah, you are right. Oh my God, speakers. Wow. And I'm allowed whatever?
Chris Barker:
Yes. What's the dream. Tell us about your experience with monitoring. You got vocals now, you say?
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah, got the Alpha Focals at the moment. I actually can't remember what... I think they're 80s, are they? I love these. These are cool. They're not super high range. They were like 500 quid. But obviously, I have been looking at the Neumanns.
Chris Barker:
Any studios or artists that you've visited of your career and you just thought, "Wow, this sounds fantastic in here"?
Rachel K Collier:
Do you know what? No. I haven't been to a studio and been like, "Wow, this sounds sick," apart from... They did have Barefoots.
Chris Barker:
Oh, another popular choice for the dream studio.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. Where was it? At the Sony studio before. And remember thinking, "Okay, they sound pretty damn good," but they obviously are never in my budget.
Chris Barker:
But–
SFX:
*Upsell your dreams...*
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. I don't know, man. You know what? I think I'm a bit of a sucker for what I know, as well. I'm like, "These work. These are great," kind of thing."
Chris Barker:
So, maybe stay in the Focal range, but-
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah.
Chris Barker:
Go up the price point.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. I reckon. Top spec Focals, I reckon.
Chris Barker:
What are those, the SM9s?
Rachel K Collier:
I don't even know.
Chris Barker:
I mean, Focals go up to crazy, don't they? Because they make mastering speakers. I mean, they do those floor standing 30,000 euro things.
Rachel K Collier:
Okay. Yeah. Those. I'll go for those. Yeah.
Chris Barker:
The click really made that. Those ones.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah, let's go-
Chris Barker:
Lock it in.
Rachel K Collier:
... with some of those. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Chris Barker:
Well, what have we got? What are the top end studio Focals?
Will Betts:
The top end studio Focals I can summon right now, we're looking at the Trio6 Be or the SM9. I can't find the floor standing ones. Those might be the hi-fi ones.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. They're like mastering grade hi-fi speakers.
Will Betts:
Oh, the mastering grade hi-fi... Oh, okay. I know what you mean. Yeah. Yeah.
Chris Barker:
They're using some mastering studios. I had a demo of them once and they-
Rachel K Collier:
Are there any good?
Chris Barker:
Yeah. They were kind of a bit... You could hear like all the artefact... I mean, my ears are a bit shot from DJing, but you can hear the artifacting on like VSTs and stuff. It was so exposing in a weird way that some tracks were quite unpleasant to listen to on them.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. Maybe not for the creative... That's putting me off there. Yeah.
Chris Barker:
But they're the mastering hi-fi ones so they're really open at the top. But I think the SM9s are pretty good. Aren't they? They're the ones that Gary Barlow chose to throw at burglars because they were so heavy.
Rachel K Collier:
Really? Oh, that sounds funny.
Will Betts:
Famously.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah.
Chris Barker:
In his Fantasy Studio, not in real life.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. I was going to say, jeez. Yeah. I mean, yeah, I like the Focal brand. I mean, I actually never spoke to them, though. I've no affiliation with them whatsoever.
Chris Barker:
Yet.
Will Betts:
Well played.
Rachel K Collier:
But yeah. And actually, I don't have any affiliation with RME or UAD either, actually, talking about it. I don't know. They're just cool. You know when you develop a good relationship with something, isn't it, and if you make stuff that works on them, you're like, "Yeah, I like these." Before these, I had... Actually, I had NS-10s but the amp broke, and instead of fixing the amp... And actually, it was a sour time when I really needed a new computer and I had to sell so much stuff. Anything I could sell. And I was like, "The amp's broke, so whatever, I'll just sell them and buy some active ones."
Chris Barker:
Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. All those kinds.
Chris Barker:
Another good choice, I think, though. I good choice.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah.
Will Betts:
Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
They're good, man. They're good for like budget kind of... I'd saw like 500, it's like mid range, isn't it?
Chris Barker:
So, how did you happen upon the NS-10s? Because you know-
Rachel K Collier:
Well, they were actually my, like I said, my manager's. He was not using them.
Chris Barker:
Oh, okay.
Rachel K Collier:
So, he was like, "Oh..." And he was great, actually. He bought me the MiniBrute. It was like right, Christmas present, "Go and learn some synthesis." It was like, "Whoa, okay. Cool." And I was like, "Oh my God, this thing is so good." But at the time... Yeah. Actually, seeing sides of my personality, I get stuck in like, if I'm in a thing which I'm feeling... I think back in the day, it would take me longer to go open my mind to it. Whereas now I'd say I'm probably really different. I'll be like, "Oh yeah, give it a go." But back in the day, even the transition from like APC40 MIDI controller to Push 2. It was like, "No, no, this works great." But then, actually, it's always better when you try new stuff because it inspires new things.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. Okay. So, let's lock those, the SM9, are we thinking?
Rachel K Collier:
SM9s.
Will Betts:
SM9s.
Chris Barker:
Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah.
Chris Barker:
Big fancy Focals. Okay. And then let's move on to item number two. What's it going to be?
Rachel K Collier:
Oh gosh. This is tricky, isn't it?
Chris Barker:
Yeah. That's the point. I mean, you're going to need a mic, right? Surely.
Rachel K Collier:
Oh gosh. Does that count as well? Yeah.
Chris Barker:
Yes.
Rachel K Collier:
What about headphones, then?
Chris Barker:
Yeah. We'll let you have your ear buds that come with your phone. I was thinking like that. But if you want some studio grade headphones, they're another item. But if you just need some in ears for monitoring, then you can have those, but no fancy stuff.
Will Betts:
We have, actually, in the past, we've allowed somebody to take their in ears that they use on stage because they also use them to listen to music, and that was a really cheeky work-around. That was technically allowed because, obviously, if you're recording and you've only got speakers, then it's going to be an issue.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah, definitely. I mean, geez. Okay. So, a microphone. Oh my goodness me.
Chris Barker:
What's the dream microphone?
Rachel K Collier:
Well, I tried this microphone at this place in Vintage King in LA. It was funny. I don't know if you guys have been there. They got this room and you can go around and sing... Well, you can go in every... Yeah. You can put headphones on in the room and try every mic. And I came out and I said, "Oh yeah, I like that one," and the guy literally went, "Yeah, that's the most expensive one." And I was like-
Chris Barker:
Can we guess? Can we guess?
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah, go on.
Chris Barker:
Are we allowed to guess? Because it just seems to be a trend on the season three of the podcast.
Rachel K Collier:
Okay. Go on.
Chris Barker:
Go on, Will. Are you going to make the guess, Will?
Will Betts:
Yeah. I reckon it's a Sony C-800G.
Rachel K Collier:
Ooh, I can't actually remember. I think it was, or something.
Chris Barker:
Did it have a big fat radiator on the back of it, like a heat sink?
Rachel K Collier:
I feel like it was a Telefunken one, actually.
Chris Barker:
Ooh! Fair enough. Fair enough.
Will Betts:
Oh, okay.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah.
Will Betts:
Very nice. Very nice, yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
I'm pretty sure it was one of those. And it was awesome. You know when you just... It just sounded like magic. Yeah. And I remember thinking, "Yeah, I'm going to get one of them." And then when I found out it was $10,000, I was like, "Yeah, not going to get one of them."
Chris Barker:
So, what do we reckon it might be, Will, if we got her a result for a 10 grand Telefunken?
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. 10,000, it was. It was literally like... It was just so much money. It was just like, "Okay, yeah, no." We'll wait for that. And actually, microphones is something that I definitely want to get more of because I absolutely rinsed this one, the SM7B, and that's because I do a lot of the live performance stuff, and if I'm filming or whatever. I just love the fact that it's dynamic and that it can be actually kind of noisy and I'm dancing round and whatever, I have it quite loud in my headphones. People always comment like, "How the hell can we not hear any spill?" And it's because it's a dynamic mic. But then at the same time, I do sometimes wish, "Oh, I wish I had that crisp, airy kind of presence of a condenser." So, I think, actually, I think I would like to get a nice condenser soon anyway, but not the Telefunken one. Those are too much money.
Will Betts:
But that one is almost certainly the Telefunken ELA M 251, which is widely regarded as being the best vocal mic of all time.
Rachel K Collier:
In the world, is it?
Will Betts:
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's probably between that... I might have my history off here, but it's basically, I think it was the American version of the AKG C-12, and then I guess like up there with those amazing microphones that are beyond human reach, like the C-800.
Chris Barker:
But they were all out of like AKG and they were all out of Germany and Australia and things like that. Right? And then Telefunken was American.
Rachel K Collier:
Is it American?
Will Betts:
I think it is now, but I think back in the day, Telefunken, it sounds pretty German, doesn't it?
Rachel K Collier:
It sound German, doesn't it? But yeah, that mic was... Wow, it was incredible. How much is it now, Will?
Will Betts:
Oh, it's still $10,000.
Rachel K Collier:
Oh, no.
Will Betts:
Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
I wonder if they've got any on Reverb...
Chris Barker:
Oh, it hasn't gone down now? Oh, that's a shame.
Will Betts:
Sorry. 9,995.
Chris Barker:
Oh, it's gone down. They've got it on sale.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. See, I'm definitely not a place in my career where I can afford that. Do you know what I mean? No. That's just a no.
Chris Barker:
I mean, were the differences that dramatic, though? I mean, the difference between a $5,000 mic and a 10,000, did you hear it immediately?
Rachel K Collier:
Well, they didn't have the prices on the mics.
Chris Barker:
Okay.
Will Betts:
That's how they get you.
Rachel K Collier:
So, I was just going through singing through them, and then I was like, "That one." And then the guy was like, "Yeah, that's the most expensive one, $10,000." And I was just like, after he said that, I was like, "Right, let's go. Yep. Let's leave the shop. We're not buying a microphone today." But they all looked really nice. They all looked like shiny and... I think there's Sony one was in there, Neumann definitely, a couple of Neumanns in there. Quite a few of the Telefunkens were in there. Yeah. Vintage King, it's called. Have you guys been there? It's got mainly, to be honest, a lot of the lunchbox kind of stuff.
Will Betts:
The 500 series stuff. Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
So, preamps and things like that, which obviously are really cool. It had like a real Teletronix and early 2A and all of those cool things. Which, again, is not quite in my budget yet. I'm happy with the UAD versions on software.
Will Betts:
Well, remember, they aren't included, you only get the default things on your-
Rachel K Collier:
So hard.
Will Betts:
No bundles.
Rachel K Collier:
That's so hard.
Will Betts:
There's a jingle and everything for it
Chris Barker:
Okay. So, let's lock in that Telefunken mic can make for you, though. Item number three.
Rachel K Collier:
Item number three. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Well, I need to pick a synth because I have to do that. And I do think I would have an OP-1.
Chris Barker:
Really?
Will Betts:
Really?
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah.
Will Betts:
Interesting. Why?
Rachel K Collier:
As much as this thing is its own thing, it's the most quirky little thing I've ever had, but it just continues to surprise me. And I love using it with my DAW, so I like using the Ableton. I'm not mad into the tape thing, but I love the sound design and stuff I can do with this.
Chris Barker:
Are they still updating it? Are they still sticking new firmware and features on it?
Rachel K Collier:
I don't know, actually.
Chris Barker:
Because they did for a while, didn't they, Will? They–
Will Betts:
For a while, yeah. But then I think it's been replaced... I mean, they're still making it, I think. But yeah, the OP-Z is the one that is the updated version.
Rachel K Collier:
They've been focusing on that one for awhile, haven't they? Because it obviously does some... It does some cool stuff. You can do your DMX lights and things like that. But the OP-1, it's a good tool for sound design. And the reason why I love it so much because it's so small. And again, I've mentioned portability in this chat earlier. Because it's so small, it can just be in front of you, and it's just... I don't know. I love it. It's kind of easy. It makes new noises all the time that you didn't know it could make.
Chris Barker:
I don't think it's ever been chosen on the podcast has it, Will?
Will Betts:
No, it hasn't. Interestingly.
Rachel K Collier:
No, I'm a big fan of this. I'm a big fan. People say, "Is it worth the money?" I'm like, "Well, it depends what you're into, but for me, absolutely." And I actually only got it last year, and I'm glad I went for it because I was like, "This thing is so cool and so fun. It makes really mean sounds.
Chris Barker:
Is it still being manufactured? Can you actually buy it new anymore?
Will Betts:
You can. Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
You can buy it new. Yeah. But I think it's still really expensive.
Will Betts:
Yeah. Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
I'm sure it's like 1,300.
Will Betts:
Yeah.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. I think people have a challenge when they... because it's small and it kind of looks fun, people have an issue with the price because of that. Other synths in that price point are quite meaty and wooden and big and all of those kinds of things.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. Gosh. There are a lot of other amazing synths, isn't there? I need to do some research, guys. You might have to give me some inspiration here. Yeah, yeah.
Will Betts:
Okay.
Chris Barker:
Ones that people always go for is the Moog One, obviously, for-
Rachel K Collier:
Oh yeah! Oh yeah. That thing is really amazing, actually, isn't it? Yeah. But it's huge, man.
Will Betts:
It's massive.
Chris Barker:
Well, you got space and you've got forever.
Rachel K Collier:
Gosh. Yeah. Why didn't I pick that. But no, I love the OP-1. It's close to my heart.
Chris Barker:
I'm kind of hesitant upselling dreams on this because it's kind of a nice original choice, as well, and we don't usually get the OP-1, which is cool.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. It's a happy one. I don't know. It's inspiring and it is easy to use, I think, compared to other synths. It's easy. It's not beginner, but it's like pretty... You could learn it.
Will Betts:
Yeah. I mean, are you ever using it away from your computer, as well, because it's got sampling functionality and all that kind of fun stuff as well?
Rachel K Collier:
I do sample with it even in here. I love throwing... Sometimes I'll actually sample from my speakers of what I'm making, like re-chuck it back through some effects and then record it back in. But not so much. I usually just use it when I'm producing, just like any extra bit of sparkles. Like the other day, and my song dropped actually last week, I created this live looping performance. And I liked it so I thought, "I want to release this."
Rachel K Collier:
But the live looping performance is basically just effectively in session view. Right? It's like six parts. So, I was like, "Oh, I need to produce it up a bit." I had it in arrangement view, and I was like, "Cool, I need to flesh this out." But for example, the second verse, I was like, "Oh, I'd like to switch up the groove here maybe." And I just didn't even have to think. I just quickly went drums on the OP-1, literally like a little kick pattern, a little snare pattern, distortion. There we go, that sounds great. Didn't even have to think about it. Didn't have to think, "Oh, what kick do I need?" I don't know, I like audio, as well. I'm like a massive audio fan.
Chris Barker:
I guess that comes from the editing in pro tools and the legacy of that, as well, maybe.
Rachel K Collier:
I don't know. Maybe. Maybe. I like having the what you can do to audio versus MIDI. Obviously, if you just froze and flattened your MIDI, you could probably do the same. But I don't know. I just like the fact that you can do all... I like to sound design more with audio rather than MIDI. It just feels better for me. I think, as well, it might be because I've used my voice as an instrument for so many years, and that was always... I guess it's like my first instrument, and that's all audio, and I just like the way it works.
Chris Barker:
And you're not able to be triggered by MIDI, right?
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Chris Barker:
That's what we need. We need to create a human MIDI space where maybe you can have like electrodes on people's backs, and then we can make them make certain noises depending on what MIDI CCs we send to them.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah.
Will Betts:
I think you're better off with CV and gate, honestly, with that, if you want-
Chris Barker:
Yeah. Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. Well, I don't know! There's that guy, what's his name? Mezerg or something and he has all those contact mics and... I guess it's just contact mics, isn't it? Have you seen that microphone, as well, that you can sing down and it triggers MIDI. The Vochlea?
Chris Barker:
Oh, Vochlea. The Vochlea. Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
Vochlea one.
Will Betts:
Vochlea Dubler.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah.
Will Betts:
Yeah, I tried that, actually,
Rachel K Collier:
There's a few of those things–
Chris Barker:
Didn't you have that for awhile, Will?
Will Betts:
I did have that for review. Yeah. It was one of those things where it's really fast on picking up beatboxing and getting it quite accurate if you've got like three or four sounds you can make. But if you're a horrible beatboxer like me and you don't really know how to control your beats so well, like what's happening in your head isn't necessarily what's coming out of your mouth, then it's triggering what's coming out of your mouth, you're like, "That's not what I meant." And you begin to get a little bit frustrated with it. And it's not great on the pitch tracking, but it's a really interesting thing. You're a very skilled singer, Rachel, so I'm sure you'd have much better time with it. Have you had to go with it? Have you tried it out?
Rachel K Collier:
Well, actually, only yesterday I was at my friend Vicky's house, and she's trying it out. We had a little try yesterday. Yeah. It seems a very cool toy. I don't know if it's totally for me, though, actually. I don't know. I think I probably just... I prefer to play stuff in. I know it sounds crazy. I actually tried out these things before, as well, from this company a few years ago. They were like a Bluetooth things that you put on your hands and make noises, and you could play a cello and all this. It's like, do you know what? I would just prefer to play the notes. Those kinds of things aren't really for me.
Will Betts:
It's funny that every so often somebody comes along and they go, "Oh, this is an instrument that's for anybody to use." And it's like, "Hang on." I don't know how to play it, then, and I've spent all this time learning to play instruments. It's like now I've got to learn another one. Why didn't I just use the one that I've got? So, it's a strange prospect, that, I think.
Chris Barker:
I guess the Voclia thing, they're going to update as well, though. It'll be one of those things that grows and gets better with software, better software. Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
I think it's definitely cool. It depends who like... Like actually, what Vicky was doing was pretty cool. She had some shells and plant pots and she was mapping a shell... She's a drummer, though. Right? So, that was actually cool. I was like, "Oh, that's really cool." I was trying to think about it last night, maybe for like new musicians or... But then you think, "Oh, well then if you're new, you still need a computer." I don't know. Yeah, you still need a computer, you still need all these other steps.
Chris Barker:
So, where are we at now? What are we up to? We've got item number four coming up, right?
Will Betts:
Number four.
Rachel K Collier:
Item number four. I'm finding this really hard, guys. This actually giving me anxiety, the fact that you're only giving me like-
Chris Barker:
Well, no. Okay. It's meant to be fun–
Rachel K Collier:
I'm like, "Oh my God." No, no. I mean, as in like... Well, I'm not actually.
Chris Barker:
Okay.
Rachel K Collier:
I mean the thought of my dream studio being like, "Oh no, I can't have that. I can't have that." I'm like, "What am I going to choose?" I'm like, "Damn, no bundles, as well. That sucks."
Chris Barker:
Yeah. Yeah.
Will Betts:
Yeah. Sorry. It's the rules.
Rachel K Collier:
So, I'm like, "Damn, what am I..." I'm thinking like, "God, what compressors am I going to have?"
Chris Barker:
You're going to have to use the built-in Ableton ones, maybe.
Chris Barker:
Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
Oh, I don't know. I know. I'm like, damn, what am I going to do?
Chris Barker:
You don't yet have any kind of keyboard controller. You don't have a clip launching controller.
Rachel K Collier:
Push 2 is a huge part of my studio everything. I always have to have Push 2. You know what? If I need to suck it up with Ableton compressors, that's fine. I can make it work. Do you know what I mean? Actually, you can do a lot in Ableton. So, even if I just had that, it would probably be enough. Yeah. So, I'm going to have Push 2 because I use it all the time.
Chris Barker:
And did you start with Push, the original one?
Rachel K Collier:
No, I actually had... First one I had was... Well, I had Machine for awhile, loved that. Then I went onto the APC 40, and then I sold that to my friend, Taz, and I got Push 2. So, I started on Push 2, actually. And I actually remember seeing Push years ago, and like I said, maybe my more old mindset, I was thinking, "Oh, what's that? That looks complicated." But then obviously when I got into it more, and then I realised, "Oh, actually..." And I was a little bit sort of reluctant to sell the APC, but... Oh, I don't know. Push just does everything, and it's a seamless synchronisation with Ableton obviously. When I'm on stage, I run my whole show with Push 2. I never look at my laptop. My whole show is that's the centralised MIDI controller. It does so much. You're triggering not only audio, but I'm triggering light changes, I'm triggering visual changes. It's like your horse in the studio.
Chris Barker:
It's quite a musical device, as well, compared to maybe the more beat-orientated things of the APC and Maschine.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. Absolutely. Because it's actually, you can use it to control your door, and you can also... It's actually MIDI controller, as well. So, I'll all the time just switch to note mode and be triggering simpler samplers, samples, things like that. Yeah. And I have it right in front of me in my studio. Yeah, it's always turned on. In fact, if it's not turned on when I'm using Ableton, it feels weird, so even if I'm not really using Push, it's always turned on.
Chris Barker:
So, you need it in your forever studio just for that reason.
Rachel K Collier:
Exactly. Yeah.
Chris Barker:
Item number five.
Rachel K Collier:
Oh my God. Do you know what? I think I'm going to confidently go for some hardware compressor just because it's fun, isn't it, compression?
Chris Barker:
Is it, though?
Rachel K Collier:
So, yeah, like outboard. Why not? Isn't it? Like I said, audio can run everything through it, can run stuff back through it. Yeah. I'd probably go LA-2A Teletronix. I just like it. It's got like a gritty sound. Not cheap, but-
Will Betts:
No. It's $4,300, which would put it into, yeah, comfortably expensive category in pounds, I'm sure.
Rachel K Collier:
Comfortably. Yeah. again-
Chris Barker:
Comfortably expensive. Will's been doing a lot of voiceovers for Marks and Spencer recently, I can tell.
Will Betts:
Sorry. It's my audiobook work.
Rachel K Collier:
Your voice is quite good. I could believe that. I can believe that.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. I can believe it... Come on, Will, give us a line about like a lasagna. Describe a posh lasagna and tell us it's going to be expensive.
Will Betts:
This guy. This luxuriant lasagna is comfortably expensive.
Rachel K Collier:
I can buy it. I literally thought, "Oh, Will's got a nice speaking voice."
Will Betts:
The cheese.
Chris Barker:
See?
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah.
Will Betts:
Yeah. I'll look into that. I'll let you know.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah, let us know. I'll do the jingle.
Will Betts:
Perfect.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. Chris can do a mashup of the jingle. Yeah, I'm going to go for one of them, because I think why not?
Chris Barker:
So, if you use one in Real or used to the UAD ones?
Rachel K Collier:
I just use UAD-1 all the time. And then I remember being in Vintage King and seeing it and thinking, "Whoa, looks really cool." And like I said, I love the hardware. I love hardware and audio, so it'd be cool to just get the sound, lay it down as it sounds kind of thing, less faffing around.
Will Betts:
It's a timeless piece, as well, isn't it? It's kind of like... It's probably on more records than people even realise.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. I'm finding this really quite hard, guys. Have I only got to one item left?
Will Betts:
You've got one item left. One night and for your studio left. Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
Because I haven't really got many synths, which isn't good, because you know me, I love synths.
Chris Barker:
You don't actually have any full-size keys at all.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. So, I need a synth that I can use as well as keys. The spec would need to be polyphonic, obviously, with USB capabilities as well, because obviously I'm not going to have any keys, which would be pretty bad, especially using some of the built-in instruments of Ableton. I want full-size keys. Not going to mess around with anything small.
Chris Barker:
What do we have in the high end category that we've got? The Moog One, we've got-
Will Betts:
There is a thing called the Schmidt synthesiser, which is... This is the silliest-
Rachel K Collier:
I've never heard of it.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. You'll have walked past him at NAMM. He's always there.
Rachel K Collier:
The Schmidt synthesiser. I'm not sure.
Chris Barker:
Hasn't it got like 80 oscillators or something?
Rachel K Collier:
80? That's too many. That's too many.
Chris Barker:
It's an eight voice. I don't know if he's got 80 oscillators, but it's an eight voice.
Rachel K Collier:
Oh, that's too many. That's too overwhelming.
Will Betts:
What about like Oberheims, or what about like the Prophet? I mean, you've got a Prophet, right?
Rachel K Collier:
Got a Rev 2. Yeah. But-
Chris Barker:
Is that USB?
Rachel K Collier:
It is, actually. Got MIDI USBs. It's got it all. I would probably want something a bit more, I don't know, a bit more options if it's going to be like my only one. Do you know what I mean? I've always wanted a Moog. I haven't got one. I wanted to get the sub 37, but I haven't bought it because, obviously, it's mono... Oh no. What is it? Duophonic.
Will Betts:
Duophonic. Yeah. Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
Duophonic.
Will Betts:
Yeah, it's basically the same.
Rachel K Collier:
I just haven't been able to justify it yet. I'm like, "Oh, no." I nearly bought the cute, little Minotaur the other day.
Will Betts:
Oh, they're fun. Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
Is it good? Have you guys got one?
Will Betts:
It's the same sound engine.
Chris Barker:
I had one on loan and I've had it on my eBay thing for years, and every time one pops up I'm like, "I need to start making music again first before buying any equipment."
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. That's it. I've become a lot better at that. But before I'd be like, "Oh, I'm buying it, buying it." But I actually really consider stuff now. I'll be like, "Oh, I need to think about this for a long time. Watch more demos." Yeah. Do I really need that? Really think about it before.
Chris Barker:
I think it seems like the Moog One is your best choice here, to be fair.
Rachel K Collier:
Oh, you guys are making me think about the Moog One in a lot of enthusiasm here. I'm like– Yeah. 5,775 in the UK.
Will Betts:
We could upsell the dream here, go 16 voice. 16 voice, go big or go home. 8,000 pounds.
Chris Barker:
There you go. 10 grand, 10,000 US dollars, pretty much. Right?
Rachel K Collier:
I mean, I have always wanted a Moog, so I think I'm going to go for that. Yeah, I'm going to get one one day. I need to pick the right one.
Chris Barker:
Done.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. I reckon I'm going to get one. Maybe not that one, though. Again-
Chris Barker:
No-
Rachel K Collier:
... I might have to wait.
Will Betts:
It's on order.
Chris Barker:
... we've got it locked in the forever studio.
Will Betts:
Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
In the forever studio.
Chris Barker:
It's done. It's done.
Rachel K Collier:
There we go.
Chris Barker:
It's done. So, Will, do the rundown. Describe the forever studio, and take a listen, Rachel, and see what you think of this.
Will Betts:
Okay. We're on the Welsh coast in the sideways pig of the UK, overlooking the sea, with a glass wall and a raked jungle garden. Our computer is an iMac 18 core with 256 gigabytes of RAM. Your DAW is Ableton Live 11 suite. Your audio interface is the Universal Audio Apollo 16, although I've just realised that has no preamps so we might have to go for the XAP instead so that you can use your microphone. Your studio items are the Focal Pro SM9s for listening back. Your microphone is the Telefunken ELA M 251E, $10,000 worth, thank you very much. The Teenage Engineering OP-1. You have the Push 2 for controlling. You have a Teletronix LA-2A, a very fine choice. And then for your big polyphonic synthesiser, you have the Moog One 16 voice. How does that sound?
Rachel K Collier:
It does sound pretty fricking awesome.
Chris Barker:
It would have sounded better with Fleetwood Mac's Albatross playing underneath as Will described it.
Rachel K Collier:
Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.
Will Betts:
I was thinking about chocolate pudding, actually, the whole time. Whenever I do that, it's always...
Rachel K Collier:
Oh my God. How good does that sound, though? That sounds good, doesn't it?
Will Betts:
Yeah, it sounds pretty good.
Chris Barker:
So, anxiety levels reduced? That's a nice studio.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah, they are. They've reduced a lot. They've reduced a lot. Since I've got the compressor, the Telefunken, and the Moog One, yes, I think I'd be covered.
Chris Barker:
Well, that gets us to the final choice, which is, it's not a piece of kit, but this is the luxury item for the studio, so something that you would have in the studio, money no object. We're talking something that you wish, "Oh, I wish I had one of those in the studio." But it's not a piece of kit. Not a piece of kit.
Rachel K Collier:
Not a piece of kit.
Chris Barker:
No. But something that would make daily life in that studio better or more fun.
Rachel K Collier:
Oh gosh. Sort of want to say a swimming pool.
Chris Barker:
Indoor?
Rachel K Collier:
Why not? That would be so cool, wouldn't it?
Chris Barker:
I mean, if you're on the Welsh coast overlooking the sea, you could have one of those infinity pools just outside the studio.
Rachel K Collier:
Oh, that's it. An infinity pool, like take a five minute break, go for a dip.
Chris Barker:
Speak to the dolphins.
Rachel K Collier:
That'd be great. That would be so great, wouldn't it?
Chris Barker:
It'd have to be heated, though, in Wales, wouldn't it? A heated pool.
Rachel K Collier:
100%. 100%.
Chris Barker:
A heated... Right.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. Definitely heated. Otherwise, we'll never bloody go in it.
Chris Barker:
Otherwise... We're going back to William Hoff featuring on our podcast again and is cold water swimming.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah. Oh no. None of that. No, no, no, no.
Chris Barker:
No. Well, that brings us to the end of the My Forever Studio Podcast. Thank you so much, Rachel, for joining us. It's been a blast, and-
Rachel K Collier:
Oh, yeah, no, thank you.
Chris Barker:
... a great studio that is going to be, as well. What a lovely studio.
Rachel K Collier:
I know. I'll have to send you some pictures. You'll be like, "She's done it. She's got it. She's got the Moog One."
Chris Barker:
Yeah. Well, maybe not just pictures, maybe you could invite us over after the pandemic.
Rachel K Collier:
Invite you around.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, that'd be nice. Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Chris Barker:
We'll go around for jam.
Rachel K Collier:
Oh, no, I'm literally thinking now, do you recommend anyone selling one on Reverb or eBay? Probably not. I don't know why.
Chris Barker:
What? A Moog One?
Rachel K Collier:
I'm hope you're not joking here. Yeah.
Will Betts:
There's one in Antwerp, one in Belgium. You should get the one in Belgium. Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
How much is he selling it for, Will?
Will Betts:
It's new price. There's no discount here. Yeah.
Rachel K Collier:
It's all right. I need to sell a few more courses.
Will Betts:
This is not the best bit of the podcast that we've had yet. The good stuff was earlier. Me looking up stuff on Reverb.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. If you've just jumped it, if you just clicked the podcast and then, "Let's just jump to the end and see what happens-
Rachel K Collier:
See what it was. Yeah.
Chris Barker:
... this is not... Yeah. Yeah. Maybe that could be a different podcast where we just invite people on and you browse eBay and just describe it to us.
Rachel K Collier:
Oh, gosh. Yeah. That'd be pretty fun, actually.
Chris Barker:
The thing is, Rachel, with Will's voice, people will listen.
Rachel K Collier:
It's true. That's true. Will's voice is soothing. Yeah. It's the SM7B, as well, though, actually, I think. Isn't it?
Will Betts:
It really is. Yeah.
Chris Barker:
Thank you so much.
Will Betts:
Amazing. Thank you so much.
Rachel K Collier:
Cool, guys. Well, thanks for having me.
Chris Barker:
It's been a blast. Thank you so much.
Rachel K Collier:
Thank you very much.
Chris Barker:
Well, what a Lovely Forever Studio that was, Will. Thanks again to Rachel for taking the time to chat to us.
Will Betts:
Yes, indeed. Although it was a touch awkward when you invited us round at the end, Chris.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. Sorry about that. I do love an infinity pool, though.
Will Betts:
Don't we all? Anyway, thanks to everyone for listening. And remember, if you are a fan of the MusicTech My Forever Studio Podcast, make sure you subscribe using your favourite podcasting app and maybe even drop us a little review.
Chris Barker:
Yes. Give us a review. We do read those reviews, too, so please do. If you want to contact us or get your suggestions in for guests, email us editors@musictech.net.
Will Betts:
Indeed. Or if you're just someone really famous and you want to get in touch with us and say, "I want to be on the podcast," then just... We're here. We're available.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. We love a famous email.
Will Betts:
We do. Speaking of famous people, next week, we're talking to an internet synth hero, musician, and sonicstate.com founder, Nick Batt.
Chris Barker:
Yes. So, set your PWMs to maximum and we will catch you next time for another adventure into studio foreverdom.
Will Betts:
Indeed. Bye-bye.
Chris Barker:
Bye-bye.