Los Angeles DJ and producer Tejada (born in Vienna, Austria on April 21, 19… Read Full Bio ↴Los Angeles DJ and producer Tejada (born in Vienna, Austria on April 21, 1974) has been releasing techno since the early '90s, often finding himself lumped alongside Detroit techno maverick Matthew Dear. These days, expanding on his formidable resume, Tejada creates ethereal electronic jangle and harmonies (think Depeche Mode dream pop and the classic songwriting of Johnny Marr) that complement each other and offer a good reason for living.

California-based John Tejada is easily one of the most productive DJ/producers in modern dance music. While most of his colleagues work on establishing a signature sound within one specific genre, John Tejada works in all genres simultaneously. Whether house, techno, electronica or drum & bass, every scene gets something from this multitalent, and Tejada manages to move within each field as if it were his own. Recently he surprised everyone by revealing yet another facet to his already impressive ability: he released an album on the Berlin label City Centre Offices with Japanese guitarist Takeshi Nishimoto, under the project name "I'm Not a Gun". The album impressively demonstrated that Tejada can make a place for himself in post-rock circles as well, mixing electronic and acoustic sounds in the Tortoise tradition.
(discogs.com)

So Strange To Explain
John Tejada Lyrics

We have lyrics for these tracks by John Tejada:

Sweat I heard about this one party There is just sweat on…
Unstable Condition We'll b leaving in vacation and my ride is on We…
We Can Pretend I remember conversations We were dancing up on tables Taking…

The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos

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01Can't Tell Time Anything5:26

02series of meaningful movement

03So Strange To Explain4:58

PT4M58S

John Tejada

04Today Can't Be Anymore5:27

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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

Pascal Deshayes

Thanks a lot for this interview, Ricky!
I have a love/hate relationship with old machines...
I started out in the 90s with the SP-202. Good fun and a decent mike but no sequencer. Great to sample myself playing drums, though.
I upgraded to an Ensoniq ASR-X and had my first sonic crush on a machine! Anything sounded fatter, bolder, larger, hefty and authoritative running through it. But it kept on crashing on me and the sequencer was barely useable.
I sold it for an EMU ESI that sounded more elegant and had great filters and everything but was pretty deep and left me confused.
Then the Yamaha RM1x came and got me completely hooked to live improvisational arrangements thanks to its hands-on sequencing capabilities. Machines and freedom - yay!
Then, Reason 1.0 questioned the necessity of having any machine at all but a computer. I decided to take the dive. I made a full album with Reason, Cubase SX (in Rewire), a Motu 828 mk1 and a chinese microphone. Good times!
But. I was kind of missing the Ensoniq thickness and found myself piling up tons of layers of sound in Reason in an attempt to emulate it. With little success, I must say. I had gained an infinity of possibilities but lost the essential mojo.
Then I turned into a pro sound engineer and bought a studio that came with some nice analog synths. Plug. Boom! That thick 3D lively sound was back and made my then Native Instrument patches sound anemic, lacking body. All of a sudden, I could make simpler arrangements that sounded full. Good times but the hassle of session&patch recalls etc. was back.
Then, family and studio work kept me away from fiddling with machines but I knew that I would get back to them at some point. So, last year I re-opened the topic and decided to go the modern way and got myself an iPad compatible soundcard and Beatmaker3. Very nice sampling capabilities but the sequencing (again) put me off. It kept on crashing on me more the ARS-X and lost samples etc. Too much frustration and risking to loose my work at any point (plus a so-so sound) made me look back to "true" machine and I got myself an SP-303. Mojo! But those SmartMedia cards, un-sensitive pads and basic sequencing... very good for effects, though. Then an SP-404 which is more practical but still not ideal in terms of sequencing.
I knew I had to meet again with Ensoniq and found an ASR-10 rack in very good shape and went through the labor of installing the SD card via SCSI system, which finally works well. Lovely sound! Very immersive. Like a warm hug. It's so inviting! But what a hassle to program... and no real practical way to talk to a computer, etc. Still incredible to create ambient textures etc. I know some beatmakers fly on them. For me in 2021, it has quite a steep learning curve, though. I wouldn't make it my sole machine, I believe.
In the meantime, a friend of mine turned me on the mighty MPC4000. What a beast! Again, steep learning curve but a punchy chest-hitting sound, very powerful capabilities. A real workhorse. Most its FX are barely useable and it's of course missing the current DAW influenced workflow for some aspects.
So, I'm wondering if an MPC Live2 could just be the one and only machine I'd ever need?
What does Dr. Ricky say?

Hans von Wackerburg 🔊

3y↑2

Very interesting and entertaining episode! I kinda missed the chance to buy a 3000 when they where reasonable priced. My reluctance was based on one single feature or the lack of it, compared to the 2000 or 2000 XL. That's the ability to mute tracks with the pads. That's why I stayed with my 2000 XL. But I am aware that a 3000 is better built and has a better sound quality as well as near-perfection timing.

Timing of a machine becomes less relevant in the moment you have multiple sequencers running at the same time. I settled for an E-EM Multiclock now and I am happy with the result. My main unit is a TR-909 anyways, cause that delivers the heartbeat of techno music. I also have a TR-808 and a TB-303 in my setup. Did buy both the 909 and the 808 pretty much recently, which brings me to my view regarding these vintage machines...

I really do not have money to waste, so I did proper research before those purchases...BUT; I could not find an alternative. I used high-quality samples before, looked into new machines, nothing sparked what most 909/808 videos here on youtube sparked. Then I got the 909 and I was really blown away of how that easily delivered that techno punch and groove. Even though I was a little sceptical at first whether all that money was worth it for "just" a 909 beat.

I have the approach to buying equipment that it really needs to serve a certain purpose and that has to be achieved at nearly 100%. Today, many people just cram so much stuff into their setups, because there is so much cheap gear out there. I wanted a 909, so a 909 got me that. Pretty obvious, when you think about that, hehe.

After that experience, I started watching 808 videos and with the experience from the 909 purchase, I pulled the trigger and got the 808, too. Same result.

I personally do not need thousands of features that I don't even use anyways. I rather have the important stuff covered well and I really want to know and use my stuff to nearly 100% instead of just dial up the next preset on the über-next machine.

Having too many options just confuses me and I think most people.

And using real machines is just so much more fun. At least for me. I sit in front of a computer screen pretty much all though my day at work. For some reason, I get tired/fatigued pretty quickly when I fire up Ableton Live on my laptop at home. Yes, way more features that my hardware setup, yet it takes forever and doesn't feel great to get something nice going on a computer.

I'd rather get a single MPC 3000 when starting out instead of buying 5-7 cheap devices. And then really use everything the 3000 has to offer, which is quite a lot. Or a 2000 (XL) if money is tight.

All comments from YouTube:

AllOneKind

3y↑51

Wow Ricky, huge fan of John Tejada over the years! A follow-up interview deep-diving more into his current studio setup or even a track breakdown of his "12 Bit Rhythm Trax" with Arian Leviste would be so sweet!

IllMuzik

3y↑37

One of the biggest issues I have with the modern gear is that it's cheaply made, versus the older stuff that just lasts longer. I like the fact that the older stuff doesn't have a new update all the time, which could potentially lead to issues. Software based is great though, but there are times where it's too much and I'd rather stick with my MPC and be able to focus more on what I'm creating.

Andy Lund

2y↑2

My personal opinion is, yes old gear on the whole was made better. Hell, prices were so high back then and a lot of stuff was still made in Japan. Some stuff back in the 90s was getting cheap near the end of the decade, and some of this cheap n nasty stuff will still work if well cared for. The Yamaha CS1x and AN1x spring to mind, even the Roland JP8000, a great synth and not even that cheap back then, has a cheap plasticy build. But some gear is still well made, like the Elektron Digitakt or Electribe 2 Sampler, for example. Both built like tanks. I have Korg Z1 from 1997, super expensive at the time, built like a tank but the buttons are weak on it. So not everything back then was perfect, not everything now is crap. Even the plastic Korg Volcas, cheap as they are, will still work in 20+ years time IMO if well cared for.

[qpid;nyx]

@turfoid the sticker on the bottoms tell made in sweden, but i dont know if thats similar to apples "designed in california"

turfoid

I happen to agree. I think elektron are doing good things, but theres a ton of brands who are manufacturing out of places like china where its just cheaper. And, yeah its starting to show. Hopefully companies like erica synths, intellijel and the more smaller but well built brands stick around. Also sidenite, the customer support at intelligel is really good! They are extremely helpful. Thats another thing thats slowly dying out amongst other high end brands.

Brokener Than

[qpid;nyx] wow really? Are they relatively new units? Obviously the shortage of parts has played a part recently in QC which is unfortunate for everyone.

[qpid;nyx]

@Brokener Than sadly even though they advertise their buttons with military grade quality, my digitone as well as my rytm mk2 have defective buttons and with the rytm even the second time now and it was a email war with them to convince them to repair it for free (2 months after warranty but same defect as the one withing warranty...).. never had that with my 20 year old machinedrum, but it might be bad luck. they should be more accommodating with repairs then though..

5 More Replies...

Nicolas Carta

3y↑11

Great talk ! I totally agree with you guys, for me vintage gears are like vintage cars, you don't buy it cause it's fast, has air condition, and electric windows, you buy it cause it's fun to drive and makes you happy !

Room At The Top Studio

3y↑1

Ahhhh!! You get it

Pascal Deshayes

Fenris Bueller

2y↑1

I've somehow ended up with 3 E-Mu Emaxes (2 x IIs and 1x I) notorious for their shitty scratch sequencer and I have to say that that limitation lead to some amazing stuff I think I could only replicate in modular> imagine using your Arp as the sequencer, strategizing your drum sample layout so that the varying Arps hit the right keys (or at least, hits the wrong ones as little as possible), assigning mods to the decays on loops, etc etc. then stacking several presets like this on top of eachother, modulating each differently with your pedal switch, sustain pedal, mod and pitch wheels, then assigning all the different presets and individual sounds out the different outputs (8) and having further mixing/modulating down the chain. Oh, and "latching" was accomplished by threading patch cords through the keys like floss. If there is one thing that old sampler gear comes by easy it's polyphony and CLEAR challenges

MechaTomb

3y↑23

John Tejada is an absolute legend.

Two-Eyed Boy

3y↑40

Another week where I haven't the slightest urge to buy a vintage sampler but you better believe I'm staying tuned for this whole half hour. Good stuff man! Have a great weekend 🍻

Leviathan

3y↑4

@TRESPoRROS any sampler that has analog filters is not just a nastaligia tool, as nothing digital will be able to accurately model it, in reality any sampler that has a lower bit rate and different d to a converters will sound different, even though you can downsample, actually downsampling compared to using a sampler that can only sample at 8, 12 bit ect.. will sound different, as well as old d to a converters, but you could say these sounds could be approximatted with new gear, were a real analog filter it's just impossible, unless you have the same filter as the original. The old low quality d to a converters we're a big part of the sound of these samplers aswell, even though noise, aliasing is thought of as a negetive, it's actually what is attractive about the old gear, and what makes the gear sound crunchy and have that crack people look for.

TRESPoRROS

3y↑1

old samplers, apart from emax1 and sp1200 are just nostalgia tools:), those two mentioned have the sound, particular, s950 - actually it sounded quite clean comparing to sp12/1200 nad emax 1. mcp60 is not worth the money, imho, the sound - nothing special, actually in my opinion (I used to own 60/mk1/mk2/3000/3000LE). For that money, there are new tools much better suited for the job. and btw... no DAW with ancient mpc...come on, you just swap high end 30 inches LCD for tiny 3 inches screen with digits only...what I realized, I lost my eyes on those tiny MPC screens, not to mention the nerves with jazz drives and scsi port issues:)

Ricky Tinez

3y↑1

Thanks for hanging out Two-Eyed!

Kali Maa

Great convo thanks for uploading. Would love to see a direct comparison of the vintage effects in the modern mpc's vs the original hardware... See how they measure up 🤟🏾

Stephen J Chivers

Great chat! I would like to see you do more vids like this, talking about aspects of tech as opposed to the usual reviews (which I love too). I personally love old school samplers, I have S2000, Mirage DMS8, Ketron X4, Roland SPDS, & just got a SP808... plus S3000xl & Peavey DPM3 I am fixing up. They all have their limitations, but all have different analogue or digital signal paths & features. Nothing sounds like the Mirage, love the analogue filter, so dirty, & I have used my SPDS in my live shows since the 90s. I also have a MPC Ren but mainly use that as a master midi sequencer as opposed to sampler as I am spoilt for choice. I really see samplers as instruments, have been using my S2000 to build virtual instruments which could not exist physically... I have been building guitar sounds from a wide variety of sources, acoustic & electric instruments, found sounds, noises, effects, synths etc. which I can play from my guitar via midi. It has allowed me to consider any noise as a possible source to build my guitar tone, plus the ability to split my strings to individual outputs. So many possibilities, only limited by memory & polyphony (32Mb/32 voice). Samplers are a great tool for sound manipulation too, it is interesting to record the output of a sampler whilst you manually change the pitch or other parameters, can get some crazy sounds. I think each old school sampler has its own strong points & deficiencies, its a matter of using the sampler at what it is good at & its workflow is set out. Some are good for short one shots like drums, some are good for multisamples, some are good for short phrases, others for long ones. Some are dirtier than others. They are all just different.

Jeremy Grieve

Great stuff! I'd love to see more content like this. The livestream you did with Benn Jordan & Noir was awesome. I could watch you discuss gear all day.

trojanhouserecords

3y↑12

Another great vid dude. I’ve never used an akai system. I got the s2400 in may 21, and ever since I haven’t used any of my other drum machines. In fact I’ve sold all my electribes and Roland gear. I find the s2400 super intuitive and super easy to use. I guess because I have no previous experience on akai workflow. I don’t use my s2400 for live, only studio. I record into cubase, So Recording 8 tracks at a time isn’t a real limitation for me. Sometimes the small pad buttons are a little “tough” to press. Not a big issue for me. It sounds absolutely amazing, and learning it as my first major sampler has been a fun experience. But that’s just me.

VJ FRANZ K

Glad to read this satisfaction!

Emily M

3y↑33

"Making music should make us happy and not frustrated" PREACH XD I love that.

PHeMoX

He says that, but at no point do the old samplers feel frustrating in that sense at all though. Especially when it's just one piece of gear within a larger (analogue or hybrid) studio. It's also ironic how he talks about DACs and how the literal sound that is processed within the old samplers just comes out different and with its distinct flavour. There's nothing outdated about getting those flavours. Nor would it be frustrating to get the end result you want. The video is a gigantic contradiction in that sense.

juelzsantana0088

Amen!👌🔥🌊

Justin C

Thanks for this chat Ricky it waa great to hear this subject really dove into.
DAW's were great they taught me alot, the fun died and i craved the tactile immediacy (coming from an instrument background). Ended up buying a Polyend tracker and an AFX station. Never has music been more satisfying to experiment with sound.
Keep up the great content!

ToeMann09

3y↑26

This reminds me of similar conversations about learning film photography techniques vs sticking with the more modern digital equivalents. Nothing is ever invented in a vacuum and learning old technology and techniques can often help you use modern tools more effectively - it can teach you alternative ways of approaching your existing skills by constraining you to the old technical limitations. If you find yourself stuck/blocked creatively, this can really open you up to lots of new creative thinking!

Room At The Top Studio

I tried to explain that to my daughter as she does photography but what do I know? That was in my time, lol

turfoid

I love the collabs bro. We need more youtubers collabing. Its also nice to see someone giving a bit of history lesson on music tech. You should turn this into a series, maybe like a 20 years ago in music tech or something 🙂 really like your vids lately man 👍🏻

Luka

Great video! I’d love to see more of these podcast type discussions with other producers. Cheers!

Netm8kr

3y↑5

Ricky, you definitely touched on a MAJOR topic here. Being of age (50), I've experienced a fair share of vintage gear. I got the s2400 for all the same reasons. But my favorite has been the MV8000 for about 17 years. I've built this vintage home studio full of gear from the golden era. Yet, adding newer pieces find their way into it. Thus wrecking my previous workflow. As you know well, having lots of gear is a GIFT & CURSE. But, its part of our creative journey.

Netm8kr

2y↑2

@sammarkey Yeah, the weight of using vintage gear is heavy at times. Good luck with the needed repairs, as these beloved units are DEFINITELY still worth the effort and Luv. 👍🏾✌🏾✊🏾

sammarkey

2y↑1

I LOVE my MV8800 but can't find anyone that can repair it anymore. All of the buttons to the side of the pads like repeat, copy, paste work when they feel like it. I've moved onto the MPC One and I enjoy it, especially how much faster it loads everything, but I don't think anything will ever match the workflow capabilities of the MV for me.

Heath Holme

Great job guys - As a fan of both of your work, it was awesome to hear you discuss this topic! I know this wasn't technically a hardware vs software discussion. But as I've grown up making music in the box with Ableton and it's deep, infinite possibilities. I really enjoy the possibility to also work with hardware both new and vintage. I learn things on the software I try out in the hardware world and vice versa. Looking fwds to the next talk 😊Cheers

Architecture

3y↑3

The moment Tejada mentioned around 31:00 the various artifacts of repitching a sound inside an old sampler, this is exactly what I have been trying to say for so long. Vintage sampler plugins sound very close if your triggering it as a “root note” from the machine. However, a lot of magic happens when you make the machines reprocess that sound as a different pitch. This was fantastic analysis coming from someone who has vintage and modern workflows in his setup.

Aliceinternetz

3y↑4

the DAC from an Akai S 3000 (paid 200$ for the last one) sounds better then most of the modular gear + rhytmboxes nowadays + has 8 routable outs and full polyphony. sure usability is another thing but once a sound is locked in ,they are gold

DescendanceDeNoéFilsD'Adam

Yes real pro gear akai professionnels not for amateurs but made to pro specs even the psu was enginered to low interferences.

Eric Cowden

Great guest and discussion! Love Tejada. I enjoy my Roland MV-8800. It’s a great sampler & sequencer. I used to own a Roland S-50. A bit fiddly to use but it had a certain character to its sound. 👍🏻✨

Sebastian "Schlapbe" Flach

3y↑3

I love this format! Pure nerd talk. But the great thing is you both always have the goal of making music in focus! Excellent insights! Plesse do more of this.

Ricky Tinez

Glad you Enjoyed it Schlapbe, i'm hoping to get John back on or other producers too!

wester joseph

3y↑3

I enjoyed going backwards in my Mpc game. I've used them all but settled on the MPC 60 and 2000xl. I use lots of midi gear and a mixer and outboard gear. I used Abelton since ver4 an never could fall in love with DAWs .I use Mpc 60 with Mpc beats software and modular with no issues.

User

This was great Ricky ! Would love to see more like this :)

Lucas Strandell

3y↑3

What a great discussion! Always awesome to hear down-to-earth artists talk about their craft.

sjj78

3y↑11

Deep Dives with John should become a regular spot… “Tuesday’s with Tejada” maybe?

Spectre Garden

This was great. Looking forward to more like this.
Vintage MPCs are priced a little higher than I can go for. But My favorite of my four rack samplers is the Akai S-3000XL. It is speedy to work with, has great AD converters, analog filtering, an interesting sounding time-stretch, and a dated effects board(which I really like). I use it mostly for drums. The easiest sampler I have to work with is the E4XTultra, as long as the pc-keyboard option is there. But it's power is more about multi-timbral features & the modulation options - better for multi-sampled melodic content, looping & layering.

Eric Jenkins

3y↑1

Great interview! I totally agree with John, the cost of acquiring and maintaining vintage gear is INSANE! I own a SP 1200 and MPC 3000 and I would love to get a ASR 10 again.

Hannes Bengsch

3y↑4

That was exquisite.
Finally you two made it happen. From my perspective I have to admit. I never used vintage Samplers. But I can totally relate to the vinyl metaphor. John Tejada’s replies and conversation style are as good and sophisticatedly minimalistic as his poker flat eps, that influenced my perception of the art and elegance within electronic music production heavily.
Also props for the hangout at perfect circuit with Benn Jordan and Noir et Blanc Vie. I just like you and your work guys.
Thx.

CrescentRollCarl

3y↑4

I'd love to hear John talk a bit about Renoise. Ive heard he uses it, and its a hugely underrated piece of software.

Kala Mata

If you do any more videos like this I would love John (Or anyone else you bring on) to go over some more objective topics, like how tracks were really made in the 90s. Going from the workflow, how they found samples right through to mixing and the sound that they achieved which imo had a lot more space in the mix.

Dream Computer

My favorite sampler which I got last year was the sp 303 and yeah sometimes I make beats on it but really I use it to make drum samples from my nord drum and also to sample sfx stuff I do on my synth. I also tend to use it for the fx on my synth before it gets to ableton. Honestly it’s pretty awesome. Yeah the 303 isn’t convenient but I find it to be just vintage enough where it’s cool kinda rare and has character but is also so simple and useable, unlike older mpc’s that I’ve had (2000 classic and 1000).

Janky Music

3y↑2

Ricky, have you ever thought about using tape for sound design? Maybe I missed it, but I'm surprised to have not seen any of your opinions on the topic. Real tape saturation and compression is so good, and it seems like it would be right up your ally!

Michael Smith

3y↑3

Very cool discourse. My first sampler was an Emax SE HD (with a whopping 2mb of storage) and 512k of RAM. I used it only for drums, but it did have nice Curtis filters (I think). It sounded dirty, very dirty. In 1997, that wasn't what I wanted, so I sold it for 350.00, and used that towards the purchase of my first Akai, the S1000.

somnaut

Totally; having grown up thru the 80s & 90s, I actually still approach every instrument on its own terms. They are all beautiful. I see people going “this new drum machine sucks because it doesn’t do parameter locks. And it’s $600, it’s too expensive.” To me, it sounds like people not seeing the beauty of the individual form of each instrument. Find an instrument that speaks to your musical mind, marry it, and raise a family. 🎶🤖

Music By Merl'n

I love my MPC 60ii and my 2500. I will say that the new MPC style does provide ease of use. I seem to get the same ease of use with my vintage gear. I like that I can depend on what the machine provides. I don't need any updates or have to deal with crashes. I don't need to learn any new functions and can still have a relevant sound. I run my 2500 8 puts directly into my DAW. There I can provide any filters and fx I want. All my synth racks and keys also are ran directly into my DAW individually via midi and direct audio. I don't see a purpose to buy any new style gear made by the same company just to have it. With my vintage gear and my vst's I have more options then the average new gear user. And its the originals and not replicas. New producers should buy the new gear to prevent the headache, but I'm used to it and will feel like I'm cheating trying to touch an MPC X. Plus knowing my way around the MPCs I have, I can probably make a beat just as quick if not faster. It's not the gear that makes the song, it's the mental process. I will say the quality of vintage gear does have an effect and provides a distinctive sound.

RSG gattart

Thanks for letting everyone in on your conversation, these are tech meditations going through my head every time I power up…

D Shoosh

3y↑1

I use all my vintage sampler for mainly sound design. Especially my Akai s612. Glad it was mentioned here.

Kala Mata

3y↑1

I really enjoyed this and feel like I'm the exact sort of person it was aimed at. I've bought an S2400 after 8 years of producing in Ableton. The reason i bought it is because of the 'historical workflow' as John puts it and the sound. I don't need to talk about the sound but regarding the workflow; I believe part of what I like about the 90s house sound is not just the actual way audio was processed but also because of the workflow that forced certain creative decisions. So I'm hoping a similar workflow will help me make similar musical decisions in a natural way, instead of really trying to force Ableton to be something it isn't.

I'm confident that if I don't like the S2400 after getting to know it, i can at least make my money back by selling it.

Kala Mata

Also, I agree with what you said about warning producers away from buying an old MPC because you think they'll hate it. My friend bought an MPC2000 and it was just such a huge jump back in speed and technology that it was frustrating for him. That's why I bought the S2400 - I'm hoping that it will give me that old-school workflow but without the drawbacks vintage samplers have.

Presto

I use alot of vintage gear tricks on the OP-1, like sampling at 45 rpm or double the speed internally, so that you get a crunch and 24 sec. per sample instead of 12. Also, i sometimes record drums at 200 speed with some reverb, when you slow it back down to a 100, again it gets a lo-fi crunch but also something special happens to the reverb, it 'sits' more into the drums and gets a differen character. Those type of tricks, i might've not thought of them without working with limited vintage gear when i started.

famousarmystudio

3y↑1

Ive had the 3000, 1200, S2400, 60mk1, s3000xl, 404sx, and the only ones left are the 60, 404, s3000xl. I loved the idea of owning the others, but when it comes down to it, it was more of the idea than the function. It was like collecting fine art for me. I love looking at them for a while and enjoying them, but it wasn’t some game changer for creating music. I think the snobbery that surrounds some of the vintage gear scene is almost as annoying as the modular scene.

Kezzie Coyote

3y↑1

LOVE this long form discussion. Would have totally been fine with this going on for another 30+ minutes, thank you!

meline

3y↑1

Been an FL user for about 5 years (started when I was 14) and I fell in love with the pocket operator about two years in. As of lately I've been having trouble making as many beats as I used to. I was able to get the luxury of owning the sp404a recently and it's a huge spike in technique but I'm getting a hold of it more every day. I feel like I knew what I wanted when I got it and Im makin some buttery chops off 70s records I bought. only used it in my daw but im destined to get accustomed to the sp pattern sequencer wish me luck! True vintage samplers may be next but the sp is very old school (except for its storage and many fx)

Chris Dadswell

3y↑1

Great interview Ricky. Really enjoyed the format and the discussion. Big fan of John's work too. 🙏

Nigel Tedbury

3y↑8

I had an S5000 about 20 years ago, when I was too young and inexperienced to ever work out how to use it properly. Had kids, stored it in less than ideal conditions. Dug it out when I started making music again a few years ago and it was fried! I think vintage gear, whether samplers or anything else, is definitely worth having - for many of the reasons you discussed, happy accidents, workflow, appreciation of modern gear etc. (whatever gets you creating, right? and limitations often makes you more creative) - but the prices are ridiculous, so not an option for most of us mortals. Also have to consider maintenance costs and availability of parts. As for more videos like this - yes please! Great talk, great guest. :)

Leviathan

3y↑1

Yes that's what happens, sorry about your gear, same happened to a couple of my pieces I put in storage and was touring, kind of forgot about them and then many years later found them and they are torn up, need to get components to change, if you can keep them in a climate controlled environment this won't happen as badly.. still can though..I hate when I have gear that I could use sitting Infront of me, yet it won't work...

horriblyodd

3y↑1

The two I don't think I'll ever be able to get rid of are the MPC 2000XL and SP505. Echoing the video the workflow nuances and how those taught me about more endless sandboxes like Ableton etc. has been really special. And the SP505 sounds absolutely amazing in a few output level sweet spots (and the vinyl sim).

Yann Manier

For me, It’s always been the search of pleasing and rewarding sound. How a 6 second loop on vintage gear could make me bounce my head for hours, while stacking tons of layers on a complete song in a daw leaves me kind of “static”. On the other hand, I remember having such a hard time getting “out” of that 6 second loop, because I found the workflow was so slooooow. I guess the workflow I would go towards today would be creating a track in a daw, including structure, and then recording everything back to vintage samplers. First getting the idea, and then using old samplers to get the sound. Tough questions because there is no quick’n easy way to it. That’s what I’d to today anyway... and I ’ve been fortunate enough to own an MPC 2000xl, then a 60 with a S950 and an Emax, then a 3000, then an MV8800, and lastly an SP1200. Sold everything, as I had to stay on a budget (aaaah the joys of becoming a father). Finally, the only thing I kept was an ASR10, and am planning on getting an Emax back. (Kids are growing... payback time !! 😂)

DEEPMOSES

3y↑4

Love John Tejada, met him ages ago in Barcelona, great guy and awesome producer 👍

Sunday Morning Mass Radio Show

What a honour to you have Ricky ! God bless Tejada to Pass It On his passion and knowledge ! <3

Ad Realz

Awesome format Ricky! Really enjoyable talk. My 2 fav gears are the 3000 and 1000 MPCs

Sir Donald Dust

3y↑1

The FZ-1. I loved that sampling keyboard. It had a big impact on my understanding of sampling. I could multi-sample instruments, not that I really did it much but I could. I could sample of vinyl and make grungy boom bap from jazz records, and I could make logi house and techno. I always regretted it going walkabout when it did. It never came back either.
Used to love sampling someone talking and then mixing it with the synth waveforms to make a vocoder kind of sound. Perfect acid stuff.

Nick Skywalker

3y↑5

Yeahhh gear nerdery!
Loved that!
Big respect for having Tejada, he's such a legend!
I don't have any vintage hardware but fell in loved with Trackers too! It really makes me do stuff I wouldn't do otherwise, and make me focus more on the sound I get rather than visual aspect of midi clips etc.

Hans von Wackerburg 🔊

3y↑2

The Monotonist

I own a Yamaha SU 10 , which I consider a vintage Sampler - although a quite small and simple one. I guess, I bought it because I liked collecting crappy old digital stuff, but I ended up using it quite often. I noticed how I tend to lean towards more limited gear, because it is quite focused and starts you fast. A big plus is the special sound/colour the older samplers give everything, without you having the need to add some special effects to get vibe out of a sound. - I like how hardware like even the SU 10 can give your music the feel of a "signature-sound".

Just for reference: the MPC Live is the least used gear in my arsenal, simply because it tries to do everything without being dedicated to something really. Sometimes the "does-it-all-approach" takes away the magic of a piece of hardware, at least to me. It can do everything - and I simply do nothing at all with it. - That's the reason I'm looking for an older model like the 1000 or the 2000XL.

There's DAWs for "doing everything" and I feel like hardware which tries to do everything just always ends up looking bad in comparison and less desirable.

thomas matthews

I came in using Casio sk1s, Sk5s and the Yamaha VSTs 30 sampler before graduating up to the ensoniq mirage. I hate aliasing and I found the good fight against tape hiss until I went digital. The mirage though it was 8 bit was still light years ahead in quality up from the sk1. When I got the 16 plus I no longer sampled at 45 rpm.
And when I got the 2000 classic... it was a wrap.

Amy Knoles

This is so well said!! I have found that many younger artists have not run the gauntlet with all of this gear that you two have...I remember loading the floppy on stage in my S900 praying that I'd hit the right button presses and that it'd load in time before the performance artists I was on stage with finished a section. We were so blown away by the possibilities that these instruments gave us at the time, however going back to analogue gear now after the convenience of the DAW platforms can be extremely frustrating and seem so limited. I also remember moving my S900 samples over the Reason when that first became a possibility. It was amazing, but, it sounded wrong. Drove me crazy being a performer (even worse a drummer) and not an engineer I didn't intellectually know what was wrong but I could hear and feel it...now the math behind the DSP programming is so much better there is much less loss and my ears have dumbed down. Thanks to my students who kept on me to check out Elektron, MakeNoise, Hydra, Moog...my ears are waking back up and the ability to work within a DAW like Ableton to keep things manageable, I'm in heaven!!! The vintage gear is awesome, (and insanely expensive now) but I'm really excited about the hybrid gear that matches our more versatile workflows and supporting new young instrument creators (that are still living) is so important! Community and exploration! You guys rock!!!

Edgar Allen Floe®

Nice vid. Picked up a 3000LE last year after years of wanting one. It's the vintage gear that makes you appreciate the legendary producers even more. Quik, Battlecat....absolute wizards. But Roger Linn was ahead of his time in masterminding what's become the standard for so many sample based producers. Peace ✌🏾

Atograph

I really enjoyed being a fly on the wall for this conversation! A lot of interesting points were discussed.
Also, thanks for the inspiring Octatrack convo at Knobcon, it was nice meeting you!

Ihor

3y↑3

Really interesting conversation! Especially for a guy who got into music production recently. Thanks for sharing, guys! Peace!

Shea

Awesome conversation! I wholeheartedly support the idea of you making more of these vids (podcast someday? 😃)

jhonezcronic

Perfect Conversation for someone like myself
I’ve had an Sp1200 Black version since 1995/6 And an MPC60 I bought around the same time…. I struggle with new equipment.. because my mind is so wired to use the 1200… I believe it’s literally the easiest and hardest machine to use… if EMU had updated the 1200 I’m sure the MPC’s would have never taken off

otobotrecords

3y↑1

The Casio FZ-1 was my first sampler in 1995. Great sampler, amazing build quality (like much of the gear back then) and very interesting engine and sound. It even had digital synthesis built in. Regarding the synthesis, don't ask me what/why/how, because that stuff was way over my head back then lol.

PM

Just got a Circuit Rhythm and really like messing with it, once I learned it. Finally selling my EPS I bought new in '89. The best sampler is the one you actually use.

StoreHaus Holding LLC

I love the Akai s5000! It’s got 16 outs. Plus with wav being spoken natively, you get the best of both worlds

I’ve added an SSD drive to mine, so drag and drop samples into the HD faster than the original usb 1.1 connection

Jay Kaufman

3y↑1

I've got a Yamaha A3000 that I bought new and it's sat pretty much dormant for years, until I put in a SCSI2CD drive into it so I could modernize sending samples to it. I did that about a year ago and sadly, it still sits dormant and I've yet to use it in a track. I went to all of the trouble to max out the RAM, fix the encoders, etc. and yet because it's so clunky workflow-wise by moden standards, I'm not that inclined to use it.

However, back in the day it was my go-to almost immediately. It still sounds fantastic and I've yet to find a sampler outside of the Yamaha Ax000 series that has better sounding (and resonant!) filters.

Katherine

3y↑1

Love this video and its whole vibe! For me, I'd lost my enjoyment of using a DAW entirely, to the point that I just missed - or so I thought - the simple flow of OctaMed on an Amiga. So! I bought a Polyend Tracker, same limitations and workflow, complete with mono and other fidgety weird bits, loaded it with old breaks and waveforms, and linked all my hardware through a Midi splitter.

Long story short, eight months later I feel like I owe the machine a debt, but went back to my DAW with a renewed appreciation for the power of a creative constraint, but also being able to just use a darn computer to make life easier when I needed to. I feel like I've learned just how much power and sound I can get from an 808, a 303, and a Minilogue XD. That's where I start; and the software's just the icing on the cake. Do you ever end up starting in a different workflow and finishing on piano roll? I'm wondering if you have a different scratchpad flow versus final product. Seems like it in some videos, but one never knows, does one. :3

Mudit A

3y↑1

This was a super fun watch! Really digging this new format Ricky!

Phillip O

John Tejada is a legend! Please do more Tejada talks!

Distant Comets

So good! Much love to Tejada for all the great work over the years! As for vintage stuff, I'd say there's a part of me that would kinda love to have a Mirage around the studio just for texture, but who's got room for occasional use pieces? I do keep and use an Ensoniq ESQ-1 all the time for its wonky dirty sound, though.

Jordan Colburn

I found an ensoniq mirage at goodwill. It was fun to learn how it was done back in the day and the analog filters were sweet! But... It was such a pain to edit, I never used it except for a few tracks as a novelty.

whileimgaming

90% of room sound in a interview, in a audio channel is always a sign of true professionalism.

Kzz

I can imagine that with today's technology and the possibilities offered by vst effects and software, an interesting solution is a hybrid workflow. When it comes to lofi, I recommend the decimort plugin, mpc beats software and Edison from FL studio which gives you the ability to change the samplerate, save it on a memory card and load it back in the sampler. Recording a sample through mpc in a higher pitch to daw with decimort or air lofi and load or record back to mpc gives this characteristic crunch when you play it on 16levels. Old mp's also these 16 bit add character to the sound and it is not true that, for example, such a 2500 sounds pure as many people think. Also playing with pitch and resampling with effects in new mpc can give interesting results as I found out using mpc beats. I recommend a hybrid workflow that gives you unlimited possibilities.

The FZ-1 has a special place for me. That, an SH-101 and a JX-8P were my first setup as a teenager. I liked how the FZ-1 sounds. But it was the fact it had a full size velocity and aftertouch sensitive keyboard made it a complete bargain. I regret not picking up a 202 and 808 at the time. I had the option of picking them up super cheap. That, and much later on selling my Dave Smith Poly Evolver Keyboard and Waldorf XTK are my big gear regrets. I guess always buy the slightly out of fashion character pieces. and never sell the gnarly grungy sounding ones.

emptyvessel

3y↑1

this was great, very much a subject close to my heart. Definitely feeling AllOneKind's request, a 2nd chat over at John's place and a look at his setup would be really interesting. I'm a big fan of the sound, happy accidents, errors, usability, quirkiness and fun of vintage samplers (including my mk1 Octatrack as vintage by now!) as a very big part of my workflow, analogue tape too. There's a lot to be said for the life, dust and imperfection that's added to the sound by just sending it out of the computer and letting it breathe in a piece of hardware or two before re-capturing it. I also find the way the hardware works ends up triggering ideas and techniques I use when working with software and plugins.

romain jub

3y↑1

I had/have the live, mpc2500, 2000xl and the vintage mpc60 mk2 is my preference. Touch feeling ( pad, buttons, body) , OS, natural mixing/glue of the sounds, size, Simplicity and efficiency

TRESPoRROS

I remember my final months with mpc3000LE, it was hooked to the NI's Battery via 5din midi, and I used it mostly as a sequencer and for programming/live drumming. Using Battery for editing and sample swapping was much faster, easier, more comfortable....

FRED THE BASS PRO

Tejada is a legend! (in my mind at least). I still remember when I dug up an old record of his at the local vinyl shop like 10 years ago.. had a shrimp on it and I did a double-take because I wasn't expecting to find any cool techno/house whatsoever - despite that being what I was searching for essentially lol, but yeah, bought it for 3 bucks, without having listened to it, but I was like man it has to be the same dude it just has to be. Keep in mind, at this time the John Tejada i was familiar with was well-known by now and had multiple recent club bangers constantly in rotation, so it was weird finding this older deeper more experimental cut mannn..still have it. Believe it was a track with Adrian Leviste if I am not mistaken..gotta dig it out the crate when I'm done moving lol. Anyways, I'm jibber jabberiin -- awesome chat, thoroughly enjoyed it ya'll. ~~-P e a c e ! ✌🏼-~~

HIPER10NN

Amazing, I myself have an MPC 1000. I was going to buy the MPC one but found I think a good deal on my 1000, with JJOS 2XL.

cryptout

I started sampling on a Roland W30. I rather die than go back to 7 seconds :-) Nice to see John, I have many of his records in my collection.

Ian Gomes

Just to weigh in here... I wanted a 3000. I watched this video. I bought a 3000. After using it for a bit, I'm so so glad I got my 3000.

Gracana

Great topic, and I really liked the format. I hope you do more discussions like this one.

Master Cylinder

3y↑1

I bought the EPS’s, hoping to emulate a Mirage, then after ten years of checking the local classifieds daily, I was able to find one for a good price. Initially I offered a trade for one of my Emu’s, he wasn’t interested in a trade, it was posted for a while, I live in what I consider to be guitar country, he was asking $400 at first, then it dropped to $300 over a few weeks, I offered him $200, he said because I was the first person to contact him, he’d let it go for $260. I was happy, it’s the black and yellow one with the big buttons. Perseverance and patience is a virtue, a bit nerve raking but sometimes you have to play the long game. But the EPS have their own sound and sonic value.

pctekman

Thanks John I have lots of your kickass records. The old samplers are good but they needed a plethora of other gear to record and mix. Save the money and buy an new mpc. The cost of keeping them working is another factor. Shout out to marlow diggs!

dammills

3y↑8

It’s funny because it’s been said quite a bit that an 808 or 909 doesn’t sound great without compression/processing. Now the new groove boxes of this era have these built in and they usually sound like crap.

Enemy Sub

Well with the 808 most of the cats back in the day would actually sample it and then put it back in the cupboard.

Charles N

This was great. Mr. Tejada seems like such a nice guy. I dig his music, too.

Juan T

my experience with hardware samplers ( I onw an MPC 1000 ) limitations can be a creativity trigger, but i guess not for everybody. I just love to figure out ways to do things you "can't" do.

Jazz Crates

Heard Tejada first on the Dublab compilation. Cool track! Good to see him still doing great music.

Master Cylinder

3y↑1

The Akai S-612 now makes me open to getting an AX-60, doh! It’s not like I need it, and prices are starting to get silly. On a different topic, I just managed to buy a fully functioning, well looked after Roland JX-8P for $225, simply by widening my search area to 160km. Saw it early, no one local would have seen it, I knew it would get snapped up, it had been posted for 11 minutes, l couldn’t afford it, but I couldn’t afford to not buy it, if possible. I contacted them straight away, made arrangements and off I went, if I could have afforded it, I would have offered them more, but this year hasn’t been great, poor wage and a shortage of hours. It came with a two tier stand, a soft Roland bag and foot peddle. I was so lucky to buy it and still can’t believe I was so lucky and have it. Have to keep reminding myself!

Joel James

3y↑1

Great conversation! Please continue on the subject of samplers. As a vintage Akai user and a 90s house lover i loved the conversation. My centrepiece is the Akai 2000xl. I agree with what is mentioned from emptyvessle below, a 2nd episode at John Tejedas studio would be great too see.

Personally I have been thru the Akai S900, Mpc 1000, and now finally found my match with the Mpc 2000xl and a micro sd adapter. Absolutely love the limitations and with the machine and as mentioned from you Ricky I didn't not find the right 90s gritty sound until I started using 90s gritty machines and that workflow.

Thanks for a great conversation, very inspiring.

TheNimasan

John is a LEGEND. i played no set with at least 4-5 trax of his in it . much love and support fropm munich/germany

Shoe Engine

me to myself: "it was dj quik he was thinking of, not preemo."
did the trust nod when i saw you got it right my brother.

btw... i think i had an influence in the price of the 3000 going up and i regret it.

eternal sence

3y↑6

love the format of a convo about music tech, would love more!!!

aistisice

you've got the King on the show man! 👑 I couldn't believe it for a min had to read the title again

bob flick

A thoughtful conversation between two intelligent, thoughtful AND likable people???? Uh yeah, I'd like a whole lot more of that!!! Well done as always Ricky...

#JMB JokerMansBeats

Love watching your vids bro. Keep em coming.

Ryan Jay

Yes and no - depending on your definition of sampler. I had an S950 and an EMAX and sold them both. Do they have a great sound that is very hard to reproduce any other way? Yes. Can you get 80% of the way there with a clean sampler and some pre/post processing? Most likely yes. Will anyone ever actually notice the difference in the final composition? No. They're also a pain in the ass to work with.

Should you get an MPC? Depends. I happen to love the MPC workflow and prefer working with hardware when composing and let the MPC control my studio. Plus, the sampling/chopping workflow on the MPCs are not nearly as much of a pain as on the rackmount units (you don't need to set up the patches and mapping to which MIDI notes trigger it and things are far more immediate). I started with a 2KXL and moved to a 4K and haven't looked back. Especially with a unit like the 4K - what is really the point of an S950? The sound? It's much easier to keep everything in one place. Plus the 4K offers a lot of conveniences like reading samples from any USB drive and can easily take a CF card in place of its HDD. With rock solid timing and 4 MIDI outs, I can easily put together an entire track with it, and management of projects isn't too bad unlike earlier MPCs. But, that all really depends on your workflow.

The only other "sampler" I haven't sold is my ASR10 - mostly because I use it as my master keyboard because polyphonic after touch :)
It can also do its own thing and I do sometimes use it to build strange instruments with its synthesize loop functions and etc. IMO it does have a "sound", but it's not as drastic as something like an S950. Unless you're REALLY pitching something, to me it sounds almost as clean as any computer/digital source.

TLDR; if you think you'll get some magic sound, don't bother. If you're doing it because it fits your workflow, then go for it. In fact, I would recommend anyone trying to do "hip hop" type music to at least try an MPC like workflow at least once - most likely you'll either love or hate it.

Adria Duch

3y↑1

I discovered John Tejada in 2004 with the "Logic Memory Center". One of the finest minimal!

Lavolka

Jared Both

Love this discussion about the vibe of using vintage. Have you seen the lengths that LMNC has gone through to restore and play a commodore 64? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzHdqu55FMc

Dr. Muse

Interesting show thanks as always. Gere is one for you. Vintage YAMAHA TX16w sampler 12-bit, 50kHz (mono), 33.3kHz (stereo), variable, 720k disk drive storage.

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