Dan Carr runs the site ReverbMachine, which is one my favorite new discoveries. On the site, Dan dissects and recreates the synthesizer patches used on popular songs by artists such as Tame Impala, Kanye West, Beach House, Nine Inch Nails, and more. At the end of each post you can download the presets and project files he creates. It's a powerful tool for learning how to program synthesizers and apply effects to achieve popular sounds. Like me, Dan also began his journey into music by playing guitar. I find his approach to sound design reflects the mentality of guitar players with their pedals and amplifiers. Those techniques translate to synthesizer sound design in exciting ways.

I sat down for a conversation with Dan about his work and music production in general. Dan shared his process for dissecting the sounds from his favorite artists. It was a really fun conversation with a person doing some really exciting work for the music production community.

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Show Notes:

ReverbMachine - Dan's Site where he dissects songs, recreates synth patches, and explores how artists make their music.

Recreating Frank Ocean Tracks - Dan's piece for Reverb.com all about the sounds of Frank Ocean.

Recreating Gone Girl - Another Reverb.com piece where Dan rebuilds Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' soundtrack for the film Gone Girl.

Synth Patches - Dan's collections of presets for popular synth plugins.

Ableton Sessions - Take a look under the hood as Dan recreates tracks by a wide range of artists.

ReverbMachine on Facebook

ReverbMachine on Twitter

ReverbMachine on Instagram

Moog Prodigy - Vintage Synth Explorer review of a classic synth.

Soundtoys - We spoke a bit about their great plugins.

Tame Impala - A favorite artist for both me and Dan.

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