Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitars
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Guitar Amps
  • Drums
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • Lemmy vs Dylan
  • Are 'Friends' Electric?
  • Flava D - DnB is hard
  • Prince's drummers
  • 95k+ free music samples
Don't miss these
Nadia Struiwigh
Artists Tresor resident Nadia Struiwigh on why she avoids tutorials and keeps things 'loose' in the studio
verses gt
Artists Jacques Greene and Nosaj Thing on the making of their new collaborative project, Verses GT
rival
Artists “You end up doing different things with a plugin versus a hardware synth”: Rival Consoles on why he still uses a Prophet emulation – even though he owns the real thing
Silva Bumpa
Tech Breakout producer Silva Bumpa on the secret to creating sub bass and UKG rhythms
Joe Armon-Jones
Artists Ezra Collective’s Joe Armon-Jones on the imagined musical apocalypse that inspired All The Quiet
loukeman
Artists Loukeman reveals his favourite plugins and unusual production techniques
Hot Chip 2006
Tech “There’s joy in doing something again and again”: Hot Chip show how one of their best loved tracks was created
Lawrence Hart
Artists Lawrence Hart on the mixed blessings of classical training and being ‘scrappy’ in the studio
Flava D in the studio
Artists Flava D on why drum & bass is the toughest genre to produce
imad royal
Producers & Engineers “I’m a big preset guy. If a preset’s called Fat Bass, there’s a 90% chance it’s actually a fat bass”: Rico Nasty and Benson Boone producer Imad Royal on saving time and staying focused in the studio
subterra
Studios Music studio complex opens in former nuclear bunker in The Hague
Eight producers
Artists "Turn a few seconds into a four minute, finished piece of music”: 8 producers show how they finish tracks
Adrian Sherwood
Artists Dub pioneer Adrian Sherwood on embracing AI and playing the studio like an instrument
Ray Cooper
Artists Percussionist Ray Cooper tells the story of his ‘lost’ live collaboration with Elton John
tape
Artists Richie Hawtin produces short film inspired by '90s Detroit techno scene
  1. Artists

Me in my Studio: Matt Calvert

News
By Ben Rogerson published 19 September 2018

Goldie’s musical director shows you his temporary facility

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Welcome

Welcome

Best known for forging electronic sounds with live instruments in Three Trapped Tigers, Strobes, Heritage Orchestra and as MD for Goldie's live band, multi-instrumentalist/composer Matt Calvert is now gearing up to release Typewritten, his entirely acoustic yet electronically-influenced solo debut on Truant Recordings.

Currently between studios having moved back to London after a few years in Berlin, we asked Matt to show us a few key parts of his sound in his temporary setup.

"Having a permanent setup is great, but it is possible to make amazing music anywhere with a laptop, Ableton Live, some cheap plugins and any mic. I recorded a lot of my album outside of proper studios."

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
Ozark Resonator guitar

Ozark Resonator guitar

“When recording my album Typewritten (which has only acoustic instruments) I borrowed a cheap Ozark Resonator which had tons of buzzy, rattly character, sounding like a big banjo.  It really helped give a different angle to the guitar element that blended really well with the sound world - lots of percussion, vibraphone, marimba, strings and acoustic keyboards. I’ve since bought this electro-acoustic Ozark for gigging the album’s material.”

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Nylon string guitar

Nylon string guitar

“I brought this out of retirement for my album. Currently, the strings on it are 15 years old (going a bit green in places) - before the recording it was last used on my second year classical guitar recital at Guildhall. I like that knackered sound, though, a bit like on Portishead’s track The Rip. Like the resonator it also brought a character that a normal steel string can’t.”

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
Spectrasonics Keyscape

Spectrasonics Keyscape

“This immaculately-sampled keyboard collection became a huge part of my album - the upright pianos added a vividness (complete with pedal noises) to my demos that helped steer the sound. Even though I replaced most of it with a real upright piano for the final arrangements (there are some things you can’t get from anything other than a physical acoustic instrument, like being able to reach inside a piano), I left it on a few tracks or used a mixture within certain pieces - I’m not sure people could necessarily tell them apart.  The dulcitone has also become a huge part of my sound.”

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Roland SH-101

Roland SH-101

“Apart from my acoustic record, there’s hardly a production or project that I haven’t used this for. I was lucky to get this in 2007 for £270 (less than the recent Roland Boutique SH-01A reissue).   

“I’m not a hardware or analogue snob - some of my favourite music is all made from soft synths, and I use the TAL Bassline-101 plugin a lot, too. I’m more interested in whatever is inspiring to use, and have always advocated for good musical ideas outweighing gear collections - although, as much as I subscribe to that ideology, my financial situation has enforced it!”

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Roland Juno-6

Roland Juno-6

“Admittedly, this isn’t mine (it belongs to my TTT bandmate Tom Rogerson) but it’s too significant to exclude! It changed our sound immediately and is all over all our records from the second EP onwards. Once you add delay, reverb, distortion and other FX (the MURF Moogerfooger suits it well), it’s incredibly versatile. And that chorus…

“I bought my own Juno-60 but stupidly sold it to downsize when I moved to Berlin. Luckily, the TAL-U-NO-LX V2 plugin is incredibly faithful, but again, you can’t beat the real thing for getting inspired.”

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
Roland Space Echo

Roland Space Echo

“This has also featured on most productions - it just adds vibe and inspiration straight away, whether using the echo, spring, or just distorting things. UAD makes a very impressive plugin emulation but I consider the hardware piece to be almost like an instrument that you can play with.

“I also have a modded WEM Copicat and my Electro-Harmonix Memory Man gets a lot of action, too. I’m looking forward to doing some non-exclusively-acoustic music to get into these things again!”

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Fender guitars

Fender guitars

“Something about Fenders are just expressive for how I play, and have a character that comes through even when the effects are piled on. None of these guitars are vintage - I’m not massively precious about electric guitars, to be honest.

“Missing in action here is a USA Telecaster from 2007 that has actually seen the most use, but I love the vibe of offset Fenders (the Jazzmaster and Jaguar), and have been getting into the Strat recently, especially the ‘80s-sounding ‘out of phase’ pickup settings. The Coronado is a bit of an outlier for Fender.”

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Pedalboard

Pedalboard

“This monster was curated to be a live solution for Tigers, once I realised that I needed two of everything to pull off the arrangements from our second album.

“The Line 6 Helix is amazing - super flexible in terms of routing (compared to a normal pedal setup) and programming. It can integrate with other stompboxes easily, and can send MIDI to control Ableton Live. I also use Line 6’s M9 a lot for gigs and all sorts - it’s brilliant.  

“If I had to pick a few pedals, though, it’d be the Digitech Whammy, EHX Memory Man and EHX Frequency Analyzer.”

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Ableton Live with Korg nanoKontrol

Ableton Live with Korg nanoKontrol

“An obvious choice, but Ableton Live has become indispensable. Everything about Live is geared towards creativity, especially how you can use samples, plus the FX and MIDI mapping capability. It’s an amazing tool for writing and generating ideas, and I use it for all of my studio-based work and various live performances - either building custom synth/sample rigs for Goldie’s live band or numerous Heritage Orchestra projects, or doing more experimental live sampling/processing with Strobes using this controller.”

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
Ben Rogerson
Ben Rogerson
Social Links Navigation
Deputy Editor

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

Read more
Nadia Struiwigh
Tresor resident Nadia Struiwigh on why she avoids tutorials and keeps things 'loose' in the studio
 
 
verses gt
Jacques Greene and Nosaj Thing on the making of their new collaborative project, Verses GT
 
 
rival
“You end up doing different things with a plugin versus a hardware synth”: Rival Consoles on why he still uses a Prophet emulation – even though he owns the real thing
 
 
Silva Bumpa
Breakout producer Silva Bumpa on the secret to creating sub bass and UKG rhythms
 
 
Joe Armon-Jones
Ezra Collective’s Joe Armon-Jones on the imagined musical apocalypse that inspired All The Quiet
 
 
loukeman
Loukeman reveals his favourite plugins and unusual production techniques
 
 
Latest in Artists
Misha Mansoor plays his signature Jackson Juggernaut in front of a flaming van in a still from the promo video for his signature Neural DSP plugin.
Misha Mansoor teams up with Neural DSP for Archetype plugin that nails his Periphery tone – but does so much more
 
 
Lizzo at the Christian Siriano fashion show as part of Spring/Summer 2026 New York Fashion Week held at Macy's Herald Square on September 12, 2025 in New York, New York. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images)
“It’s policing black music”: Lizzo speaks out on the ‘racist’ origins of sampling law
 
 
Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam performs live on stage during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at Fair Grounds Race Course on May 03, 2025
Matt Cameron explains why he left Pearl Jam and insists that the final Soundgarden album is coming
 
 
John Lennon
When John Lennon alarmed the FBI after platforming radical political ideas in a week-long takeover of American TV
 
 
NASHVILLE - MARCH 10: CBS presents RINGO & FRIENDS AT THE RYMAN, a two-hour special celebrating the music and legacy of Ringo Starr through the lens of country music, airing Monday, March 10 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S. (live and on-demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs). Pictured (L-R): Jack White and Ringo Starr. (Photo by Tibrina Hobson/CBS via Getty Images)
With A Little Help From His Friends: Jack White joins Ringo Starr on stage for a Beatles classic
 
 
Lynyrd Skynyrd
“The record company said, ‘It’s too long.’ But we said, ‘We don’t care!’”: How Lynyrd Skynyrd created a legendary epic
 
 
Latest in News
Modular synth
SampleRadar: 497 free modular percussion samples
 
 
Jackson American Series Rhoads: the Rhoads is now officially being made in the USA again, and is offered with a choice of a hardtail or Floyd Rose, with the hardtail finished in Satin Black and Snow White, and the Floyd in Satin Black, Matte Army Drab and Snow White. Note the reverse headstock.
All Rhoads lead to California as Jackson brings one of its most-iconic metal guitars home for a high-end upgrade
 
 
Source Audio dials up the ambience with the Encounter – six reverbs, six delays, one tricked-out pedal for “deeply immersive soundscapes” featuring MIDI I/O, full stereo operation, and a black enclosure with blue swirly graphic.
“Players have asked us to push further – into more adventurous, exploratory delay and reverb”: Source Audio dials up the ambience with the Encounter – six reverbs, six delays, one tricked-out pedal for “deeply immersive soundscapes”
 
 
subterra
Music studio complex opens in former nuclear bunker in The Hague
 
 
Teenage Engineering EP-1320 Medieval
Teenage Engineering is giving away a free EP-1320 Medieval sampler to anyone that spends $999 in its online store
 
 
Loog Guitars x Gibson: these child-friendly 3-strings reimagine the Les Paul and SG for young beginners.
Gibson teams up with Loog for child-friendly 3-string versions of its most famous electric guitars
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...