Pirupa's favourite music software

Ableton Live 9.7

“I started with Cubase and found it way too difficult. At the time I was more of a DJ than a producer, and Cubase didn’t make sense.

“Ableton wasn’t so good technically, but it allowed me to find my way in the world of the studio. On average, I create three or four tracks every week on Ableton - that’s good enough for me.”

Read more: Arturia Keylab Essential 49

FULL REVIEW: Ableton Live 9

Rob Papen plugins

“Almost all my bass sounds come from Predator and SubBoomBass. Many people comment on the quality of my basses, so I know these are the right plugins for me.

“When it comes to bass, I try not to make things too complicated - I make a cut around 40-50Hz, match the levels to the song, and that’s it. Anything else I leave to the mixing engineer.”

FULL REVIEW: Rob Papen Predator 2

Arturia ARP 2600 V

“Some of my tracks have more of a techno feel, and for that, I always turn to my Arturia package.

“The way they’re laid out and the way they sound seems to make sense in the techno environment. A little bit more electronic, a bit more quirky. Yeah, it would be great to have real hardware, but… maybe when I win the lottery.” 

FULL REVIEW: Arturia ARP 2600 V

Ohm Force OhmBoyz

“If I had one small complaint about Ableton - a program that I love - it would be that the sound could be bigger.

“Sure, you can use the onboard delays and they sound OK, but as soon as you put it next to this, you can hear an immediate difference. Not only is it bigger, but it’s warmer and wider. This was a difficult choice for me… I use [Soundtoys] EchoBoy too, so I have to mention it - always my number two.”  

READ MORE: Ohm Force OhmBoyz

IK Multimedia Classik Studio Reverb

“When you first start making music, it’s natural to get a bit crazy with your plugins. But as time passed, I realised that I was always coming back to the CSR package.

“You get four reverbs with tons of parameters to play with. It’s very, very rare that I have to look for any other reverbs.”

FULL REVIEW: IK Multimedia Classik Studio Reverb