Ivo V – V for Valdivielso

1. Favourite knob, fader, or switch on a piece of gear—and why?

That’s the FREQ knob on the Serge VCFQ filter—pure magic for bass. I almost always run it in low-pass mode; it’s got this gritty, alive quality that roughs up even the simplest sounds in the best way. It’s a core part of my setup at this point. I’ve actually had to fix it twice from how much I push it… says a lot about how essential it’s become for me.

Serge filter freq knob

2. Do you have an ‘almost’ perfect bit of kit? What would you change?

Definitely the Octatrack. It’s complex, versatile, and can do almost anything. Whether I’m using it as a performance mixer, sampler, looper, or effects unit, it adapts to whatever I need. It feels very “modular,” if that makes sense for eurorack users. I use it as the main hub for most of my projects, mixing different sources together.

Octatrack

Even though it came out in 2011, it still feels ahead of its time. People are still sharing new tips on forums regularly. Honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s tricky to learn, but totally worth it. If you compare it to learning piano or guitar, getting comfortable with the Octatrack in a couple of years is a pretty good deal, haha.

3. What setup do you bring on holiday, tour, or commute?

iPad with AUM and Koala Sampler

It changes every year, but I always put a lot of care into it. There’s something I really enjoy about designing  a compact setup that still brings inspiration. A few of my favorite “holiday rigs” have been: 1) iPad 2) Laptop with Strudel, the browser-based TidalCycles 3) Monome Norns Shield + field recorder 

4. What software do you wish was hardware—and vice versa?

I’m a big fan of some of Hainbach’s iPad apps, especially Gauss Field Looper by Bram Bos. It’s a beautifully designed tape-style looper that’s super tactile and sounds incredible, especially with its built-in bit reducer, which adds a nice digital grit. I even recreated a similar patch on the Octatrack which does the job quite well.

Norns

On the other hand, I wish there was a desktop version of Monome Norns. It’s an amazing environment, but very tied to its hardware. I’d love to use some of those scripts on my laptop without needing the box.

5. Is there anything you regret selling… or regret buying?

Honestly, I don’t really have any regrets. When I first got into Eurorack, I bought a mix of modules from all sorts of brands. That phase helped me figure out what worked for me. Over time, I sold most of those and kept the ones that felt right.

Serge Eurorack

Now I mostly stick to systems built around Make Noise and Serge. It helps me stay focused and more creative. If I’m not using something, I pass it on. Gear should be played, not just sit on a shelf.

Make Noise Eurorack

6. What gear has inspired you to produce the most music?

Classical guitar. It’s not my most used instrument, but I really love its warm sound and how flexible it is. It was my first instrument, and even though I mostly stick to cowboy chords, it always feels good to play. No cables, no setup, just pick it up and go.

Classical Guitar Camps M6C

For my last album “Arquitectura”, I used a lot of flamenco-inspired phrases from maestro Pedro Javier González. They brought something really special to the music.

7. If you had to start over, what would you get first?

I’d keep it simple and affordable. You don’t need to spend a ton of money to make great music. If I were starting from scratch, these would be my essentials: 1) an iPad for sound design and recording, 2) a field recorder for capturing sounds, and 3) a sampler for building tracks and performing.

The iPad is super versatile. I use it with the AUM app as a mixer. To round it out, I’d add the Moog apps, especially Animoog Z and Minimoog, which sound great and are a good deal. I also use Koala, which is like a mini SP-404. For more experimental stuff, I love Hainbach’s apps like Gauss, Fluss, and Noises. For live setups, I’d add a basic audio interface (I use the Roland GO:Mixer) and a MIDI controller (like the Akai Midimix). You can get the whole iPad setup for under €500.

Olympus recorder, Roland GO:Mixer and Akai Midimix.

For a field recorder, any Zoom, Tascam, or Olympus will do. I use a Zoom H4n and an Olympus LS-11. Both work great, I even found the Olympus used for just €60.

As for a sampler, Koala app might be enough on its own, but if there’s room in the budget, I’d go for a newer Akai MPC (Live or One). They’re powerful for both sound design and live performance, packed with solid synths and strong sampling features. For non-experimental music, I’d even pick one over my beloved Octatrack.

8. What’s the most annoying piece of gear you have, that you just can’t live without?

The Monome Norns Shield is a super powerful little box, with an amazing community behind it (shoutout to the Lines forum). I’m not a coder, so I know I’m not using it to its full potential, but even without coding, it can do so much.

Some scripts can be a bit tricky, with menu diving and button combos, but it’s totally worth it. A few of my favorites are:

  • benjolis – a digital Benjolin
  • dronecaster – great for thick drones
  • icarus – Monotron Delay-style synth
  • molly_the_poly – Juno-6-style synth with random patches
  • oooooo – six-voice tape-style looper
  • passersby – a West Coast-style synth voice

All of these have made it into my albums. That said… I fried mine. Tried to fix a broken encoder and ended up burning the PCB. Thinking about upgrading to the full Norns now instead of just the Shield.

9. Most surprising tip or trick or technique that you’ve discovered about a bit of kit?

Honestly, I’m a bit late to this, but I’m really into feedback and making sound without external inputs. Lately, I’ve been having fun patching my small Euro Serge without using oscillators. It’s not just about music, it’s about exploring sound and how different devices work together. It feels like finding the machine’s soul.😀


Artist or Band name?

Ivo V. My active projects are Les Eines (The Tools), a solo project influenced by ambient, west coast synthesis, and musique concrète, and Refugi de Fauna Salvatge (Wildlife Refuge), a collective project. We use live coding tools (Tydal Cycles, Supercollider), trumpet, modular synths, and samplers. Crazy stuff!

Genre?

abstract electronic, alien folk, kosmische.

Selfie?



Ivó Valdivielso aka. Ivo V

Where are you from? 

I’m from Barcelona, though I currently live on the outskirts, in the Baix Llobregat area. It’s a nice place full of creativity and great cultural initiatives.

How did you get into music?

I started teaching myself guitar. Since I couldn’t find any bandmates, I began making backing tracks with a free software called “Dance Ejay” that came on a CD-ROM in a box of cereal. It was a cheap way to start!

What still drives you to make music?

Music makes me feel alive! I love learning new techniques, meeting new artists, and designing new projects. It helps to keep me balanced.

How do you most often start a new track?

I usually start with some samples, like a field recording, a guitar phrase, or a blip-blop from the modular system. I load them into the Octatrack and start jamming until it “clicks.”

How do you know when a track is finished? 

I stay focused when creating tracks. Usually, the tracks are part of a bigger project, so they need to meet certain requirements. I do a lot of prep work: field research, interviews, sound decisions. By the time I start making a track, I know what I want. I’m not a big fan of post-production; I prefer doing most of the work in pre-production and creating with intention.

Show us your current studio

Ivo V’s studio

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

There’s a time for buying gear and a time for making music. Keep the phases separated for maximum creativity.

Promote your latest thing… Go ahead, throw us a link

This is my last album from my solo project, Les Eines

And this is something very special. The Experimental Protest Song Device (DCPX) is the result of a collective creation process, drawing from poetry and computer code, science and activism. It is published by Discs noIA, an online record label for artists with a critical or confrontational attitude towards AI. Their website cannot be scraped by AI bots!

https://www.discs-noia.cat/dcpx-disc


Andreas Zhukovsky – Endorphin.es

In this interview, I chat with Andreas Zhukovsky fournder of Endorphin.es a modular synth eurorack manufacturer based in Barcelona, Spain. We ask him 9 odd questions for music gear makers.

Check out @Endorphines YouTube…

… and their awesome modules:

Endorphin.es Ghost Eurorack Module https://redir.love/IeHXtJvM

Endorphin.es Ghost Pedal https://redir.love/v6eveVub

Endorphin.es Golden Master Pedal https://redir.love/SjE5YA5f


Oriol Domingo – El Garatge

[Editor: This is interview nr. 100! Yay!!! And to celebrate, we’re doing a GIVEAWAY! Oriol has kindly donated an El Garatge expression knob to one lucky price winner. Check out how to enter on my Instagram]

1. Favourite knob or fader or switch on a piece of gear and why?

Moog Sub 37 chicken head knob

My Moog Sub 37 has a very good over all build quality. I like that despite being quite big, the filter knob moves really smooth, but what I like even more, is the pattern type and octave selectors, even the click sound is very pleasing!.

2. Do you have an ‘almost’ perfect bit of kit? What would you change? 

Access Virus Indigo 2

I really like my old Access Virus Indigo 2. Sounds really powerful and offers a lot of sonic possibilities, but due to the metal sides it’s insanely heavy and the keybed feels really cheap for me. I already have a bigger midi controller connected to it, but I like to use the built-in keyboards, especially when I’m just creating new sounds.

3. What setup do you bring on holiday or tour or commute etc.?

Teenage Engineering OP-1

Most of the time, just the Teenage Engineering OP-1. It’s perfect to practice with limitations. It allows me to create full songs without using any other device and I remember discovering some cool melodies that, with another piece of gear, wouldn’t have happened, because of the way it makes me work. Also, I can use the built-in mic, line in or FM radio too, when I want to use a little more elaborated portable setups.

4. What software do you wish was hardware and vice versa?

VST Synthogy Ivory Piano

As a piano player, I really like the VST Synthogy Ivory Piano. Most of the time I do my music without a computer, where the OP-1 is current main device to record with.
It would be really cool to just have that piano sound out of the computer, as most of the time I just want to play and it doesn’t make sense starting up a DAW or even a computer simply to play a sound, when I don’t want to do anything else. In fact, they did release a hardware version, but in addition to being really expensive I think they discontinued it.

5. Is there anything you regret selling… or regret buying?

Yamaha RM1X

Since I first discovered grooveboxes and synths, over time I ended up with a fair amount of devices, but sometimes I was more attracted to the aesthetics or possibilities, than what I really lacked in my studio.
Other times maybe I needed what I purchased, but in the end, the device didn’t fit my preferred way to work. I remember buying (and selling again very soon after) a Yamaha RM1X. It had a really powerful sequencer, but it wasn’t satisfying for me to play with. I also had fun with the Roland MC-303 Groovebox and even though I wouldn’t give it much use nowadays I still miss it sometimes.

6. What gear has inspired you to produce the most music?

Again, the OP-1 alone has given me a good amount of ideas. The workflow and immediacy to record and loop is something really well designed and that works very well in my case, because it really helps me to have visual feedback on what I’m doing.

TE OP-1

7. If you had to start over, what would you get first?

Probably a Korg Minilogue XD. It offers a lot of immediacy and very little menu diving, which is great to design sounds fast. In addition, the sonic possibilities and extra oscillators make it a really good synth to start with. It can easily do everything from drum sounds to bass, leads and pads. I miss a little more of polyphony, but adding a little of the internal reverb or delay effects can help with that.

Korg Minilogue XD

8. What’s the most annoying piece of gear you have, that you just can’t live without?

Despite having some decent synths and quality pedals, I still own, not one, but two Behringer mixers and a Tube Ultra-Q which I have only connected to my Yamaha Reface CP to add some EQ. I have one rack mixer with 8 stereo inputs where I connect all the synths. From that, I connect the main out to the other small mixer. where I add aux effects and additional synths or mics. Both mixers add a considerable amount of noise, especially the small one, depending on levels, but I’m just used to it and I keep using them for now.

Behringer mixers and Tube Ultra-Q

9. Most surprising tip or trick or technique that you’ve discovered about a bit of kit?

Maybe this can’t even be considered a technique, but sometimes I have fun placing piezo microphones between my midi keyboard keys and then amplify and add EQ to the noise while I play. Then I can record piano music with some real noises. I even tried placing the mic on old wood furniture to add some cracking noises while I record, which adds a little more atmosphere in my opinion.

[Editor: That is fantastic lateral thinking technique! I dig it!]

Piezo mic for mechanical noise

Artist or Band name?

I make music as Efímer on YouTube/Spotify. You can find me at youtube.com/efimer where I upload soundpacks and demos of my own devices too.

Genre?

I’d say Ambient/Downtempo, but sometimes I make piano and orchestral music too.

Selfie? 

Oriol Domingo in his studio

Where are you from?

Barcelona, Spain.

How did you get into music?

My grandparent used to take care of another family’s orchard. One day he returned home with one of these little mechanical toy pianos, that the kid of the other family didn’t want. I was 4 years old, but I still can remember what I felt when I played the first notes, I was immediately hooked and I’ve been playing by ear from that age.

The first song I played with that toy piano was MacGyver by the way, haha. When I was 8 my father understood I wasn’t going to stop playing the piano and he bought me a more decent one. From there, I discovered what I really liked was to play by ear and also create my own songs. All the synth stuff and GAS came when I was about 16 when I discovered the Roland MC-303 and Korg Electribes.

What still drives you to make music?

The act of creating something out of nothing, the possibility to create some unique music that could convey feelings to other people makes me happy. Of course it’s complicated to do anything really “new” but even the process of trying to create it can lead to understanding ourselves a little better, by trying to find our own voice. Creating music makes us wonder what do we want.

How do you most often start a new track?

I use two different methods. Sometimes when I’m learning to use a new piece of gear I just want to create some sounds. If during the process a new melody comes to my mind, I try to follow that and see where it goes, and if not, I’ll still have some patches to use another day. The other method I use is just starting with a piano or rhodes sound, which are my favorite, and start improvising while I think about other things.

How do you know when a track is finished?

When even the “worst” part of a track is still acceptable in my opinion. I usually listen to each fragment many times and try to correct the things I still don’t like. Sometimes works well too just listening to it in another moment or another day to realize there are still things to fix. I think it’s good to listen to your own old music too, in order to see if you would make the same decisions again.

Show us your current studio

I don’t have much space so it’s quite fragmented and messy.

Oriol Domingo’s home studio

I love synths with keyboards, so it can be quite uncomfortable sometimes.

The El Garatge home studio keys

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

Embrace limitations. It may seem very common to hear and I think it may not work for everybody. Not just your own creative limitations, but also adding and forcing other kinds of limitations like gear or even time.
Especially when starting new songs, the less options the better for me. It’s easy to get lost in the possibilities when you have a lot of gear, you could be constantly wondering if you chose the right synth or sound to start and which effects add, etc.
If you force yourself to use one synth, sound or even sample, changing is not an option, it’s all you have, so no need to think about that again and you can now start creating.

Promote your latest thing… Go ahead, throw us a link.

In the last weeks I’ve been developing this piggyback LFO knob with extra features for pedals with expression inputs, which will be finished soon I hope!:

https://elgaratge.com/echo-knob/


[Editor: It’s been a wild ride doing this music gear blog this past year and the blog isn’t even over 1 year old. Over 30,000 unique visitors have stopped by and had a monthly readership of between 1500 to 4000 readers.

… And I’d just like to thank YOU, my fellow music gear junkie…. But also, of course, the 100 artists who contributed and made this past year a little more tolerable.

Do you have any suggestions for the future of this blog? Then leave a comment below.]