Jeremy Sharp-#DigMyRig Top Ten

The MIDI Association

#DigMyRig Photo

The Monolith

Gear List

The Monolith The Moog Sub37, Moog Minitaur and Minimoog VoyagerXL all sync to the midi clock generated by Ableton Live. The two customized Arturia Beatstep Pro sequencers also sync to the clock, while sending their sequences back to Ableton, which distributes the midi to the synths as well as the Roland TR-8 Drum Machine. This method allows for capturing of the midi data and the printed audio separately in Ableton, rather than have the sequencers route directly to the synths. One of the Beatstep Pros sends CV and drum gates to the modular synthesizer to sync the analog sequencers as well as trigger envelopes and sync LFO’s to the midi clock. There are two midi keyboard controllers, a CME xkey25 which is dedicated to the Moog Minitaur, as well as the global transpose functions of the two Beatstep Pro sequencers. There is also a Nektar iX49 which is dedicated to the Waldorf Streichfett string synthesizer. There are three hardware delays, which all sync to midi.

The MIDI Association Artist Interview

•Tell us about yourself briefly.

I am a commercial photographer and cinematographer and I use my synthesizers to record scores and backing music for the films I make for my clients, and as a way to relax at the end of the day.

•What was your first encounter with MIDI?

I started with midi in 1986 when my family purchased a Casio CZ-1 phase distortion synthesizer. Using midi to notate into and from our Apple 2 just opened up a whole new world to me. Flash forward to 2002 when I started using Ableton Delta 1.0 and discovered soft synths. I didn’t even use control voltage until 2015, so I have worked my way backwards.

•How do you use MIDI today?

I use midi to sequence and sync three hardware synthesizers, analog and digital delays, hardware sequencers and a six foot tall, Moog format modular synthesizer. I use Beatstep pro sequencers (two of them) to sequence and clock my gear via midi and CV/gate. I know people associate MIDI with “music made by computers, not people” but for me, it has allowed me to step away from the computer and get hands on with hardware.

•How has MIDI allowed you to do what you do?

MIDI allows me to keep everything sync, automate parameters and get equipment made in different decades, thousands of miles apart, to speak the same language in real time, so I can focus on what’s important, making music.

•Anything else you’d like to add?

Thanks for the opportunity to share my love for midi and synthesizers.

Jeremy Sharp