How is Techno Made?
The key musical ‘instruments’ for techno are the drum machine and the synthesizer. Important for the creation of techno music are equipment such as the following: the 101 and Yamaha Sy99 Synthesizer; the 303 Bass Line Sequencer; the 505, 727, 808, and 909 Drum Machine; the Roland MC-202 Microcomposer/sequencer; the Korg WaveStation; the Emu Procussion Machine; the Alchemy Pitch-Time Shifter; and various voice changers, digital resamplers, MIDI sequencers, and electroacoustic generators. Many of these devices were already starting to come into use by pop bands in the late 1970s, but mostly for additional effects[18]. Some modulation is done in the recording studio, but a lot of it is carried out “live” on site. A computer is critical for coordinating and synchronizing all this equipment, as is a modified keyboard to allow the DJ some “hands-on” control of the computer’s activities. (The most popular computers for techno artists are generally Macintoshes, NeXT machines, Amigas, and Atari
