My Toolbox: Simon Dotty

Recently, Simon Doty returned to his spiritual home Anjunadeep for a very special heartfelt release. This four-tracker ‘Dear Ben’ is an ultimately life-affirming tribute to a close friend and adventurer recently lost to a freak accident. Doty succeeds in conveying the tragedy of manager Ben Sutin’s early death with the joyful, full-on life he lived, through his music, lyrics, and the progression of the EP.

Self-taught gear maestro Doty has caught the eye of some of the industry’s elite, signing with Anjunadeep, Last Night On Earth, and Knee Deep In Sound in the last 18 months; a sudden rise for a special talent after honing his skills grafting behind the scenes. To get a better feel for his process, we stopped by his studio to take a peek under the hood for another installment of My Toolbox. 

Elektron Analog Rytm MK2

I’ve had this drum machine for a couple of years now and I love it. It uses synthesis and samples so you can really craft unique drum sounds. The possibilities are endless, and it sounds amazing. I use it for Toms / Claps / Hi-Hats in a lot of my tracks.

Moog Sub 37

A pretty standard one that a lot of producers have. I use it for bass as many, however, I think it's really underrated at doing other stuff like leads and Arps. The Filter and Saturation are so powerful that sometimes I will also run other stuff into it through the external audio input. I’ve had it for a number of years now and don't plan on selling it!

Prophet 6

This has been my go-to for a few years now. I use it on almost every track and it's extremely versatile. It does a great job at bass, chords, Arps, strings, and pads, etc. It's actually a fairly simple synth, but I know it so well that it's really easy for me to lock in the sound I have in mind. A lot of people ask about where I do my Arps and many of them come from the Prophet 6.

Moog One

I think a lot of people just assume the Moog One will sound like a polyphonic version of the sub 37 but it actually doesn't at all. I've had this for almost a year and it's so deep that I'm still learning stuff all the time. Where it actually excels in my opinion is at atmospheres and pads. The fx and modulation capabilities are so deep that it can create sounds that Have incredible movement and depth.

Mackie Mixer

A bit of a secret weapon of mine. I like running stuff through this old Mackie mixer to add a bit of edge and character. I often crank the EQs and it really adds some bite to drums or synths. You can also Run in the box VST synths out of your computer into the mixer and back into the computer to add an analog edge to digital synths!