Ben Folds is the latest musician to set up shop in Reverb, with the piano-pounding songsmith set to sell a whopping 250 pieces of studio gear.
“I consider it a curation,” says Folds, “20 years of my life put into the studio”. The collection contains pieces from throughout the star’s career - from his early days through to the more recent time he spent ensconced in Nashville’s RCA Studio A.
Highlights include a Jupiter-4, which Folds describes as “the dirtiest-sounding” Roland synth, but one that will “test your patience” because of its tuning issues. It was used during sessions with Josh Groban, believe it or not.
There’s also the Polivoks, a Russian analogue synth that Folds enjoys using precisely because he doesn’t understand the labelling on any of the controls. "I don’t speak or read Russian so I have no idea what I’m doing, which is actually really, really helpful, because you have preconceived notions of the things that you do and you don’t like on a synthesizer,” he says.
Elsewhere, there’s a modded Clavinet with humbuckers and hammers that never stick, and a Korg Vocoder that was used on album with William Shatner. The vintage Neumann U47, meanwhile, is a firm Folds favourite; he praises its beautiful three-dimensional mid-range.
Throw in a Kustom Kombo-II organ synth that was purchased from Sheryl Crow, a Hohner Wurlitzer Organ Model 300 that randomly starts playing drums, and a $50,000 mic clip (we kid you not) and you’ve got a pretty diverse line-up.
The Ben Folds Shop goes live on 12 November. Find out more on the Reverb website.
