Studio Essentials: Juheun

Following a number of stand out releases for leading techno imprints like Octopus Recordings and Set About, Arizona’s Juheun has found himself going from new emerging talent to being a well respected name on the international techno circuit.

Now based in Los Angeles, the American makes his debut outing on Simina Grigoriu’s Kuukou Records this month, where he joins names like Lilly Palmer, Paul Kalkbrenner, The Filterheadz, and Camea.

We welcome him to our Studio Essentials series, to hear what tools of the trades he utilises most when crafting club-primed techno productions. With mentions of studio monitors from Adam, hardware from Native Instruments, and synthesisers from Moog, Juheun lists his important bits of gear. Get the full list below.

Antelope Orion 32+ Audio Interface

My entire studio is built around this amazing interface. After several different setups, I’ve been on this whole analog summing idea. I’m a huge fan of analog, but also a big fan of the digital age and have been chasing the perfect hybrid studio setup. There’s something to be said about devices that don’t have extra bells and whistles and just focus on the task at hand. For some, it usually means something else is having to be compromised in order to offer these extras.

Adam A77X Monitors

I’ve been using Adam monitors for quite sometime now, I originally had a set of A7X’s paired with the Sub8 subwoofer. After building my new studio a few years ago and having a properly treated room, we upgraded to the three-way A77X’s alongside the same Sub8 from the previous setup.

The hand made X-ART ribbon tweeter is what really drew me to these speakers to begin with, they allow for really clean highs and the extra 7-inch woofer allows for a nice punchy sound. Paired with the Sub8, it’s a great combo, especially when you have friends or visitors in the studio.

Dangerous Audio Monitor ST

With nice speakers, you need a way to control them. I’ve been a huge fan of Dangerous Audio for a while now, and I’ve been lucky enough to have a couple of pieces from them. The monitor ST is such a great tool for monitor control as it’s 100% analog and doesn’t add any colour or distortion to the sound at any volume level.

A/B’ing between up to 3 separate sets of speakers, muting the subwoofer, or comparing your mix between multiple inputs and outputs is made simple with this amazing tool, that’s saved so many of my mixes.

Native Instruments Maschine+ MK3

I’ve been using the Maschine since the original MK1 and I don’t think there’s a record that has left my studio without containing some element from it. I use it heavily for my drums and percussion. I also love using it for things like snares and claps on buildups with the note repeat function, and the smart strip is super fun during my live sets for manipulating FX or pitch bending. I like to call it the spice Maschine lol.

Outside of just drums, the Maschine is also a great tool for creating leads, basslines, and other synth elements. Since it’s possible to load up the Native Instruments suite of synths and FX directly into the Maschine. I’ll often find myself loading up Massive or FM8 and playing around with different pattern ideas as well as melodies in the keyboard or chords mode.

Synthesizers

Some of my favourite pieces of analog gear are my collection of Moog synths, the Minitaur, Sub 37, Lil Phatty, and Grandmother. What can I say other than I think it’s a right of passage to own at least one Moog as a techno producer lol. It’s so synonymous that it’s like a stamp of approval when you finish a track with at least something coming from a Moog. Not only do I love using these in my productions, but I love to just sit down and play around with them with no real objective other than to see what kind of sounds I can pull from them. If you’re into experimentation and sound design, the possibilities are limitless and each Moog synth has a style of its own.

First up, The Minitaur. I love the size and basic layout of The Minitaur & the gnarly sounds and basses you can pull from it. Don’t be fooled by its small size & simple layout, it’s a beast.

The Sub37 is something I always find myself making something cool from accidentally. The main lead on my track ‘Arrival’ was actually a single take from the Sub 37. I was playing around with it one day, with no real plan and stumbled on this sound that instantly triggered the sound of a kick drum in my head to go along with it. I knew right then and there I had to fire up Ableton and record it in and start a new project.

The Lil Phatty was actually Sian’s originally. A lot of his original sounds came from this legendary synth. I remember when he was making plans to move to LA from Barcelona, he hit me up asking if I knew anyone interested in buying it as he didn’t want to cart the thing all the way to California. I knew instantly that I had to scoop it up, not only for the fact that it was a Moog and a synth I’ve always wanted, but that it was used on so many Sian records that it had to be saved and kept in the family.

Finally, the latest addition to the collection. I recently picked up the Grandmother! I’m still putting time into it and getting familiar with it. So far I can say that it has an identity of its own. I can’t wait to include it in some upcoming projects I’m working on at the moment.

Find more Studio Essentials HERE.

Juheun – Instant Communication EP is out now on Kuukou Records.