Equipment
Liam Howlett’s synths and gear in studio and live.
Roland U-220 sound module
About:
It's got Liam's favourite string sounds on it. He has used the strings, piano and a few other sounds on Experience and Jilted albums.
The U-220 is a 1U (19-inch rackmount) module of the Roland U-20 keyboard without the keys. It has all the same sounds and features packaged in a compact single-space sound module. 128 high quality instruments, 6 part multitimbral and 30 note polyphony. It was the successor of the U-110 that was released in 1988. The U-220 has the same LCD screen and expansion possibilities, but fewer knobs on the front panel than the U-20.
Used:
G-Force (Part 1), Everybody in the Place, Out Of Space (Preset A58 Soft Pad)
I've had that years. That's one of my all-time favourites for strings; the strings on there are a Prodigy trademark! If anyone puts a bit of chorus on those strings, you get the sound from 'Out Of Space' straight away.
I bought a sound module - a Roland U220 - and a Roland 909 drum machine. That was how the third EP came about: I wrote a track just to try out the sounds on the U220, it wasn't meant to be a track, it was just meant to be a demo to see how the U220 went. That turned out to be 'G Force' and went on the b-side of the third EP. It's actually one of the strongest tracks.
Other Roland products that has been in use
Roland related articles
The Music Technology Magazine - 1st May 1992 The Lone Raver
Future Music - 1st February 1993 Prodigious talent
Sound On Sound - 1st October 1996 Liam Howlett • The Prodigy & Firestarter
Power On - 1st January 1999 Catching Up With The Prodigy
Future Music - 1st December 2000 DIY Prodigy
Sound On Sound - 1st October 2004 Liam Howlett: Recording Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned
Korg magazine - 29th November 2004 Never Outgunned: Liam Howlett
Keyboard Magazine - 1st February 2005 Trim the Fat
Sound On Sound - 1st October 2010 Jon Burton: Mixing & Recording The Prodigy Live
MusicTech magazine - 18th May 2015 Landmark Productions: The Prodigy – The Fat of the Land
MusicTech magazine - 30th July 2019 Prodigy engineer/co-producer Neil Mclellan remembers the Jilted Generation sessions
Read more at the articles gallery
If you know something else about this piece of gear, please mail to me or contact me via feedback form.
The Prodigy 34 pcs sticker set
Huge set of The Prodigy stickers. 17 different designs (2 of each) and total of 34 stickers. Sticker sizes vary from 7 cm to 3,5 cm. Order here >