This week we talk with Ricky Tinez. If you’re into Synths, you probably know him from his awesome Youtube channel where he talks about stuff he likes and sometimes what he doesn’t like. We’ve known Ricky for a minute but recently he picked up two Clep Diaz and went down the NE rabbit hole. We caught up with him about that purchase, and how that shaped his current performance setup. From the Bay and now in LA, Ricky Tinez finds his inspiration in the late night underground scene. Taking inspiration from the warehouse district his deep house records and sounds can instantly show it through their tones & texture.

KK: Tell us a bit about yourself! What do you do in the world? Is music your full-time gig?

RT: I feel like I’ve hit the point where I don’t know or do anything else besides music really. I may be doing something else that isn’t music related but I'm sure as hell figuring out someway to relate it to music. I annoy myself in that way haha. I have a day job at Novation that most people know about. The easiest way to explain what I do there is that I'm the synthesizer and tech guy for US. So showing people the gear, teaching them stuff, as well as doing events, and content creation. Outside of work, I run my small YouTube channel and make tracks that I release on my record label Rhythm District or on other labels around the world.

Learn more:

Basimilus Iteritas Alter

Clep Diaz

Mimetic Digitalis

KK: You work for Novation, not really known for their modular stuff…so what brought you to Eurorack?

RT: Damn... Modular.. the slipperiest slope of them all..

I took the plunge in search of new sounds. Now this sounds pretty typical right? But sadly I couldn't find what I was looking for! I wanted new and different textures that were still somewhat relatable.

But I did the typical thing any newcomer does. Buy whatever looked cool and had the most flashing lights. What does that result in? One of the most unusable systems ever, haha.

Long story short, after 3 years of going through miles of HP, buying then quickly selling modules, I realized I wasn't as into it as I had hoped. Then I came across the BIA, which made me realize that I need to focus. Within 10hp you have so much versatility. So then I thought (what I should of been thinking about in the first place) I should focus on making small systems not big. Less corners to get lost in, and more thought and energy into really learning and manipulating what I have in front of me. Build systems that I can not do any other way than with a eurorack modular setup.

I started with 40hp then upgraded to the 62 4U case by intellijel (palette case) because of the 1u section for my boring things.

KK: You’ve done a LOT with that 4U lately. Tell me about the case.

RT: In my small case my main focus is a solid voice and lots of rhythmic modulation.

And Bam, what do you know, Noise Engineering makes some of the best voices and by far the best rhythmic modulation sources I've come across. AKA the Clep Diaz and Mimetic Digitalis. Throw in a trigger sequencer and a LPG, you're off to the races!

More info in this video:

Love Ricky’s stuff? Find more in the usual places:

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4OAAbxtB6QEKaTDb-SEe-Q

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ricky:tinez/

SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/rickytinez

Bandcamp - https://rickytinez.bandcamp.com/

And if you’re interested in doing a modular post, or know someone you think would be great, contact us!