Christian Flake Lorenz Equipment
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Christian Flake Lorenz Biography
Roland PC-180 A
Roland’s ‘desktop music’ (horrible term) series has more of a pro-level style than the entry-level range of their Japanese counterpart, Yamaha. The PC-180 bridges the gap between the smaller PC-160 and larger PC-200 MkII (both of which are apparently now defunct). The full-size keys stretch just over four octaves (that’s 49 keys) and offer velocity-sensitivity, but still no aftertouch. Aftertouch is available via one of the extra keyboard functions, but that’s hardly intuitive and doesn’t add much to the performance. However, you do get the usual Roland combined-pitch-and-modulation-stick to add expression and there’s a socket for a sustain pedal on the rear panel.
Price: 160 EURO
Sampler:
Akai S3200 Midi Stereo Digital Sampler
Roland A-37
- Affordable 76-note controller keyboard for MIDI studios and performance
- Synth-weighted keys respond to velocity and channel aftertouch
- GM2-compatible; 128 User patches and 2 independent keyboard zones
- Easy to use with improved 7-segment LED and assignable Data Entry slider
- Convenient sequencer Start/Stop buttons, Clock TX and Transpose buttons
- Includes 2 independent MIDI outputs, MIDI In and Thru, plus Hold and Foot Pedal inputs
- Battery or AC powered
Ensoniq ASR-10
The ASR-10 stands for the Advanced Sampling Recorder – a completely digital music production studio. It’s a 16-bit sampler that came in both keyboard and rack-mount versions. It shipped with 2 MB of sample memory which could be expanded to 16 MB for a few minutes of stereo cd-quality sampling time. It lets you choose from sample rates of 30 to 44.1 kHz and has all the professional sample editing functions you would expect to find from a pro sampler including autolooping, volume smoothing, normalize, crossfading, and time comp/exp. Even resampling through its effects, EQ, etc. is possible!
Segway Human Transporter (HT) i180
Maximum speed: 12.5 mph
Carrying capacity: 260 lbs
Footprint: 19 x 25 in
Weight: ~ 83 lbs
Battery type: Two lithium-ion or NiMH battery packs
Battery range: 15-24 miles (Li-ion), 8-12 miles (NiMH)
Motors: Two brushless, DC servomotors
Wheels: 14 in glass-reinforced thermoplastic
Tires: 19 in tubeless, puncture-resistant
Platform height: 8 in
Ground clearance: 3 – 4 in
Display: Multicolor backlit LCD
During a concert in Gothenburg, Sweden on July 30, 2005, Till Lindemann suffered a knee injury when Flake accidentally ran into him with the Segway he rides during the performance of Amerika. This caused concerts scheduled in Asia to be canceled.
Tags: MB, MIDI, music, PC, Rammstein Equipment
35 Responses to “Christian Flake Lorenz Equipment”
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4:07 pm on July 6th, 2007I don’t know how could you, but in koncerts you looks razer strange!!!!!
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1:14 pm on September 4th, 2007great work on pet sematary, you're awesome with the keyboards!
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2:22 am on September 23rd, 2007your are the dance master !!!
hehehe in wisses fleisch
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9:10 pm on September 25th, 2007on mein teil……………you are great!!!!!:P
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11:28 pm on March 15th, 2008wOw u rOck dude!
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1:03 am on March 16th, 2008You are cool in "Amerika".
I love Rammstein.
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3:15 pm on May 6th, 2008coolest sick man doktor you rulle
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12:46 am on September 23rd, 2008Very very nice job you're doing…. keep it up…. I LOVE RAMMSTEIN!!!!!!!
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12:11 am on December 17th, 2008hola christian lorenz como ya les dije alos demas estaria chido k vinieran a mexico para aser de una noche la mejor de todas
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1:08 pm on February 6th, 2009[...] gespielt. Das gleiche gilt f?r den Keyboards-/Synthesizerbereich. Flakes Equipment ist wohl u.a. das hier, und er verwendet wohl kaum Presets. Wenn du dir also einen Synthesizer kaufst, kannst du auch [...]
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4:21 pm on February 6th, 2009[...] gespielt. Das gleiche gilt f?r den Keyboards-/Synthesizerbereich. Flakes Equipment ist wohl u.a. das hier, und er verwendet wohl kaum Presets. Wenn du dir also einen Synthesizer kaufst, kannst du auch [...]
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10:56 pm on August 24th, 2009what do flake use in du hast?
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6:25 pm on October 7th, 2009To anyone asking about Flake’s equipment, I believe he currently uses the Apple Logic ES2 as his synthesiser. All the physical keyboards he uses are just MIDI controllers to make the main computer play the correct keys. Very reassuring for someone like me, who is deeply interested in Flake’s playing. Everyone wants to play the bass, guitar and drums, or sing (not that many people ever get close to Till vocally!), but very few people seem truly interested in Flake! With the extensive (albeit often pathetic) guitar tabs, guitar players get it easy! Ok, playing a keyboard is dead easy, but deciphering Flake’s synth voices is a nightmare!
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5:02 pm on November 27th, 2009hi I am interested to know what make and model midi controller he uses as i want to patch up using this method 30 keyboards and modules as i dont have the time to switch all keynoards when playing live. could you give me this information as ive tryed getting hold of companies such as yamaha and roland and they dont know! many thanks for your time
mikki -
11:25 pm on November 27th, 2009Hi Miki! Good to see another practicing Flake fan out there!
In the studio, we’ve got VERY little to go on, only ever seen him playing around with his ASR-10. Live, it’s easier. Though most people aren’t fussed, they want the sound, not the controller!
For most of the Herzeleid/Sehnsucht era live stuff was done using the (now discontinued) Roland A33 midi keyboard. Got one myself second hand, exceptionally nice action, fairly similar in feel to a real piano (albeit MUCH lighter to play, perfect for synth). For certain shows (where they shared a stage, and has far less time to prepare) Flake used his ASR-10, presumably with all his samples onboard. Then again, he may have been using it as a MIDI controller. Who knows. Where the Roland A37 comes in I don’t know, I can’t find any information about him using that, but it does make sense if he liked the A33.
Not sure if this helps much, but he had an object stuck on the right of the Roland during Live Aus Berlin (http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b107/corvid_crow/vlcsnap-2009-10-22-18h41m48s132.png). Might be to load different patch banks… he definitely uses the patch buttons on the Roland, most noticeably after his solo during Bestrafe Mich.
For the Mutter tour I think he used a Korg X5D. Onwards I don’t have a clue exactly what he uses. A screencap of the keyboard he uses during Volkerball is all I have, thought you may be able to work out what it is(http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b107/corvid_crow/vlcsnap-2009-10-23-22h10m28s208.png). I’ve seen it somewhere before I think. I’ll rewatch volkerball and see if there’s a better shot of Flake. He’s certainly got another MIDI controller on the keyboard there too.
As for switching synths/modules/softsynths, sounds like you know exactly how you’ll do it if you’re good enough to be playing Live!
Hope that helps mate! I presume you play Rammstein, if you ever want to share any info on Flakes patches/synth do contact me. I’m very much new to synthesis, but I’ve got a few patches nailed, and I’m learning as fast as my brain will allow!
Corvid
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1:22 am on November 29th, 2009After much watching, screenshoting then pixel peeping of Volkerball and a lot of google searches, I can safely say Flake used an Oberheim MC1000 MIDI master keyboard during Volkerball.
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11:16 pm on December 30th, 2009Who knows about synthesizers Flake is going to play during tours in 2009-2010?
From what I saw in the concert which was in Spain, he used two synthesizers, but I did not manage to see what they were. -
7:17 pm on January 3rd, 2010They’ll probably just be MIDI controllers, perhaps one synth. I’m seeing them in Chemnitz, I’ll see if I can chat very nicely to someone clearing up at the end and at least see what they are. Or brave it and sneak up. Would suck to get caught by Till though.
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4:12 pm on January 5th, 2010I think one of the synth is Ensoniq ASR 10. Or, at least, it looks like it if to look from the side in the new music video “Ich tu dir weh” presented by Rammstein. Another one is probably analog synth, and here I have no idea what it is.
Also, it was not mentioned here that Flake once used Roland XP series (either XP 50 or XP 60) which can be seen in “Lichtspielhaus” video and in music video “Feuer Frei”. This is a 5 octave keaboard (61 keys).
As for Roland A-37, I have a lot of doubts. It seems to me that it is a mistake. He used Roland A-33. That is for sure!! -
4:47 pm on January 5th, 2010Quite correct! I’m certain one of them in an ASR-10, the other, who knows. He played it in the Pussy video as well.
The keyboard during the mutter era was a Korg X5D. I spent ages finding what looked like X50, only to realise that the 0 was in fact a D!
I’m with you on the A-37, doubt he used it, it looks horrible to change patches in comparison with the A-33, which is a dream to use. Plus I’ve never seen him play one.
As for actual sounds, he almost universally uses samples, either pre-made, or sampled synthesisers. Though I hear he does use softsynths at times. The keyboard solo in Amerika was one of those times I think.
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1:49 am on January 17th, 2010Yes, you are right! This is Korg X5D. I made a mistake saying that it was Roland XP-50. This is because the size is the same and I confused X5D with XP-50.))
I am actually surprised at his choice of keyboards i.e. from concert to concert his choice varies greatly considering capabilities his keyboards have – Roland A-33, Ensoniq ASR-10, Oberheim MC-1000, Korg. They are totally different though music itself is not very much changed! Why not to choose something unique and forget about changing keyboards all the time? Like, for a example, Jordan Rudess who used his Kurzweil K2600X for ages and only some years ago changed it to Korg Oasys because it could offer much more memory. -
11:29 pm on January 17th, 2010My guess would be that he simply likes the action on certain keyboard for certain songs from certain “eras”. He may well have preferred the synth action Korg for Mutter era stuff (when they used very little synth/sampling), and a nice semi weighted action for songs like Ohne Dich during the Reise Reise tour. Would sound a little rigid if there were no (or hard to control as is the case with synth action) velocity sensitivity, same with the Roland A-33 and Wilder Wein. I think he might even change it depending on the stage design too. Not that we see the keyboard unless cameras are there, but the keyboards he has used always seem to fit!
Heh, would be annoying to meet him and find out he’d just chosen them for the hell of it! I’ll ask him if I ever meet him.
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6:11 pm on June 12th, 2010Just found out what Flake is using for the LIFAD tour, besides an Ensoniq ASR-10… a Roland VR-760. Just as a MIDI controller I think. Though given how heavily he uses the ASR-10 in the studio (and has even used it live at one point) I think he’s probably actually playing the ASR-10 itself, it’s a very capable machine. Only way will be to take a peek at the back to see the jack plugs (or lack of them!) and most probably a SCSI cable too. I’ll be right at the front next time I see them at Sonisphere, so I’ll check it out.
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4:26 pm on June 17th, 2010Yes, I also think that Flake is using only ASR-10 and Roland is just for fun i.e. he needed another keaboard as a component of stage because there are two lightning rods (or something like that) where he stands and thus there should be two keaboards. So probably this keaboard is some kind of decoration for stage, playable though.))
During Volkerball he used Oberheim MC 1000 with some attachment on it. Is it a sampler or something for saving settings? -
8:06 pm on June 18th, 2010I think Flake uses that attachment to trigger a sequencer to play other synth parts which are too difficult/impossible to play live while he’s playing something else. As you say, might trigger samples, though I think he’d try to map them out on the keys when possible.
Checked a few videos, he is indeed playing the ASR-10 itself, you can see the jacks and SCSI cable in the odd video. It does look seriously awesome too, Ensoniq have a reputation for rather quirky looking designs!
I’m pretty sure I know why he’s using it: distortion. A few of Rammstein’s songs have trademark Flake solos, one simple riff played through the DSP effects built into the ASR-10 (the keyboard which he uses extensively for synthesis/sampleing/strings/choirs in the studio). Songs like Das Alte Leid, Mann gegen Mann, Wo Bist Du. However, none of them have ever been played live….. bar Das Alte Leid early on, and you could really hear he’d sampled the ASR into whatever rack mounted sampler he used at that time, to the point where he cut the solo short in one video I saw. Big problem… it’s super tricky to sample such complex and fluid distortion.
Even more of a problem, he uses wonderfully distorted solos in no less than THREE songs on LIFAD, all of which are played live! It would be really quite tricky to get anywhere near the musical quality by sampling the ASR-10, so he used it live! It’s a miracle there hasn’t been a keyboard mishap yet, the ASR-10 has some fairly nasty heat dissipation issues. That said, it would be hard to crash one just by playing it. Oh, and it’s got an on-board sequencer too, you can see him pressing the “play” button live when you hear the four note Weisses Fleisch riff carry on while he’s not touching the keyboard. Saves him killing his fingers, it’s really fast, and that riff plays throughout nearly the whole song.
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12:57 am on July 8th, 2010which keyboard is using by flake in the lifad tour ?
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7:07 pm on July 8th, 2010Did you read all the comments man? I’ve had quite an in depth discussion with Igor about his keyboards. He’s using his Ensoniq ASR-10 (spray-painted!) and a Roland VR-760. The ASR-10 isn’t used as a MIDI controller (well, not JUST as a MIDI controller at least), I think the Roland organ thing is though. I’d even go as far as to say he might have the Roland there (hooked up to a rack sampler) PURELY because he knows the ASR-10 is an old and slightly quirky keyboard, and doesn’t want to be out of action if it fails. As I said before, I think he feels he needs to use the ASR-10 because of certain songs. Plus it looks cool having two keyboards!
That said, it’s worth mentioning that most of the keyboards he uses live are only MIDI controllers, they make no sound and just control a rack mounted sampler with all Flake’s synth/samples in.
Studio wise, Flake uses loads of different synthesizers, on their own or sometimes sampled into his Ensoniq ASR-10 sampler. Or even made in the sampler from simple waveforms. He uses software synthesizers too. Massive and Absynth by Native Instruments for sure, as well as others. He even used some presets from them, “DXologie” in Massive and “Absynth Beach” in Absynth were used in Haifisch and Reise Reise respectively.
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8:04 pm on July 8th, 2010This issue has been aleady discussed.
The keyboards are Ensoniq ASR-10 and Roland VR-760.
See the messages above! -
5:45 pm on July 12th, 2010I am sorry. He uses ASR-10 !!!
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6:38 pm on July 14th, 2010Quite correct mate! The ASR-10 is one of the main tools he uses, given the usage of strings/”choirs” and samples in Rammstein’s music. Unfortunately we never seem to see any of his synthesizers in the studio, most probably because he’s got all the real work done, and sampled into the ASR. SO in the studio, he only has to work out exactly what he’s playing, and pick/refine sounds. Some from his undoubtedly massive sample library! You can also see him playing (a very basic, possibly very early version of) the intro to Donnaukinder on his legendary ASR.
One synth for sure is a Moog (Moog Prodigy was shown in the Pussy video). Obviously a video means nothing, he wasn’t playing it, but you can very clearly hear the synth riff for Pussy is a simple Moog patch processed slightly (ASR-10 anyone?
). Had a little play with a Prodigy a few months ago, I’m almost certain it’s what he used. That or a software simulation, those are pretty damn impressive these days. I’ve also heard the JP-8000/8080 mentioned, along with one of the Nord synths. Hah, I’m sure Flake would be suitably horrified to find people taking his gear so seriously!
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10:35 pm on May 12th, 2011I take everything back about the ASR-10 and distortion! Turns out Flake has been using the ASR-10R (the rack mount version of the ASR-10 keyboard) for years. You can see it very clearly sitting above his AKAI S3200 in some videos, and there’s one particular photo from the Mutter tour where you can see it mounted into his crazy keyboard rig.
He may well have chosen to use the ASR just because he could in that case. Plus it really is an evil looking keyboard, truly suits Flake with all his creepy choirs and strings!
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3:03 am on July 31st, 2011can someone tell me what was the keyboard he smashed to pieces at the end of ‘los’ in the ‘volkerball arena des nimes’ show?
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3:42 pm on July 31st, 2011That would be the Roland PC-180 A mentioned on this page, hooked up wirelessly, you can see the transmitter unit in some shots. Just like Richard and Paul’s guitars.
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1:08 am on November 28th, 2011What keyboard does Flake using for the studio songs on Mutter? Thanks!
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7:25 am on February 14th, 2012Thought I’d share another Rammstein preset discovery.
In Omnisphere, the patch “Sustenance” is used in the intro to the song Mehr.
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Till Lindemann
vocals
Date of birth: January 4, 1963
Place of birth: Leipzig -
Richard Kruspe
guitar
Date of birth: June 24, 1967
Place of birth: Wittenberg -
Paul Landers
guitar
Date of birth: December 9, 1964
Place of birth: Berlin -
Oliver Riedel
bass
Date of birth: April 11, 1971
Place of birth: Schwerin -
Christian Lorenz
keyboard
Date of birth: Nov 16, 1966
Place of birth: Berlin -
Christoph Schneider
drums
Date of birth: May 11, 1966
Place of birth: Berlin
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