🎹 Keyboards & drum boxes
Roland TR-808 (1980)
Drum Machine
A robot drum kit in a suitcase. It goes BOOM on the kick, clap on the snare, and tiny tick-tick on the hats.
Why type it: Hip-hop, Miami bass, electro, and trap were built on that boom. Name the box if you want that boom.
A song you might know: Marvin Gaye — Sexual Healing, Afrika Bambaataa — Planet Rock, Kanye West — 808s & Heartbreak.
Roland TR-909 (1983)
Drum Machine
Another robot drum kit, punchier and a little meaner. The kick is a fist on a door.
Why type it: Chicago House, Detroit Techno, and 90s rave run on this heartbeat.
A song you might know: Daft Punk — Revolution 909, Derrick May — Strings of Life.
Minimoog Model D (1970)
Analog Synth
A small keyboard that makes fat buzzy bass and singing leads — like a cello made of electricity.
Why type it: Funk bass, prog-rock leads, synth-pop. Type Minimoog when you want that thick analog growl.
A song you might know: Parliament — Flash Light, Pink Floyd — Shine On You Crazy Diamond.
Roland Juno-60 (1982)
Polyphonic Synth
A keyboard that can play a handful of notes at once, then paints a shimmery “two of me” on every sound.
Why type it: That built-in chorus is the 80s glow — pads, plucks, New Wave, and a lot of modern indie.
A song you might know: Eurythmics — Sweet Dreams, The Weeknd — Blinding Lights.
Prophet-5 (1978)
Polyphonic Synth
A keyboard that remembers your sounds, so you do not have to build them again from scratch.
Why type it: Rich brass, creamy leads, spooky sci-fi pads. Type Prophet-5 for that late-70s / Thriller glow.
A song you might know: Michael Jackson — Thriller, John Carpenter — Halloween Theme.
Mellotron M400 (1963)
Tape Sampler
A keyboard full of tiny cassette tapes. Press a key and a real flute, violin, or choir plays off the tape — a little wobbly, like a ghost.
Why type it: Name it when you want that haunted, not-quite-real orchestra from 60s psychedelia.
A song you might know: The Beatles — Strawberry Fields Forever, King Crimson — In the Court of the Crimson King.
Fender Rhodes (1965)
Electric Piano
Piano hammers hit metal tines, not strings. The notes go ding — a warm bell you can sit on.
Why type it: Soul, neo-soul, jazz fusion, lo-fi. Type Rhodes when you want that velvet chime.
A song you might know: Stevie Wonder — I Wish, Herbie Hancock — Chameleon, D'Angelo — Brown Sugar.
Yamaha DX7 (1983)
Digital FM Synth
A digital keyboard famous for a glassy electric piano, like ice cubes in a glass.
Why type it: 80s ballads, metallic bells, shiny brass. Type DX7 (or E-Piano 1) for that crystal pop sheen.
A song you might know: Whitney Houston — Greatest Love of All, A-ha — Take On Me.
🎛️ Studio boxes & kitchen tricks
Fairchild 670 (1959)
Tube Compressor
A heavy box that gives a song a warm hug so the loud parts and quiet parts sit closer together.
Why type it: It is a tube compressor. Type the name if you want Beatles / Motown warmth instead of thin computer sound.
Where it lived: Master-bus glue on classic Beatles, Motown, and anything chasing analog warmth.
EMT 140 Plate Reverb (1957)
Plate Reverb
A giant metal sheet in a tank. Sound shakes the sheet and comes back silky, like singing in a tiled bathroom that is also expensive.
Why type it: Bright, dense echo on vocals, snares, and guitars without turning the mix to mud.
Where it lived: Abbey Road and Motown vocal depth.
Tape Saturation
Analog Processing
Push music onto magnetic tape a little too hard and the sharp corners round off, like crayon on paper.
Why type it: It thickens the middle and takes the icy edge off computer-made songs. (Studer A800, Ampex ATR-102 are famous tape machines.)
Prompt impact: A fast way to strip harsh digital top-end from Suno / Udio output.
Slapback Echo (1954)
Time Delay FX
One quick “me too” echo, like yelling your name in a short hallway. Not a cave — one bounce.
Why type it: That 75–125ms tape repeat is the voice of rockabilly and early rock & roll (Sun Studio, Sam Phillips).
A song you might know: Elvis Presley — That's All Right, Johnny Cash — Folsom Prison Blues.
Sidechain Compression
Dynamics FX
The kick drum taps the rest of the music on the shoulder so it ducks — boom, the synths bow, boom, they come back.
Why type it: That pump is the groove in French house, EDM, future bass, and a lot of modern pop.
Where it lives: Dance music where the kick has to own the floor.
Pultec EQP-1A (1951)
Tube Equalizer
A tone-knob box. You can turn the bass up and down at the same time — tight and fat together, like tucking in a big sweater.
Why type it: The “Pultec low-end trick.” Type it for authoritative kicks and airy vocal highs.
Where it lives: Thick kicks, velvety vocal air.
🎼 Note-ladders, chords & grooves
Dorian Mode (1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7)
Modal Scale
A slightly sad ladder of notes with one bright extra step, so it feels cool and proud — not crying.
Why type it: Soulful minor without the raincloud. Jazz, funk, and a lot of dance music sit here.
A song you might know: Miles Davis — So What, Santana — Oye Como Va, Daft Punk — Get Lucky.
Mixolydian Mode (1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7)
Modal Scale
A happy ladder with one bluesy dropped step at the top. It grins. It does not bow like a school-choir ending.
Why type it: Driving, triumphant rock and blues that stay open instead of resolving all the way home.
A song you might know: The Beatles — Norwegian Wood, Lynyrd Skynyrd — Sweet Home Alabama.
12-Bar Blues Form (I - IV - V)
Chord Progression
Three chords in a 12-step dance. Almost every rock song learned this dance, then did it again.
Why type it: The skeleton of blues, rock & roll, and a lot of funk. Type it when you want that I–IV–V walk.
A song you might know: Chuck Berry — Johnny B. Goode, Muddy Waters — Got My Mojo Working.
Phrygian Dominant (1 ♭2 3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7)
Exotic Scale
A spicy, dark ladder that sounds like a movie in Spain or the desert — a little dangerous.
Why type it: Flamenco, heavy metal, dark trap. Type it when you want that Mediterranean / Middle-Eastern heat.
A song you might know: Metallica — Wherever I May Roam, plus a lot of Travis Scott-style production.
Polymeter & Syncopation
Rhythm & Groove
Two friends clapping different counting games at once (3 against 4), or clapping between the beats. Your ear leans forward to catch up.
Why type it: That hypnotic push lives in Afrobeats, math rock, prog metal, and minimal techno.
Where it lives: Grooves that feel like they are walking and dancing at the same time.
Minor Pentatonic (1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7)
5-Note Scale
Five notes that almost never sound wrong. Guitar heroes live on this little ladder.
Why type it: Rock, blues, R&B solos. Type it when you want every note to feel punchy and singable.
A song you might know: Led Zeppelin — Whole Lotta Love, Jimi Hendrix — Voodoo Child.
🎸 Style-clothes the song can wear
Shoegaze (Late 1980s–1990s)
Subgenre
Guitars so loud and sparkly they become weather. The singer hides in the cloud.
Why type it: Distorted wall-of-sound, reverse reverb, whispered vocals. Type it for that blurry glow.
People who did it: My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride.
Motown Soul (1960s)
Subgenre
Detroit factory-polished soul: bouncy bass, a tambourine on the clap, stacked voices, and shiny horns.
Why type it: That James Jamerson bass + backbeat tambourine is a whole era in two words. Type Motown Soul for it.
People who did it: The Temptations, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye.
Liquid Drum & Bass (2000s)
Subgenre
Super-fast drums (running pace) with warm, smooth chords on top — like sprinting on a sofa.
Why type it: 170–175 BPM, Rhodes chords, rolling breaks. Type it when you want speed without the rage.
People who did it: Calibre, High Contrast, LTJ Bukem.
Vaporwave (2010s)
Subgenre
Old mall music, slowed down and melted, like a dream of a 1980s store.
Why type it: Chopped, pitch-shifted 80s smooth jazz and city pop. Type it for that surreal, nostalgic haze.
People who did it: Macintosh Plus, Saint Pepsi, Blank Banshee.