Explore historic synthesizers (TR-909, ARP 2600, and more) with Ultrastation

“They say that the 808 let people listen to electronic music, and the 909 made them dance to it,” Ben Spaander of Ultrastation tells us.

Last week, Splice partnered with the DJ / modular duo Ultrastation to put together a pop-up studio at BUNK Amsterdam. Join us as they give us a tour of the setup and break down the sound and stories of historic synthesizers including the TR-909, ARP 2600 (responsible for birthing the early sounds of R2-D2), EMS Synthi A, Minimoog, Eurorack, and more.

One of Ben’s favorite aspects of working with hardware synths is the collaborative and spontaneous creative environment they enable. “It’s very exciting working with a lot of people who have so much talent, and to also see them work on my equipment,” he says. “It’s also very inspiring because sometimes they do something that makes me go like, ‘Wow, I’ve never thought of it myself.’ There are so many possibilities.”

For more on modular synthesis workflows, be sure to also check out our introductory guide:

What was your favorite synthesizer showcased in the tour? What else would you like to see next? Let us know in the comments section of the video, subscribe to the Splice YouTube channel for more, and join us on more artist-led studio tours here.

October 29, 2026

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Harrison Shimazu

Harrison Shimazu is a composer, content strategist, and writer who’s passionate about democratizing music creation and education. He leads the Splice blog and produces vocaloid music as Namaboku.