bocpages | Boards of Canada wiki - User contributions [en]

The Protection Of Happiness Generator

2025-12-13T03:27:44Z

Oliveoil22: Library guitar music sample

{{Infobox Song|
| name= The Protection Of Happiness Generator
| runtime=4:01
| appearson=[[Orangutang]]}}

Performed by [[The Sexual Objects]].

Recorded and produced by [[Boards of Canada]] for [[The Sexual Objects]].

Written by [[wikipedia:Davy_Henderson|David Henderson]] & [[Mike Sandison]].

__TOC__

== Comments ==

== Samples / Lyrics ==
* "you okay, you okay, you okay, you okay" (2:18)
* "sometimes" (2:56)
* "sometimes I wish I had baby" (3:09)
* At 1:49, a looped sample of the intro to Tom Manoff - Summer Is Gone fades in <ref>{{#ev:youtube|GNW1kNB4Z-8|480||||start=0|false}}</ref>

== Trivia ==
* Previously released as [[The Sexual Objects - Sometimes|The Sexual Objects - Sometimes (Boards of Canada remix)]] on July 29th 2017.

== Audio ==
<spotify width="100%" height="380">track/15k6lfkBf1JiGimT0JdEuY </spotify>

== Videos ==
{{#widget:YouTube|id= Rkbm2eTNw28 | height = 525| width = 934 }}

== See Also ==
* [[The Sexual Objects]]
* [[Orangutang]]
* [[The Sexual Objects - Sometimes]]
* [[Here Come The Rubber Cops]]

== External links ==
* https://shop.lastnightfromglasgow.com/products/the-sexual-objects-oranutang-vinyl-lp-cd
* https://monorailmusic.com/product/orangutang/
* https://www.roughtrade.com/en-de/product/the-sexual-objects/orangutang

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Released tracks]]
[[Category:Produced by boc]]
[[Category:Orangutang tracks]]
[[Category:The Sexual Objects]]

Finity

2025-05-25T21:34:27Z

Oliveoil22:

{{Infobox Song|
| name=Finity
| runtime=5:00 [[Old Tunes Vol. 1]] 5:07 [[Random 35 Tracks Tape]] (less than 1 second overlap with [[R35TT A04]], 10 second overlap with [[R35TT A06]]/[[5d]])
| appearson=[[Old Tunes Vol. 1]] [[Random 35 Tracks Tape]]}}

__TOC__

== Comments ==

== Samples / Lyrics ==
* The snare drum is sampled from [[wikipedia:Joe_Tex|Joe Tex]]'s 1965 song "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzj_C9Zjc64| Papa Was Too]".<ref> {{#widget:YouTube|id=Gzj_C9Zjc64}} </ref> This sample was discovered by [https://whosampled.com/ whosampled.com] user garx.<ref>https://www.whosampled.com/user/garx/</ref> The same snare sample is also used in [[R35TT B11]].
* The main synth part of the song was created using the "ANGELSBREATH" internal sound program on one of the Ensoniq VFX keyboards, first released in 1989.<ref>{{#widget:SoundCloud
|id= 2102103876
|width=100%
}}</ref> This same wave sample is used in "[[R35TT A03]]" and "[[R35TT B18]]" on ''[[Random 35 Tracks Tape]]'' as well as "[[Mukinabaht]]" on ''[[Old Tunes Vol. 2]]'' and "[[Seeya Later]]" on ''[[Twoism (release)|Twoism]]''.

== Trivia ==
*A 5:05 CD rip of this track was made available via Soundcloud in 2019.<ref>{{#widget:SoundCloud
|id= 683222364
|width=100%
}}</ref> The source of this track is a Peel Session CD including the [[Boards of Canada]] remix of [[wikipedia:Meat Beat Manifesto|Meat Beat Manifesto]]'s "[[Meat_Beat_Manifesto_-_Prime_Audio_Soup|Prime Audio Soup]]" as well as several "bonus mystery tracks".<ref>https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7374&start=19839</ref> It was originally uploaded as "track-07" before the uploader was made aware of the actual title of the piece likely indicating that "Finity" is the seventh track on the CD. Notably, the end of "[[House Of Abin'adab]]" and the beginning of "[[Forest Moon]]" can be heard in this rip. The fades on both tracks match identically with those of ''[[A Few Old Tunes]]''.

== Videos ==
{{#widget:YouTube|id= 0X2cjd9MEgw}}

== External links==
* https://whosampled.com/

== References ==
<references />

{{stub}}

[[Category:Unreleased tracks]]
[[Category:Old Tunes Vol. 1 tracks]]
[[Category:Random 35 Tracks Tape tracks]]

Finity

2025-05-25T20:59:12Z

Oliveoil22: Ensoniq VFX-SD preset terminology

{{Infobox Song|
| name=Finity
| runtime=5:00 [[Old Tunes Vol. 1]] 5:07 [[Random 35 Tracks Tape]] (less than 1 second overlap with [[R35TT A04]], 10 second overlap with [[R35TT A06]]/[[5d]])
| appearson=[[Old Tunes Vol. 1]] [[Random 35 Tracks Tape]]}}

__TOC__

== Comments ==

== Samples / Lyrics ==
* The snare drum is sampled from [[wikipedia:Joe_Tex|Joe Tex]]'s 1965 song "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzj_C9Zjc64| Papa Was Too]".<ref> {{#widget:YouTube|id=Gzj_C9Zjc64}} </ref> This sample was discovered by [https://whosampled.com/ whosampled.com] user garx.<ref>https://www.whosampled.com/user/garx/</ref> The same snare sample is also used in [[R35TT B11]].
* The main synth part of the song was created using the "ANGELSBREATH" internal sound program on one of the Ensoniq VFX keyboards, first released in 1989.<ref>https://on.soundcloud.com/pQogS9tdETwHUZzo8</ref> This same wave sample is used in "[[R35TT A03]]" and "[[R35TT B18]]" on ''[[Random 35 Tracks Tape]]'' as well as "[[Mukinabaht]]" on ''[[Old Tunes Vol. 2]]'' and "[[Seeya Later]]" on ''[[Twoism (release)|Twoism]]''.

== Trivia ==
*A 5:05 CD rip of this track was made available via Soundcloud in 2019.<ref>{{#widget:SoundCloud
|id= 683222364
|width=100%
}}</ref> The source of this track is a Peel Session CD including the [[Boards of Canada]] remix of [[wikipedia:Meat Beat Manifesto|Meat Beat Manifesto]]'s "[[Meat_Beat_Manifesto_-_Prime_Audio_Soup|Prime Audio Soup]]" as well as several "bonus mystery tracks".<ref>https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7374&start=19839</ref> It was originally uploaded as "track-07" before the uploader was made aware of the actual title of the piece likely indicating that "Finity" is the seventh track on the CD. Notably, the end of "[[House Of Abin'adab]]" and the beginning of "[[Forest Moon]]" can be heard in this rip. The fades on both tracks match identically with those of ''[[A Few Old Tunes]]''.

== Videos ==
{{#widget:YouTube|id= 0X2cjd9MEgw}}

== External links==
* https://whosampled.com/

== References ==
<references />

{{stub}}

[[Category:Unreleased tracks]]
[[Category:Old Tunes Vol. 1 tracks]]
[[Category:Random 35 Tracks Tape tracks]]

R35TT A06

2025-03-20T14:31:35Z

Oliveoil22: /* Samples / Lyrics */

{{Infobox Song|
| name=R35TT A06
| runtime=5:21 (10 second overlap with [[Finity]], 18 second overlap with [[R35TT A07]])
| appearson=[[Random 35 Tracks Tape]]}}

__TOC__

== Comments ==
* Occasionally referred to as "[[5d]]" despite there being little basis for this assumption other than the length of the track being similar to that of a known track length of an unreleased song.
* The video below for "[[5d]]" is a part of the official [[BoC]] playlist selected by BoC which does give credence to track "[[R35TT A06]]" being "[[5d]]".<ref>https://www.youtube.com/user/boardsofcanada/playlists</ref>

== Samples / Lyrics ==
* The initial sample in this track, lasting the duration of the piece, is a pitch/speed-altered version of the base sample for the track "[[Seven Forty Seven|Seven Forty Seven]]" released as part of the [https://www.discogs.com/release/2024532 Warp20 (Unheared)] compilation.
* It also plays a very light sample, around 3 minutes 20 seconds in, of a woman with a southern American accent apparently pulling up to a drive-through fast food ordering microphone and asking "Yes, what comes with, uh, chicken fingers?" This same sample is played in the background of "[[Dave (I'm A Real Traditionalist)]]".
* At 04:04, a heavily manipulated voice can be heard saying "too good to be true". This was discovered by [[Twoism (messageboard)|Twoism]] user personman to be sampled from [[Wikipedia:The_Dave_Clark_Five|The Dave Clark Five]]'s 1967 song "[[Wikipedia:Everybody_Knows_(Dave_Clark_Five_song)|Everybody Knows]]"<ref> {{#widget:YouTube|id=ZkUpU9OhNtQ&t=61s|width=275|height=275}} </ref>
* At 2:30, a reversed snippet of “[https://youtu.be/dluBzT6kVno?t=235 Zableyalo Mi Agǔnste]” <ref> {{#widget:YouTube|id= dluBzT6kVno&t=235s|width=275|height=275}} </ref> from “[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Myst%C3%A8re_des_Voix_Bulgares Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares]” (a snippet also shared with [[Staircase Whip]]) is played in the center channel.

== Trivia ==

== Videos ==
{{#widget:YouTube|id=ufgpCJxDDIg}}

== External links==

== References ==
<references />

{{stub}}

[[Category:Unreleased tracks]]
[[Category:Random 35 Tracks Tape tracks]]

Staircase Whip

2025-03-20T14:17:33Z

Oliveoil22: Updated where the sample in Zableyalo mi Agǔnste is taken from.

{{Infobox Song|
| name=Staircase Whip
| runtime=2:14
| appearson=[[Old Tunes Vol. 2]]}}

__TOC__

== Comments ==

== Samples / Lyrics ==
* The vocal sample is from "[https://youtu.be/dluBzT6kVno?t=235 Zableyalo mi Agŭntse]", a traditional blugarian folk song which appears on ''[[wikipedia:Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares|Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares]]'', a compilation album mentioned by [[Marcus Eoin|Marcus]] in [[Breaking Into Heaven|an interview]].<ref>https://bocpages.org/wiki/Breaking_Into_Heaven</ref>
* Contains a hit from the famous [[wikipedia:Amen break|Amen break]].

== Trivia ==
* [https://www.caribou.fm Caribou] has included "[[Staircase Whip]]" in its [https://www.roughtrade.com/en-de Rough Trade] Mixtape 2024.
** {{#widget:SoundCloud
|id= 2046460480
|visual=true
|height=450
}}

== Videos ==
{{#widget:YouTube|id= eqpSdNe6tIo}}

== External links==
* http://caribou.fm

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Unreleased tracks]]
[[Category:Old Tunes Vol. 2 tracks]]

Equipment

2024-12-28T18:01:14Z

Oliveoil22: /* Ensoniq VFX/VFX-SD/SD-1 */

There has been much debate on what equipment Boards of Canada uses to get their unique sound. Due to their reclusive nature and lack of touring, not much is known for certain, but there is much speculation.

== Secret weapon ==
[[Boards of Canada|BoC]] themselves have, in multiple [[interviews]], mentioned the use of a "secret weapon" they use to generate their unique sound. As the name implied, they have declined to provide any specific information on what this "weapon" might be, but most expect it to be some sort of old analog synth.

Many believe the [[Yamaha CS80]] to be this weapon. In the [[WATMM]] thread "[http://forum.watmm.com/index.php?showtopic=1503 ATTN BOC-sessives, CS-80 on eBay]", however, jbible refutes this, saying

<blockquote>"The synth used by BOC often mistaken for a CS80 is a Crumar with a BOC emblem covering the name of the synth on the back."</blockquote>

Since jbible has seen [[Boards of Canada|BoC]] live (and is the source of the [[Live @ ATP]] bootleg), his comments hold some weight.

Here is a detailed "[http://synthmuseum.com/yamaha/yamcs8001.html write-up]" of the CS-80, courtesy of the SynthMuseum.

== Synthesizers ==

===CS-70M===

In the original album description provided by Boards of Canada's label (Warp Records) the Yamaha CS-70M is mentioned as their "trademark" synth. <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20130825145615/https://bleep.com/release/43515-boards-of-canada-tomorrows-harvest</ref>

===SH-101===

It appears that BOC use the SH-101 extensively. It possible that it is their only mono-synth.

It's hard to prove this definitively and the tone of the sounds are nearly always altered in the mix making a perfect copy of any particular sound extremely difficult.

However, having used this synth extensively in my opinion there's almost no mono-synth sound on BOC's records that couldn't have come from the 101.

In this link I show how to make the Roygbiv bassline on a 101 (actulaly a 202 but the sound generation circuitry is identical).
[http://forum.watmm.com/index.php?showtopic=10258&st=0&p=223082&#entry223082 WATMM forum link]

===CS1x===

A blue Yamaha CS-1x was mistakenly visible in a 1999 Lighthouse Party [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Boards_of_Canada_Warp_Lighthouse_Party_1999.jpg photograph]. Members on Twoism and WATMM later recognized the blue synth as the Yamaha AN1x (see below).

===AN1x===
The Yamaha AN1x has been recognized as being the blue keyboard in question. [[Twoism (messageboard)|twoism.org]] have a thread on this, where some members have analysed the photograph, and by altering contrast etc, have stated that certain ports that only the CS1x has, are 'missing' from the back panel, thus strongly suggesting that the synth in question is indeed an AN1x. Interestingly, in recent years, numerous examples of AN1x programming to emulate/re-create BOC sounds have surfaced, demonstrating remarkable closeness to BOC, thus furthering the potential that the blue synth is in fact an AN1x. Note that BOC only used the AN1x to trigger live samples. <ref>http://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9092&hilit=AN1x</ref>

===CZ-101===
A Casio CZ-101 can be seen on one picture of their live performance, positioned on the drum stands in front of Michael Sandison.
The CZ-101 is visibly linked to other equipment solely through a MIDI cable, indicating its probable role as a MIDI keyboard within this live setup. Strikingly, the synth's audio output remains unutilized during the performance.

Identification of the synthesizer is possible thanks to its distinctive side profile, featuring two audio jacks, a DC jack, and a guitar strap peg. The Casio logo is concealed beneath tape.

===Ensoniq VFX/VFX-SD/SD-1===
One of the models out of this lineup of Ensoniq synths have been used in a handful of Old Tunes tracks, from [https://bocpages.org/wiki/R35TT_A14 A14]<ref>https://soundcloud.com/user-173148214/a14-ocarina-wave-sample/s-BBbPKhjdZR4?si=44aa8e0f941f476d837a2bd3dc2d97c2&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing</ref> stretching all the way to [https://bocpages.org/wiki/Everything_You_Do_Is_A_Balloon Everything You Do Is A Balloon], mainly for its pad and string programs built-in on its internal ROM.

Using the "patch selection" feature, multiple sounds from different tracks have been found to derive from different selections from the "SAW-O-LIFE" program.

{{#widget:YouTube|id= 0RIwbFh8n4M}}
{{#widget:YouTube|id= U6rAMaUut9w}}
{{#widget:YouTube|id= GIvKAJv3wQ0}}
{{#widget:YouTube|id= aTPDCD4y-Dk}}

== Native Instruments ==
In a 2001(?) interview with Mate Galic of [[wikipedia:Native Instruments|Native Instruments]], Boards of Canada is listed as one of the artists using NI products (but not details on which ones). [http://web.archive.org/web/20011219173856/http://www.cakewalknet.com/articlesnieng.htm]

== Tape decks ==
=== Grundig ===
==== Unknown tape deck ====

''“We love these low-quality tape machines,” Eoin says. “The great thing with machines such as the Grundig is that it's tragically bad. Whatever you record into it just doesn't come out unscathed. There's a ‘magic eye’ valve display on it, and when you hit the tape deck with the right volume, enough to fill out the magic eye, it's at that exact sweet spot that it is saturating the tape. So if you then sample back the playback, it's got a thousand years' grain on it.”'' [[interviews|Remix, 2005]]

* Possible models:
** [http://www.rolaa.de/sehensw/radio/tonband/tape1/tape1/tk1_e.htm TK 1 Luxus]
** [http://www.rolaa.de/sehensw/radio/tonband/tape1/tape1/tk5_e.htm TK 5]

* [http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1409390 "Magic eye" article at Everything2]
* [http://www005.upp.so-net.ne.jp/y_kondo/MAGICEYE2.HTM Gallery of Magic Eyes]

=== Tascam ===

==== Unknown 4-track ====
''We drop a lot of our music down onto a Tascam 4-track that has a great saturating effect on the sound.''
[[interviews|Remix, 2002]]

==== MSR-16 ====
''Whether they're working separately or together, getting ideas down is generally a result of recording extended jams to tape on anything from a Tascam MSR-16 reel-to-reel to an old Revox recorder to a Grundig machine to an ordinary cassette.'' [[interviews|Remix, 2005]]

* [http://www.tascam.com/Company.html#1988 TASCAM Company History]
* [http://www.audioscope.net/images/tascammsr16.jpg Image]

== Mixers ==
Based on the photos from Warp10, the Lighthouse, and ATP, the mixer BoC used was the Soundcraft Spirit Folio SX. Since BoC ran everything through this live, they were running their samplers/synths through these Folio pre's, meaning that a noticeable part of BoC's sound is from this mixer. Assuming they used the Folio when recording the Peel Session, and given the quality of those songs and the soundboard quality of Julie and Candy, it's safe to assume that BoC never really owned any high-end rackmount preamps (Neve 1073's, LA 610's, API 512c, etc.).

They most likely ran a few rackmount effects into the aux channels of the Folio, probably to get their phaser/reverb sounds, but so far none of those units have been deduced from available photos.

== Samplers ==
===Yamaha===
==== A3000 ====
The rear of an Yamaha A3000 can be seen in this live photograph: [http://bocpages.org/wiki/File:BOC-live-12.jpg]
=== Akai ===
==== S1000 ====
''We have five or six samplers, but my favorite by far is still the Akai S1000. It's an old tank now, and the screen has faded so that I almost can't read it, but I know it inside out. It's the most spontaneous thing for making up little tunes. It adds something to the sound — maybe the lower bit depth has something to do with that.'' - [[interviews|Remix, 2002]]

* [http://www.vintagesynth.com/akai/s1000.shtml Vintage Synth Explorer]
* [http://www.synthmuseum.com/akai/akas100001.jpg Image]
==== S3200 ====
The rear of an Akai S3200 can be seen in these live photographs: [http://bocpages.org/wiki/File:BOC-live-12.jpg] [http://bocpages.org/wiki/File:BOC-live-04.jpg]
* [http://www.vintagesynth.com/akai/s3000.php Vintage Synth Explorer]

==Percussion==
''As for our percussion, it's never just a drum machine or a sample, we put a lot of real live drumming or percussion in there, woven into the rhythm tracks, and it brings a bit of chaos into the sound that you just can't achieve any other way''

== External Links ==
* [https://larslentzaudio.wordpress.com/2022/07/20/deconstructing-the-boards-of-canada-boc-sound-and-music/ Deconstructing the Boards of Canada (BoC) Sound and Music]
* [https://flypaper.soundfly.com/produce/emulating-boards-of-canadas-classic-synth-sound-without-breaking-your-bank-or-brain/ Emulating Boards of Canada’s Classic Synth Sound Without Breaking Your Bank or Brain]

== References ==
<references/>

Equipment

2024-12-28T17:57:28Z

Oliveoil22: /* Synthesizers */

There has been much debate on what equipment Boards of Canada uses to get their unique sound. Due to their reclusive nature and lack of touring, not much is known for certain, but there is much speculation.

== Secret weapon ==
[[Boards of Canada|BoC]] themselves have, in multiple [[interviews]], mentioned the use of a "secret weapon" they use to generate their unique sound. As the name implied, they have declined to provide any specific information on what this "weapon" might be, but most expect it to be some sort of old analog synth.

Many believe the [[Yamaha CS80]] to be this weapon. In the [[WATMM]] thread "[http://forum.watmm.com/index.php?showtopic=1503 ATTN BOC-sessives, CS-80 on eBay]", however, jbible refutes this, saying

<blockquote>"The synth used by BOC often mistaken for a CS80 is a Crumar with a BOC emblem covering the name of the synth on the back."</blockquote>

Since jbible has seen [[Boards of Canada|BoC]] live (and is the source of the [[Live @ ATP]] bootleg), his comments hold some weight.

Here is a detailed "[http://synthmuseum.com/yamaha/yamcs8001.html write-up]" of the CS-80, courtesy of the SynthMuseum.

== Synthesizers ==

===CS-70M===

In the original album description provided by Boards of Canada's label (Warp Records) the Yamaha CS-70M is mentioned as their "trademark" synth. <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20130825145615/https://bleep.com/release/43515-boards-of-canada-tomorrows-harvest</ref>

===SH-101===

It appears that BOC use the SH-101 extensively. It possible that it is their only mono-synth.

It's hard to prove this definitively and the tone of the sounds are nearly always altered in the mix making a perfect copy of any particular sound extremely difficult.

However, having used this synth extensively in my opinion there's almost no mono-synth sound on BOC's records that couldn't have come from the 101.

In this link I show how to make the Roygbiv bassline on a 101 (actulaly a 202 but the sound generation circuitry is identical).
[http://forum.watmm.com/index.php?showtopic=10258&st=0&p=223082&#entry223082 WATMM forum link]

===CS1x===

A blue Yamaha CS-1x was mistakenly visible in a 1999 Lighthouse Party [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Boards_of_Canada_Warp_Lighthouse_Party_1999.jpg photograph]. Members on Twoism and WATMM later recognized the blue synth as the Yamaha AN1x (see below).

===AN1x===
The Yamaha AN1x has been recognized as being the blue keyboard in question. [[Twoism (messageboard)|twoism.org]] have a thread on this, where some members have analysed the photograph, and by altering contrast etc, have stated that certain ports that only the CS1x has, are 'missing' from the back panel, thus strongly suggesting that the synth in question is indeed an AN1x. Interestingly, in recent years, numerous examples of AN1x programming to emulate/re-create BOC sounds have surfaced, demonstrating remarkable closeness to BOC, thus furthering the potential that the blue synth is in fact an AN1x. Note that BOC only used the AN1x to trigger live samples. <ref>http://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9092&hilit=AN1x</ref>

===CZ-101===
A Casio CZ-101 can be seen on one picture of their live performance, positioned on the drum stands in front of Michael Sandison.
The CZ-101 is visibly linked to other equipment solely through a MIDI cable, indicating its probable role as a MIDI keyboard within this live setup. Strikingly, the synth's audio output remains unutilized during the performance.

Identification of the synthesizer is possible thanks to its distinctive side profile, featuring two audio jacks, a DC jack, and a guitar strap peg. The Casio logo is concealed beneath tape.

===Ensoniq VFX/VFX-SD/SD-1===
One of the models out of this lineup of Ensoniq synths have been used in a handful of Old Tunes tracks, from [https://bocpages.org/wiki/R35TT_A14 A14] stretching all the way to [https://bocpages.org/wiki/Everything_You_Do_Is_A_Balloon Everything You Do Is A Balloon], mainly for its pad and string programs built-in on its internal ROM.

Using the "patch selection" feature, multiple sounds from different tracks have been found to derive from different selections from the "SAW-O-LIFE" program.

{{#widget:YouTube|id= 0RIwbFh8n4M}}
{{#widget:YouTube|id= U6rAMaUut9w}}
{{#widget:YouTube|id= GIvKAJv3wQ0}}
{{#widget:YouTube|id= aTPDCD4y-Dk}}

== Native Instruments ==
In a 2001(?) interview with Mate Galic of [[wikipedia:Native Instruments|Native Instruments]], Boards of Canada is listed as one of the artists using NI products (but not details on which ones). [http://web.archive.org/web/20011219173856/http://www.cakewalknet.com/articlesnieng.htm]

== Tape decks ==
=== Grundig ===
==== Unknown tape deck ====

''“We love these low-quality tape machines,” Eoin says. “The great thing with machines such as the Grundig is that it's tragically bad. Whatever you record into it just doesn't come out unscathed. There's a ‘magic eye’ valve display on it, and when you hit the tape deck with the right volume, enough to fill out the magic eye, it's at that exact sweet spot that it is saturating the tape. So if you then sample back the playback, it's got a thousand years' grain on it.”'' [[interviews|Remix, 2005]]

* Possible models:
** [http://www.rolaa.de/sehensw/radio/tonband/tape1/tape1/tk1_e.htm TK 1 Luxus]
** [http://www.rolaa.de/sehensw/radio/tonband/tape1/tape1/tk5_e.htm TK 5]

* [http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1409390 "Magic eye" article at Everything2]
* [http://www005.upp.so-net.ne.jp/y_kondo/MAGICEYE2.HTM Gallery of Magic Eyes]

=== Tascam ===

==== Unknown 4-track ====
''We drop a lot of our music down onto a Tascam 4-track that has a great saturating effect on the sound.''
[[interviews|Remix, 2002]]

==== MSR-16 ====
''Whether they're working separately or together, getting ideas down is generally a result of recording extended jams to tape on anything from a Tascam MSR-16 reel-to-reel to an old Revox recorder to a Grundig machine to an ordinary cassette.'' [[interviews|Remix, 2005]]

* [http://www.tascam.com/Company.html#1988 TASCAM Company History]
* [http://www.audioscope.net/images/tascammsr16.jpg Image]

== Mixers ==
Based on the photos from Warp10, the Lighthouse, and ATP, the mixer BoC used was the Soundcraft Spirit Folio SX. Since BoC ran everything through this live, they were running their samplers/synths through these Folio pre's, meaning that a noticeable part of BoC's sound is from this mixer. Assuming they used the Folio when recording the Peel Session, and given the quality of those songs and the soundboard quality of Julie and Candy, it's safe to assume that BoC never really owned any high-end rackmount preamps (Neve 1073's, LA 610's, API 512c, etc.).

They most likely ran a few rackmount effects into the aux channels of the Folio, probably to get their phaser/reverb sounds, but so far none of those units have been deduced from available photos.

== Samplers ==
===Yamaha===
==== A3000 ====
The rear of an Yamaha A3000 can be seen in this live photograph: [http://bocpages.org/wiki/File:BOC-live-12.jpg]
=== Akai ===
==== S1000 ====
''We have five or six samplers, but my favorite by far is still the Akai S1000. It's an old tank now, and the screen has faded so that I almost can't read it, but I know it inside out. It's the most spontaneous thing for making up little tunes. It adds something to the sound — maybe the lower bit depth has something to do with that.'' - [[interviews|Remix, 2002]]

* [http://www.vintagesynth.com/akai/s1000.shtml Vintage Synth Explorer]
* [http://www.synthmuseum.com/akai/akas100001.jpg Image]
==== S3200 ====
The rear of an Akai S3200 can be seen in these live photographs: [http://bocpages.org/wiki/File:BOC-live-12.jpg] [http://bocpages.org/wiki/File:BOC-live-04.jpg]
* [http://www.vintagesynth.com/akai/s3000.php Vintage Synth Explorer]

==Percussion==
''As for our percussion, it's never just a drum machine or a sample, we put a lot of real live drumming or percussion in there, woven into the rhythm tracks, and it brings a bit of chaos into the sound that you just can't achieve any other way''

== External Links ==
* [https://larslentzaudio.wordpress.com/2022/07/20/deconstructing-the-boards-of-canada-boc-sound-and-music/ Deconstructing the Boards of Canada (BoC) Sound and Music]
* [https://flypaper.soundfly.com/produce/emulating-boards-of-canadas-classic-synth-sound-without-breaking-your-bank-or-brain/ Emulating Boards of Canada’s Classic Synth Sound Without Breaking Your Bank or Brain]

== References ==
<references/>