Roland U.S.

Mano Hanes

Purity in Production

by Corey Fournier

Having produced and played for some of the biggest names in Gospel and R&B music, Mano Hanes is quietly becoming one of the most sought-after producers in the business. But for Mano, music isn’t just business – it’s personal. His music comes from the soul, and many of his sounds come from Roland.

WC:  For someone who has access to virtually any sound, what are your core instruments?

MH: It’s mainly the RD-700SX, the SH-201 and two Fantom-XRs – that’s what I’m using right now. This is how I work – I’m basically an “analog” guy.  I love analog sounds. The problem though, is that all the old analog gear is so noisy. I like to be able to control how “dirty” something should sound. I use the SH-201 so I can get that “purity”. When I’m using the Fantom-XRs, it’s usually for analog-type sounds.

WC: How does technology influence your creative process?

MH: Let me tell you this story. We were working on a song and were all the way into the mixdown stage, but the song still needed something. I wanted to add an arpeggiated part but didn’t have time to MIDI everything to sync it to the track, but I had the SH-201. That’s where the tap-tempo function came in. I was able to tap the tempo right there on the spot and it was awesome.

It’s ideas like that, that are spontaneous, where I can just put it down at the last minute as I hear it and feel it because the gear is solid and so user-friendly. As opposed to, “Oh man, okay, I gotta do this, fix this, et cetera, et cetera.” So, I love that feature about the SH-201.

Also, I love how I can save my sounds and tweak them by way of USB with my laptop. So no matter where I go I can just pull out my laptop, and whatever I tweaked earlier is saved – it’s always there.

WC: How does the RD-700SX function in your setup?

MH: When I’m in the studio, whether I’m triggering the Fantom-XRs or software synths, I only play them from my RD. It has that “touch.” I have to have that “feel.” So I use the RD for everything – even my drum programming. That’s my formula.

WC: Do you use the RD when you’re performing?

MH: When I play live, the RD-700SX is my controller. I like to layer sounds, so I might have four different modules in my rack. One might be a string sound, one might be a pad sound, and so on. In times past, I would have to get a separate mixer to control each module. But with the RD, I assign each sound module to a fader, which is amazing to me. I can play and mute sounds, and control the volume right there in realtime with the faders on the RD. I love that – especially when I’m playing with CeCe [Winans] because she might go into a worship mode at any given time, after any given song. So that’s where the RD comes in handy along with the Fantom-XRs. The sounds are so lush and so good – I just layer them together.

Check out some of Mano’s most recent productions:
Andrae Crouch "Mighty Wind" (2007 Dove Award Winner)
Israel & New Breed "A Timeless Christmas" (2007 Grammy Nomination)
Jonathan Butler "Brand New Day" (2007)
Gerald Albright "New Beginnings” (2007 Grammy Nomination)
Lalah Hathaway "Interpretations: The Music of Earth, Wind and Fire" (Love's Holiday 2007)
Ledisi "Lost and Found" (August 28, 2007)