The Creative Resource Library is a lending library for electronic musical instruments and sound tools modeled on a public library, open and free to all.

We also offer regular, free music education workshops, events and community jams which you can be kept informed of by signing up to Gray Area’s mailing list.

Its aim, like a public library, is to provide access to tools and information to all, promote musical and sound learning and exploration, and connect other music enthusiasts and sound explorers to a wider community.

It is funded by grants, volunteer labour and generous donations of equipment and expertise.

The Creative Resource Library is open bi-weekly on Wednesdays 5-6pm for borrowing and returning at Gray Area 2665 Mission St, San Francisco. Browse the catalogue of items below, and use the ‘Request Equipment’ form linked above to enter your details and request your selected item and the date you wish to begin borrowing. We will reply via email to confirm your request and you can come pick up your item. All items are due back two weeks from the date of borrowing, Wednesdays 5-6pm.

Creative Resource Library Catalog

The catalogue of items is ever growing, containing synthesizers (modular and desktop), drum machines, midi controllers, FX, laptops, audio interfaces, Ipads and Macbooks. In short, everything you might need to explore electronic music making, sound design or adding audio to your art project. The items are all portable and in protective cases and include power supplies.

✨New✨ Liven XFM Synthesizer

A portable, polyphonic FM synth. Explore bells, zaps, drones alien bird calls, and sharp percussion with this hands on playable FM synth.

✨New✨ XOBOX 303 Synth

Aciiiiiieeeed! A fully analog replica of the famous Roland 303 Acid bassline synth, including the iconic sequencer and filter with enhanced connectivity.

✨New✨ Elektron Analog Heat MK1

Analog multi-mode filter and distortion under digital control from Elektron. Use it to process other synths, drum machines, guitars, or your voice thru several flavours of distortion and filtering.

Korg Drumlogue

Portable, powerful and hands on Analog and Digital drum machine/synthesizer from Korg. Classic and modern drum programming and sound design in a fun hands on box.

Arturia Drumbrute Impact

All Analog, hands on classic drum machine with a few tricks up its sleeve and some advanced sequencing options from classic XoX step sequencing to polymetric complexity.

Korg Minilogue XD

The souped up version of the Minilogue, our most popular synthesizer. Hands on on, beginner friendly Analog/Digital hybrid polyphonic synth with an excellent on board sequencer.

Arturia Microfreak

Small but amazing Analog/Digital hybrid synth which incorporates some incredibly fun sound design, sequencing and modulation styles from the Modular world including some of of the Mutable Instruments Plaits and Noise Engineering oscillator modules.

Eowave Quadrantid Swarm

A magical modular box of rhythm, melody and noise in a compact package. Based around a mult-mode oscillator, sequencer and two filters this synth can do ambient pads, techno seqs, drones, percussive sound design and modular bird noises all shaped by two analog filters and finished off with a real spring reverb.
Syncable to the outside world via MIDI (cable included) or gate signal.

Erica Synths LXR-02 Drum Synth

6 track digital drum synth that can do classic XoX box sounds, disco pews, metallic clangs and poofs, melodic synth patches or crazy modular sounds, all sequence-able via step programming or random and euclidean pattern generators.
You can turn it on and bash out some beats in classic step programming style, or dig into the sound design and pattern generation pages. Separate outs and many options for syncing to/from DAWs, modular or other drum machines.

Modular Set - Modern Easel

Combining the focused module selection and touchplate keyboard of a famous West Coast music box with Mutable Instrument's flagship Plaits Macro Oscillator and a DSI filter, just about every paradigm of synthesis can be explored with this set.

Modules: Plaits Macro Oscillator, Doepfer Quadrature LFO, DSI Curtis Filter, Pittsburgh Lifeforms Touch Sensitive Keyboard, Qu-Bit RT 60 Effects module, Erica Quad Mixer and Headphones Out, Synthrotek Power

Modular Set - Analog Digital Joy

Combining the expansive tonal possibilities of the Braids and Pico VCOs with some old school controllers, filters and effects reminiscent of an EMS Synthi in one compact package.

Modules: Blue Lantern Schoolbus (Mutable Braids), Erica Pico VCO, Doepfer Dual VCA, Blue Lantern Joystick, Thomas Controller LFO, Super Synthesis Dual VCF, Dreadbox Nostalgia Delay, MakeNoise Rosie Headphones, Synthrotek Power

Modular Set - Harmonic Drone Box

Centered around the flagship Harmonic Shift Oscillator from New Systems Instrument, a quad looping envelope and an analog wavefolder, this system is great to explore the rich waves of timbres and drones possible with Additive and Harmonic synthesis methods.

Modules: Harmonic Shift Oscillator and VCA from New Systems Instruments, Doepfer Precision VCO, MakeNoise Quadra, Expert Sleepers Disting Mk4, TipTop Fold Processor, Tip Top 6mix, Clactronics mini Speaker, Tip Top Uzeus power

Neutron Synthesizer

The perfect entry point into analog and modular synthesis, the Neutron combines two analog oscillators, filter, delay and complex (or simple!) patching possibilities. Fully MIDI capable and internally 'hard patched' so can make sounds right out of the box without any previous patching experience necessary.

Volca Kick

How many sounds and sequences can you make out of a single Analog Kick drum synth? A surprising amount. Explore techno kicks, fuzzy sine wave melodies and sequenced sub basses. A great intro the malleable possibilities of analog percussion synthesis.

Volca Modular

Korg's take on on the iconic Buchla Music Easel. A great place to start learning modular, featuring a complex oscillator, two lo-pass gates as well as patch presets and touch keyboard to get you started making sounds.

Volca FM Drum

6 voices of simple but flexible FM synthesis, focused on percussive timbres with a classic X0X interface combined with parameter locking. Can mutate from a simple drum machine into ambient space techno with the turn of a dial. Great for exploring all the creativity possible with a small drum machine.

MacBook Pro and Focusrite Interface

Hi-spec MacBook Pro and Focusrite Interface. MacBook Pro includes Ableton Live Lite, Audacity, and VCV Rack (modular synth emulator) pre-installed.

Elektron Digitakt

Elektrons sequencer and highly playable multitrack groovebox paradigm applied to Sampling. 8 channels of sampling with filters, effects and sequencing for each channel, plus master fx. Approached in a Drum Computer style, this can bang out any type of beat you can imagine but also delve into ambient and experimental sound design and polymetric jams with a few twist and turns of the sampling engines and sequencer. A great way to discover just how creative sampling can be.

Elektron Digitone

Four Voices of FM (Frequency Modulation) synthesis, controlled by Elektron's incredibly advanced sequencing paradigm. Take the sparkling, glassy or downright alien FM synth engines from ambient bliss, to techno drums to sneaky analog emulation and everywhere in between. An excellent introduction to the weird world of FM synth and Elektron's sequencing paradigms at once.

Elektron Analog Four

Like it's sibling Analog Rytm, the Analog Four enables 21st century sound design and sequencing with analog voices, this time with 4x fully featured analog synth voices and an advanced arpeggiator. Like the Analog Rytm whole tracks can be composed on just this box. Each synth voice has all of the things one would expect from a world class analog synth and can be manipulated with Elektron's extremely deep sequencer and parameter locking.

Empress ZOIA

What is ZOIA? Not sure, but we have two of them now :)

It's a modular programming environment for audio, MIDI, and CV (control voltage), housed in a pedal format with knobs, switches, AUDIO and MIDI I/O and an ever growing collection of downloadable presets/"modules" from the Empress website.

This micro-beast music-computer is not for the faint of heart, but offers a fun time for those ready to get deep with programming.

Ableton Push 2

(Requires working copy of Ableton 9 or above)

Ableton's bespoke controller for it's paradigm leading music software. Truly get to grips with playing Ableton like an instrument with this intelligent controller that works as a clip launcher, preset tweaker, XoX/MPC drum sequencer, melodic step sequencer, and futuristic 64 pad tunable keyboard. A great way to perform and improvise with Ableton, capturing everything, without having to plug in synths and audio interfaces to get that 'tweaking in the studio' feel.

Elektron Analog Rytm

A fully featured music production studio in a box, or a deep (or fun and jammable) analog drum machine. 8 voice analog drum computer than can also playback samples, and has incredible sequencing and sound shaping capabilities via Elektron's parameter locking sequencing paradigm. Get deep with evolving sequences or simply bang out some MPC meets XoX box sequences on the pads and tweak some dials.

Korg Minilogue

The perfect intro to Analog synthesis - everything you need is contained in this silver Japanese dream box. Analog Oscillators, Filter, LFO, Waveshaping, BBD Delay, a sequencer with motion capture and several classic voice modes. Interconnect with MIDI (USB/DIN), analog clock and CV/GATE. Comes in a handy carrying case.