Atlanta Producer Coby C (aka Count Rockula) Mixes some of the Deep South Underground’s Finest

By Amy Flurry
April 13, 2011

His music studio is a den of synthesizers, keyboards, speakers and soundboards—some ready to craft a few beats and others awaiting assignment—but for Atlanta producer, Coby C (aka, Count Rockula), there is flow to the constantly evolving vault of recording tools and toys. The 31-year-old artist has produced a bevy of the southern capital’s underground hip hop sounds, including those for his own band, Classic Plus, as well as for new artists new artists Ben Lawless (Bon Vivants and King Congregation), Ryan Rasheed (Leblaze, Prefuse 73) and hip hop artist Chill Wealthy. He also just scored the soundtrack for the just-released independent feature, "Mad World".

Coby C

Music Producer Coby C (aka Count Rockula) in his Atlanta music studio (image courtesy of Coby C)

When new projects present themselves, so do a completely new set of technical opportunities and challenges. He often turns to eBay online auctions to meet them. “In today’s media meltdown, a producer wears a lot of hats and has to cultivate skills in all areas associated with making an album, from engineering to remastering the final audio recordings to manufacturing of physical copies,” he said. Finding the right effects processor, beat machine or microphone to channel ideas and record an album is a task Coby C approaches with as much care as he does casting a team of engineers and musical appearances. When he's shopping eBay for music equipment, "synthesizer", "synth", "vintage synth", "analog", and "Oberheim" are among his most frequently used eBay search keywords.

Music Producer Coby C Video (via YouTube)

Hong Kong Harbor at Night (via YouTube)

Once he's done with a piece of equipment, music producer Coby C is out with the old to make room for the new. On his eBay store, Synthaholics, he boasts an on-again, off-again Power Seller status. His best eBay selling tip? “Everyone has a different idea of what ‘great condition’ means,” he said. “I try and describe as positively as I can, so if it’s in great shape, I will say ‘near-mint’ but also include photos that support this."

(images courtesy of Mali Azima)

We asked Count Rockula to browse eBay for professional recording equipment and to analyze the sellers' techniques.

Oberheim Expander Analog Synthesizer

(buy it now price, $2,499)

"I like that this seller imbedded close-ups of this awesome synthesizer in the description. I can see exactly what I'd be buying on this decades-old synth, down to the little nicks and scratches, and even the little bit of rust on some of the screws. I can see it isn't absolutely perfect, but can also tell it's been well cared for over the years."
New Oberheim SeaSound PC Instrument Interface

(buy it now price, $285)

"The seller found some images online he could use to help show the buyer what he's selling. They included a nice description of the product and technical data from the Internet."
Moog Key Synthesizer Keyboard

(buy it now price, $730)

"Here's an example of a guy who didn't have a great camera and had an item with some cosmetic problems, but he made the most of it by taking a number of detailed photos of all angles of the synthesizer. He describes concisely that the item is working, has been repaired, shows proof of the repair, and tells you what you'll be getting, including the anvil road case."
Vintage Analog Synth

(buy it now price, $690)

"Here's a seller in Russia with great pictures, great description, a link where you can hear the synthesizer and all the information you could want."
Roland Jupiter Analog Synthesizer

(buy it now price, $2,150)

"Pictures, pictures, pictures! A picture is worth a thousand words. You get more money for comparable listings just because of nice, detailed, clean well-lit photos."