We’re stuck at home for the foreseeable future – “oh no, no 45 minute shitty traffic commute, whhat ever shall I do?” So I’m posting a lot lately. I’m also watching a lot of YouTube, and one of my fave things to do is watch home studio tours. I’m not going to start a YouTube channel (yet) just to make one myself, but I will tell you about my studio.
My studio is supposed to be a master bedroom. It has a bathroom off of it. I share the room with my wife – she has a table at one end of the room where she’s got all of her Cricket stuff. If you want to know what that is, I’ll tell you; it’s a machine wives use to brand their families. If you go to Disney (once we’re not all trapped at home) and you see a family with matching shirts that have very custom things on them, well, that’s a wife with a Cricket.
I have a couch and I have a 46 inch Sony flatscreen, which used to be impressive, but now you get a flatscreen TV when you buy $50 worth of groceries.
I really have two different rigs – a home studio rig, and a live rig. Some of my equipment is used for both, so I’m just going to list my home studio rig, and then my live rig.
Home Studio Rig
Computer
My studio is based on a MacBook Pro 15 inch from 2016. It has a quad core i7 processor, 16 GB RAM, and a 512 GB SSD drive. I bought it used from Mac of All Trades, which is located in Tampa but ships internationally. I’m running Logic Pro X as my DAW. I have a few Waves plugins and instruments, and I have some Steven Slate drum samples. I also use Melodyne Editor. But mostly I’m using the stock Logic plugins and instruments.
Even used, this thing was a small fortune. I’ll do a different post on Apple’s greed, whhich I can compare to Gibson’s greed. But the big difference is that my computer, running Logic Pro, is essentially state of the art. It’s an older machine, it’s not the fastest, but there’s nothing better for me than Logic Pro. It’s an outstanding DAW and people who learn it are usually very loyal to it.
I’m frozen in time on OS 10.13, because more recent updates broke my TextExpander software and my MIDI interface. Will I ever update? Depends on what comes out that requires a newer OS and how bad I want it. Nothing wrong with not updating Mac OS.
Interface
Scarlett 2i2, like everyone else.
Monitoring
I’m using a Mackie FR 800 stereo power amp to drive two Alesis Monitor One speakers which I’ve had for over 20 years. In an age where everyone has switched to powered monitors, I haven’t, because mine work fine. I have a generic subwoofer – I don’t remember the brand. I use the sub a little bit.
I also have a set of Kenwood 3 way bookshelf speakers with 8 inch subs, powered by a Sony receiver. That’s connected to my TV, but I can use them to check mixes.
And I also have a pair of EV ZLX-12 Powered speakers with a single EV SB-122 powered sub. That’s my live rig PA, but I leave it set up, so I like to check mixes on that, too. I also use some Shure in ear monitors that were around a hundred bucks, some AKG K240 headphones, and the ever present white Apple earbuds, because a lot of people just use those. Your mix better sound good on those. And finally, there are the speakers in my laptop and the speakers in my car, which is a 2014 Mustang V6. I don’t know what those speakers are – whatever came stock.
Oh… I also have a pair of JBL JRX 200 monitors which have 12 inch woofers and horns. I use them for monitoring at live gigs.
Outboard Gear
I have an Alesis stereo compressor that I never use, and an Alesis reverb that I never use. I mix in the box, baby!
Keyboards
I have one. It’s a Casio CDP-100 88 key piano. I run MIDI out of it through an old Midiman USB to MIDI converter. I figure that in an emergency I could use the piano and rhodes built into it. It’s not a bad inexpensive keyboard. It doesn’t have knobs and buttons, but I don’t need it to. That’s currently the only keyboard I own. Shocking, I know.
Mixers
I have a couple of small Alesis mixers that are decent. I also have a Yamaha MG12XU mixer that I use live and sometimes when recording. But mostly I just mix in the box.
Guitars
- Larrivee Acoustic D-03
- Some generic mandolin
- Ibanez 5 string banjo
- Jackson Adrian Smith budget model
- Fender MIM Telecaster, Texas Special pickups
- Squier P-Bass with the frets removed and flat strings on it
- Epiphone Les Paul, tobacco burst, Gibson Dirty Fingers pickups
- Gibson Les Paul 2013 50’s Tribute with P90 pickups
- Gibson Les Paul 2013 70’s Tribute with Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickups
- Squier Strat II with GFS pickups
- Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus with Dimarzio Super Distortion pickups, Nashville tuning
- Epiphone ES 339, stock pickups
- Yamaha nylon string guitar (budget model)
- Fender Stratocaster (American neck, MIM body, Texas Special pickups)
- PRS S2 Satin 24 with Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickups
- PRS SE Custom 24 with Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickups
- Schecter Stiletto Extreme 4 bass
- Partscaster Strat with MIM body, Mighty Mite neck, Tex-Mex pickups, tuned to Eb
- Squier Jagmaster with GFS Alnico II humbuckers
As you can see, I only need one more guitar and I’ll have a nice even 20.
Amps
- Fender Bassbreaker 15. External Orange cab with 12 inch Celestion Vintage 30
- Peavey Valveking 20 watt head
- Ibanez one by 12 cab with Celestion Seventy 80 speaker
The speaker cab is more important than the amp. Buy a good one once.
Pedals
- Keeley 4 knob compressor
- Line 6 Floor POD Plus
That’s it! I used to have a big pedalboard. Now I don’t. I will be replacing the Floor POD with the Pod Go when it comes out.
Microphones
- Rhode NT1-A
- Shure SM7B
- Shure SM 57
- EV N/D 767A
- AKG C1000
- AKG C214
Security
Two different home security systems. I live in a decent neighborhood but I wouldn’t want to get ripped off. God forbid someone steals my TV and I have to buy another $50 worth of groceries.
Live Rig
My live rig is my Casio Keyboard, MacBook Pro, Floor POD Plus, Mackie amp w/one JBL monitor, EV speakers on sticks plus sub, Yamaha mixer, and three guitars – both PRS guitars and my Fender Strat. I also have various stands and such. But I use Ableton Live Intro and MainStage 3 on my Mac for backing tracks, keyboard sounds, and automation, and the Floor POD Plus is all the different guitar sounds I need.
This is a lot of stuff. I’ve spent years and years gathering it. With it, I’ve recorded four albums and done some other tracks for various projects, and I’ve composed video game music, and I’ve done a ton of gigs.
I hope you found something here interesting. It took forever to type it all up.
About the Picture
I always remove one of the tone pots on Strats and I always move the two knobs down. I always use a ghost sticker when I can, to cover the hole.
