What's in your studio? + The gear you use most + Why?

[John Koch-Northrup]

I can't believe we haven't started a "what you own" thread until now. What gear do you have in your studio? What do you use to play live (if you do)? What gear do you use the most?

And most importantly... WHY is the gear you use the gear you use?

Don't be shy - the absolutely great thing about musicians is it's really not about the gear... it's how someone uses the gear. But, hey, it's fun to talk about the gear!

Someone may be writing the most utterly brilliant music and getting really decent master recordings - and recording on cheap software with minimal equipment... or someone may have an entire roomful of gear and use every bit of it. And of course - there are a few who have a ton of gear and most of it sits there for sentimental reasons but rarely gets touched anymore.

[Bradley Maki]

John Koch-Northrup said:

Gibson Grabber Bass - on the other end of the weight spectrum - this feels like it's made of balsa wood... Very different sound from my G&L and not nearly as good of a bass - but I like the sound once in a while - and the feel of the neck is so different - and it doesn't rip my shoulder off.. ;-)

You should let me take that Grabber off your hands for ya ;) Seriously though, awesome bass, I really hope to own one someday.

I use:
Macbook
Presonus Audiobox
Logic Pro
M-Audio Axiom 25
2002 Fender Jazz Bass w/ Seymour Duncan 1/4 Pounder pickups and Badass II Bridge
1978 Ibanez Artist w/ Flying Fingers pickups and active 3 band EQ
JMF Spectra 1x12 Combo
Ampeg BA-115
Boss Tuner
Boss DD-3 Delay
Sansamp BDDI
Audio Technica AT2020
SM57

[wordless poem]

for live work,i`ve tried to find the possibility to reproduce that which i have with my computer,using native intruments guitar rig...this has lead to

ambient electric guitar
line 6 echo park
boss rc2 loop station,
beihringer phase
korg toneworks ax1500g
korg volume pedal

all though a line 6 spider III amp,which by a microphone,passes into the public address system

[Joe Renzetti]

My current setup:
Mac Mini 2.26GHz 4GB/320GB 7200rpm
Ministack v3 500GB 7200rpm
Samsung 2243BWX 22" Display
Samsung 930B 19" Display
Apple Wired Keyboard
Tagrus AMB08 Bluetooth Laser Mouse
Viewsonic VB50 HRTV Tuner
MOTU 828mkII Firewire 24/96 Audio Interface
Event ALP5 Monitors
ART Pro Channel (x2) w/Mullard 12AX7 tubes
Line 6 PODXT Pro
Lexicon MX400
Roland XP-30
IPod Classic 120GB
Studio RTA Creation Station Studio Desk
Furman PL-8 power conditioner
Fender 70's reissue Stratocaster w/EMG DG20 pickup set
Epiphone Les Paul Studio

Software:
Sagan Tech Metro
Bias Peak Pro
IK Multimedia Sampletank
Voxengo Elephant
PSP MasterQ
Line 6 Edit
Lexicon MX-Edit
CueMix FX
various VST plug-ins
Toast Titanium

"WHY is the gear you use the gear you use?"

It the best balance for me between affordability, sound quality, expansion, and ease of use. My SAW is pretty obscure I admit but I've been using it since 1996. As long as its creator Jeremy Sagan (Carl's son) beeps updating it I'll keep using it. I used a hardware sampler for a long time (Akai S2000) until it was finally too dated to use and went VST. Sampletank was easy to integrate into my setup as it reads all my old sample archives. The tube channels are a vital part for mixdowns and premastering as it gives everything a refined warm analog sound. I really like using a synthesizer as opposed to a MIDI controller. I like to instantly access and scroll through sound banks and live tweaking while I'm writing music. My newest album is the first one I did without a mixer. The MOTU interface acts as a patch bay and has internal mixes so eliminating an outboard mixer keeps the signal cleaner.

[Jeff Sampson]

I'm primarily a voice artist. In the studio, I use two MXL 990s - one goes through an Alesis Midiverb 4 and an original Boomerang. The other goes through a Zoom RFX 300 and the loop section of a Line 6 DL4. Live, I swap Shure Beta 58As for the MXLs. Sometimes, I'll gang the 4 outboard pieces after one mic.

I do play synth - mostly in a rock trio - sometimes as part of my solo work. The hardware: Poly 800; EX800; SH101; TX81Z; Concertmate MG-1 (the synth Moog made for Radio Shack in the late '70s - it was recently loaned to me); Axiom 25; fuzz, wah and flange pedals; Zoom G1X. Software: mainly Absynth and Predator.

Trying to move from the PC platform, but it's a bit frustrating. So far, Audacity keeps reminding me how great Audition is for a work environment - but I can't get XP inside the Mac OS to recognize the TASCAM US-428, so I shuffle files between machines. Aggravating.