Links for some various gear I use in my project studio..
Apple Logic Studio – Those who know me know I love Apple products.. so no surprise here that I’m very impressed with their professional recording application suite. Apple continues to make changes and upgrades that help everyday musicians (not just professional engineers) capture their ideas & form their projects with tons of features for the money spent. The plug-ins and sample library alone are completely usable and sound amazing. If you’re a guitar player then Logic 9 will really excite you.. the amp selection and pedal chain options are incredible, putting a lifetime of the highest quality equipment at your fingertips. If you’re a Garage Band user looking to go to the next level or you need the quality of ProTools without all the cost & exclusivity that Digi/Avid builds in, this program is for you.
Rode NT1-A – Large-diaphragm Cardioid Condenser – Great mic, great price & very versatile. I’ve used this thing on anything from vocals to guitar cabs, acoustic instruments and even some drum applications! Handles a high SPL so it can be used in front of a loud guitar amp. Very quiet & clear mic, has a great warm sound for vocals & acoustic guitar – for the price I haven’t heard anything better! (Rode NTK is also pretty great tube condenser – a bit more expensive but a big value)
Focusrite Saffire Pro40 – 20-in/20-out 24-bit/96kHz FireWire Interface with 8 Mic Pres for the ‘budget minded’ who still need great sound. Preamps are impressive for the price of the unit (under $500) and the included Focusrite software for low-latency monitoring is pretty sweet. A neat feature of the Pro40 that some of the higher priced rack interface units don’t have are level meters right on the front, these come in pretty handy for sure.
JBL LSR2300 Series – Need some great near-fields on a budget? These things rock! I have used many different kinds of studio monitors from the cheapest to some of the best and as you would imagine, the more you pay the better quality you get. However, JBL seems to have broken a price barrier mold with this series.. I’ve used both the 5″ & 8″ model and find them to be quite a bang for your buck.. Quality sound and great tone but not too much coloration. At the <$1,000/pair price point this series is for sure my favorite, go check them out in a store where you can compare them to their peer competition as well as some higher end stuff, you might just be impressed!
More to come soon…
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