Studio Status - 2016

    I have a home "Blue Slash Studios" as a hobby.
    Anyone that can think of a blue slash icon? lol


    Quick History:
    Went from cassette, to 4 track tape, 8 track tape, Yamaha 1600G, Akai DPS24 (the best), PC, to now Mac.
    I finally have a computer setup vs the old easy and fun standalone way, that is less frustrating than PC.


    So I decided to share my gear, what made a big difference this year, whats still great from the past, or is just sitting there, what's gone, gone, gone, etc.


    Game Changers:
    Apollo Twin: This has been a huge plus for me. Not a fan of the company model or pricing, but their gear is amazing and plugins are too. The mix software has been easier than most to use, but not the easiest (Focusrite and Audient are really easy) It works, I don't have to hassle with it.
    Mackie Big Knob: This ties in my 2 sets of monitors, phonograph, playing from iPhone, line from drums or motiff rack and Apollo. Really nice distributor. (sorry, I'm better with soccer terms)
    Slate VMS: A big wow. Totally replaces my little mic locker. The best part, I can record now, and weeks later, just drop in a quick change seamlessly. Like I can with the Kemper.
    iMac 2011: I was always a PC fan, but the simplicity of the macs for music are obvious once you use one. Sometimes the lack of tailor-ability is frustrating (they like to control the user) but the performance is solid. The one time I had a problem with it, it was a peripheral I/O from OWC that was the cause.
    Macbook Pro 13" 2015: I just got this from eBay. Its similar in power to the iMac 2011, so I can go seamlessly between them (I have to swap a UA satellite or Apollo if I am using UA stuff, grr) but it's just a joy to work on and the 11.5 hours battery time is sweet.
    Sennheiser HD600: This has been a nice step up from the AKG K240 (which is great bang for the buck) and for me, worth it. A PIA with the leads going down both ears (the cord always seems to get in the way vs side leads) but it sounds great. Only issue is it's difficult to judge the low-end w/o much practice and feedback. I'm working on it.
    Roland VDrums TD15: Got it used for a good price. This is SOOOO much fun. IDK what instrument you play, get a set of these and you'll wonder why you never played before. Even if you suck, they are So Much Fun. But they do help me get a better idea of what kind of drums I want for a song I write.

    Still Amazing:
    Kemper Profiling Amp: This is why we are here, so we know why it's so great. For me, that ability to record in a minute is the major plus. The second is seamlessly dropping in a fix weeks or years later. Like wow. No more messing with amps and pedal boards.
    DESKTOP: First cheap one I ever say. Was $200 like 7 years ago. I have one of those recording desktops that are trapezoidal, has a shelf for monitors and speakers (although I use stands since I have 2 sets) and 2 rack mount sets that can hold. Kinda looks like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod…ef=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_3_w
    AKG K240: can't beat the price or mix use of these open cans. Headphones opinions are like talking politics, but there is a very firm high opinion of these for the price. They beat anything under $300 I've tried. There is diminishing returns at some point with headphones, and it's one of those musical journeys I haven't taken like I have for quality guitars.
    Mackie Uno: easy peasy MIDI in/out
    Yamaha KX88: Midi piano trigger. Hey, it's over 25 years old. that's amazing in itself.
    Reaper DAW: I'm back to this one, v5. No complaints. It is more powerful than ever, easy to use, and just more fun than other DAWs I've tried when it comes to cutting and splicing. Maybe because it's tracks don't care what you drop on them.


    Neutral:
    Mackie MR8's, Yamaha HS5 and HS8 sub: I know nothing about monitors. These are what I have, they kinda work ok. It's something I'll need to journey through more in the future. Always interested in opinions on monitors to learn more for home recording.
    Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro: I use them for drums or iPhone listening but they are ok I guess.



    Sitting There / Jury Out:
    Behringer X-Touch: I wanted a hands on peripheral and this is a decent one. Just not really using it much. Don't know why.
    Trio+: Superb practicing gear. Just not using as much as I wanted to, or thought I would. I write on Acoustic mostly is probably why and don't think of putting that to a pedal, lol.
    H9: Supeb pedal. But so far, the tracks I lay down with this are beat out by a dryer Kemper fx track. I'm probably not taming it enough. It's in the signal chain though.
    Sennheiser HD280 64ohm: Maybe these are DJ headphones only. I can't stand them personally.
    Logic Pro X: Since EX2 Drummer made third party MIDI sorting, I don't really use the Drummer here. This is a good program, but frankly, just not stable compared to Reaper ON THE MAC for god's sake. It's still a great software, and runs fast. For me it was more that Reaper makes intuitive sense to me, and just like they do on their hardware, Apple likes to hide deep features from you, or control things. Reaper is tailorable, so I like the freedom of walking all around. Some people like the sand box. No right or wrong.
    Studio One 3: This is a fun DAW. And having Melodyne built is is fantastic. But I simply forgot how to use it one month away so gravitated back to Reaper. If I could get all my money back on DAWs I bought and don't use.
    Ableton Live: I'm a very weird guy. So I know weird when I see it. This is one weird DAW. Too weird for me. It should get an award for that. I'm not a live performer of electric music, nor a looper extraordinaire either.
    Pro Tools 9,10: Got this with 11R. It was just a dinosaur compared to other DAWs. I didn't like having to define tracks up front. It's sure not a plug-n-play DAW. I'm sure it's all kinds of powerful, but I doubt I've ever heard the word "Fun" associated with it. As a hobby, I need the fun-factor.


    GONE:
    -All amplifiers (except a few cabinets for the Kemper)
    -About to sell all microphones
    -All pedals except the H9
    -All guitar modelers except the Roland Mini Cube because its a fantastic foot stool.
    -Microsoft Office: I'm done with disc registered licensing (too many drive failures or changed in computer to be screwed by licensing restrictions) so I've moved to OpenOffice for my studio documents.


    Documents:
    In the interest of sharing:
    - I keep all purchase receipts in a box. Sometimes to have the pertinent info or proof for warranty. Mostly because I'm a pack rack with receipts (I keep my gas receipts for months, lol)
    - Some real, some digital:

    • Spreadsheet list of Plugins (in case I need to start a new computer from scratch and don't remember them all)
    • Spreadsheet list of Audio Website logins (so many IDs n Passwords to remember)
    • Spreadsheet list of Studio Gear (for insurance and info for descriptions) not just guitars, down to the speaker stands & chairs
    • PDFs of Appraisals for guitars over $1000 since most insurance policies don't cover you past that or for multiple guitars. I have to carry a separate policy, and suggest others do that never thought of this.
    • Spreadsheet list of Registrations for software purchased
    • File cabinet, draws, labelled folders of song names and their Lyrics and if I was smart, chords & dates and crediting any help. I should digitalize them. That's a project since so much crap I've written. Maybe some of it is actually good! lol
    • Paper sheets of musical notation (mostly classic stuff I wrote in college on piano)

    -I keep the digital stuff in on Google or sometime Dropbox, spreadsheets are password protected, but I'm sure this is rather weak and rather pathetic security, but there is a crossroads between absolute security and easy of access when I can't remember how to log onto Kemper.

    PART II:


    Software:
    So much to go into, I'll just hit a few that stand out:

    • Reaper DAW (cheap, powerful, portable across PC, Mac)
    • Synthology anything but specifically: Omnisphere 2 (you can now import sounds and create synths off them)
    • Toontracks anything but specifically: EZ Drummer 2, because of MIDI pattern searching, song creation.
    • iZotope Neutron, not only analyzed and auto-adjust itself to your track, but you can compare 2 tracks and analyze the EQ clashes and fix them. (i.e. kick drum and bass tracks and clean up the clashing spots which it identifies not only where, but how often, and is dynamic too, i.e. trigger to only cause cuts WHEN a certain frequency is hit (i.e. kick))
    • Sibelius: for writing music notation, very intuitive for me, for putting together symphonic stuff, i.e. writing a quartet and hearing it play back as you go. Too fracking cool.
    • UA Lexicon 224 reverb plugin, this is the most amazingly natural reverb on a track. The stock presets all come 100% wet so you need to undo that and BLAM, it just sounds so good and natural. And I have a tone of reverbs from Waves, Slate, Eventide.
    • Eiosis de-esser
    • UA Never 1073
    • Slate VMS microphone choices (out of this world) The ability to record, THEN go back and find a brighter, sharper or warmer more tube driven microphone to see how your singing approach sounds across half a dozen famous, expensive, and very different microphones is something that is more than just an EQ gimmick. They may not be Kemper perfect (there is only Cardiod) but like Kemper, it matches it's advertisement.
    • Just got Sonarworks Headphone Calibration (using for HD600), It's too soon to know how great this is. But I worked with it yesterday in conjunction with Waves NX to compare to my car and monitors. It's 80% of the way there. They say you need to calibrate your specific headphones to get better. So far, I would say, yes, you CAN make great mixes in headphones without this. But I can already see how it matches the final system much more closely, and can show you quickly how mixing in cans differed from mixing in monitors. So if it CAN get me 80% of the way there, I can fix the other 20% with actual reviewing on other systems, or else, waiting until I can turn on the monitors. (people sleep in or go to bed early in my house)
    • Quick mentions, typical stuff like tried and true Waves plugins, or Ozone 7, etc that you all know are good. So many good ones out there. Or one-offs like the Sausage Fattener, Eiosis AirEQ, Eventide stuff is nice, etc.


    SUMMARY:
    The biggest additions to my studio ever have been the Kemper, VMS, Apollo, Big Knob, my mixing Desk and I should add: mixing chair. The info was ripped off it, but I'm pointing out that get the most comfortable chair you can't afford. Heck, just go out and buy a Herman Miller.


    Kemperites:
    Feel free to comment with your game changers, opinions, corrections, or advice to me if you see you have been where I am and found a "better" solution for you. (and NO, Monkey_Man, I am not ditching the Apollo Twin for your baby just yet for the 10th time, haha) I sometimes think that the "Journey of Studio Gear" is my actual hobby and that writing music, recording, playing, etc are just excuses to do that alone!

    Great post! I think you've got the long end of the handle (including your last sentence! ;-)). I agree with most of what you write about the stuff that I have tried myself (which is, of course) a short list). Apart from Logic Pro X, which I think is a fantastic DAW. I don't think there's too much "sandbox" in it, but you're happy with reaper so I'm not going to offer unsolicited advice - it's much better just to stick with the DAW you like best, and Reaper doesn't have many limitations (apart from virtual instruments, I guess).


    I like how organized you are with everything. That's best practice right there.


    I wonder, do you keep your x-touch in the desk at all times, or is it something you have to plug in and set up every time you need to use it?


    I myself have in the past bought the behringer BCR2000 (rotary controls) and the Behringer BCF2000 (motorized faders) - both cheap-ass units. I don't use them often. Then again, I don't do much mixing these days. Thery're both in a drawer. I recently purchased the Presonus faderport, which is very good for writing automation (but I feel support is kind of abandoning the product).


    With regards to your monitors, sonarworks also makes a room correction plugin, which I'm sure you know about. They offer discounts every once in a while, which I'm sure you'll e notified about since you got the headphone plugin.

    Thanks, Michael_dk!


    You know, I'm glad you challenged me on Logic Pro X. Come to thing of it, my impression of it's stability was around the time I think I had that I/O hardware from OWC that caused havoc with my equipment (burned out a few interfaces even, I should have sue them, haha) So I'll give it another whirls since it's native AND does work better with the X-Touch.


    Reaper is about 5 dB off on the X-Touch and less things work over the protocol, all Reapers fault. Studio One 3 worked as well as LPX did with X-Touch, so it's definitely a Reaper-problem.
    It's hooked up all the time. My lack of using it is probably because I mix slower now (smarter) and don't ride faders. But I need to, for dynamic volume Automation.


    Sonarworks monitor correct. I was curious about this, but you need the microphone to do it and it's expensive. The 40% didn't apply to it or else I'd have tried to get the bundle. It's on my future gear list, since my room layout is very odd, not rectangle, so correction can reasonably help.


    As to organization, I try. I'm not an anal person. Mostly lack of organization bit me in the butt and I started doing things better. Also a poor memory because of all the gear I have. I've been toying around since the early 80s, so the journey has been long and interesting.


    Keep challenging me! I'm a work in progress. Always.

    Cool :)


    Well, I'd say that Reaper is generally more stable than LPX, to be honest. But I don't have frequent crashes or anything like that. I just like the layout, visuals, instruments etc. I found (and still do) Reaper to be a bit confusing. I could get around it well enough for my needs, but it was in spite of the GUI rather than because of it. For me, it's the other way around with LPX.

    Wow quite the write up! I like reading what other people use. I am curious why you would ditch the mics, you never know when you might want a different sound.


    I use Cubase 9 , prefer it over Reaper. I find Reaper very cluttered. But, my keyboard player insists on using it, so I keep it around. Lol

    Hi, drog,


    Cubase:
    Haven't used in many years. I should have given this another try. I probably let my past impression sway me against it. Prejudice of this sort is not smart. One should always keep an open mind about changing software (or situations)
    Thanks for bringing it up!


    Q: Why ditch the mics?


    -Neumann TLM 103: The VMS has a U67 that has that Neumann "sound" and is actually better than my 103. Easy decision when you hear them.
    -Shure SM7B: The VMS has an emulation and it's wickedly spot on. Wow actually. (the only emulated mic I have to do an A/B comparison)
    -AKG C1000S: This is just not working for me.
    -Blue Bluebird: Came with the Apollo Twin. It's rather brittle and sibilant. Not bad if paired with a darker mic and then balanced. The VMS Sony C-800G is a sibilant bright mic that is much better, less harsh in every way.
    -Shure SM57: I don't record guitar amps anymore, but I should keep this for possible profiling, and I did a really cool rock vocal with it once. It's a rather cheap mic, easy to re-buy if I do sell it.


    The reasons mainly are:
    1) The VMS system has more variety than my current mic locker and frankly better than all of them.
    2) I only record myself, so I don't have to deal with "customers" wanting particular gear.
    3) My acoustics have their own amps and the Taylor has a mic within it (iMix system)


    BTW, I am very interested in reading about other folk's setups, gear journey, and favorite solutions to problems that previously slowed down their production.

    Good post, db9091! I like the specs of your home studio, seems really professional.


    Computer: I also made the switch from PC to Mac and haven't regretted it. It's so much more stable than Windows and my machine has good hardware - i7, 16 gigs of RAM, 4GB graphics card (mainly for gaming, but also reduces CPU load), 1TB Fusion hard disk. And with a Time Machine, my work is always backed up, so even if I have a terrible failure, all my recording work will not be lost (as has happened to me many many times, if you can believe that).


    DAW: I've also been through some three DAWs - Magix Samplitude, Cubase 8 and Logic Pro X. I've also used Reaper. I like how easy Logic is to work with, the flow within the software is really intuitive. That's why I'm using it now. I still have Cubase 8 installed, but find that it is extremely complicated, even if it's very powerful. Haven't fired it up for a while. Samplitude is not even installed, the damn thing does not work on the Mac, even though they promised it would work sometime ago, then abandoned the plan. Reaper is good, but I just don't need another DAW.


    Interface: As far as my recording interface, I bought an RME Fireface 800 in 2007 and have never had problems with it. Decent preamps, very easy to route audio (I know you had problems with it though) and enough I/O options to hook up most of the gear in my studio. It's also rock solid and a crash is rare - I wonder whether your experience with Logic's stability was due to a sub-par interface. I'm able to record a full band with the device, including triggering a VST using midi out from my drumkit, it is very capable, with very low latency.


    Monitors: My monitors are a pair of Dynaudio BM5a's, I believe they are MKI. I bought them around the same time as my interface. They are really excellent and cannot recommend them highly enough - very good stereo imaging, they handle most frequencies very well and are also able to really blast out at high volumes (though I seldom do that). I have them sitting on a pair of Isoacoustic stands on my desk and the clarity is excellent. I used to have them sitting on the desk and used to get confused by the low end, but since I put them on stands, my mixing has improved by leaps and bounds. I'd recommend that anyone using monitors not put them directly on their desks or things will get muddied.


    I noticed that you don't have a "grotbox" speaker, which I find invaluable for determining how my mixes sound in mono, particularly on speakers like those on mobile phones. I have a single Avantone Mixcube for this purpose and it does what it's supposed to. I suggest you look into something like this as well, maybe even a used Auratone if you get one at the right price. There's a reason why they recommend having a mono speaker in the great handbook Mixing Secrets.

    Monitor control: Last month, I got myself a Presonus Monitor Station (the old white version, not the new black one). I hook up both Dynaudios and the single Avantone to this device. Don't know how I did without this really. It is excellent to be able to switch between speakers, change the signal from mono to stereo or vice versa, or just mute all outputs with a button press. I used to have issues with the mixer with my Fireface, sometimes I'd be recording in the middle of the night and I'd accidently click somewhere and the volume was SO LOUD lol! It's a bit frightening and I was always worried that I woke up the neighbours. I don't have that problem with the Presonus, because I just have to turn the big volume knob up or down as required. It's also helped with band practice, because it has four headphone outputs. You can set up two independent mixes, and I can set up another mix using the Fireface headphone output. That's all I need for quiet practice at home with other people.


    Control surface: I have a couple of control surfaces - a Presonus Faderport (the motorised fader is a life saver) and a Shuttle Control Pro. The Faderport integrates well with Logic, which is a plus. The great thing about the Shuttle Control is that you can set it up for actions like cut, paste, scrub left/right, or pretty much anything that you might want to map in your DAW. More than enough buttons on it too.


    Plugins: As far as plugins, I just have a few, since I'm trying to learn more about how to get professional recordings with the ones that came bundled with the DAW(s). That said, I recently bought Izotope's Music Production Bundle, which comes with Ozone Advanced, Neutron Advanced, Vocal Synth, and a couple of other tools. It has really added polish to my mixing and particularly mastering. I also have a couple of drum VSTs - Superior Drummer (with the Metal Foundry expansion) and recently acquired BFD3.


    Instruments: My instruments are pretty meat and potatoes. As far as guitars, I have an Ibanez RG1820X Prestige, an ESP Ltd JH-600EC and a Fender HM Strat.My bass is really killer, it's an ESP Horizon-II Five Stringer. I totally agree that having an e-drumkit really is super fun. I used to own an Alesis DM10 Studio kit, which was alright, but sold it and bought a Roland TD30 early last year. I play drums for a band, so it is handy to be able to practice at home with headphones on (and sometimes blaring through the monitors). The sound quality is so-so, but hook it up to a VST and it completely slays. I still need to get some kind of keyboard controller, since I play a bit of the keys. Don't have the money for a synthesizer VST, though I have a couple bundled with my DAWs. I instead use a Motif Rack XS, which has pretty good sounds.


    Microphones: I have three mics - a Shure SM58, a SE2200II and a generic one that came with my Voicelive rack. Wondering whether I need an SM7B, but the Slate VMS that you mentioned seems really intriguing, so I might think about picking one up the next time I'm shopping for a mic. I usually run through the Voicelive with all effects turned off, since it has a nicer preamp than the ones on the Fireface.


    Amplifier/DI: For the guitar and bass side of things, I have the Kemper, which as everyone knows is the best-in-class device. I hook it up to the interface with SPDIF, which makes reamping very easy. I also bought a Darkglass B7K Ultra yesterday that I've already tried using on a few bass tracks. Works great.

    nightlight,


    Time Machine is good for incremental backups. My problem with it (and why I stop using it) is that it takes over a hard drive. Try getting it OFF that drive and use it for something else. A nightmare. I am using Carbon Cloner, which can do incremental backups, but.. and more importantly, a bootable backup. This has literally saved my ass no less than 3 times. You just boot up FROM the backup, fix your main drive, or else backup the backup to the main drive. Often it's because of drive failure. So I switched to SSD. My iMac came with a Seagate, which is of of the worst if not THE worst hard drive maker in the industry, and I can go to court with data on that from iCloud backup services that announce their hard drive failure rate per manufacture and drive model. Carbon Cloner has been worth every penny for me..


    GUITARS:
    We talk so much I didn't think to include this, but for completeness, why not? All are hung on the walls in front of rock posters, albums, original art works (pencil, pastel, oil & acrylic), some sound proofing (a laugh really, not well treated room), some old wine bottles, a statue of Beethoven who looks down on me rather disapprovingly, blackboards pirate flag. All guitars are lefty unless otherwise stated.


    • Taylor 510 with iMix
    • Taylor 150e
    • Rickenbacker 4003 (righty turned lefty)
    • Thorn SoCal R/S
    • PRS Custom 22
    • Gibson Les Paul Traditional Pro
    • Ernie Ball Music Man Axis Sport w/MM90s (righty turned lefty, stripped and pimped)
    • Fender American Stratocaster, repainted Daphne
    • Fender Telecaster '52 RI
    • Fender Jaguar - Kurt Cobain (non-relic)
    • Guild Starfire IV (righty turned)
    • Kala Ukulele


    Other Instruments:

    • Piano is just the MIDI trigger (Yamaha KX88)
    • Roland Drums TD15
    • Clarinet (which I don't play anymore)
    • Egg shaker
    • 2 types of tambourines
    • A plastic erlenmeyer flask (congo drum tone)
    • my Kazoo broke
    • hand claps
    • whistling (along with grunts, moans, yips and howls)


    When I get it cleaned up a bit, I'll take pictures.

    Quote from db9091

    nightlight,


    Time Machine is good for incremental backups. My problem with it (and why I stop using it) is that it takes over a hard drive. Try getting it OFF that drive and use it for something else. A nightmare. I am using Carbon Cloner, which can do incremental backups, but.. and more importantly, a bootable backup. This has literally saved my ass no less than 3 times. You just boot up FROM the backup, fix your main drive, or else backup the backup to the main drive. Often it's because of drive failure. So I switched to SSD. My iMac came with a Seagate, which is of of the worst if not THE worst hard drive maker in the industry, and I can go to court with data on that from iCloud backup services that announce their hard drive failure rate per manufacture and drive model. Carbon Cloner has been worth every penny for me..


    I have one of those Time Capsule things Apple sells, so it has a built in hard disk and sits far away from my computer. I have only set it to backup a few critical folders and my software. I don't have to tinker with it too much and in case of a catastrophic failure, I will always be able to refresh my Mac with all the content I had created up to that point of time.


    Quite a collection of guitars and instruments! I need to get myself an acoustic for sure. Also something with single coils.

    Good to know, thank you, Ingolf!


    I currently just attach an external drive and clone a backup after adding new software (except OS X where I backup before and see how it goes for a while)


    I haven't gone to Sierra yet, but recently upped to El Capitan. Is that what OS X you're on?

    Quote from db9091

    Good to know, thank you, Ingolf!


    I currently just attach an external drive and clone a backup after adding new software (except OS X where I backup before and see how it goes for a while)


    I haven't gone to Sierra yet, but recently upped to El Capitan. Is that what OS X you're on?

    I'm on Sierra for quite a while.
    No complaints here.

    Quote from Ingolf

    I'm on Sierra for quite a while.No complaints here.

    Ok, good to know. Last fall Slate still had some issues, may still have GUI incompatibility with Reaper, IDK yet.


    QUESTION about LPX: In Reaper, if you grab a "template", it's a DAW setup of tracks. For example, I can grab a multi-track Superior Drummer "template" and it's all set up.


    But in LPX, "template" seems to have something to do with audio loops.
    So what is the correct term for LPX?


    I'm looking for a multi-track setup for SD2 (and others potentially.)


    For example, I can find YouTube on it:

    External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.


    But don't people just create these things and share them like they do with Reaper?

    Edited once, last by db9091 ().

    Good to know, thank you.


    If Reaper coded for ARA so that Melodyne would work perfectly, that DAW would be 100% for me.
    As it is, I'm using the LPX skin. I WANT to like LPX, but I haven't gotten over any hump yet.


    Did you use a tutorial that made LPX gel for you?

    Edited once, last by db9091 ().

    Cool thread!


    Totally agree that the Kemper Profiler and UAD Apollo have changed everything. Could not live without either.


    Other lesser "game changers" for me in 2016:


    Toontrack EZ Drummer and EZ Keys - yeah sure, there are a bunch of other virtual drum hosts but none of them do what Toontrack does as far as building performances and composing. EZ Keys was a total sleeper for me, the "circle of fifths wheel metaphor" is just great for writing songs. Example > EZ Keys (by a guitar player...).


    Logic Pro X - I have been a LONG time Pro Tools, Reaper and Cubase user but Logic is just so well laid out that I find it far superior to the other DAW's when it comes to productivity and workflow. Nothing wrong with the others at all, and of course you need to be on a Mac, BUT the only way I would ever use the others again is for collaboration where we needed to swap project files. Groove 3 has some great tutorials (Eli Kranzberg Logic Pro X - Explained, etc...) and despite the cartoony UI, LPX has a ridiculous amount of power hidden under the covers.


    Acoustic treatment - it always cracks me up to see guys with premium gear playing in a crappy sounding room. I use some tools like Fuzz Measure to "shoot" rooms (much as the KPA does with guitar amps), and then use bass traps and diffusors from GIK or home made ones. If you can't or won't do that, the Behringer DEQ2496 is an amazing piece of engineering for a little over $200/US. Just as a FRFR system can help the Kemper, a flat room and/or EQ will help your recording and mixing.


    Invest in your front end - electric guitars excluded, having a great player, source, room, mics and preamps are more important now than ever. Put money into what happens BEFORE your DAC's and DAW. Plugins are fun and easy but you cannot polish a turd so get it right up front.


    Constraints - yeah, not technical and not sexy, BUT there is an inverse relationship between having TOO MANY choices and actually making music. Find a good profile and make some music - don't dick around with knobs all day and obsess about what piece of gear you need to buy next. I am very guilty of this - after looking through my 600+ great profiles last night, it dawned on me that ANY of these are good enough and if the Beatles had all this stuff they may have never written a song.


    So on that note, I will take my own advice and go practice arpeggios and write a song now :D

    Well stated eskimoke!