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Gear List [ Edit ]

Hardware

• iBook G4 (Early 2004) — This was the second version of the iBook G4 that Apple released. I always told myself I'd upgrade my computer once they made one that had a combo drive (CD burner and DVD reader), a gigahertz G4 processor, and wireless capabilities for $1000 or less. With the iBook G4, Apple hit the mark, so I ended up buying one. It has two USB ports and one Firewire port, so it can use all the various bits of gear I'm interested in. It really doesn't have any major drawbacks for working with audio and as much MIDI and virtual instrument work as I need. If I could have two Firewire ports, I'd like it, and I wouldn't mind a built-in audio input, but otherwise, it's great.
• iMac G5 (iSight) — This was the last version of the iMac G5 that Apple released. I bought this from a friend's company as they were fire-selling a bunch of their Macs. It's the first desktop computer I've owned in years, and I definitely enjoy having a larger screen and the speed of the G5 for Logic Studio. Some day I'll make the jump to the Intel-based Macs, but for now the G5 is quite good.
• M-Audio BX5a studio monitors — These are the speakers you use to listen to the music you're making. They are supposed to have a relatively flat response across all frequencies, unlike the speakers on a stereo that are made to shape sound in such a way as to make it more pleasing to the ear (the specifics of how that's done vary). Unlike computers, these are items where you're advised to spend as much as you can stand. I couldn't stand a whole lot ($300 for the pair), but these BX5a's have served me well. The room I work in is untreated and probably the kind of thing that would make a proper audio engineer's head explode, so I don't need anything better than these. I can hear the music quite clearly and between these and a set of headphones, make mix decisions that I think will translate well — or at least well enough.
• Evolution MK-225C 2 octave USB MIDI interface and controller — You need a keyboard to control the electronic instruments, and just generally interact with music software. It is possible to use your computer keyboard, but it's much easier to use a music keyboard. You also need a MIDI interface to connect your keyboard to your computer; in this case, the keyboard has a built-in MIDI interface, and uses USB to connect to your computer. I bought this used, and really like it. It's only two octaves, which is insulting for a real pianist, but that makes it highly portable. It can take external power, but can also be run exclusively off USB. It has eight knobs that can be mapped to various knobs and sliders in your sequencer and other software, which is handy, and is otherwise very programmable. I just need to learn how to do that. Another similar keyboard, the Oxygen8, is made by M-Audio (who now owns Evolution, so who knows if the MK-225C will exist much longer). Either one goes for $100–130.
• Tascam US-122 audio interface — You need an audio interface to get microphones and other inputs into your computer. Most Macs have built-in audio cards, but they only have line-level inputs. That means you need a preamp to boost the lower level that a microphone gives you. My iBook doesn't have an audio input, so I need something like this to get any sound into it at all. The US-122 is a 24-bit capable bus-powered USB 1.1 audio and MIDI interface. You don't need an external power adaptor to run it—all it needs is the USB bus. It provides stereo outputs through USB (to your computer), unbalanced RCA (to your speakers), and a headphone jack. It has two XLR, two 1/4", and one one MIDI input. There's also a MIDI output. You'll only want to use two channels of inputs at a time, though, because that's all you're getting back. This is discontinued, and as of this writing Tascam has replaced it with a couple of USB 2.0 models that go for around $200.
• M-Audio Mobilepre USB audio interface — This was M-Audio's first bus-powered USB audio interface and preamp. It's 16 bit only, and provides stereo outputs through USB, 1/4", 1/8", and a headphone jack. It accepts two XLR, two 1/4", and one 1/8" inputs, each stereo. As with the US-122, you'll only want to use two channels of audio input at a time. This goes for $100–150.

Microphones

• Marshall MXL603S — A highly recommended microphone among the frugal home studios, and one that I find very useful. I wrote a longer description of this mic, including a short demo (with more on the way). I got a pair for about $200.
• Shure SM57 — This is one of the most widely recorded mics ever. It's generally recommended for use on snare drums and guitars, but can also be used on vocals. It's really versatile, is used everywhere, and is a good first mic. It can be had for $50–100.
• Red5 Audio RVD1 — The bass drum microphone market is pretty crowded with options and opinions. Actually, that's no different from any other microphone type, but most bass drum microphones cost no more than $250. This one is a relatively newcomer, but had some decent reviews and a very high recommendation (along with a good price) from Sound Pure, so I picked it up. It's the only microphone of its type I've ever owned, but I'm happy with it. It runs $155 direct from the manufacturer, but if you shop around, you can find it for a bit less.
• MCA SP1 — This is a medium diaphagm condensor microphone that is really cheap (about $40) but gives good sound. There was a really positive review of this mic in TapeOp that led me to buy it for (heaven forbid) singing. At this price, it's hard to go wrong, and if you want to go crazy, this company will upgrade the internal components to make it run even hotter and better.

Software

• Apple Mac OS X — This is a mighty fine operating system in general, but it's also very good for audio. It has built-in low-latency audio and MIDI drivers called CoreAudio and CoreMIDI, and they eliminate the instability and general weirdness of making music on a Mac. What is low-latency? It means there's a very short (on the order of a few milliseconds) delay between when you sing into your mic, and when you can hear it through your audio hardware. There's always some kind of latency when you're recording, but you want it to be as short as possible. Mac OS X has these low-latency drivers built-in, which indicates that Apple is taking pro audio very seriously, which is a Good Thing. This comes pre-installed on all new Macs, or can be bought separately for $100–129.
• Apple Logic Studio 8 and Apple Logic Express 7 — Logic is the sequencer, which is the main piece of software you use when recording with your computer. It handles multiple tracks of audio (voice, guitar, drums, etc) and MIDI (electronic instruments, keyboards, samplers, and so on). Logic Studio is the full-on professional product that includes a ton of software (Logic Pro, Soundtrack Pro, WaveBurner, Jam Packs and other sound collections, and more); Logic Express is the cut-down, slightly simplified version of just Logic aimed at the hobbyist. I use Logic Express 7 on the iBook, and Logic Studio on the iMac. The file formats are not completely compatible, unfortuately, so I can't share Logic Pro 8 files with Logic Express 7 (it does work the other way, with Logic 7 files opening in Logic 8), but the iBook is just not quite juiced enough to run Logic Studio comfortably. Logic Studio retails for $500, with Logic Express 8 coming in at $300. If I were starting over today, I would be very happy with Logic Express 8 — it includes nearly all the features of Logic Pro. This wasn't always the case, but Apple did the right thing.
• Ableton Live (demo) — Live is a digital audio workstation that is built to support performance first. I have used it just a little bit in demo form, and it's always fun to use. If I weren't so deeply embedded in the Logic camp, and were starting over again, I might consider basing my approach around Live. In recent versions, it has become more capable as a conventional sequencer, but it still is better suited than anything else available to live improvisation. If you ever see someone using a laptop in a band as their primary instrument, there's a good chance they're using Live.