Studio VII Tour

Curious about all the gear you see on streams and in photos? You’re not alone! I’ve had quite a few requests for a tour, so I put together this page for anyone who wanted to know more. Enjoy!

Midi Piano – Yamaha P60

The keyboard you’ll see me play most is actually generating no sound on its own (unless you count the insanely loud keybed). I prefer Yamaha instruments for their feel, so I use a Yamaha P60 as my primary midi controller. The weighted keys are very heavy and while that means you may not be able to play it as fast as some other pianos, you can really work with feel. It also means you’ll occasionally leave blood from your battered fingers on the keyboard during a particularly fun show. Fun fact about this particular piano, JoJo Hermann from Widespread Panic once hopped on stage with me and played a duet!

Synth – Yamaha Motif XS6

So if my piano isn’t generating sound, what is? It’s this synth. The Yamaha Motif series is legendary as an arranging workstation, but I love it for its sound dynamics and qualities (and additional sound packs I’ve installed). There are decent organ sounds onboard here as well, but I rarely use those unless I need a second organ for something specific.

Organ – Hammond XK-1c

This great little unit replaced my Hammond M103 that I used to lug around everywhere (wherever you are, Ryan, I’m sorry I made you carry that thing all those years). I occasionally pair this keyboard with a Leslie speaker or effect pedal, but more often than not I just use the onboard simulator. It’s not quite a mechanical Hammond, but at least I’m not worried about this keyboard falling on me and crushing me during loadout!

Sound Deadening – Audimute Deadening Sheets

There’s a big difference between soundproofing (the process of making sure no sound passes a barrier) and sound-deadening (controlling sound so you don’t get unwanted reflections). These sheets are fantastic at echo elimination, and I’ve depended on them for over a decade.

Flag – Cosmic Charlie

No studio is complete without it!

Midi Controller – PreSonus FaderPort 8

For everyday use, this midi controller pairs well with Voicemeeter Potato to control the various volume sliders. For studio use, it integrates fantastically with Studio One which makes mixing and mastering much faster. Also, it looks nice and lets me remember the days of using a full console to do the job. The fantastic mechanical memory sliders are a differentiating feature that I just love.

Headphones – Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro

I can’t say much about these headphones that hasn’t been said before. Beyerdynamic’s DT 770’s are legendary and I’ve used them for years as well. These, however, are a significant step up from those and are my current favorite ear coverings.

DAC – Universal Audio Apollo Twin

When you’re looking for a DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) how far do you want to go to create an authentic sound? If you just want something to get sound into a computer, there are a lot of tools for that job. If you want to eliminate expensive pieces of equipment along the way and still get an authentic sound, there’s almost nothing better than the Apollo series from Universal Audio. I can’t say enough about this unit and its real-time plugin processing power. If you want to sound like you’re using an Avalon or 1176, but you don’t want to spend $15,000 on a single chain, this is the best option, hands down.

Microphone – Austrian Audio OC18

Austrian Audio is a new player, comprised of Engineers in Vienna who wanted to keep their work going after AKG closed their office there. I’m glad they did. This microphone is detailed, yet warm, and makes an excellent companion for spoken word that needs to be delivered in a non-fatiguing medium (such as streaming). The detail, clarity, and smoothness really can’t be overstated and makes the mic perfect for just about anything you need, from vocal performances to acoustic guitars to drums. This is definitely my favorite condenser microphone and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for the best sound possible, price-be-damned.

Headphone Amp – Behringer Powerplay Pro 8

Every studio needs a unit like this. It lets you run headphones that require a lot of juice, and it lets you have multiple mixes fed into 8 stereo headphone feeds. It is basically a perfect unit for studio monitoring.

Interface – Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd Gen

When I needed more channels of input, I turned to Focusrite to expand the studio input capabilities. The preamps are perfect for instruments and it has powerful software routing tools that allow all of that input to be routed via ADAT to my DAC.

Cables – Mogami

If you spend time listening to people debate cables, you’ll hear a lot of opinions. I would never spend the money required to have Mogami cables unless I was convinced it was worth it. If all of your equipment is built out to sound perfect, your cable should be as well. The noise reduction I got from converting to Mogami cables was noticeable in an otherwise identical chain. If you’re going to be on stage or traveling where cables get beat up, feel free to go with something else. If you’re trying to build a pristine sound chain, don’t skimp on your cables.

Power Conditioning – Furman

Good gear hates dirty power. Furman makes great units that I’ve depended on for years and I have never had any reason to criticize them.

Rug – Persian Blue

When you’re being creative, everything about the environment matters. I like this rug and have liked it even more over time. It provides a great barrier for sound (the floor underneath is hardwood) and a comfortable and relaxing visual.