The Workspace
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The Workspace

13. May 2009 by kawaski007 1491 Comments

My humble little studio setup...  Its not much but it gets the job done.   I like to refer to it as the "pre-prepreduction studio" or the "Dream-Catcher".  Most of the stuff that you hear comes from this setup... I'm fortunate enough to have a bigger studio to go to at anytime over my cousin (and head of NPE) Steve's crib.  A few years back he built a decent studio (Shef's Studio) at his home and it's a great place to create, record, and engineer the sound. 

 

  I have never owned any hardware gear, such as an MPC or Triton... I have pretty much stuck with a software and controller setup.  I have played with different types of hardware gear and have actually created some songs with them... but personally I find them too closed in and not really ideal for my style of work flow.  Except for the MPC and its design, I feel like they all cripple my creativity.  Some people swear by them but I can't see the benefit of owning them.  

What I'm Working Wit...

 The Heart of It

To start of I am rocking a notebook with a dual display.  At first I was using a desktop, but now with the laptop/notebook, it's a lot easier to have the setup mobile.  For instance, if I have to take a project to Shef's Studio or any other studio, I basically only need to carry the notebook, external hardrive, and on occasions the audio interface (everything else is extra).  It can save ya from a big headeache in the long run when trying to bring a full project to a different location and it can also save you from having to bounce down tracks prematurely. 

I have a bunch of stuff loaded on the notebook but my main software is Ableton Live 7, FL Studio 8, Sound Forge 7, and on rare occasions Reason 4.0.   As the production workstation I mainly use Ableton and FL, and a lot of times they are ran together using ReWire but sometimes I still use them seperately.  On ocassion I will throw an instance of Reason into the ReWire session because I love the drums in it and some of the sounds it offers. With that I have a HUGE folder of plugins, and a HUGE folder of samples and sounds that I have collected over the years.  I primarly use Sound Forge to record my samples and other sound clips.

The Controllers and Extras

My first expansion to the setup was the Edirol PCR30. I had been making music on the computer for years before I realized that a controller could be used.  I think I bought it back in '03 and it opened up a whole new lane for creativity for me.  I still have it now but  I really don't use it... and although this particular model isn't made anymore, if someone tries to sell you one, DO NOT BUY IT.. it actually sucks because a few months after I got it a key went dead, and from there they all went periodically.  Piece of shit!.. The only reason I still have it is because the knobs and sliders are still working :)..

Next I have the mic and as a result of that, the audio interface.  At the time I didn't realize I needed an audio interface and I didn't realize all that it could do.  So for the longest time I used it only as a connection for the condensor mic.  Time went by and I figured out that I could use it for routing midi and then finally, as of a year or so ago, I realized that I can manage all the sound in it!  That was a big "DUH!" moment on my part.

 

For my main controller for keys I have this Roland XP-60 which from what I hear was a decent workstation.  I have probably only routed the sounds from it once and they sound decent but I have a million sounds already so I just use it as a controller.  I actually got this from my bro who got it from one of his boys.

 

My most recent purchase, i think around last summer, was the MPD32...  Like I said before, I love the feel of the MPC especially when banging out a drum pattern or playing samples, so I had to have this.  At the time it was a toss up between this and the MPK49, but since I already had  60+ keys on the Roland, I went and took the full size pads on the MPD. 

 

As far as live instruments, I have 3 guitars.  One is acoustic with only 4 strings (maybe 3) , the 2nd is an acoustic/electric, and the 3rd is a Daion electric which actually belongs to my girlfriend.  

 

So that was a quick touch on some of the stuff I use in my little setup.  I'm looking around for anything I may have missed but whatever, I will catch it the next time.  I think on another post I may list some of my wish list items.   My birthday is in September.  

-peace 

 

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