My recording studio

I own a reasonably well equipped music studio, where I record basically all my music.

I mainly use the following gear in my standard setup:

Hardware synthesizers, samplers etc.
MOOG Sub 37
SEQUENTIAL Prophet 6
ARTURIA MatrixBrute
NI MASCHINE MK3
ROLAND Integra-7
NEKTAR Panorama 6 (midi controller)
KORG Triton Le 76 w/ sampler interface
KURZWEIL K2000RS synth/sampler

Pianos
Yamaha P-525 digital piano
Piano plugins from NI Komplete 11 Ultimate

Drums
NI Maschine MK3
XLN Audio Addictive Drums 2
Steinberg Groove Agent

VST synthesizers, plugins
Native Instruments Komplete Ultimate 11
Various Steinberg synths in Cubase Pro
Waves J37 Tape
Waves NLS
Waves CLA Vocals
Izotope Ozone 7
...and much more!

Guitars
Fender Stratocaster el-guitar
Fender Squier Jazz Bass
Cort MR710F N acoustic guitar

Microphones
RØDE NT2 condensor mic
Shure SM57
Electro Voice N/D 757B
Microphone booth

Recording +
PC with SSD drive, Intel i7 4790k 4 GHz, 32 GB RAM
Steinberg Cubase 14 Pro
Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 audio interface
Focusrite Scarlett Octopre audio interface expansion
Source Audio Ventris dual reverb
Source Audio Nemesis delay
Lexicon MX400 multieffect processor

Other stuff
Primacoustic Broadway London 12
Yamaha HS-8 studio monitors
Peavey Bandit 112
Fender Rumble 100 Bass

Click here to see a list of other instruments and studio gear I own or have previously owned or used.


Studio history

In the mid- and late 80's, most of my recordings were done using a 4-track Tascam Porta one. The main instruments were Korg MS-20, Korg Polysix, Roland JX-3P, Roland Juno-106, a Petrof acoustic piano, a 12-string Ibanez guitar and a Schecter Stratocaster el-guitar.

In the 90's, most of the music was written with the help of an Alesis MMT-8 sequencer, which was later replaced by the built in 16-track sequencer of the KORG 01/W. An Alesis Adat 8-track digital tape-recorder synced with the sequenser took care of high quality audio recordings with the superb Milab VIP-50 microphone.

I used a 20-channel analog Fostex mixer and several Alesis rack effect processors like the Quadraverb, Microverb, EQ, Compressor etc. During the mid 90's I started experimenting with computer based sequencers and music software.

Several samplers and analog and digital synths became vital elements of the studio, such as a Kurzweil K2000RS, KORG 01/W FD, Roland JX-8P, EMU Proteus and an Ensoniq Mirage sampler with a sound library that I really miss. In addition, I had a Schecter Stratocaster and an Ibanez Roadstar series electric guitar. Most of the instruments and studio equipment was sold in 1997-98.

In 2002, I bought a (for that time) new and powerful computer and installed Steinberg's Cubase SX 1.03 DAW for sequencing, audio recording and mixing. I also added a high quality sound card (the M-audio Delta 1010LT).

My main synthesizers and samplers at the time were KORG TRITON 76 with sampling option, the Kurzweil K2000RS, Steinberg HALion VST-Sampler with lots of sounds, Native Instruments FM7, Korg Legacy and lots of various software-synths and VST-plugins. I also have bought a Fender Stratocaster el-guitar and a Boss GT-6 guitar effect processor. The old Ibanez roadstar guitar and an old acoustic guitar was also still around. For vocal recordings, I used RØDE NT2.

In 2008 I bought a Alesis DM5 digital drumset, a Peavey 112 Bandit guitar amp, a Shure SM57 microphone, a Fender jazz bass guitar, a Fender Rumble 100 bass amp and a CME 49 key MIDI controller keyboard with integrated sound card. Later that same year I invested in a couple of more VSTs, like the Spectrasonics Trilogy (bass module) and XLN Audio Addictive Drums. I also bought a Roland/Edirol FA 101 firewire sound card to use with my laptop.

THE STUDIO TODAY
Since then, I have invested in a new DAW with Cubase Pro and several VST plugins for mixing and recording. I've also bought new studio monitors (Yamaha HS-8), a quality Focusrite 8 in/out audio interface with an expansion that adds 8 additional ins/outs, Primacoustic panels for the studio walls, a Roland Integra-7 sound module and two analog synthesizers Sequential Prophet 6 and Moog Sub 37. The last few years I have also added Native Instruments Komplete Ultimate, NI Maschine MK3, the analog synths Arturia Matrixbrute and Behringer Polybrute, and then a Yamaha P-525 digital piano with 88 weighted keys.

I still keep on upgrading my studio. There is so much wonderful stuff out there, and I have to keep reminding myself that I should focus on all the great gear and instruments I already own, instead of looking for something new and exciting!

Feel free to read more about and see pictures of my instruments and studio gear.