# 3 pieces of gear you could not live without?



## tarantulis (Feb 4, 2016)

Let's hear 'em. State three pieces of gear that have revolutionized the way you work, and explain what they do for your workflow.


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## Noam Guterman (Feb 4, 2016)

1. Lynx Hilo, cleanest most beautiful DAC I've ever heard
2. Active Volume Controller w. multiple in/out, mute and mono/stereo, couldn't live without it
3. Studio acoustic treatment, without it everything else on this list falls apart
+SSDs, definitely.


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## d.healey (Feb 4, 2016)

My (digital) piano
Not really a piece of gear but they've revolutionized my music: Mike Verta's tutorials
Reaper


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## RiffWraith (Feb 4, 2016)

Ears
Eyes
Brain


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## Noam Guterman (Feb 4, 2016)

RiffWraith said:


> Ears
> Eyes
> Brain


I like how you put Ears and Eyes before Brain


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## RiffWraith (Feb 4, 2016)

Noam Guterman said:


> I like how you put Ears and Eyes before Brain



Eyes and ears feed the brain.


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## madbulk (Feb 4, 2016)

RiffWraith said:


> Ears
> Eyes
> Brain


Oh come on, play along.


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## madbulk (Feb 4, 2016)

I'll be more than obtuse enough and make #1 my real piano; #2. more cooperatively, Logic. So much gear in that one word. and #3. Bias Peak. which btw is running on el capitan! (after taking Yosemite off.)
None of those are pure VI's and I assume you really meant a synth, sampler, Lexicon or such, so #3b Omnisphere 2.


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## Noam Guterman (Feb 4, 2016)

RiffWraith said:


> Eyes and ears feed the brain.


True dat


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## RiffWraith (Feb 4, 2016)

madbulk said:


> Oh come on, play along.



Ok, ok, ok... 

1. Cubase - went from using nothing (literally) to Opcode's Vision, to Cubase SX2. The fact that the latter had more than one undo was revolutionary in and of itself.
2. EWQLSO - The first real orchestral lib I bought (2006). I had been using Roland and Alesis sound modules which were great for what they were at the time, but having real, properly recorded, full orchestral samples with all of these options and artics that were not previously avail., was groundbreaking to me.
3. I am going to echo Noam here - room treatment. It would not be so crucial if I only wrote and did not produce my own music, but as I do both, treatment is something I could not live without.

Cheers.


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## SymphonicSamples (Feb 4, 2016)

Well I'd have to say 4...
1: Computer
2: Software
3: Synth (Hardware)
4 : The internet - What a learning tool 

On a more personal level 

1: Stereo
2: Beethoven Boxset CD's
3: Beethoven Scores


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## JE Martinsen (Feb 4, 2016)

1. Korg MS-20.
2. Steinberg Cubase.
3. A computer, obviously.

That's the most essential bits of kit for me. Everything else is just a bonus.


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## Vin (Feb 5, 2016)

1. My (calibrated) Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pros
2. Omnisphere
3. Piano in Blue


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## Noam Guterman (Feb 5, 2016)

Vin said:


> 1. My (calibrated) Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pros
> 2. Omnisphere
> 3. Piano in Blue


Hey, did you have them custom calibrated? or just downloaded the software?


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## Rodney Money (Feb 5, 2016)

1. Sheet Music
2. Trumpet
3. Flugelhorn


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## mc_deli (Feb 5, 2016)

1. wah
2. chair (not at the same time as #1)
3. "hodad" (the rock bottom nylon of the axe collection, socal nickname for a surfer hanger on who never takes a wave) (works with #2 but not #1)

...an electric guitar for #1 comes a close #4


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## Rodney Money (Feb 5, 2016)

Excluding the computer and monitors, for a more complete answer concerning the use of non acoustic composing and recording tools, it would have to be:
1. Finale (I compose for live players and publishers and Finale not only produces fine scores, but my publishers always ask for either Finale or Sibelius files and nothing else in my experience.) 
2. Cubase (Works great for me as someone who is used to writing with sheet music.)
3. Midi Controller. (I am a performer. That's the way I feel the most comfortable entering in notes.)


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## tarantulis (Feb 5, 2016)

Rodney Money said:


> Excluding the computer and monitors, for a more complete answer concerning the use of non acoustic composing and recording tools, it would have to be:
> 1. Finale (I compose for live players and publishers and Finale not only produces fine scores, but my publishers always ask for either Finale or Sibelius files and nothing else in my experience.)
> 2. Cubase (Works great for me as someone who is used to writing with sheet music.)
> 3. Midi Controller. (I am a performer. That's the way I feel the most comfortable entering in notes.)



What controller do you use? I just replaced my Alesis with a Nektar Panorama. I'm loving the Logic integration but HATING the feel of the keys.


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## Rodney Money (Feb 5, 2016)

tarantulis said:


> What controller do you use? I just replaced my Alesis with a Nektar Panorama. I'm loving the Logic integration but HATING the feel of the keys.


For the longest time I used a Kurzweil, but idiot me sold it needing money. Now I have a cheap M-Audio, but I am looking to probably purchasing Native Instruments' 88 one of these days. To me, no digital piano feels like a real piano. Even different real pianos feel different. So with this, when I play on a digital piano my head tells me that I am playing a digital piano just like the difference I go through when I play a trumpet and a flugelhorn or clarinet or saxophone. I was very impressed with Roland's though and still use an old one for public playing.


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## gsilbers (Feb 5, 2016)

1) axe fx2. finally don't have to deal with pc software emulation trying to make it sound good/real. one box solution makes it happen.
2) midi guitar. guitar is my main instrument.
3) 4k monitor. recently got a real computer monitor and I can have so many things on screen and lots of tracks.


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## Saxer (Feb 5, 2016)

Logic
WX7 Windcontroller + Samplemodeling
TEControl breathcontroller + Dimension Strings


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## gjelul (Feb 5, 2016)

DAW
Midi / Keyboard controller
UAD2 Octo card with all plug-ins in it.


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## R. Soul (Feb 6, 2016)

Cubase
Omnisphere
Sennheiser HD650


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## CDNmusic (Feb 6, 2016)

Cubase
Ipad 1 with Lemur (Composer tools, C_Brains, arts unmuted)
Ipad 2 with Duet (CC automation drawing, and for mixing


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## jamwerks (Feb 7, 2016)

Looks like the Manley Nu Mu might be an interesting 2 buss processor for our sample based works!


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## sig-ex (Feb 16, 2016)

wifi
portable computer
small USB MIDI keyboard

headset would be number 4.


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## chimuelo (Feb 16, 2016)

Solaris w/ XITE-1 (inseparable)
HX-3 FPGA Module
CPS Spacestation vrs. 3.0

I guess gear can be software too so....

Zebra2 HZ
Kontakt
PLAY

Gear/Software I wish we had.

An audio specific OS
Quad Core CPU w/ 128mb L3 cache
Supermicro Dual Skylake 1151 Motherboard


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## Wibben (Feb 16, 2016)

My guitars (I won't pick just One of my babies! 
Zebra 2
Albion one


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## mverta (Feb 17, 2016)

Pencil, paper, piano.


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## dpasdernick (Feb 26, 2016)

1) Cubase
2) Roland XP-80
3) Vagi Na 9000


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## owenave (Mar 10, 2016)

madbulk said:


> I'll be more than obtuse enough and make #1 my real piano; #2. more cooperatively, Logic. So much gear in that one word. and #3. Bias Peak. which btw is running on el capitan! (after taking Yosemite off.)
> None of those are pure VI's and I assume you really meant a synth, sampler, Lexicon or such, so #3b Omnisphere 2.


Is there a new 64 bit version of Bias Peak?


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## Phryq (Mar 11, 2016)

Reaper
Kontakt
Computer
Headphones


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