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What is the best investment you've ever made in audio?

Pier

Senior Member
For me it's Zebra 2 by U-He. Hands down.

I admit I haven't used it that much lately since I got into Hive and The Legend, but it remains by far the best investment I've ever made. Bought it around 2010 and for years it was the only synth I used.

What about you?
 
I can’t say best investment ever.....but Zebra 2 is a marvel. I was a Serum guy and my cpu would start to tap out after 2-4 instances depending on the patch. Switching to Zebra 2, I can just run as many as I need with no issues. I am also a Preset person (no time or patience to develop my own sounds) and zebra has so many options.
 
First of all: Logic. I use it since Atari days in the 80ies when it was still called Notator.
(Funny thing is that i paid for lots of its parts at the time when they were new and not integrated yet, such as the ES2, the clavinet and the hammond emulation.)

Second: The VSL cube. i preordered it around 2004 (or 2005) and the woodwinds are still my goto. Not because i wouldn't have others, but in an orchestral context they just work extremely well.

Third: Zebra 2. I was an early adapter on that one, when it was a 1 person company. I remember when once i had a problem and sent an email to u-he. About one hour later Urs mailed me a new build. At around 2 o'clock AM. :)

4th: Ozone. I bought it first when it was at version 3. It's still in every single project (in most cases only the imager and the Limiter and the dither module).

5th: izotope's RX: I record a lot of stuff and RX makes my life so much easier...

6th: "Workhorse category": Kontakt, Echoboy

Extra category 1: Plug ins with a fantastic RoI that i don't use that much anymore: the Sonalksis Compressor, Waves S1 (still in almost every project, however nowadays quite often replaced by Precedence), the Exponential Audio reverbs (still get lots of use, but the Precedence&Breeze combo, Liquidsonics CRP, Sonsig do lots of the actual heavy lifting)

Extra category 2: More recent purchases: Breeze & Precedence, TDR Nova, lots of PiA stuff.

Extra category 3: Real instruments: My upright Piano. While i mostly use sampled pianos in my projects, I still practise (a bit) every day, to keep my level. However, 3 years ago i turned it into a prepared piano for 3 months and used it as a signature sound for a film score.
 
Do freebies count? :) If so, most of those.

If not, Mixcraft. Very inexpensive DAW and by far the best I've ever used.

(PS morbid curiosity: how is this off topic?)
 
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My Sennheiser HD650’s. I’ve had mine for almost a decade and still going strong.

Some Runner Ups:
Logic Pro (since version 8)
Taylor GS Mini (Walnut/Spruce)
 
When all my friends in my little hometown village used their gifts (from getting confirmed) on scooters and mopeds, my dad took me to the music store in the nearby small city. While there wasn't much to choose from if you didn't want drums or guitars, there was a Roland E-86 there. Based on the time spent, the joy and fun I had thanks to it it's by far the best investment - to me it matters more than the quality of musical output, that mainly two parents had to endure from 15yr old me.
 
My MKH-50 microphone and a fist full of yellow & pink earplugs that i have used for years whenever I hop on my Sportbike.
 
VE Pro really allowed for the expansion of my sample libraries. It would be impossible to run all of them without it. My faithful DAW of nearly 20 years - Digital Performer! Yes, damn it, it's a good DAW! Omnisphere, which I use in nearly all projects.
 
There would be a bunch of equipment and software to be mentioned. But I have circle back to how I interact with music in the first place. By listening. And for that it is probably my listening sound system that I have to put on top of the list. Emotiva 5.1 setup. Fantastic sound and keeps the music love alive with great detail and depth.
 
Definitely monitors, followed closely by room treatment.

It doesn't matter how great your mics are, how analog your synths are, how deeply sampled your orchestra is, how sophisticated your mixing desk is... if you can't hear them represented accurately, it's all for naught.
 
Switching to Barefoot Micromain Speakers made the biggest different in mixing for me. Speakers were one of the things I spent too much money on over time just to save money.

Breathcontroller and keyb+windcontroller are my main control instruments for all non percussive instruments (all brass, strings, woodwinds, choirs, sometimes also synths).

In software: Logic by far (incl. Logic's Sampler), Kontakt, all U-he, Omni/Trilian/Keyscape, Dune, VSL, Sample- & Audiomodeling.
 
Switching from Ableton to Cubase completely changed my way of composing.
Not saying one is better than the other. It's just that that change of approach was THE kick that helped me raise my game.

Ah, and I recently (and finally !! What took me so long?) went from 22" and 24" screens to 32" and 24". Damn... How was I even able to do anything before? That 32" screen changed my life!
No room on the desk to get more screen estate... Otherwise that 24 would get replaced as well.
 
I would say my audio card Creamware Sonic-Core Scope system
i purchased the first one back in 2000, then expanded the system and, right now, I'm still using it.
 
Very easy to answer for me: studying musicology, and taking piano lessons at conservatory. These two by a long distance.

On a much, much lower level:

Geithain RL 906 monitors
Cubase
TEC Breath Controller
Cinematic Studio Strings
Composer desk
 
#1 - Bitwig Studio ... actually it's one of the best things I ever bought in my life. Endless fun and inspiration. Looking forward to feeding it with signals from my scientific instruments (still in storage) and making beats from molecular vibes of funny substances (among other things).

In-ear monitors/USB-DACs - too much stuff to mention, most of it custom made and modded, more or less replaced my full-sized cans on the road.

Tascam DR-150 - a bit on the bulky side for what it is but always there when I need it.

My Android phablet (Xiaomi MAX2 + 512GB micro SD) - hosts my music collection and Caustic, an Android DAW for quick sketches or beats wherever I am.

Gibson ES-355 ... I only wish I could play that thing like the maniac I bought it from, lol.

Other software? Ozone, my beloved collection of channel strips, UA Triad, ...

...
Edit: Looking forward to buying a Linnstrument, especially for the bunch of hybrid instruments I've been cooking up lately, a standard keyboard just doesn't cut it here.
 
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