Time to spill my guts as to my personal gear hoard. Gotta let the finger cool off a bit (it's getting better all the time, better, better...) so I don't re-open the split; so, time to yap instead of play.
First off: I'm a Mac guy all the way so that's going to color some of my choices. My main system is a 12 core "iTrashcan" Mac Pro that is also the graphics workstation whereby I earn my living. In addition to that I also sometimes use my creaky old MacBook Pro and/or iPad for DAW (DIgital Audio Workstation) stuff. I have an older-model iPhone but it's hopelessly behind the power curve for being useful in a role more demanding than acting as a tuner.
Now, about that DAW. I use two. I started with Cubase, mainly because my creative mentor is a PC guy and that way we could swap project files when collaborating. I've started using Logic Pro X a lot more lately, though, and that's my focus for now. We can still swap MIDI files so it's all good. I use GarageBand in the iPad but also have Cubasis for iOS (though I rarely use it).
Most DAWs are only as good as the plugins and digital instruments you have for it. I use Amplitube for amps and stompboxes when playing my electric, and SampleTank for my library of digital instruments when playing the MIDI. I also have the "Fab Four" sound kit from East West that allows me to re-create literally (and I mean, no-crap literally) every sound The Beatles ever recorded. The original engineer and, in many cases, the original studio and some original instruments were used to sample the kit to make it 100% authentic. It was an extravagance but one that's lots of fun futzing around with. My other pride and joy in this regard is my virtual Martin D28 for SampleTank. It was rather inexpensive and is a dead-on-perfect recreation of every sound and articulation possible with the real deal (they sampled a vintage—and scary valuable—actual instrument to create the set).
Okay, hardware. I start with a powered hub from Other World Computing that plugs into one of the Thunderbolt 2 ports in my Mac Pro.
Thunderbolt 2 Dock
That is the portal into my Mac and everything musical it sees flows through that. Tbolt 2 is insanely fast which helps in not introducing any latency-causing bottlenecks in the chain.
For my audio interface, the device that converts analog tones and signals to digital that the DAW understands, I use the Focusrite Scarlett 2i4.
Scarlett 2i4
That gives me two ports for XLR or 1/4" cables for mics and/or guitars. It keeps the signal pristine with near zero latency, and gives me all the outputs I need for monitoring the output.
For studio monitors I use the iLoud Micro Monitor from IK Multimedia.
iLoud Micro Monitor
They're inexpensive, small in size, are nearly sonically transparent (very important for mixing and mastering, amplified PC speakers "color" the sound) and can pump out way more crystal-clear volume than I will ever need.
Of course, neighborly and matrimonial harmony dictate some good headphones for those late-night sessions when you "just can't find the sound." This is the set I use:
audio-technica ATH-M50x
I also employ a basic set of Apple "ear buds" when I need to monitor my signal but am wearing my sharp new hat.
Okay, microphones. I've already mentioned my new Blue Yeti:
Blue Yeti USB
Here is my other mic, which is no slouch but not nearly in the same league:
audio-technica ATR2100
Okay, now for the actual noise-making gear! :woohoo:
I still have my first guitar, which I purchased in the mid 1990s. It's a "Wild Cherry" limited run from Art & Lutherie, whose parent company is Godin.
Art & Lutherie Guitars
Mine is no longer available but you can still find a similar one in their "Americana" catalog. This is a pic of mine:
I have a sound hole pickup for it which can be a lot of good, clean fun:
Seymour Duncan "Woody" XL
Or, as I'm currently learning, I can just let it ring out and overpower the room.
My next acquisitions were both MIDI instruments, which marked my diving into the grand obsession of arranging and mixing music (as opposed to just shutting up and playing it).
For a long time the only viable MIDI interfaces have been keyboards, and that's how I started. This was my gateway drug:
M-Audio Keyrig 49
A few years back some geniuses cracked the nut of getting an analog signal (like a vibrating guitar string) into a MIDI stream with almost no latency, which was the big obstacle to such devices. I nabbed one of the first such devices available and, though technology has somewhat outstripped it, my MIDI guitar still serves me very well.
YRG Gen2
It comes standard with the classical style neck, to which I've since added the "radius" neck which has more frets and is narrower. Here's how mine looks:
The neck is removable, it can run on batteries, it has dozens of built-in tones, and it sports a headphones port. It's the ultimate portable practice tool, besides being a great interface for playing instruments I have no clue about (such as saxophones or what-not). I'm using it to lay down the bass guitar tracks in that Bird on the Wire project right now, matter of fact. It's set in my DAW to sound like a fretless upright.
And, last but not least, my recent headlong dive into the warm waters of electric guitars. This is my Angry Angel, my current pride and joy:
PRS SE Custom 22 semi-hollow
Of course I had to put my own stamp on it so mine's been modded up a bit:
Even though with a good DAW I have all the amplification I need for an electric I got a killer deal on a cheap little practice amp, which can be way more convenient when I want to play it somewhere other than in the studio:
Peavey VYPYR VIP-1
Okay, methinks that sums up the fruits of over a decade of Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Got GAS? :silly:
