I often get asked what gear I use most frequently, so today I am going to share with you 7 pieces of equipment that I use in recording and mixing every single day. These 7 pieces are a combination of outboard gear and musical instruments, plus a few guitar pedals. These pieces of equipment are things that I use on every single recording and absolutely cannot do with without!
This is my workhorse. I have a lot of BAE stuff, but if I am recording individual elements, like lead vocals or acoustic guitars, this is the one that gets use on pretty much everything. For me, having one really good, really high quality mic preamp with EQs is essential.
This is a secret weapon for me. This is a huge part of my bass soung when I am mixing in a hybrid fashion on the console. I use a 100Hz boost and a 3k Hz boost, and then it is inserted on my bass channel on the console. While we could boost the low end on the console, there is something absolutely fantastic about how the low end blooms on the 500A.
What I love to do when mixing rock and roll and live drums if to have the low end come in underneath the bass guitar. This allows me to do that and really helps out my mix because I can have those low lows I want coming right in underneath. If you are mixing hybrid, I highly recommend getting one of these, if you are not, there are a number of companies that make fantastic plugin versions of this as well.
This is one of my favorite guitars. This guitar is so well made, well set up, and so versatile. I use it on nearly every single recording we do. And, it is affordable as well! I love equipment that is amazing, and also affordable, and this guitar is one of those wonderful pieces!
This is my favorite overdrive pedal. It is great for leads, and it really responsive just like a tube amp. I usually find that I don’t need too much drive, but it still makes it mid-rangey and honky and cuts through. It is truly an amazing pedal and I use it all the time.
This is my favorite delay pedal. I find that I use a lot of echo, really lightly, all the time, and this is the pedal I use to do it. I have had this pedal for almost 11 years, I have taken it everywhere, used it all the time, and have never had it break down or had any issues with it.
I love many acoustic guitars, but there is something wonderful about the LL16. It is beautifull built, it can be pop when I want it to be pop, it can be rock when I want it to be rock, and so much more. And since I changed to Ernie Ball strings, it has really come to life even more. This guitar is definitely one I cannot go without, and it has been on almost every recording I have done since I got it!
If someone comes to me and asks about inexpensive mics and how to get started, the SM57 is the one I recommend. I remember talking to almost every major producer and engineer that I have worked with, and they all come back to this as well. There are plenty of inexpensive mics out there, but out ears are so tuned to this mic and the way it sounds, that this is the one we all turn to. It is the sound of guitars, snare drums, pretty much anything you want to use it for, as well as the sound of Paul Rogers’s voice, and he is one of the greatest rock singers of all time. This is a mic that is super affordable, sounds great, and that is why it is one we use all the time.
Watch the video below to learn more about the 7 pieces of equipment I use every day!
