Some of you may be interested in the hardware that I'm, currently, using to produce the new CD, alongside guitars and other assorted bit and pieces. The latest addition is an 8-core MacPro computer, using 12Gb RAM. Macs are always too expensive by half in this country, especially as they are cheaper than chips in the USA. There is definitely a UK surcharge - most USA companies feel that, if it's cheap for the homeboys, then they'll recoup in the European and Pacific markets. For use on the road (for I will be hoping to do a few shows in the New Year), I will use a MacBook Pro.
The audio interface that I've been using for a few years, a Metric Halo ULN-2 +dsp is, in my humble opinion, one of the finest in terms of quality, and customer support. There was a new model, recently, the ULN-8 which was offered to registered Users at a massive discount. Even with this discount, unfortunately, I was not able to pick one up. Never mind, I'm sure I'll survive!
I've returned to my old, but beautifully refurbished, Peavey Vintage 4x10, although, with the introduction of the Waves GTR and Ground interfaces, I'm finding that I get a cleaner signal path without miking it up and linking together a myriad of stomp boxes. Rather than trying to shield the Strat pick-ups from every stray electromagnetic field, I'm finding that the soft FX and i-Lok are worth every penny. Greg from Guitar Aid has done a marvellous restoation job - I supplied him with a couple of new Jensen Vintage Alnico P10Q speakers which are, currently, being settled in.
Samples are triggered with a seven-octave Studiologic SL990XL, with accompanying footpedal. It's used to trigger many fine samples via my old eMagic Unitor 8 MIDI interface.
Microphones are, in general, very expensive. Most commercial studios worth their salt will use the Neumann U87. Now, with my introduction to e-Bay, I've managed to buy a U89i. It has performed to expectations - it even makes my vocals sound halfway decent. (Whether it's just that or the new pitch-correction plug-ins remains for others to judge!) My backups and ordinary instrument mikes are a Rode NT2 and a couple of SM58s.
My pair of Adam S4VAs, which have replaced my ancient KEFs are performing admirably and, with the exception of some iffy acoustics that can't really be altered, will allow me to mix and master the new (and old, revisited) material. If they're good enough for Abbey Road, they're certainly good enough for me! The British agents, Unity Audio, are a pleasure to deal with - they go out of their way to make a trouble-free transaction and are highly-recommended.
My live rig will include the ULN-2, the MacBook Pro, probably the ancient Yamaha SPX3000 and the Quadraverb, racked in a Gator travel case.