My Gear
Affiliate links
for all my gear
Here's a list of all the gear I use to produce my music. Feel free to use my links if you'd like to support my work :)
Microphone
Shure SM7B
What I personally love about it is that it has a very concentrated and focused sound. It enables me to get very close and capture a lot of clean vocal texture with minimal room noise, which is perfect for stacking as many vocal tracks as I do in a single project.
You'll need a preamp to effectively drive it. This link also includes the SM7dB, which has one built-in. Alternatively, you can get the Cloudlifter linked below.
Portable Recorder
Zoom H4n
I originally purchased it to take higher quality voice notes than I could with my phone, as it can run on batteries and sounds beautifully crisp.
It has 2 mics, so it's great for stereoscopic spacial ambient recording, though for vocals I prefer to keep it in mono mode.
It records to SD card and can record in a variety of formats and bit depths as well, which is super handy for saving storage space. I often record in 320 MP3 since that's plenty good enough for my social media content. The platforms are squashing our audio to bits anyway.
Audio Interface
Steinberg UR44C
It has 2 headphone jacks, supports loopback, integrates with Cubase, and has a sturdy build.
I like having 2 headphone jacks so that I can independently output my computer's stereo output to a second interface for sampling and general capture.
I use loopback for sharing computer audio in video calls, but not in my production process as it interferes with the signal flow when recording.
Microphone Preamp
Cloudlifter CL-2
Microphone Boom Arm
Blue Compass
My only complaint is that my microphone's design results in a tight fit around the cable connection, resistricting some range of motion, but not at all a dealbreaker for me.
Headphones
Sennheiser HD 650
They're a bit on the pricier side, but a quality set of headphones goes a long way when mixing, and these have been worth every penny.
They produce a full, warm, and spacious sound. Their open-back design really allows your ears to breathe while hugging them in a beautifully wide stereo image.
Studio Monitors
M-Audio BX5 D3
These were really great entry-level monitors for back when I was getting started all the way up until recently. They're small enough to conveniently fit on a desk, but substantial enough to provide a relatively full sound.
Very recently my right monitor started producing a buzzing sound in its tweeter, and I've definitely outgrown them at this point, so it's time for an upgrade. But 13 years of consistent use I'd say is pretty impressive for monitors this affordable. I highly recommend them if you're in your early or intermediate stages.
MIDI Controller
midiplus X6 mini
The beauty of this particular unit is that its keys are small enough to give you a whole 61 keys in a small 33.5"-wide space, but just big enough to play comfortably with two hands.
Its build is also surprisingly high-quality for the price, with velocity-sensitive keys, transpose, assignable knobs/buttons, sustain pedal support, and both MIDI/USB out ports.
This link includes the smaller options as well.
Mouse
Propoint Ergonomic Mouse
But this award-winning device is an exceptionally good investment for anyone using a computer mouse.
As opposed to the standard claw-grip design most of us are used to, this mouse uses a pen-grip design, and as a result provides a more precise and comfortable feel.
Your hand can more easily sit in its natural resting position in between clicks, and enables a more efficient delivery of the hand muscles while clicking.
Foot Switch
iKKEGOL USB Triple Foot Pedal
You can assign these padals to any key or key-combination you'd like, which can be handy for a whole host of actions. I personally assign mine to the 3 mouse buttons, which is perfect for avoiding excessive strain on the hands when working for hours on end.
For anyone dealing with hand pain or any computer-related strain injuries, I highly recommend giving a this and the Propoint mouse (linked above) a try.
