Equipment

Below is the list of equipment that I collected through the years and that I currently use for my songs.

I don't really have a home music studio. It's more like a space for music at my home.

My setup in that space is done following some principles:

MIDI based. Everything is recorded as MIDI sequence. Except for guitars and bass.
Everything is connected and ready to go.
Everything is positioned in a way that it's easy to access from where I'm sitting.
All sounds used for songs come from hardware (synthesizers, sounds modules, drum machines, samplers, musical instruments). No software audio samplers. No Virtual Studio Technology (VST).
No Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) is used.
No equipment that contains computer-like screens or interfaces. Except for the Atari STe running Cubase.

Synthesizers (Supernova, M1R, JD-Xi, microKorg) and sampler (S2000) are connected via an Steinberg MIDEX+ to an Atari 520 STe that runs Steinberg Cubase Score 2.0, where I record everything (except guitar/bass) in MIDI.

The Steinberg MIDEX+ is also connected to the Zoom LiveTrak L-20, to/from which sends/receives an SMPTE signal that is used to sync up with Cubase. This way I can overdub or re-record tracks and still have everything in sync.

Once I have finished a song in Cubase, I record the different audio outputs into separate tracks on the Zoom LiveTrak L-20 multi-track recorder where I do the mixing and final mix into Stereo Master for release.

For effects I use:

During recording: either internal effects of each synth/sampler, or audio from synth/sampler connected to an effects unit (usually the ZOOM 9150 DSP) and output of the effects unit to the Zoom LiveTrak L-20.
During mixing of tracks: internal Zoom LiveTrak L-20 effects (2 buses) applied to tracks, or audio from a track connected to an effects unit (usually the ZOOM 9150 DSP) and output of the effects unit back to the Zoom LiveTrak L-20 on another track.

Novation Supernova

Released in 1998
20 voices of polyphony (7 effects per voice)
3 oscillators
Hi/Low/Band pass filters, 12/18/24 dB/oct ranges, resonant self-oscillating filter with overdrive
Effects: distortion, reverb, chorus, flange, phaser, delay, pan, tremolo, 2-band EQ, comb filtering
8 independent mono outputs
MIDI IN/OUT/THRU
Operating System v4.1

Korg M1R

Released in 1988
Rack-mount version of the popular M1 synthesizer workstation
4 MB ROM Wavetable
16 voices polyphony
8 multitimbral voices
LFO 2 digital modulators and 4 destinations
2 effects processors (reverb, delay, chorus, EQ, overdrive, flanger, rotary speaker)
Software editors for PC/Atari ST
4 independent mono outputs
MIDI IN/OUT/THRU

Akai S2000

Released in 1995
2 MB sample memory (expanded to 32 MB)
Sampling: 22kHz to 44.1kHz. Stereo or mono. 16 or 8 bit resolutions
Time comp/exp, tune, pitch shift, truncate, looping, key placement, velocity effects and more
Real-time modulation
Up to 32 voices of polyphony
Built-in disk drive (3½-inch floppy disk)
Built-in SCSI interface, with PiSCSI
MIDI IN/OUT/THRU
Operating System v2.0

Yamaha TG100

Released in 1991
28 voices of polyphony
16 multitimbral voices
10 drum kits
129 instrument voices
AWM (Advanced Wave Memory) sound sampling technology
DSP (Digital Signal Processor) for digital reverb effects
MIDI IN/OUT/THRU

Roland JD-Xi

Released in 2015
Interactive Analog/Digital Crossover Synthesizer
37 velocity sensitive keys (mini-keyboard)
129 voices (64 voices max. polyphony)
Digital Synth Tone, Analog Synth Tone, PCM Drum Kit
Effects: Distortion, Fuzz, Compresor, Bit Crusher, Flanger, Phaser, Ring Mod, Slicer, 2 Delays, 6 Reverbs
Pattern Sequencer (4 parts)
Arpegio, Vocoder, Pitch Bend, Modulation Wheel
MIDI IN/OUT

Korg microKorg

Released in 2002
37 velocity sensitive keys (mini-keyboard)
4 voices
2 oscillators + Noise generator
8 Channels vocoder
128 Programs organized into 8 categories
Analog modeling tone generator
Modulation effects, Delay (3 types), Equalizer
Real-Time control knob X 4 (3 level Selection), Arpeggio ON/OFF
MIDI IN/OUT/THRU

Roland PC-180A

Released in 1995
49 velocity sensitive keys
Octave shifter
Bender/Modulation Lever
Data Entry Slider
Sustain switch jack for external switch
MIDI OUT

Ibanez RG320DX

Released in 1998
Body style: Super strat/Ibanez RG
Neck: 25.5″ 2 piece maple Wizard II neck with rosewood fretboard
Pickups: Ibanez Powersound 2 Humbucker (bridge), Ibanez Powersound 1 Humbucker (neck)
Bridge: Ibanez Edge Pro II
24 frets with shark-fin inlays

Yamaha Pacifica 112XJ

Released in ????
Body: Alder
Neck: 25.5″ maple with rosewood fretboard
Pickups: Single (midle, neck), Humbucker (bridge)
Bridge: Yamaha's standard vintage tremolo
22 frets with dot inlays

Harley Benton PB-20 SBK

Released in 2019
Body: Poplar
Neck: Maple, Modern "C" profile with roseacer fretboard
Pickup: PB-Style Split Coil
Strings: .040 - .100
20 frets with dot inlays

ZOOM 9150 DSP

Released in 1994
Programmable DSP Guitar Multi-effects Processor
Valve preamp stage (single 12AX7A)
Up to 5 simultaneous effects (Preamp, EQ, Modulation, Delay, Reverb)
Real-time modulation
27 basic effects types (sampling frequency 31.25kHz)
99 factory preset patches and up to 99 user patches
MIDI IN/OUT

Behringer V-AMP3

Released in 2004
480 virtual combos
Reverb, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Rotary, Auto-wah, Echo, Delay, Compressor
Adjustable auto-chromatic tuner
Analog Line outputs L/R
MIDI IN/OUT/THRU

Morley Bad Horsie 2

Released in 2000
2 foot-selectable Wah modes; Bad Horsie and Contour Wah
Switchless design
Electro-Optical design
Dual LED indication
Works with Guitar and Bass

Boss GT-1B

Released in 2017
90 Effect types
32 Seconds Looper
99 Presets/99 User patches
3 Footswitches (Up - Down - CTL 1)
CTL2,3 / EXP2. 6.3 mm TRS latch
1 Expression pedal and 1 additional footswitch / expression pedal input
Switches: Select - Edit - FX1 / Limiter - OD / DS - Preamp - FX2 / Mod - Delay - Reverb - Mem
2 Mono / stereo outputs. 6.3 mm jack
Aux In Stereo. 3.5 mm mini jack
Phones. 3.5 mm mini jack

ZOOM LiveTrak L-20

Released in 2018
16 mono and 2 stereo XLR or 1/4-inch inputs
20 Multitrack + Stereo Master recording to SD card at 44.1/48/96 kHz in WAV 16/24-bit
3-band EQs
2 EFX sends per channel, with 20 built-in chorus, delar and reverb effects
Built-in compression control for mono channels
Six custom monitor mixes
Works as USB 2.0 audio interface

Being a digital mixer, I wish it had an optical output (S/PDIF).

Sony MDR-V6

Released in 1985
Studio Monitor Headphones
Closed back
Frequency response: of 5 Hz – 30 kHz
Sensitivity: 106 dB/mW
Impedance: 63Ω

Shure SRH440

Released in 2009
Studio Monitor Headphones
Closed back
Frequency response: of 10 Hz – 22 kHz
Sensitivity: 105 dB/mW
Impedance: 40Ω

Atari 520 STe

Released in 1989
TOS 2.06
4MB RAM
UltraSatan ACSI external HDD with SD card
mouSTer (USB-to-DB9 adapter) for connecting trackball mouse
1 MIDI In / 1 MIDI Out
Video output: High Resolution (640x400) monochrome

Steinberg MIDEX+

Released in 1990
MIDI and cartridge expander for Atari ST computers
Adds:
- 2 MIDI In
- 4 MIDI Out
- 1 SMPTE In/Out
- 4 slots for selectable cartridges

Steinberg Cubase Score 2.0

MIDI sequencer
128 MIDI tracks
Piano roll editor (Key Editor)
Event editor (List Editor)
Score editor
Drum editor
MIDI Effect Processor with echo, delay and quantise
Arpeggiator
Interactive Phrase Synthesizer IPS (generates new musical phrases based on existing material)
SysEx module
Synchronisation via MIDI Time Code or SMPTE
MROS (MIDI Realtime Operating System)

EKED-M1 v1.0

Korg M1/M1R editor
Send/receive Combinations, Programs, Multisounds and Drum sounds
Edit of Combinations, Programs, Multisounds and Drum sounds
Play notes via MIDI with a virtual keyboard
Load/Save SysEx files

Electronic Cow Squash It! v2.1

Sample editor and sample MIDI dump
Edit samples (mono or stereo, up to 48 kHz, 8-bit or 16-bit)
Effects (compressor/gate, delay, harmoniser/chorus, rotary speaker, stereo to mono, mono to stereo, spread, scatter)
Filters (erode, smooth/expand, comb, low/high-pass, sweeper, and more)
Tools (LFO, envelope shaper, squash, explode, granularise, ring modulate, phase modulate, squared modulation, set frequency, and more)
MIDI dump to/from Akai samplers

I don't edit samples. I only use this software for transferring samples to/from the Akai S2000.

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