The X-15 was my first foray into multitrack sound recording, and my first non-musical instrument purchase (I already had three guitars and keyboards and such). The device meant I could overdub parts and work out more complex songs. I was instantly hooked.

Frankly, it was the Beatles tie-in that did it for me. Pepper (the first album I ever bought) remains a favorite, and if 4-tracks worked for the Fab Four, then the X-15 was good enough for me, too. Of course, years later I learned all about the other fabulous gear at Abbey Road the Boys had at their disposal. Ah, to be young and naïve again.

What’s funny is I paid around $500 for my X-15 (which is well over a thousand dollars today) at the time. A LOT of money for a poor student like me. And the gear was threadbare at best – four mono tracks on cassette with a Bass/Treble EQ (only available when recording and on the master mix). Still it was a huge leap forward for me.

Today that same money will get you a powerhouse music app and a basic computer to run it. And think of all the bells and whistles available now – EQ, compression, reverb, unlimited tracks, MIDI, et al.

Go back to the basics. You start with the song, and the sound, the melody. I’ve always worked hard because of the music, not for the technology. – Geoff Emerick (Engineer on Pepper)

Still, I learned so much working with the X-15. I wrote a lot of songs on it and even did some basic soundtrack work (VOs, SFX, and music for videos). Looking back it was a great investment as this one device led me to making music and doing audio-post as a career.