Computer
Due to the way I work the computer is central to the studio. The current setup is a custom built 1GHz P3 with 512Mb RAM; 2 hard drives - an internal 10Gb for software and odds & ends and a caddied drive for audio and video work. At the moment I am shuttling between a 75Gb 7200RPM IBM drive which has all my work and academic work from the last two years on it, and a new Maxtor 7200RPM 80Gb drive which has my current work on it; Pioneer A-03 DVD-RW drive; Liteonit CDRW drive; Matrox Millennium G550 dual monitor card; Echo Gina 24 audio card; Pinnacle DC10+ analogue video capture & output card; 4 x USB sockets and 3 x IEEE1394 (Firewire) sockets;2 x Acer 21" monitors.
Steinberg Cubase VST 5.1 and Wavelab 2.0; Adobe Premiere 6.0 & Photoshop 5.0; Pinnacle Studio DC10; Windows Media Encoder; shareware MP3 encoder; Nero Burning ROM 5.0; Instant CD+ and DVD; Sonic Solutions MyDVD 2.3 authoring; Microsoft Front Page HTML editor; several shareware editors for synths; Microsoft Office 2000; Windows '98SE.
Recording & Mixing
Mackie SR32:4 mixer; Sony DTC-A6 DAT recorder; Sony DTC690 DAT recorder; Denon DMD1000 Minidisk recorder; Panasonic SJMR2000 portable Minidisk recorder; Ferrograph Logic 7 Reel-to-reel tape recorder; TEAC V285CHX cassette deck; 4 x Behringer Ultrapatch patchbays; Samson Servo 170 amplifier; Tannoy Reveal Monitors.
Instruments
Novation A-Station; Yamaha TX81z; Alesis D4 drum module; Cheetah MS6 synth; Casio VZ8M synth & CZ1000 synth; Evolution EVS1 synth; Octave Cat SRM synth; EMU Proteus 1 sample player; Akai S950 sampler; Peavey Raptor guitar.
Effects
Lexicon MPX200 reverb; Alesis Quadraverb + & Midiverb 3 multieffects; Zoom RFX1000 multieffects; Ibanez DM2000 digital delay & Tubescreamer overdrive; Boss RPH10 phaser, RBF flanger, RCE10 chorus & ROD10 distortion; MAM RS3 resonator; Citronic EQ250 graphic equaliser; Tascam PE20 4 channel parametric equaliser; 2 x Behringer Composer compressor & Autocom compressor.
Musical Bits & Pieces
Evolution MK149 MIDI controller keyboard; Steinberg MIDEX8 MIDI interface; AKG D190E microphone; Shure SM57 microphone; miles of cables!
Video
JVC GRDVD150 Mini-DV camcorder; Philips VHS video; Computar time lapse VHS video; Osume TV.
The 'studio' started in 1980 with a borrowed Korg MS20 synth. This was replaced
by my first owned synth - a Powertran Transcendent 2000; a home-made electric piano (later
destroyed at UK Electronica 1993) and a Melos tape echo. By 1981 these had been
supplemented by a Boss DR55 drum machine (previously we had borrowed a Clef Master Rhythm)
and, later that year, a Korg MS10 synth that we occasionally hired an SQ10 sequencer for.
Early in 1982 I bought a Godwin 749 string synth and a Tascam ME20 mixer. The Melos
echo unit died and was replaced with a Watkins Copycat.
By the time we played our second live gig in July 1982 the MS10 had been sold, but we
were hiring an MS50 (which I eventually bought in 1983) and using this with the hired SQ10
and a friend's MS20. By the end of 1982 I had bought a Firstman Sequencer (similar
to the Roland TB303) and changed the Tascam mixer for a 12 channel HH job. We were
still relying on borrowed equipment much of the time, though.
No new equipment was purchased until nearly the end of 1983, except trading the Copycat
for an HH tape echo which was one of the stupidest moves I ever made as the thing never
worked properly, when I traded the DR55 for an TR606 in time for our last gig of the
year.
There were two major purchases in 1984 - the Octave Cat synth (which I still have
although it's feeling it's age now) and my first TB303 sequencer which replaced the
Firstman. I also, briefly, owned an EDP Wasp Deluxe, which I still regret selling.
In 1985 I replaced the TR606 with a Korg KPR77, the HH tape echo with an Ibanez DM2000
digital delay (which was the most expensive thing I'd ever bought - but I've still got it)
and got an Accessit Reverb. All of this just in time for our biggest gig to date -
UKE '85 in Sheffield.
Although The Land of Yrx was inactive in this period there were several major equipment changes, due to my being in gainful employment! I had tried to do some sequencing with a Sinclair Spectrum and Micron software early in 1986, but this was soon replaced with a Commodore 64 running C-Lab Supertrack (still in my attic!). The KPR77 went in favour of a Roland TR707, the Godwin for a Jupiter 6 and I also added an Akai S612 sampler and the Cheetah MK5 keyboard and a Casio CZ101. Sadly I also sold my 2 TB303s for next to nothing just before they became fashionable with the acid house boom.
The Land of Yrx nearly split up in 1989 after serious arguments. During the period between our 1990 album "A Place Under The Sun" and our 1993 album "Walking Into The Sky" the Jupiter 6 went in favour of a Yamaha TX81z (still got) and a Roland MKS50 (later stolen). The HH mixer was p-exed for a Simonds SPM8:2 and I managed to get a Quadraverb+ and Midiverb 3 before being made redundant and having to make do with what I'd got.
In 1993 I moved to Preston, initially as a student. The first thing I did was
change the Commodore 64 for an Atari ST but didn't really do any music as I had got into
club promotion and was doing a lot of lighting and crewing work.
Most of my gear was stolen in 1995; although I recovered some of it. On my leaving
the club partnership I retained the DTC690 DAT machine, which I still have. I
replaced the CZ101 with another one, which promptly died, and the MKS50 with a Cheetah
MS6. The rest of what I had I managed to recover.
Once settled into its new location the studio started to grow. The ST was changed for a P2 PC, Mark Jenkins kindly loaned me an Alesis 1622 mixer, the CZ101 was changed for a 1000 and the Proteus, EVS1 and my first Composer compressor were added. I also got a Yamaha REV100 reverb in time to mix the two albums we were working on at the time.
Casio VZ8M, Zoom RFX1000, Boss chorus and distortion, 2 x Ferrograph Logic 7 reel-t0-reels added. Nothing taken away.
Changed the REV100 for a Lexicon MPX100, but didn't like the lack of programmability so got an MPX200, initially I kept the 100, but later sold it. Rob now has the REV100 as part of his Yamaha MD4 based studio in Shrewsbury. Got the Mackie desk, the P3 PC, the DTC-A6 DAT, the Minidisk machines and the Tannoy monitors during that summer. Also got all the video gear later in the year.
Sold the Lexicon MPX100 and the lower-spec'ed Logic 7. Changed MIDI interfaces to the MIDEX8. Cheetah keyboard finally died and was replaced with Evolution MK149. A-station added at Easter. Latest acquisition is the Samson amp - partly because I needed a decent amp and partly to make up the number on a finance deal.
I have no expansion plans at the moment. Ideally I would like to get another analogue-type synth along the lines of the A-station, but I'm a bit spent up at the moment. The other thing I really want to explore is software synths, which I hope to dip a toe into the water of later this year.