joshfryer's Reviews
9 reviews Back to joshfryer's Equipboard
118
A workhorse with everything you need.
I have been a Mac guy for a while now. My earliest experiences with Apple computers was probably in my sophomore year of college when I was dabbling with the idea of going into multimedia production, music, graphics and web. At the time, the iMac G4 existed, but it didn't have the power we needed to run the apps required to complete our projects, so our school outfit the entire mixing lab with G4 towers (I think mirror doors at the time). These machines were great, but they had too many peripherals to go with them, keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc. It wasn't until the G5 iMac, and ultimately the Intel iMac, that I was truly sold. My memory eludes me now, but I want to say around 2006 I switched to iMac as my main platform for ALL my work, be it music or otherwise, and I haven't looked back once. Since that first G5, I have had 5 iMacs, AND plan to get a new one in the next few months. As long as you max these babies out when you purchase them, they are VERY comparable machines and can take a beating year after year after year. I'm currently writing this on a late 2013 iMac, that is STILL my main machine for every single project I take on. Being as I have gotten more into 3D work lately (remember that multimedia comment earlier, SMH) the resources I need to complete jobs in a timely manner does require me to get a new machine, but if I was strictly doing audio work, this thing would still be perfect for the job. I have entertained the idea of getting and iMac Pro, but since the recent updates to the iMac 27" product line, I think I'm going to stick with what I know best. 5 out of 5. - JF
118
The Little Mic That Could
In my life, I have been through hundreds or microphones. In my punk days in the 90s, we couldn't afford anything, so we would essentially use what we could get our hands on. As I was starting to take music seriously, I invested in some intro basic recording mics, like the MXLs. When I thought I had grown out of these models (and had a little bit more money to spend on gear) I bought more Shure mics and some Blue mics for vocals. But, I always got a better tone out of the MXLs! So, for my new recordings of my personal music, I have gone back to the good 'ol MXL 990. For my vocal range, I LOVE this mic. Sadly, my higher-end mics are now collecting dust in the closet. I call these guys "'ol trusty" for a reason.
118
Solid for the price.
These babies have been in my studio for a few years. When I moved to Tennessee, I accidentally broke my AKG mixing headphones. I know, it sucked. I went to my local Guitar Center and essential said "I need something cheap and I need it today, what ya got". Naturally, they tried to up-sell me immediately to which I said (in my head) "get fucked". But, one of the guys in pro audio recommended the Sennheisers and I bought them immediately. Now, several years later, they are all I will use. Not the perfect mixing/tracking headphone, but for the money, you can't beat them. SUPER flat response! My only complaint is that they are pretty bad about handling (sub) low end. If you are mixing any tracks with heavy lows, use monitors. These aren't gonna get you there. Other than that, these are great!
118
Fell into my lap...
These monitors were given to me by a client that couldn't afford to pay me for my services. He asked if I would take these monitors as a down payment (then I never heard from him again). Long story short, I got some killer monitors and he lost out. These monitors are amazing! I think the only thing I would add is a nice sub to really push the sound further, but I end up boosting the lows a little bit when I'm mixing to compensate for only having the stereo pair. I would buy Dynaudios again if I ever need to replace these guys. Highly recommended for my workflow of rock and metal.
118
Tiny workhorse with great converters.
I put off buying my Duet for a while. I was looking at the previous Duet (the all silver one) for a while, but I wanted to have a way to record high quality audio and still use the hardware for a mobile platform (i.e. iPad and iPhone). The Duet was the only device that allowed me to do both. Prior to using the Duet I had a Digi 002, which had quite a bit more I/O, but because most of my songwriting and recording is getting ideas out of a vocal and guitar performance, the Duet is perfect. Highly recommended for high quality converters and scaleability to higher-end hardware.
118
The best production tool.
I have been using Logic Pro since Apple acquired it (around 2002-2003?), and I wouldn't give it up for the world. I still dabble in Pro Tools when it is necessary, but as a songwriter's tool Logic takes the cake. In no other app have I had the ability to sit down at the computer with zero ideas as to where my song may be going and still have the ability to create from scratch easily. This app keeps getting better and better with every release.
821
I think this is a good excuse to buy a Mac :)