namesuppressed
Hi, I'm Kohan! I'm a software developer & fan of German goth/metal. I write electro/grunge inspired tracker music, and now I'm tempted to write kitschy Europop for the Eurovision Song Contest.
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Create your EquipboardVST Plugins 146
Even though I have Ozone 7 and use it most of the time, I still use Ozone 4 for a few things, though usually on a channel rather than the master bus. The Multiband Dynamics in Ozone 4 includes a gate feature that isn't in 7, so you can eliminate specific frequency ranges below a certain threshold. Sometimes that's exactly what you need to remove noise & keep the sparkle on a channel. And then there's the frequency matching & morphing! Ozone 7 has this too, but Ozone 4 let you save snapshots of different songs / channels & reload the snapshots from a file later. I'd built a library of EQ curve snapshots from my favorite songs, and also of isolated tracks from commercial songs. So if you wanted your vocal to match the frequency curve of a pro isolated vocal you found, or to match the EQ of your guitar to an isolated pro guitar part, you could save a snapshot of the isolated track to your library, then use Ozone 4 to match to it... or even just show the curve as a comparison reference while you program in your own EQ with other plugins.
I love the S1 Imager! I spent so many years using alternatives like the PSP StereoPack, Flux Stereo Tool, Auburn Panagement, and I should have just bought the S1 all along. The S1 has something extra (maybe the Shuffler feature) that makes it feel like I'm positioning the sound, not just panning it. The stereo widening is excellent, but I'm mostly using the S1 to narrow stereo channels in the mix & position them so the instruments don't overlap and are distinct, but without reducing them to little mono dots. Of course you can also automate the width, to get pulsing narrow/wide synth sounds. If you absolutely can't afford the S1, the free Flux Stereo Tool is a good alternative, but I'm so glad I switched to the S1 and the Waves Silver/Gold pack.
RX is essential & needs to be in your toolkit. On vocals, I use it to remove the preamp noise from my Focusrite 2i2 - which is already quiet, but RX pushes the noise down 20-30dB quieter. That helps when I'm pushing vocals through several compressors & enhancers. The Declipper also works really well if I've accidentally recorded too hot.
Of course, RX really shines for cleaning up old & badly recorded audio, like podcasts or cassette recordings. It even rescued synth samples I'd sampled in the 90s at 8-bit from a cassette tape!
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VST Amp Sims 11
Trash is the distortion used on NIN's With Teeth album, so I should like it way more than I actually do. But the workflow just doesn't feel right for me and I didn't find any presets that I loved. I know it's powerful, but it feels overwhelming. I feel like I really need to sit down & teach myself to use it... it feels like homework, not fun. I'd rather reach for Guitar Rig 5 or Amplitube 4, or create some weird hybrid VST plugin chain combination.
This was a mistake. I have CLA Guitars, which has a couple of excellent amp models, so I thought GTR3 would have those and more. But GTR sounds (and looks) like an amp modeller from the early 2000s. I like that it separates the pedals & amps into different VST plugins, but IK's Amplitube 4 and NI's Guitar Rig 5 Pro sound just so much better than this, so get those instead.
VST Soft Synths 51
VST EQs 20
VST Reverbs 19
Microphones 9
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Headphones 7
I love these headphones, the noise cancelling is pure bliss. Whether I'm on a plane, a train, walking through the street or mowing the lawn, putting these headphones on makes the stress of the world disappear. I love that the QC25s use AAA batteries, so when the power gets low I can swap the battery & be up & running immediately, no down time or remembering to charge them. I love that the cord is removable & can be replaced if you switch from iPhone to Android. The sound quality could be better (the high end is a bit dull, missing some of the lowest bass), but they're really enjoyable and comfortable to wear everywhere. And I use these while first building a song, when I want to have fun & not be analytical about the sound. I honestly can't be without these headphones, so much that I also own a backup pair in case one breaks.
And that's the catch: there is a manufacturing flaw in the left ear cup that causes the noise cancelling to stop working after a year of use. This is the third time I've had this problem. (Search for "Bose QC25 left ear" and note the results.) Thankfully Bose is usually gracious enough to give a free replacement the first time, and Bose have a policy to swap their products at-cost for any reason if you buy direct from them. But be aware, you could be paying every year to replace these things. As long as you're okay with that... wow, the noise cancelling & comfort makes these such a good purchase.
Interfaces 4
This was my first 24-bit / 96kHz interface, I probably used it in the late 2000s to try & record vocals. But the inputs are RCA, so I'd have to first connect my Behringer mixer to it and all its associated power bricks, and it was a hassle. Nowadays you wouldn't even consider something like this - just get yourself a Focusrite 2i2 or an Audient or similar. Unless you're trying to digitize vinyl LPs, a niche where the UA-1EX seems to have found some popularity.
DAWs 7
Studio Monitors 2
These do a good job of elevating the monitors so that they're at the correct height & angle, and really put you in the sweet spot of your monitors. They look professional as well. But I'm not entirely convinced that they really clean up the vibrations, I can still feel some bass resonance though my desk. Honestly, their big advantage is they have room underneath them to fit a USB cable, if you want your desk to look a bit tidier.
Rack FX 4
Pedals 4
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Released in 1978 (maybe earlier?), but I got mine free with a guitar I bought from my uncle. Still works in 2019, which says something about Korg's build quality then. There's a simple plastic cover for the 9V battery (no messing with screwdrivers), a button to test the battery level without removing it, and a simple light to illuminate the tuning display. You can also tune it via the built-in microphone, if you're too lazy to plug in your guitar. The main downside is that you have to manually select which string you're tuning - this isn't some 2019 VST Plugin that automatically detects whatever note you're playing down to 1/100th of a cent. And if you're way out of tune - like I usually am - the needle won't even move until you're within +/- 50 cents of the note. So it can sometimes look like the unit is broken, but really you just have no sense of pitch & are a talentless hack who shouldn't be playing your uncle's guitar in the first place. It comes with a convenient wrist strap, for some reason I don't quite understand. But seriously, it does the job, and it's nice to see electronics that still work 40 years later... and not a single software update required.
I got this for a live event, and it worked perfectly. The artist wanted to go DI & refused to use Behringer gear, and they seemed happy with DBX. It's more rugged than it looks in photos. The 9V battery is a pain to replace (requires a screwdriver) & the silicone padding around the unit started cracking on day one, but it's okay for the price. However, I'd also hoped I could use it in my own home studio to fix some ground loop hum when plugging my electric guitar into my Focusrite 2i2. But no. At best, the Di1 results in a bit more hum than just using the Focusrite on its own, and with the ground switch in the wrong setting it is (understandably) unusably buzzy. But used on stage for its main purpose, it was perfect.
Computers 4
Studio Gear 5
I chose this because I saw Imogen Heap use it. It does everything I need... almost too much. I never use the pads, and I don't use the faders as much as I expected to - since they're not motorized, they're always in the 'wrong' position when you load a project. The keys are velocity sensitive but not weighted, so it has a plastic feel. If I was buying again, I'd prefer the key feel of the NI Komplete Kontrol A25. The 49 keys has also turned out to be bigger than I need, so I always have to clear my entire desk & move my wireless keyboard & trackpad when plugging it in. But it's affordable, pretty good for playing VSTi synths & pianos, and I have the same MIDI keyboard as Imogen Heap so I can't blame my gear for any lack of productivity & creativity.
Guitars 3
Other Gear 10
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Had 1
Wishlist 12
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