seethru

I managed to grab a pair of these right around the time they were discontinued (although I heard there is a petition to bring them back that Panasonic is actually paying attention to... fingers crossed), and I love them. I learned how to DJ on a set that a friend had, so it is really cool to be able to have some in-home to practice on instead of having to use a controller of some kind. I use them for sampling old records quite a bit as well, and they are pretty essential for crate diggers. Plus, there isn't really a better feeling than spinning on vinyl. It just feels so much more authentic.

If you use Ableton, you really need to invest in one of these. They make everything about working in Ableton's session view a breeze, especially when finalizing a mixdown. Recording automations with the knobs is also intuitive and can yield some pretty exciting results with practice. For people who perform live with Ableton, APCs are absolutely invaluable.

This little guy is a pretty versatile bassline-generating machine. You can design pretty much any type of bass sound you could possibly think of (although you may need a bit of modulation and processing outside of the plugin) and it really shines with the new future bass sound that many producers are going for lately.

This thing is pretty crazy and difficult to get a handle on, but with the right experimentation it can add excitement to synths or drum patterns. It really requires a lot of playing around to get a grasp for what the different parameters do, but it can add some really weird and fun distortion to your tracks.

This bundle has literally everything an in-the-box producer could need for mastering their mixdowns. All of the plugins work wonders (the harmonic exciter is my favorite, it does really cool stuff to your hi hats), and it really makes your final product shine when used correctly. A lot of people bounce audio out to a new session and then use Ozone, but I prefer to use it in the original session, although this is CPU-intensive and really about personal preference. If you are going to use it in-session, I recommend doing some A/B testing with other mastered tracks BEHIND these plugins using Sample Magic A/B or something similar.

First and foremost, this thing is hilarious. The facial expressions of the little sausage guy provide hours of in-studio entertainment. As far as actual practicality and usefulness go, you should definitely practice moderation with the Sausage Fattener. Overuse of this aptly named plugin will turn your waveform into a literal sausage and suck all of the dynamics out of your final product. If used carefully, it can add some nice warmth to a synth or bassline, but again, moderation is key.

I haven't used Sylenth for much else besides lead and pad synth design, but it really shines in these areas. It is extremely tweakable and user friendly, and you can really create some strange and exciting leads and sequences with it. I love experimenting with the voicing and creating conflicting waves inside of it for some cool results.

This is an all around great synth. The wavetables are great, the filters are great, the envelopes are great, and just about every other feature is better than most soft synths on the market. Of course, because it is so great, it is used by just about everyone in EDM, so you have to attempt to avoid the rut of sounding like everyone else, but Massive is versatile enough to set yourself apart from the pack with a bit of effort.

I have only had these for a few months, but they have replaced both my Beats and SOLs as my favorite headphones for production and referencing. They have great low end response without being overbearing, and they are super comfortable (coming from someone who gets easily irritated with most over-ear headphones). The reversible cable that has both a 1/4" and 1/8" output is also really handy for anyone who DJ's/Produces.

I use this with my Marshall JVM head and the stock speakers in it are fantastic. The JVM has quite a kick, but this cab is more than capable of handling it. This cab is perfect for someone who gigs regularly, and is portable and not too heavy.

This head can crank out some sound. Seriously, if you play guitar where there are people within miles of you, you may want to consider another option. It can be played at lower volumes, but the tubes really kick in around 6+ volume, and that is loud enough to harm someone. I have used it at a variety of performances, and it is more than enough power to rock a venue.

I don't play this thing very often, as I got it mainly as a collectors item. However, there are very few things more satisfying than picking the intro to Sweet Child O' Mine on an exact replica of one of Slash's guitars.

This guitar isn't practical at all, but if you are considering buying one, practicality probably isn't the first thing on your mind to begin with. Everything about this guitar is just fun. It has a great feel to it, and the action is easily adjustable to all playing styles. The standard humbuckers that came with it are pretty decent, but I installed EMGs in it because they have a nice versatile sound to them, and can handle pretty much any style you throw at them.

I love this thing. The action is perfect, which isn't always the case with Fenders. The stock pickups were pretty good, but I installed two Gibson '59s in it instead since most of my other guitars have humbuckers, and I like the sound better.

The internal sound banks are great, but I mostly use the V-Drums for recording MIDI beats when I want them to have a more human feel with less quantization. The pads are very sensitive with great velocity response. For some reason, some of the pads will quit working, but unplugging the drums and plugging them back in again seems to fix this problem every time.

This was the first non-software synth I purchased when I was beginning to produce. It is a great piece of machinery for someone with limited knowledge of synthesis, as it offers you the ability to tweak the asdr and reverb of the synth sounds without overcomplicating the tweaking and being confusing to beginners. For someone looking to really dial in their own sounds, this may not be the best option, but it still has some great onboard presets. Also, the D-Beam is delightful.

I have used a variety of DAWs in my time producing, and Ableton is by far my favorite. Very easy and fluid to use, and the in-box plugins and racks are unparalleled.

While it isn't the most versatile or impressive interface, the Duet is perfect for any bedroom producer using a Mac that isn't trying to overly complicate their setup. The Maestro audio manager tool is very useful, especially when recording external instruments, and the general setup of the interface is painless. My only problem with the Duet is the strange audio cuts for the first few minutes of use after you boot it up, but I assume that is simply a byproduct of the device warming up.

I have the limited edition red version of the MPK 49 and I love it. The keys aren't weighted, but they have a great response and don't feel cheap or fragile like a lot of midi keyboards. The pads are also really responsive, and the built in sequencer and arpeggiator are great for quick inspiration.

I switched to these from HS-80ms because I moved into a smaller room, and these are perfect for how I have them set up. I had to position them against the wall, but because they are front ported, you don't lose any bass response. The only mild complaint I have about them is they go into a standby mode if you don't run audio through them after a few minutes, but this isn't that difficult to work around.