Recommended Gear

Here’s a more comprehensive list of the stuff I use.

Some of the links may include affiliate links which give me a small benefit at no cost to you.

I will NEVER list a product here that I wouldn’t seriously recommend or use.

If you want my tones, they are available through Patreon.

Learning Songwriting

The Addiction Formula by Findeissen. Audiobook version is sufficient. Game changer.

Learning Mixing

The Objective Mix book by Tyson Brooman

Software

Nothing will improve your playing faster than using Guitar Pro to practice.

Buy it, contact me when you do, and I’ll send you a kickstart video!

Processing

Go with the Kemper Stage if you gig. If you get a Kemper Rack, you will need to get a case as well as a Kemper Remote… And a case for that! If you like hauling stuff around, go for it. For me, I will go with a more compact setup.

The Kemper Profiler Player is an incredible piece of gear. It’s especially a good fit for bass players who want to be on the Kemper system, or guitarists with very few switches and who prefer building more traditional pedalboards.

Desk

My desk is currently oak milled from an oak tree which fell at my parent’s house. I built it with my dad and it’s special to me. It is mounted on a VertDesk platform, which I bought for half the price they run today. VertDesk is absolutely overkill. I can sit on it and the desk can still move me. VertDesk is nice because it has the crossbar. I NEVER use the standing desk functionality in the studio.

Otherwise, Flexispot stuff is good. I have one of their frames for another cherry desk top I built for my work space.

StudioDesk — My friends with studios are very happy with theirs. Expensive. Probably way overkill and oversized for your home studio, but there it is.

Monitoring

Until you have a treated room, monitors are overrated and don’t matter. They will not be accurate because they are dependent on the room. That said, I’m currently using KRK ROKIT 8” G4’s and Yamaha HS5 and HS8S for monitoring. It’s a nice to have. It’s FUN!

For actually doing critical work, I use and strongly recommend the Slate VSX system.

I also have a Mackie Big Knob on my desk. Nice to have if you don’t want to reach over to fuss with your volume control. It also sports an extremely useful mono control.
(Don’t forget to buy more cables if you get this!)

Speaker Stands and Speaker Isolation — Getting your monitors at ear level and properly isolated is a game changer! Even though monitors aren’t accurate unless the room is treated, they will be horrendously inaccurate if they are vibrating through your desk.

Is your computer is noisy:

Rack Gear

  • Scarlett 18i20 Gen 3 — Gen 4 lacks the knobs and Gen 3 is working fine for me.

  • Scarlett 2i2 Gen 3+ — Get one of these if you’re just getting started with recording.

  • Neve 1073 SPX — Nice for vox and guitar. Occasionally for bass.

  • Warm Audio WA-2A — This is such a handy tool for recording vocals and bass with.

Connectors

A lot of connector stuff is overrated. It’s a 0.5/10 for importance. That said, do pick something quality. Here are some of the brands I like. The only benefit to gold is corrosion resistance in harsh environments. Don’t stress too much. :-)

  • Switchcraft — A little smaller profile than Neutrik.

  • MiniCake — Especially for pedalboard/right angle connectors.

Cables

I make a lot of my own cables. I haven’t really worked with other brands since you save so much making them yourself anyways.

I like shopping at Performance Audio.

NOTE: Do not buy “superflexible” as it has different slightly different impedances than the instrument and microphone cable SKUs.

Friends of mine like Seismic Audio (esp. for their beautiful, colored patch cables) and Hosa.

Strings

  • I find that Stringjoy last me months! GHS Boomers and NYXL are solid too.

  • I run standard 10 gauge

Straps

  • Dunlop Seatbelt strap, modified to be shorter. I like this strap because it slips a little bit over time, exposing you do slightly different playing positions.

Picks

  • Dunlop JP Flow 2.0mm (shred stuff, default)

  • Dunlop Maxgrip Jazz III Xl carbon (CHRISTOPHER SHAYNE stuff)

  • Dunlop Flow 0.73 (for clean stuff)

String Changing

  • Music Nomad Cutter Winder

  • Music Nomad Tune-It nut lubrication

Maintenance + Tools

  • Lizard Spit fret cleaner (incredible!)

  • Deoxit Contact Cleaner — For cleaning scratchy pots, inputs, etc.

  • Smith Pro Formula Polish (for gloss guitars)

  • Lizard Spit NEVER-Gloss cleaner (for matte guitars)

  • Calipers (digital, any)

Pain Relief + Restrengthening

Plugins

(Listed in the order you should probably get them)

  • Superior Drummer 3

  • Mike Mangini MixWave Drums

  • Omnisphere 2 Synth

Cameras / Lights

To get started with digital photography/videography, watch this video.

  • Sony A6300 (not much of a reason to go above this unless doing long 4K shoots all the time). Sony ZVE-10 is better and has flip around screen, but, if you use the teleprompter, you will need an external monitor anyways.

  • Sony 35MM Prime lens
    (Depending on your situation and style, another lens may suit you better.)

  • Neewer F100 7inch Camera Field Monitor

  • Glide Gear TMP100 Teleprompter

  • SmallRig AD-01 Video Tripod (You need a heavy sturdy tripod to handle the teleprompter)

  • Sennheisser ew100 G3 lav mic

  • NANOSECOND Extreme Slim 2.6’ MICRO HDMI Cable — You NEED a thin cable to not stress the cameras micro HDMI port.

  • Right Angle Brackets — Expensive feeling, but will save you a HUGE headache when filming vertical videos. Buy TWO. One for the camera, and one for the monitor.

  • GVM (Great Video Maker) G100W 100 Watt Cob Light

  • Neewer Hair Light