Often I’m asked what kind of software and other gear I use for my music productions and I felt compelled to compile this list for reference. Please ask questions if you have any.

Logic Pro 9
Symphobia
WIVI Brass I
Evolve
EZDrummer
Steven Slate Drums
FM8
Kontakt 3
CineSamples Drums of War
CineToms
Tonehammer (various)
Evolve Mutations
Alti-Verb (industry standard reverb; despite what Space Designer does, this is better)

As you can see, I’m a percussion maniac. It’s my firm belief that one cannot ever have too many percussion samples or midi loops.

The above list was for software only on my Mac-based system. Now for the hardware:

The single most important piece of hardware in any studio is:
A COMFORTABLE CHAIR!! Without one, it’s murderous on your back, shoulder, and neck. Get one, and take care of it.

Yamaha NS50M studio monitors
Acoustic panels from GIK Acoustics
Presonus Firestudio Project FireWire interface
M-Audio Oxygen 61 MIDI keyboard/controller
Korg NanoPad controller
Various condensor/dynamic mics for live recordings
Various electric guitars, Zager Acoustic guitar, and Yamaha bass
Egnater Rebel 20 guitar amp into a Palmer PDI-03 speaker simulator for guitar/bass recording
Behringer Ultra-G DI box and speaker simulator

As you can see, it takes a lot of gear to make pro-sounding tracks. If you find yourself lacking in a certain area of gear or with your music, look at the gear or software you’re using first. There’s no reason to get down on yourself if your gear is out-of-date. It takes time and money to compile excellent gear. Patience is a virtue in this respect, as if you don’t always have the money, it’s not feasible to upgrade. The key I’ve learned is upgrading one step at a time and buying the best I can afford. And that is usually near the top-of-the-line – not everything I use is, but pretty damn close. You can make excellent tracks, but it does take investing in yourself to get it done.

Are you going to invest in yourself? Do it – it pays off in the end.