Since creating Blue World Austin in 1997, this room has been through 4 iterations. The latest one is my favorite.
In 2021, I decided to simplify. I sold most of the gear I had collected for 30 years. I kept a few favorite mics and mic pre’s and 2 outboard compressors and am now doing 100% of my recording and mixing and editing in the computer.
I just recently upgraded to a loaded Mac Studio M1 connected to a Universal Audio Apollo S6 interface. Pro Tools is my DAW of choice but I dabble in Ableton Live and other software apps.
The magic of my latest studio is a combination of the standing desk with the 3 built-in touchscreen monitors and the amazing software I’ve collected over the years.
I am a bonafide software and plug-in addict. More specifically, I love software instruments. With one mouse click, I can get any piano sound in the world, a full orchestra, a funky bass, any drum set etc etc etc…
I do not miss the days of having to set up drums with tons of microphones and work for hours to get one sound for one song. I love my drum plugins and being able to change sounds and patterns with one click. I don’t miss the huge Fender Rhodes keyboard that took 2 people to move. I don’t miss the heavy, buggy retro gear that so many people are enamored with these days. I lived through the years of the Wurlitzers and B3’s and Mellotrons and 808 and 909’s and stacks of amplifiers. It was a pain. Compared to the latest software, for me, there is no comparison in convenience, sound quality and ease of use.
I spent from 2019 – 2022 immersed in doing media for politics but as of 2023, I took a step back from the stress and came back home to start writing music again for the first time in MANY years. It feels REALLY good.
I am meeting lots of very cool collaborators and am trading files via the cloud with writers and musicians around the country. I don’t know what the future holds, but I just know that I am happy and back where I belong.
