Things keep moving around in here. Some more than once. I have several IKEA shelves and 2 corner units. I’m in the midst of migrating them into the area that will become my vox booth sometime soon. I have read several articles stating that full bookshelves are good for sound control. I don’t know for certain when it will be complete but I see light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not an oncoming freight train. Then again. Is a studio ever really done? So here are some pics and explanations. I originally shot a video but there is too much movement and some shakiness that can cause one’s stomach to reach AKA Hurlcam. Pic 1. Slant shelf I built decades ago. It has 15 spaces per side. Still serves its purpose. Once I figure where the console is going, I’ll have a better idea where it go…along with another 26 unit rack. Pic 2. These shelves will be migrating downstairs to the vox area. I can’t call it à booth yet per se. Pic 3. Looking from the vertex down one ray from where the drums will live. Pic 4. My console which is yet to be moved.along with my MiniMoog atop a Westlake BBSM-10. That’s a very good jazz base copy. There is a Strat of the same type to the right of kit. Pic 5. My Baby. 1967 Fwnder Tremolux and two bandmaster 2 x 12 cabs. I don’t remember if I’ve said this before but…I bought the lower cab at a garage sale in LaGrange, IL for $5 bucks. It was in good condition. I figured for $5 it was worth it, even if it was empty. I paid the guy running the sale with his wife. I asked why so cheap. He said they were selling everything to move, even stuff that belonged to their son. The son never picked it up. When I lifted it to go in the car, it was heavy as hell. Hmmmm. Got it hom, laid it face down, opened up the back and saw a JBL D120 and an EVM12. Best five bucks I ever spent. Pic 6. my newly modified bass rig. Top head is a Crate B150. These were good amps in the day. This one needs to be recapped. Below that is a Sunn Coliseum Bass head. 320 watts of raw power. This thing is Loud as hell. Next level down is a Crate BX410. 4 x 10”. I bought it two weeks ago for $60. The bottom box is a Peavey 115 Black Widow. It sounds good. A friend came over a couple of days ago with a ‘75 Gibson Grabber and a 64’ Precision. He’s a much better bassist than me. He put it through the paces. Passes with flying colors.

Is it me or my gear? Countless recordings and live performances have used SM57 / SM58 $100 If you can't get a respectable capture into one of those mics. It's not the mic. Headphones -- unless someone is paying you 'I can retire now' money. You probably just need some basic cans. $200 Monitors -- Don't fall for the YT vids. Learn the monitors you can afford. I have heard killer mixes that were done on 6x9 speakers a guy ripped out of a car. He was a real musician / engineer. He had passion. 'All input devices (preamps - Audio interface) are the same'. Kinda. These days the cheap stuff is so good that if you don't push it most can't tell the difference. The thing is if you want character you want to push the pre so the expensive stuff wins. BUT .. you can go clean and then distort in the box. So... is it you? or your gear? Guitar finger squeaks ... I'm sure there is a plugin for that but TomoFugitaMusic can fix that for you. You won't like the discipline and neither did John Mayer. So what is my point? The best advice I have ever gotten, and it always seems to come from many respectable professionals. Stop spending money until you have something that you know for a fact will make a difference OR you are building a collection OR money is simply not an issue in your scenario. The thing you buy, even though considered better, might make you sound worse. Why? because you put a better mic in your less than adequate room because the new guitar amp is super responsive and your technique is inadequate because -- and this could be an expensive good thing -- oh, I thought I was ok but I have work to do. The ENTIRE WORLD is awaiting your new music that is raw, real, and creates an emotional experience for them.

Are there any hip-hop heads out there? What are your favorite 90s hip-hop albums?

Hi great people! Lately, I've been focusing on weekly goals and trying to define my own daily dedication, kind of non-negotiable task for each day outside of production sessions. What does your daily dedication look like? Do you have specific things you practice or study on particular days? Here's my DRAFT: Monday - music analysis. Listening to note arrangement, sounds, balance, production choices. Tuesday - sound selection. Hunting for sounds, finding kicks working great with basses, synths, etc. Wednesday - sound design. Creating and/or shaping sounds. Thursday - effects selection. Exploring reverbs, delays, modulation, distortion, etc. Friday - plugin review. Study or review plugins. Saturday - undecided Sunday - undecided I’m still figuring out Saturday and Sunday.

https://open.spotify.com/track/5GKGIQGmnddmdcVEBGYvFR?si=49279fe00832497a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hqeawhaf6ik&list=OLAK5uy_nLH3juFYxyyy2TmP8twYwVvaBWMuhMjXo Congrats on the track, dude! @Canyon Cottle, just want to celebrate you for being consistent with your goals and pushing the bar with every new release. Keep it up!