Do you make music? Tell me about your setup! (even if it's janky or cheap lol)

i find im mainly using the sm58. it just seems reliable and i think it can help when youre not sure how to mix a track perfectly to get the vocal to cut through the thickness of the track. i have been using the same m audio xlr usb converter with a usb hub so it as the outlet power. someone told me that mattered when i started getting this stuff and i guess they were right. i am still using free versions of DAWS, mostly fl studio, and was thinking of learning studio one or something but havent gotten around to it.

i have the akai mini and basically thats everything i need. its pretty simple. i have some other useful stuff like an acoustic guitar and a bigger keyboard to try and learn actual songs on the piano and stuff. I don't think i was born to be a home recording studio guy or anything but i've definitely gotten better and learned more over the years.  

i guess i could be getting a lot more mileage out of some of the stuff i have that isnt like part of what i generally use most of the time. i have an old roland vs1880 at my parents house that i use to just record little bass tracks for a few minutes when i visit. i also have a tascam portastudio thing and i could probably be learning those and achieving unique sounds and using that to my advantage. maybe i will get better at that. right now im just tryin to learn basic stuff like music fundamentals and try and find some positive direction. i spent a lot of time making really basic noisy abstract and almost progressive type music that i was spending a lot of time working on lyrics for and my process wasn't very producer or final product oriented and i'm sort of just playing an endless game of catch up it feels like. and i think thats more important for someone with that distinct problem to handle and get control of before trying to figure out a cool studio setup that gives them specific capabilities of achieving different sounds, like, i think ultimately thats more advanced and better for people who know exactly what their plan is maybe.

i guess you hear podcasts where mixing guys say you can do anything "in the box" or on the computer but i suppose there's differences and limits to that vs analog equipment in some ways 

I'm current working with an old TASCAM cassette Portastudio and a Shure SM - 58 mic.

I'm recording my guitar/bass parts through an Ampeg PF-500 amp.  I've used it for live gigs but now I just record the pre-amp signal straight to the TASCAM.  I found that running straight to the 4 track sounded pretty weak and I have more EQ control running though the amp.

Guitars being used are an old '90 Jackson Reverse Dinky and an '85 Fender Precision Bass.

The band I was previously in released cassettes and vinyl, but we still recorded with ProTools.  I thought it would be cool to revisit recording straight to cassette and handmaking the inserts.  

Kind regards,

The Capt.