After illness in 2008, 2009 saw me enter what I called my “early retirement” phase. I only dipped in and out of music and theatre work and looked to other neglected projects to keep me busy. After a difficult year in 2024, I started pulling old projects out of my “forgotten bag” and getting passionate about music again. It was a career I’d thought I’d left behind but it wasn’t to be; music and theatre are very firmly back in my life again.
On and off for years I’ve had a dedicated work space and studio but now I’m happy to have down sized and mostly work from home. Something I always get asked is what software and apps I use.
Adobe Creative Suite is one I’ve always used for creative work in design and web; all my coding and programming is done in Visual Studio Code which is completely free and a great environment to work in; there are extensions that support almost every programming language from simple HTML/CSS up to C/C++. Although I mostly rely on a paper notebook and diary I do have Diarium installed which I find useful to keep notes and track work; a kind of basic project management. I’ve never yet really found a project management app that works for me.
And so we get onto the music tools. Since it was first released for Windows, I’ve used Sibelius, now produced by Avid who also does Pro Tools. Sibelius for me is the ultimate in digital scoring. All my music, compositions, arrangements and orchestrations are done in Sibelius; I know other apps are developing but Sibelius for me is the ultimate app for my manuscript work. Like Adobe Creative Suite, it’s become a subscription based app; a lot of people complain about the cost of this but I find it does have advantages and you’re always up to date with the latest version and the best support.
For many years my digital audio workstation of choice was Pro Tools; I go way back to the original Digi 001 interface, part of which had to be installed into your computer. Then the Digi 002 and beyond. Pro Tools was the industry standard used in so many professional studios. But over the years I’ve had issues with Pro Tools and like many people, have moved away. It’s become horribly over priced; glitchy and bloated and the specifications of your computer have to be very specific; it needs a lot of power and memory to run and for me it just crashed too many times, hogged all my resources and became difficult to work with. I’d played around with Propellerhead Reason which was always fun to work with and still is, but I don’t use it often.
Just over ten years ago I discovered Acoustica Mixcraft; it was easy to get into, a lot of similar elements to Pro Tools and best of all it ran like a dream on any machine. So for the past ten years it’s been my DAW of choice and I’ve never once had any issues. Moving work into a professional studio was never a problem, Mixcraft has a “Copy Project Files” which transfers everything you need into a folder which you can then transfer to a pen drive and take into any other studio.
Over the years I’ve worked in studios with a Harrison console; these are impressive bits of kit. Harrison has been around since 1975 and has provided consoles to almost every major studio in the world. Their consoles have been used by artists such as Michael Jackson, ABBA and Fleetwood Mac. The Harrison console was widely recognised as having influenced the sound of classic albums like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and “Bad”; Abba’s “Voulez-Vous” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours”. You get the idea of the stature of these consoles. So for quite a few years Harrison have created their own digital audio workstation based entirely around their 32 Classic console; called Harrison Mixbus.
For the past month I’ve had Mixbus Pro installed and it’s now become my DAW of choice; the sound is incredible. It really does have that authentic analogue warmth you get from the 32 Classic console. I’ve imported projects I’ve completed and simply by putting them into Mixbus it’s changed the sound instantly. There’s a bit of a learning curve in the software but on screen it simply looks like the original 32C console. There are some quality plugins bundled with the software and even on the EQ section you have the choice of the classic 32C or the SSL 9000J. I’ve never been one for over editing, if the take isn’t good then it gets redone. I don’t like to over edit a waveform or try to stretch or correct; simply do a better retake. Although you can edit everything in Mixbus it’s great to have the original console setup with all the faders taking me back to time I’ve spent in some great studios and of course mixing properly using my ears and not my eyes.
Getting back into live work again I’ve used a laptop for my backing tracks and click tracks but I’m trying something new this year; the Idoru P1. I’ve never had issues with a laptop but there’s always something that could go wrong. The Idoru P1 is a small hardware device that lets you store your tracks and set lists on an SD card and all controlled from buttons on the device with a small screen. You have have it on the floor and control with your foot or mounted next to you and you just push the buttons to control it. It’ll go out with me on live shows later this year but it’s all looking good. From what I can tell the only weak point in the system may be the SD cards themselves so I’ve made a point of having backups and good quality cards.
At home in my studio along with Sibelius and my Harrison Mixbus; I still have Reason installed for fun and various sampled libraries. I have a dual monitor set up; a 32 inch widescreen Acer monitor along with a large 50 inch television as my second monitor on the wall. I’m using Mackie monitors and primarily use an Audient Evo 8 interface but also use a Mackie Onyx Blackjack which I have set up at a secondary workstation; it’s an old classic but still works perfectly and has a great sound. When I’m using my music software I do prefer to use a trackball rather than a mouse. In terms of microphones I have a choice between a simple Samson C01, a Rhode NT1 and my favourite mic my Neumann TLM-103. I also have an Elgato Wave 3 and a Rode Pod microphone which I primarily use for spoken work and podcasting. In terms of a control surface I have a simple Presonus Faderport, just a single fader but it allows me to control everything within my workstation software; it really integrates well into Mixbus. I have an array of digital pianos, my favourite is my Yamaha P105 on which I can record most of my piano work via USB into a laptop and transfer to Mixbus. I also have several M Audio controller keyboards; an original Keystation Pro 88 and an Oxygen 88 which I think was the best controller keyboard that M Audio produced. I also have a Keystation 61 MK3 which is solid and weighty enough for a trained classical pianist. It’s great for recording midi/sampled instruments. I’ve toured using the M Audio Oxygen with a laptop and VST instruments however I’ve never been entirely comfortable and I still enjoy having a workstation synth; being sponsored by Korg for many years I’ve had an M1, an 01W Pro, an X3 and X2 and a N264; I still have my N264 and it still works perfectly. I’m back out touring in 2026 with a project and I’m now looking to upgrade to a decent contemporary synth/workstation. I’m considering the Kronos but I need to research my options. I have quite an array of headphones which includes two pairs of my favourite DT770 Pro as well as AKG K99s and Sony MDR 7506 headphones. If I’m working with others I’ll usually add a Samson C Que8 headphone amp which gives me four independent headphone mixes for monitoring.
It’s not the most elaborate or expensive set up but it’s perfect for me and I’ve invested a lot of time in finding the right tools that work. I’ve produced for theatre, television, CD release and radio and no-one would ever know it all came from my bedroom. In case you’re wondering, my bedroom is at the back of my apartment and the most quiet room in the house; along with my heavy curtains and the use of a portable isolation ball which is basically a surround pop filter which also acts as a reflection filter and allows me to create flawless vocal recordings, I can basically produce anything I need. There are times when I need to record a live drum kit or live orchestral instruments in which case I need to work on location; but this studio does everything I need it to.
Nearly all of my work is done on a desktop PC (still and always a Windows user) but I also have a very powerful laptop for location work or sometimes working on files elsewhere in the apartment.
Gone are the days of “industry standard”; find what works for you or make it work. I’ve messed around with some great free software and to be honest I could make it work. A computer, an interface, a microphone and software and you’re all set. If you have the musicianship to create then that will come across in the recording. I don’t and never will use any kind of autotune. If I don’t create a good take, I’ll do it again. Some fabulous albums have been created on nothing but some basic equipment in someone’s bedroom or living room.
