It was difficult to list my studio essentials as my studio is an ever changing project. I buy and sell gear on a regular basis, always trying to find inspiration by using new instruments and sound machines that makes me eager to explore new musical worlds.
However, there are some instruments that I probably won’t sell, that will be left for my kids the day I’m gone. And hopefully they or someone near will find it nice to be able to create sounds with them.
I also have this rule that if I don’t use an instrument within 6 months, I need to sell it and buy something new. This forces me to use instruments that I might not have used if I didn’t need to sell them because they would have just been laying around collecting dust.
The thing is, I don’t want to collect a museum of instruments, I just want toys and machines that inspire me, so this rule makes a lot of sense for my workflow.
I wouldn’t call my studio a real music studio. My studio is designed to be a space where I can be creative, which means that everything needs to be nearby, within arms reach. I have two shelves with instruments and a few stands where I keep drum machines and synths that are not qualified to take space on the shelves. Besides keeping instruments and fx units in the shelves, I also have a RME sound interface and a Revox 279 mixing console that most of my instruments are connected to.
This setup makes things easy for me, I don’t need to wire cables, I can just turn the power on and start recording. Below you’ll find some of my favourite instruments that I use at least once a week.