For those of you interested to know what equipment I have to help me capture, mix and edit your perfect recording, please see below. 

• Tech alert!!! Those of you with a nervous disposition or a fear of plugs, please look away now.....

Mixing Desk: Mackie Digital 8-bus (x2)

The mixing desks are both Mackie Digital 8-bus (d8b) with a custom flight case to keep the mobile one safe in transit.  It is powerful and is as easy to use as an analogue desk.

The D8B is organized into four fader "banks" of 24 channels each, which allows the channel strips to be used for more than one signal channel at the same time. The channel strip parameters (fader, mute, pan, send levels, etc.) all "snap" to the currently selected fader bank.

• MIC/LINE - comprised of the 24 analogue microphone/line inputs.
• TAPE IN - comprised of tape / recorder return inputs. 
• EFFECTS - comprised of the effect return channels, split between internal effect returns and 8 external returns.
• MASTERS - comprised of 8 virtual group faders, 8 dedicated MIDI channels, and 8 sub bus master faders.

Hard Disc Recorder: Mackie HDR24/96

Connecting the HDR24/96 to the Mackie Digital 8 Bus console creates one of the most powerful, flexible, and affordable production platforms available.  From the d8b I can arm tracks, locate, transport, and jog/shuttle the HDR24/96.

• 24 Tracks — Recording onto a hard drive, there's no itching and scratching as you wait for tapes to rewind between takes...in fact, there's almost no waiting at all!
• 192 Virtual Tracks Each of the HDR24/96's tracks expands to reveal 8 takes. That's 8 chances to capture your sheer musical brilliance — or at least something that'll fool most people.
• The machine is upgraded to take 120Gb Ultra DMA IDE internal hard drives. I can get several hours of full 24-track, 24-bit recording time at 48kHz. Each session is saved as a Project which can be backed up for safety whilst the project is ongoing.

Microphones:

I use selected microphones from respected manufactures to give me excellent performance and flexibility at an affordable price.  The microphone locker includes the following items: -

• Neumann TLM103  - A large diaphragm, cardioid condenser microphone derived from the famous U87. It's well-balanced performance and extremely low self-noise make it the microphone of choice for virtually all recording, broadcast and production applications.
• AKG 414B-XLS-ST (Matched Pair)  - A Matched stereo pair of reference-quality microphones especially used for accurate, beautifully-detailed pickup.
• AKG C4000B - A high-quality, large diaphragm recording microphone with switchable multi-pattern response
• AKG C3000B (2) - A high-quality, large diaphragm recording microphone with cardioid response.
• AKG C1000B (6) - One of quietest, richest and dependable small diaphragm mics. Great on Vocals.
• AKG C418PP (4) - A Miniature hypercardioid condenser clip-on microphone with shock mounted capsule, ideal for miking drums and percussion in hardwire applications.
• Audio Technica 4050 -  Warm, transparent sound and super-high SPL capability. Three switchable polar patterns (omni, cardioid, and figure-of-8), extended frequency response,  excellent transient response and low distortion.  Ideal for live sound productions with vocals, piano, strings, drum overheads, guitar amps, and more.
• Audio Technica 4040 (2) - A condenser design for professional recording and critical applications in broadcast and live sound. It has a large diaphragm tensioned specifically to provide smooth, natural sonic characteristics.
• Audio Technica 4033a (2) - A Cardioid-pattern condenser microphone with a back-electret element.
• Audio Technica AT815R - Condenser rifle microphone - Line + gradient.
• Oktava MK 012 (Matched Pair)  - Multi-Capsule, small diaphragm condenser microphone: omni, cardioid, hypercardioid pattern - made in Russia!
• Studio Projects LSD2 - Stereo Microphone.  Each capsule can be pattern-switched giving great flexibility. Applications include: XY - Coincident Cardioids, Mid-Side Method, Stereosonic Technique (Blumlein), Overhead Main Mic, Drums, Vocal & Voice-Over.
• Coles 4104 Lip Mic - This classic Commentator's Noise Cancelling Ribbon Microphone is of BBC design and used for reproducing high quality commentary speech from noisy surroundings by cancelling out a considerable degree of background noise.
• AKG D112 (2) - Industry Standard Bass / kick Drum mic
• SHURE MX393C PZM (2) - Cardioid, low profile PZM mics for when "unobtrusive" is important.
• SHURE 55SH - Retro-style vocal mic
• SHURE SM57 (6) - Industry Standard workhorse instrument / vocal mic
• SHURE SM58 (4) - Industry Standard workhorse vocal mic
• T-Bone EM9900 (2) - condenser shotgun microphone.

These can all be mounted on sturdy stands as required.  My Decca tree is used for recording ensembles (see right).

Outboard Equipment

The outboard equipment includes the following items together with units to smooth the mains power and protect from surges.

• Focusrite Octopre - 8 channels of quality pre-amplification.
• Focusrite Platinum Trackmaster - Single channel mic / line preamplifier
• Lexicon MPX1 - Digital FX
• Lexicon MPX500 (3) -Digital FX
• Lexicon MPX 100 - Digital FX
• Line 6 POD XT Pro - Guitar Recording Preamp
• Line 6 Bass POD XT Pro - Bass Recording Preamp
• Behringer HA8000 Powerplay PRO-8 - 8 output Headphone Amplifier with 2 full and individual channel inputs.
• Behringer DI 4000 - 4 channel Active DI Box to capture signals from electronic keyboards, bass guitars etc
• T.RACKS SPLIT IT (2)   - 4 channel Microphone Splitter Box.  This will split the output from 8 stage microphones with one feed going directly to your PA and a completely independent, parallel feed to my recording rig.

Monitoring

On location I usually monitor using small JBL speakers or headphones.  For mixdown, I have more accurate Mackie monitors.

• Mackie HR824 -  High Resolution Powered Monitors - found in countless professional studios due to its clarity, broad stereo imaging, ruler-flat response, and extended low-frequency range versus other studio monitors.
• Samson Servo 170 (3) - Monitor Amps
• Spirit Absolute 2 - Studio Monitor Speakers
• JBL Control1 - Small Monitors for location use
• Sennheiser HD 580 - Audiophile quality open dynamic professional stereo headphone. The advanced diaphragm design eliminates standing waves in the diaphragm material.  The ideal choice for the professional recording engineer recording classical music.
• Beyerdynamic DT250 - Studio Monitoring Headphones - Stylish, closed dynamic design offering excellent ambient noise isolation and a linear response designed for reference monitoring. Suitable for all kinds of professional environments where size, comfort and performance are primary requirements.
• Beyerdynamic DT100 (4) - Studio Headphones - widely used in audio recording and monitoring applications in studios worldwide. Can be worn for hours without listener fatigue.  The soft ear cushions effectively seal out ambient noise yet apply minimal pressure against the ear.

Mastering / Duplicating equipment

The following items are part of what I use to capture, transfer or duplicate recordings.

• Tascam DA-20 - DAT Recorder
• Tascam 202 Mk III - Twin Cassette Deck
• Tascam CD-RW700 - CD-RW Recorder
• Tascam MD-350 -  - Minidisc Recorder
• Tascam MD-301 - Minidisc Recorder
• Music PC -  Custom P4 PC with 2GB Ram, 40GB & 80GB +2x120Gb SATA HD.
  • SW1000XG & Delta 1010 Sound Cards
  • Wavelab v6, Cubase 4, Photoscore Pro, Finale 2007, and Smartscore Software.
  • Waves Broadcast & Production Plug-in pack.
  • Phillips CD / DVD writer
• Phillips DCC 951 (2) - Digital Compact Cassette (DCC) Recorder
• Revox B77 reel-to-reel Stereo Tape Recorder.  1/4" stereo tape running at 7.5 or 15 "/sec.
• Dual C505-MkII - Record turntable With Nagaoka MP11 Stylus.