As I got asked several times already, in this article I’m going to give you a quick tour of the hardware of my music making station. I won’t touch on software and VSTs as this will be the subject of a next article. Welcome to my simple audio battlestation.

Computers

Notice the red squeeze ball. An essential part of my setup.

My main computer is a 2012 Mac Mini. It is the highest version of the model sporting a 2.6GHz quad-core i7(I7–3720QM). It also has the maximum RAM which is a mere 16 GB. I’ve removed the original Fusion Drive and instead added a 1 TB Samsung SSD 850 EVO.

As I’m using large templates (80+ instrument tracks) in Cubase, both the processor and the 16 GB of RAM are a bottleneck. I supplement the lack of power by offloading all my VSTs using VEPro 6 to a generic Windows 10 PC. It has 64 GB RAM and a 6 cores Intel Core i7–8700 processor. This way, the Mac Mini only has to deal with running Cubase or Logic Pro X.

My display is a now discontinued 27" 2560x1440 Apple Thunderbolt Display.

Storage

Plugged in the back of my monitor, I use a Freecom 2 TB USB 2 external hard drive. Its sole purpose is to clone my Mac Mini every night at 4 A.M in case I need to restore or switch to another Mac. It’s not as fast as a USB 3 drive, but I don’t care as the process happens when I sleep. I particularly like this drive because it doesn’t vibrate when plugged in and is completely silent, unlike most external hard drives.

There’s also the ugly Steinberg eLicenser plugged at the back of my display.

Under my desk, inside a wooden case to prevent any toddler-induced accident, I have a Western Digital MyBook 4 TB USB3 external hard drive. That’s where most of my VSTs are stored. There’s also a 1 TB partition on it for Time Machine backups.

Baby-proofed wooden cage.

Inputs

The MIDI controller at the heart of my setup is a Native Instrument Komplete Kontrol S61 MK1. This model has been discontinued and replaced by the 2nd version which looks even better. I love this controller and all the functions it provides me such as color-coding the keys depending on the scale I’m using.

The integration with Kontakt VSTs is superb.

For the rare occasions I need to play a rhythm part with my fingers, I use a cheap Korg nanoPAD2 MIDI controller. Rare because I prefer using a sequencer and my mouse inside the piano roll.

Finger drumming!

My mouse is a Logitech G403 Wireless. The LED on the scroll wheel is pulsating the same blue color as the Komplete Kontrol. This is not a coincidence. On the left side of my Apple Aluminium Keyboard, there’ a 1st generation Apple trackpad. Using BetterTouchTool, I programmed a lot of gestures on it such as three-fingers swipe up to transpose the notes by +12 semitones.

I’m right-handed. Someone asked on reddit.

Outputs

You most likely noticed that there are no monitor speakers on my desk. I have a set of Mackie ones, but I don’t use them at the moment. I compose and mix using a pair of Sennheiser HD448 headphones.

I’ve been using them for years. The leather could be replaced.

My headphones are connected to a PreSonus AudioBox USB audio interface. As I don’t record live instruments, this is all I need. I’ve had it for nearly ten years.

Oldie but a goodie.

It may sound amateurish but to check and adjust my mixes, I also use a pair of Apple EarPods. That’s what a lot of people are using to listen to music nowadays so I want to make sure my mixes sound good on them.

Any mid-range earphones would do the job.

Miscellaneous

The table (yeah, someone asked me about that too) is the largest top I could find at IKEA with the most stable legs. It’s rock solid and doesn’t wobble. As I compose mostly at night or very early in the morning, I prefer to have an indirect light source provided by a Philips EyeCare Blade table lamp directed at the wall.

In a next article, I’ll walk you through my software and VSTs setup.

Happy composing!