Womb With a View

My apartment studio: 100 square feet of embryonic gestation, mad science, and furious fingering. At its hub is a Universal Audio Apollo 8 interface (+ Satellite OCTO) via optical Thunderbolt to a 2026 Mac Mini M4 Pro running Logic Pro. Here, I produce everything from original music to voiceovers to podcasts. The room is dampened with Auralex tiles. Outboard gear includes the following, though the greyed items have largely been relegated to the museum since I now do most processing “in the box”:

Guitars

I don’t collect guitars, but have sold only three. Here are most, while another handful languish out of sight. All have nicknames …
Row 1: Texas Tea, Pursy, Wolfie, Greta, Blimba, Bree
Row 2: Honey, Grover, Binga, Winona, Razz, Ned
Row 3: Tyler, Six, Ganji, EpiChet, Phil, Flash 

Plug-Ins

These are key to the pro results I get when tracking and mixing. I also use standard Logic plug-ins, but most below are from Universal Audio, who meticulously model vintage gear from the original schematics, often in tandem with their creators. Some names I changed to reflect their source model. All of these channel strips and instrument amps include Unison™ bidirectional operation to adjust my Apollo’s impedance and record through it without latency. Click an image to visit its page with sound samples.

Channel Strips

	Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ 1970 class-A solid-state preamp made famous at Sound City and countless others for its dual-stage “Red-Knob” warmth and 10 distinct clipping points, with three-band EQ and post-fader output amplifier.
	Neve 88RS Neve’s large-format 2001 console, installed at Skywalker Ranch and The Village. Preamp and cut filters, compress/limit, gate/expand, Formant Spectrum 4-band EQ.
	SSL E Series Based on the Solid State Logic 4000. “Black knob” or “brown knob” EQ with colorful band interdependencies routable pre- or post-dynamics processing like compression/gate.
	API Vision Collection API 2520 console with op-amp and custom transformers. Includes 212L preamp, 225L Compressor with new/old flavors, 235L Gate/Expander with fast attack, 550L 4-band parametric or 560L 10-band graphic EQ modules. Heard on albums by Stevie Wonder and Radiohead.
	UA 610-B Tube Preamp and EQ A modern variant of the 610-A (Elvis, Pet Sounds), this expands gain range, adds high/low-shelf EQ, plus selectable impedance.
	Manley VOXBOX All-in-one unit for voice tracking. Class-A tubes, mic pre, vactrol optical compressor, passive EQ, de-esser/limiter. Pre-preamp compression tames transients. Used by Rick Rubin, U2, Beck.
	Avalon VT-737 Class-A tubes, four-band EQ pre- or post-optical compression, “air band” shimmer. Known for modern R&B and hip-hop.

Guitar & Bass

	Fuchs Overdrive Supreme 50 A Dumble homage, this boutique amp boasts glassy clean sounds with a tight low end and touch-sensitive gain, best paired with a Strat or Tele. Used by Warren Haynes and Al DiMeola.
	Friedman Dirty Shirley DS-40 and BE-100 DS features blues, jazz, and country tones of a Marshall JTM45 + 6L6 tubes. Brown Eye is like a Plexi but tighter bass, smoother treble, higher gain.
	Suhr SE100 Single-channel amp hand-wired and voiced for ’80s rock, with power-amp Depth control for more bottom. Used by Steve Lukather and Doug Aldrich.
	Marshall Plexi Super Lead 1959 1967 amp was a favorite of Hendrix and Van Halen, famous for its snarl and raunch when you “jump” the inputs.
	Marshall Silver Jubilee 2555 A 1987, 25th anniversary amp. With its tweaked EQ, three-mode preamp, and EL34 power, it became a go-to for Slash, Alex Lifeson, and Joe Bonamassa.
	Marshall Bluesbreaker 1962 Legendary 2×12 open-back combo associated with Clapton. Tremolo circuit, dual KT66 power, valued at $30K+. Grinds nicely at volume.
	Fender ’55 Tweed Deluxe The choice for country and early rock at 15w through a single 12″ speaker with only volume and tone control. Choose Jensen P12R, Celestion greenback, or JBL D120F speaker.
	Fender ’65 Twin Reverb “Black panel” tube amp with spring reverb, vibrato, and clean boost. Includes six speaker cabinet choices and two artist mods. Used by Eric Johnson, Keith Richards, and Jerry Garcia.
	Vox ’63 AC30 Top Boost The sound of the British Invasion: The Beatles, The Kinks, Queen. Select from Normal, Brilliant, and Vibrato channels. Includes treble boost from a Dallas Rangemaster or Maestro EP-3 tape delay.
	Diezel VH4 A 100W beast from 1994 with Clean, Crunch, Mega, and Lead channels, FX rack with 120 cabinet impulse responses. Sounds like Tool or Metallica.
	ENGL E646 VS Limited Edition Known for its ultra-high-gain metal tones and Depth Punch for chunky lows. 6L6GC tubes, four channels, each with two distinctly tuned voicing sections.
	Electro-Harmonix Big Muff An early fuzz pedal with fat sustain: Hendrix, Santana. Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer The choice for solos by blues players like Stevie Ray Vaughan. Pro Co RAT Versatile, from creamy to biting: David Gilmour, Jeff Beck.
	Ampeg SVT-VR A 300-watt beast since 1969. Adds character, punch, and roominess with a 8×10 cabinet. The sound of Chris Squire, Bootsy Collins, and Tony Levin.
	Ampeg SVT-3 PRO Tube preamp + solid-state power for tight, gritty bottom. Five-position midrange and noise gate. Think Primus or Metallica.
	Gallien-Krueger 800RB The sound of ’90s rock bass: Chili Peppers, Radiohead, GnR. Bi-amped with adjustable crossover, also features patented voicing filters and active EQ.

Virtual Instruments

	Keyscape Spectrasonics 80 GB collection of vintage acoustic grand, upright, and tack pianos, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, clavinets, plucked keyboards, belltone, and minis. Control nuances like mechanical noise and overtones.
	Hammond B3 and Leslie 147 1958 tonewheel organ includes drawbar interactions and transformer pumping. 1974 rotary speaker cab for 3D modulation with power-amp saturation.
	Moog Minimoog Model D Portable 1970 synth designed for performance, with ladder filters and oscillators for a fat growl and rich distortion. Heard on Kraftwerk, P-Funk, Dr. Dre.

Time-Based and Modulation Effects

	Ocean Way Studios A dynamic room modeler of two legendary spaces. Use it as a reverb send, or re-amp and “worldize” existing tracks, breathing life into virtual instruments. Position its vintage mics for the ideal ambience.
	Sound City Studios Adds vibe through emulations of their custom Neve 8028 console, a Dolby A301, 1176 compressor, and reverb chamber, plus historic room setups provided by their engineers, using Neumann, RCA, and AKG mics.
	Capitol Chambers Control spatial and time response by placing omnidirectional mics (vintage Altec 21D and modern Shure SM80) in the same underground chambers used by Sinatra, Muse, and John Mayer, including engineer presets.
	Hitsville Reverb Chambers The instantly identifiable sound of Motown’s two attics that defined the ’60s with short, early reflections. Simple controls for speaker and mic configurations, including Shure Unidyne 545, RCA 44-BX, Electro-Voice 631, and Neumann KM86.
	EMT 140 Plate Reverb A metal sheet in a dedicated chamber vibrates, with dampers controlling decay. Three plates from bright to dark resonance. The only reverb heard on The Dark Side of the Moon.
	EMT 250 Electronic Reverb The first digital reverb and modulation unit from 1976, with delay, phasing, chorus, and echo, including the original algorithms. Think Purple Rain, Elvis Costello.
	Lexicon 224 Digital Reverb Its lush tails and chorus washed over ’80s hits from U2 to Talking Heads. The same iconic, dedicated sliders and buttons that sit atop mixing desks, and exact algorithms of the original, including optional bugs.
	Cooper Time Cube Mk II The 1971 unit used garden hoses to delay the signal for “doubling,” plus tonal control of repeats.
	Roland RE-201 Space Echo Combines analog tape delay with spring reverb, from slapback to psychedelic chaos a la Radiohead or Bowie. Sci-fi pitch shifting and self-oscillation, head combos.
	Eventide H910 Harmonizer The first digital effects box, with pitch, delay, and modulation. Intervals can be MIDI controlled.
	MXR Flanger/Doubler Bucket-brigade modulation that goes whoosh or thickens. Roland Dimension D 1979 analog chorus unit creating width or floating sounds. BOSS CE-1 Chorus Ensemble From subtle detuning to wacky warbling: The Cure or early Rush.
	Moog Multimode Filters From the Sub 37 synth + The Ladder 500 filter, including envelopes, drive, and boost circuitry, and sequenced percussive effects. Phase, wah, tremolo, and resonance, plus radical stereo imaging via LFOs.

Dynamics and EQ

	Teletronix LA-2A Leveling Amp A workhorse for its smooth, tubey goodness and simplicity. Tame peaks or squash dynamics for max loudness. Optical, slow, and overloads pleasantly.
	1176LN Limiting Amplifier Based on the Urei, the first compressor to use a FET as a variable resistor. Fast attack.
	Fairchild 670 Compressor 20 tubes and dynamic “vari-mu” soft-knee for a silky tone where ratio increases with input level. Like sonic glue for its cohesive effect on submixes. Industry-standard limiter for radio broadcast and vinyl pressing.
	SPL Transient Designer Acts like a sustainer to either expand or curtail attack and decay. Great on percussion, and can reduce ambience.
	Helios Type 69 EQ Passive and very musical, even with extreme boost. Modeled on their 1969 wraparound console found in studios like Island, Olympic, and Stones Mobile.
	Pultec EQP-1A and MEQ-5 EQ Tweak frequency ranges without coloring their neighbors. Boost and cut simultaneously; pure sorcery. Merely enabling this on a track instantly improves tone.
	Hitsville EQ Collection Seven-band graphic EQ to boost and cut the same frequencies that brought such energy to Motown classics. Includes their mid/side mastering EQ with filtering and half-speed settings.

Special Processing

	Studer A800 Multichannel Tape Recorder Models the entire circuit path, with AES tape formulation options. Adds saturation, warmth, presence, and low-end punch. Can be ganged across tracks.
	Little Labs IBP Phase Alignment Fixes phase issues when combining mics. Plugin adds continuous delay adjustment.
	C-Suite C-Vox Noise Reduction Tailored for vocals, this applies CEDAR® noise-suppression technology to minimize static sounds like fans or motors in real time without artifacts.
	Dolby A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer Originally for reducing tape hiss via swappable cartridges, but left undecoded, tracks like vocals sparkle with Air, Excite, and Expand modes, with Crush and Gate for percussion.
	Little Labs Voice of God Adds heft and precision to bass or kick. On vocals, simulates the proximity effect of chest resonance. Adjustable frequency sweep center.

Mastering

	Ampex ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder Dynamics, frequency response, and saturation of the original. Adjust IPS speed, formulation, head size, crosstalk, wow/flutter, and delay for Beatles-esque ADT.
	Capitol Mastering Compressor Hand-built CM5511 tube limiters have been used on Blue Note, Def Jam, and Motown catalogs. Also tightens low end, adds saturation.
	Precision Multiband A multipressor dividing compression/expansion/gating into five frequency ranges of unique settings. Tweaking these can be like remixing without individual tracks.
	Precision Maximizer Increases perceived loudness while corralling peaks, with minimal impact to dynamic range and listening fatigue.

Here’s a music video from my 2015 album Finding the Light with a good look at Womb With a View in action. “Antidote” is especially relevant here because, though polysemic, it’s partly about the very freedom of home recording.

Booked time down in Nashville, sounded off on their stage
Couldn’t please those suits in the glass
Just advanced new locks, same old cage
Torched that factory down and homegrew this womb with a view

Anointed microphone, padded walls
The antidote makes house calls (and installs Les Pauls, y’all)

Crash the ride and break the beat
Kick the conductor aside, replace his score with mine
A one-man band in harmony,
chasing tones relentlessly to capture ephemera