For some reason, a number of you wonder who does what and what gear is specifically used. It's all very hush, hush of course.

NOT!

Frankly, I am not a 'gear slut' and I'll be honest: I really don't know that the brand of this or that makes too much difference.

But since I do seem to answer this sort of question a couple of times a week, here ya go...

GUITARS & BASSES

1976 Fender Stratocaster
2002 Line 6 Variax Electric Guitar

2003 Line 6 Variax Acoustic Guitar
1992 Seagull S6 Acoustic Guitar - this is one of the original 'Godin' models.
1973 Alhambra Classical Guitar

1960 Fender Jazz Bass
1992 Fender Bass V with Ken Smith pickups/pre-amp
1993 Rickenbacker 4001 Bass

BSX Allegro Electric Upright Bass

1996 Johnson Octave Mandolin

1956 Giannini Baritone Ukelele
1949 Kameahmea Tenor Ukelele
2008 Lanakai Soprano Ukulele

1964 Oscar Schmidt 15-chord Autoharp

PERCUSSION

1964 Ludwig 'Ringo' Kit (I added a second 14" tom)
Zildjian 22" Ride, 14" Hat, 18" Crash, 16" Pang

1992 Charlie Byrne Bodhrán (Sure, ya gotta drive down to Tipperary to get his stuff, but he's the best!)
Berimbau I got in Brazil years ago.

Meinle Bongos
Pearl 8" Cuica
No-name Berimbau from Bahia

Alternate Mode, Inc. DrumKat Electronic Drum Kit (2) (many of the drum sounds are played on these into the computers)

A ton of Home Made Bamboo Percussion, including Boobams and various sundry things I like to smack around. There's a lot one can do with this stuff and I discuss it here.

WOODWIND

Various Yamaha recorders
Various Jerry Freeman tweaked Feadog Stain (tin whistles)
1922 Buescher gold-plated Alto Sax
1983 Buffet Bass Clarinet
1996 Buffet Bb Clarinet

KEYBOARDS

Kimball Upright Player Piano. (I got this from a girlfriend in lieu of monies owed. When I play it, I feel like I'm 11 years old again and practising a Clementi Sonatina.)

All the synthesized sounds you here are various pieces of software played from a keyboard directly into the computer. These include:

Native Instruments, Inc.
B4
FM8
Kontakt
Reaktor

Arturia, Inc (Synthesizers)

Steinberg Halion (sampler)

STUDIO

The actual 'studio' consists of 3 PC style computers, networked together under the house and running:

Magix Samplitude
Steinberg Nuendo
Steinberg Wavelab

Event ASP-8 monitors

Fight Your Gear Lust.
And Win!

1. I haven't gotten any endorsement dough in about 20 years so anything I list here I actually use because I bought it, traded for it, won it in a card game or swapped with some homeless guy for old clothes..

2. While gear is important, but the choice itself is pretty irrelevant, which is why I don't emphasise it. It needs to work well and be comfy, but that's about it.

3. All the sounds you will ever hear on anything I produce are played in real-time. There's no 'trickery' such as 'quantisation' or 'looping' or 'auto-tuning' or 'splicing'. (That's not to say I don't sometimes require 20 takes to get it right.) This process may or may or may not be a good thing, but there it is.

If you're in the 9x% of musicians who think, somewhere in the back of your mind, that you'd get where you want to go if you only had <whatever>, you're looking in the wrong place. The stuff I play works for me, but none of it is 'essential'. If I had a different budget, I'd likely use completely different kit.

That said, if you're in a music store and try a <whatever> you should make an instant connection. It should feel like you've met 'the one'. If it doesn't? Walk away. If you're having trouble telling? Walk away. If you find yourself talking to yourself about how the features are fantastically over the top? Walk away. One should never have to sell oneself on love.

In one sentence: if you can't imagine naming your instrument 'Lucille' or 'Brenda'? Walk away. If you have more than a few instruments that you "can't live without"? Get therapy. You're probably a hopeless gear slut.