RaceFat posted:

hi, rupert! i use ableton live with a UAD apollo quad interface. i think the UAD plugins are really, really outstanding and can make the most average attempt at recording sound wonderful. basically, if you're unfamiliar, the UAD plugins simulate a variety of vintage and modern hardware, and the consensus from audio production people are that the plugins are basically just as good as the real thing. the interface itself has a quad core processor to handle the plugins as well (each model has different number of cores), so it frees up resources within your DAW and even allows you use the plugins in real time. so i'm throwing like vintage tape machines and compressors on a lot of my channels and getting really nice sounds from my home studio with my very limited mixing knowledge. i have a pretty good ear for it, but i know very little about production except the little tips i get from my mixing friend.

as for synths, i really only use the TAL-U-NO-LX and TAL-NoiseMaker right now. i don't have a ton of patience when i'm creating things, and it doesn't take a lot to make me happy with synths, so i usually just keep the same palette of sounds for a while. eventually i burn out, but yeah, really depends on the project. if i'm just adding them as a textural thing, i don't care that much and i love the sounds of the juno 60 (which the U-NO is based on), so no problem there. i am considering buying one of the new korg minilogues though. definitely interested in getting a reasonably sized/priced legit synth with easily accessible knobs (i have a microkorg, but i hate the way you have to edit patches).

hopefully that helps. and feel free to ask more if you want!