Simple. Effective. Gear.

I think every musician reading this can agree that setting up gear SUCKS.

So many cables. Where do I get power? Did you remember the power supplies for the monitors?

Which side is the fking input jack on?!

Now before we dive into how this road case brought my blood pressure down a few points, I need to give you guys some context. Don’t worry gearheads, we’ll get there. Let me cook.

Outside of the code editor, I write, produce, and mix records. Ever since I first started recording, you could say that I took the DIY route. My studios have consisted of a converted storage unit, my bedroom, and literally anywhere else I can set up my Macbook, interface, and monitors.

As of late, I have been working on a record with some buddies of mine. Since Florida is trying to kill us with the heat, we opted against going to the storage unit, and have been fortunate enough to record at the Noise Box, a venue located in Brandon, Florida (Yay Air Conditioning!). Here’s a video of my friends in Madtown playing the same room we tracked drums in.

📹Video Credit: Ana Massard

This posed a new set of problems for me:

• For one, we are running an in ear monitoring rig that requires my interface for our backtracks.

• Second, When I record, I like to use monitors instead of headphones (except for drums. Protect your hearing, friends).

So every time we have a session, on top of packing up my guitars and digital rig, I needed to disconnect my interface from my work desk at home, take down my studio monitors, unplug everything, bag up all the necessary cables and triple-check to make sure I didn’t forget anything, and then load it into my sedan. My fiance will tell you about the classic Paps move of running back into the house before I leave because I forgot something stupid like my mouse or something.

There had to be a better way, and sure enough there was.

One Rig to Rule Them All

Wow. A road case…

Yeah! A road case! This case has saved me so much time, frustration, and sanity. Here’s the rundown:

• Black Lion Audio PGX Power Conditioner

• Focusrite Clarett+ 8pre

• Gator G-Pro 4U Rack Case

• Line 6 Pod Go

• Yamaha HS5 Studio Monitors

This rig is rather simple when you break it down. Starting with the power conditioner, the PGX gives me clean power wherever I go. As for the routing, I created a highly technical schematic for you in Figjam.

So basically, the interface is the brain here. When used live, it acts as a pass-through for the Pod Go. The Pod Go enters via input 1 — however on the way out, it is affected by midi programming in the show which allows me to change guitar tones without having to manually. The backing tracks and my guitar tone are sent out of a stereo pair of TRS cables to our Ears rack. From there, they go to the ears, and front of house.

Having my rig modular like this also allows me to go mobile with my entire studio set up, which is super important for me right now, and setup/teardown is a breeze. Plug the monitor power supplies into the conditioner and boom. Ready to record.

Anyways, if you catch one of my shows in 2025 with my new band 🤫, this is what you’ll see on stage behind me. Simple, yet so effective.

What’s that one piece of gear that makes your life so much easier? Reply or comment and tell me about it!

By the way — the gear is cool, but you know what’s cooler? Having a fanbase that enjoys & supports your creativity. I build content-driven websites for creatives looking to get more out of their online presence. Click here to set up a call!

Simplify Sht. Regain your Sanity.

Paps.