Studio Equipment Quotes

I've been in the studio environment since I was young, so I know what to expect.

Especially early on, I had no idea what I was going to be asked to do when I walked into a studio. I was doing 26 sessions a week - all day, all night.

I've not really spent much time in proper studios. The room itself where you're recording, and how you live while you're there is what appeals to me.

In the studio, I don't use an amp, I just go direct into the desk. It's virtually acoustic, what I'm doing.

No matter what type of equipment you have, you still have to have a certain talent to be able to make a good record.

The actual making of a record is the most exciting part of this business.

When I first started recording music, I was actually singing about microphones, equipment, recording.

When I record in a studio I don't use an amp. I go directly into the board, so I can get that very fat, full sound - which is my favorite sound.

I don't use any real vintage hardware any longer. That's always been the object as far as gaining control of the studio environment, going back to when I built my first studio, Secret Sound, in New York City. The whole point was to not have to pay studio bills anymore and not be looking at the clock.

When we were first recording, I was wearing a bag on my head.

The studio that we mix in is still in Chicago.

I needed an opportunity to get back in the studio and get my recording chops back together.

I'm ruthlessly picky when it comes to the crafting of an album, the choosing of musicians, the right mikes, the right studios. There was a time when it was, 'whatever you want.' Then, as you learn a little bit more about your tastes, I don't give in to that kind of thing.

When you use some of the more modern recording devices and Pro Tools, when you get into the technology, you are aching to get into some territory.

My dad got me the same mic I use on everything now - this $200 mic from Guitar Center.

The late '60s and the '70s, a lot of this really beautiful equipment was being made and installed into studios around the world and the Neve boards were considered like the Cadillacs of recording consoles. They're these really big, behemoth-looking recording desks; they kind of look like they're from the Enterprise in Star Trek or something like that. They're like a grayish color, sort of like an old Army tank with lots of knobs, and to any studio geek or gear enthusiast it's like the coolest toy in the world.

In the past, when you were just starting out, you had a day and a half of studio time - maybe two, if your buddy's uncle lets you stay.

A lot of getting a song done is booking the studio time.

Well, they put me in a booth and then did some nice things to the speaker to make it come out sounding ok.

I really know so little about recording, and I'm learning as I go.

Even with Dream Theater, we track in a big studio and everything. But when it comes to doing leads, I don't really require a lot of studio to do that. I need a good sounding room and a Pro Tools rig, and some Neve mic-pres, and I'm good.

I think the whole obsession with old gear is completely overblown. You don't need old-fashioned gear to make a great-sounding record. You don't even need [analog] tape.

I have a fantastic studio in my home, and it's my biggest toy. I have about a half a million dollars worth of musical equipment in my house.

I've built an 8-track studio in my house that's virtually identical to what they used at Abbey Road, and I also own the 16-track set-up that Led Zeppelin used to record 'Houses of the Holy.' I'm interested in producing, but I'm mostly recording my own stuff.

Wherever I am on location, I can usually, even in the weirdest little places, find a recording studio.