I am going to give my gear recommendations based on Price and Availability. I have found that price does not necessarily mean value. Today's new gear can be affordable,

High quality at a very reasonable price. The gear I recommend should be available to everyone no matter their means.

 

Microphones.

 

Bass Drum Mic. For years I swore that my AKG D112 was THE BEST bass drum mic and it still may be. But then I lost it and in a pinch bought a Nady DM-90 Dynamic Kick Drum Microphone for $59 bucks, threw in the bass drum at a live gig, and WOW. It was very good, easy to mix, great feedback rejection. For the Money you can't go wrong.

 

Overhead Drum Mic: I was broke, had sold my top end bullet mic years ago, could not afford the industry standards, but needed a quality over head drum mic. I settled for a Sterling ST31, and am amazed at what my drums sound like, live with just this mic and a bass drum mic. It cost 99 bucks and is just as good as the Shure and Audix mic's I used to have. I have not recorded with it yet but HIGHLY RECOMMENDED it for Live Sound.

 

 

Acoustic Guitar Amp - Bar none, the best acoustic amp for the money is the MarshallAS100D 2x8 Acoustic Combo Amp. At $699 it is pricy, but well worth it. I use it for my guitar and vocals and have had a second guitarist use it at the same time 9Yes Three Channels) that’s all I took to the gig was my guitar, a mic and this amp. And for recording it does VERY WELL. You can DI it or mic it. GREAT AMP!! I have a friend who has the smaller version. He is happy with it also.

 

Lights. I have, and have used allot of lights and lighting systems. They do cause major problems, are a lot of work to set up, are expensive, rob power, create noise etc. etc. etc. The new LED lights are great but expensive. For a quick small gig I highly recommend getting the Chauvet PK1-BANK Rock-N' Lite Stage Lighting Package. I don't know how long they will offer these lights, bit for the price; they are great, easy and affordable. I use them EVERY GIG, even with my other light trees. And often for the smaller venues they are all I need. GET EM WHILE YOU CAN. The stands are kinda wimpy so be careful with the tripod stands.

 

 

Compression. Yes new digital boards have all the affects you need. But I have always fall back to my old standby that never lets me down, always works well, and is used for everything I do, from live sound to studio work that is my DBX 1046 Compressor unit. I can't say enough about this unit. For the price it is awesome. I bought mine in 1996 and still use it to this day. Check out all my recordings at Lone Wolf Posse. It is used on every single one of them. They still sell them. I think Musicians friend has em for $529.00. I bought mine for $199.00. The fact that they still sell them should tell you something. Just remember that this has FOUR channels

 

Just Updated gear with a new Newmark NS7Turntable Controller with Serato ITCH Software Check out the Utube Video on this