Nowadays it is not very complicated to create a home studio. It's enough a plain PC with decent sound card and software. It is much easier when you're working with electronic music thou, since there is no need to have perfect acoustics in the room (well, except for monitoring). It doesn't hurt to have a good one, but it is way more delicate if you are recording acoustic instruments. Except the vocals there was no need to record anything by the microphone.

guitars

Rocking stuff needs guitars, point.

In this album there were five different guitars used: three electric, one acoustic and one bass. Bass was actually used only for one song - Sum. There were guitars used all along the album, testing various combinations of guitars and effects.

Everything was recorded in a home studio. After trying with a cabinet and Mesa Boogie amplifier I've found out that I can do a pretty decent job with software. Specifically Guitar Rig 2. You can customize racks at your will and have plenty of control over them. Still, you will never achieve a physical cabinet and a good valve amplifier, but in some cases it is essential to optimize some things on the budget.

So, why the choice of those guitars? Ibanez Gio GRG 270 B is very hard and rough guitar and it was used for heavier stuff, while Ibanez SAS36FM TL is gentle and soft, therefore useful for single string play and as clean guitar in Girl in Pink, for Example. In this very same track I've also used Stonehenge SW-100/CE acoustic guitar to achieve those extra high pitched harmonics that only acoustic guitar can produce. Fender Stratocaster from 1965 was played in To the North and Not Coming Back.

microphones and sound cards

There were two microphones and two sound cards used. Although Shure Beta 57 A is known as one of the best stage microphones it is also a valuable equipment for your home studio. You surely get better performance with a dynamic microphone, especially where the music is low and vocals are in the foreground. In louder parts of the music there is not that much of the difference.

Equipment used: