1989 Dorm Room Studio Setup

I just finished a post about the history of my treasured Ensoniq SQ-80 keyboard. In it, I included a picture of my humble recording studio in my freshman dormroom (Hillcrest N120) at the University of Iowa. I got nostalgic, so I decided to outline the gear I was using to record at that time:

A) The trusty Tascam 244 four track cassette recorder, where all my sounds would end up. I would later move on to more advanced recorders.
B) My second drum machine, an Alesis HR-16. (My first was a Casio RZ-1)
C) The first synth/sequencer I ever had, the fantastic Ensoniq SQ-80
D) Alesis Quadraverb effects unit (wish I never got rid of it)
E) Boss RPS-10 Digital Pitch Shifter / Delay (very cool!)
F) Tascam PB32-P Patch Bay (still have it, don’t use it)
G) Crate GC-120 Guitar Amp (long gone)

There’s a mic on the left that appears to be an AKG offering of some sort, but I don’t know which. I recorded my first album, Up On The Rock, in that dorm room and sold the cassettes in stores around Iowa City.

Thanks for reading! Tell me about your favorite piece of ancient gear in the comments.

 

 

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