Worship Tutorials Studio & Gear Tour

I’ve wanted to make a ‘studio tour’ video for a while now, and I finally cleaned up the place :). My family recently moved, and I was fortunate enough to be able to repurpose a spare bedroom for all my Worship Tutorials stuff. I always enjoy watching behind the scenes types of videos and seeing how people use the gear that they use. Below is a list of all (or at least most of) the stuff in the video…

Video/Camera gear

• Blackmagic Production 4K camera(s) – my main video cameras
• Canon 70D camera – I used to use this as a secondary camera, but mostly just for stills now
• Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens
• Sigma 17-55mm f/2.8 lens
• Blackmagic Video Assist (external monitor/recorder)

Lighting

• Kaezi 85w CFL bulbs (hilariously large light bulbs) – my main lighting bulbs – I typically use 3 or 4 for a video shoot
• Umbrellas
• Light stands
• Light sockets
• Mounting brackets (that I had installed on my ceiling)

A quick note about lighting – you can buy all-in-one packages that include lights, stands, umbrellas, and sockets. I did this when I first got started with lighting, and I would recommend against it. The stands are fine and I still use them, but the lights aren’t great. I’d buy the individual pieces if I were starting again.

Audio/Recording gear

• Universal Audio Apollo Twin Duo – the heart of my audio recording workflow
• UA plugins I use: API Vision Channel Strip and Ocean Way Studios
• Behringer 8 ch. Preamp (this thing is awesome for the price)
• Shure SM7b – vocal mic I use for acoustic song videos
• AKG C214 – mic I use for a room mic or recording most any instrument or vocals
• Audio-Technica AT899 – Lav mic I use for most any speaking video (tutorials, this video, etc)
• Suhr Reactive Load – Takes the speaker out of your tube amp, receives the load from the amp, and converts the signal to line level. Allows you to use IR cabinets, which is awesome and lets you use an amp and go direct.
• Koch Loadbox LB120ii – Does the same thing as the Suhr (although the Suhr sounds better). Also does built in cabinet modeling.
  • I use two load boxes because I have two amps – you just need one load box per amp.

Software

• Adobe Creative Cloud Suite – I mainly use Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, and Lightroom
• Apple Logic Pro

Guitars

• ’02 Martin D-35 with an LR Baggs Anthem pickup system – my main acoustic guitar
• ’99 Takamine FD-360sc – acoustic guitar, no longer in production
• ’15 MJT VTL (thinline Tele style guitar)
• ’92 Fender American Telecaster – Seymour Duncan pickups (Seth Lover neck, Vintage Tone Stack bridge)
• ’15 Reverend Charger 290 LE – Porter Smooth/Classic P90 pickups
• ’16 Part-caster Tele – Porter 9T pickups
• ’08 Home-made tele – Seymour Duncan ‘lil 59 bridge, Seymour Duncan Vintage Mini HB neck
• ’16 Shelton TimeFlite – not mine to keep, unfortunately – awesome guitar!

Amps and Pedals

• Agape Tribute 18w – truly amazing hand built amp
• Panama Conqueror 5w
• Line 6 Helix
• Will Sledge FX – The Veil, White Horse, Slim Drive
• TC Electronic – Triple Delay, Ditto Looper, Polytune Mini
• Boss RV-6
• Dunlop Volume X

Pedals are a constantly evolving thing, so in a month I might have a totally different setup, but a lot of this stuff has been on my board for a while.

Other Stuff

• Tannoy 502 Studio monitors (speakers) – mine are the old gen 501’s, but basically the same as the 502s.
• G7th Capos
• Elixir Strings
• Herdim picks
• Sony Headphone Adapter – this may be the only headphone adapter I’ve ever owned that has actually worked consistently. It’s not $2 like all the other ones you can buy, but it is 100% worth it!
• M-Audio Midi Keyboard – the yellow keyboard, no longer in production
• Weller WES51 Soldering Station – if you solder, do yourself a favor and get this
• Workstation

Final Thoughts

I hope this is helpful for you if you’re just interested in audio/video gear, or if you’re looking to add something to your personal set of gear. Please note that I bought almost everything on this list used for much less than new prices. If you’re just starting out and want to make great videos, all you really need is a decent camera and light. The sun provides the light for free, and your phone probably has a decent camera. The goal is to create great content, and as you grow you can add more gear to your arsenal.