Community Spotlight:
くうP

I started my musical career as a drummer. I later began working with DTM (computer-based music production), focusing on arranging and music production.

Today, I work on music direction and sound production for professional baseball in Japan, as well as international events such as the World Baseball Classic (WBC) and Major League Baseball (MLB).

I was inspired by the legendary Japanese rock band BOØWY, and I fell in love with the drums because of their unique appeal, you could start making sounds and playing music even without any musical knowledge or experience.

My studio is equipped for vocal recording, arranging, and other music production work, as well as an office space where I can hold meetings and work with clients.

My main setup is built around a Mac Studio running Logic Pro and Pro Tools, along with several pieces of analog hardware, including microphone preamps, compressors, and EQs. I use an Apogee Symphony Studio and an Apogee Ensemble Thunderbolt as the core of my recording setup.

The studio is located on the top floor of a high-rise apartment overlooking Tokyo. Because of its incredible height and panoramic views of the city, I sometimes call it “Tenku Studio,” which literally means “Studio in the Sky.”

Orra EQ is the plugin I use the most. Since I got Orra EQ, I’ve used it for almost all of my EQ work, except when I specifically want the character of an analog-modeled EQ for adding analog color.

One of the biggest advantages for me is that Orra Link and Orra EQ give me incredibly flexible sidechain capabilities, especially for things that are difficult to achieve with Logic Pro alone.

I also love the analyzer in Orra EQ. At first glance, it may not look as smooth as some other analyzers, but I’ve found that the peak hold time and resolution are actually perfect for pinpointing exactly where I need to make corrections.

Overall, it’s extremely intuitive and practical to use, and it covers almost everything I need from an EQ.

Since I started using Orra EQ, I’ve found myself using it on almost every project, especially on vocals. I often use its Dynamic EQ to precisely tame harsh or unpleasant peaks while keeping the natural character and dynamics of the performance intact.

I’m currently working on a new song for an artist I’ve been working with as a sound producer for many years. The song is scheduled for release this fall.

I don’t think you need to own a huge collection of plugins. If you have one really versatile EQ and one great compressor, they can be useful in all kinds of situations.

As a producer, I also believe that communication is extremely important. Clients and artists don’t always have the words to clearly explain what they want, so being able to understand what they are really looking for and where they want the song to go (essentially, understanding 100 from what they may only be able to express as 1) is a very important skill.

I’d love to see you develop a versatile, all-purpose reverb that draws inspiration from the algorithms of legendary units such as Lexicon, TC Electronic, and Bricasti Design, while still being easy to use.

It would be especially exciting if users could blend the characteristics of these different reverb styles and even load their own IRs, making it a truly flexible reverb that can cover a wide range of applications.