Software I use, equipment I love, and other things I recommend.

I get asked a lot about the things I use to build products, make music, or buy to fool myself into thinking I’m being productive when I’m really just procrastinating. Here’s a list of all of my current gear.

Workstation

  • 16” MacBook Pro, M1 Max, 64GB RAM (2021)

    This thing is an absolute beast and worth every dollar. I use this as my primary workstation machine that powers my web and iOS development, music production, and photo editing.

  • Dell UltraSharp 43 4K (U4320Q)

    I used to have 2x 32in monitors that were sub-4K and wanted to consolidate into a single panel without having to give up pixels. I’ll use as much screen real estate as I can get.

  • Keychron K2 Wireless Keyboard

    Compact, low profile, and decent typing action with the optic switches. I never use it in wireless mode and prefer to keep it plugged in. I’ve used this since 2020 and it’s served me well, no need to make any changes here for now.

  • Apple Magic Trackpad

    Moved to this from the Logitech MX Master 2 some time in 2021. Got tired of moving my hand around to navigate the mouse and enjoyed being able to use gestures.

  • Steelcase Gesture Chair

    If I’m going to slouch in the worst ergonomic position imaginable all day, I might as well do it in an expensive chair. Got it for cheap in SF from a failing startup.

Development tools

  • VSCode

    Pretty much everyone uses this I guess, no crazy plugins just the standard stuff you’d expect for linting and formatting. Currently using the Tokyo Night theme. I also use vim/neovim from time to time.

  • iTerm2

    I’m honestly not even sure what features I get with this that aren’t just part of the macOS Terminal but it’s what I use.

  • Insomnia

    Great software for testing APIs and my preferred alternative to Postman.

Music Production

  • Ableton Live 11 Suite

    My current DAW of choice. Clean and compact UI with great built in instruments and effects, what’s not to love? I’ll use Logic Pro as my backup.

  • Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S61

    Primary MIDI controller, works fine and integrates nicely with all of the Native Instruments plugins. Probably a bit overpriced for what I use it for.

  • Ableton Push 2

    Controller for Ableton Live. I use it for writing riffs and sequencing drums primarily. This is a recent addition and I need to explore it more.

  • Pioneer DDJ-400

    My lil beginner DJ controller that I’m using to learn how to mix electronic music.

  • Axe-FX III

    Guitar amp and effects modeling unit that has replaced any amps and effects that I had. I use this for recording all of my guitar and bass stuff.