Who are you, and what do you do?
I'm Kathy Foster, musician, bassist in The Thermals, drummer in Hurry Up, home recording enthusiast, DJ KM Fizzy, Strange Babe.
What hardware do you use?
The first thing I think of when I hear "hardware" is cymbal stands. Most of mine are used and brand-less. I love my drumset though. It's a '69 Ludwig mahogany kit. My favorite sticks are ProMark's Neil Peart signatures. No, I'm not a Rush fan. They're slightly slimmer than average but made of white oak so they have a good weight to them. For bass, I play a standard Fender Jazz bass through an Ampeg SVT Classic with 4x10 Ampeg cabinet. I love my setup and haven't changed it for years. The 4x10 cabinet is the perfect size and plenty loud. I have my Ibanez Tube Screamer pedal on at all times which gives me the perfect tone. I use a Boss Super Overdrive pedal for feedback and noise, and sometimes the Boss Digital Delay for added noise effects. I recently got a Boss Loop Station pedal to make pre-recorded loops of noise. I love noise! I also have a 70's Gibson SG guitar, a Fender Telecaster guitar, a Fender acoustic guitar, Ampeg Gemini combo guitar amp, Fender Blues Jr. combo amp, Alamo combo amp, and a few other effects pedals.
Oh, and I recently got a new Mac desktop computer to replace my planned obsolete 2007 MacBook, mainly because I want to start recording music digitally.
And what software?
I haven't used much software lately, except Photoshop. I used to work with Illustrator a lot. I just bought Logic recording software though. I've always been into analog machines and have done a lot of home recording that way for years. I have a couple Tascam cassette 4-tracks and a 1/2" Teac 8-track reel-to-reel. I like the tactile experience of them, and their warm sound. I like how cool fuck-ups can sound. The Thermals and Hurry Up have recorded almost everything to tape. But I'm finally ready to experiment with a digital setup to save money and time, and to make some higher fidelity recordings. I do love lo-fi and trashy recordings the most though.
What would be your dream setup?
My dream set-up is not so much about specific gear or equipment, though I love 60's-70's vintage shit. My dream is to have the perfect, cozy space where everything is set up and ready to use all the time - guitar, bass, drums, pedals, mics, recording gear, etc. I'm working towards that now. I've had it in the past and it makes a world of difference to be able to act upon inspiration when it hits. It's been a long time since I've been able to set up a space like that. I'm looking forward to getting to that place again.