[This just in from Steve E., winner of the 2012 Dream Rig for your Dream Gig Sweepstakes!]

Looks like home to me.

I wanted to send you a picture of me and the gear and I wanted to thank all of the companies involved in hooking me up with all of this awesome equipment!

This is truly a “Dream Rig” and I have only began to scratch the surface of what the combination of the ADL 700 preamp, Blue Microphones Kiwi mic, and KRK monitors have to offer.

So far, I have tracked my dad and I on mandolin and acoustic guitar respectively just using the Kiwi into the ADL 700 with excellent results. Hopefully soon, I will have an heirloom double album of my dad and I playing traditional old time music on one disc and a re-mastered version of my dad and grandfather paying the same exact tunes back in 1967 from a reel to reel tape. This equipment couldn’t have come at a better time! I I also have recorded my daughter Isabella singing into the same combo and I am totally blown away with the details you can bring out with the onboard compressor and EQ settings. By the way, all of the awesome artwork behind me on the walls is hers, too.

The possibilities are endless! When I combine the ADL 700 with the Kiwi and its 9 polar patterns it is just mind boggling! In addition to this, the ability to switch the EQ in before the compressor is a really awesome feature, along with being able to bypass either one or both at the flick of a switch. This truly is a match made in heaven…

I have also ran the new Monoprice guitar into the ADL 700 instrument input and achieved an excellent funky single-coil blues sound along with pumping the gain up a bit and getting some smooth crunch and creamy sustain. I can’t wait to track some bass through it!

My next major project is to record a full-length album with my friend Keith for our band Letchwurth (this is the dream band I selected when I entered the contest.) This equipment will take our recordings to an entirely new level—just as long as I can bring my recording and mixing skills up to the same level, ha! We cannot wait to start tracking with the new equipment. This setup blows away everything we had before! Also with the new Pro SoundCloud account we will be able to post everything up for everyone to hear. Look out for Letchwurth “Ringworm Eraser” in the future…

Before I won the contest, I had a few cheaper dynamic mics and one condenser along with the Focusrite liquid Saffire 56 preamp/firewire interface you see on the bottom of the ADL. In addition to this, I only had headphones to mix and monitor with, so with the KRK VXT4’s and 12S sub have been able to mix and monitor the right way. This speaker combo is absolutely perfect for my small home-office and I am totally amazed at the detailed sound-field that these speakers deliver. I am now able to hear details that I never even knew were there, even with headphones! Of course, I couldn’t have hooked it all up without all of the cables and accessories from Monoprice. My setup is now complete! What else could I need?

Thanks again to everyone involved with putting this equipment into my lap and allowing me to step beyond the next level with my recording capabilities!

I am truly thankful and view it as a sign to capture high quality recordings with my friends and family for many years to come.