Uses This

Who are you, and what do you do?

I'm Ali Spagnola. I make nice things. I write music and perform live drinking game concerts. My most recent album comes on a Shot Glass USB that I invented. I defeated a trademark troll and toured the nation to celebrate. I create one Free Painting a day and mail it to the person that requested it. I'm also an artist/designer.

What hardware do you use?

My laptop is a 2013 15" MacBook Pro Retina. My electric piano is a Yamaha S08. It's got weighted keys and all 88 of them, of course. My electric guitar is an American Fender Stratocaster. His name is Jack and he's blue. Though, I photoshopped him red for my album box. All my paintings are acrylic on 12"x12" canvas board. One square foot of art a day! My acoustic guitar is a C.F. Martin & Co. GPCPA4 with a Rosewood body. I just recently got him so I haven't decided if his name should be Martin or something having to do with Rosewood.

I have two Roland keytars. One is an AX-Synth and the other is a Lucina AX-09. My audio interface is an Apogee Quartet. I play a set of Roland TD-6 electric drums. My in-ear monitors for live performances are a set of Ultimate Ears 4 that were custom shaped by an audiologist that squirted blue goo into my brain though my ears. My camera is a Canon T3i. I record vocals with an Audio Technica AT2020 mic. I record acoustic guitar with an Audio Technica AT2012 mic. I broadcast my livestream show with a Blue Snowball mic. My toothbrush is a Sonicare Essence.

And what software?

Evernote. Everything I ever thought or will think is in Evernote. I love Evernote so much I wish I could grind it up and snort it.

I write/record all my music in Logic X. My favorite visual program is Photoshop. I do my video editing in Premiere and my motion graphics in After Effects. Last year I switched my browser to Chrome because it seemed that my smart friends use it. I still also use Safari for a separate Gmail account and keep it in a separate "Space". I also love Mac's Exposé & Spaces and just recently bought a Magic Mouse to take full advantage of it. Sorry, that should be under the hardware question.

What would be your dream setup?

A recording studio that's also a dance studio. I'm not really particular with the hardware or software. I just want an awesome studio that's connected to a room with hardwood floors and wall to wall mirrors so I can choreograph and compose simultaneously. I would love a grand piano in that room, too. For both posing on and playing.