Leon Chang
Artist, musician
Who are you, and what do you do?
I'm Leon. I post online (Twitter), I make art (Tumblr), and I make music (Spotify, SoundCloud, Bandcamp).
What hardware do you use?
I do everything on my laptop, an ASUS K501U I bought a couple years ago. I like it because it was cheap, and I can play video games on it. Last year I purchased a pair of ATH-M50x headphones, which is probably the best thing that's happened to my music making ability. I was making music through Apple in-ear headphones before that! I don't use much else when composing music, but when I play live I use an M-Audio Trigger Finger that I got from Guitar Center ten years ago. My most recent purchase since then is the Midi Fighter 3D I bought with the money from my first album, which I just released in May! I also play around on my Janssen player piano I got off Craigslist for $250 that I've had for a few years.
And what software?
I use Adobe Photoshop CC pretty much every day, and have some experience in using Adobe Premiere Pro CC now that you can post longer videos on Twitter. For music making I only use Ableton Live. There's so many free resources, tutorials, and tips online that I have been able to learn everything myself over the last two years. One of my favorite VSTs I've discovered is the C700, created by some person in Japan who goes by Osoumen. It emulates the SPC700, which is the audio processor from the Super Nintendo. It features on a few tracks in Bird World, my first album.
What would be your dream setup?
I don't need anything crazy computer-wise, the ASUS plays Overwatch and can handle Ableton/Photoshop so I'm pretty happy. It would be cool to have a nice sound system (surround sound, speaker, monitors, etc), maybe after I set up a real desk and office. I work on my kitchen table and on the piano. I want to buy a trumpet, a flute, an accordion, and a harp. And if I can't get that, I would get the Emperor and put it in a mech suit.