My Music Setup

Headphones & Earbuds

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro (1st model) - Earbuds
AKG K240 Mini II - headphone
AKG N9 Hybrid - headset
Edifier W820NB Plus - headset
KZ ZSN Pro 2 - IEM
Fosi IM4 In-ear Open-Back Monitor

Audio Devices – Interfaces, DACs & Amps

iFi Go Link – USB DAC + Headphone Amp (playback only)
Fosi Audio K5 Pro
SSL2+ MKII USB Audio Interface
Behringer Link UCG102 – USB 'portable' Guitar Interface

Mini Bass amplifiers

VOX AP2-BS
Blackstar Fly 103 Bass

Speakers

Edifier S360DB Hi-Res
Sony HT-S700RF - soundbar

Apps and Services

Qobuz
Spotify
USB Audio Player Pro (Android)
HiByMusic (Android)
Strawberry - Linux (connected to Qobuz)
MusicPod - Linux (great frontend to radio and podcasts)
Guitar Pro 8 (Windows/Wine)
ultimate-guitar.com (web)
Yousician (Android/Windows)

Bass Pedals

BOSS ME-20B - Pedalboard - Pre-Amp
BOSS Chorus CEB-3
Fender Drive Overdrive PR-2525
TMiranda Bass Drive Bo-1
Behringer Vintage Bass VB1

Bass

Sire Marcus Miller V7
Epiphone SG EB-3
Epiphone Tobias IV
Memphis Tagima JB

Other instruments

Stagg Acustic Guitar
Epiphone SG 400 Pro

And...

Hering Harmonicas (G, C) model VIntage Harp 1923.
Plan Flute
Indigenous wooden flute.

Note: But I don’t play these very well… I lack breath control.

Stuffs

A lot of Fender P10/P10 angled cables.
An old and great Cherub metro-tuner WMT-568C working well (I probably bought it in 2004).

My thoughts on my setup:

I downloaded Wavelet on Android, but due to HiByMusic and USB Pro connect to Qobuz and have your own eq, I'm exploring the first two quite a bit before combine with any other softwares (in Wavelet case, Qobuz app + Wavelet).

The Behringer products I have are terrible. It was a waste of money, and I would be embarrassed to resell them to anyone. But I think I must have been misled by the store selling something used/refurbished (in the case of the pedal) and had plenty of headaches with UCG102 configurations on Linux in the past.

Galaxy Buds Pro are excellent, but only for listening to music on a smartphone. I sometimes use them on Linux, but I feel they heat up more than normal.

Edifier W820NB Plus is my everyday headphones... work, meetings, perfect on Windows and Linux, ~~but in the future I won’t buy anything Bluetooth, only devices with a 2.4 GHz wireless option~~. I bought an AKG N9 Hybrid with dongle (wifi and bt connection).

Mini amplifiers are good, but very limited. I knew that when I bought them and I'm fine with them, but I need a standard amplifier for the bass (in fact, something my wife asked for when she noticed the difference when I play on other models).

Pedals from the Brazilian manufacturer TMiranda are superior to those from Fender, BOSS, and others I've used. Their amplifiers are on my wish list.

My first bass was a Memphis Tagima Jazz Bass in sunburst. I've had it since 2005, and it's still my favourite.

The connection setup is as follows:

Laptop (Arch) --> USB-C --> Fosi K5 Pro DAC --> Coaxial (RCA L/R) --> S360DB (aux)
Workstation (Fedora 43 KDE) --> USB-C --> SSL 2+ MKII Interface --> Coaxial (RCA L/R)--> S360DB (pc)
Workstation (Fedora 43 KDE) --> TOSlink --> S360DB (opt)

Optionally, I have a 3.5mm RCA <--> P2 cable to connect the DAC, interface, or pedals to the BlackStar amp’s output, making the setup more portable without having to move the Edifier 360.

The importance of good cables: always look for shielded cables, an aluminum alloy shell, gold-plated connectors, PVC insulation, and enameled copper conductors... These features aren’t anything “extraordinary,” but there are cheap cables that don’t meet these standards and can degrade audio quality. The same applies to network cables, HDMI cables, and so on. They will always be the cheapest component in the entire setup and are therefore often overlooked - don’t skimp here.

And my biggest frustration: not being able to set up a complete and functional workstation as a Home Studio using 100% Linux. I tried for a long time, using Ubuntu Studio (because it comes ready to use out-of-the-box)... I used it a lot to record and edit videos (mainly OBS and Kdenlive), but I was never able to fully capture and record the bass with totally satisfaction (for me).

These equipments were bought a long time ago (except SSL2+), so I need to update this environment: closed-back headphones for recording, and a condenser microphone.

I will set up my new home studio in 1 or 2 years (when I move to new and better space, I hope) and I can increase the acoustic ambient and investing better on this.

To use SSL2+ on Linux, I am testing several apps, but lately, I have been using REAPER more (and testing/trying the Mixbus 11 - whose licence came bundled with SSL2+ and also has a Linux version). Due to the installation and trial period... it will end around Black Friday, so I may purchase it or focus on a FOSS alternative.

The PC/Workstation and Laptop, both are using Fedora 43 (KDE).
PC is connected to SSL2+ (USB-C) but is connected too directly to Edifier S360DB with Toslink (Optical cable interface)

Since the pandemic, I haven't played at all. I've been playing and studying bass since 2005, and I've played in a few bands, but I've completely neglected it over the last 5 years... The idea of a new house, a space for a home studio, has given me back my enthusiasm. :-)

I really hope to update this post in the near future, and if that happens, I'll be immensely happy.

Meanwhile...

I wrote about transforming an old smartphone in a dedicated Digital Audio Music Player (DAP) using some apps, alternative android launcher, shell script to remove android apps over adb command and my iFi Go Link (usb-c amplifier and DAC - Digital Audio Converter):

https://esli.blog.br/transform-old-smartphone-in-a-digital-audio-player-dap

https://esli.blog.br/transformando-antigo-smartphone-em-dap