State of the Studio: The 2026 Reboot

I had a plan. Back on Christmas Eve, I was going to pour a bourbon, lock the door, and finally get my studio set up. I was going to write a blog post about it. I was going to be productive.

I did none of that.

The "holiday lazy bug" bit me hard, and honestly, I let it happen. We ended up hosting Wigilia (the traditional Polish Christmas Eve supper) for the first time here in Indiana. Usually, that is my mother's domain, but since the move, we wanted to keep the tradition alive for the boys. My wife was the MVP and did most of the work, but it felt good to have the house full of family and food. Christmas Day was spent doing what we Polaks do best: lounging around and eating an excessive amount of meat.

The rest of the break was a blur of recovery and last-minute work crises (client changes never sleep), capped off by a fantastic New Year's Eve dinner at Monterey Cuisine in Carmel. We rang in 2026 at my son Max's apartment with his girlfriend who was visiting from Canada. It was the perfect, relaxing recharge.

But now the holidays are over. The guests have gone home. The meat sweats have subsided. And I am still standing in a room full of boxes.

It is time to get back on track. Here is the "State of the Studio" as I finally tackle the chaos this weekend.

The Lay of the Land

My new office is trying to do three things at once: professional engineering (CAD), maker hobbies (3D Printing), and creative output (Music/Writing). Balancing those three "silos" in one room requires some serious Tetris skills.

1. The "Maker" Corner

I have a shelving unit currently staging my two 3D printers (one for my personal projects and one for work). They are currently sitting silent and waiting for calibration. Next to them is a wall of cardboard boxes that contain the "Brain of the Dragon Mist." These are my RPG reference books, history texts, fantasy encyclopedias, and heavy engineering manuals. They are waiting for bookshelves that haven't been built yet. Eventually, this library will fuel the lore over at my Dragon Mist blog.

2. The "Legacy" Station

Tucked on a small desk is my secondary computer. This machine is a veteran. It used to be my primary DAW years ago, so its hard drive is a digital archaeological site of old tracks, half-finished ideas, and a massive repository of VST plugins that I have collected over the last decade. Now, it serves as my Plex server and storage hub, but I am keeping it accessible. You never know when you need to pull a sample from 2018.

3. The Command Center (CAD + Audio)

This is the main event. My primary desk is dominated by a high-tech, dual-monitor workstation designed for heavy 3D modeling and CAD work (the kind of stuff I write about on Old School CAD Wizardry). But this is also where the music happens.

I am currently wrestling with the layout to fit the audio gear around the engineering peripherals:

• The Keys: I have a spot cleared for my mini MIDI keyboard. It fits perfectly, but I am already eyeing it with suspicion. I have a feeling I am going to upgrade to a unit with full-sized keys soon; my hands need the real estate.
• The Macro Deck: I use extra computer keyboards (the typing kind) with custom knobs and macros. In my day job, these launch CAD commands. In REAPER, I plan to map them to transport controls and automation lanes.
• The Interface: The audio interface is out of the box and sitting on the desk. It is the first real sign that music is going to happen here.
• The Wiring Nightmare: Of course, I need to manage the wires that are already sprouting like weeds behind the desk before I add even more audio cables to the mix.

4. The Wall of Strings

My guitars are unpacked and currently sitting in a temporary floor rack. It works for now, but the plan is to get them up on the wall. I want them within arm's reach so that when I am listening to David Gilmour on a Tuesday, I can grab a guitar and immediately fail to play like him. I will eventually toss the rack, but for this weekend, it serves its purpose.

The New Year's Plan: Minimum Viable Noise

I am realistic. I am not going to finish a track this weekend. My goal for this first weekend of 2026 is "Minimum Viable Setup."

1. Manage the wires that are already there.
2. Hook up the Audio Interface and the MIDI controller.
3. Open REAPER and make sure it talks to the hardware.
4. Load one VST and make a sound.

If I can hit a key and hear a synthesizer, the reboot is successful. The rest of the boxes can wait until next week.

Happy New Year, everyone. Now, where did I put those USB cables?

The AutoCAD of Audio: Why I Ditched Waveform for REAPER

In the amateur music production world, there is a predictable script when you meet another producer. They ask what DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) you use. They expect to hear "Ableton Live" (if you do electronic), "FL Studio" (if you make beats), or "Logic" (if you own a Mac).

When I tell them I use REAPER, the reaction is usually a blank stare or a scoff. "Isn't that the free one?" "Isn't that just for recording bands?"

They don't get it. But as someone who spends his days deep in CAD software and 3D modeling, REAPER makes perfect sense to me.

REAPER is the AutoCAD of music production.

The Waveform Era: Hitting the Ceiling

I didn't start with REAPER. Like many people dipping their toes into production, I started with what was accessible. For me, that was Waveform (formerly Tracktion).

It was a great entry point. They had a generous model where the previous version was often free. It was intuitive. It had a "single screen" workflow that made sense to a beginner. I spent months scouring the internet for free VST plugins, building a massive collection of instruments and effects without spending a dime.

But eventually, I hit a wall. Waveform felt stagnant. The jump to their "Pro" or "Premium" versions asked for money, but the features they offered—mostly stock loops and basic samplers—were things I had already sourced for free elsewhere. It felt like I was paying for a "content pack" rather than a better tool.

I had outgrown the sandbox. I didn't want a DAW that held my hand; I wanted a DAW that got out of my way.

Why REAPER Fits the Engineering Brain

I tried a few other DAWs, but they all felt bloated. They came with gigabytes of sounds I would never use and rigid interfaces that forced me to work their way.

Then I gave REAPER (Rapid Environment for Audio Production, Engineering, and Recording) a serious look. It clicked immediately, for the same reasons I love high-end CAD software.

1. It’s an Engine, Not a Toy Box

Most DAWs are like a box of Legos. They come with pre-made bricks and instructions. REAPER is like a CNC machine. It doesn't come with anything pretty. It looks gray and utilitarian out of the box. But it can build anything.

Because I’m a "CAD Wizard," I am used to software that requires configuration. I don't want a "Make Beat" button. I want a command line. REAPER allows for deep scripting (Lua, EEL, Python). If the software doesn't have a feature I need, I can literally write a script to add it, or download an extension (like SWS) that someone else wrote.

2. Efficiency Over Aesthetics

REAPER is a tiny download (less than 20MB). It installs in seconds. It rarely crashes. It runs on a potato.

In my line of work, software bloat is the enemy. I deal with heavy 3D assemblies that crush graphics cards. I appreciate code that is optimized. REAPER respects my system resources, leaving the CPU power for what actually matters: the VST plugins and synthesis.

3. The "Unrestricted" License

The industry standard allows you to "try" software with annoying limitations. You can't save the project, or it blasts white noise every 30 seconds.

REAPER has an evaluation period that is fully functional. After 60 days, it politely asks you to buy a license, but it never cripples the software. It treats the user like an adult. And when you do buy it, a discounted license is $60. Not a subscription. Not $600. Sixty bucks for a professional-grade tool.

The Verdict

If you want a DAW that looks cool and comes with 50GB of trap drums, REAPER will disappoint you.

But if you approach music production the way an engineer approaches a drafting table, there is nothing else like it. It allows me to map my creative brain directly to the keyboard shortcuts.

I don't use REAPER because it's the "cheap option." I use it because it's the most powerful drafting table for sound I have ever found.

Sonic Worldbuilding: How My Genre Rotation Feeds Work and Play

For the last year, "Extruding the Noise" has been dead air. I spent months hauling boxes from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, then finally out here to Indiana, and my studio gear has spent more time collecting dust in cardboard than making any actual sound. Life got in the way. The creative flow didn't just slow down; it evaporated.

Now that I’m finally plugging cables back in and setting up the new office, I realized I couldn’t just sit down and expect the magic to happen. My brain was stuck in a loop of algorithmic garbage. I needed a hard reset before I even touched a synthesizer.

Two weeks ago, I started the Workday Genre Rotation. It’s a strict, self-imposed diet for my ears. The point isn't just to listen to "good tunes." It's about forcing my brain to analyze different sonic textures so that when I finally hit record, I’m not just regurgitating the same three ideas I had two years ago.

But I’ve realized this schedule isn't just about music production. It has become the engine for my entire day. My professional work revolves around CAD, coding, and 3D modeling (topics I usually cover over at Old School CAD Wizardry & 3D Sorcery), and my other passion is worldbuilding for the Worlds of the Dragon Mist Chronicles. It turns out that designing complex 3D assemblies, writing code, producing music, and writing fantasy lore all feed off the same sonic energy.

Here is how the week actually feels now.

• Monday (Psybient & Psychill): Coding flow, future textures, and digital dreams.
• Tuesday (Classic Rock & Prog): CAD precision, structural integrity, and technical prowess.
• Wednesday (Metal - Melodeath & Thrash): Pure aggression to power through the modeling grind.
• Thursday (Dark Noir & Doom Jazz): Deep focus, debugging, and smoky atmosphere.
• Friday (New Age & Celtic Fantasy): Creative modeling and decompression.

Monday (Psybient & Psychill)

Mondays are for the future. I dive straight into Psybient and Psychill to wake up. It’s mostly Entheogenic (Spontaneous Illumination is basically a religious text for me at this point) but I throw in a lot of Carbon Based Lifeforms, Solar Fields, and Shulman too.

For my work, this is perfect for coding. The complex, repetitive structures of Psybient put me in a trance state where I can stare at lines of code for hours without distraction. For the producer in me, this is active study. I’m taking apart the delay lines and the stereo width in my head, trying to figure out how they weld organic samples to digital synthesis without showing the seams. It fuels the "magic" system in Dragon Mist too; listening to World of Sleepers makes visualizing strange biomes and magical flora effortless.

Tuesday (Classic Rock & Prog)

Tuesday is where the foundation gets poured. I switch to Classic Rock and Prog, but only the giants. I’m talking Pink Floyd (The Division Bell is underrated, fight me), Led Zeppelin, and Queen. I’m a massive David Gilmour fan. I remember hearing The Wall for the first time and just losing my mind over those solos. Wish You Were Here might actually be the best album ever made. I consider "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" the grandfather of all Psybient music. Back in high school, I listened to nothing but Floyd, day in and day out. Even The Final Cut got airtime, mostly because Gilmour’s work on it saves the whole thing.

Later, as I got better at guitar, I gravitated toward the technical wizardry of Rush and Primus and the storytelling of The Who's Quadrophenia. This technical precision mirrors my CAD work perfectly. When I’m defining constraints or working on complex assemblies in AutoCAD (often discussed on my CAD blog), I need music that appreciates structure and virtuosity. It’s a reminder that a song, like a 3D model, needs a solid skeleton to stand up.

Wednesday (Metal - Melodeath & Thrash)

Wednesday is for Metal, and honestly, this day is built on a very specific memory. Back on Labor Day Weekend in 1991, WSOU-Pirate Radio (Seton Hall’s metal station) aired their "All-Time Top 895" countdown. My friend and I didn't just listen; we went to war. We recorded the entire 72-hour broadcast onto cassettes, logging every single track on a printed WordPerfect template. It was a marathon of magnetic tape that earned us a shout-out on air. When Metallica’s "Master of Puppets" finally hit number one, it felt like we had survived a battle. That weekend solidified the obsession.

I spent the next few years chasing that high. I saw Megadeth in small NYC clubs right when Countdown to Extinction broke, and Metallica in arenas after the Black Album exploded. I even caught Queensrÿche doing the full Operation: Mindcrime set. Later, a college fling got me hooked on Manowar, a band I still can't put down. But the modern Wednesday playlist is dominated by my discovery of "Melodic Death Metal." I picked up Opeth on a whim, which opened the floodgates to Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquility, At The Gates, and Soilwork. I also have to mention Metalocalypse. That show was bat-shit crazy and absolutely awesome. Dethklok’s music wasn't just a joke; it actually fueled my love for the genre even more. It’s also the main connection point between my wife and this chaotic music. She isn't a metalhead, but she loves that show. It’s our weird little shared frequency.

Work-wise, this is for the grind. If I have tedious 3D modeling tasks or a deadline approaching, this wall of sound pushes me through. For the worldbuilder, it is pure Dwarven fuel. When Amon Amarth screams about Valhalla, or Wind Rose chants about digging holes, I am mentally standing inside a Dwarven forge. Even the pirate themes of AleStorm have found their way into the coastal lore of Dragon Mist.

Thursday (Dark Noir & Doom Jazz)

Thursday brings the rain. I shift hard into Dark Noir and Doom Jazz. This obsession didn't start with music; it started with H.P. Lovecraft. I used to play the Call of Cthulhu RPG at a local game store, and the GM would always play this smoky, unsettling jazz to set the mood. I went looking for that sound and stumbled onto The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble on BandCamp. From there, I fell down the rabbit hole and discovered The Sarto Klyn V, an obscure project that hooked me instantly. Now, Thursday is filled with Bohren & der Club of Gore and Trigg & Gusset.

This provides the deep focus I need for complex problem solving or debugging code. It teaches me patience. These guys will let a reverb tail ring out for ten seconds before playing the next note. It’s the perfect antidote to Wednesday’s noise. In my fiction writing, this is the soundtrack for the undercity; it's the music for the thieves' guilds, the spies, the rainy nights in a port city.

Friday (New Age & Celtic Fantasy)

Friday is for decompression, specifically New Age and Celtic Fantasy. This obsession started way back in the Napster days. I was scrolling through file shares looking for anything D&D related, searching for keywords like "Druid," "Merlin," or "Arkenstone" (because of The Hobbit). That search led me straight to Medwyn Goodall and David Arkenstone. Even though both artists are still active today, I always find myself pulled back to those specific classics I downloaded twenty years ago.

This is my creative modeling day. If I’m sketching out a new concept in 3D or documenting a project for Old School CAD Wizardry, this is the backdrop. I listen to the orchestration, specifically how the mandolins and nylon strings sit in the mix. It actually convinced me to buy an Ovation Celebrity Classical next year because I need that organic sound in my setup. It sounds like the history of my Elven cultures being told through song.

I used to keep my hobbies and my work in separate boxes. CAD lived in one, music in another, writing in a third. This experiment smashed those walls. When I listen to In Flames, I hear a Dwarven battle. When I listen to David Arkenstone, I see Elven spires. By curating what goes into my ears now, while I’m still wiring up the studio, I’m making sure that what eventually comes out—whether it's a line of code, a 3D model, or a new track—will be worth the wait.

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Track My Progress
If you want to see exactly what I'm listening to in real-time (or check if I broke the rules and listened to Metal on a Monday), you can follow my rotation here:
Last.fm: https://www.last.fm/user/Strulg

Cthulhu and his Bud

They are watching over me. My Angels.

My Fender Strat

Bring Out The Bass

 

Feeling Colorful

 

A Microphone

You Traded The Blues Mobile For A Microphone?

The Bard