With every item on this list, the goal is always the same: maximum quality, best tool for the job.

The Neumann U87, the industry-standard high-end voice-over microphone, backed by the Neumann TLM 193 as a second, neutral and transparent flavour. My preamps: the BAE 1073 for a creamy British sound, or the Retro Powerstrip, probably the best tube channel strip money can buy, with the incredible Pultec-style tube EQ and tube optical compressor Retro is famous for. Monitoring matters just as much, starting with a Rupert Neve mastering-grade headphone amplifier permanently installed in the booth, paired with three industry-standard closed-back headphones to fit any preference. All of this runs through the newest converters from Universal Audio and their brilliant DAW, Luna.

The supporting instruments are equally deliberate. The Moog Grandmother analog synth: probably the most intuitive, hands-on synth Moog currently makes. A Martin acoustic built in their US factory, my favourite acoustic so far, and I've played Model Ds and Santa Cruz guitars for years. Or the Tokai Love Rock electric, made in Japan, the guitar I've had for fifteen years, the one that made me sell my Gibson Les Pauls. Plus a shelf of all-analogue guitar effects for flavour, and the mighty Tone King Gremlin, an all-tube, hand-wired, American-style guitar amp.

The camera is a quiet full-frame Canon mirrorless with their top-of-the-line RF 50mm f/1.2 portrait lens. Medium-format-like rendering, beautiful background separation, and a focal length that flatters faces without distorting them. The Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 Distagon is a classic wide-angle kept on hand for the unusual: dramatic close-up character shots, environmental frames that take in the studio, or anything that calls for a bolder look.