Spirit Family Reunion, from whom you can expect a classic kind of Americana performed by musicians who know how to pluck a banjo the right way, sat with us to talk about their recording process. What really makes this band stand out is that they don't sound like they're re-inventing anything. When you see them live, the sound is all their own, and the soulful yelps and gospel harmonies in jams like 'I am Following the Sound' and 'On That Day' should convince you of what you've been missing. How much of your recording is done at home versus in the studio?  The first stuff we just did ourselves, in a basement on the Brooklyn side of the east river.  Usually on cassette or 1/4” tape.  We’d use those recordings to try and book shows, or burn em onto CDs to give out or sell whenever we could. More recently we’ve recorded in some small studios with friends. If you use a studio, what do you record there and what do you record by yourself and why? We pretty much record everything in the studio now. We want everything to have a consistent sound. What are the pieces of equipment that you find particularly inspiring when recording at home?  When we think about recording at home, first thing that comes to mind is this Tascam 388.  Its got 8 tracks, uses 1/4” tape, and most importantly is pretty easy to use.  Also happens to sound pretty good.  We probably first heard about the 388 from the early Dr Dog or Black Keys records. What one piece of hardware/software would you most like to add to your recording setup (cost not an issue)? Why?A really good 2 inch tape machine. I’d like to try to record on the same thing a lot of our favorite records were recorded on. ... Click on the title for more