Hello from Philadelphia, PA!

Welcome Jacob, it's great that you can apply your love of prog to the practical art of creating music.

As @progaardvark noted above, there are some good forums here for tech and recording enthusiasts.

I don't think I would be the best person to give advice on home recording. I do have my own "one-man project," but all I use now is a MIDI keyboard, a DAW, and a whole bunch of VSTs; a bit simpler than most home recording setups. I used to use an electric guitar, but since I can't really play it very well, I find I have better results from a VST plugin.

You might get more help in the Tech Talk area of this forum here:

Or in the Music and Musicians Exchange area:

I am a musician. My main instrument is bass, but I also play guitar, drums, and keys. I need to work on my singing, but I'll get there. I was in the School of Rock during my childhood and grew up playing in lots of bands. 

Before high school, I never heard of prog and had no idea what it was. Then, in my freshman year, I was exposed to a lot of prog and fusion music from my bandmates, and that got me hooked. Ever since high school, prog has been my favorite music genre.

I started off with King Crimson, Yes, Weather Report, Return to Forvever, and Mahavishnu. But then I came accross The Mars Volta. When I first heard them, I instantly fell in love with them. They were my favorite band in high school. I was curious what their influences were so I researched what bands/artists they liked and that led me to a whole new batch of bands from different genres. I came accross krautrock for the first time and got really into Can. 

By my senior year of high school, my Mars Volta phase had ended. Then I got deeper into classic prog (Yes, Genesis, ELP, etc). I also started to appreciate Pink Floyd a lot. This was surprising for me because I used to dislike them a lot. Also, the more I listened to prog, the more introverted I was becomming. 

By the time I started college, I was getting into bands like Gentle Giant, Camel and VdGG. I even had my own radio show called Prog World. Then I came accross the Canterbury Scene and other space rock bands. Out of all of the Canterbury bands, my favorite one was Gong (you can probably tell that I'm a GongFreak because of my username...lol). They became my new favorite band. Then I discovered Magma and fell in love with them. I started going through a space rock phase. As I kept discovering more and more obscure bands, I continued to lose interest in my social life and I let myself become a loner because I was starting to get addicted to music. I took a break from playing in bands. 

After my Gong/Magma phase, I went through another krautrock phase, becoming obsessed with Popol Vuh, Tangerine Dream, and Ashra. Then I got into Italian prog (PFM, Area, etc). Then I got into Scandinavian prog (Flower Kings, Wobbler). Then I started finding bands that are so obscure that they're not even on Wikipedia. And this is how I found ProgArchives. I've recently been listening to prog bands from all over the world...and I no longer have a social life and I only have a few close friends...LOL. 

Right now, my favorite band is Popol Vuh. Their music touches me more than any other artist. 

I am currently trying to start my own prog project, but I have to learn the basics of home recording first. I was originally going to start a prog band, but I decided that it would be easier if I did most of it myself and keep it as a one man band/ studio band. Or, at least start out by myself and add others later on. If anyone has any advice regarding home recording, or making original music, any feedback will be appreciated. 

Thanks for reading!