Scott Anderson’s endeavors in home recording date back to a little red cassette recorder from Radio Shack in the early 1980s. The early “field recordings” that resulted — including a successful, Muppet Movie-inspired quest to find a Studebaker while on a family vacation in Branson, Missouri in 1981 — were silly, but they fueled a lifelong interest in audio recording and production.

Later, after joining the school band in 5th grade on clarinet, and subsequently the high school jazz ensemble o...