LOS ANGELES ― In a sun-drenched Los Angeles studio filled with guitars, laughter, and the low thrum of KRK monitors, Third Eye Blind’s Kryz Reid balances rockstar energy with producer precision. As the lead guitarist for such an iconic band, Reid’s days are filled with more than just epic guitar riffs. He is also managing gear, producing music videos, collaborating on social content, and even recording a podcast between tour stops and at home.
Before moving to the United States, Reid was recording music in his Dublin flat using basic computer speakers. “Musicians are inherently lazy,” he says jokingly. “If there’s any barrier between me and creating, it’s easy to skip it. One day, an engineer friend of mine played me a track through his KRK monitors, and I was blown away. I’ve had a lot of speakers over the years, but when I first heard music through real studio monitors, I realized there’s so much more happening in a track than you think. The KRKs reveal that.”
Today, Reid’s personal studio in Los Angeles is the kind of space artists dream about — a thoughtfully designed haven where ideas move faster than excuses. Split for maximum flow; one half is set up for live instruments, drums, amps, and pianos, and the other is optimized for mixing and editing. Tying it all together is a collection of KRK gear that Reid swears by: KRK V-Series 8 and ROKIT 5 Studio Monitors — gear he uses for everything from editing music videos to tracking new songs.
“The V8s are my go-to for critical listening,” Reid explains. “The monitors have more articulation and definition. I started hearing things in my favorite records I’d never noticed before. You think you’re hearing everything, but you’re not. The KRKs showed me the full picture. When I first got the speakers, my wife, who’s not in the music industry, walked in while I was listening to something on the V8s and went, ‘Wait—what is that sound?’ She’d never heard it before.”
Reid doesn’t leave his gear loyalty at home. During the band’s latest tour—Summer Gods 2024—the group was deep in production on a new album. The KRK GoAux 4s became a critical piece of the band’s mobile workflow. “They’re tiny but pack a punch,” he says. “We used them in dressing rooms, offices, even on the bus—basically anywhere we could carve out a space to mix or work on new material.”
The GoAux weren’t just for casual riffing, either. With all the music recorded and vocals still pending, the GoAux 4s allowed the band to review mixes and fine-tune parts in real time, all while navigating the chaos of life on the road. In true rock ’n’ roll fashion, a new song started pulling the band’s attention mid-tour.
“We got sidetracked; started jamming on this new one, and everyone got excited,” says Reid. “So that’s where the GoAux 4s came in again—we could huddle around, listen back, and figure out who’s overplaying and who’s just vibing. The speakers are compact but give you a real idea of your mix. Our Engineer Colin [CreeV] even took a pair home to his studio.”
Not content with just touring and recording, Reid produces a Third Eye Blind podcast, which is informal, spontaneous, often recorded backstage, and aptly titled “Pod of Wine” in honor of the band’s song “God of Wine.” Despite the format and clever name, which Reid says was chosen somewhat jokingly, the musician is serious about sound quality, even when it comes to casual conversations. For pristine audio, the group uses KRK KNS Headphones for clarity and isolation during recordings.
“We bring gear with us on tour and record whenever the mood strikes—sometimes after shows, sometimes during dinner,” he explains. “I don’t care what we talk about; it could be nonsense, but it better sound like a professional podcast. The KNS take away the distractions and literally cut through noise. It’s not just about hearing yourself clearly—it’s about giving each other space to think, react, and be fully present in the conversation.”
Although a hard drive disaster briefly slowed the podcast’s rollout, Kryz promises more episodes are on the way as files are recovered. “We’re sitting on a backlog,” he admits. “But it’s coming.”
Whether he’s working on guitar lines in his studio, tracking mixes backstage, or sharing stories on the road, Reid keeps coming back to gear that delivers. “KRK isn’t just a tool; it’s a creative partner,” he says. “The monitors perform—and that’s what you want when you’re making something real.”