How did you all afford your studios?

[The Unavoidable]

Well as the title suggest, I was wondering what kind of finacial decisions and plans you guys have made to afford your gear n shi. Have you just bought a little something here and there, slowly building it, or did you take a out a loan or made payment plans? Feel free to include any information about your age/job/finacial status to elaborate!

The reason I'm asking is becuse I'm 20 years old, and an aspiring AE like many of you here. However, I'm completely broke. This partly due to the fact that I got a pretty shitty job, but it's really hard to get anything better around here without heaps of experience or a 5-year education. I feel that this definitly hinders my recording capabilities since I can't afford amps, cabs, mics, pres, you name it. However, I'm slowly saving up, making budgets etc and I'm slowly-as-hell getting there.

But sometimes I feel insanely disguraged when I realize that it would take me more than a year to save up for a 6505 and a decent cab. (A year and half if I want vintage 30s). And that's just the amp part, then there is 50 million other things that I need/want, that would probably take me even longer.

So I'm basically just looking for inspiration. When I see some people on here with a Dual rec, an Invader, a 5150 all with Mesa Cabs recorded through 57s and 421s into a Fireface 800 into nuendo with UAD plugins bla bla bla I just feel like quitting life!


So, how did you afford you studio stuff?

 

[Seizure.]

Same as your doing know realy slowly and piece by piece!

 

[Sly]

I do have a fulltime job and recording/mixing is still something I do after my job or during weekends. I don't earn a lot but all the money I earn goes to gear since a few years. I work with another guy which does the same, we put our gear in common and the plan is to build up a pro studio in the end. And I try to buy few but the best gear possible, finding infos through the internet, reading a lot and trying things when it's possible (rarely). It takes me a lot of time and it's sometimes painful (and most of the time dangerous moneywise because I don't live @ my parents' anymore) but now we have some amazing gear, which is very comfortable to work with, and of course the first thing to say here is that it's ONLY experience that makes records to sound good, gear is just for comfort, making it easier of course. Sometimes I'd like to forget all that and go into a normal life, like keeping some money to buy a flat or anything like that... It's quite hard but now we have something really solid to work with and things become easier

 

[coneyis]

I've built up all my gear over time. I'm a musician first and an AE second so my hard earned $ has to span both which does benefit my recordings either way. As Sly says in the post above, experience is most important. I started small and built my way up. When I began I was using a 4-Track tape recorder (not that you'd ever do that today) and then went to 8-Track real to real then 16-Track DAW to 24-Track DAW and now finally with the rest of the recording world using computer based DAW (for me my Mac Book Pro). It's gonna take time but be patient and learn what ever you can. It's so much easier to get information these days for what gear to buy and to learn recording/mixing techniques.

 

[Machinated]

Built up slowly over time, and generally bought stuff I have only bought stuff I need.

Not that I have huge amounts of gear, but I have most grounds covered. Also student discounts have saved me a ton on the plugin side of things, and has definitely influenced some of my purchases (URS, drumagog etc).

 

[coldthrn]

Dont give up I was in the same boat you are in. I'm 32, high school education. I went to work as a computer tech right out of high school as a contractor. Got some certifications, then a few years later that let to permanent employment. This came from years of experience and getting along with everyone I work with. Then I got layed off and got a severance package. I sat on unemployment for 6 months with my package in savings untill I found a new job. Once again I got a contract postion at another company then took my severance and bought some things. This happened over a span of 9 years.

Long story short, dont give up Its taken me a long time to get gear and to tell you the truth you will always want more and what you have will never be enough. There is always one more mic or preamp to get. Just spend time learning the gear you do have and dont get caught up in the gear grab. Learn your equipment inside and out!

I started out when the DIGI001 first came to market that was my first DAW.

Gear:
Dual Rec and Mesa cab - Took out a loan when i was 22 for this. Took 3 years to pay off.
MOTU 896HD - Saved for. Took 6 months for this. While I was working
Mackie HR824 - Saved for. Took 6 months for this. While I was working
Apple G5 Quad w 30" display - Save for and part of my severance package. 5 years of working for this.
You get the idea..

I've bought a house which I have had for 5 years. Which an remodeled attic serves as my studio space. I only have one credit card which I put a Canon XL2 camera on. Which I will never ever do again! Credit Cards are evil stay away from them.

Ive spent collectively, a total of 22k on my recording equipment. Persevere!
I dont record to make money, hell I have made just about 2k in recording that isnt a good ratio for what I have spent.
I do this because I love it and it is gratifying.

 

[Metaltastic]

Credit cards baby! And still living with my parents, so that pretty much every penny I make goes to gear (and credit card bills ). And I'm 21 and still in college, so I'd like to think I can still live with my folks and maintain my dignity Also, pretty much every expensive piece of gear I have I bought used for a ridiculously good price

 

[nwright]

For me, I built up the recording stuff over the last 2 years, but my guitar rig I've built up for a while. Thankfully I have a full time job that pays well enough (nuclear medicine) - but my wife stays home with our triplets, so we are only 1 income - and triplets can get expensive. So, for the last 2 years since they've been born, my studio money comes from studio projects...That's kinda the deal my wife and I have made...The money I make as an AE goes back into my studio first and then to us as a family...So, I've been lucky enough to have some decent projects to get some decent gear - but what I have pales compared to a lot of people on here. Before the kids, I'd just buy stuff when I'd built up enough cash to do so.

Also, I've been lucky enough to secure gear endorsements, so I paid VERY little or nothing at all for a good chunk of my current gigging rig, which allowed me to sell some of the guitar stuff I already had and use it to buy more gear.

And, as Metaltastic said, buying used gear can save so much money. I don't think that can be stressed enough.

 

[Ihsahn1981]

Slooowly building over time.

Often you can make some good deals on used gear.
I bought my UAD cards used and
the money saved went for buying plugins for it.
Now I have quite a few of their plugins and I dont really need anything else pluginwise.

I also got a pair of Oktava MK-01-012 mics very cheap from a studio that was closing down.

So shop around. Nothing wrong with buying used stuff, but it has risks.

 

[Sloan]

- Don't eat so much
- Don't go out so much
- Work your fucking ass off
- Never carry money with you
- Buy used
- Only buy if you get a good deal
- Get your own drumset

 

[jangoux]

- Don't eat so much
- Don't go out so much
- Work your fucking ass off
- Never carry money with you
- Buy used
- Only buy if you get a good deal
- Get your own drumset

+1. And add 'Dont get your gfriend/wife pregnant'

My father helped me with some of the things, and since i dont drink anything alcoholic, dress like a begar and almost never needed to pay a place to get my girl to get laid, I always had some money, and i used that to pay for a lot of gear.

 

[J.DavisNJ]

Yeah dude, just grab gear over time. I used to go on gear sprees, selling guitars, amps, etc. I realize now that it is pointless. I have a really solid axe (Les Paul), solid amp, cab, decent interface. Before I buy more recording gear, I am going to do my best to get every bit of quality out of my Firebox.

Don't get down about gear dude. Have a few of the necessities and work with what you have! It's much easier today as well to grab good gear at really nice prices.

Hell, even those Bugera amps are impressing me from what I've heard in clips!

-Joe

 

[[UEAK]Clowd]

My friend and I started building our studio when I was 17 (I'm 20 now) in his parents basement, and they are AWESOME people who don't make us pay rent - just our share of the electricity bill.

Just been buying gear slowly since then... neither of us have jobs, we just record bands and take a couple of classes on the side. It's pretty awesome.

 

[smy1]

Yea, seriously. If you know what you are doing you can get absolutely pro results from a 3000$ setup (not including the computer).

 

[spioraid]

I basically wanted to start an entire production company that did both audio and video, and I've been going back and forth between the two since I graduated high school. I'm really trying to be a jack of all trades and master of all so that if one area really takes off, I can pursue it and dump the rest. It's a great idea and I've got tons of talent but nothings taking off

I got a full time job for 1 1/2 that payed alright. I would have stayed but they really started to disrespect me as a viable employee...as well as forget to mention they offered benefits and stuff like that. It wasn't worth the money or the stress is causing me. I quit and spent a lot of that saved money on the basics for every area.

I've got a crap load of stuff now thats just sitting here collecting dust. Haven't mastered anything but I've got a wide range of at the very least the basics of every area of production. But I wish I could have focused on one area alone and mastered that.

For you, you'll be more valuable to the work you pursue (and to others!) if you can master something. This goes for both the video and audio fields. There's a huge focus in the guitar world for personal recording and editing. The majority of music placed on this board are guitarists who've taken the time to figure out audio engineering and drum programming. It's easier and cheaper than trying to get a whole band together and buying all the necessary equipment.

Work hard. Find cheaper alternatives. Ask people who've been there (but that's what you're doing right now). Make every investment worth it's while.

 

[deanbailey]

I'm pretty much similar to Marcus just I also took out a bank loan and am still paying it off.

 

[Fredrik-Ablaze]

I got a very nice advance payment from a nice record company that financed the start of my studio, the rest of the stuff is bouth with money earned from recording sessions.

 

[colonel kurtz]

Credit cards baby! And still living with my parents, so that pretty much every penny I make goes to gear (and credit card bills ). And I'm 21 and still in college, so I'd like to think I can still live with my folks and maintain my dignity Also, pretty much every expensive piece of gear I have I bought used for a ridiculously good price

FWIW, if you're going to borrow money for shit, skip the credit cards and get a student loan for it...you'll thank yourself later with the wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy lower interest rates

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

FWIW, if you're going to borrow money for shit, skip the credit cards and get a student loan for it...you'll thank yourself later with the wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy lower interest rates

Haha, +1. When I first realised I was eligible for student loan, I instantly took 900 euros or so and drove to the nearby town to buy a new axe \o/

Now I owe 3016e and still have at least three years of school ahead. Well, I'll have enough time to pay it off

 

[Metaltastic]

FWIW, if you're going to borrow money for shit, skip the credit cards and get a student loan for it...you'll thank yourself later with the wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy lower interest rates

Wait, can I do that? Just get a student loan even though I'm gradating in May?