Why did you get into audio engineering?

[Steven Otto]

It started for me when I wanted to record riffs. I had a Roland Cube 30 with a line-out function. It didn't sound that bad but it didn't sound as good as my favorite bands! I wanted to record a good guitar sound and discovered in order to get a good guitar sound, you need a good mix. And here I am, mixing music.

 

[AllanD]

I was heavy into punk/hardcore and I was a firm believer in DIY or die. Me and my friend started making music when I bought that 4 track cassette tape machine, and I just knew there could be better results. I started learning online then eventually I found this forum.

 

[El_Gato]

The many studios I recorded in with my band were either, too amateur sounding in here or too expensive when having to catch a plane and fly 5.000 kms, paying hostel, transportation, food... to record with a good engineer but it always lacked some professional touch, anyway.

First recording, I tracked drums at a hired studio and began tracking everything else myself at a friends' room when they weren't using it.

When I was younger, I listened to music 24/7 and I always liked to play a lot with the controls of my music player systems.

So, DIY out of necessity and curiosity to make my songs sounding better.

 

[Sacha]

Like many, just started wanting to document my own songs basically. I had a 4 track Fostex cassette unit and a Zoom drum machine, started learning how to program drum and basslines and put it to my guitar. That was the most amazing shit ever at the time! To hear your 'vision' realized and come to life. I had just moved to a new city so didn't know too many people to start a band yet.

From there just kept refining and learning more and more to make things sound better. Eventually people started asking me to record them too after hearing my stuff, so I gave it a try and ended up really enjoying it (with the good bands).

 

[Erik Monsonis]

I was 14 when I started playing drums. Moved to another house without basement but with neighbors so, no more drums. I started playing guitar at 15.
Some day I decided to download Fruity Loops 4, because a friend told me it was cool. I started playing with it and with some soundfonts and really loved it. I didn't know how to record guitars in FL so I downloaded Cool Edit . Again, no idea about recording guitars, so I plugged my guitar to my little 30W combo and mic'd it up with a computer mic. My first song ever was born:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/425433/Dandelium/Old/song1.mp3

Then I started writing like mad (around 70 songs), so I had a lot of material to record and mix and therefore, improve.

A couple of years later some bands asked me to mix their stuff, so I started thinking about it seriously.

Then I was 19 and some friends of a friend asked me to mix and master their album, that was released by a label and stuff. It was the first time I did something more or less serious:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/425433/Aggression/04. MoshPirit.mp3

And since then I've been really busy with my new AE job, getting bigger and better job offers. As Ermz said, it's really important that you set goals, short, mid and long term goals.

My short term goal was to work on an album that's gonna be released... Done
My mid term goal was to set my own pro studio up... Pending
My long term goal was to be able to live out of this... Ironically, done.

Now I'm studying for an M.D. degree so, I just do AE as a part time job, to help my parents with my expenses (tuition fees, living abroad, etc...), but as soon as I can I know for sure that I will accomplish my goal to have my own studio

Wow, long post... good luck reading it