joeljar wrote:I hope it isn't off topic but I always wonder about some of the really nice setups like neartao's. They are really nice but how do you afford them? Is it some kind of steady day job or as a result of music? Just wondering
I cannot speak for anybody else here... but for myself, I've been building this studio for over ten years. When you're not in a huge rush to get things together you can look for deals on ebay/craigslist... buddy up with sales people to get far better deals than what you'd find in store... etc. Sign up for Guitar Center mailing lists or whatever... sometimes you get awesome coupons that can get you better deals on new gear than what you can get in online stores.
Honestly... I've also dumped way more gear than I'd like to admit. This money usually gets folded back into new purchases for stuff that is more the way I want to go. Sometimes you get lucky and sell a piece of for more than you paid... sometimes you just sample the heck out of it and just pass it on.
Where did the money came from? Well I did DJ for a few years. Nothing much self produced, mostly spinning records/CDs... you can make money doing it, but it can be a *huge* hassle lugging a coffin with turntables/mixer... amps... subs... speakers. If you're any good you can certainly recoup your costs pretty quickly and pocket money for extra gear.
I ended up selling a lot of that stuff off though as having a child puts a pretty big impact on your free time.
If you want to have a decent amount of gear/software though... just save up the pennies. Make sure you research gear and invest wisely. It's easy to jump onto the next big thing, but I really try and look to get things that I know I'll want to keep around for a long time and not something that is just the next fad. Impulse buys will kill you monetarily and crush your soul if you don't feel like you get your money's worth out of the investment. It stinks to spend something on money you can't play... but getting high quality cables (so that you don't worry about them breaking and having to replace them) and getting a good furniture/chairs for a solid workflow/environment are definitely key.
Anyway... happy hunting! Don't get too jealous at what other people have, and I'd say when you see something cool don't be afraid to ask questions about what people think does/doesn't work. It will really help you get an idea for what you want/need for your own style and keep your stuff in check. I mean I've seen some *insane* studios that people have posted in this thread and would love to get a chance to check some of them out sometime, but on the other hand for me a lot of those extra pieces of kit would probably be overkill.
