Mid end user to High end user?

[atankpot@yahoo.]

Hello,

Now please bare with me on this query. How do the low end or better yet mid end users make that incredible leap to high end user. I kind of figured that the high end users are running studios i.e. businesses that pay for these incredible setups day in day out. So at the start was it piece by piece as you know one piece of gear can be about 4 to 6K. Do you start with the best microphones then move to preamps then AD/DA converters yada yada? Did you get a grant that paid for a big portion of the studio? Speaking for myself about 2 years ago I spent my whole budget on the studio construction then the following year it was a few pre-amps and a few microphones. The next year it was a computer and software. All the time working (mind you part time on recording events or doing live sound) else where. It never ends and so you got to work to pay it back and make it profitable. Any thoughts or wisdom to share would be wonderful.

Cheers!

[soundthinker]

Originally posted by atankpot@yahoo.
It never ends and so you got to work to pay it back and make it profitable.

Yup. That's about it. Actually, you're off to the right start with a decent room. Then mics, pres, a handful of good compressors, then converters(if digital) in roughly that order. Then start picking up eq's and more compressors. About the only way not to go peice by peice is to take out an equipment lease. Which means you'll need to be making steady money from your gear. Unless of course your family owns a diamond mine. It takes a large commitment to survive let alone thrive in this business. One of the first studio owners I interned for use to say
"it's not a job, it's a lifestyle."

/jim

[JohnMcD]

It is a piece by piece nature. I am still doing it, even though I consider myself fortunate with the gear I have.

You forget to mention loans/investors. It can be dangerous, but if you meet the right people or bank with the "nice/forgiving" administrators, you can actually make that leap from mid-end to high end fairly rapidly. The dangerous part about it is living up to the quality and expectation that comes with that move. It'll be either a break even or a quick bomb that'll blow up in your face within the first year.

Playing it safe, you can save, and save, and save. But that takes a long time. If you're young and depending on your income, it could end up being a nice retirement gift for yourself...

One alternative, is to actually find a facility that "rents" itself and its gear. Mark that price, and add yours when talking to your clients. You get the benefit of a good room, good gear, and better techniques from working in that environment. If you can wrangle in clients regularly, I'm sure the studio owner might decide on a house engineer (another way of breaking into the high end with little committment). If not, you'll be certain that you can tackle a high end studio construction easily with your developed skills.

With all this info, you're probably wondering where the hell I came from. I'm actually ending my 3rd and beginning my 4th month as a "studio" engineer with an "investor". I can't say for sure that it is high end with certainty, due to various ideas of what constitutes that. It is exciting, but things seems to be moving at baby steps. Kinda scary when thinking about it, but working tends to solidify my convictions that I'm doing the right thing.

Hope this helps get some ideas out for you and others to maybe make some big plans for the future.

-John