First Full year as a full-time recording engineer, a report.

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Red Rockets Glare
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First Full year as a full-time recording engineer, a report.

Post by Red Rockets Glare » Sat Feb 06, 2010 12:11 am

Hi friends,

I haven't been on the TOMB for quite some time, and I want to apologize. I have learned so much in these pages, and I owe some of the folks here a great deal of praise for their patience and time.

I was laid off at UCLA about 16 months ago, and decided to make the plunge into full-time recording engineer pretend-career-land. For the first few months I tried to cut down on my expenses and live as cheaply as possible. I found myself spending so much more time looking for bands on MySpace and trying to be the hustler I thought I needed to be to make it in a town as overpopulated by amazing musical talent as LA.

It turns out that spending a little extra time working on my craft was all I needed to really stand out in a field of part-timers and folks that really couldn't commit to focusing on this path, even though it is scary to jeopardize your financial security and happiness.

I wanted to write this, not to gloat about being able to make it in the music biz, but to encourage the guy sitting at a day job right now, biding his time until he gets one more credit card paid off, or until he can get settled in his new living situation, or whatever other roadblock is keeping him from following the dream of being able to make it in this field if only there were a few more hours in the day.

I realized just what a possibility all this is when my friend Travis, who posts regularly on this board, made a recent report to me that he has purchased the land he runs his studio on, and is doing well as a recording studio owner/operator.

Sometimes you just have to take a leap in life, no matter what the cost. I just wanted to report that it can be worth it.

Here is my buddy Travis' website.

Cheers,
Raymond
Last edited by Red Rockets Glare on Sat Feb 06, 2010 8:52 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Jon~T
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Post by Jon~T » Sat Feb 06, 2010 7:38 am

Thanks for the report. I'm moving to Vancouver to do the same thing in June.

What's your space? In your home or separate?
How did you draw attention to your business?

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Post by Red Rockets Glare » Sat Feb 06, 2010 9:18 am

Jon~T wrote:Thanks for the report. I'm moving to Vancouver to do the same thing in June.

What's your space? In your home or separate?
How did you draw attention to your business?
My space is a converted garage studio, here are some photos.
It is right behind my house and my neighbors have been nothing about supportive. I doesn't hurt that most of them are old and deaf. HA!

I drew attention to the studio initially by making my own bands records there, and we had some moderate success. Then folks just starting working there because it was super cheap, I had a day job and could afford to work for peanuts. But then as things grew and improved at the studio I gradually started to charge a decent day rate that I can now live off of if I work 10-15 days a month.

Vancouver in June sounds like heaven.

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Post by DrummerMan » Sat Feb 06, 2010 9:36 am

Congratulations on committing/following through and having it work out!

The space looks cool. I especially like the log diffusor. Did you use the stardard 3D skyline-type calculations, or is it more random?

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Post by Jon~T » Sat Feb 06, 2010 9:53 am

Red Rockets Glare wrote:
My space is a converted garage studio, here are some photos.
It is right behind my house and my neighbors have been nothing about supportive. I doesn't hurt that most of them are old and deaf. HA!

I drew attention to the studio initially by making my own bands records there, and we had some moderate success. Then folks just starting working there because it was super cheap, I had a day job and could afford to work for peanuts. But then as things grew and improved at the studio I gradually started to charge a decent day rate that I can now live off of if I work 10-15 days a month.

Vancouver in June sounds like heaven.
Great looking space, I steer more towards the industrial style but I can see how your space would be great juxtaposed with the rest of LA. Like going to the cottage.

Log diffusers are very cool.

Mine will have a real mountain! LOL

For a while I'll probably be setting up shop with a lockout at a rehearsal space.

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Post by finleysound » Sat Feb 06, 2010 11:48 am

Love the log diffusor!

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Red Rockets Glare
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Post by Red Rockets Glare » Sat Feb 06, 2010 2:41 pm

DrummerMan wrote:Congratulations on committing/following through and having it work out!

The space looks cool. I especially like the log diffusor. Did you use the stardard 3D skyline-type calculations, or is it more random?
My apparently popular log diffusor is 100% random. It actually works though.

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Post by Red Rockets Glare » Sat Feb 06, 2010 2:43 pm

Jon~T wrote:
Great looking space, I steer more towards the industrial style but I can see how your space would be great juxtaposed with the rest of LA. Like going to the cottage.

Mine will have a real mountain! LOL
Folks love the home vibe of the studio. I am SO jealous that you will have real mountains in view out your window. I'm not sure I'd get any work done.

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Post by trodden » Sat Feb 06, 2010 4:20 pm

Raymond,

Good to hear! This is an interesting insight, found myself layed off over a year ago and wondering what next as well..., and not too sure about jumping right back into the hamster wheel, its always good to hear what other people are doing with their situation. I'm in the middle of relocating my living and recording space, and the amount of work has made me busy and happy to have a big project that entirely depends on me to help focus my time and energy on.

Cheers,
Brandon

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trodden
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Post by trodden » Sat Feb 06, 2010 4:21 pm

remodel looks great!

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Post by Scodiddly » Sat Feb 06, 2010 5:02 pm

Love the log diffuser! Also the big mountain picture.

Seriously, if you give a shit about making the musicians sound cool, it's worth way more than being the guy who wants to look cool. Having a sense of humor about the whole thing (ie log diffuser) is often a big help.

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Post by Scodiddly » Sat Feb 06, 2010 5:06 pm

And yeah, I want to build a @#$@#$ log diffuser now. I was up in Milwaukee this afternoon and went to the big art museum. The floors are all the ends of 2x4s, grouped together like they were cut off as 12" long pieces from a six-footer.. I'm sure they faked it, cutting much shorter bits and grouping them in sixes, but it was so cool. Probably most visitors didn't even notice...

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Post by b3groover » Sat Feb 06, 2010 7:14 pm

Good news, man. Keep getting at it!

The log diffusor is cool, but not as cool as my patented Ghetto Diffusor, which is a piece of wood paneling bent out away from the wall and stuffed with insulation behind it.

It works! :)
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Post by stereopathetic_banjo » Sat Feb 06, 2010 9:07 pm

Wow. I just got word of this thread, and all I can say is thanks, Raymond. My path of the last 4-5 years has been a crazy one. One day I decide to stop shooting myself in the foot and build this thing I think I've always wanted, and then next thing I know I'm recording albums (some that are even released!) and meeting all kinds of people stoked on what I'm doing. I live in a town opposite of Raymond- a small rural location with not a ton of music happening. But what happens, generally is heartfelt, and I think if anything I've learned, that earnestness is rewarded with appreciation. People seem to want to show their appreciation by supporting what I'm trying to do here. I'm honored by that, and therefore try my best to slowly but surely improve my skill set as time passes.
Anyhow, If I can add anything to what Raymond has already said, it's that sincerity of intent goes a long way. I did step out on a limb, but I've never been good at doing things half way. I've got 3 full length records to track in as many months, and I couldn't be more psyched. I'm scared too, but if I weren't, this wouldn't be worth it.
Align yourself with what matters, and try not to chase the fluff. Be a little doe- eyed, and enjoy yourself. This is a crazy profession, so you have to be a little nuts. Take care, everyone. Bless.
Travis

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Post by dennisjames » Sat Feb 06, 2010 11:18 pm

So, I saw the subject line and opened the thread out of curiosity. Read the initial post and saw mention of Travis and said "I know that guy!". Then ran to the bottom before reading the entire thread, felt like I was cheating, and went back to read all the replies.

First off, the log diffusor is awfully cool. The whole studio looks way cool in a David Lynch kind of way (and I mean that as a very good thing).

Secondly, Travis came to my house to help me record a house concert and he's a super nice guy (we've got together again soon and Iowa is a great place for music).

Congrats to the both of you! I love TapeOp. It's been the source of so many warm fuzzy moments. I'm inspired by both of your stories.

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