First off let me apologize for ranting a bit here. I wanted to rap a little bit about some of my story and hope that maybe an old timer takes the time to read it and it resonates with them enough to give me some insight. This definitely comes across as a bit of a stream of consciousness and I hope that's ok. I really don't have anywhere else to talk about this stuff and I am desperately seeking advice from professionals in this field.

I've been teaching myself recording for around 5 years or so now. I've got a few completely self-run sessions for other people under my belt and a lot to learn, but I do know that I really want to start offering my work to others in the hopes of building up a clientele. I am dead-set on becoming good at this and making it work.

Relatively recently, I had a falling out with a bandmate of mine and we went our separate ways so to speak. You can imagine that naturally, my interest in recording was a well established component of my approach to making music during our time together. For the several years I worked with him, he never once showed much of an interest in learning anything about recording himself. Over the years, while I was constantly researching and trying to figure things out piece by piece, he would come off as dismissive of my efforts. I would think it is safe to say that I have a much better understanding of the basics of audio engineering than I did when I first became determined to learn. Logic would dictate then, that I almost certainly have a better grasp on a lot of aspects of this stuff than he possibly could at this point. A few weeks ago, I learned through the grapevine that he has started to work with a studio in town that stays fairly busy. I was certainly surprised to hear this, and it shouldn't bother me, but it sort of does. My dream is to have my own working studio, and now I feel that the added sense of competition with a former friend is weighing even further down on my psyche. I felt this was worth mentioning to get a better idea of where my head's at with all of this.

I am just about at the point where I have enough gear to run full band sessions. I guess what I am finding most difficult at this point, is the initial jumping off stage of putting myself out there and finding clients. Of course there will be competition anywhere you go, but what can someone who is less experienced with less expensive gear than the other guy in my "wheelhouse" like me do to try and convince people it's worth working with me?

I may lack traditional experience, but I'm hungry for experimentation, compared to some engineers I've worked with before while recording my own projects, who seemed like they weren't interested in my ideas. On more than one session in a particular studio, there were a bunch of pieces of gear just sitting around, and it felt like pulling teeth just to get the engineer to hook them up so I could try something with them. And if it did get hooked up, it felt as if though it was a "look but don't touch" type of situation, with him at the helm of the controls. I completely understand this to a degree being gear obsessed myself, but on the other hand, what's the point of all this stuff lying around if no one can try it? In fact, the more I reminisce on my experiences in that studio with that engineer, I also realize that almost every single idea or want that I had in regards to tones and sonic qualities of recorded material was met with some kind of passive opposition. Despite the fact that at the beginning of the session the attitude was "we can try anything we want". Is this a typical experience? I want my studio to be a place where people feel comfortable to explore whatever it is they have in their heads. How do I convey this to people? It feels like there is a chasm between me and my dream and I can't find anything to throw in between the cliffs to make a bridge.

Am I foolish for trying to do this without getting experience working alongside a seasoned engineer first? If so, I will go beg every decent studio in town to let me be a runner on sessions when I'm available and I would honestly do it for free. I have no choice but to continue working full time in my current line of work while I purse all of this of course.

I really enjoy the Working Class Audio Podcast. While it is inspiring to hear different people's stories, I find that almost none of them have come from a "non traditional" starting point in the field like I'm trying to do. If anyone out there may have had a similar starting point I'd love to hear about that. The access to all that top of the line gear that those for-profit recording schools offer is honestly sort of tempting, but I can't imagine going into debt for that is a better idea than continuing down the path of the autodidact and paying to build up my personal studio instead.

If you made it this far, thanks, if any part of this made you feel like you want to tell me how wrong I'm going about all of this, by all means tell me. I am looking for real advice from real engineers. I'm determined to one day be able to call myself a "real" engineer too.

you just need more experience, do not go to audio school, how old are you? try and get to know more experienced engineers and shadow or help them out if possible, that could be a way into the industry, don't expect anything in return but give them a lot more than they're asking, there is really no easy way into the music industry and most of it unfortunately is a lot to do with luck and who you know NOT talent.

bumping this in hopes someone with a lot of experience gives an answer as im in a similar boat