Joined Gearspace around 2010 with no idea of pro audio, mostly frustrated because I couldn't get good sounds at the local studios (back in Argentina) and my ITB stuff sounded better

Hundreds of hours of research and reading comments, listening to audio files, following commenters that seemed to know what they talked about X-) and buying one piece at a time, I present you my studio



The Gear List:

Converters
Burl B2
Clock: Grimm CC1
Master Buss Converter
Dangerous Convert 8 (x2)

Dynamics
Unfairchild + Unfa-1
Audioscape V3A 500 (la3a)
Chandler RS124
Vac Rac TSL3
Retro Doublewide 500
UA 1176LN
Tube Tech Cl1b
Heritage HA-609a
Chandler Germanium Compressor
UBK Fatso

Summing
Mix690 
Antelope Satori

Patchbay
Flock 64 (x2)

EQ
Chandler Curve Bender
Pulse Techniques EQP IA3 (pultec)
Rupert Neve 5032
Bettermaker Mastering EQ

Pres
BAE 1023
API 512
TG2 500
Coil 286S (upcoming)

DI
Zod DI ID
Audioscape Classic DI

FX
Thermionic Culture Vulture
Anamod ATS-1
Bricasti M7
Elysia Karacter 500
LTL Silver Bullet
Roland Dimension D
UAD Octo

Mics
Chandler Redd
Royer 121
Oktava m012
Shure sm7b
Manley Cardiod Ref
Neumann KM182
Shure sm57
Earthworks SR25
DPA 4006TL

Monitoring
Amphion Two25  + Flexbase25
Reftones
Trinnov ST2 PRO
Antelope Satori

Instruments
Fender Tele professional II
Fender Precision 
Roli Seaboard
Gibson Hummingbird
Tenor Guitar

========

Thanks for being awesome.




  

Cool, now make some music haha.

On it ;-)

Some decent gear in those racks, for sure.

What's your plan with your studio? You've been producing others and yourself since 2010?

Sorry but I don't get impressed with people who acquire gear, I'm more interested in what they do with the gear instead. It's pretty easy for most people with means (like me and others) to get gear in a studio, but to put it to good use is something else altogether.

Good job on your kickstarter for bulletville btw.

Thanks :-)

The plan is to track / produce stems of my music then send it to mix to someone else (Brauer / Wells)

Im a singer / songwriter, played in many bands since 1992. Every time I tried to record an album it sounded like crap - last time was in Argentina, in 2010 on the best studio (Panda) and with the best local producer, the end result was still disappointing compared to how things sound in USA / UK, so I started researching why. My demos recorded on my bathroom and mixed by me ITB with brute force sounded better than the best studio in Argentina + the best local producer: Why.

At the end answer was a mix of tracking technique, gear used to track, then mixing ability. If I wanted my music to sound like bands from UK, my choices were - pull up 100K+ and travel to UK / USA and burn the cash in a couple months with a producer there, or make that money and build a home studio and learn to do it myself.

I saved money for a couple+ years and built a first studio. This was 2013. Spent most of that year mixing and got better at it but was still not up to par. So I found out that I was trying to "fix things in mixing" and that I should focus on the source more - tracking. Switched to capture better takes, committing to sounds as I was making them. By 2015 the tracks I was recording were making songs that sounded almost final.

Then I went broke, had to close my home studio, move to Liechtenstein, work my ass off to make cash, leave music on the side.

2019 I went to a seminar with Brauer / Mix with the masters and took my raw tracks there. Everybody was impressed by the sounds, even thought it was tracked / balanced only but not mixed. So that motivated me, but still had no means to make it happen.

Now my biz has been doing better (games), so I went back into music, pulled the gear I had out of the boxes and spent some time here and elsewhere figuring what has changed in the audio world. Bought the equipment missing and did the acoustics, and yesterday finally connected everything and turned it on.

Im a good musician / writer / singer, I can track, but I can't 'mix' to the level of people who've been doing it for 20+ years, so my studio is a project / tracking facility, I'll use it to make my album(s) and help a couple friends who also don't have the means. Once Im done with a couple songs and Im happy with my rough mixes I'll pull the (expensive) plug and send them to either Brauer or Wells so they do their magic.

Then spend more for videos (got a red camera), then marketing, then...

What a ridiculous path really, but it's what it is. Easy, it wasnt :-)

==========

I did a few takes yesterday with the new gear - REDD mic, tried the CL1B, Retro, Fairchild, and it sounds f*cking great. The room is treated and the Trinnov is magic. Looks like I finally can do this thing.

Just need to put my next 500 hours in.

Kinda snarky dude…. Jesus

I wish the OP as much success as possible.
Please keep us posted.
Chris

I'll post tracks here as I go :-)

Awesome man.
Chris

I wish you the best of luck man it's tough out there.

> it's never the gear, it's the person making the music that matters the most.

100% agree. My problem has never been the person nor the music, that's flawless ;-) The gear / studio are tools.

Cheers

Since your music is flawless you will have no problem gaining a fanbase then. lol. Good luck dude and enjoy the process not the end result, that's what matters.

Never had problems getting fans either.

Man. All this pontificating over outcomes/intents, waste of time, . . . . .

This is Gearsl - err Space fergawdsakes. I'm here for the gear, and the OP has a simply stunning collection of awesome. Who cares what he does with it? I don't recall him asking for advice.

Dude, that's epic. Great gear collection and presentation.

IMO the gear (and the technological determinism of its character) is hugely important in the artistic process; how could one not be inspired by such a cool studio?
Thanks for sharing.

i would never want to equip my studio with the same equipment but i congratulate you on your choice and hopefully all the joy you have experienced so far and which i have no doubt you will be able to experience for many years to come!

IMHO looks like a killer collection. Especially for the Modern Genres. If I were a youngin' like that... This would be absolutely terrific.
(I'm into the Vintage thang)
Chris

Kind of an interesting perspective that a person pursuing their music is “just sad”

I mean, this is essentially me, with the possible exception that I have no designs on making money from any music I write/record..

I get reservations about the gear porn, or concerns about spending money one does not have, but I make music because I need to, not because it’ll make me rich.

There must be something I’m missing, because my studio keeps me sane, amidst the workday grind. Nothing sad there other than the weeks I don’t have time to get in there.

I'm sorry dude but looking at your track record online and my track record in 10 years time of joining this site, we're not even in the same ballpark and I'm being real factual here. They all thought I was crazy delusional here (and I bet they still do but screw them!), but what I wrote on here back then (how I was going to make it) is exactly what happened in 10 years time.

You managed to build a studio, cool. This is gearslutz and this is the high end section. Wanna get praised for your studio? There you go, cool! (and I agree it looks nice, but it's not a space for me personally), but in the real world you ain't ****! Especially considering most studios are closing or closed nowadays.

That's why I was asking what your goal was. You spent 10 years researching gear, wow, we all did and still do, big whoop.

Op didn't ask for advice but he wanted our attention and he got mine. It's more sad than cool. I can just call my dealer and get the same gear listed above, ok so now I'm cool? lol. Sometimes we make too much of showing the gear we buy on here. Reminds me of the Briscati M7 thread, where people were showing songs they did while using it and it was just awful.

No no no, pursuing music is not sad, it's great actually.

Researching then piecing a studio together for 10 years and then being ready to make music, to pursue a career is sad in my opinion (because apparently having all this gear is what makes the music professional, and mind you, it doesn't, because the gear won't write you a song).

I recorded so many of my earlier songs on really awful gear and I'm proud of it! I've bought and sold tons of gear, recorded in some of the nicest studios in LA, researched and tried a bunch of gear (I still do), but I also released a ton of music at the same time, songs that didn't get traction and some that really took off.

All I'm saying, and I know the site is called gearslutz, but at the end of the day, what are you gonna do? Stare and tweak gear all your life?

The gear in my opinion is always a tool to get where you want to be creatively. Op hasn't really released any music (that I know of) in about 8 years; that's a long ass time, I haven't release a song in 8 days and I'm shaking in my boots. I guess it comes down to this: there are doers and there are tweakers. Give me a laptop, a guitar, an sm58 and an interface and I will run circles around any studio with great gear, in fact, the songs I did with that god awful setup in a god awful room is what my fans love the most! Op is a dreamer not a doer. I do think OP has way more of a future in video game creation.

I get your point… and I agree. but, why say it AFTER he’s already spent the dough? It’s just mean lol

Maybe, but you still blamed mediocre results on gear, producers, mixing etc.

I’ve never heard anyone describe their music as flawless while simultaneously claiming gear is mere tools yet the entire reason for your lack of success. It’s not entirely clear what is going on.

Best of luck to you but surely you can see why someone might be a little skeptical from your posts.

Nah, Im just being cocky because mr sour is negative. My music is flawless - for me. That doesnt say anything of how it will be perceived or any claims to commercial success, though I think once it sounds the way it should my chances are good.

Re: gear, tracking and mixing, and production, there are zero acts from South America that achieve the polish from USA / UK. The few that have a semi good sound go overseas to record and mix, and are signed to Sony etc. Try to find them. The situation I was in is I couldnt make the music sound the way its in my head using local studios and producers, so I had to either make a lot money and play the lottery recording in UK or use the same money to build a studio and learn to do it myself (allowing myself to try and fail as many times as needed) I dont see why anyone would take offense by that.

Makes me want to hear your tunes.
Some of my fav. records were recorded using cheap gear and budget techniques.

Remind me why are we in a competition? You can be in any league you want, more power to you.

However, if you wanna be in a competition lets set a deadline and measure where we are at with our music a few months from now. That would be fun.

Since you mentioned it a few times...can you point to that music, I'm really interested to know how you made your career happen with a minimalist approach....?

What was/is your success recipe?

AFA the OP....so what if he spent 10 years putting together his dream studio. I'm sure many guys have done similar. Only the trust fund kids get to buy into a complete pro studio, from scratch, overnight.
You seem to have a big problem with him having a really super studio. It's not for you or anyone else to judge that he wasted 10 years of his life....that would be his call. You're not his mom.

You're on other threads mocking people who are into high-end audio gear...it's starting smell a bit like sour grapes, sourpatch.

i have hundreds of them, will share

Chris (Sourpatch) I'm sad that such an intelligent and (very) talented person like you, would "Rain On His Parade".

One of the best things, we can do as a Community,
is to lift each other up.

Not try to drag someone down.

Even from the vantage of Enlightened Self Interest...

Your demeanor will turn off some key people,
who might increase your level of success.
Chris
P.S. I don't like your remarks towards Crille either.
I hope you improve with this.
Otherwise a form of bullying.

OP and Sourpatch I would like to hear your tunes.
Not in a sarcastic way, but sincerely interested.
It’s NOT a competition

*remember all of our music is a joke compared to Stravinsky, Bach, Bartok, Zappa (that’s for chessman) , etc etc etc

Please post some links. Thank you!