Ok, I've got a few more questions for the fine folks here at gamedev. I'm working on getting the gear and skills that I need to be marketable and functional in the industry. I'm waiting to get my website out there until I have something worthwhile to offer and can follow through with what I'm showcasing.

As far as gear goes:
Hp Pavilion, 8 gigs ram, tb hd, sexy processor, not the sexiest but still sexy...stock sound card. I'm still shopping for the right card, it's hard to gauge what functionality i'm going to need in the near future that i can afford.
Fl studio 9, Finale 08. That's it for software.


No external gear, no mixers or midi controllers, no mics, no monitors, no headphones that i need. This is really where I want to focus next, it's kind of a travesty that i don't even have the headphones that i need.

As far as skills:
I'm currently a perc. performance major, so i've had and will have musicianship training and thorough musical knowledge, including working with composition faculty. I've actually got a couple concert band pieces that are up for publication. I've got sales training and experience from my last job, and I'm ready and willing to bet better at what i've got and to learn whatever i need to learn. Also determination, it wasn't easy getting those concert band pieces where they are. That also got me lots of practice with networking and working in those kinds of settings.

I'm not planning on going and buying all these pieces at once, or even very soon. I'm just a broke college kid that works extremely diligently, and I'm willing to wait until it's necessary to get the gear. I'd rather not do that, I'd rather have the time to learn and master the pieces before I need to use them to pay the bills, but I've got some time to figure all of that out.

What I would like to know from you guys is, what is the next step? Do I spend my time mastering FL Studio before I buy any midi controllers, or do i spend cash on a high end sound card right away and start getting experience with it? What do you guys think?

Also, if you've read this far, thanks for putting up with that wall of text.

It is hard to answer, after all, it's you who knows best what you're missing.

Do you have no decent monitoring facility? Buy headphones or monitors.

Do you want to turn knobs or tap pads? Buy a MIDI controller.

And you don't need to master FL Studio before buying more gear. Gear is fun! :>
But you can still get a lot done without it. It depends on your musical and working style.

A high end sound card is probably not what you need next. If you want to record, buy an inexpensive interface, so you'll be able to connect old school MIDI gear (stuff without USB).

As a fellow percussionist and now professional musician, I say forget the gear for now. Focus on your musical studies. You can always buy gear and learn it. The gear you buy now may be outdated in 4 years or whenever you graduate anyway. Save your money. If you want to learn about software and other gear, avail yourself of the equipment at your school. That's what you're paying tuition for! <wink>

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As a fellow percussionist and now professional musician, I say forget the gear for now. Focus on your musical studies. You can always buy gear and learn it. The gear you buy now may be outdated in 4 years or whenever you graduate anyway. Save your money. If you want to learn about software and other gear, avail yourself of the equipment at your school. That's what you're paying tuition for! <wink>

Agreed! I didn't do ANY freelance during undergrad or grad school as a composer for projects. I simply wrote music for the joy of it and to learn more. I performed in all kinds of groups and took part in alot of productions in and outside of the music school during both degrees. This is MUCH more valuable than pouring a ton of cash into gear that will be obsolete in just a few years. Remember the gear doesn't make someone's audio good. It's the talent, knowledge and attention to detail. Spend this time in college refining your talents, knowledge and foundation.

To pay the bills I taught private lessons to about 25 saxophone students in my city. That took up a decent amount of time but kept me on my horn ALOT and definitely paid the bills. I think I charged roughly $20 bucks per half lesson. All of the audio production was on the side and purely for fun. That's why I don't think I got burnt out, especially when the learning curve was high. It was purely for hobby, for fun and as a result I always looked forward to experimenting and learning more things about it. It wasn't a job for me... yet. You have enough stresses in school as is.

As far as gear goes- most often you have to do it piece meal- or one thing at a time. Very few of us can afford to restock an entire studio at one time.

Thanks,

Nate

Just to follow on Nate's post...

I actually did a lot of gigging outside of school during my final years of college. I played in various jazz groups and sometimes was performing 3-4 days a week aside from my classes. This was invaluable experience.

I used the school computers to learn Finale and print charts and parts for school projects and gigs. I didn't even have my own computer until my last year of college. I learned the basics of sequencing on the old Opcode Vision in the mid 90's during free time in the school computer lab. My purpose was mainly to record chord changes to practice jazz improv. It never went much beyond that.

I didn't start delving deeply into sequencing and DAWs until about three years after college when my wife bought a nice computer and a copy of Logic. I also taught myself everything I needed to know about audio and film sync by reading books, paying close attention to what was going on when I was in the recording studio, and asking some questions of colleagues. Learning the technology was much less work and effort than actually developing musical skills.

I never planned on working in film, TV, or games, but having a solid musical background made the move into those industries possible.

good to know. I'm gonna be too busy to worry about any of this stuff during these next few years, i'm just looking to get a taste of what it could be like if i did get into this as a career. It's just so much fun, for me it's one way i relax after stressful rehearsals/practice sessions/classes/college life. If I can make money doing it, awesome. But, I can worry about that later. I do probably need good headphones though

Quote:

Original post by A_J I do probably need good headphones though

Can't underestimate the power of a good set of headphones. :D


Muzo and Nate gave you some great advice!


Remember the 3 "F's":


Fun

Foundation

Balance


...did I mention I play tuba? :P