VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

mcm · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:25 am Post subject: Spend Less on Gear, Be Happier

This article might help some of us rein in our gear "sehnsucht" (yearning):

http://www.wisebread.com/how-spending-less-made-me-happier

scottnilsen · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:35 am Post subject:

Very timely, that. Thanks!
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bobsouer · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:46 am Post subject:

Mary,

What a wonderful article. Thank you!
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asnively · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:56 am Post subject:

Excellent!
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Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

Thanks Mary, I intentionally "dumbed down" my gear a bit (while still having gear I really liked). There are too many $3,000 preamps out there that honestly just make me go "meh". Those Brauner mics sure are pretty but they still have a bright top end. I can do my job with a $150 mic and a $300 preamp, and do it better because I'm focusing on my craft. No audio crutches.

I also "dumbed down" my studio...not as pristine for sound, but so much more comfortable to work in. I'm enjoying my work more. As an audio engineer it's so much more useful to just let it rip than worry about the sound. Every client has been happy with my quality, so why worry?

But also, at the heart of this article is a great truth. VO is about personality, about your experiences that you bring to the table as a voice actor/voiceoverist. Are you going to bring your personality as someone who enjoys life, or are you going to bring your personality as some dork who reads Sound on Sound and scans ebay, Mercenary and Vintage King religiously. I'm glad I'm not that second guy anymore. I'm doing better work and enjoying it more now.
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Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

If that article were a book, my name would be on every page..... Embarrassed

I have stopped buying mics----especially after two years of cringing when doing taxes----I have 3 now (plus a travel one) and sometimes wonder if that's too many.

But I can honestly say I'm no longer looking for that "better" mic.

Oh yeah, and BTW my $100 AT 2020 on some days sounds better than any of
the other mics! (makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time)

But it's nice to know I'm not the Lone Ranger when it comes to GI (Gear Insanity) Syndrome.

schrecster · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 2:06 pm Post subject:

How does the saying go?, "The more stuff you own, the more your stuff owns you" or something along those lines...... this artice pretty much sums that up

CurtZHP · Guest

I chuckle when I look back at pictures of my first studio (which was built in my parents' garage). TONS of gear, and most of it was utter crap!

The next studio was a little better. And had a little less gear.

The studio I have now has very little gear in it, but what's there is many times better than the stuff I started out with. Most of the stuff I got rid of was jetisoned simply because it had outlived its usefulness. If a particular piece doesn't get used for six months or more, out it goes. I didn't build the room to store stuff.

Gear purchases these days involve either replacement or upgrade rather than "Oooh, I gotta have that!"

Dayo · Cinquecento Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 544 Location: UK

Wish I could agree, but the gear lust rages strong as ever here. And I guess it will until our sound is truly up there with the best in class.

90% of our clients never notice, but the remainder are beyond clients; they've become "fans".

Well that's my pathetic excuse for for trying to justify things like this http://www.mhlabs.com/metric_halo/.

CarynClark · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 7:16 am Post subject:

What a great article, and very timely for me on a personal level. I wish my (ex) husband would read it. It could have saved us a lot of heartache.

Thanks Mary!!!
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kgenus · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 3:20 pm Post subject: The Jones', One man's trash is an

"By spending less, I became happier" in no way means, "By spending less money, I became happier."

I've got a two year old who leaves me experiences every morning and evening, teaches me exciting new words like, "Tempertude" and "Bice" (baked chicken and rice), and expects a bed-side command performance every evening. I will never relive these moments beyond my fleeting memory, however, they are most certainly happy.

My preamps were still costly but I'm in no way trying to take the Jones' trash out.
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Dayo · Cinquecento Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 544 Location: UK

kgenus

mcm · Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 12:07 pm Post subject:

Maybe you need a new thread called The Gear I'm Spending On that Makes Me Happy.

anthonyVO · 14th Avenue Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 1470 Location: NYC

I love that article, Mary. Thanks.

I just came across this sheet while doing my taxes this year. It's what my set up cost me in, if I remember correctly, 2001:

Adaptec 2906 SCSI card $74.19 (tax included at CompUSA)
Seagate Barracuda 16GB internal SCSI hard drive $211.19 (S&H,tax incl. from CDW.com)
G4 733 $2123.20 (S&H,tax incl.from Apple.com)
Digi001 $874.03 (S&H,tax incl. from American Musical Supply)
Digidesign D-Verb $0.00 (came free w/ the Digi)
1GB more RAM $144.38 (S&H,tax incl. from Macsolutions.com)
Waves Power Pack 370.99 (Guitar Center - Totowa)

Total $3797.98

How times have changed. Guess what I record on nowadays?
Exactly the same thing.

-Anthony