Category Archives: My Story

I’ve gone back to school….

Posted on by Steve Reaver
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Today I started at my first day on a new path, day one of completing my Audio Engineering Diploma, why ? I hear you ask, I must already know so much about music and audio….
Well truth be known that when it comes to things like movie sound, TV Audio, and recording bands, I know very little…. so for the next 12 months I plan to eat, live and breath this stuff.
And at the end of it come out a much better electronic musician. My comments on today is to say that it very refreshing, at the least! It’s strange sitting in a classroom full of computers and not actually
talking about some latest wiz-bang IT/Networking thing, IT was my previous vocation and I was completely sick and tired of it. Sitting down at a computer and starting ProTools to work on something is all the more
satisfying when you are there to ‘get a job done’. And that’s the other thing, Mac and Protools…errrr… that is something that I will have to get used to! Coming from PC/Cubase world I have found things
a little off-putting, not the least of is the missing right mouse button! That damn button..! Fortunately I was carrying a Logitech mouse for my PC Laptop and I quickly worked out that it worked on the Mac….
arrrr much better thank you.

Sorry for the delay

Posted on by Steve Reaver
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Well, sorry for the lack of updates, but I have been rather busy…. building my new studio…!  woot!   yes, it’s finally done, floor, painting, sound proofing all finished, and the results are fantastic. After 20 years of having odd rooms and small spaces to put all my gear I finally have a purpose buildt room, that didn’t take very long did it !….  Anyway in the photos below you see the DJ setup which is using my old Alesis Monitor-1 speakers and the new DDM4000 mixer I told you about a few weeks ago, the time code system is still Dj Decks,  I have created a DJ table loosely based on the plans from HERE, however instead of making a ‘box’ thing as the top shelf I simply used some stainless legs that are intended for a kitchen, this created a nice open space to put all the cables into…. Ikea hacking at it’s best….!

In this photo you see my music production space. I am using the Carillon Producer Workstation which worked out to be the perfect width to fit between the bass traps in either corner and just deep enough to give enough space for the DJ table to the left (off shot). The speakers are new, Genelec 8040A’s… nice, nice, nice.  Very clear, I’m hearing things like I have never heard before.

I’m yet to sit down and write anything yet…. but I did go through a few old project and compare what I had before to this set up, also worked out a few work flow things and ironed out a few bugs in the process. Expect some music very soon……!

Flyers

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Finally got my advertising flyers in the post, this is one of the first services I was to give from my studio, converting tapes and vinyl to mp3 for mums and dads…. yes it’s boring tedious work, and it does not pay very much, but I think it will be a good start to my entry into the world of small business. I’ve got 1000 of these things to hand out so I better get cracking…!

Studio build

Posted on by Steve Reaver
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So the studio build continues, the electrics are in and the sound absorbent insulation is in, 22 bags of the stuff, it was a full day of work. I feel like all I have done is spend money! $1000 for this $2000 for that… damn it’s all starting to add up. I also had to buy myself a new laptop as well. And to think I have been at this music thing for 20 years so I already have most of the stuff I need, I could only imagine the cost if I had to get everything new. The image below is what will eventually be the mix position, where I will be sitting when working in the studio, still seems a long way off…..

The Build Begins

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Why am I freaking out ? Building a studio should be a good thing, right ? It’s something that all musicians dream of, a place to work without distractions away from the day to day grind of everyday living, a creative space. But at the moment I feel exactly the opposite….. Stressed out and worried, I’m not even doing any of the work yet. There are three builders in the backyard putting everything together and every time I go and take a look at where they are up to I get a sense that the project is just getting more and more out of control. The walls get higher, the yard seems smaller, and to roof is not even on yet. I did get a sense of this recently when we did some landscaping in the front yard, but not this bad. This is a roller coaster.

I recently quit my job of 20 years aswell, so things are compounding. It was a great job, I had flexible working hours, I was in a senior position the pay was not that bad, so why did I quit….? Well it was the only job I had ever had since school and it was time to go and try something different. Working for myself perhaps….

My hope was that pouring all this out onto a page would somehow make me feel better and get things straight in my head, I don’t know how effective it has been. Anyway here is a picture of the stupid studio……