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[Mal Brown]

Where I'm at, it simply isn't enough for a full time gig.  I would recommend Indeed.com and putting some of your IT resume to work and finding a part time gig there...  they exist.  Puts you in the position where you can pick and choose the AV related work you want ...  my .02, hopefully worth more.

[Tim McCulloch]

Hi John, long time, no see!  Welcome back.

Everything in audio, video, and lighting is IT based these days.  Most failures in digitally distributed audio/video can be traced back to network problems, misconfigured switches, routers, and vLan tags... but not enough techs know how to troubleshoot these problems.

Techs in general are in short supply right now.  My guess is you can pick up work almost anywhere.  Mixing bands is another matter and is still word of mouth.

What has changed while you were out... digital.  Everything is digital, just like the rest of the world.  Download stand-alone or show editor software for the current crop of digital mixers - Yamaha CL/QL, whatever is available for Allen-Heath's various offerings, the new Presonus mixer... Use these editors to get a grip on how the user interfaces work, what similar functions get different names between makers, and where the various features get 'hidden' in the UIs.

On the loudspeaker side... look at any of the threads here in the Lounge about speakers.  They've gotten lighter, louder, and subjectively sound better than what we used at the turn of the century, and it's true almost regardless of brand.

On the other end, microphones haven't changed a whole lot.  Still lots of space for the SM57/58s in the real world but there have been some nice new offerings as well.  The biggest changes are on the wireless side - the loss of the 600mHz band to cellular/data and the rise of low RF power, digital modulation schemes that allow much denser packing of users into a 6mHz TV channel are the highlights.

[Brian Jojade]

Working for a regional sound company is very different than owning a sound company.  Owning a SMALL sound company can be very difficult to turn into a profitable venture.  There are many that try, but when you put pencil to paper you find that the company is either break even, or subsidized by another job, especially when it's treated as a part time venture.  It's simply extremely difficult to be able to buy enough gear to do a variety of types of events and then only use it a few times a year.  Then factor in storage costs, etc, and well, you can do the math yourself.

If you're just trying to get into the game, find another regional provider and work for them.  That way, you get paid a known amount and have zero investment tied up into the project.  It's easy to get out if you choose another path in life.

[Caleb Dueck]

I've thought about possibly taking some of my severance and picking up a PA, but I don't really have the clientele to support myself at this point.

These are the two key points that jumped out.  Dumping cash into gear is risky at best; find a way to get paid for your expertise and let someone else worry about paying off tangible items. 

Find a good company that needs talent, and hire yourself as talent.  Nearly zero overhead expense to take on, you'll learn who's who, and you'll have an easy time transitioning into "Fully Retired" when the time comes.   

[Russell Ault]

{...} I've thought about possibly taking some of my severance and picking up a PA, {...}

I agree with Caleb, and I'll give you the same advice that I give everyone (although no one in the Lounge seems to agree with me, so take it with a grain of salt I guess): never buy anything you can easily rent.

Whether this means doing your own shows with other people's gear, or doing other people's shows with their gear, either is fine, but the successful business case for equipment ownership is typically a pretty specific one, and the risks of getting it wrong can be significant.

-Russ

[Craig Leerman]

If I were you, I would not buy any gear but would look for a local company (or more than one) that would hire me on as a freelance or staff technician. First, that would get you up to speed on new technology and back in the groove on how things are done and second, would generate an income without having to spend an arm and a leg on gear. After a while working for others you can decide if you want to own gear and go at it as a company.

[Scott Holtzman]

These are the two key points that jumped out.  Dumping cash into gear is risky at best; find a way to get paid for your expertise and let someone else worry about paying off tangible items. 

Find a good company that needs talent, and hire yourself as talent.  Nearly zero overhead expense to take on, you'll learn who's who, and you'll have an easy time transitioning into "Fully Retired" when the time comes.   

Agree with Caleb completely, especially since I did the complete opposite.  If you can't rent the gear from another company and make basically the same money you are not charging enough.  Too many guys buy a rig and then take their equity back one sweat drop at a time.  In the end they have a rig with many miles on it, a van with the same issue and you have to reinvest and all that positive cash flow goes down the tube.


On the good side if you are willing to do some bands and realize that is the fun and lowest paying part but be willing to buy the stuff for private and corporate events you can make real good money.  Hunt around and get some 7k HD projectors, fast fold screens, pipe and drape, uplighting and staging.  Corporate gigs pay well and all that equipment will rent.  You will have to hustle and earn clients by people timely, neat, organized and technically competent. 


I am also in IT, been doing side stuff my whole life in theater and bands and made the plunge 8 years ago.  From 1 rig and a banged up Chevy venture van to a 10,000 square foot warehouse, full time employees and a small fleet of vehicles.  Things have gone very well since business opened up after the pandemic shutdown.  Many folks didn't make it out the other side sadly.  We were booked to capacity all summer long.  This is my first weekend that I have no gigs but I still have a couple of grand in rentals going out the door, gravy.


I have spent my life in IT and telecom.  Currently director of network engineering at a publicly traded cloud computing firm specializing in hosted VoIP.  I am 58 and really want to run the production company full time.  My wife and I have started floating our house on the market to see what we can get.  It's time to downsize anyway and my wife is now working full time for the production company.


Some days it is a business but most of the time it's a total blast.

[John Bosco]

I've thought about possibly taking some of my severance and picking up a PA, but I don't really have the clientele to support myself at this point.

I am not planning on buying a PA and starting a company, I guess I might have phrased this wrong or assumed the point I was making was obvious, but I'm 57, my time to do that came and went years ago, around the time I married my first wife and started having kids, I am not that big a risk taker, I choose financial security over the road. I just want to get my name back out there get on some lists and start picking up some more gigs. IF I ever bought a PA it wouldn't be to make money, it would just be something to have for any bands my kids, step-kids and their friends or my friends might need.

I do have my own an XR18 rack system that I use, an XR18 & a Driverack I leave at the stage, another rack and an XTouch for FOH. I use Dante to get headphone out to front of house and get aux and talkback back to the mixer. I save PA and rooms on the Driverack and save the show file from the XR18. Most of the local acts I use to work with have all bought their own PAs because they are cheaper and easier to move around then the old days. However they all mix from the stage and we all know how that works. I just found it easier for when they want me to come mix that I bring my stuff, for one I'm familiar with it, but really because alot of them don't have mixers where I can mix out front on an iPad and they want the board on stage.

[Kevin Maxwell]

I'm in Connecticut.

Where in CT? I am in FFld CT.

[John Bosco]

Where in CT? I am in FFld CT.

Currently I'm in Haddam, I grew up in Fairfield County, most of my gigs are still down there and I'm looking to relocate back down there but Covid kind blew housing prices down there out of the water. If you are old enough to remember Shenanigans Nite Club (yes the one the latest Goose album is named after) or The Globe Theater in Norwalk I use to be house engineer at both locations.

[ProSoundWeb Community]