If I had a million dollars...
 

Poking around, looking at neat audio gear I'd love to own but could never afford or justify buying, I got wondering what different people's perfect audio setups would be. This obviously depends on the work you're doing, but with unlimited money to get whatever gear you need (want), what would you buy and what would you do with it?

(hope this isn't seen as a useless thread)

With that much cash for audio... most of it goes into the building and acoustic design of the various recording, control room, editing and listening spaces. The equipment is secondary.

At CES in the Venetian I spent a little time in some of the high-end audio rooms. One of the most impressive systems - seemingly carved our of huge billets of aluminum, steel, copper, iron and gold - sounded like crap because they didn't treat the room whatsoever. They were playing a string quartet with most horrific resonances. I'm sure that the same system in a treated and tuned room would have been awesome.

Oh, and I want at least one matched pair of most any well-regarded mic you can think of...

while i agree on the importance of a nice acoustic space for recording and monitoring, a creative handy person with some tools could achieve this for a reasonable price.
soooo, with my million dollars, i would buy all the high end mics and mic pres and compressors i could find. (also, a few Taylor acoustics, a Warwick bass, some vintage Ludwig kits, a few Strats and PRSs, more Mesa Boogies and vintage Fender amps oh, and a Virus keyboard.)
in the real world, i'm saving for an API 3124, a Focusrite ISA 428 or a SSL Alpha VHD (any suggestions on which???), lusting after a few Neumann KM 184s, and wishing i had the Black Lion upgrade to my 002.
i saved for a long time to get the UA LA-610 and a Neumann TLM 49, and very quickly learned why a good mic and pre/compressor are so very important!!!
I think i would also buy a really comfortable chair...

"If I had a million dollars
Well, I'd buy you a K-Car
A nice Reliant automobile".... ;-)


I think you hit it though. It depends on your situation. I've already spent a small fortune on gear and each time I've purchased something I've made sure it was what I've wanted. I actually have a list I keep of things I need to buy when my budget allows. Mostly things like a couple more wireless units, some wireless boom stuff, and one or two mics to add to my collection. I bought all the super expensive stuff already for my kit, now it's just adding the garnish.

Wayne

I would buy a nice cottage on a Greek island , a boat, stocks of good wine and live happily ever after.....

Stelios

Is it still true that you can't buy land on the coast in Greece unless you're a Greek citizen?

If so you have an unfair advantage!!!!!

I think if I had unlimited funds I wouldn't do anything differently than I'm doing today except buy a fractional interest in a jet so I didn't have to waste half my remaining life in airport security line!

Jim
I don't think so. Here in Cyprus lots of foreigners buy land, especially British retired persons. They find it cheaper to live here than in UK and also just about everyone here speaks English.
But I'm sure there must be lots of nice places in the states to live a good life with a million bucks!!!

Stelios

Stelios,

Thanks for the reply. I had firends long ago in the 60's who wanted to buy a small island that was for sale in Greece and told me that they couldn't buy it because they weren't Greek nationals because of some security concerns. But maybe this was a special thing about seaside property - and it was long ago.

My wife is Japanese and I used to live there myself. We have looked at buying land in Japan and I discovered that there is no issue with foreigners owning land - as long as they have the money - but a lot of foreigners think there is such a restriction.

Maybe when I get my million I'll come take a look in Cyprus!

Girls, swimming pools, a boat. a few quid on wireless maybe, some clothes, more girls, sorry what was the question.... oh audio set up.... nah that would only need about £20k. Any way ; hot tub...

I'm working on my second million...... I gave up on the first one.

If I did have a million bucks, I'd be able to afford a professional sound guy who already has all the best toys.

I think the topic included a million dollars rather than unlimited funds. I have learned to make the distinction because around these parts, unfortunately, a million dollars doesn't really go very far any more. But I can't speak from personal experience, so I sure wouldn't quibble about a million dollar budget for audio.

I think the first thing I would do would be to budget some of it towards buying a little time at a few of the world's premiere recording environments and taking notes on what features I would want in my own dream studio.

Then I would hire an engineer to help me design a studio environment that accommodates as much of my compiled wish list as is affordable within the remaining budget. I will also set aside some of the budget enough to sustain production efforts for an expected 12 to 18 month period in hopes of conceiving, developing, and producing a dream production or two with requisite time and funds to bring them to market...

and then hopefully cash in on this investment for a profit.

Rinse and Repeat.

-Jon

Jonathan, I laughed so hard at your qoute I woke my wife up in the next room. Where did you find that beauty?
As for a million dollars . . . personally, I wouldn't want it because then I'd have no excuses for the lousy audio I would produce. On second thought, I'd probably hire Ty Ford for what I needed and spend the rest on a house somewhere on Mykonos.