hotmess wrote:
Oh, I forgot to answer the "How" part.
I sell propane and propane accessories.
absolute win.
i get as much as i can done without buying expensive gear.
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alex_mauer wrote:
this is something that drives me insane
i work 40+ hours a week as a lab tech, and i also get soundtrack jobs... yet i still struggle with even being able to buy a new pair of headphones (mine are broken) - i say the trick to be able to afford gear is to not have to pay rent or bills - try to stay at your parents house
seriously, I know what you mean.
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Minneapolis
Battle Lava wrote:
alex_mauer wrote:this is something that drives me insane
i work 40+ hours a week as a lab tech, and i also get soundtrack jobs... yet i still struggle with even being able to buy a new pair of headphones (mine are broken) - i say the trick to be able to afford gear is to not have to pay rent or bills - try to stay at your parents house
seriously, I know what you mean.
Me too. Living at college (my only option) does strictly limit my ability to buy things. So I build stuff on commission to be able to pay for my hobby. It helps to stretch my budget, because I like building things, and then I can sell them and... build more things. 
Not the most stable business practice, but that's because it's not a business, it's a self-sustaining hobby.
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Philly, PA, USA
convince my dad he needs it, then take it from him once he's done with it
nah not really, but his MIDI keyboard is pretty much mine, and his old microphone, and basically anything else he's gotten bored with.
but i don't really have much, i have my computer, and a gameboy,
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southampton, uk
monthly allowance and christmas + birthdays plus selling off stuff i don't need
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AANABAY01
people just give money out of pity
actually my current set up consists of a general midi keyboard from the nineties and a laptop with stuff like fami, milky and audacity installed on it. i lose interest when it's synths and drum machine talk time
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uhajdafdfdfa
I'm really frugal (read: no social life) and rarely buy anything much which isn't food. Also, I don't drink, smoke, or drive, which helps. Get a bicycle, it will pay itself back in no time at all if you drive everywhere at the moment. Turn the heating down in your house, wear more clothes. Turn things off when you aren't using them, etc.
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Eugene, OR
I charge admission to a flea circus. "look mommy! can you see the fleas? I can see the fleas!"
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Newcastle, UK
I get paid by the government to sit around looking for a job, and come September I'll hopefully get paid by the government to sit in a room all day programming stuff, come 2012 I'll probably move into some sort of office and have my own desk, probably make a living selling hypodermic needles full of black and yellow printer ink to heroin addicts.
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Newcastle, UK
Student loan that never gets spent on my education.
Also, keeping an eye out for people on ebay that realise obsolete video game consoles are practically worthless, not antiques.
(Seriously, I saw a clear DMG for $130 on there yesterday, what are they thinking?!)
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Huddersfield, UK
Studying at college I get £30 a week for being a poor boy from a poor family. Seriously though, I hardly ever go out, I don't drink much or smoke at all. Only £60 a month actually goes on education...
Saying that I've spent under £100 on gear in the last year anyway, the beauty is that it isn't about who has a Gibson or a Moog in the chipmusic world. If people already have a computer then you're set to go from there, nothing else needed. Part of the attraction I guess 
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England
Most people I know IRL who have massive studios and spend money on fancy gear don't ever use it.
Part of the beauty of this kinda music is that sexy hardware can be picked up nice n cheap.
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LONDON
yeah im 15 
so my parents... and christmas and birthday
i dont have alot though... laptop (mac 
that was a birthday pres) behringer xenyx 802 mixer, couple of dmg's, NL, LSDJ and a few cabless
when i need new shit i wait til xmas or birthday
which are both 6 months apart
so i gotta wait til june til i get new stuff
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São Paulo, Brazil
chipmusic isn't that cheap here in brazil, dmg's for example are everytime harder to find, and they cost about 40-50 dollars.
of course, sometimes you get lucky and find some guy who donates his useless game boy to you.
anyway, all of my gear was bought selling drugs in rio favelas from 2004-2006. now I'm done with that.
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Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA
I think the key is to keep things simple.
work on a platform that you're comfortable with and use it to the best of your ability.
I've always said that it's not what gear you have, but how you use it.
I remember when LSDJ carts used to go for $100+ because they were so hard to find.. This was before i flooded that market and drove the price wayyyy down.
So now a days you can obtain a cart for as little as $25, LSDJ is a mere $2, and a dmg(any members of the game boy family) can set you back $5 from a thrift store.
Which might explain why that platform is so damn popular. it's so easy to get into and so cheap. $32 isn't bad for a 4 polyphony synthesizer/sequencer/sample play back device!
That's just a couple lawn mowing jobs!
I will say though. Do not let the "gear" get you too distracted from the thing that's actually important.. the music.
Just get what you can afford, learn that inside and out and go from there.