It started with Saturday memorial services. Two handheld mics and a pastor. Someone asked if I could help run sound at church.
That turned into Sundays behind a Soundcraft MH2 40+4 — a real touring console, every channel used. At first intimidating. Then welcoming, even embracing, as I learned to tweak those vocals and shape the acoustic guitars.
Then we started having guest concerts Sunday nights. "Can you run sound? Roger's not available. Just a guy with two guitars, and he's bringing an engineer."
Can you guess what happened?
No sound engineer, of course. The singer had two guitars. And another vocal. Drums. An electric guitar. Keyboard. Mandolin. And a violin who literally showed up 30 seconds before it all started.
And it was all awesome.
I was hooked. And had the confidence to believe I could really do this.
I wanted my own gear. But every forum post said the same thing: "If you don't spend $200 on a mic and $50 on a cable, you're wasting your money." At those prices, volunteers and small venues could never get started.
So I registered AudioGearFinder.com. The idea was simple — find quality affordable gear, write honest reviews, help the little guy build a rig without going broke.
I bought a Midas M32, a PreSonus StudioLive, budget speakers and mics. Bought cable boxes. Ran small concerts around San Diego. Learned by doing. Turned gear over at break-even or a profit while teaching myself the craft.
The site never got built. The domain sat. Twelve years of renewals, waiting for someone with the time to execute what I only had time to dream.
Maybe that's you.