I have been interested in music my entire life.  It wasn't until I got my hands on a Ensoniq ASR, to inspire me to purchase my first sampler and keyboard.  I was really into vocal samples and random noise samples. Mixing these together with synths  and percussion on a borrowed Makie 1604 mixer, then recording down to a Sony Mini Disc in the early 90's.  This has developed into a full on recording studio in my home decades later.  Now, I have a large collection of digital and analog synths, along with a collection of drum machines, drum modules and four samplers.  One being an MPC which triggers everything.  I'm running Protools 8.4 with a Digi 002 on a PC.  I'm using a 32 track mixing board, have various effects units and everything is patched in, making configuration a lot easier.                                                                                              It is true about who you know, I was lucky to have a friend introduce and teach me things about gear and studios.  Also, it takes my desire to make my own sounds and learn what I can when I have the time. At this point I have the ability to bring my hobby to the next level, and that is to become a professional audio engineer.  Learning by trial and error can stiffle creativity.   It is time to take the knowledge I already have and connect the dots with everything I still need to learn from a proffesional.  I am determined to achieve this goal I have put in front of me.                                                                            A record album is like a book or story, it stimulates us emotionally.  Being the creative person I am, I have the desire to tell my own stories and help others make theirs.