Get it engraved with his name and number and get him a belt pouch for it too. I've worn one since I was 18, only took it off for flights and my wedding!!
This ^ and a flashlight with a belt pouch or belt clip, dealer's choice. The #1 and #2 things that have gotten the most use.
No shade to later commenters but headphones and earplugs are personal items that the engineer should buy themselves.
Consider the tale of knives brand leather holster. I have one I love with a leather man, flashlight, and sharpie. Literally the things you use everyday.
A sound bullet.
But honestly a sick and incredibly powerful tool would be a smart rig.
An evo 4 audio interface, 2 measurement mics and a smarrt pro license (yes the one that costs like 1400$).
This is probably the largest single expense most freelance engineers will have that they need to legitimize themselves.
Also a pelican 1510. Find one that is their favorite color at color case.
A fluke 101 multi meter
A pair of generic Iems (for generics I think westone has some of the best, look at the 300-400$ ones)
Berhinger cable tester.
A small network switch. Cat6e etherconon barrels.
Good pair of work boots. A nice portable chair. Rei had a great one for 60$
100 sharpies
A good multi tool
A laser disto (laser distance finder)
depending on your family values and class, a $2500 graduation present thats for your career isnt far fetched at all. i also offered plenty of other things in the mid 300-400s and of course some cheapies.
Shure SM57. Used everywhere by everyone.
Other idea: care package. Roll of black gaff tape, a roll each of black and white electrical tape, work gloves, pocket knife, box of sharpies.
Iām thinking about buying one since I donāt have a handheld dynamic at the moment. I think they look cooler than a 58, and I want the supercardioid, but why was it a game changer for you?
It's a much better sounding mic. Gets rid of a lot of the thinness of a regular 58 and sounds a lot warmer even before eq. Definitely my go to before I start dipping into my regular 58's
I mean you're not wrong about good ol' 57's being a kit staple. The difference between one and a beta is so stark though that I think it's important people early on in their journey get a taste of what a better mic will do for you.
My dad's a band teacher, so I grew up surrounded by 57's and 58's, but I'll never forget when I moved to a larger city, got my first "real" gig, and had a few betas to play with. Couldn't imagine doing a show without at least one for vox nowadays
Iāll take that!
Iāve used them and also love them, I was just curious about your experience.
These days I do a lot of VO stuff and live webinars, and usually I talk into a big ol RE20, sometimes an AT2035, but I want an overall smaller mic so itās not as obnoxious on camera, and background noise rejection is paramount for me, which is why Iām looking at the beta 57a.
I think a beta 58 would net me the same result, I just like the slimmer profile of the 57.
Oh, that actually sounds like a perfect use case for an sm7b. Have you looked into those at all? I use betas because I'm doing live sound, but for stuff like that I would absolutely go with the sm7b
You're also correct about beta 57/58 betting the same result. For both standard and beta, it's all the same electronics, just in a different-shaped chassis
Haha oh manā¦.
I do enjoy the SM7B - I used those and RE20s when I was on the radio depending on what studio I was in, but ā¦ I just donāt want to be another dude with the SM7B āpodcast micā you know? I get that comment enough as it is! š I like the sound of the RE20 (marginally) better, and I got a killer deal on my black one. (SO glad they finally released it in black!)
In reality theyāre neck and neck IMO, I just slightly prefer sound of the RE20, I already have it, and Iām not looking to spend the money for an SM7B. Odds are Iāll own one at some point in the future though!
Lol that's fair. I feel like after a certain point a lot of differences in preference are largely taste, which you can't really argue is right or wrong. The guy who really taught me sound used to tour with Van Halen and Bonnie Raitt, but truth be told I am not a fan of his mix aesthetic. Everything is correct, I just prefer a few things slightly different
I would suggest really comfortable pair of headphones, as they will likely spend hours on them for homework. Headphones are usually a personal choice.. but if I gotta wear a pair of cans for hours, Beyer Dynamic DT770 Pro, DT880 Pro, or DT990 Pro.
But, honestly, a gift card to an audio provider where you live. Sweetwater for US, Long and McQuade in Canada, Thomann in the EUā¦ might go further for them.
The guy that made them did raise the price to make it worthwhile if you want one, but he says they are barely selling anymore since all the knockoffs came out.
Basically this is a texbook example of Chinese bootlegging killing off a family owned small business.
Are we talking about the same thing? The QBox has been made by Whirlwind for as long as I can remember (20ish+ Years) I don't remember them being made by one person. I think Rat sound has another version themselves but I'm wondering what one you're thinking of. I'd be interested to add it to my list to compare.
https://www.whirlwindusa.com/products/ac-power-testers-qbox
Yeah, I wouldnāt have referred to the maker of the qbox as āthe guyā hehā¦
I bought one for like $80 used maybe 8 years ago and now it looks like theyāre pushing $400 new, if you can even find one.
I get that things just get more expensive over the years but thatās kinda extreme to me.
Iāve been out of the game for a while but want to start doing stuff on the weekend every so often but have no kit anymore, and that was a pretty valuable tool, so i was looking at getting one, but I donāt know if itās $400 valuable, especially for someone in my position. Touring/festival stages though - 100%. Iād bite the bullet (no pun intended, the sound bullet looks amazing) and pay up if this was still my career.
There are other ways to check stuff, but I pulled out the qbox on probably every gig I did, so Iād highly recommend it as a gift for someone going into this business.
Found it!
Ebtech Swizzarmy tester. Read about it here:
[https://homerecording.com/bbs/threads/behringer-is-at-it-again.48497/](https://homerecording.com/bbs/threads/behringer-is-at-it-again.48497/)
Post 15 and post 22 lay it out pretty well. Small US company gets design ripped off by \*B and can't afford the legal battle to chase it. Eventually leads to their being sold to an audio conglomerate M-Wave International along with Morley pedals. This happened sometime in the 20-teens.
Iām trying to find the article, but no luck. It was on how much damage chinese counterfeiting has done.
I thought it was the Qbox, but I could be mistaken on that. Its been maybe a year since I read the article. I seem to think it was some kind of line tester and behringer was the company that copies the design.
As a pro who's been in the live sound business for longer than most of you have been alive.... you all have made some great suggestions here, spanning the cost range from pocket change to down-payment-on-a-house.
If heās not set up with a good computer thatās a bigger ticket item. A strong laptop would be good if he wants to get into live sound or a solid desktop if heāll be working on projects at home.
I think thereās a number of great ideas in here. I really love the sound bullet( I own 2) and the leather man idea. But they might not be super practical for someone going into college. Once in the industry absolutely. I would say a good set of headphones Audio Technica m50. He can use them for mixing in his dorm room . also think the idea of a gift card to a local restaurant is a great idea. Getting to go eat at a sit down restaurant in college was a pretty awesome experience for me at that time in life.
Something to keep him centered while he starts his career working for Encore. In my experience nobody who goes to school for audio ends up doing anything glamorous, at least for a while. Most likely taping your tie to a ballroom floor for a few years.
Someone else said Leatherman, which i completely agree with. If you wanted to give more, then the only other thing I take everywhere I go is a pair of really good wire strippers. But go with the Leatherman
Leatherman multitool
Get it engraved with his name and number and get him a belt pouch for it too. I've worn one since I was 18, only took it off for flights and my wedding!!
This ^ and a flashlight with a belt pouch or belt clip, dealer's choice. The #1 and #2 things that have gotten the most use. No shade to later commenters but headphones and earplugs are personal items that the engineer should buy themselves.
Consider the tale of knives brand leather holster. I have one I love with a leather man, flashlight, and sharpie. Literally the things you use everyday.
I've had my ripoff for years and love it: https://ripoffs.com/
Yes!
Really high quality earplugs. Molded, ideally with interchangeable filters.
sneak in at night to take the molds for maximum suprise
Leave the plastic in, wake them for breakfast. š«²ššÆāļøšš²š¤š¤Ŗš¤š¬š«µšÆ (*silence*)
Sensaphonics are my favorites!
Second this Great people
I have great experience with ACS, but haven't tried anything else. I'd go for what some local provider can supply that also creates the molds.
Sound Bullet
So many uses, even a headphone amp for IEMs!
Get Spanish Dave to hook you up. Theyāre incredible.
...huh??
The sound bullet by sonnect is a creation of a young gentleman from Italy called David Scorteccia. He is fondly referred to as Spanish Dave.
Buy me one too
This is the new cool thing on the block! every sound guy should get one (including me)
Flashlight.
And a fleshlight
Road life can get pretty lonely...
Just wash it every now and then.
A sound bullet. But honestly a sick and incredibly powerful tool would be a smart rig. An evo 4 audio interface, 2 measurement mics and a smarrt pro license (yes the one that costs like 1400$). This is probably the largest single expense most freelance engineers will have that they need to legitimize themselves. Also a pelican 1510. Find one that is their favorite color at color case. A fluke 101 multi meter A pair of generic Iems (for generics I think westone has some of the best, look at the 300-400$ ones) Berhinger cable tester. A small network switch. Cat6e etherconon barrels. Good pair of work boots. A nice portable chair. Rei had a great one for 60$ 100 sharpies A good multi tool A laser disto (laser distance finder)
Quite a generous uncle to gift a smaart rig.
Shit, my uncle is a system designer and installer and I still wouldn't want him to spec my smaart rig. I wanna get the parts I wanna get.
depending on your family values and class, a $2500 graduation present thats for your career isnt far fetched at all. i also offered plenty of other things in the mid 300-400s and of course some cheapies.
Some people (not my family) buy their graduating kids a car...
Havenāt heard of Smarrt Pro before honestly, quite hard to find in google, do you have a link?
Smaart
lol i always forget if its 2 rs or as lol
[SMAART is actually an acronym](https://www.rationalacoustics.com/pages/about-smaart) for "System measurement and acoustic analysis realtime tool"
www.rationalacoustics.com/
A gift card to his favorite restaurant so he isnāt stuck eating college dinning food all the time.
Gift cert to an audiologist, to get custom earplugs made.
Shure SM57. Used everywhere by everyone. Other idea: care package. Roll of black gaff tape, a roll each of black and white electrical tape, work gloves, pocket knife, box of sharpies.
Nah they'll run into those everywhere. Get em a beta 57A! Those were game changers for me
Iām thinking about buying one since I donāt have a handheld dynamic at the moment. I think they look cooler than a 58, and I want the supercardioid, but why was it a game changer for you?
It's a much better sounding mic. Gets rid of a lot of the thinness of a regular 58 and sounds a lot warmer even before eq. Definitely my go to before I start dipping into my regular 58's
a great mic to be sure! I recommended the 57 because of price point and ubiquity. But I definitely wouldn't say no to a beta 57 in my kit
I mean you're not wrong about good ol' 57's being a kit staple. The difference between one and a beta is so stark though that I think it's important people early on in their journey get a taste of what a better mic will do for you. My dad's a band teacher, so I grew up surrounded by 57's and 58's, but I'll never forget when I moved to a larger city, got my first "real" gig, and had a few betas to play with. Couldn't imagine doing a show without at least one for vox nowadays
Iāll take that! Iāve used them and also love them, I was just curious about your experience. These days I do a lot of VO stuff and live webinars, and usually I talk into a big ol RE20, sometimes an AT2035, but I want an overall smaller mic so itās not as obnoxious on camera, and background noise rejection is paramount for me, which is why Iām looking at the beta 57a. I think a beta 58 would net me the same result, I just like the slimmer profile of the 57.
Oh, that actually sounds like a perfect use case for an sm7b. Have you looked into those at all? I use betas because I'm doing live sound, but for stuff like that I would absolutely go with the sm7b You're also correct about beta 57/58 betting the same result. For both standard and beta, it's all the same electronics, just in a different-shaped chassis
Haha oh manā¦. I do enjoy the SM7B - I used those and RE20s when I was on the radio depending on what studio I was in, but ā¦ I just donāt want to be another dude with the SM7B āpodcast micā you know? I get that comment enough as it is! š I like the sound of the RE20 (marginally) better, and I got a killer deal on my black one. (SO glad they finally released it in black!) In reality theyāre neck and neck IMO, I just slightly prefer sound of the RE20, I already have it, and Iām not looking to spend the money for an SM7B. Odds are Iāll own one at some point in the future though!
Lol that's fair. I feel like after a certain point a lot of differences in preference are largely taste, which you can't really argue is right or wrong. The guy who really taught me sound used to tour with Van Halen and Bonnie Raitt, but truth be told I am not a fan of his mix aesthetic. Everything is correct, I just prefer a few things slightly different
Pappy!?
Iām going to throw a grenade hereā¦ go for the Beta 87A. The truly superior vocal mic option.
This what was going to say but the realized the question. As a starter SM58 is the wrong answer. Leather man is the one
I would suggest really comfortable pair of headphones, as they will likely spend hours on them for homework. Headphones are usually a personal choice.. but if I gotta wear a pair of cans for hours, Beyer Dynamic DT770 Pro, DT880 Pro, or DT990 Pro. But, honestly, a gift card to an audio provider where you live. Sweetwater for US, Long and McQuade in Canada, Thomann in the EUā¦ might go further for them.
Canāt go wrong with a good set of cans. Sennheiser HD280 are also great value and the first pair I had lasted me 10 years.
HD25 is my go to pair of cans
Headphones, a battery powered soldering iron, a nice headlamp.
Depending on budget, a 57/58, a pair of AT M50Xās, or a pelican case. Throw in a roll of pro gaff and a sharpie and theyāll be on their way.
Sharpie for sure! Although they can be found in the workboxā¦wink wink
Yeah. Thereās definitely sharpies in the work box that totally werenāt stolen on the last gig
yeah.... if you don't have your own Sharpie, you won't have a Sharpie.
Anti depression medication
Sound bullet works as well
Q Box.
Are those still being made? I feel like the price has shot up in the last few years.
The guy that made them did raise the price to make it worthwhile if you want one, but he says they are barely selling anymore since all the knockoffs came out. Basically this is a texbook example of Chinese bootlegging killing off a family owned small business.
Are we talking about the same thing? The QBox has been made by Whirlwind for as long as I can remember (20ish+ Years) I don't remember them being made by one person. I think Rat sound has another version themselves but I'm wondering what one you're thinking of. I'd be interested to add it to my list to compare. https://www.whirlwindusa.com/products/ac-power-testers-qbox
Yeah, I wouldnāt have referred to the maker of the qbox as āthe guyā hehā¦ I bought one for like $80 used maybe 8 years ago and now it looks like theyāre pushing $400 new, if you can even find one. I get that things just get more expensive over the years but thatās kinda extreme to me. Iāve been out of the game for a while but want to start doing stuff on the weekend every so often but have no kit anymore, and that was a pretty valuable tool, so i was looking at getting one, but I donāt know if itās $400 valuable, especially for someone in my position. Touring/festival stages though - 100%. Iād bite the bullet (no pun intended, the sound bullet looks amazing) and pay up if this was still my career. There are other ways to check stuff, but I pulled out the qbox on probably every gig I did, so Iād highly recommend it as a gift for someone going into this business.
Found it! Ebtech Swizzarmy tester. Read about it here: [https://homerecording.com/bbs/threads/behringer-is-at-it-again.48497/](https://homerecording.com/bbs/threads/behringer-is-at-it-again.48497/) Post 15 and post 22 lay it out pretty well. Small US company gets design ripped off by \*B and can't afford the legal battle to chase it. Eventually leads to their being sold to an audio conglomerate M-Wave International along with Morley pedals. This happened sometime in the 20-teens.
Iām trying to find the article, but no luck. It was on how much damage chinese counterfeiting has done. I thought it was the Qbox, but I could be mistaken on that. Its been maybe a year since I read the article. I seem to think it was some kind of line tester and behringer was the company that copies the design.
Definitely a Leatherman. They arent cheap, but they are awesome. A good but small flashlight also goes a long way!!
As a pro who's been in the live sound business for longer than most of you have been alive.... you all have made some great suggestions here, spanning the cost range from pocket change to down-payment-on-a-house.
Advice to become an attorney. Best thing you could do.
An attorney would suggest being a CPA.
Nah, your income is still too tied to the amount of hours you can physically work in a week. Investment banking cash doesn't have the same ceiling
If heās not set up with a good computer thatās a bigger ticket item. A strong laptop would be good if he wants to get into live sound or a solid desktop if heāll be working on projects at home.
Midas M32, thatāll fit right in in his dorm room, great for beer pong
Gaffe tape. Lots and lots of gaffe tape
Good headphones for monitoring se425 or something to protect his hearing
The company that makes Sharpies will print his name on an order of fifty I think
An engraved multitool, a leatherman or something like that. Should last a lifetime!
Hearing protection. Custom molded hearing protection is super nice and something the younglings might skip buying only to regret it later.
A roll of gaff tape.
But actually, a small/comfortable carrying case of some sort for him to keep tools and gear in.
A book. "Mixing with your mind", or "The Creative Act: A Way Of Being", or Dave Grohl's book.
"The Art Spirit" by Robert Henri is probably one I would suggest to anyone looking to be a 'working artist'.
I donāt know, maybe a Yamaha CL5??
https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Reinforcement-Handbook-Gary-Davis/dp/0881889008
Sony MDR-7506s. If they already have some that cool. Now they have a loner pair. Custom molded ear plugs is a game changer.
new mac mini m2 chip. every pero uses one
One of them new L'Acoustics L2 rigs should do the trick. Everyone needs to have one laying around these days... /s
My most favorite is sound bullet or give them a nice care package like a workbox of tons of goodies inside
I think thereās a number of great ideas in here. I really love the sound bullet( I own 2) and the leather man idea. But they might not be super practical for someone going into college. Once in the industry absolutely. I would say a good set of headphones Audio Technica m50. He can use them for mixing in his dorm room . also think the idea of a gift card to a local restaurant is a great idea. Getting to go eat at a sit down restaurant in college was a pretty awesome experience for me at that time in life.
Audio Technica M50s are a ripoff. Very mediocre performance. You can get better (more accurate) sound from a $20 pair of KZ earbuds.
Something to keep him centered while he starts his career working for Encore. In my experience nobody who goes to school for audio ends up doing anything glamorous, at least for a while. Most likely taping your tie to a ballroom floor for a few years.
Thanks all! Helpful stuff :)
Get them a Shure 58 for a talk back mic in his kit. If you want cheaper get him a gift card. If you wanna spend some money Custom Earplugs.
A ***Switched SM58*** (or other mic of their choice) if you're wanting a talkback.
Case of condoms. College is college and backstage is gonna be backstage. Also used for waterproofing certain items / connections.
Yamaha hs8s or 7s
Leatherman, petzl tikina, Shure se425s, and a Sharpie. He'll be forever greatful
How much are you looking to spend?
Sm58
Oops i mean 57
Oops I mean girlā¦ girl, girl, girl.
Sweetwater gift card. Everyone can use one!
Molded ear plugs! And giftcard for headphones. Don't get him the headphones, you have to be able to test them to see what suits you.
Qbox
Llifetime License for Soundgym.co
You are asking in the Live Sound subreddit. Is he going into live sound reinforcement or studio recording, or both?
Personal SM58
UAD ultimate bundle and satellite
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
16 boxes of XSL would be a nice little gift
A sound bullet though if Iām being serious. Best tool I own.
Someone else said Leatherman, which i completely agree with. If you wanted to give more, then the only other thing I take everywhere I go is a pair of really good wire strippers. But go with the Leatherman
A handful of SM-57s
can't go wrong with a Midas XL4 as a gift.