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anybody buying gear to reduce their self-employment (gig) tax burden?


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I am. I'm waiting on the UPS man to bring a used Motif 61 and may spring for another amp- Motion Sound KP200s, maybe.:)

 

Would like to buy a Speakeasy preamp, table-top organ clone (Voce V5+, Electro rack) but may wait to see how the Motif handles that dept., with a little help from my Leslie 760. I prefer to buy used but the stuff I want isn't much available used.

 

It don't take much SE profit to wind up owing an ass-load of taxes.

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Originally posted by pink floyd cramer

Would like to buy a Speakeasy preamp, table-top organ clone (Voce V5+, Electro rack) but may wait to see how the Motif handles that dept.

My MOTIF is pretty much hard-wired to my Speakeasy pre (I have the stereo vintage tube pre). I think it definitely improves the MOTIF's sound. :thu:

 

dB

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I've already bought a lot this year. But I hear you pfc...now's the time. I may pick up a HF horn amp for my PA, and I need to do that today if I want to deduct it in 2005. SE taxes are a killer...Reagan in his infinite wisdon doubled them back in the 1980s, while cutting taxes for everyone else, and we're still stuck with 'em. And you're sure not going to see our current administration cutting taxes for us folks on the bottom rungs of the ladder....they're too busy takin' care of their own. ;)

 

I think you should get pretty good organs out of that Motif if you use the aux outs on it and send that signal to your 760. That way your other Motif sounds will stay out of the Leslie.

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Yep -

I bought my Motion Sound KP200S for the very same reason about 2 mos. ago - to avoid the tax bite. I figured I'd rather invest my money into myself (my business) than fork it over to Uncle Sam.

 

The result (of my Motion Sound KP200S purchase)? Read all about it here

 

:D

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mrdpro- so Reagan DOUBLED SE taxes!?:mad: 30-35% of your profit is too damn much..is that figure too far off? BTW how much is mileage for '05, anybody know yet?

 

db- I remember you saying on MP that the Motif filters were not that good but I wonder if the ES smoother filters makes it harder for it's sounds to cut live- have heard complaints about the nice piano not working so good for live. At any rate, I am suspicious that any preamp could make such a huge diff in the sound but I have heard nothing but good about speakeasy- I mainly want one to improve the sound of my solid-state leslie speaker (which is pretty cool to begin with) so i will probably go with the mono model.

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Hey pfc -

Nice signature, though I'm jealous that I didn't make it in there, on your hit list:

 

My {censored}'s better than your {censored}- unless you are Tuck, Outkaster, Dan88, Eric, Sleepin Deeper, Roald, Botch, the Pro, db, Mike156, Coyote, Birdie, Kiru, NoisyB, Marcellis, Yoozer,Jazz+, mrcpro, pighood, MusikB, wheresgrant....

 

... LOL! :D

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Naw... SE taxes aren't that high pfc. Throughout the 70s they were around 7 1/2%, and the Reagan administration doubled tham to about where they are now. The killer part is that deductions are strictly limited. I had a lot of medical expenses this year not covered by insurance...it just about wiped me out... and now my accountant says I'm going to have to come up with an extra 15 1/2% of the total amount in SE taxes. Sometimes it really sucks to be self-employed.

 

If your live is anything like my live, a fancy preamp isn't going to make a difference in your sound. Soft listening volumes and recording are another matter however...as I'm sure you know.

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Originally posted by mrcpro

If your live is anything like my live, a fancy preamp isn't going to make a difference in your sound. Soft listening volumes and recording are another matter however...as I'm sure you know.

 

Aye -

But a Motion Sound KP200S will make a big ole' difference - especially if pfc's a solo act.

 

If it's for use w/a big loud rock band though - I wouldn't bother with the KP200S, get a Barbetta instead.

 

:cool:

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For a full-time musician, it's rather easy to buy/claim enough gear, clothing and stuff so that your business shows a loss rather than a profit. With the exception of Social Security payments you can wind up tax-free. Where it finally gets you is if you ever need to get a bank loan and use past 1040's for proof of income... banks don't loan money to people who don't make money, unless you have large amounts of collateral.

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Originally posted by The Pro

For a full-time musician, it's rather easy to buy/claim enough gear, clothing and stuff so that your business shows a loss rather than a profit. With the exception of Social Security payments you can wind up tax-free. Where it finally gets you is if you ever need to get a bank loan and use past 1040's for proof of income... banks don't loan money to people who don't make money, unless you have large amounts of collateral.

 

Aye -

But you can only show a "loss" 3 yrs. out of a 5 yr. period, right Pro? :eek::confused:

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Pro:

 

Gigman is correct about showing a loss every year. The 3 out of 5 rule generally applies. If you keep showing losses, you'll keep getting audited. The IRS will want to know how you're paying your bills if you keep losing money every year. :rolleyes:

 

 

Mike T.

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I've been regretting selling my Nord Electro 61 some months ago, so now that I able to get my cc debt way down.....I bought another one!!! I'll depreciate the whole thing and it will knock down my music income quite nicely!

 

I had been toying with the idea of a VK 8M so that I could use basically one board (RD 300SX) for most of my gigs, but i decided against that when I went for the Electro again. After all, its small and only 17lbs, so I have pretty compact yet nice sounding rig. I'm keeping my Triton Extreme 61 and will use that on gigs that call for more sounds.

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Originally posted by Ed Wall


I had been toying with the idea of a VK 8M so that I could use basically one board (RD 300SX) for most of my gigs, but i decided against that when I went for the Electro again. After all, its small and only 17lbs, so I have pretty compact yet nice sounding rig. I'm keeping my Triton Extreme 61 and will use that on gigs that call for more sounds.

 

Hey Ed - :wave:

I'm still trying to check you out at a local NJ gig - one of these days... :thu:

 

[THREAD HIJACK ALERT:]

It's funny - you say you'll use the Triton Extreme on ... "gigs that call for more sounds." That always cracks me up - to me, either it's a straight piano gig (a cocktail hr., or some other solo thing - jazz or light restaurant music) - or it's "everything else," such as rock/blues/wedding/lounge/club acts (duo, trio or band), where you could need any one of the following:

 

- acoustic piano, rhodes, clavinet

- organs: rock, jazz, church

- strings

- horns

- electronic/synthetic sounds

- vibes, marimba

 

etc...

 

I guess I don't get to play the "I only need Rhodes + organ sounds" gigs - so maybe I'm just jealous, I dunno... :o:mad:

 

But even on tiny corner bar rock gigs - I throw in horns, strings synth stuff. So I just don't get the concept of "these sounds are all I need for this gig" - unless it's a straight piano gig. For me, unless it's just straight piano - I want access to ALL the sounds I have, on EVERY gig, ALL the time. Unless it's a space or time issue - no room or time to set up two 'boards...

 

:cool:

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Hey Gigman! Happy Holidays.

 

I had a feeling I would hear from you. Cool

 

I'm doing a lot of solo, duo gigs where all I need is Piano, EP's ,Strings and passable organs sometimes.

 

Most of the band gigs are Blues bands, or R & B/ Motown bands where I want better organ, clav and wurly sounds. I have splits set up on the RD 300 for any horn or simple synth parts.

 

I'm still doing private functions with my old Soul, Classic Rock, Motown etc, etc band.. the Delivery Boys. It's for those weddings and private gigs that I need more complicated sounds and splits because sometimes I need multipule organ sounds, sitars, mini moog, mellotron sounds....well you get the picture.

 

I wish I could hear you sometime but I get the feeling 90% of your gigs are private, no? EW

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Dude! You're in The Delivery Boys? I know that name from way back...

 

I used to play in a bar band called "Fat Chance" and also some w/a band called "The Wise Men," same bandleader - Marc Goodrider, may he rest in peace. Marc also played w/a guy named Mike Flynn... maybe you know that name?

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Originally posted by Ed Wall

Hey Gigman! Happy Holidays.


I had a feeling I would hear from you. Cool


I wish I could hear you sometime but I get the feeling 90% of your gigs are private, no? EW

 

Same to you, btw - and yes, most of my gigs are weddings/banquets/private functions. Once in a while I play bar gigs or restaurants but not as much as I'd like.

 

Am hoping to generate some more restaurant/bar gigs for 2006 though. :cool:

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Originally posted by mrcpro

The killer part is that deductions are strictly limited. I had a lot of medical expenses this year not covered by insurance...it just about wiped me out... and now my accountant says I'm going to have to come up with an extra 15 1/2% of the total amount in SE taxes. Sometimes it really sucks to be self-employed.

 

 

To quote a much-maligned ex-president, "Ah Feel yer pain". This is exactly my predicament excepting the SE part. Med expenses have to be IIRC 5,000 or more, which leaves alot of people like me and you in a dead zone. The only hope I see to end this kind of crap is the Fair Tax initiative (HR Bill 25). You can bet the Ritchie Riches who can afford CPAs and lobbyists don't want that one to pass.

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Originally posted by pink floyd cramer



I should have said that the TOTAL tax on SE profit is about 30-35 % but I appreciate you or anyone correcting me on this.

 

Dude! I made it into your Sig:

 

My {censored}'s better than your {censored}- unless you are Tuck, Outkaster, Dan88, Eric, Sleepin Deeper, Roald, Botch, the Pro, db, Mike156, Coyote, Birdie, Kiru, NoisyB, Marcellis, Yoozer,Jazz+, mrcpro, pighood, MusikB, wheresgrant, Gigman...

 

I'm flatter, er uh - that is... flattered! :D

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