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Buying Gear: Confessions of a Shopaholic

Written by Willie Green. Published: Thursday, May 26, 2011.

Very often I have people ask my advice before a gear purchase. Just as often I see people with huge piles of gear stacked on the counter at Guitar Center waiting to never be used. Just like sneakers, tattoos, and everything else, buying gear can be addicting, but also happens to be extremely expensive. These purchases aren’t as permanent as ink, but there’s ways to avoid dusty gear sitting in your closet. (This also all applies to software, obviously).

Why Do You Need It?

Let’s face it – recording gear is cool. Very cool. If you didn’t think so, you probably wouldn’t be reading this column. As impressive as it is to have towering racks with all the glowing lights and meters, do you actually need that new piece you see all the ads for? Unless you have the platinum card burning a hole in your pocket, it’s prudent to really understand the capabilities and limitations of your current setup. It’s important to be honest with your needs, and also prioritize: what’s more important right now, good monitors or the esoteric atomic word clock? (And yes, that’s a real thing).

Do Research

There is a wealth of recording opinion and fact on the Internet, including this column here. I try to stay away from recommending specific brands or gear, but there are plenty of places that will give you specific feedback. It’s sometimes difficult to weed through the ranting and raving on forums, but it can be worth it.

Even more valuable (or at least reliable) is the word of people whose ears you trust. If you’re not friends with any other engineers, you’re missing out on a great resource. If they’ve used the piece before, or know someone else who has, they can give you a much straighter report than any stranger online.

Buy Once, Not Twice

It’s very tempting to see two similar pieces and opt for the less expensive one. Budgets are tight, and are they really that different? Ask around, the cheaper one may be just that. Great gear can last decades, but some manufacturers take shortcuts on components. Your equipment shouldn’t be crapping out on you after a year or two. Learn what manufacturers have a reliable track record, and buy from them. It may cost a little bit more, but it’s cheaper than replacing your gear two years from now.

Also, as with any electronics, advancements are being made at a rapid pace. Is this “essential” software going to be outdated in a few months when Apple releases OSX Mountain Lion? You may want to wait and save yourself the hassle.

Try It Out

This isn’t the easiest method, but is by far the most effective route to know if gear is right for you. If a friend has some monitors you like, ask them if you can come through and listen to your reference disc and see if they really suit you. Borrow that mic for a weekend and see if it plays nice with your preamp. Your ears will tell you far more than any magazine review will.

Some people with the room on their credit cards will “borrow” a piece of gear from the store for the weekend, i.e.: buy it and return it on Monday. This isn’t a bad move necessarily, but there are two issues to watch out for. First, do it too often, and the salesman whose commission you’re toying with will start to resent you and slack off on the customer service. Second, many stores now charge a restocking fee to curb just this kind of action.

Make Friends

The rumor that everyone at gears stores is incompetent is not true. Yes, we’ve all run into less-than-experienced sales people only looking to push the crap with the highest profit margin on you. But there are knowledgeable people in stores, find them. There’s the obvious bonus of possible price breaks, but there’s also more than that. They can tell you if a certain unit has been getting a lot of returns – which is obviously not a good sign. They’ll often know when an upgrade is scheduled to be released, or when a company may be discontinuing a certain piece. If a company will soon stop supporting a certain product, it’s probably not a good buy. If you have any issues with it, you won’t be able to count on the manufacturer for assistance.

It is a terrible feeling to realize you don’t need or don’t like a piece of gear a month after spending your whole paycheck on it. It’s hard to resist the temptation to scoop up the hottest new piece that will totally transform your sound, but just make sure to make the wise upgrade.

Category: Pro-Logic