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Buying Equipment

TnyjMuzic	Date: April 24, 2008 @ 12:16 PM how much do you spend on equipment and how offen to do buy new stuff. I personally have not updated my gear since the 90's. The stuff i have not is pretty ouudated to the point where i have trouble finding a certain bass sounds, Keyboard sounds, etc. I am not of fan of digital recording so i don't use any software.
TnyjMuzic	Date: April 24, 2008 @ 12:31 PM The stuff i have now is pretty outdated.
hantu	Date: April 24, 2008 @ 12:41 PM I use software. Not sure if this counts but i usually buy a new pc when something serious goes wrong with it, like --- KABOOM
Mojosnake	Date: April 24, 2008 @ 12:44 PM hell man ,there are people (big name producers) that swear that the stuff (hardware) made in the 70's and 80's are still the bomb!!! so if our just using presets, man get deeper and learn what your hardware can really do... though this is comming from someone who..like hantu ,pretty much uses software....
hantu	Date: April 24, 2008 @ 12:58 PM still, i would imagine it's good to have some new stuff and mix it all up.
leedsquietman	Date: April 24, 2008 @ 1:19 PM Use both. Get the best of both worlds - there are still plenty of bands who record to analog tape or ADAT and then dump the tracks into a sequencer for mixing, for the extra control and editability. A lot of DAW software now allows you to route in and automatically compensate for hardware/outboard gear, I know that Cubase SX3 and Cubase 4, Sonar 7PE and Logic Pro 7 and Logic Studio 8 and Ableton Live 7 all allow this. PLus you get all the extra flexibility of plugins etc.
GeneHilbert	Date: April 24, 2008 @ 3:07 PM I'm always acquiring new shit, but I keep the old shit... Anyone have warehouse space to rent.....?
DaveWL	Date: April 25, 2008 @ 12:01 AM Being married it’s kind of hard to spend £500 on a new guitar when you need a new television, or a new gate, or a new whatever and justify it. So new stuff is usually software because it’s easier to hide the evidence (sneaky I know) I know people say old sounds best, but new is normally more comfortable, easier to use and better value for money.
Distilled1	Date: April 25, 2008 @ 3:31 AM my hardware is old 70s-90s the newest is the mixer and that is soon to be replaced by a bigger better one. software like daveWL says is easy to hide and those gates and household items have to get paid for. Keyboards, you really need to at a min update sound modules as if you don't you start sounding like your oingo boingo depending on what you are trying to accomplish and what keyboards you have, many will still hang in there others have some god awful sounds that you can't add modules to. our keyboardist (although uses racks and a lot of software now still kicks himself for selling an old kurzwile (sic) that had great sounds + abilitty to add sounds via a floppy! drum machines are all the same In my opinion, and you can get so much more from software and "real" drum sound loops etc. Gene you can store stuff here!
zedsalt	Date: April 25, 2008 @ 3:42 AM I have an unnatural amount of love for bargains. If freelancing was both more profitable and predictable, I'd probably have a (more) ridiculous amount of new gear from the deep discount catalogs. As it is, the bulk of my gear is stuff that I bought for next to nothing, THEN figured out what I would use it for. As tempting as it is to post my studio pic for the umpteenth time, I'll just say that there are two guitars which...if they were all original in pristine condition (they're neither)...would be worth more than I paid for the whole roomful of equipment.
zedsalt	Date: April 25, 2008 @ 4:01 AM And, y'know, now that I think about it, the only thing in there that's in real danger of becoming "outdated" is the piece I paid the most for. The minidisc multitrack- around $1,300, first thing I could find with digital editing AND removable media...now, the data format minidiscs are hard to find and expensive. I got the Moogerfooger MF101 when they first came out, too, paid about $460 for it. I didn't pay more than $200 for anything else in the room, and the most common price I gave was "one dollar, in with a box of other stuff at an auction".
ChillinBuzz	Date: April 25, 2008 @ 4:53 AM PC is strong enough to handle all my audio abuse... But for nostalgia trips i have my Fostex XR-7 cassette multitracker... and a Yamaha keyboard that i may get round to trying the MIDI on sometime... i would murder for a rack of old school electronic gear... TR-909... TB-303...
Veracohr	Date: April 25, 2008 @ 12:54 PM On 25th Apr 2008, ChillinBuzz said: i would murder for a rack of old school electronic gear... TR-909... TB-303... You aware of these things?
Veracohr	Date: April 25, 2008 @ 12:55 PM Okay, that didn't work. http://www.ladyada.net/make/x0xb0x/ http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/products/linndrum2/index.php
TnyjMuzic	Date: April 25, 2008 @ 2:09 PM Zedsalt i remember when those minidisc multitrack recorder fist come out. I could,t tell you how much i wanted one. But they sort of came and went at the same time. I recall when it was thought that minidisc were gonna replace Compact Discs. I see a few of those Minidiscs multitrack recorders and players on Ebay at pretty reasonable prices but i guess no one cares to buy one. I have my eye on this Tascam Da88 for only $400.00
KitRumble	Date: April 25, 2008 @ 10:26 PM I just purchased a Neko 76LX which is sort of a merger between hardware and software...great for anyone looking to merge into software but fearful of the pc bastard hates me Oh why did I sell my korg karma phobia... http://images2.dmusic.com/users/k/i/t/kitrumble/t-65513.jpg
zedsalt	Date: April 26, 2008 @ 3:16 AM I'll never understand why minidisc never really took off here in the U.S. They are thousands of times more durable than a CD and can support all different sorts of data compression without changing players. At one point, prerecorded minidiscs were outselling CDs in Japan six to one, but here? Hardly a fizzle...
ChillinBuzz	Date: April 26, 2008 @ 7:16 AM On 25th Apr 2008, Veracohr said: Okay, that didn't work. http://www.ladyada.net/make/x0xb0x/ http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/products/linndrum2/index.php not quite the original sexiness but tasty nonetheless.
leedsquietman	Date: April 27, 2008 @ 7:02 AM The quality of softsynth drums these days really does make them a good choice. I mean, TR808's modded with MIDI and 909's and TB303's etc are massively popular tools for electronic music, but really I wouldn't pay 1000 dollars for a beat up 808. Ultrabeat (Logic plugin) does a great impression of it. Ableton Live's new drum machines (which has sampled 606, 707, 808, 909, cr78, linn drums, boss dr55 and DMX) in conjunction with drum racks gives you way more flexibilitiy and programmability. BFD, Stylus RMX, and Addictive drums etc. are all cool. Yes, samples and synthesized reproductions don't give you 100% of the same sound, but they give you a lot of it and way more flexibility and cheaper cost.
zedsalt	Date: April 28, 2008 @ 3:13 AM Must...resist...urge to...start making jokes...about how hard...drummers are...to get along with... Hey, do we have a "bites tongue" icon?
ChillinBuzz	Date: April 28, 2008 @ 10:06 AM having it all on a pc application is cool, lqm... but it's not just about the price of the old gear (and no, i wouldn't pay $1000 either) - there's something about the original analog gear that no amount of computers and applications will replace. also, flexibility? we wrote songs with nothing more than a guitar/keyboard and a cassette recorder once (those here who are old enough to remember those things ) with no punch facility, no monitors, no preamps, no gimmicks just a straightforward mic... no flexibility at all and songs were still made, never mind the software i've used for years never measures up to the big apps but never fails to produce something that sometimes you couldn't tell was made from free software.
leedsquietman	Date: April 28, 2008 @ 10:25 AM yes, I remember those days too, been there, done that.
ChillinBuzz	Date: April 28, 2008 @ 10:37 AM i do have the TR-909 samples and with a little tweaking on the EQ it certainly brings back memories... i always fancied doing some live stuff but i don't want to rely on computers for everything in the setup. a lot of my early 90s jams/writings had none of this stuff in it and it seemed more fun than doing the whole tune via a PC.