Higher end Gear you've hated?

[cosmos]

Any of the Focusrite Platinum series ( i dont even sure if i can call it High End... )

Any of the Focusrite Platinum series ...

ohhh ... i allmost forgot ...

[3rd world order]

avalon VT737 (white hot razor, useless compressor)
dbx 165A (plink machine)
TC electronics reverb (borrring)
Lexicon PCM90 (too thin)
akg 414 b-uls (useless)
line 6 echo pro (bad A/D/A)
langevin el-op (no transformers make homer go crazy)
genelec 1031As (ruined my life for 2 years)

[AShah]

Originally Posted by henryrobinett

Wow! Someone else!

Curious.... why do people hate Distressors? This is the first I've heard of sluts not liking lusty gear??!!

~AJ

[GYang]

Originally Posted by AShah

Curious.... why do people hate Distressors? This is the first I've heard of sluts not liking lusty gear??!!

~AJ

Hate.
Probably no, but I like them less and less with additions of good compressors to my rack.
I think I'll get rid of mine, but I don't hate them. I find them pretty useless.

[audiothings]

akg 414 b-uls (useless)
AKG 414 BXLS

this is scary... i might plunk some big greens on these in the near future. Anybody care to explain?

thanks,

[superburtm]

KM184's ( got three of these damn things )

RODE NT2

[AShah]

Originally Posted by superburtm

KM184's ( got three of these damn things )

RODE NT2

NT 2 has served me well, and for the money.... it's served me really well!!

~AJ

[frans]

I second AKG mics. Allthough most of them are not highend anyway. Within the law of statistics, there must be some good 414s ...

[Mike Jasper]

I don't know if it's high end, but I sure didn't like the Groove Tubes MD1a. But I've heard people rave about them, so maybe I got a bad one (it was bought used).

Jasper

[sage691]

Focusrite Red Comp. in the mid nineties (mushy, thin sounding junk!!)

Any PT plug-in that I was ever stupid enough to waste my money on

ADATS when they were $2700 each (what a rip!!)

UA 1176 Blackface re-issue (an original BlueStripe my friend owns smokes it for electric bass!!)

[absrec]

dfegad Amek 9098 DMA

[Omicron_9]

Josephson C-42. Noise machine. SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Totally unusable for me. Although if you like analog, this has instant tape hiss built in. Also good if you like the sound of steam radiators.

-O.9

[raydo]

tab funkenwork v78
rme fireface
mackie big knob

[ulle]

Originally Posted by thethrillfactor

Stuff that didn't bowl me over and proved the point don't believe the hype/ check it out for yourself:

Portico mic pre

Pendulumn ES-8

Cranesong STC-8

DW Fearn VT-1

Daking mic pre and compressor

Vintech anything

Transient Designer

Summit DCL-200

DBX 160SL

Avalon 2044

Soundelux mics

Manley Gold Ref mic

Korby mic with switchable capsules

Adam monitors

Speck mono EQ

The RNC compressor

Cranesong is rubbish, DW Fearn and Daking just crap, Pendulum a joke (isn´t it) ? .... ok , ok, ...go on..

so , I guess you better stay with Behringer, M-Audio and Tascam ;-)

[7om]

Originally Posted by henryrobinett

Wow! Someone else!

I have been hanging on to my Distressor thinking that I just didn't get it yet. Still want to experiment with it, though these posts make me think that maybe it's just not my taste.

Also not a fan of the 414. I think they sound thin.

[henryrobinett]

Distressors - I never bought one, but I've used them extensively. It took me a long time to finally realize I just didn't get it and it was OK. I hated the sound I got every single time I slapped it on. After a while you'd forget what you were hearing, kind of like a house that stinks. You no longer smell the compressed farts and fish until you step outside and back in again.

There's this tone it gets I just hate. Nasal.

[Ollie]

Soundelux mics - Never sounded like a good vintage Neumann or Akg

Rode mics

Have not found alot of new mics that I love ( Gefell UMT70 m300 are good sounding mics though- so are Royers; )

Newer Tube Tech - LCA2B (not my cup of tea at all - not crap just not for me) (I did like the CL1B)

Mackie Mixers - had one early on and it was a lot o nothin

[redddog]

Fireface?

Why....the preamps?

[Igotsoul4u]

c-800 hands down.dfegad or waves

[RKrizman]

Distressor
Neumann M149
Royers on guitar amps
Blue Sky monitors
Dangerous 2 Bus
My buddy's distorted LA2A
Vintech X73
Soundeluxe E47

[Rob G]

24 track tape machines(love how they sound with Dolby SR). Who here loves having to do tape alignments from scratch, or setting up synchronizers ,or losing a whole track when syncing two, or more machines together, or losing high frequencies as the tape wears, , or waiting for the transport to locate, or splicing, & so on, & so forth.

Rob G.

[absrec]

Originally Posted by henryrobinett

Distressors

Originally Posted by RKrizman

Distressor

Originally Posted by 7om

I have been hanging on to my Distressor thinking that I just didn't get it yet. Still want to experiment with it, though these posts make me think that maybe it's just not my taste.

Is it fashionable to say you hate the Distressor? Whatever... more for me, I guess!

[manning1]

as a gearslut who doesnt have a big budget, but looking to get some high end gear in the next few years....
i'm very very curious from the folks who posted so far...
what DO you like in mics/pre's/etc and other recording equiipment.
maybe it needs a new thread .
the harrison console sort of surprised me. i tried one once.
but maybe it was modded.

[Mark Warren]

Mesa Boogie Triaxis - Hundreds of presets of the exact same sound. Had the Simul Class power amp with it to, equally as lame. Any MESA head sounded better, and that's saying alot since MESA heads aren't all that anyways.

[JMWS]

Triaxis here too, almost have thrown it from the balcony. Soooooooooooooooo much technical problems, almost ruined our recording sessions. (It has a nice sound though, haven´t found better yet ).

[roxxon]

Some people will want my head...
Yamaha NS10s.
I hate those speakers.
Okay on guitar and vox.
I think they suck...when attempting to mix anything else.
Not a great ref monitor...
Very highly over-rated.
If that were your only set of ref monitors getting a decent mix would be similar
"an act of God" or the "Second Coming of Jesus."

[edvdr76]

Blue Bottle. Tried it out with the original capsule that it comes with. Didn't like it at all. Sounds dull to me. Maybe with a different capsule I might dig it.tutt

[JohnnyTonk]

Originally Posted by 3rd world order

genelec 1031As (ruined my life for 2 years)

..could you elobarate on that a bit more for us?

[RKrizman]

Originally Posted by absrec

Is it fashionable to say you hate the Distressor? Whatever... more for me, I guess!

If anything it's always been fashionable to swoon over them. I think they impart a slightly nasal, smaller than life tonality, which actually can help to fit a track into the big picture if that's the approach you're taking. I always think stuff sounds better without them, but I think I'm in the minority, this thread notwithstanding.

-R

[dokushoka]

Originally Posted by RKrizman

If anything it's always been fashionable to swoon over them. I think they impart a slightly nasal, smaller than life tonality, which actually can help to fit a track into the big picture if that's the approach you're taking. I always think stuff sounds better without them, but I think I'm in the minority, this thread notwithstanding.

-R

I think, if abused, they're definitely capable of what you describe. I think they're definitely a compressor that has a learning curve. The Distressor is currently my favorite comp for mixing rock/pop snare and bass drums. I usually use a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio, the first "detector" switch in the second position and the "dist 2" setting. I really like the attack envelope with these settings as it flattens out the kick and snare enough to get them to "sit" but still leaves enough transients to let it punch. I like that the release is VERY responsive and allows you to really tailor it to the tempo of the song. I honestly don't really like to use them for much else at this point in my life, but am content with them even still.