Biggest dissapointment/waste of money

[toasteh]

Genelec 8020. Great sound quality, but after a while my ears feel raped, so in my case I dont find them usable. Way prefer my good old KRK's in the long run, and I love their neutral sound.

Virus TI. Although its an amazing synth, their drivers are heavily unstable still, and Access refuses to let their customers know if, at all, they will release drivers that are compatible with the new 64bit systems, which is a pain, not even getting a 'No' so that I may sell it. Not nice leaving us in the dark after a 3000$ purchase.

[Mavvok]

Originally Posted by strewnshank

Voicemaster Pro.

Sold a John Petrucci Ibanez P4 for it. I've been kicking myself since, considering I ditched the Voicemaster a while ago and would still be playing that P4 today.

why?

[deeper]

Originally Posted by PinnacleProdUK

Biggest dissapointment/waste of money

For me, that would be health insurance. The healthcare industry just ripped me off for over $3000 AFTER insurance claims were paid, and the tests revealed that THERE WASN'T A DAMN THING WRONG WITH ME. But each test was inconclusive, requiring additional tests, each more expensive than the previous.

From now on, if I'm going to throw money away, instead of throwing it away on insurance, I vow to throw it away on gear.

[Keith Moore]

Originally Posted by giraffe

the pre's are unusable, but it was stable as hell for me.
the 003 is not nearly as reliable.

I really wish Digi would make another PCI based LE system. I got many many great records out of my 001 before I went to HD.

[RTR]

Originally Posted by voicegenius

Digi 001

I loved my 001 when it came out..I have never had anything that stable again!!
Now my 003, there is some worthless pre's!!

[Chucho]

pc + digi 001 off the shelf 'audio recording system'.

for that expensive shite I got rid of my lovely alesis 8 track midi sequencer and my uncrashable mac 6100 :(

[vernier]

Originally Posted by PinnacleProdUK

Hey Slutz, Whats your biggest disappointment in terms of a purchase? What have you had high regard for and it just hasn't met your expectations? Has it been on the recommendation of somebody else?

It could be hardware, software, Plugins, Keyboards/synths, Mic's etc?

I know you will say that you should always try before you buy but everybody at some point is in a situation where try before buy simply isn't an option?

I wasn't impressed by roger nichols bundle, The compressor is not very nice and all the plugs are far to complicated for everyday use, this is only my opinion.

Lets hear yours?

For me it was high-end solid state. I had some of the best, but it came up short compared to vintage tube stuff.

[Teddy Ray]

Originally Posted by vernier

For me it was high-end solid state. I had some of the best, but it came up short compared to vintage tube stuff.

Man, I agree with you, but you sound like you are stuck in an endless analog/tooob/transformer/ loop. like that thing at the fair...the partner, have a quarter, take a shot robot. all good though.

[dandeurloo]

distressor. It is over rated. Sorry to say I know people love it but not for me. Maybe some day I will change my mind but i prefer my Scott Liebers 1076 and LA 2a over it any day, any track.

[strewnshank]

Originally Posted by Mavvok

why?

Because I liked it and was awesome to play, clearly. I didn't know we'd also have to defend our answers.......

[alcohol]

Chinese built Vox AC 30. Really poorly built.

Avalon U5 - totally unnecessary.

Fostex M80 - digital definitely sounds better.

[dubrichie]

Focusrite Platrinum preamps, the Octopre to be specific. oh man, the sound of ass.

Samplitude 9 Pro. such potential, so buggy, such bad support. ran screaming back to PT and spent the money on HD.

ProTools LE. what a joke. a bad joke.

Waves SSL. sounds crap, totally over-priced, won't work on my updated and otherwise very stable DAW system unless i pay WUP. not chancing it. written off.

Plugins in general. i'm going to go outboard for all EQ and Compression. not even the UAD stuff cuts it compared to the real deal.

[macr0w]

Music lessons.

That was a big waste of money and time.

It's certainly not necessary in this day and age.

[Claude G.]

Here's my list of pieces I have owned & HATED: They all sounded like ass to me.....

Grace Design 101
Speck Audio ASC EQ
GT Brick
Most 3 series (330, 3300, etc) Roland FX boxes
Heil PRO 40

I have more.....later

[Tommy-boy]

Rode D-Plugs - I tried to use them to boost gain on ribbons so I could use regular mics. The D-Plugs were the most hideously noise pieces of junk I've ever used. Great concept, extremely poorly implemented. I ditched them and bought a TRP instead.

Lexicon MPX 550 - Nice effects, but the routing was limited and the noise floor was very high. Ditched for a TC Electronics M-1 which has better routing and a much lower noise floor.

[dkelley]

Originally Posted by macr0w

Music lessons.

That was a big waste of money and time.

It's certainly not necessary in this day and age.

haha, yea, in this day and age an education is far less important than it used to be in the old days.

sure.... ;-)

[MMski]

Originally Posted by strewnshank

Voicemaster Pro.

Sold a John Petrucci Ibanez P4 for it. I've been kicking myself since, considering I ditched the Voicemaster a while ago and would still be playing that P4 today.

Wooooooww... If we ever meet, remind me to slap you!!!

[Quickpunch]

Mezzo.

[tysonviolin]

Originally Posted by dkelley

haha, yea, in this day and age an education is far less important than it used to be in the old days.

sure.... ;-)

HAHA

[dkelley]

Originally Posted by tysonviolin

HAHA

of course being a violinist like me we probably look at music lessons a little differently ;-)

cheers!
Don

[jammate]

TC Finalizer plus

[Claude G.]

Originally Posted by Teddy Ray

Millennia Media Mic preamps

Grace Design Mic preamps

Soundeluxe u195

Royer 121

they are all variations on a theme of bright vanilla ugly

Agree....add the DAV BG-1 preamp to the list.......

[Teddy Ray]

Originally Posted by Claude G.

Agree....add the DAV BG-1 preamp to the list.......

cant agree with you there, pops.... I use nothing but( half DAV, Half Pendulum).the BG sounds NOTHING like the grace... whereas the grace and millennia sound nearly identical. to me the BG sound is perfect...clean, with just the right amount of "sweetening"// hence their popularity here.

maybe you ought to stay away from clean amps, eh? find somethning with plenty of coloration to mask the source and give you that nice WARRRRMTH.

[Jim Williams]

Pro Tools, Nuendo, Cubase, computer mixing, etc.

Total waste of time. Glad I held on to the outboard and console. If I had to use a computer to do audio, I wouldn't do audio. I don't want to become a computer operator. It's an oil and water mix to me.

I also prefer the linear sonics of great transistors over slower euphonic tube gear.
I like bipolar transistors, not so much jfets. You can't beat "the bipolar bear" for realism. He can get a bit unruly, you would be too if you had two heads and no ass.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

[Claude G.]

Originally Posted by Teddy Ray

cant agree with you there, pops.... I use nothing but( half DAV, Half Pendulum).the BG sounds NOTHING like the grace... whereas the grace and millennia sound nearly identical. to me the BG sound is perfect...clean, with just the right amount of "sweetening"// hence their popularity here.

maybe you ought to stay away from clean amps, eh? find somethning with plenty of coloration to mask the source and give you that nice WARRRRMTH.

Well I guess that is why I mainly use Great River M1NV and Ward-Beck pres.....I didn't think the DAV was much different than the Grace....but that's my opinion.....

[alkooloid]

So glad this thread came up.
Making me realize my intuition on a lot of gear is right.
Of course I have my own pieces of crap to lament over.
Let's see...
Guitar amp/effect modelers. Poo, mostly.
The effects can be useful at mixdown.

Aphex 109 EQ. Full-on ass.

JoeMeek Meekualizer. Noisy - and the hi and lo is crap.
Sweepable mid is kinda cool.

Lexicon Prime Time. I know it's not 1979 anymore but
am I missing something?

White 4000. Boring.

Korg Legacy stuff. LOVE it! But I can't keep it running, unstable and now
they want me to BUY a syncrosonic key? F*ck Korg.

TL Audio EQ2. Like some chips with your Toobs? Pointless.

Okay. I feel better.

[unfadeable]

The TLM 67 was a huge disappointment/complete waste of money

[Hammer Mark]

Digi001 -- I made the mistake of thinking I needed to be running ProTools to be "standard". I bought the 001, had it repaired, then was told that my PC wasn't the right kind of PC. Did quite a bit of research, bought a new PC -- still wrong. Sold the 001, bought a MOTU 896, and an unsupported version of Cubase VST 5.1 ($100) and never looked back.

Black Lion Audio MOTU 896 mod -- No audible improvement and some of the worst (and most obnoxious) customer service I've ever had the misfortune of receiving.

MOTU 896 w/ BLA Mods Test#1 - OH

MOTU 896 w/ BLA Mods Test#2 - Ac Gtr

[Claude G.]

many of the low cost ribbon mics, Nady, etc. - I run them through Great River M1NV, Ward-Beck 460D, HCL Affinity 2, and other good pres.....the sound? Not that great. The only lower cost ribbons I use a lot, particularly on harmon-muted trumpet, are the Beyerdynamics....real good!

[Teddy Ray]

Originally Posted by Claude G.

many of the low cost ribbon mics, Nady, etc. - I run them through Great River M1NV, Ward-Beck 460D, HCL Affinity 2, and other good pres.....the sound? Not that great. The only lower cost ribbons I use a lot, particularly on harmon-muted trumpet, are the Beyerdynamics....real good!

they are all just colors in the palette...just gotta find where they work.
I have some cheap ribbons too...the Stephen Sank mods take them to a whole new level.

Pro Audio Heaven! Vintage Ribbon Microphones, RCA, Shure, Neumann, Neve, B&O and more... - Home

Service by Stephen Sank in the manner of RCA

Send mics to:

H&Y, LLC
336 E. Ft Lowell Rd.
Suite 103
Tucson, AZ 85705

Prices are as follows:

Most single ribbon mics w/NOS RCA upgrade : $200
Most double ribbon mics w/ RCA upgrade : $250
Transformer upgrades : $75
Behringer T1953 Burr Brown upgrade : $ 200
Full Cosmetic Restorations may vary : $150-$500+

Payments by PayPal or Credit Card

Please inquire for your specific mic. While there may be others that service these for a little less, we are the only shop in the world using 'real' NOS RCA ribbon material andthe actual corrugation tool that Harry Olsen had the engineering shop make at RCA. This combined with the highly skilled knowledge and technique of Stephen Sank, son of Jon Sank, means that your microphone's sound is greatly improved and has a greater value when serviced by our world famous mic shop.

All of our ribbons are cut, corrugated, installed and tuned by hand with genuine RCA tools and NOS RCA ribbon material, in the exact manner of RCA. Many other shops use improper weighted ribbons that are corrugated differently, some even make their ribbons with a machine instead of by hand. We insist on providing only the highest quality service.

There is a limited supply of the original RCA ribbon stock, this is the best sounding material for ribbon microphones and makes a huge differnce in the sound. This is true for RCA mics as well as upgrading the sound of others such as the B&O's, Shures, and Beyers. Feel free to ask questions below, THANKS!