What are your gear prejudices? You've all got em'.

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by larry b

It's not the size, its what you do with it that counts.

thumbsupthumbsup

lol.....Larry, you must be too old to still believe in that ol yarn......

Things that say 'professional' on them usually have a somewhat repellant air about them........and condoms that promise MORE enjoyment are a little ridiculous too.....

[Sigma]

i can't stand the avalon 737..i think it's a MUSH machine

purple audio biz knobs and switches have a cheesy feel

not into boutique manufacturers with proprietary hardware..been around too long to get sucked into that crap..it's bad enough when some of the large manufacturers folded or stopped supporting

i avoid boutique microphones too..gimmie neumann, akg ev, shure, rca, shennhieser telefunken etc etc

the crapier the monitors the better..making something sound great on crap speakers is what it's all about..so i stay away from pleasant sounding monitiors

i have makie 6.5...old tanny pbm 6.5's and jbl 4410's plus harmon kardon computer spearks as my monitors

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by Sigma

i can't stand the avalon 737..i think it's a MUSH machine

Come to think of it, that thing has never but disappointed me when forced to use it......shiny looking piece of s***.

[Colonel Blues]

Originally Posted by Peacock

I am bad about not liking so called popular items that everyone uses. In fact as the years go by I am using more direct buy type items and less products available through retail. For example I just bought a compressor but decided to buy it directly from DAV.

Nearly everything that the masses use I do not like even if I have not heard it. For example as everybody began to talk about how great the Great River was I sold mine. Also, sold the distressor etc etc. etc. The more common and popular the less I use it.

Wow… and, thinking this way, what guitar brand is just left to you for playing, as it's not possible for you to play anything well considered and approved by masses, I guess ?

[Jim Williams]

Gear prejudice?

I don't like black gear. It's too dark to see.

I don't like brown gear, it looks like a crap sandwich.

I prefer a bland "alien" grey myself.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

[blim]

(1) Anything my "pro sales engineer" at Sweetwater recommends to me (e.g., Focusrite, Tannoy, Steinberg, Apple).

(2) Anything way overpriced for what it is (e.g., Monster, Waves).

(3) Any company whose corporate philosophy shows a contempt for their customers (e.g., Waves).

(4) Patchbays.

(5) And, above all else, half-rack gear. (There's no excuse. Ever.)

[blim]

Originally Posted by Jim Williams

Gear prejudice?

I don't like black gear. It's too dark to see.

I don't like brown gear, it looks like a crap sandwich.

I love the black gear. It's like they say: Once you go black, there's no going back.

But we'll agree on the brown gear. It looks like poop in a rack.

[RTR]

Originally Posted by larry b

That right there got me laughing! Ahhhh, man, so true, so true.



Amen. Haven't been to a GC since April, and i've never felt better! It's like rehab, im off the drugs now. In fact, about once every two months i place a large order through Redco for raw cable and connectors and then my tech and i just build whatever we need on the spot. I love it.

Nothing beats the confusion on some kid's face when i tell him that we build all of our own cable and that we can put together something with Mogami quad-core and top-of-the-line Neutrik connectors for far less than half of the cost of the equivalent Mogami cable at Guitar Center. I swear most of the kids that come through my studio don't even realize that it's possible to make your own cables...

Here's a fun little story about Guitar Center that has no point, but i will tell it anway.

I have a good friend who worked at my local GC store for a while. I used to go in there and shoot the breeze, occasionally buy something, and always make him look about 15 things up in the computer system. My local GC (Canton, MI) sucks for pro audio stuff. They have an unbelievable guitar selection, but the pro audio department is decidedly lacking. In fact, they have a UA LA-2A in the rack in the studio room, and it's seriously gathering dust, never plugged in, and for years i have had a suspicion that it's literally the same one that they've had since i started going in there years ago. It's also about the ONLY piece of high-end recording gear in the entire store. Oh, they have an LA-610MkII as well i guess, whoop dee doo. Seriously that is it in there though. The rest is maudio, presonus and b-word gear. So anway, one day we were in there laughing about how they will never sell the LA-2A, i mean really just snickering and having a "way-too-funny" type of moment. So i asked him to get on the terminal and check to see how long they have had that specific LA-2A. He's punching in numbers for a minute, and im still chuckling and going "you're gonna love it. are you ready, youre going to be laughing..." He stops, looks up at me, big smile on his face and says "dude, this store hasn't sold a single LA-2A the entire time they've been here! The one in the studio has been here since 2002!"

It's totally a "had-to-be-there" moment, but man were we dying. And yes, i know that it's probably the location more than it would be the employee's fault, coupled with the fact that the Southfield, MI location moves TONS of higher-end gear, and they are only a half hour drive from the Canton store, but still, it's just so funny to me for some reason.

They have a term called "Gilligan" which the guys at the Canton store use for anyone who comes into pro audio and asks hours worth of questions with no intent to buy anything. That is most people that go through there in fact. They like to take you on "the three hour tour"

Ok, im done laughing at GC for now.

OH ya..Try the GC in Saginaw..just pure crap with idiot working there, every time I went there to get something..they never had it, or the damn box was always opened..I shop on line now!!

[Friedemann]

Logic. Ever since I needed 20 minutes (!!) to create an empty audio track and rout it to an input I never touched this piece of software sh*t again.

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by Friedemann

Logic. Ever since I needed 20 minutes (!!) to create an empty audio track and rout it to an input I never touched this piece of software sh*t again.

lol. I'd have to agree, that is a bit too long....

[OceanMan]

Behringer: I'm sure you understand.

LOLZZZZ....well put.

Sure SM 57. How this mic got it's reputation, I'll never understand.

Really? You've got a few too many things listed on here man...you may want to consider liking some of them lol, although I do agree with you on some of those

[Colonel Blues]

Originally Posted by Friedemann

Logic. Ever since I needed 20 minutes (!!) to create an empty audio track and rout it to an input I never touched this piece of software sh*t again.

Just switch your monitor "on"

Ok…ok...

[DaleSnale]

Any boutique audio or A/C cabling – the performance/cost doesn't work for me. Give me Belden and ProCo

Switchcraft female XLR connectors and their look-alikes. They fail at the darndest times. The pin receptors stretch out and become intermittent. Sometimes it can be detected early by shaking the connector and listening for rattling inside. I replace these with Neutrik like a fanatic. Yet they seem to reappear in the rig as mysteriously as socks disappear in a dryer…

Interesting how the manufacturers and distributors in the OP and down the line all have very good marketing techniques and sales campaigns. Without independent research about products, one stands to lose some coin, and become jaded about particular brands of gear. Buyer Beware

DaleSnale

[FireMoon]

Companies that launch a top notch product and then, 2 years down the line, release the *improved version*, whilst, in effect, dissing the original. Even more of a pisser when the *new( product is 30% dearer and nowhere near 50%, as good as the original.

Companies that buy along established name, close down the original workshops, get rid of all the craftspeople, who might raise issues about quality and then issue a series of hugely expensive *vintage* designs that, frankly, no better than most copies...

Remastered Cds, of classic sounding albums, where the sound is utter garbage, just a lot louder. if i want to hear it louder , i will turn the chuffin thing up myself thank you...

20 foot long arms, drummer syndrome, on albums that are meant to be a *band* playing in a studio..

[gussyg2007]

anything
neve
cranesong
abbyroad
avalon
tube tech
manley
massenburg
ssl
lexicon
britcast
harrison
pmc
animod

only cos i can't afford it !!!!!

[MMski]

Originally Posted by larry b

My local GC (Canton, MI) sucks for pro audio stuff.

Don't even get me started on the Canton GC...

[Bassmankr]

I think the trick is to find the few great pcs. of gear from any manufacturer. Buying one in good shape used where someone else has eaten the depreciation is even better. I have yet to see any manufacturer get everything right as even the high end guys (including Neve, SSL, API, Telefunken) have their dogs. Thankfully we now have search engines and LOTS of old threads here on most gear as a great starting point for your research. If you can't find the gems made by the above listed companies in this thread like Alesis (can you say HD24XR), Peavey (can you say AMR), Roland (plenty here but can you say analog synths), etc... then you clearly have not used the search function and auditioned the gear. Even the hated Behringer has the V-verb Pro units that many here now have in their racks by taking advantage of their clearance price of $80 as a wonderful value reverb (if you got one that worked, I got two and had to exchange one of them LOL). Just do your homework first. Taking educated risks buying used to try different gear is not that painful as you are usually only out the shipping costs to resell any gear that doesn't make the rack. I do however agree with many points the OP makes especially with price for value.

[spoonie]

Prejudiced against:
Monster Cable
Bose
Behringer
Overly complex stuff for the sake of being complex

Biased towards:
Neutrik, Mogami
Genelec/Dynaudio/Adam/KRK
Neve, API, and even Mackie for trying to bring 'decent' sound to the masses for as little money as possible.
Simple stuff that kicks hard

[MidasHatesGold]

gear that has been hyped in forums by guys who never get their hands on....

BTW I like the fairchild...LOL

[doug hazelrigg]

I am a big proponent of Hamer guitars vs Paul Reed Smith. Hamers are less money, play better, and are still handbuilt in the TRUE, full definition of that term

I also LOVE Cubase and will never switch

[pendejo]

Adesigns - all their gear is fugly and the company has an entourage of half literate morons singing its praises

Cranesong - Clean analog with some sort of digital emulation
. WTF?

[sameal]

1. behringer. already mentioned too many times. i do have experience with these and hate them. like toys.

2. fender "road worn" guitars. "here let me drop your guitar down a flight of stairs and charge you an extra 1,000." what a stupid idea. the idea was to road ware your own guitar dumbass. thats like buying designer ripped jeans. they suck the fun out of anything for a dollar. next on fenders list will be road warped necks.

3. biamp. good god don't drop it!

4. the sm-57. yes it's on my list too. i'm still trying to work with it though. great for live use, ill never take that away from it.

5. apple. i just don't like them. i don't feel either is superior, i just prefer the p.c. format. im slowly starting to give them a chance however. but there's still that blackness lurking about in my heart for them....

6. repro units. unless it's a reproduction of something i couldn't possibly afford or get my hands on, no! like the repro universal audio stuff. it's just as expensive and not saving you anything, and now it's modern. which means it's gonna sound different. what the difference would be i have no friggin' idea, cause i can't afford either of the ****ers! even a d.i.y. prices out about the same and there's no gaurantee it's gonna even work. crap.

7.edirol. how many side company's are you gonna make/consume rolender?

im sure there's some more. but im spent for the moment.

[larry b]

Originally Posted by MMski

Don't even get me started on the Canton GC...

It's just so wrong over there. So wrong.

[StarfishMusic]

I have to admit I'm biased toward good looking gear but is that so bad when I have people paying me money to use it? My sound of course should and does speak for itself, but that matters way less to people than we'd like to think. I love my ART gear. Sure I have expensive stuff too, but the truth is my rack of ART PRO VLA IIs look better than most of it. I have a nice sized tascam 32 chnl console that looks great in the studio, but use my neve summing mixer instead. Will I ever sell the tascam? probably not. It makes the look of the room.

[fhames]

This is a great thread. It's great fun to see all the preferences. I have very strong prejudices.
Hate Waves
Love Crowley & Tripp, (RIP)
Great River
Distressor
Fender Deluxe Stratthumbsup
Love me some UAD plugs
I won't buy any Chinese made pieces, Berringer, Pearl, Maudio, etc...
Love Telefunken, Wunder Audio, Apogee, Spectrosonic, Mogami, Mesa,Charter Oak, Taylor, Collings, Radial, A Designs, Chandler, etc....out




Bryant - Hames Music

[glissando]

I avoid using UA stuff a lot..

[steelyfan]

Funny, like someone else said, I love seeing what the big guys are all into, what all the pros are using............so I know what no to buy.

again,..... it's just much more glamorous making cool recordings with practical gear.

[Milliken]

Fender USA - reissue anything. They took some of the best instrument and amplifier designs of all time and now use them as a way to rip people off.

Bose - Compressed, mid-scooped, overhyped bass, most scewed audio gear of all time. Sold in strip malls. That should tell you something.

Taylor - Acoustic guitars that sound all futuristic and hyped in the highs. Acoustic guitars don't need a NEW sound. Martin and Gibson perfected it about 50 yrs ago.

Guitar amplifiers without tubes - no explanation needed.

Microphone and preamp modeling - good luck with that.

Cheap condenser mics - What good are 6 $200 microphones gonna do for anyone? Stop trying to save $300 and get an AKG, AT, or Neumann.

Boss and Digitech pedals - crap.

Line 6 - unless you happen to be the first person ever that can make it sound like a real amp.....that's you right?

itunes - and anything mac that only supports it's own proprietary files and hardware. And I guess that takes me to the grand finale......

Pro Tools

[Sk106]

Originally Posted by steelyfan

Funny, like someone else said, I love seeing what the big guys are all into, what all the pros are using............so I know what no to buy.

it's just much more glamorous making cool recordings with practical gear.

One more here who feels that way too. I don't know about "more glamorous" but at least more fun .. AND more productive.

I remember seeing a magazine, when I was like 11-12 .. some rap artist, wish I could remember who it was, big bearded guy, ghetto pimp gone rich style, probably 20 lbs of gold stuff flashing around his neck, and as much on each arm, all the clichés, sitting in front of his "private" 96 ch console, and the classic opposite outboard rack shelf stuffed with god knows what gear .. and of course dimmed lights and "all diodes on" mode on all the equipment. I found his record the day after, thinking I must check out what the heck music would need that NASA setup ... what all the posing is about ..

"Bo-ts-pah-ts-boBo-ts-pah-ts ... yo, mothaföccah, ya'll don't föck wit me, I'll get my gang of ghetto warriors to föckin' slice up your knee ..."

It's much cooler to wipe the floor with guys who has invested $100,000 .. and when their fans see what you got .. they ask where all the gear is at .. and you just point to the single dull PC sitting in the corner

I guess we all got a sadistic streak .. like 'Put the ball up for an irresistable penalty kick and .. '

And when somebody succeded in doing something better than you, and he's using a larger setup, you can bet your ass people are going to say to you - almost explaining 'why' to you - it's because "he has got better resources" ... and you'll just gotta bite your tounge, knowing whatever you say back won't be understood no matter how you try.

[larry b]

Originally Posted by Sk106

One more here who feels that way too. I remember seeing a magazine, when I was like 11-12 .. some rap artist, big guy, ghetto pimp gone rich style, probably 20 lbs of gold stuff flashing around his neck, and as much on each arm, all the clichés, sitting in front of his private 96 chan console, and the classic opposite outboard rack shelf stuffed with god knows what gear .. and of course dimmed lights and "all diodes on" mode on all the equipment. I found his record the day after, thinking I must check out what the heck music would need that NASA style setup ... what's all the posing about ..

"Bo-ts-pah-ts-boBo-ts-pah-ts ... yo, motha****ah, ya'll don't **** wit me, I'll get my gang of ghetto warriors to ****ing slice up your knee ..."

It's much cooler to wipe the floor with guys who has invested $100,000 .. and when their fans see what you got .. they ask where all the gear is at .. and you just point to the single dull PC sitting in the corner

I guess we all got a sadistic streak .. like 'if serve a ball for that kind of irresistable penalty kick ... '

Well, when you can wipe the floor with nothing other than a PC in a corner, hey, more power to ya. You got real skills. Imagine what you could do with the NASA setup...right?