What's more important, Quality or Quantity when it comes to being a Gearslutz?

[Remoteness]

Is there a different level of Gearslutness if you got quality gear instead of huge quantity of your favorite stuff?

What about when... You got both?

Does having a quantity of quality gear make you a Super Nymph Gearslut?

And, are you a trashy Gearslut if you just got a ton of crapy gear?

Or, are we all just beautiful Gearslutz, one and all?

[Remoteness]

[Jules]

Hmm good question, products like:

Viper
Neve 1073

Kinda make a fool of the rest of your gear IMHO,

I think constantly upgrading and clearing out the dead wood is a good plan...

Right now I am into: "replace & improve" more than new gear acquisition.

That said, I want

PTHD
Fiber network for running all sessions at 96k
EAR 660 compressor
Neve BCM10 sidecar
Viper
All the top 5 vintage mic classics
Classic compressors
etc etc


ONE DAY!

[Audiochef1]

Selection without comprimise of quality

[CrazyBeast]

Quality! Only buy stuff that you won't hate in a year or so I say.

[Musiclab]

I'm with Jules on this. When I first started my place I got what I could afford. Since I tend to do projects with alot of tracks many of my early purchases were of average gear at the best price I could get it for. I was just trying to accumulate as many channels of outboard as I could. Now I've managed to clear out most of that and replace it with better stuff.

IMHO the true gear slut has lots of quality gear and then odd quirky cheapo stuff like my Gemini Easyrider. Which I like on guitars. But really the best example I know of the true gear slut is probably you Mr Remote, who definetly has more gear than he could use

[Jax]

Originally posted by Remoteness
Or, are we all just beautiful Gearslutz, one and all?

You were supposed to sell the ecstacy...



I'd rather have a few very high quality pieces that barely help me get the job done but sound great, instead of a bunch of crappy stuff that's meant to cover all the bases but makes the project sound like crap.

I never really went through the stage of buying affordable but bad-sounding junk because I did my homework for a long time before putting my studio together.

[Dave Martin]

Quality. Huge quantities of quality.

[kfledman]

Originally posted by Remoteness
Is there a different level of Gearslutness if you got quality gear instead of huge quantity of your favorite stuff? grggt

What about when... You got both?

Does having a quantity of quality gear make you a Super Nymph Gearslut? :eek:

And, are you a trashy Gearslut if you just got a ton of crapy gear?

Or, are we all just beautiful Gearslutz, one and all?

Steve, after seeing some of your inventory in person, I would say without a doubt you are a Super Nymph Gearslut.

I would say given the choice, go for quality over quantity....You've not had to choose [or is it that you have chosen wisely over the years starting with quality gear and have been able to keep building up your collection of quality gear...I suspect crappy gear would lead to crappy results would lead to less work which would lead to less ability to buy gear.......]

Anyway, I'd like to think I have been choosing a balance of quality for the important stuff while covering the bases with less than ideal gear when necessary [LXP-1 is my current "main reverb" because I have chosen not to put my money into a great reverb yet......I put the money into a tube mic....].

But, a little semi-warning.....If you have cheap gear that does something you really like, don't get rid of it when you upgrade...You just may end up missing that flavor down the line......

[Steve Smith]

quality, and the true slut knows that that doesn't nessicarily mean expensive!


But more often than not it does!

[chessparov]

To paraphrase, recording is like a gearslut sandwich-
the more talented the singer/musicians are, the less bread you
have to "eat"( on equipment to make it tasty).

I prefer Grey Poupon with my Neve BTW.

Chris

[Jax]

Originally posted by chessparov
I prefer Grey Poupon with my Neve BTW.

Yeah, Neve is more of a poultry or a fish than a beefy kind of sound.

[wildplum]

What's more important, Quality or Quantity?

Isn't that the rhetorical question that is most often asked once the room has ceased to thunder, And all that's left is the stain on the sheet?


(apologies to Winwood/Capaldi- gig last night, existing today of very little sleep, not thinking straight...)

[Remoteness]

Originally posted by wildplum
What's more important, Quality or Quantity?

Isn't that the rhetorical question that is most often asked once the room has ceased to thunder, And all that's left is the stain on the sheet?


(apologies to Winwood/Capaldi- gig last night, existing today of very little sleep, not thinking straight...)

No, the title read, "What's more important, Quality or Quantity when it comes to being a Gearslutz?" I said, "Is there a different level of Gearslutness if you got quality gear instead of huge quantity of your favorite stuff?"

Meaning, is a person with a lot of "OK" gear still as much a Gearslut as the one with a few pristine pieces? What about the other way around?

Maybe some folks think you're not a "real" Gearslut unless you have "X" amount of gear to qualify... You never know.

Remoteness wants to know.

[Brenton]

Well I think Quality is largely irrelevant.

Being a gearslut is about attitude towards gear..............the amount you spend comes from the amount you earn, I would buy the really expensive stuff if I could.

I have pretty average stuff compared to most here but I live and breath trying to get more. I lust after the big expensive stuff that I can't afford as much, maybe even more that the guy who can afford it.

I am still a slut.

Example, I have a tight budget. If someone gives me money I will spend it on gear.

I lent some money to someone last year who is about to pay it back, it will go on gear, it shouldn't as I have lots of other needs but it will. In fact it was just last night I was told it was coming back and this morning I have already got the prices and am ready to buy.

My mother sometimes asks what projects around the house need to be done so she could help out a bit.
More Gear


I really should go on a holiday............I won't..........gear


I am a slut

[Audiochef1]

grggt Who screws better a virgin with a brand new rig or a reeeal slut.

[THEMIXFIX]

It's the quality of the ENGINEER, NOT of the gear, that REALLY matters, IMHO!!

[Remoteness]

Ken,

You're totally correct. I try to choose my gear wisely. An example is holding out for the Tascam DA88 instead of buying the hype of the ADAT syndrome. Another example is buying Otari over Tascam multitracks in the late 70s, early 80s. Some gear choices were correct at first, but faded out over time. Some gear choices have been rock solid from day one. I don't think I ever made a bad microphone choice yet!

But don't get rid of your "crappy" gear yet. Like Ken mentioned, crappy gear can be just the right flavor you need to make your project sound special.

[Jay Kahrs]

I say quality. A few pieces of good kit is always better then lots of crap. I'd rather have 6 channels of great compression then 20 channels of crap. Sometimes the crap is great for somethings. I love my Alesis Microlimiter, but it's one of those pieces that rarely gets used. Maybe I'd use it more if I had it in the patchbay rather then in a box with the guitar pedals.

[fishtop_records]

Originally posted by Remoteness
Maybe some folks think you're not a "real" Gearslut unless you have "X" amount of gear to qualify... You never know.
Remoteness wants to know.

Since you don't like the "Both" answer, I will propose
that a true gearslutz spends a high (even ridiculously
high) percentage of gross income on gear.

Rookie gearslutz are true gearslutz, they just have
to first get mics, stands, pres, effects, etc. for
eight or sixteen channels of recording.

Journeymen gearslutz upgrade the quality from
SM57s to Neumanns and Telefunkens.

Both spend the greater amout of:
80% of their net (take home after rent and beer) income or
45% of their gross (before rent and beer) income.

Just MHO, as someone almost starting to approach being
a journeyman gearslutz.

[Inky Goddess]

Originally posted by Remoteness
...is a person with a lot of "OK" gear still as much a Gearslut as the one with a few pristine pieces? What about the other way around?

These criteria, and the ones in the previous post, would disqualify me from being a gearslut. If it's requisite that I actually OWN all this gear you guys talk about, I'll just pack up my little cast-off karaoke machine and Peavey CD-20 and never post again.


If, on the other hand, more of you agree that

Originally posted by Brenton
Being a gearslut is about attitude towards gear...

well...I guess I can stick around a while if y'all let me. I love reading your posts, even when you completely lose me. I ain't the dimmest bulb on the tree, ya know, and you guys teach me a lot. And I love learning about the new gear; I haven't worked in a studio since the analog days, and all the broadcast stuff is completely fresh and new for me.

I thought I was a gearslut, but now you guys made me feel bad. I love gear but I don't own a stick of it, so am I a gearslut or not?

Should I stay or should I go now???

[Dave Martin]

Originally posted by Inky Goddess
[B]

I thought I was a gearslut, but now you guys made me feel bad. I love gear but I don't own a stick of it, so am I a gearslut or not?

Let's give Inky a group hug... Of COURSE you're a gear slut - lusting after it counts, even when it's someone elses... besides, you know that you're gonna end up buying it eventually, and when that time comes, you'll have a better idea of what you want. (Or at least, who you want to hang around with...)

[Ted Nightshade]

Make that a group grope- let me get my fingers on your faders! Hey, is that your peanut butter, or what?

Me I'm a quality gearslut but it takes all kinds. Less and less better and better gear. Sold a couple nice pres and a HEDD to buy a SLAM!, and I'm glad I did. Sold all kinds of stuff to get that HEDD. The funnel narrows. Straight to 2 track 'cause I only have converters that make me want to leave the tape machine alone. Won't sell the tape machine though- they don't make 'em like that any more.

[Ted Nightshade]

Please excuse my group grope joke... anybody know that old Fugs song?

It's just to say, yeah, gearlust makes you one of us! Ownership is not the point, it's getting to USE the stuff!

[Inky Goddess]

happiness is a warm AE...thanks fellas! and just so y'all know, i bartended for about thirteen years...a "group grope" is definitely one of the tamest events i've ever been invited to!

[Remoteness]

I know, I'm bumping another old thread, but I do think it's relevant to the 2009 mindset.

[Daniel Stark]

I actually have found that ironically having really nice gear, makes me less of a gearslut. This is because I don't shop for mics/pres etc, or worry about upgrading what I have.

When I was using ADK mics and a Yamaha i88x, my recordings sounded fine but I was on eBay all the time. Now I have gefell mics and a dsd recorder, my recordings still sound fine but I don't troll around looking for deals on gear (as much).

IMHO

[d_fu]

Originally Posted by Daniel Stark

When I was using ADK mics and a Yamaha i88x, my recordings sounded fine but I was on eBay all the time. Now I have gefell mics and a dsd recorder, my recordings still sound fine but I don't troll around looking for deals on gear (as much).

I've also practically stopped looking for new mics on ebay every day - in fact I even sold off two last year (Gefell M930 and KM184)...

My guess would be that there are both types - a slut for quantity and one for quality... I would consider myself in between, I don't go beneath a certain quality, but I don't aim for "esoteric" gear. And while I don't collect huge amounts, a certain number of mics to choose from is a good thing. Maybe I'm a wishy-washy gearslut..

[fifthcircle]

Definitely quality. For years I went quantity until I found that the stuff that I purchased "to make do for now" all ended up being sold and I purchased what I really needed.

I'm finally getting to the point where I'm almost happy with my rig. I can do most of what I need and it is easy to suplement with rental stock. I can have multiple gigs out with my assistants and not have to skimp on somebody's show. More gigs coming through means more money and more happy customers.

--Ben

[NorseHorse]

Depends.

The best is what can accomodate the job(s) at hand.