Gear - the "sex factor"... DonPedro design awards

[DonPedro]

Ok. Maybe years of working in advertising have damaged me beyond repair. But hear me out.

I am new to this community, and to many of the products I am now learning about. I have spent a lot of time here, and I can now keep up good conversation about lots of gear I have never heard.

I have been a gear purchaser/addict all my life. Instruments and amplifiers, stereos, camera equipment, watches, cars, you name it. I love nice design, and get turned on by great product photography and presentation. Everybody that has bought a new iPod or browsed through a BMW sales catalogue knows what I speak of.

What surprises me from a design point of view as I dive into the the wealth of information here is to see some of the product design, product photography and websites in the high end pro audio business. Scary stuff for real.

Take a look at the Pendulum Quartet. I really want one. But I won't buy it. I'll find another 2k and buy the Mercenary edition. 30% for the added features, 70% for the immensely added gear sex factor.

THE AWARD GOES TO....
The 2005 Don Pedro's design award goes without any doubt to Shadow Hills for their mastering compressor. I want it, and I really can't say I need it. It looks sooooo coool. Kudos. They have captured the essence of gear. They have not spent the money the should on nice product photos, but it still screams "expensive quality". It is very expensive, but actually looks a lot more expensive than it is.

Runners up: Wunder Audio for the PEQ1R (for taking a Neve clone away from the boring and practical Neve look), Millennia STT-1 and Tube Tech and D.W. Fearn for choosing colors and sticking with them. And...tah daaaaaaah... Avalon. The Avalon stuff just looks very expensive and professional. That is a fact. Like it or not.

Here are the main categories of design I have come across during my quest for wisdom:

WE DON'T CARE HOW IT LOOKS
You have your "It sounds good so it doesn't have to look nice" equipment. API. You all love them, I think they are ugly. The The Crane Song IBIS and SPIDER are butt ugly in a serious way. That kind of green should not be allowed on gear. It is reassuring that these products sell, it means that they must sound really really nice. Nobody buys them to get laid. That is for sure.

LESS IS LESS
Then there are the "expensive minimalism" products. John Hardy. Tab Funkenwerk etc. No frills, just sound. Fair enough, although a little bit on the boring side.

RETRO
Then you have the "Retro sound, look and feel" stuff. Most of which is nice looking. Manley, Chandler Limited, Tube Tech, D.W.Fearn, the GT Vipre and so on. We like these. They look solid and reassuring. No complaints.

WE DON'T DARE
Boring product design that does not add value to products can be found in products by Brent Averill, the Aurora GTQ2, and of course all the AMSNeve/Neve stuff. We like the old Neve look cause it says good gear to us, but it is really really boring, and should be banned on new products. Please join us here in what is soon to become 2006.

JUST PLAIN UGLY STUFF
The FMR Audio stuff looks extremely ugly, no matter what the price. Especially the RNLA.

The ugliest audio product that I have come across so far is the EAR 825 mastering EQ. I would like to meet the person responsible for that look, to try to understand. Here is a link for the brave:
http://www.mercenary.com/ear825dualma.html

Before i don the flamesuit and take the heat like a man, I would like to point out that in a community that shouts angrily that buying an MBox does not make one an engineer, every idiot that has a digital camera seems to think he is a photographer. That goes for web design as well. With a few exceptions like rupertneve.com, most Pro Audio website have horrid photos of their gear, and sites designed in Microsoft Excel by blind drunks.

This baffles me, because it really doesn't cost an arm and a leg to get things done professionally, and these are tools for better sales figures...

So here's to better design in 2006. You know who you are....

[rickrock305]

Originally Posted by DonPedro

30% for the added features, 70% for the immensely added gear sex factor.

don't ever mention gear and sex in the same sentence again...you will be better off. , and probably have a bettter chance of getting laid.

[DonPedro]

Good point.

This did not work:
http://www.hwpr0n.se/

I should have learned from that.

I stand corrected.

[rickrock305]

Originally Posted by DonPedro

\WE DON'T CARE HOW IT LOOKS
Nobody buys them to get laid. That is for sure.

has anyone actually gotten laid based on a piece of gear they own? (Cars and jewelry don't count, lol)

[rickrock305]

Originally Posted by DonPedro

http://www.hwpr0n.se/

, true gearslutz!!!!

[nickp]

Originally Posted by rickrock305

has anyone actually gotten laid based on a piece of gear they own? (Cars and jewelry don't count, lol)

Truntables + mixer + crates of records.

Yes.
-Nick

[BobbyPeru]

I agree with Don completely....

Crane Song....puke!!!

Manley looks f-ing tuff!!!

I will probably get the Shadow Hills Comp, just because everyone that will walk into my studio will ask me "WTF IS THAT???!!!!" To which I will reply in my best Tom Cruise, The Color Of Money impersonation - "Doom."


Bobby Peru
Milwaukee, WI

[rickrock305]

Originally Posted by nickp

Truntables + mixer + crates of records.

Yes.
-Nick

damn, i completely forgot about that...and i was a DJ good times.

[rickrock305]

Originally Posted by BobbyPeru

Manley looks f-ing tuff!!!

you know its a good design when its purple and people still say it looks tough.

[macr0w]

Don Pedro my man, you have hit the nail on the head.

[Dave Peck]

Originally Posted by DonPedro

THE AWARD GOES TO....
The 2005 Don Pedro's design award goes without any doubt to Shadow Hills for their mastering compressor.

Yeah! That damn thing looks like a macrophoto of a tarantula's face. BOO! Makes you want to cackle maniacally as you reach for the threshold control muttering "Yes, Mastah! Thee storm eez at eet's height! We must haff more powah!!"

Dave

[WEAPON_X]

i think there a very important things mentioned, and i often asked those questions myself - why does pro audio gear very very often look so turdy, DIYed and super funktional with designs and color balances that just s**k?
well, you may say that the design has to follow the function, but after all - it is gear you work with all day, and then there should be some attraction to the layout and design, too.
i have it quite often that clients who are new in recording or do not know that much, ask if the api racks are "DIY projects"... opposite is, that the avalons are more than often considered to be hi-end super duper duper classy. why ? because it looks so much better. so solid, so clearly layed out, so "bright" and many clients asociate the avalons with transparence and hi fidelity. this holds especially true for their 747 (the blue light jsut rocks ig time), 2022 and 2055, which are just "beautiful" and "chic". go think....
another bad example of design is the distressor - looks just plain ugly, although it is highly functional in design, yet it looks just strange and fully unbalanced.

and foremost, recording/mixing/mastering is a creative process, so why must the gear look like the interior of an old russion tank from wwII ?
i find myself often asociationg different sonic characteristic with the color sheme of the gear, this may also be linked to the fact that i asociated sounds/keyranges with colors, and very often the color shemes of the gear do not match, they do more disturb and distract.

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by WEAPON_X

and foremost, recording/mixing/mastering is a creative process, so why must the gear look like the interior of an old russion tank from wwII ?

Because in addition to being creative people, many audio engineers are Professionals, and as a professional our motto is The Show Must Go On (or, Do Whatever It Takes, By Any Means Necessary...some variant on Zero Tolerance For Failure). We can't run the risk of having equipment problems interfering with our job, so we choose equipment that instills confidence. Durable, robust, solid-feeling gear is always preferable to "pretty" gear. And once you start attempting to combine the functional attributes with the aesthetic ones it can set off warning bells; wait a minute, why does this manufacturer feel the *need* to pretty up their box? is it because the performance can't stand on its own?

I'd wager there are more Russian tanks from WWII still in service than there are cars, or hi-fi's, or just about any other piece of technology from that vintage.

[bunnerabb]

I got laid by a chick I had bent over a 32/8 once.

Does that count?

[C/G]

I have to agree with the Shadow Hills stuff looking really cool. Kind .of like something out of a WW II bomber. I do think a Don Pedro design award should go to Gefell for creating the beautiful UM900. It is just nice to look at.

[DonPedro]

Just outboard this year. Thats what I have been looking at.

Next year, will be the first official year of the Don Pedro Awards.

There will be categories, and a real trophy for each of them. Special awards go to the company that improves the most from now to then.

Honorary mention for Gefell is in order, though.

[max cooper]

Originally Posted by DonPedro

.

This baffles me, because it really doesn't cost an arm and a leg to get things done professionally, and these are tools for better sales figures...

Having spent years working as a photographer for major record companies and ol' Si Newhouse's publications, I gotta say that just because you pay some guy four figures to shoot your stuff doesn't mean you couldn't do it better yourself with a four-megapixel camera for $200.

And don't get me started on web design. Any kid over eight seems to be able to hack together a flash-enhanced experience, but again paying certainly doesn't guarantee results.

Besides, I assume that a lot of these guys are one-person operations who may have maxed out every credit card in their possession just to get the faceplates screened. I think that most of us can look past the way this stuff looks and the way it's marketed.

Plus, if a friend of a friend of a studio assistant notices that Chris Lord-Alge once brushed the back of his hand against one of the controls on a certain piece of gear, it will have gained a kind of mythic status; and a degree of desireability that can render any and all attempts at advertising moot.

BTW, the real winner of the ugly contest is no contest at all:

http://www.empiricallabs.com/lilfront_big.jpg

The RNLA just isn't designed; there's a difference. But methinks someone actually chose those big white knobs from a lineup because they liked 'em! Yes, the Distressor has the same knobs, but it doesn't come close to the Lil' Freq for pure nasty and confusing graphics.

And when I can spare the cash, I'll probably buy a couple of 'em.

To me, the winner of the 'fascia design award' goes to... who'd have guessed it would be a Dane?

http://www.gyraf.dk/

With nods to Fairman, Blue and, of course, Shadow Hills.

[BB Bill]

Originally Posted by DonPedro

The ugliest audio product that I have come across so far is the EAR 825 mastering EQ. I would like to meet the person responsible for that look, to try to understand. Here is a link for the brave:
http://www.mercenary.com/ear825dualma.html

I'm with you on that one. Whoever decided upon that design should be taken out back and shot like a hound.

[DonPedro]

Originally Posted by max cooper

Having spent years working as a photographer for major record companies and ol' Si Newhouse's publications, I gotta say that just because you pay some guy four figures to shoot your stuff doesn't mean you couldn't do it better yourself with a four-megapixel camera for $200.

And don't get me started on web design. Any kid over eight seems to be able to hack together a flash-enhanced experience, but again paying certainly doesn't guarantee results.

Besides, I assume that a lot of these guys are one-person operations who may have maxed out every credit card in their possession just to get the faceplates screened. I think that most of us can look past the way this stuff looks and the way it's marketed.

Besides, if a friend of a friend of a studio assistant notices that Chris Lord-Alge once brushed the back of his hand against one of the controls on a certain piece of gear, it will have gained a kind of mythic status; and a degree of desireability that can render any and all attempts at advertising moot.

There is truth in what you say, throwing money at things rarely guarantees quality, but spending it wisely can improve your sales thus rendering CreditCard max-out abuse unneccessary in the future.

Lots of manufacturers who are by no means a one-man operation *cough*focusrite*cough* design ugly equipment. There is real value in the aesthetic quality of a product that has to look and feel right to you, and impress your clients as a bonus.

And here is a free tip:
If you have to have a "skip flash intro" on your website, you should skip the flash intro.

[Pohaku]

And then of course we have:

http://headphet.hopto.org//index.shtml

[kosi]

this beast is sexy:

[Pohaku]

Originally Posted by kosi

this beast is sexy:

Agreed. But WTF is it?

[kosi]

an aphrodisiac

http://www.aaton.com/products/sound/cantar/index.php

[DonPedro]

Originally Posted by kosi

this beast is sexy:

A friend is ordering one of those. The sliders on this thing are magnetic, so it is splash proof. Beautiful design. Extremely slutty.

[centurymantra]

Yeah, the Shadow Hills stuff is pretty slick. I'm kinda partial to the summing mic pre they offer. Also love that Gyraf look as well. Surprised to see someone raising an eyebrow at the notion of a Dane doing good design work. I love that modernist inspired simplicity of Scandanavian design. I've got this great sounding amplifier by Densen hooked up in a stereo rig at home and I think it's a pretty spiffy design.

[GPl]

It looks like something that fell off the borg cube

[DonPedro]

Resistance is futile. Scandinavian design will assimilate you.

[centurymantra]

Originally Posted by DonPedro

Resistance is futile. Scandinavian design will assimilate you.

Good one...

[jebjerome]

Maybe it's just association with the sound, but I like the Crane Song green and their consistent design. I dream of a big custom silver console with lots of green knobs and faders. Trakkers on each channel. STC-8s on each buss.

Their website OTOH...

[max cooper]

Originally Posted by max cooper

To me, the winner of the 'fascia design award' goes to... who'd have guessed it would be a Dane?

Originally Posted by centurymantra

Surprised to see someone raising an eyebrow at the notion of a Dane doing good design work.

Facetiousness doesn't usually come across on the web. Just for the record, I think the Danes are worldwide leaders in design.