haha I thought mine was broken or something :-)

never had any timing issues with it, though.

1. Frontier Tranzport
2. El Cassette

Windows Vista.

Tascam 788. Two dead hard drives + squirelly software. Tried to trade it in - the guy just laughed and said "we've already got 3 or 4 in the back we can't get rid of."

I've never had any luck with Teac motors on either RTR or cassette. Have a couple sitting around that I don't want to waste any more money on, and can't sell because they're broken.

Blue Cactus mic with free Robbie preamp. New. Bought because I like dark mics, the darker the better. First off, the Robbie preamp didn't work. Faulty tube. Sent it back. Got sent a new one. That didn't work either. Faulty tube again. Unfortunately, due to being away for work, I couldn't return it for exchange; had to get it repaired instead. Still waiting to get it back.

The Cactus mic itself doesn't sound anything like its reputation: it's among the brighter mics in my collection, and only gets 'dark' when in subcardioid or figure of 8 mode. But then again, if it's anything like the Robbies, it's probably broken.

Not many bad purchases, but the Novation SL25 is one of them. Crap on all accounts. Don't get me started on 'automap'...

Posted via the Gearslutz iPhone app

That's why you need Nos Tubes lying around. I've never liked the Robbie with the stock tube anyway.

focusrite tackmaster pro
tascam dm-24

pocket pod, bought it rushed home plugged it in, went ahh no to myself, put it back in torn cardboard box and shoved it in wardrobe, line 6 =like ****

Roland MV8800, cop'd for $999 NEW, sold for $400, 6 months later.
I took the loss but got it the hell outta my life.
Timing was off and workflow was just ****ty.

Digi003r, overpriced, bad stock fw cables, no software cds.
It would lose connection after long periods.
Got it NEW from sweetwater for $999, sold it for $300.
Another loss taken.

I can honestly say those 2 units were ruining me.

Focusrite Twintrak Pro

It's junk. There's no other real way to talk about it.

i hate to say it, but Beat Thang Virtual.

The sounds are good, but there's no multiple outputs, no multiple track rendering, mix rendering is in real time?!?! (slow!!!!), and you can only tweak 12 keys/pads at a time. (Other samplers let you tweak the whole MIDI range from A0 to G8 or whatnot). And it crashes in every DAW/host I can find.

I hate to say it, but as it stands, it's really just a toy.

Just putting "pen to paper" pisses me off about these purchases. In my defense, these were early on EXCEPT for the last entry. Should have known better.

1. Zoom guitar multi effects pedal

2. ART TPS (even in the first days of my recording career I could hear just how this sounded like burnt popcorn)

3. Aphex Aural Exciter and BBE Sonic Maximizer (saw that one listed earlier) I drank the kool-aide. I am ashamed.

4. BFD, UAD-1

5. Focusrite Saffire Pro 56 (although the "RED" emulation was okay with an NTK) HORRIBLE! Almost got sick when I lost $400 after selling it on eBay.

Took me a long time to understand a good eq and comp can do 90% of what you need.

Aural Exciter and UAD-1 Really???

2x Peavey MAX100 pedals. The only thing I liked was the TransTube distortion. One burnt up, bought another, it fried. Still in a box somewhere... I've been told the Dirty Dog is the same distortion.
Older Line 6 Gearbox gold DI/interface + software - $15 at a yard sale and still not worth it. Software was never stable on intel macs. Then they went to PodFarm or whatever it is today, so good support never happened.

Let me explain...

The UAD-1 almost always gave me "jarble" when I would mix down with more than 2-3 instances of just about any of the plugs. Had to bounce or freeze track after track just to get a few comps going. Compared to the Softube or Waves Native stuff, just did not do what I thought it would do. Which is turn everything it touched to gold.

The Aural Exciter had no use that I could tell. I used it on a few sources that were tracked very well (female vox, electric guitar, piano). It does have a sound. Just not one that belongs anywhere near a mix IMO. Just a rack filler to make my studio look cool until I unloaded it on eBay. Sorry supercoolvocalist75

Podfarm is Gerbox with new graphics and presets. HOWEVER, I really love the UX8 interface I bought because I really wanted PodFarm Plat. I took that thing to Afghanistan and ran my old Sony Vaio laptop with Sonar 7 and, wow, worked very very well. The UX1 worked well in Iraq and it did 5 tours with me over there. Funny, I bought them for the sound, kept them for the interface.

As for Gearbox/PodFarm, well, that was cool 9 years ago but...yeah.

Gearbox could be cool for mangling drum beats or something, but it ate up 30-40% of a core and crashed PT 7 constantly. and you had to have the interface plugged in to run it...

My worst gear purchases to date are the following Behringer items: dual channel mic pre, multi-com, multi-gate, de-esser and 2 patchbays. These embarassing purchases were made in 1995. Hahaha!!!! I quickly learned a lesson from purchasing such ****ty gear. Had I not learned from that experience I would never have come to purchase gear from such stellar companies as Manley, Buzz, etc. Their gear lasts and keeps sounding great.

Send them all to me! I can make a great recording using thse tools.

+100..I have the 56 and love it...if you were hoping for the pres to sound exactly like the real deal then I would be upset to..but just a little research will tell you they are very good pres but not the same as the real ones, not for 1000 bucks anyway...

1. Cubase 4-5 --> Still own it but never use it, biggest waste of $$ ever
2. M-Audio Axiom 49 (original version) --> Sold on eBay
3. Akai EWI4000s --> Went right back to the shop it came from
4. Tannoy Precision 8D --> Actually they sounded nice and loud but I never got good mixes out of them, probably they are better suited for a home theater, certainly not for mastering. Customer support was crap too.
5. Kore --> I use it only as an audio interface and MIDI controller, never for what it was designed to do.
6. Frontier Tranzport --> Great piece of kit of average build quality, trouble being that reception is so-so and it uses no less than SIX AA batteries that don't last very long, so I end up not use it. My wireles keyboard does a similar job, is cheaper and has more uses.
Mackie Control Universal --> Great piece of gear but it takes too much space on my desk so I always had it to one side and never really used it. Plus a lot of DAWs, most notoriously Cubase, have ****ty MCU implementations which make me want to shout abuse at my computer. Sold the thing on eBay at a loss.

dmt-8, one day i simply placed it ontop of a garbage bag infront of my house...darn shame, but it simply fell apart

when i first bought it i was recording an album at a studio on a 1 inch reel to reel. i could take completed tracks and cut and paste parts - the gold record studio owner/producer/engineer was so impressed that he offered me his 1 inch in trade - i declined,
years later - the the dmt went onto the trash - the end...forever

yamaha mt44d - **** that thing sucked - everything on it sucked - but it was a casette 4 track, with a board...

alesis mmt8 - great idea - horrible package - i busted the buttons from normal abuse - threw it away - useless

roland gp8 - a bee in a bottle...store took it back....so i went back to my rockman...ha ha...well, it was the 80s

i liked then hated a korean strat - great neck...horrible sound - i traded a 1978 strat and $300 for her...she had double coils and a wang bar...again, it was the 80's...felt so bad about the swap, that 17 years later i went on a world search for my 1978 strat - after about a year - i found her and bought her back...yup, that wasn't cheap

keep what you love!

now back to hate

all mxl mics


what i like that folks don't

oddly after a mullad refit - i rather enjoy my dbx386, the rolland d110 sound module was fine if you program..it was best helped along by a physical controller that opened up much of the crammed window into tactile controls
and i must say i find it amazing that folks don't seem to like the gibson les paul studios, i have a 1972 gibson les paul and seven 1970s strats, i have guild acoustics..and much much more - i have been playing for almost 40 years and must state that in the face of all the crap that comes in offshore...that the gibson studios are the best deal in the market today...provided you are buying the faded ones at under $800

they are a great guitar - least the one i snagged is!

that, along with its Microsoft quality "Automap" software - absolute trash

Mmm where to begin-

M-audio giant 88 key controller - the McMansion of midi controllers.

M-audio 88 key keyboard with built in sounds - plastic unplayable garbage

Mackie Onyx 800 - hum anyone? Let's release it anyways.

Tascam DM24 was the all time worse. Hated the routing.

MOTU 2408 MK3 - The drivers just suck for the PC. Switched to RME Hammerfall 9652 and couldn't be happier.

Blue Kiwi - Just wasn't for me. It has top end sizzle that just didn't suit my voice.

Korg microkorg, first synth I ever bought when I was 14. **** kicked arse then but I wouldn't touch it now...

samson s com (compressor/limiter)
sounded horrible and picked up truck drivers talking on cb radio

Love this thread; Registered after years of lurking because I finally found a thread I have expertise in-crappy gear.

Well, all the stuff wot youse already said, plus,


-Morley Power Wah Fuzz (original AC one) The fuzz sounded like blown speaker.

-SPX-900 - should have go the 90 for 1/4 the price and not lived on Ramen for a month. Not true stereo and the digital distortion preset was worse than the Morley.

-Yamaha Autoarranger (? model)

-Art reverb from the 80's

-Samson USB mic (C01?) (mentioned)

-Windows ME

-Sight unseen (Hearing unheard?) eBay Cymbals (mentioned)

-Sun FET two channel Bass Head and Twin 15" Cabs (don't recall model) I bought in mexico for nothing when the peso devalued in the 80's, only to ship it to NY for $$ to be DOA

-Dokorder 4 track 1/4" r2r

-Siel synth (model ?)

-PAiA synths I built in the 70's (learned alot building them, along with a Wameco 8080 S-100 I built as a digital controller) The cheaper version used paper-clip with b&w shirtbuttons as the piano kbd - like a demented Buchla of sorts.

-Learning Wylbur on IBM 360 - The digital tapes went to Princeton for D/A conversion and took a week to see if there was even a sound.

Love my:

-TC Polytune

-Behringer Cable Tester

-Love this gizmo my kids got me that punches guitar picks from old credit cards. (don't recall the name)

-Orig 360 Systems pre-midi guitar to CV interface driving my Crumar Spirit.

-My cascaded Yamaha 02R's I got for pennies on the dollar on CL into Alesis HD-24 to record rehearsals

-Sonar X1 Producer - Finally Cakewalk rewarded my decade of patience and loyalty

-Wurli e-piano I got in college cuz I couldn't affort a Rhodes

-Nakamichi Tri-tracer

-Amiga w KCS by Roger Powell

-My Olympia espresso machine

-RE: 'wireless mouses' - If you don't think the Logitech Anywhere MX Darkfield Wireless Mouse ROCKS, I'll buy yours from you,

-and much more, but don't want to wander too far OT.

Frank

Most unusable gear is TC Impact Twin audio interface. It has given me so much headache regardless of which PC I use. It is unbelievably unstable. It is certainly not a professional gear. It's a piece of kids toy. Simply not useable.