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Post by cowboycoalminer on Mar 3, 2014 21:01:24 GMT -6
A lot of my gear sits unused. I do the one man dance here most of the time and can't get the use of most of it. I do record bands but only by invitation only. That's the only time I get maximum usage. Got 12 guitars and usually only play 3 or 4 most of the time. 3 high dollar fiddles and only play 1. A steel guitar and usually farm that out to a better player. 2 Basses and only like 1. I'm embarrased to tell how many pre's I have if that tells you anything. And don't even get me started on DSP. I've got so much software shit I could never use it all in 10 lifetimes.
When is enough enough? Serious question.
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Post by svart on Mar 3, 2014 21:11:22 GMT -6
Well, the first step is admitting you have a problem..
So, start by taking a hard look at your gear and make a list of what you use all the time, then make a list of what you use sometimes, and make another list of stuff you never use. That will tell you everything you need to know.
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Post by drbill on Mar 3, 2014 21:16:05 GMT -6
When is enough enough? Serious question. Serious answer - when you run out of money. Inspiration is a fleeting muse. Sometimes gear takes us where we need to go, even though we don't really NEED it to get there. If it excites you when you buy it, it's cheap inspiration. But yeah, I know what you mean. I've got too much gear too.... After moving the studio, it's become INCREDIBLY obvious. If it's not a classic, and if it can be re-purchased down the road and if it doesn't get used in ONE year, it's gone. Problem is, so much of my stuff is irreplaceable, so it isn't subject to getting sold. At least that's what I keep telling myself.....  |
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Post by Johnkenn on Mar 3, 2014 21:28:29 GMT -6
Touché, Drbill!
I struggle with this all the time. Differentiating between what I want and what I need. I'm in a little different position because all of my stuff is geared towards demos and not records. But of course, I want everything to be as good as it can be...so it's trying to find a constant balance for me. When times were better - I had waaaay more stuff than I needed - and it just kind of sat there. So - I've really pared down to just what I need. 3 pres (trying to sell one), one compressor, one eq and software. Do I want more? You bet...that's why I can't bring myself to buy a Burl to go with a Symphony. It just seems decadent. And I KNOW there would be guilt involved.
But - one hit and it would all change.
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Post by mulmany on Mar 3, 2014 22:14:17 GMT -6
I have kept it in check buy really analyzing what I need to track a band live. Then I add a few modifiers in there. I really should have spent money on a new computer, but I agree with Popman on the fleeting nature of software/computing. I am getting in a bind now because I have been doing more mixing, so that feeds the comp and eq GAS. I really can't take advantage of all my outboard until I upgrade my interface, so I am in a double bind. The mastering engineer I worked with on the last project said everything was good and he did not have to do any "correcting" so I must be doing something right!
I do have some unused gear, but mostly the stuff I use for FOH duties.
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Post by geoff738 on Mar 3, 2014 22:20:40 GMT -6
You know, I was honestly going to post on exactly this topic.
I mean, this site, the other one, are kinda all about encouraging GAS - congratulating somebody when they get something cool/ flavor of the month etc. Yes, occasionally the point will be made that you should really learn the gear that you do have - intimately - rather than searching for the next magic bullet. But there is a lot of gearlust encouragement, shall we say? I'm not sure it's a bad thing entirely, but on the other hand I'm here checking things out and blah, blah, blahing about whatever instead of actually turning my gear on and working on a song. Or writing one. Or practicing one. My songs ain't that good, but still, the evidence would suggest that I'm trying to find the magic bullet rather than working towards writing and recording something that might enable that kind of purchase to happen.
For the pros I think in some ways it is easier. The stuff either gets used, serves a function, or it goes. It isn't a fetish object like the dude in the basement who saved up for a year to get his Avalon 737 and therefore has to justify it. Or maybe I'm wrong about that. Being a dude in a basement with a 737.
I'm also doing the one man band thing for the most part. That very occasionally records a full band. But used to more often. So, I have all this stuff that I've accumulated over the last 30 years that sits idle 99% of the time. For the vast majority of what I do, getting rid of the majority of it would have no impact whatsoever on the little bit I do get around to recording. But it stays because it all does get used - at least a little - or it has no marketable value.
For me, it's a hobby. One I've put a lot of time and money into. Is that a bad thing? I dunno. Would the money have been better spent on clothes? Expensive restaurants? Eff it, I'd rather have a Sta-level.
Cheers,
Geoff
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Post by matt on Mar 3, 2014 22:26:10 GMT -6
Ah, the eternal gear ownership dilemma. When is enough too much? In my little corner of the World, are eight Historic Les Pauls too many? Eleven 412 guitar cabinets? More than a dozen amp heads, including a Soldano SLO100, a Cameron CCV, a Friedman BE100, and more modded Marshalls than I can remember right now? Herbie, JK, you are not alone. For a guy who hasn't played professionally in 20 years, I have a ridiculous amount of stuff. I own 8 Rivera Rock Crushers. Eight.
I once set up eight half-stacks, all attenuated (hence the Rock Crushers), in my home office. It sounded awesome - for a minute. The experiment turned out to be a failure because I started tripping the 15A circuit feeding that side of my house. I very nearly called my electrician and had him add another 15A run. Almost. Some of my friends think I am a little mad. When I think about my equipment list, I have trouble disputing it. And we are not even talking about recording gear. Sheesh.
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Post by popmann on Mar 3, 2014 22:32:02 GMT -6
Well, there's the functional need...and there's pieces you think sound nice.
I've made no secret that the client's ain't paying what they were...and a lot of what I have was for them. As an artist? I'm a simple f'n dude. That's actually why I bought the Burl...while the "need" could've been fulfilled with a used Rosetta200 or something...the non linear aspect was really what I've said was "wrong" with PCM recording all along. I am now free to track to ANYTHING. If my mixing rig PC died tomorrow? As an artist...I could pull the files over to any of the Macs in the house...or the iPad or my elderly (Gigastudio era) P4 in a closet somewhere.
In fact, the lull client jobs these days is making me feel like selling my old Akai hardware was a mistake...but, live and learn. It freed me up to never love a digital system again. These softwares are disposable pieces of....utility to me.
For instruments, I think a lot of it maps to how NOT well I play. Follow me. I'm a good guitarist. I own 5 guitars and...I don't know likely about the same amount of amps (which one is about to go up for sale, I think)...I'm a good bassist--3 basses Precision4 w/flats, P5 with rounds, and a fretless 5 string Carvin...one amp--a hand me down from guitar Bassman...but, I'm NOT a terribly good keyboard player. And I own a Kronos, softsynths out the yazzoo, a Yamaha U3 piano, a Hammond C3 and Leslie 122. And, was GAS'ing this morning watching Diane Birch bang on her Wurli....anyway...I share that because I think there's a thread of that running through a lot of recording gear GAS. I throw money at things I'm not so good at. If I took all the money I've spent on keyboard over the years...and put that into guitars, amps, basses--EVEN recording gear, cause I"m purty good at that...it would likely be a better ROI. But, all is not logical...
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Post by Martin John Butler on Mar 3, 2014 22:38:22 GMT -6
I do something I made up I call "The Millionaires Test". Pick an amount of money, 1, 2,3,5, 10 mil, whatever. Now, put that cash in your bank account, and then ask yourself how you feel about something. It's an instant reality check, and 99% of the time reveals how you truly feel about any particular thing. Try it on anything, your relationship, job, home, car, studio, you'll see how you really feel, if you can handle it.
Oh, and it would probably take me a year to properly figure out how best to use all the plugs I have.
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Post by cowboycoalminer on Mar 3, 2014 22:42:45 GMT -6
I do something I made up I call "The Millionaires Test". Pick an amount of money, 1, 2,3,5, 10 mil, whatever. Now, put that cash in your bank account, and then ask yourself how you feel about something. It's an instant reality check, and 99% of the time reveals how you truly feel about any particular thing. Try it on anything, your relationship, job, home, car, studio, you'll see how you really feel, if you can handle it. If I had that much money in the bank, MJB, I'd try every way in the world to buy your D-41  But you make a good point. |
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Post by matt on Mar 3, 2014 22:49:30 GMT -6
Anybody want to buy a guitar?   I'm not joking. This thread has me thinking hard about priorities. Pretty much anything in the photo on the right would be available except for the resonator. I need to break the buying cycle, and I think selling a few pieces would do it. |
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Post by mulmany on Mar 3, 2014 22:54:06 GMT -6
That is sick! All I can say.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Mar 3, 2014 23:45:59 GMT -6
cowboy said,"If I had that much money in the bank, MJB, I'd try every way in the world to buy your D-41 " There were only 11 made to the exact specifications of mine, and only two were shade tops, and I chose the better one. I will look into this for you and see if I can find one of the other 10 in that run. Martin's Custom shop does make turbo's, but only on special order and only for the Mandoline Bros. They make one now with one change, the neck is I think, 1/16" less wide. mandoweb.com/Instruments/Martin-D41A+Turbo%2c+Mandolin+Brothers%2fMartin+Custom/2613Did anyone try The Millionaires test? You have to imagine enough money that you don't hold back when imagining what you'd really want. My thoughts go to a kind of minimalist, but well appointed rig. Mac Pro, Sta-Level, Bricasti, Neumann's, C12, Blankenship Leeds 21, a 66' Super Reverb, one serious Les Paul, Yamaha upright, Burl A/D . D/A, a nice board, some sweet monitors, and a nice room to put it all in. All that, and enough money to pay my friends handsomely for coming and playing, which they'd do anyway. |
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Post by keymod on Mar 4, 2014 5:35:40 GMT -6
" and a nice room to put it all in. All that, and enough money to pay my friends handsomely for coming and playing, which they'd do anyway. "
That says it all for me. I keep dreaming and dreaming of having a proper room for the equipment to be used "properly".
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Post by jazznoise on Mar 4, 2014 7:56:21 GMT -6
Anybody want to buy a guitar? I'm not joking. This thread has me thinking hard about priorities. Pretty much anything in the photo on the right would be available except for the resonator. I need to break the buying cycle, and I think selling a few pieces would do it. As a friend, Matt, I would advise you sell a Gibby or 2, and maybe a Strat or 2. If you want a large pallete of guitars - try a 12 string, or a Gretsch or a Fender Bass VI. A cheap hollowbody, even. I'm one for a sort of "1 of every kind" approach. I have a cheap strat with flats, my Mex with 11's and my Jazzmaster with 11's. I've a cheap bass with flats and I can access a J-Bass when I need it. So a P-bass is my next logical buy! As for my mic collection? 2 or 3 nice dynamics and a nice SDC pair and I'm done. Maybe a few cheap toy ones, but no more big splurges till they earn their money back. Anyway, I hope my advice resonates with you as much as that resonator you'll send me out of gratitude will resonate with me. Or the Gibson, whatever..  |
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Post by jcoutu1 on Mar 4, 2014 8:54:46 GMT -6
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2014 9:29:23 GMT -6
Anybody want to buy a guitar? I'm not joking. This thread has me thinking hard about priorities. Pretty much anything in the photo on the right would be available except for the resonator. I need to break the buying cycle, and I think selling a few pieces would do it. I would love a Les Paul. What you got for sale? How much? Interested in a trade for one of my redundant Neumanns? |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2014 9:33:54 GMT -6
I don't have this problem.
I have three Neumanns (the 102 is the best one and all the others could go) but I'm always looking downsize and trade where I can to make my set up better, more portable and efficient and of course affordable.
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Post by matt on Mar 4, 2014 10:57:25 GMT -6
Did anyone try The Millionaires test? You have to imagine enough money that you don't hold back when imagining what you'd really want. My thoughts go to a kind of minimalist, but well appointed rig. Mac Pro, Sta-Level, Bricasti, Neumann's, C12, Blankenship Leeds 21, a 66' Super Reverb, one serious Les Paul, Yamaha upright, Burl A/D . D/A, a nice board, some sweet monitors, and a nice room to put it all in. All that, and enough money to pay my friends handsomely for coming and playing, which they'd do anyway. Yes. A nice room/home, and the ability to take care of your friends, on any level necessary. All else follows from these two things. A selective but completely kick-ass equipment list wouldn't hurt either. Mine would be very close to yours, Martin. |
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Post by matt on Mar 4, 2014 11:23:33 GMT -6
Anybody want to buy a guitar? I'm not joking. This thread has me thinking hard about priorities. Pretty much anything in the photo on the right would be available except for the resonator. I need to break the buying cycle, and I think selling a few pieces would do it. I would love a Les Paul. What you got for sale? How much? Interested in a trade for one of my redundant Neumanns? Jordan, I will look things over and let you know. The most affordable would be my G0, worth somewhere between 1.5-2K USD. I would consider trades.  Everything I own is pretty much pristine. That's code for pretty much unplayed. Future exchanges on this subject will take place in the Classifieds section. Sorry to hijack the thread, JK. |
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Post by matt on Mar 4, 2014 11:29:15 GMT -6
Anybody want to buy a guitar? I'm not joking. This thread has me thinking hard about priorities. Pretty much anything in the photo on the right would be available except for the resonator. I need to break the buying cycle, and I think selling a few pieces would do it. As a friend, Matt, I would advise you sell a Gibby or 2 Anyway, I hope my advice resonates with you as much as that resonator you'll send me out of gratitude will resonate with me. Or the Gibson, whatever.. Thanks for the advice! And it is good to have dreams. BTW, the resonator stays, sorry. |
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Post by WKG on Mar 4, 2014 11:37:00 GMT -6
Well, the first step is admitting you have a problem.. So, start by taking a hard look at your gear and make a list of what you use all the time, then make a list of what you use sometimes, and make another list of stuff you never use. That will tell you everything you need to know. The first step is always admitting the problem...  1. We admitted we were powerless over our GEAR—that our GEAR had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3. Made a decision to turn our GEAR and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. 4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our GEAR. 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. 7. Humbly asked Him to remove our EXCESS GEAR. 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. 9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. 10. Continued to take GEAR inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His GEAR for us and the power to carry that out. 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.  |
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Post by svart on Mar 4, 2014 11:46:02 GMT -6
1. In the beginning, god created music.
2. And the music was without form, and void of loudness, and low bitrates were upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of vinyl.
3. And God said LET THERE BE COMPRESSION, and there was loudness.
4. And God saw the 1176 and it was good.
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Post by adogg4629 on Mar 4, 2014 11:54:58 GMT -6
A poem for the circle of (gear) life
Like a dog losing its pelt in spring, I shed off all my extra gear.
deep down I know that this time I will be happy
with what I have and what I use every day.
I really don't need those extra 8 channel pres
I don't do tracking...ever
I need one or two
for a loop group, or ADR or foley...
I don't need to track drums...
Though I hear that the Aurora GTP8 Absolute is amazing
and now with all my extra channels gone, maybe I can make an exception
especially for some really good ones...
a dual channel eq wouldn't be a bad thing either...
and compression....
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Post by adogg4629 on Mar 4, 2014 12:00:48 GMT -6
1. In the beginning, god created music. 2. And the music was without form, and void of loudness, and low bitrates were upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of vinyl. 3. And God said LET THERE BE COMPRESSION, and there was loudness. 4. And God saw the 1176 and it was good. Am I to take it that this is the reason why every time I hear Joni Mitchell or CSN sing the chorus to "woodstock" I dream of blue stripe limiting amplifiers. |
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Only half joking.
