Pulling the trigger on high end gear

just curious why you aren't thinking about the Silver Bullet ?

Mostly myself. So, recall is not time sensitive.

Silver Bullet will be under $2,000 -- but official price hasn't been announced.

If you're interested in the gml 8200, there's a new Sontec 500 series DIY option from the guy behind the highly regarded Don Classics units...

groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=59638.0


Kit should be available soon according to the thread above.

Thanks for your thoughts. Yeah, the 8200 is really tempting both from a fidelity and investment perspective.

Interesting that you don't think 500 series EQ's won't hold their value. I am it seems one of the few people who never went the 500 series route. So, my only experience is with the Vintech's 573 preamp and the minute my former partner heard my rackmount X73i's he never used the 573 again.

the capi stuff is insane value to performance ratio imo. Just get a good iron and go!

Of course everyone would do something different if we all had 4k to spend but of all your options I would go with the GML 8200. I've had the pleasure of using one and it has ruined all other subtractive EQ's hardware and software since. Like Tony's saying, the 2 bus shouldn't really be a priority unless you have everything else in place BUT.....if you're a mastering engineer you have to have 2 bus gear right? That 8200 is phenomenal on individual tracks for mixing as well. I've never used an EQ that could pull out the bad frequencies so precisely without touching the rest of the tone of that particular track. You can fix so much which is helpful if you're mixing tracks which you didn't record. Plus, you won't lose money if you have to sell.....

Man, that would be sweet, but for $4,000.+ for the one from Spain on eBay, for my money (short of winning the Lottery), I would concentrate on the rest of the signal chain, starting at tracking & mixing - as Tony mentioned. Getting lovely tracks at the get-go will go a long way for Bob to finish the task for the crazy low price per song.

As for the Les Paul, that would be nice, but not much bang for the buck. Get a decent solidly built guitar and have a Luthier sweeten the action and hardware. There are some great lower price ones out there. I wouldn't turn a Custom Paul down, but I shy away from the overpriced sticker. If you are into DIY guitar, USA Custom guitars has a lot of satisfied customers who take pride in what they have, plus, Tommy is as nice and serviceable as all get out.

As for the Synth, The ones you mentioned would be nice, but there are some used or cheaper that will do nicely with per note after-touch and other bells and whistles - unless you are mainly a Keyboardist.

$4,000, doesn't go far unless you spend judiciously.

The 8200 is just awesome, I'm a huge GM fan! To answer ur earlier q, for me, I'd see about getting someone to build u some Capi lc53a's, some TB audio API style eq's and some Ez1084s( bluezzy GDIY), u could acquire quite a few top shelf eq's for $4k!

I don't think you'll regret anything on your list - otherwise they wouldn't have made the list in the first place...and I could think of quite a few more if you want suggestions! Who doesn't enjoy hypothetically spending other peoples money? But at the end of the day the important question is what do you think you need most in your situation?


For me gear purchases are pretty much always generated by some kind of need. A noticeable deficiency in my workflow that makes itself obvious. As I work there's always an inevitable itch in the instruments or signal chain somewhere that needs to be scratched and that sets the course for what my next purchase decision turns into and what kind of priority it has. If I can get "need" and "want" to coincide that's a big bonus!

$4K could certainly get you a lot of bang for the buck in 500 series stuff; especially if you do any DIY.
If had $4k to toss into my system now I'd be looking at a bunch of AML, CAPI and Analog Allstars kits, along with the less sexy, "gotta do" kind of items like patchbays and furniture. But that's just me; in my situation those are the things that are rising to the top of the priority list.

You know your situation best; I'm betting you already know the answer. Let us know what you decide!

GML is an eq regarded for its super tight lows, but for general work I would think DMG Equilibrium combined with either a Sontec for smooth curves and the 12.8k sheen or a Massive Passive for mids especially on vocals and elsewhere would go further.

BTW I just got one of those Warm Pultecs and quality wise it's pretty much as good as any of my more expensive gear. 


The Moog Sub 37 is what I would get over the Little Phatty. But there are a lot of vintage synths to consider too that sound great (e.g. Juno 60, Prophet 600). And the reissue Odyssey sounds pretty close to the old one. But all that depends on the sound you're after.

4. is to me a big waste of money. Frankly I don't get the point of transparent summing mixers and the Burl stuff is a little overkill when you can just combine Capi or anything with transformers with your normal converters. That money would be enough to get a vintage rack mixer or a bunch of compressors or mics that can do things that have a lot more general utility.

Custom Les paul... a nice used Les Paul + Lollars or another boutique set would be a lot cheaper and probably sound and play better. And you'd have money left over for another amp.

For 500 series eq's, few can hang with the RTZ 1549. They are my go to's and I am getting more soon. Open, airy for clear and detailed sounds and tight when you want those punchy toms or snares. They really carve well for singers with odd voices. For $4,000, you can have 5 of them. About the only eq I haven't compared them to are the Avedis 27's. I hear those are really great as well and I may eventually get a pair. My next purchases after the 1549's will be a Hippo comp, as I need some stereo comps for mix inserts, and those sound great. I really got to try them a lot and really dug them. To my ears, they sound better than the other SSL style comps being sold. Serpent Audio is on my radar also. Thought their LA-3 and 4001 sound like comps that would get a lot of use here. I did take advantage of the DBX super sale on their 560's and scored a pair. Anyway, lots of good gear that I believe will hold their value and are built to the highest of quality now. Jeff's 526's should be something to consider as well. $4,000 can go a long ways to having quite a bit of new gear. That can get you 5 built 526's. It can also buy you one very nice piece from many top makers. So, look at your needs vs wants and see if getting several pieces would help your workflow better allowing more creative options, or if some heavy lifting from one piece is more to your suiting at the time. It certainly depends on what you are doing musically as to what you buy. If I didn't have commercial clients, I would have chose my purchased gear differently. I would have made two very different sounding stereo chains and concentrated on 2-buss pieces first.