Source vs Recording Gear--percentages

I feel like I'm around 50/50 with this. Over the last year I sold off some instruments and put that money towards recording gear. Prior to that I was probably 75/25 in favor of instruments. I'm pretty happy with where the balance is currently.

To add to that, I have some collaborators that also have recording gear and great instruments. Having this network adds an additional dimension. If I need a Les Paul or a B15, it's a call away. U87 OR 184's, same deal...among other stuff.

In mine, I'd say:

10% studio owned source gear.
50% mic placement and choice.
40% recording gear.

You see, I have a few sources that I've bought, but I've spent an enormous amount of time figuring out which mics to use and how to place them on each one of these things. For the source gear, I've learned how to set it for a lot of different scenarios. I also keep it in fairly good shape. Fairly often I get folks in the studio who bring in some really awful gear. Either it just sounds bad, or it hasn't been kept up. Ringing tubes or bad biasing, humming pedals, digital POD pedals, etc. Once they actually hear it through mics, their faces turn to frowns. that's when I suggest running it through my gear or making drastic changes. Usually we find a good compromise.  Sometimes it's just adjusting their own settings like turning down the gain to a reasonable level.  You see, I don't see gear quality as a gating factor.  If you bought something, it's because you liked the tone for the money you paid.  If you settled for something less then we'll use my gear.  If you like your tone, we'll use it.  My priority is always going to be transferring whatever tone you bring me to the recording in the best possibly quality I can.

Now I'm going to buck the trend and say that mic choice and placement is a lot MORE important than the source. Most folks have a "tone" they get. Recording through any mic will get them the "tone", but does it sound pleasing? Usually not. You can tell a JCM800, bassman or Mesa rectifier by it's tone, but does it sound good? The mic choice and placement can make a huge difference. let me tell you why..

It's because mics don't hear the same as ears. I know that's an understatement, but it's true and usually completely overlooked by most people. What sounds good to your ears in a room mic sound like shit to your mic, and vice-versa. If you have good enough mics and know how they respond in certain situations, then you can adjust accordingly. You know that the Mesa rectifier that your client is using has too much muddy low end. You also know that turning down the LOW frequency knob on the amp will make it lose it's thump that it's known for and get all tinny.. So you choose a brighter mic and move it back a little bit from the cabinet. TADA.. Mic choice and placement trumps your source. 

Now, some of you are still shaking your heads.. 

Well,  I also think that the gear matters more than the source too.  Why?  Because once you've got a good sound through your mics, your gear should be good enough to NOT mess the sound up.  That's all there is to it.  Always let the source be the bottleneck.  Don't impede the sound with your gear unless you are SUPPOSED to be doing that.

I know I'm going against the trend and that the party line is that "the source is where the sound is", but I'd wager that a lot of folks who parrot this are players, not recorders.  Recorders have to make due and make it work or they don't get paid.  Just like practicing your guitar for hours every day to get good, we recorders have to do the same.  We have to know our gear inside and out and what settings and what mics and placements to use, just like guitarists and their scales and notes.

Yes, money invested. I figure percentages were a good way to discuss without getting into real dollars. By "players" (as Svart put it) who record in their project studios. NOT commercial studios, as pointed out in the OP, which have a different balance because the source AND situation varies day to day.

I'd say I'm somewhere around 10/90... 10% source and 90% recording gear. There's a gear rental company in the same complex as my studio though. I let them carry the insurance on the instruments!
It"s probably about $350,000 in pro audio and $40,000 in instruments/amps/accessories.

Man ain't that the truth!! It's always been amazing to hear another player pick up and play on someone else's rig. Very different sound!!