You should only ever buy hardware twice...

[wub]

You should only ever buy hardware twice.

Entry level, then professional stuff once you've mastered the entry level and taken yourself to a level creatively and financially where it is a worthwhile and practical investment. Until then, stick with the entry level stuff.

Buying middle level stuff is a waste of money as you'll just end up upgrading to the top end stuff eventually and thus are buying more times than you need to.

Discuss


(The above is paraphrased from a podcast I listened to yesterday, interesting idea just wanted everyone's thoughts)

[Genevieve]

I agree. Or if you're already there creatively, just go straight for the pro. I'm quite the cheapskate, hate buying the same stuff twice if I KNOW I'm gonna upgrade.

[Lichee]

I agree with this, i've been producing on £10 sony headphones that I borrowed from my housemate and haven't given back yet for a long time. I always considered getting better headphones but would have only allowed myself up to £100 but now I think i'm at that point i'm getting some HD650's, some people seem to have them for over a decade so it's worth it.

Speakers are still a risk though, the monetary gap between high end and low end monitors is waaaaay too much for me so i'll stick with my krk's for a few years yet

[wub]

Speakers are still a risk though, the monetary gap between high end and low end monitors is waaaaay too much for me so i'll stick with my krk's for a few years yet

I agree re; monitors...reckon my purchase pattern will be Behringers >>> Adams and that'll be it

[test_recordings]

I actually do that, or just fuck about on free stuff to get an idea of what I want then go for a versatile, cheap high-end something.

I hate doing things by half. I'm kind of stuck doing nothing right now but I'd rather do that and focus on what I can do, like make salt-fermented pickles, than fuck about on a half-baked set-up trying to make subs with laptop speakers and basic monitoring headphones... waste of time, in my opinion.

I always try look for cheap options though, like self-assembly monitors.

[fragments]

Yea. Pretty much. Though this becomes more a gray area once you get into other types of gear. Like...my virst VA synth/sampler was an ESX. I sold it buy Maschine. But if I hadnt need the money I would have never sold it. I at least would have kept it around just for the vibe it imparted on samples. Also...I can see crossgrading to a pair of monitors you find out about later. The EDM doesnt seem to know about a lot of brands and sleeper products I find out about in SOS and gearslutz.

[NinjaEdit]

That was what I planned, so I agree.

[VirtualMark]

Last time i checked there wasn't any restrictions to the amount of times you should buy hardware, nor was there any set path to making the sounds you like, nor is there a clear definition of low, middle and high end products.

Who is to say you should learn on cheap hardware before trying expensive?

Who is to say that you can't make great music on cheap or mid range hardware?

And who makes up the rules on defining whether a product is high end or low end? If you like the sound of something then use it.

So i'd say this is nonsense, buy whatever you like or can afford.

[wub]

Last time i checked there wasn't any restrictions to the amount of times you should buy hardware, nor was there any set path to making the sounds you like, nor is there a clear definition of low, middle and high end products.

Who is to say you should learn on cheap hardware before trying expensive?

Who is to say that you can't make great music on cheap or mid range hardware?

And who makes up the rules on defining whether a product is high end or low end? If you like the sound of something then use it.

So i'd say this is nonsense, buy whatever you like or can afford.

The thread title contains the word "should" - should is a modal verb and adds uncertainty to the sentence in which it is included...this thread is about fostering discussion, not arbitrarily stating one way or the other.

[Kit Fysto]

Makes sense to me, but if you were in a position where money wasn't an issue in any way whatsoever, would you still agree?

[wub]

Makes sense to me, but if you were in a position where money wasn't an issue in any way whatsoever, would you still agree?

Of course not, but infinite cash would negate a lot of the arguments/issues associated with gear selection and process in the first place.

[VirtualMark]

The thread title contains the word "should" - should is a modal verb and adds uncertainty to the sentence in which it is included...this thread is about fostering discussion, not arbitrarily stating one way or the other.

Thank you for explaining to me the word "should". However, you're help in understanding the English language isn't necessary. I am not a stupid person and as English is my mother tongue i require no assistance in using it or reading it. Especially from someone who doesn't know what the word "discussion" means:

dis·cus·sion
Noun

The action or process of talking about something, typically in order to reach a decision or to exchange ideas.
A conversation or debate about a certain topic.


What i did here was to participate in this discussion with MY opinion. Now, perhaps you can explain to me why you consider my opinion any less valid on this subject than someone elses?

[Kit Fysto]

Makes sense to me, but if you were in a position where money wasn't an issue in any way whatsoever, would you still agree?

Of course not, but infinite cash would negate a lot of the arguments/issues associated with gear selection and process in the first place.

Ya very true. Sometimes I wish I had infinite cash to blow on gear, but it feels almost better to work super hard to earn things bit by bit. I feel like I love and appreciate the things I have obtained more because of it. At least I think so anyway. I have never been in an infinite cash scenario so I can only speculate

[alphacat]

Question:

Define "mid-level" gear. Are we talking about the so-called 'prosumer' range? Behringer? M-Audio? Name names so we're all on the same page, because honestly... the distinction is not as hard and fast as it used to be. There's a particular gadget I use, for instance, that's largely written off by people yet is capable of creating sounds that - when you don't tell people where it came from - they say "Wow! What'd you use to do that?" But yet the same people - if you do tell them what you used - let the device bias their assessment of the same fucking sound and say "Oh, I guess that's pretty good for _____."



A lot of folks are snobs about shit they know nothing about, like those who slag FL right off the bat despite some of the biggest tunes ever being made on it and having never actually used it themselves...

[wub]

The thread title contains the word "should" - should is a modal verb and adds uncertainty to the sentence in which it is included...this thread is about fostering discussion, not arbitrarily stating one way or the other.

Thank you for explaining to me the word "should". However, you're help in understanding the English language isn't necessary. I am not a stupid person and as English is my mother tongue i require no assistance in using it or reading it. Especially from someone who doesn't know what the word "discussion" means:

dis·cus·sion
Noun

The action or process of talking about something, typically in order to reach a decision or to exchange ideas.
A conversation or debate about a certain topic.


What i did here was to participate in this discussion with MY opinion. Now, perhaps you can explain to me why you consider my opinion any less valid on this subject than someone elses?

Eh? I didn't say your opinion wasn't valid, I was just clarifying that my original post wasn't meant to be taken as a hard rule.

[wub]

Question:

Define "mid-level" gear. Are we talking about the so-called 'prosumer' range? Behringer? M-Audio? Name names so we're all on the same page, because honestly... the distinction is not as hard and fast as it used to be. There's a particular gadget I use, for instance, that's largely written off by people yet is capable of creating sounds that - when you don't tell people where it came from - they say "Wow! What'd you use to do that?" But yet the same people - if you do tell them what you used - let the device bias their assessment of the same fucking sound and say "Oh, I guess that's pretty good for _____."



A lot of folks are snobs about shit they know nothing about, like those who slag FL right off the bat despite some of the biggest tunes ever being made on it and having never actually used it themselves...

Good points...surely something is only considered low/mid/high in relation to something else?

[alphacat]

Question:

Define "mid-level" gear. Are we talking about the so-called 'prosumer' range? Behringer? M-Audio? Name names so we're all on the same page, because honestly... the distinction is not as hard and fast as it used to be. There's a particular gadget I use, for instance, that's largely written off by people yet is capable of creating sounds that - when you don't tell people where it came from - they say "Wow! What'd you use to do that?" But yet the same people - if you do tell them what you used - let the device bias their assessment of the same fucking sound and say "Oh, I guess that's pretty good for _____."



A lot of folks are snobs about shit they know nothing about, like those who slag FL right off the bat despite some of the biggest tunes ever being made on it and having never actually used it themselves...

Good points...surely something is only considered low/mid/high in relation to something else?

I mean, look at the 303: they became popular because nobody wanted them - "real pro musicians" thought they were jokes cuz they didn't sound like a real bass, but somebody figured out that they were actually a whole different beast unto themselves and that you could buy them after their initial run for pennies on the dollar in the markdown bin. So who's jokes now, eh?

Same thing about computer hardware. Folks get all kinda righteous about what synths and plugs one MUST have, yet there's a whole level of so-called industry pro that'd probably say that you were an amateur unless you use ProTools (or Logic as of the last few years) and god forbid that a self-designated pro would use anything BUT a Mac with full 96/24 AD outboard converters and whatnot... and yet, again: some of the greatest tunes ever done on a computer were done on PCs at 16 bit/44kHz. Or, for that matter, in a dirt-floored chicken shack with jury-rigged hand-me-down tape machines on homemade speakers (Scratch Perry.)

[drake89]

Question:

Define "mid-level" gear. Are we talking about the so-called 'prosumer' range? Behringer? M-Audio? Name names so we're all on the same page, because honestly... the distinction is not as hard and fast as it used to be. There's a particular gadget I use, for instance, that's largely written off by people yet is capable of creating sounds that - when you don't tell people where it came from - they say "Wow! What'd you use to do that?" But yet the same people - if you do tell them what you used - let the device bias their assessment of the same fucking sound and say "Oh, I guess that's pretty good for _____."



A lot of folks are snobs about shit they know nothing about, like those who slag FL right off the bat despite some of the biggest tunes ever being made on it and having never actually used it themselves...

kaoscillator or elektribe?

[Lichee]

The thread title contains the word "should" - should is a modal verb and adds uncertainty to the sentence in which it is included...this thread is about fostering discussion, not arbitrarily stating one way or the other.

Thank you for explaining to me the word "should". However, you're help in understanding the English language isn't necessary. I am not a stupid person and as English is my mother tongue i require no assistance in using it or reading it. Especially from someone who doesn't know what the word "discussion" means:

dis·cus·sion
Noun

The action or process of talking about something, typically in order to reach a decision or to exchange ideas.
A conversation or debate about a certain topic.


What i did here was to participate in this discussion with MY opinion. Now, perhaps you can explain to me why you consider my opinion any less valid on this subject than someone elses?

calm down man, his point assumed that when you buy and sell gear you lose money, if you buy and sell low level and mid level gear you lose more money and arguably time on getting to know different gear and you do on simply buying and selling low level gear and moving to high level gear.

Who is to say you should learn on cheap hardware before trying expensive?

no one, but obviously you start on cheap gear, very very few people begin on high end gear and if they do this discussion is irrelevant to them.

Who is to say that you can't make great music on cheap or mid range hardware?

The simple definitions of high end and low end are self explanatory, high end is higher end, high end monitors are better than low end monitors, you can make great music on anything, it can become even better with better gear.

[alphacat]

Question:

Define "mid-level" gear. Are we talking about the so-called 'prosumer' range? Behringer? M-Audio? Name names so we're all on the same page, because honestly... the distinction is not as hard and fast as it used to be. There's a particular gadget I use, for instance, that's largely written off by people yet is capable of creating sounds that - when you don't tell people where it came from - they say "Wow! What'd you use to do that?" But yet the same people - if you do tell them what you used - let the device bias their assessment of the same fucking sound and say "Oh, I guess that's pretty good for _____."



A lot of folks are snobs about shit they know nothing about, like those who slag FL right off the bat despite some of the biggest tunes ever being made on it and having never actually used it themselves...

kaoscillator or elektribe?

Neither. And I'm hesitant to divulge what it is for fear of A) drawing out the ig'nant haters, and B) having all the ig'nant haters bite my shit off and all start using it in 6 mos.