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What was the worst decision you ever made purchasing equipment for your studio? Don't hold back, it's time to confess your sins to "Fata Fats"!

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audiowkstation Sun, 01/26/2003 - 12:33

Probably leaving my room in Arkansas. Cost 700K, was built to exacting standards and even though I am floored by how good this is considering, a leaky room still is not as accurate all over as a tight room properly done or one that has room enough to put 40 folks in. Me and my Dog fight for space here with the equipment.

Well that was a gripe, not a purchase..

Purchase is when I was convinced on some mic cable that was "Italian hand wound" that cost out the ying yang and was microphonic as hell, sounded like 50 gauge plastic and could not and would not stay soldered. 3700 dollars in the trash. I cut it, so no return.

You cannot go wrong with "pro.co." or belden.

KurtFoster Sun, 01/26/2003 - 15:41

Mario,
No penance required. Having paid all that cash for a Mac is bad enough! Do you still have a line on new NS10's there? Fats
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tannoy, Dynaudio, Blue Sky, JBL, Earthworks, Westlake, NS 10's :D , Genelec, Hafler, KRK, and PMC
Those are good. …………………….. Pick one.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mario-C. Sun, 01/26/2003 - 17:17

yes they are expensive but I use digital performer and I'm so used to it I don't feel like trying anything else...about those ns10's let me ask my dealer, i think they still have some, prices have gone up a little though, I paid about 500 bucks for mine but they are totally worth it in my opinion, if you are interested let me know...

anonymous Tue, 01/28/2003 - 18:59

Greetings Fats,

My biggest purchase mistake, was realized 6 months after purchasing Ensoniq Paris III, lauded in 99 by EM as the "editors choice". "Modular Expansion Chassis".. a great name with growth written all over it.

After spending about $8K on hardware/software, I found that paris was being sold to EMU. I thought, "great... I've made a good long term decision, this is going to last". I love working with paris and wanted more so I called to order my third eds1000x (now I'd have 48 real time tracks).

%$*(^()

It was like loosing my girl to that other guy when the Emu sales rep told me, "weve stopped making the hardware, and we will no longer support the software".

Oh and by the way, I run paris on a mac.

gambit Fri, 02/14/2003 - 04:17

What was the worst decision you ever made purchasing equipment for your studio?

M-Audio USB Quattro - without doubt the worst audio i/o on the planet. Mobile recording? The only thing it recorded was hours of phonecalls and cries of frustration. Appaling drivers, difficult operation and utterly useless.

(Replaced with a Delta 44, while not great at least it works!)

Great sentence to use next time your in music store returning something. "Not fit for purpose" - they can't argue, at least not in the UK.

Other worst was a "special offer" box set of Logic Gold + EXS24 Sampler - nice software, shame the company stopped producing PC software anymore... but less said about that, the better. :D

anonymous Sun, 02/16/2003 - 13:55

Well, there are many bad decisions over the years:Lately:
Yamaha 01V....Didn't like that sound so I sold it 6 months ago. In the 80's:Fostex R8 ( horrible 8-track). A strange drum machine with pads "The Kit" ( made by MXR, I think...) bought this instead of the first Roland 606 since I thought that it would be more "music" if you could play on the pads yourself :d: .

anonymous Mon, 02/17/2003 - 06:44

I like my ParisIII. I now have a decent studio for way less than it would have costed about 7 years ago. I am constantly looking to see what I am going to use next but unless something breaks down I am going to be tracking in Paris for quite a while.

I purchased a TC helicon Voice Prism...yikes..it did not sound good at all to me. I was a little shy to by any new TC stuff but I got the TC-MOneXL I think... That thing is nice

Mad John Sat, 02/22/2003 - 07:51

I have to join in here with some of the same wasted purchases, which include:

1. Mackie 1604 (no need to explain!)
2. TC Electronics 96K Finalizer (never used!)
3. Mackie monitors (800 series) absolutly suck!

All of these products i got through AMS on payment plans. I will never purchase again for convinence!

Other than those items I have been very savy and wise (the rest of my gear will last a life time!)

Cheers! :cool:

realdynamix Sat, 02/22/2003 - 20:26

:( Enron? No I have a shit load of DBX compressors, why I bought them..impulse, post quality/Harmon Int. Mackies 3204 line mixer, something about the summing in that thing. Alesis eq, garbage, with it's 12db insertion loss. DOD RTA garbage period. Some mini disk stuff, but it did get used. Various midi software, sucks. I am an idiot. I no longer read any recording RAG...None, hype, garbage and B.S. I don't even look at the pictures.
--Rick

KurtFoster Sat, 02/22/2003 - 22:44

Rick,
I quit reading the articles a long time ago... I take that back, I read them but I just don't believe what I read. I check out the recording mags for the ADS! Just to see who is advertising what and how long they are plugging it before it actually hits the market. Sometimes stuff is advertised almost a year before it's in the pipeline... Fats
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tannoy, Dynaudio, Blue Sky, JBL, Earthworks, Westlake, NS 10's :D , Genelec, Hafler, KRK, and PMC
Those are good. …………………….. Pick one.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

audiokid Mon, 02/24/2003 - 07:02

Great topic!

two things for me.

Arp avatar guitar synth in 1978. This thing looked cool...cost me about $3500 back then. It was okay until you actually played fast. Then it couldn't track.

Emu Systems EmulatorII (1985 I think). Payed $12,500 in Canada for that 8 bit pig and it never was quite. The 8 eproms that handled the voices had some wierd noise inherited into them. I fought with wauranty and they just said it was okay. I finally figured it out on my own, reburnt 5 new eproms and fixed it. The thing was a total pig and 9 month later I dumped it for a trade in on a emax. That one hurt. The emax was much better but still noisier than ever. Samplers have come a long way. :c: