I have an ALESIS hammer!
It is a cheap (sorry Rod, but I don’t pound nails every day) claw hammer that I stuck an ALESIS bumper sticker on the handle. I swear, when I used to put this thing on top of the ADAT rack, they seemed to run better! hee hee hee.
I agree that a good engineer can "squeeze" a decent recording out of almost any type of gear. That being said, top engineers will
always opt for pro gear when given the choice. Give an engineer the choice of a Lexicon delay or the afore mentioned Boss delay and they will choose the Lexi anytime, I guarantee it. They know that they will achieve better results with it and it will take less time and energy getting "there". They also know that the end result will be superior. Yes, the average listener these days, most likely will not know the difference whether a Wackie pre or a Neve pre was used with a Neumann or a MXL mic in the recording of a CD. I think that is a problem. I grew up in an age where producers were doing the best they could to push the sonic envelope for better quality, where the buzz was "Hey! On this Loggins and Messina album, they plugged the mics straight into the tape machine because it sounded cleaner", instead of "Oh, that sounds good enough". I hate to say it but I think that 99% of the records released these days sound worse that much of what was out in the 70's and 80's. It's supposed to get better, not worse.
Sometimes the manufactures get something right. The SM57 and 58 is a great example of this and also goes to show that a piece of gear doesn't have to be "high dollar" to get a nod of approval from me. I am also a big fan of the Shure SM7a, as is Don Was and many other top flight producer / engineers (I am not placing myself among them however). The venerable SPX 90 is still searched out by great recordists even though it was and still is, relatively inexpensive. I would hardly call either the Sebatron vmp or the JLM pres as “high dollar”. They are not much more expensive than either the Digimax or the OctoPre, but I think they sound way better. The Sebatron at its list price of $1450 for 4 channels, is $362.50 per channel. The JLM which lists at $1850, presents an even greater value at $231.25 per channel! That's cheaper than a RNP when you look at the per channel cost.
I do think that cost, to some degree, has a lot to do with sonic quality. Cheap “prosumer” products use cheap parts and wider tolerances in the design. They use integrated circuits that can result in a lack of channel to channel consistency, instead of discreet components. Some people think that ICs are fine or in some cases even better, I, for the most part, don’t. Some people think that op amps are cool, I again for the most part, don’t. There are exceptions such as the API 2520, but on the whole, I feel discreet components result in a better sound. Cheap to make circut boards that employ robotic construction and surface mount technology result in products that are difficult to service, requiring them to be returned to the manufacturer, where usually the whole PCB is replaced instead of repaired. Instead of being able to call a tech in for a day to fix gear that is down, you are forced to be without your equipment for weeks while it is at the service center or the factory. Quality power supplies also play into the equation. I don’t want to venture too far into this because I am not a tech, I do not know a lot about the science involved in engineering and building circuits or power supplies but I do know what sounds good to me. Cheap gear usually doesn’t make the grade for what I want it to do. Quality gear is usually to some degree built by hand, utilizes through the board mounting of components and for the most part is field serviceable.
I keep revisiting this type of gear, as there is no one who would like to see inexpensive alternatives present themselves more than me. Occasionally, I am pleasantly surprised. Like a recent experience I had with a Rode NT1 on a guitar amp. I used a Studio Projects C3 LD mic in the omni position last night on background vocals and I was very pleased with the results. But in general, I have found that there is no substitute for great gear, especially high quality front end gear and mics.
I have a cheap hammer. This is because I use it perhaps a few times a year. If all someone wants to do is record something occasionally, and for the greatest part just have their gear there to look at and impress their friends who don’t know any better, a rack full of prosumer type gear will serve the purpose. But if they are using it all the time, pouring their heart and soul into their art and trying to push the boundaries of their abilities, why compromise it with tools that don’t perform as well as they could? I don’t understand the “it’s good enough” mindset. IMO, nothing is
ever “good enough”.
