I got the impetus to start a blog reviewing sound gear after spending over $13,000 on the first leg of a 4 year improvement plan for our local "sound company." I found it frustrating to wade through user submitted reviews, corporate advertisements and misleading spec sheets, only to keep my fingers crossed when finally purchasing big ticket items. We're located in the least populated state in the Union (you do the research) and we're many miles away from the nearest showroom or professional sound company; geography prevents any hands-on "try before you buy" activities. Somehow I didn't find helpful reading product reviews written by newbies and indiscriminate purchasers-- how often have I read "This mixing board sounds great! I'm 15 and just starting playing guitar, but this is the best buy you'll ever make!" or "These speakers suck! I hooked 'em up to my amp and the horns blew!" -- not much pertinent information is being imparted here. Reading other product reviews, it became increasingly clear that some of them were just advertisements masquerading as impartial analyses. Even more infuriating at times would be dealing with the big warehouse-type sound peddlers who sell you junk over and over, jerk you around when you complain, yet still advertise themselves as "no hassle" retail outlets.
Well, I'm going to start naming names. And I'm going to strive to give useful analyses of the products we buy-- what works, and what doesn't, things to watch out for in products lines, what's worth the price, what isn't, etc. I'm going to give kudos to the gear and companies that make my job easy, and I'm going to howl at the moon about those who don't. And I'm not taking payoffs or playing nice-- but I'll give credit where credit is due. As time goes by, I'll add reviews of the gear we have and use and I'll try to keep up to date about new gear we purchase, the fiascoes we encounter, and I'll keep track of the stuff that breaks (our gear sees some punishing conditions).
I'm interested in following two lines of reviews-- the big ticket items that break the bank when they bust, and the cheap gear that may or may not substitute for the pro-lines. This is two-fold-- some times there's no substitute for the high dollar pro gear, especially when the client is getting picky and you want to be a professional. Other times the cheaper stuff will suffice, either because no one is paying attention, the price is right, or the cheap stuff works beautifully. Balancing the high and low dollar gear is the key to working within a tight underfunded budget, so often one has to weigh the pros and cons.
Why me? I've been in this business for almost a decade, and I think I have some insights to impart. Maybe not. But hopefully something here will help someone else make a solid business decision so they can worry less about spending money and do more about producing their art.
Feel free to post as well; contradict me, agree with me, whatever-- but keep it useful and intelligent. The sound industry isn't an exact science, and there's contradictions all the time. This isn't a dictatorship-- yet.
