Gear Costs

Ivan posted the following on AH. I thought it was an interesting perspective many of us seem to forget over time, myself included. I asked Ivan if I could put it up here and he gave the ok.

"Just an observation here since gear prices always seem to bring gasps from the audience. It may sound snobbish, but we've all got our opinions.

I started thinking about another forum post regarding Richard Lainhart and his Buchla 200e and Haken Continuum Fingerboard controller. Back around 1978 I worked with a club band that played the local circuit. Their keyboardist had the typical mondo setup. Hammond B-3 with Leslie 122, Yamaha CP-80, Arp String Ensemble, Minimoog, and a Clavinet. I think he had another synth too but I can't remember (maybe an Arp Odyssey). Oh, and Anvil ATA cases for everything (including the B-3 and CP80). This was 1978 and he had, roughly, $20,000 worth of gear. A new Corvette the same year was $11,388. I seem to remember the local university purchasing a mid-size Emu modular synthesizer in 1978 for $18,000.

Fast forward 30 years. Richard Lainhart has a $20,000 Buchla and a $5000 Haken Continuum. This is extremely rare equipment that most of us will never touch. Yet compared to a rock and roll keyboard or synth setup of the 70's or 80's it is inexpensive, especially when considering inflation (a 2008 Corvette is about $60,000). Even a brand new MOTM modular synthesizer is less expensive than a Emu modular was back in 1978.

Anyway, I know for most of us electronic music is a hobby (and an obsession, but that's beside the point). But quality gear still costs a few dollars. Even if you're using soft synths you get what you pay for in terms of computer audio interfaces. It's pretty simple; a Metric Halo or RME box sounds better than an M-Audio box.

My point? I see posts about Tom Oberheim's new synth and people think it should cost less than the new one did 30 years ago! Look, it still costs a lot to produce a piece of quality hardware. I'm getting tired of the bushing-less pots, cheesy construction, and other cost cutting done to turn good circuit designs into inexpensive "mass market" products all in the name of saving a few bucks. What happened to the brick shithouses that people used to build? There is a reason all of these Moogs, Oberheims, and others are still around and working. They were built well using decent components. And guess what; it cost a lot do build them that way. Nothing magical happened between now and back then to drastically reduce quality component costs.

I worked for one of the big pro audio companies that forever changed the price point for mixers. Were they good for the price? Yes. Did a $600 mixer rival the performance of a world-class studio console? No f'ing way, regardless of what the marketing department told you. Not in terms of performance, and not in terms of build quality.

Speaking of which, if do happen to have many thousands of dollars in gear, you might consider spending more than $100 on the mixer that you route it through..."