5 Things To Avoid When Buying Audio Equipment
Vložit
- čas přidán 13. 06. 2024
- I just wanted to share 5 mistakes that I see a lot of people making when purchasing audio equipment that should be avoided. I know this channel could be used to justify over consumption of audio equipment so I wanted to take a week to advocate for fiscal responsibility. Also, these tips could apply to pretty much any good you're considering purchasing.
00:00 - Intro
00:30 - Tip #1 - Avoid Following Trends
01:39 - Tip #2 - Avoid Impulse Purchases
02:31 - Tip #3 - Avoid Buying The Dream
03:40 - Tip #4 - Avoid Going Into Debt
04:56 - Tip #5 - Avoid Paying Scalpers/Flippers
06:11 - Outro
Become a Patreon: / podcastage
Become a Member: / @podcastage
Subscribe For More Videos: czcams.com/users/podcastage?su...
My CZcams Setup: podcastage.com/studio
My Favorite XLR Mics: podcastage.com/rev/favxlr
My Favorite USB Mics: podcastage.com/rev/favusb
Check the Frequently Asked Questions: podcastage.com/faq
Vote For What You Want Reviewed: podcastage.com/vote
NOTE (FULL DISCLOSURE): If you purchase an item using an affiliate link, it provides me a small referral fee. As an associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info check my FAQ page links below.
Check Out This Stuff TOO:
Website: www.podcastage.com
Giveaways: podcastage.com/giveaways
Discord: www.podcastage.com/discord
Merch: podcastage.com/store
Company Relationship Disclosure: podcastage.com/disclosure
Personal: www.bandrewscott.com - Věda a technologie
This is an absolutely awesome list of advice. I’ve definitely been guilty of buying “dreams” that really weren’t what I needed at all. 🤦🏻♂️
Ditto… 😅
Well, buy nice or buy twice, haha
You and him are legends in this field my man
@@DarkPa1adin true
i bought the AKG k240 studio because of that mindset!
some of the worst headphones i've ever used despite AKG being a solid audio company 😐
learned my lesson for sure
SPOT ON! I do this with everything - audio gear, cameras, guitars, computers.... thinking it's going to improve my work.
We have all gone down that road, and most of the time the higher end equipment becomes more transparent and shines a spotlight on our flaws. The more professional stuff is much less forgiving.
@@Podcastage Hey bro, I want to restart my CZcams channel .... I want to buy a camera but before I do so .. I wanted to upload on my Pixel 6 until I'm monetized and know I'm getting money before going ahead and buying that camera .. I was thinking before I do that ... let me upload from my phone first and make sure it's working out and have been wondering what a good microphone is for a USB C? Whats your recommendation? I was thinking to get a Sony lavalier mic with a TRS connection, and just gett the USBC adapter and hook it up to the pixel 6 ..... what do you think about this setup and what is your recommendation? Thanks brotha
Look who we have here 😱
@@BensWatchClub What's up bro ... I saw the checkmark on your name and checked out ur channel... I want to buy a watch for myself but also want to get able to resell it later and make sure it goes up in value ... What are some good brands that not only hold their value, but also increase over time? I think Rolex and Omegas are like that ... But what about Cartier or other types of watches that are good investments? Also, get a pre-owned one right?
@@BensWatchClub haha @podcastage is a fellow watch guy, he's got some great watches.
Podcastage turning into an investment channel 😅🙏👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Short horror story of my overspending: Neumann KM 185 into Grace Design m101 into DIY LA-2A into RME Babyface Pro. So that I can sound nice to my mates on Discord while playing games. I'm not even a musician. I blame you and other audio CZcamsrs for always showing me the shiny stuff :D
That "buying the dream" one hits too close to home
I’m slowly building my podcast studio. I’ve been at it since 2019. I can’t thank you enough for your channel and all you do. Thank you
What is good for beginner podcast equipment?
@@eddieanderson714 I can’t tell you specifically what’s good for you, but I used Andrew’s reviews learned from this channel and got me these.
1.ElectroVoice RE320 (reviewed in this channel)
2. Shure SM58 (reviewed in this channel).
3. Best boom arms and cables I could afford.
4. KlarkTeknik CM2 mic booster.
Running directly into a pair of
5. DBX286s. (reviewed in this channel)
6. Behringer composer pro MDX 2200.
7. Yamaha MG10xU I have used as both mixer and audio interface in some cases. And a
8. Zoom Podtrack P4.
9. Comica boom XD Lav mics
10. Going for a used Motu M2 audio interface asap.
Hopefully I can submit a voice recording in the future😃
And lots of DIY sound treatment for a noisy room next to a parking lot. Ouch!
I hope that helps someone.
Do a rode caster pro, with a mediocre mic still sounds fantastic!
i always come back to this video before adding something new to my studio. The main statement is "your capabilities and skills value more than the gears"
Avoid going into debt. That's the best advice.
Solid advice, thank you for putting things into perspective.
Most people on CZcams don't bring up financial constraints as you did - thank you for helping us impulsive spenders!
Very true and insightful tips, like always, love your content!
1'st Rule always listen to Bandrew's advice.
(love the punch!) yep, many points apply to many 'consumeristic' behavior. 1) Think, 2) research (learn, optional) 3) if 1st time purchaser of X, go low end. (yes, you WILL get better stuff after #2...). .....and HAVE FUN!
That list of people you listed are from the James Bond movies
Every CZcams channel, podcasts, tutorial channels, food channels are using Shure Sm7b. Good for Shure, for sure.
I used crappy equipment for all my life. Recorded a lot of stuff with crappy microphones plugged directly into the computer pink input. Now I have one Tascam US-1X2HR, an AT2020 and a Zoom H4n pro. And I'm like "Oh, my God, finally low budget!".
It's inexpensive gear that should work well for you. happy recording.
I also think the reason people by a lot of audio gear is because it looks so damn cool.
That'd be an expensive set dressing. Haha. But people will spend their money how they want and I'm not here to tell people how to live their lives. The gear does look really cool though. haha.
I love your recent videos! Reviews are great but you’ve some good wisdom in that noggin too.
Good Greetings. Thank you for this brilliantly well made and well spoken and also, well suggested video. I am in the process of having to really do some learning and watching reviews over which mic I should buy at the moment according to the financial situation I have right now. Your advices are very truly resonant to indicate to how many errors I've made and how susceptible I still am in repeating those errors as I'm just having to desire for so many different things at once and even thinking about taking a loan in order to buy a mic but I fully agree in what you've suggested as to not indulge in impulsive purchasing and instead to just be patient and being more rationally reasonable with our choices for this. Excellent video. I really appreciate your insight for this. Stay safe and stay happy
Good advice ... maybe your best 6 minutes. You left out Tip No. 6 -- THE QUALITY OF YOUR CONTENT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE QUALITY OF YOUR GEAR EVERY TIME. TT
You mean we don't all have Quincy Jones in our back pocket?! Love these tips!
I think there is a little bit of truth to being more motivated, and excited to use equipment that produces better instant results..Or being demotivated by finicky equipment that takes tinkering to get it right. But the diminishing returns on this phenomenon ramp up quick. A $5 mic vs a $40 mic is night and day. $40 vs $100 is significant difference. $100 to $500 is moderate.. $500 to $1500 is slight. Above that, it's mostly subjective. Many artists prolifically used the $100 sm57.
My top tip is DONT look at gear online when you've had too many beers lol
Very sound advice (no pun intended). thank you!
Sage advice, my friend. I can't tell you how many times i've googled "Best x for y" and then waited and found I don't really need that specific product. On the other end of that spectrum, I have an entire rack full of outboard gear. Some of it I use daily, and some of it I have used maybe 3 or 4 times in the past 4 years. Do I love every piece in that rack? 100% yes. Did I really need to spend the money on that 2 channel dbx 266xs unit? No....I have plenty of in-the-box processing options that could have gotten me the same result. But I was caught up in the "I want analog" craze. To anyone who is just starting out in the field, take these notions into consideration before you spend all this money on gear and software/plugins. The world's best violinist will sound better on a $50 violin than the world's worst violinist on at $100K violin.
Talent Matters!!!!
i sound like Michael JAKESON
Gianni (a voice actor for lots of games) uses a ∼$500 audio setup, but it still sounds phenomenal, you don't need an expensive microphone to sound good
Man this carries over so much to other aspects in life. For example at the gun range often see people with $5000 guns and they can't shoot worth a crap. And buying the same gun as Jerry Miculek won't turn you into Jerry Miculek
Your advise is as valid today as it was when you posted it.
Thanks!
buy nice, buy twice... if only it was so easy...
Even if you buy expensive, you can still buy twice... or more times.
Well... my greatest waste was the SM7B.
And so far my best spends were the e965 and KSM105.
The NTG4+ was such a waste.
Later I got the NTG3+5 and I'm happy. I love both.
I was so tempted by the MixPre3II, but decided for the Zoom F4. Later I got the MixPre3II and I'm happy.
the list goes on...
Impulse purchase is crazy 😭
I never thought this is a thing..I'm guilty of it
Great Advice! And for more than just audio equipment.
Ok, yeah... bla bla bla but what mic can I use to sound like Mike DelGaudio?
Sound advice (No pun intended). For the past 3-4 years I’ve been wanting a console - like an actual console. As much as I don’t truly “need” it and could make do without it, I’ve reached the point that it truly would be a useful tool and I’m willing to put the time in to saving for it. Going to be another couple years away, but I have actually been telling other people this exact same stuff as you did and I think it’s important to consider all of these things, especially before making very large purchases.
Thank you Jordan. That's great to hear that you are taking the approach of saving up to buy the tool that you need as opposed to going into debt for it. I hope you're able to get that console and it makes your recordings significantly easier.
Need more "You're Talking Into Your Microphone Wrong (FAQ Series)"
well...100% exactly. Before you start spending money on things that you may or may not afford or need - do the research, ask questions, don't blindly follow trends
Fantastic... what a great subject: Impulse and/or trend buying, a great subject for all guys in music.
I just financed a Nord keyboard and it's the first time I've ever financed music gear. HOWEVER, it was a terrific deal and it will be paid off at no interest using money made from gigging with the keyboard. I completely agree on this list! Great info and great principles to keep in mind!
really good advice. I got a little carried away with my new guitar center card in late summer. than something happened money wise that I knew was coming but was not thinking about. it's called winter!
Just recently discovered this channel, it's fantastic
Great advice! You are amazing. Big love from Seattle
I hear what you're saying. All I'm saying is I need just one more microphone. Then I'm done. Promise.
A good way to look at buying better is being honest with yourself and asking if you are able to make use of what the better equipment offers? I’d love a $4000 Martin guitar, but as a beginner I still have plenty to learn before my entry level guitar is holding me back.
I don't care what purchases we're discussing, this is phenomenally good advice. Listen up youngins.
Thank you so much for the kind words. It took me a while to learn this stuff, but I'm glad it's applicable to other areas as well.
Very well put!
You just put everything I already did. Genius. Thank you for great video.
Sennheiser mkh 416 it is. 😅
Hey thanks bro. Really solid honest advice.
Very wise and much needed advise for many!!!
"Unless your name is Sound Speeds" could be applied to literally anything
I just Upgraded my entire Audio setup. 1-2 years ago I used a blue snowball which had a humming noise because it Fell to the ground and some over-ear ANC headphones because I did not have any headphones dedicated for my PC. But a couple of months ago I wanted to Upgrade all of my Audio setup because I love music and I love creating music (in form of beats and so on) so I did some Research and decided that firstly I want to have the Beyerdynamics dt-770 pro 80 Ohms. After like 2 weeks of thinking about it I ordered them and I was flashed by the quality of the Sound that comes out of it. But I thought that they were a bit quiet, so I had to buy a headphone Amp. Then I decided to buy an interface and because of this humming that my current mic has just Upgrade that too. Now I am using my headphones at a Behringer umc202hd and a Audio Technica AT2020. I am really happy that I made this Upgrade because not only have the Sound that I hear gotten better, but even the Sound that others here from my mic too. I love all of my Audio Equipment and I don't think that I have to Upgrade anything in terms of Audio in the next 5 Years.
This was your best video, in general all your video are great, but this one and the one about the law of diminishing returns you help us ground ourselves and see thing clearer. Thanks
Big brain move: save up the money to buy your gear, but if you can get 0% interest for 18 months, put the money in an 18 month I-bill at 9% interest. So you actually make money from buying at 0% interest :) Just make sure the timing lines up so you don't pay any interest on the purchase.
Great video and great content on this channel. Thank you
Tip # 1 Impulse buy the most expenisve gear you can finance.
Tip # 2 Let me know when youre offloading it on Marketplace or Craigslist for 75-80% off retail when you realize you don't want to music anymore.
This is how I got a Tube Tech CL1b for $2500 less than retail..
I really enjoy taking your advice on audio equipment...P.S. my roommate Hates watching you 😆 because when I have been on the search for microphones I have watched a Ton of these 🗣️ Thanks again
Sorry your roommate hates it, but maybe some audio knowledge will seep in and they will unknowingly be brainwashed into caring about good quality audio! Muwahahaha!
thanks for watching Bill.
A horrid irony here is that the roll out ad I had to suffer in order to watch this clip featured 2 people, one using a Blue Yeti and the other using a usb mic which looks like a smallish "ice cream sandwich" usb mic, talking about "making a great podcast" while the audio of them using these crappola mics is *terrible* .
Tech Gear Talk says buy nice or buy twice and it is true to some extent to minimise the loss of cost opportunity for earlier purchase
If I might add: Consider the previous generation's flagship. It was the top-of-the-line once, and it's probably still solid now.
100% this. Also consider used equipment. I just did this with a camera purchase. I wanted a good digital camera. You can get 5 to 10 year old top-of-the-line digital cameras for around $100. I recently bought a 10 year old camera that was $750 back then for $35 shipped on eBay.
@@jTempVids Exactly. If the device meets your needs, then you're set. Practically all my devices were previous-gen flagships, and although I do also get to play with current top-tier devices, I don't feel like I'm missing out on much, and I have a little extra left in my wallet for other things.
Great tips and that has been how I was I was tought and found out myself.... Like I have the Blue Studio mic because I like the way it sounded and also it has the duel outputs and honestly the rest of it like the price and it has served me and my voice well for 3 years now. Also about the dream yes you should not let the idea of a product consume you but if you want that sound above nothing else and you thought really hard about it maybe then.
That's great advice from someone with their heart in the right place
Here’s a good reason to buy gear:
If you invest in your company (in the Netherlands) you don’t have to pay taxes because you pay taxes on income.
So if you dont buy new gear, you will pay the same amount of money on taxes 🤷🏻♂️
If you like analog gear, you can also consider buying gear as an investment. Especially vintage mic’s and comps keep their value
Great video. Thanks Bandrew.
It is addicting at times / thank you 😘
1:40 I did this with the Shure SM7B and I don't regret buying it so far!
I've been building my podcast audience slowly since 1998. Thanks to your advice I recently reached 2K subs and 10K downloads. Patience is the secret.
1998. I'm impressed that you've been podcasting 6 years longer than it's been around.
You're right. Thanks for the advice!
I went to buy a Corvette in 2000, ended up getting a beautiful conversion van, on impulse. 20 years later, I can still do things in that van I could never do in Corvette, especially with multiple people. The moral of this story, everything he is saying is true, but vans are EXEMPT.
Please continue.
Haha. That's great you got a van that you've had 20+ years of use out of in many various ways. Drive safe and when the van is a rocking, I hope no-one comes a knocking.
Thank you, this realistic video save me some money.
This will curb me from buying a MIA Les Paul!
Your audio is sublime!
A really good video. One small voice of reason!
I have…..broken many of those rules 🙈😬
I think I made all of these mistakes, except the last one, today.
Many channels pitch a truck to the homers. "This truck doesn't cost you money. It makes you money. You just plough some driveways in your spare time". What's my name? Mr. Plough! Fire your boss. Start your own business.
Your right… kept trying to sound like Paul Turner 😎
I'm a huge fan of this video. Sharing general tips and advices is super helpful for newer podcasters, and just in general, audio engineers. Please make more!
Sound advice Dude! I concur!
Bandrew? Holy shit! Hi friend! I haven’t seen you in prob 15 years!
Great content Bandrew!
Damn, this is like crazy good advice. I'm possibly guilty of all tips on the list. Except the fifth one, I shop official retailers only.
There's a reason I know not to do them...I've made most of these mistakes too.
He’s right. I cant draw. Never could. Buying a £500 pen isn’t going to change that.
Thank you, my wife would love this video.
much needed discussion. thank you
3:32 Is the most important thing. It can actually be beneficial to build your skills on crummy equipment... If you've only every practiced with premium gear, you'll be in a bind whenever you find yourself with nothing but cheap junk to work with. If you built your skills on cheap junk, you'll be just fine even when there's nothing high-quality on hand, and when you do have the good stuff, you'll be way ahead of the game.
100% agree. It's also what sets off a real pro from the rest.
Yep! Started with Radio Shack stuff…..
Swinging the practice bat! As they would do in baseball. It’s huge.
I totally agree with you. Sometimes we want the most expensive gear but we don't need it or we don't even know how to use it. It is better to do a research and buy what you need based on your specific needs.
I impulsively bought an sm7b a while back. Didn't even know what XLR was yet. Didn't have a mic stand or arm. It sat for months before I got to use it. Turns out it doesn't even do my sibilant nasally voice any favors. I probably would have got a cheaper condenser mic and some sound proofing had I done more research. If only I found this channel first.
My personal sin is kinda like:
- sooo... this will be the last mic you will buy, okay!?
- Yea! NO MORE MICS AFTER! I promise!
Aaand... that cycle repeats time to time...
On the last item, if you see an item on clearance, it’s because the manufacturer has something better coming out.
If you’ve decided a particular item is ideal for you, then be glad you got a clearance discount, but don’t but it just because it’s cheap. Yes, I’m talking to myself 🤓
Thanks dude. Love your sophisticated humor.
Thank you Carlitos. I appreciate the comment, and the kind words.
Love you bro, amazing vids. and btw you may have just saved me a couple thousand more on equipment lol.
Really good advice -- Thanks Dad!!!
Great video! Congratulations from Brazil to you!
Excellent!
I love this, thank you!!!
Great information
this is perfect! excellent reminder
So on point; thank you!!!
I have way too many mics and no channel to justify it. I have an MKH 416 from factory new because in Australia they are far cheaper than US (I don't know how nobody is hustling this, buy $850 AUD then fly to US and sell for $1100 USD). I also bought a Samson C100 with a fancy genuine shock mount, for $15 barely used on eBay, lol. I love both mics. I also bought one of those $15 amazon electret mics, and was blown away that I could get the actual metal casing for that price. I also have a bunch of SM58/7B/etc. I've spent more on preamps and interfaces and cable than I have on mics, haha. I love all my mics. I guess my point is that there are insane bargains in all price brackets.
I'd like to note my thoughts on gear though, yes it's easy to utilise cheap gear after using expensive stuff. Like, sure Jack White can make a hit record with a broken toy guitar, but it's an exception to the rule, much easier to start on good stuff and then downgrade and/or just be a magician. I can make a $10 mic sound way better when I know what a thousand dollar mic sounds like. Just my thoughts.
This is best advice so far on the internet. Thank you very much. :) I almost go for Ethos today with zero subscriber on my channel.... hahaha
Great stuff! Thanks for putting this out there. Common sense? yup ... Important to hear again anyway? yup!