How to Research Studio Gear on the Net
by the Tweak
 You can find LOTS (tens of
thousands actually!) of answers written by
Tweak using this customized Google search form
|
These days, getting quality information
about gear you wish to get is easier than it has ever
been. In the pre internet days there were only three
sources: Trade Magazines, Manufacturers Brochures, and
knowledgeable Salespeople. As you might guess, every
one of these had a reason to put a positive slant on any
product you might have looked at for more than 2 seconds.
The Net has changed everything. Now you can get actual users comments on gear, can ask questions on a variety of public newsgroups, and search the entire internet for everything said by everyone about a given piece. But we have lost something important in the technological explosion. The knowledgeable salesperson is a dying breed. It's practically impossible to know everything there is to know about music studio gear. You would have to spend 12 hours a day reading just to keep current. Today, what is important is to
know how to find specific answers to specific questions. You have to to this for yourself. You may have tried to post a specific question to a newsgroup and waited days for answers which, if they came at all, were clearly wrong or doubtful. No one person has all the answers. But, somewhere the right answer was probably already out there. You just couldn't find it in time. I am going to show you how to get the rundown on any piece of gear, get what everyone is saying, link you to manufacturers, point you to users groups. Book mark this page now. You will want to find this resource again.
For a good brief overview
Vintage Synth Explorer Provides a basic overview of nearly every synth made, often perfect for fast comparisons
For tons of links on each piece of gear
SynthZone This is generally speaking a massive link junction, where many information highways interconnect with manufacturers sites
For the most accurate "Word on the Street" about gear
TweakHeadz Lab's own forums
on www.studio-central.com is a great place to learn
everything going on with gear.
Industry Insider, aka "The Buzz" gives you a tool where you can browse prices marketing blurbs and often scathing newsgroup feeds on the same screen. Try it! It's a Xtremely cool if I say so myself.
For browsing comments in newsgroups do a
Google Newgroup Search Awesome! This engine does in seconds what would take days to do! The main newsgroups where gear discussions take place are rec.audio.pro rec.music.makers.marketplace and rec.music.makers.synth. The cool thing about Google search is that is will search all of the thousands of newsgroups and pull the articles out for you. The people posting their comments and evaluations of gear do not pull any punches. In fact they are inclined to the negative as there is often a fair bit of posturing going on. If a piece of gear gets consistent praise in the
newsgroups, its probably awesome! If you look at the ads on the right, you will see some results of a
Google search on three high priced new multi-track recorders. You can do your own search on any piece of gear.
For getting in on Discussions of dedicated Users
YahooGroups You may need to join many of these groups to participate, but usually you can browse without doing so. The amount of information here is often vast if there is a group dedicated to your piece of gear. You will find select YahooGroups featured in "The Buzz". You can often find answers to the exact question you have. These groups are typically comprised of people that already have the piece of gear and are trying to get the most out of it. Overall, the posts reflect a positive attitude towards the piece. If you find a significant number of posts slamming the manufacturer for one reason or another you should pay attention.
Email someone
Few people think of this, but why not? Find someone in a discussion group that says they have the piece and ask them questions. Who knows, they might turn out to be a great contact in the future.
Gear Reviews
You'll find my own reviews of gear if you scroll down the left pane. Some of the best reviews of gear were published in the Trade Magazines. Here's were to find them.
 Keyboard Magazine Reviews Includes audio demos of products
 Sound on Sound Magazine Article Search
Tweak's Favorite:
Sound on Sound Magazine
Use these reviews as a studied analysis of the piece you are considering. Note the pros and cons. You might want to open up a small text file to cut and past notes.
Traditional Search Engines
You may find other sites devoted to specific gear using the traditional search engines. It's through the traditional search engines that you can best find the manufacturers sites and the small dedicated sites that have free patches, operating tips and small close knit users groups.
  
 
Have Fun Searching!
written 1998
About Microphones and Preamps
Build a Home Studio Mic Cabinet
How the Preamp Affects Audio Quality
Shure SM57
Shure SM81
Sennhesier MD421
Review of the Shure SM7b
ElectroVoice RE-20
Rode NT1
Neumann TLM 103
Solaris
CAD E-200
Great River ME1-NV
FMR RNP
Focusrite Voicemaster Pro
Poll: Best Condenser Under $200
Best Large Condenser $100
Best Preamp $800-$3000
Best Preamp $400-700
Hi End Preamps
| 
