Where Do You Buy Your Gear?

[Kindness]

Hi Folks,

I am just curious where you buy your gear, and with thousands of reviews, how you decide specifically on what brand. And, if you buy locally, do they let you test out microphones and interfaces before you purchase? Have you purchased microphones without trying them out?

For me, getting into and interface with three microphones is going to be some serious dollars potentially.

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it!

[Rudy4]

Sweetwater. Great advice, service, and an extra year warranty beyond 1 year on most items at no additional cost.

[Kindness]

I just spoke to Sweetwater and they were wonderful! In fact, the Apogee Duet will work out as he suggested I record separate tracks on Garage Band. And to boot, he said two microphones will work, one large diaphram for vocals and a small condesnor for guitar. He shared that it is not uncommon for folks to take the large diaphram for vocals and use it as the second mic for guitar.

He highly recommended the SE Electronics 2200 large diaphram mic and the CK-1 Avantone small condensor mic (he said although this is cheap, it is a fantastic microphone).

Sweetwater is great. Thanks!

[ljguitar]

Hi Lisa...

A lot of audio gear (particularly mics) came from Soundpure.com

They are knowledgeable and diverse.

[Kindness]

Thanks Larry, I will check them out! Definitely shopping around!

[Rodger]

I have spent a lot of time on forums that focus on recording (GearPage, Gearslutz). I used to frequent Home Recording, but most people there have become smart Alec's... So, I don't go there anymore. I read a lot of reviews of mics, preamps, headphones, monitors, etc. before making a purchase.

While I buy all of my guitars locally, there's not a good source for recording equipment near me, so all mic, preamps, etc. purchases are done on line. I buy from Musicians Friend, Sweetwater and Amazon. I get 3% back from Amazon, so I look there first. Guitars vary so much that buying them online is risky, I think. Mics on the other hand are quite consistent, so I don't feel the risk buying them without trying them out first.

Over the years, I've purchased a lot of mics on line. Reviews are not always 100% accurate, I've found. I've been disappointed sometimes. If you think guitars are an expensive, addictive hobby, wait till you start acquiring recording equipment.

I think a good place to go (after doing some homework on line) is to post some questions here (one of the friendliest places on the web). Determine exactly what you're trying to accomplish and ask for some advice on what equipment works best for your situation. You'll get a lot of varying opinions, but also some good suggestions.

Good luck and enjoy the journey!!!

[BoneDigger]

Mostly my recording gear comes from online sources. I do a lot of researching before buying then I shop for the best deal I can find. Musicians Friend, Amazon, and EBay have been my primary dealers.

Todd

[craigj]

Elderly.com for guitars, strings, capos, etc. - free shipping on orders over $49. For parts and tools, stew-mac.com

[Eire]

Most of my mics are purchased straight through the builder, but I've used Sweetwater on a few occasions (most recently the Apogee Quartet). On the higher-end products, I much prefer Mercenary Audio:

www.mercenary.com

These guys truly know their stuff and are not driven by sales; there's no push to buy something, as I find from the Sweetwater reps, who keep coming back at you through emails and phone calls, asking if they can be of any 'service' (read: sell you something more).

[Kindness]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi Lisa...

A lot of audio gear (particularly mics) came from Soundpure.com

They are knowledgeable and diverse.

Larry,

Just got off the phone with Todd. Spot on. These folks educate, and don't oversell. He asked a lot of questions, and really understands my needs.

Thanks. These are the folks I will be purchasing from!

[joeguam]

Lisa,

Living out here on Guam, we are dependent on shops who have online listings of their inventory and will offer shipping via USPS (UPS/FedEx are just too expensive to ship out here). Because of this, I normally purchase from Danny at dannyd.com and I've recently purchased from John at shorelinemusic.com. For each of these merchants, I was able to speak with the owners and get their feedback directly.

I always check the prices from the 2 above with the following sites:
- musiciansfriend on ebay (musiciansfriend.com doesn't ship to Guam, go figure!)
- music123 on ebay
- stringsandbeyond.com
- elderly
- bhphotovideo.com

Hope this helps!

...
Joe

[sdelsolray]

For new recording gear:

Vintage King Audio
Mercenary
Tidepool Audio
Atlas Pro Audio
Soundpure
Direct from manufacturer (when offered)

For used recording gear:

Some of the above
Gearslutz classifieds
eBay

[Davis Webb]

Since joining AGF here about a year ago I get all my info from here. Srsly, with folks like Bob Womack and Co., LJ, and Doug Young on board, we have a one stop info booth.

[Sage97]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

For new recording gear:

Vintage King Audio
Mercenary
Tidepool Audio
Atlas Pro Audio
Soundpure
Direct from manufacturer (when offered)

For used recording gear:

Some of the above
Gearslutz classifieds
eBay

Ha!

These are the guys I look at too.....with the exception of Tidepool. I'll have to check them out.

[KevWind]

I have purchased from Sweetwater, Sound Pure, Guitar Center, Musicians Friend, Full Compass, ZZ Sounds and Alto Music.

However , Now the only place I will buy pro audio gear from is Wind Over The Earth
They are very very knowledgeable. Will meet or beat anybody's prices and will not try to sell you anything you don't need, don't wan't, can't afford or based on heavy inventory.

http://windovertheearth.com/Pgear.html

BTW Scott W. if and when, they sold me my Bricasti M7 at a significantly better price than anybody