SR/Live Mon, December 01, 2008

By Teri Hogan

So you need a new “thingamajig” for your system? The problem: there are so many brands and types of this thingamajig available, how do you best go about the process of choosing the one is exactly right for your situation? Sometimes buying a new toy - rather than being fun and exciting - is instead fraught with frustration and indecision. And the need rarely comes at a “financially convenient” time. 

Purchasing professional audio gear can’t be an impulse decision, because nothing in this business is cheap. If you guess wrong, it’s very difficult (and likely financially not possible) to justify buying yet another unit.

Therefore, the first rule is to determine right up front that there will be no hurry, and that emotions won’t rule the day. “What do I REALLY need?” is the key question.

Start by evaluating your market and considering your chosen place in that market. The needs of a small company primarily providing systems for local bands in clubs and smaller events are going to be quite different from a regional provider working concerts and larger festivals.

Meanwhile, a regional provider shopping higher end pro gear still might not actually need the level of gear required by a large company specializing in touring packages.

A personal example: My company is a regional provider whose primary clients are promoters of concerts attracting crowds of 2,000 to 4,000, as well as festivals that host “rising and falling” national acts.

Our current primary consoles are Crest Century Series - excellent desks that have all the necessary features while being non-VCA models. Would we prefer VCA? Absolutely. But will our market support the cost of VCA consoles? Absolutely not! 

A Yamaha PM4000 or Midas Heritage desk can’t pay for itself in this market, and this is a fact we’ve come to grips with. Once or twice a year, we encounter an artist that insists on a VCA console, so we’ve lined up a reliable source (several hundred miles away) that cross-rents us the required desk. It’s a much more economically prudent approach for our particular business.

Note that this approach keeps emotion and ego out of the equation, leaving a carefully considered solution meeting the real need. O.K. - let’s go shopping! 

THOSE PESKY NUMBERS

Budget is the very first aspect to be determined:

• How much can you afford to spend on this thingamajig?
• Is there cash on hand or will a loan be necessary?
• How much should realistically be invested?
• And, will buying this item impact the ability to purchase other needed items now or in the near future? (This is what I call the “other needs” question, and it’s a big one.)

Right off the bat, narrow down the money issue. With, say, $500 to spend, all of the “Cadillac” brands and units are likely off the table. But with $5,000 to spend, the MI stuff offered at Guitar Center and the like probably isn’t a consideration. Where to start looking depends upon what you have to spend.

Now, enter the “other needs” question, which helps further clarify the situation. In our business, for example, we’ve often had to settle for something a little more cost-effective to keep our inventory intact. Checks and balances.

The focus then becomes compiling a list of possible gear choices. There are several resources to access in compiling this list, topped by talking with fellow sound people, and even better, visiting them to see what they’re using and how they’re using it.