I know we all joke about Rapid Gear Acquisition Syndrome but I think I am at the point where it’s time to acknowledge the problem and begin on a path to recovery.
A year ago I had made the decision to get back into mixing after a 10+ year break. At this point all I had left from the good old days was a few boxes of records and a pair of Stanton AL-500 carts that for some reason I didn’t sell with the 1210s. I am not going to bore you with the pain in my heart that still exists since I sold them, except to say it’s there everyday (no joke). To put this all into perspective, a year ago I had never heard of DjTechTools.
I picked up the S4 in January and a new laptop to replace the one my son destroyed by slam dunking the screen shut on it.I picked up a 24” monitor screen that does double duty on Traktor and a bunch of graphics/productivity apps I use for work. Then I added turntables followed by a MF Classic and Vestax Pad-One. I sold the classic and got the MF Pro. I switched from Vestax PDX2000s to Numark TTX1s, upgraded to Shure M447s. I got new desks from the good old Ikea in Pittsburgh and also picked up a new USB hub. More recently I added KRK Rockit 5s, got the DJTT knobs for the S4, and upgraded the S4’s crossfader to the superb innofader (btw - any fools that want to question that upgrade can haul their arses to Cleveland and use it for 5 minutes - you will all walk away trying to order one on your phone). My Bose Quiet Comfort 2s died a month ago (after 5 years of solid service it has to be said) and today were replaced with a pair of HD25s. BTW #2 - The HD25s not only sound a lot better than the Bose (surprise surprise) but also block out more ambient noise that Bose’s patented thingimygigger.
When the HD25s arrived today I was certainly excited to try them out but I started to feel a little embarrassed about all the gear that I have acquired since January. I haven’t added up all the $$$ spent and frankly, I don’’t want to. I have rationalized it as being someone who has worked hard and has a job that pays well enough that I can support my family and pay for this stuff but I think 2012 has to be the next phase. I think 2012 has to be much more about playing and creating than tweaking, troubleshooting and configuring. I haven’t figured out if this means playing out, doing more mixes (like the world needs another “Hey check out my new mix”) doing stuff on Ustream or something else. Whatever it is, I want to bring more playing into the equation next year.
I am not sure why I am sharing this but I though I would anyway. Anyone else feel like this? and what are your plans to better your musical artistry next year?
Well, do you lack money for other activities ?
Once you purchased all your gear, do you think “hey, i could have done this and that and this with the money instead, and i would have been a better use”.
I don’t see any problem spending tons of bucks if you like what you spent them for. You won’t bring your $ in your grave dude. Some people struggle and gotta walk 10 miles 4 times a day to get some water, you don’t, looks like you can afford your gear, enjoy it.
The only thing bad i guess you could feel is that you imagine people (IRL, forums, youtube, etc) hating cause you don’t use all your stuff at 100%.
And you don’t want to feel ridiculous “overkilling”, like a guy who uses his Ferrari to do 500 meters per day to go a buy some bread (don’t know if you buy bread every day, i do, i’m french )
Unless the RGAS causes that you can’t eat as you would like to, or really badly mpacts your financial situation (i dont know how old you are, your income, if you got your own car, house etc), don’t feel bad about it, just have fun and enjoy it. That’s why life is for.
I am not concerned about what people think of me at all. If I cared, I wouldn’t right blog posts. I was simply sharing what I think about my own situation and curious as to what other people think of their own situations.
Well from what you’ve wrote, I’d say buying more at this point (without selling something you currently have to make it happen) would be a bit overkill unless you’re bent on getting better sound out of your setup. With an S4, TTs, and a MFP you have control over just about everything in Traktor without worrying about hugely complicated multi-layer mappings. I’d recommend trying to get the most out of what you have, and if you see a specific need for improvement later, address it then.
Now looking at your setup, you might benefit from a proper mixer/soundcard to go with it, some CDJ 2000s, and maybe like a KP3 or an EFX 1000 if your mixer doesn’t have effects. However, all of these purchases would be minor sound quality improvements for serious money, and thus really wouldn’t be worth it unless you A) go professional or B) have a bunch more money to blow.
At one point, I had a VCI-100, an APC40 (originally bought it for production, but mapped it out for Traktor) and a Kontrol X1. That was wayy too much. Now I’ve got an S4, an X1, and a MF classic. That’s about the right combination, though I’m thinking of selling the S4 and using timecode along with the other two for a more portable setup (thinking of club gigs) as well as a more Serato-compatible setup. Basically - unless you have a specific thing you want to do with your sets that you can’t do with the equipment you currently have, you’re probably better off not buying anything else.
I think you are on the money Keeb. I think this year has been about exploration and learning and next year will be about getting stuff down. I am actively learning to scratch which is challenging/frustrating and wildly satisfying all at the same time so other than possible going back to Technics, I think I am all set.
I had considered switching out the S4 for a pro mixer but I think I am sticking with the S4 for now.
i’ll admit i’m a gear whore, i would buy something in the spur of the moment after seeing someone use it and i would imagine myself doin the same things.
i’ll get addicted to buying new gear it feels good to get new gear lol but i had to realize that more gear isn’t going to make u better, its what you could do with what you have.
then again sometimes you gotta explore with many things before u find out what you need/want. and i dont believe you’re wasting money in buying anything that can contribute to what you like, its like an investment
well it is a hobby, its up to you to decide whether you’ve gone too far or not. are you denying your friends or family of responsibilities to them? i can relate in that i am a hobbyist, but i do not have too many real responsibilities - pay my utilities, pay my rent, done. if youre taking care of your business then the number of money spent is meaningless because there are plenty of other expensive hobbies. cars, bicycles, comics, i mean any hobby can become a problem; just the same as drugs or alcohol its simply a matter of are you so lost in your habit that you’re depriving the people you care about?
You are consuming, supporting the economy and other people jobs
You are spending your money in thing you enjoy, this is a very important part
What else could you do with that money? I am sure that you are enjoying your investment, so why worry?
Worry when you have other priorities and still spend on gear, worry when you get in debt, worry if you are not using it.
I am finally ready to start parting with stuff. Ive hoarded and im sick of it.
I dunno but something just pinged in my head a few months back (maybe getting engaged) and i just thought “im ready to let go”.
Bit like freeing a captured and nurtured otter. Im ready to let some stuff go back into the wild.
I sold my Zero4 and instantly regretted it for a few days as it was the first time in ‘forever’ that i didnt own a hardware mixer and it felt really weird but, im over it now. It passed.
I still lust after gear. That will never change but the “i have to have that” urge fades after a few weeks when once over, id sell my own ass to get that box of shinny lights.
Perhaps its the equipment that has levelled out. Maybe in a year or so some new stuff will grab my attention and ill really want it but at the moment im more about honing my setup down to what i really need and ive come to learn that what i have and what i need are not the same at all. In fact what i need and what i want are also not the same.
What i want is a mixer like a Rane 57 but with S4 jogs and an Audio 8 inside it.
Id sell a lot of stuff to get that.
MrPopinjay told me that i was unrealistic to want that, and I agree.
But like John Lennon… i wear glasses… i mean im a a dreamer
hell yeah I support the quit buying and start tweaking philosophy. I’ve gone way overboard in the past year myself - hell I’ve bought more gear in the past 6 months than you have in the past year, and I barely have time to even look at it lately, much less learn to play on it competently. (Don’t get me wrong, I turn it on practically every night, but I rarely have more than an hour to play before it’s too late). The time thing will change early next year for a while (I have a sabbatical coming up) so I’ve rationalized all my purchases by a commitment - which I will hopefully follow through on - to play more and buy less once I have the free time. My sabbatical comes with a fat pay cut so I won’t really have a choice about the buying less part…
Been there, I had 3-4 completely different setups over 2010, basically exploration and midi map whoring). Settled with and S4 and X1 this year. Some of you will remember my rants from previous posts but just in case, local prices are a bitch and this was an extremely difficult setup to acquire and it did the job well so nothing really caught my attention this year.
I’m selling everything now because I’m planning on moving to Australia next year and this will fund the plane ticket. Maybe take a small and much needed break from DJing in the process but this is uncertain.
Prices are far better over there but I’m planning on going for a minimalistic route once I feel the love for mixing again. Internal mixing with a pair of K2s seem like the most realistic solution.
@Karlos you write some posts that are pure gold!! Nurtured otters, selling your ass and John Lennon all in one post?! Brilliant!!
Completely agree though. I’ve gone through a similar transition to Smittten but I think I’ve found my perfect set up. said whilst eyeing up a pair of cdj’s on ebay
Up until now it’s all been purely for my own enjoyment but this week I got offered my first gig (out of the blue) in something like 8 years!!
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