We’re often considered the sensible ones at the Experts, advising against changing gear or spending money, however here are three unintended positive consequences when buying new gear.
You Increase Your Skills
I’ve recently been making the transition from Final Cut Pro to DaVinci Resolve for my video work. After a decade of using Final Cut Pro there’s a lot of knowledge to transfer. I’ve spent the last few weeks consuming hours of video tutorials, reading manuals and asking advice from those already using it. It’s not an easy thing to do, as I written about in other articles it’s also a major reason that people, even unhappy people, don’t move from one software application to the other. A few years ago I invested in Studio One to augment the work I do in Pro Tools, that was a similar learning experience.
However, none of that learning is wasted. I now know how to use another video editing application, as well as some additional skills learnt en-route. That can only strengthen my hand as a professional. I now know how to use Final Cut Pro and DaVInci Resolve, and Pro Tools and Studio One, all of them with more than a basic degree of competence.
It may not be an application, it may be a control surface, or a physical console. If you spend your life just mixing on a Neve board then what happens when a gig comes in using an SSL console? Of course, a professional would apply the principles gained on the other board, but there’s going to be some workflow kinks and a learning curve.
A life of continuous learning is a healthy one, especially for a professional. Sometimes the learning is imposed, at other times chosen. Whatever the case, if you buy new gear, then take time to get the most important thing out of the investment, knowledge.
You Get Inspired
I recently acquired an Akai Keys 61, in short, a modern version of a keyboard workstation.
It has a ton of cool features, one being, that if I get an idea I can record it there and then without having to fire up a DAW - it’s quite liberating to remove that step in the process.
It came with a ton of sounds included, many of them really very good. Wiithin hours I had some really cool ideas, inspired by both the sounds and the workflow.
Would that have happened without the keyboard, quite possibly. However, the new sounds and a different way of working unlocked some ideas that may have remained hidden.
It can happen with acoustic instruments, if you are a keyboard player, then I defy you to sit down at a quality grand piano and not be inspired. It’s the same with guitars and other instruments.
It can even happen with plugins. A few weeks ago I started to noodle around on LiquidSonics Tai Chi, it invoked the memory of 80s guitar and synths sounds. Before I knew it, I came up with a load of new ideas.
Good gear has the possibilty of inspiring us, now there’s a win for any creative.
Better Results
Doh… isn’t that obvious? Well no. We take adverts that claim ‘get better mixes’ or ‘mix like a pro’ type hype with a pinch of salt. Those claims assume so much it’s laughable to say the least. However, whilst there’s no substitute for skill and experience, if you invest in quality gear then the results should show.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in microphones and speakers. These are two gear choices that can have a dramatic effect on the end result. If you buy the right monitoring then you’ll be able to hear a mix in a more truthful way which translates better to the outside world.
Or take modern audio restoration software like iZotope RX or Acon Acoustica, both can make a tremendous difference to the end result on a TV show or movie.
However, setting aside the technical improvements, having gear that improves your workflow such as a control surface or something like Soundflow can help you achieve better results, simply by speeding up monotonous tasks and allowing you to be creative.
Summary
If you have Gear Acquisition Syndrome then we guess you’ll be quoting this article to your partner sometime soon. That’s all well and good, but as we’ve already said, new gear doesn’t make us better by magic, but if we have a healthy attitude to fundamental audio or musical knowledge and discipline, new gear can have some really positive unintended consequences.
Main Image: Photo by cottonbro studio