Brief Summary

The web brings unlimited quantities of information on gear, but that information is still limited. If you want to know what hardware is really like you have to touch it and opportunities for doing that are fewer than they used to be.

Going Deeper

Access to gear and information about gear has improved so much since my interest in gear began in the early 90s. Software can be tried as demos. For hardware video content can give a very thorough, though second hand, experience of gear and social media and forums give all but the earliest of early adopters an opportunity to find out about gear ‘in the wild’ before pressing the button on a potential purchase.

The situation was of course radically different in the early 90s. The music shop and print media were the principal vehicles for information on gear and while I was sure to grab my free copy of Making Music. Who else remembers this free, full colour, newspaper-style magazine available in music shops in the UK? The majority of my opinions and awareness of gear came from my local music shop. This is of course very different from today but increasingly I’m aware of what the rich media and endless opinions and information on gear can’t communicate so well. When it comes to hardware there are many things that text, audio examples and videos can’t communicate.

Keyboards

The well publicised woes of the butterfly keyboard as introduced on many Macs a few years ago, and subsequently discontinued, were principally due to the vulnerability of the design to debris interfering with operation but they were also divisive because of their shallow action. Some people loved them but many found them difficult to use. It wasn’t until I actually encountered one in the flesh that I discovered I was one of the people who didn’t like it. Never trust someone else’s opinion on keyboard action!

The other kind of keyboard, the piano type, is even more divisive and is the principal reason which comes to mind for me for getting some face to face time with an actual product. It doesn’t matter what assurances you receive, unless you have actually touched that specific keybed you don’t know whether it will suit you. Some people are fussy about keybeds, others are less so but there’s no substitute for actually placing your hands on the instrument. If you know that a particular keyboard has a particular keybed then, as a mass produced item, you’ll know what it feels like, unlike a guitar where things are way more complicated.

Here’s an idea. How about it became standard practice for manufacturers to publish precise details about their keybeds so when a keyboard shares a keybed with another product from any brand it’s that bit easier to draw comparisons. For example Fatar supply keybeds to many different brands.

At NAMM this year I made a point of checking out the new Yamaha CK 88 as I liked the on-paper spec. Video material looked promising too but I needed to hit a few chords to know if it was viable for me. It only takes seconds but there’s no substitute for it.

Build Quality

A second place where the only answer to purchase-critical decisions can be found is build quality. One of the reasons the aforementioned Yamaha keyboard appealed to me because it is a lightweight keyboard with a hammer action keyed. My existing 88 note keyboard weighs in at around 25Kg and I really dislike gigging it as a result. To be honest I avoid moving it around the studio, let alone out of it. Lightweight can often mean flimsy and physical sturdiness isn’t a binary quality. Is it sturdy enough is a question which can only be decisively settled by picking something up feeling for twist and flex, grabbing a knob and asking yourself just how much of a knock it would take answers questions a review, however thorough and trustworthy, can’t decisively answer. When faced with a piece of hardware, aren’t we all impressed by a reassuringly chunky knob with just the right amount of resistance? Build quality instils confidence.

On the subject of sturdiness, I’m sure we’ve all discovered the hard way that when it comes to stands you really do get what you pay for. I have a Beyerdynamic mic stand I’ve had for over 20 years, I bought it in person from a shop and at the time the person in the shop was encouraging me to save myself money by going for a cheaper option, I recall that he had a Beyer in stock but it was out the back somewhere whereas the more popular, less expensive version was on the shop floor so I suspect that he didn’t want to go and find it. But I’ve always been glad that I stumped up for the premium product because it has lasted 20 years and looks to have another 20 in it. I’ve also gambled on buying a cheap stand for occasional use before and after opening the box I gave to a friend. Too flimsy to be of use to me!

Trying Gear In Your Studio

Of course I’m overlooking that fact that the online retailers understand that customers might change their minds once they actually encounter a product in the real world. Most have flexible and accommodating returns policies in place but the information I can gather in 10 minutes in a room full of ‘purchase candidate’ products compared to potentially weeks of trying and returning products means that as far as I’m concerned we’ve definitely lost something with the demise of the physical music shop. They still exist but unless you’re lucky enough to live within convenient distance of such a shop (I definitely don’t qualify there) as small and medium sized shops have been forced out of business by online alternatives, opportunities for many to AB alternative gear are limited.

There are however some benefits to the ‘buy and try at home. The easy returns model which has become so prevalent with online retail really suits some products which are best tested in your own studio, none more so than monitors. Monitors are too important not to receive every bit as much attention online as any other product, checking them out in a shop or at a trade show can tell you a lot of things you wouldn’t appreciate in the same way if shared second hand. For example I’m always interested to check out the quality of the cabinets on monitors, it makes a real difference to the sound and a couple of taps with a knuckle tells me everything I need to know. However, auditioning monitors in a shop is of limited use. You really need to try them in your space and while pro dealers have been open to this for a long time lower priced gear wasn’t lent quite so readily. Back in the 90s you were unlikely to be able to take a pair of Tannoy Reveals home and compare them to a pair of Soundcraft Absolute 2s!

Today we have more information, but there’s nothing like that real life contact with your potential purchases. Where do you get hands on with gear these days?