Web Site Gear List -- Does It Matter?

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John Jeffers
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Web Site Gear List -- Does It Matter?

Post by John Jeffers » Fri Jun 03, 2011 9:11 pm

I got to thinking about the ubiquitous gear list that most studio web sites (including mine) have. Does anyone really care, aside from other engineers? I suppose it doesn't hurt to have it there, but does it ever help? I can't think of a single instance in all the years I've been recording people that anyone ever asked for a specific preamp, converter, or microphone. Most musicians don't know what that stuff is, and probably don't care. "Do you have Pro Tools?" is about as specific as any client has ever gotten.

What do you think?

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Re: Web Site Gear List -- Does It Matter?

Post by sessionsatstudiom » Fri Jun 03, 2011 9:18 pm

John Jeffers wrote:I got to thinking about the ubiquitous gear list that most studio web sites (including mine) have. Does anyone really care, aside from other engineers? I suppose it doesn't hurt to have it there, but does it ever help? I can't think of a single instance in all the years I've been recording people that anyone ever asked for a specific preamp, converter, or microphone. Most musicians don't know what that stuff is, and probably don't care. "Do you have Pro Tools?" is about as specific as any client has ever gotten.

What do you think?
I think it matters to a few more savvy musicians. But most gear lists are out of date etc... I think session photos matter maybe more to someone who has not seen your studio in person.

My thoughts.
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Re: Web Site Gear List -- Does It Matter?

Post by John Jeffers » Fri Jun 03, 2011 9:24 pm

...most gear lists are out of date etc...
Being anal retentive about detail and having a fair degree of skill with web programming means that my gear list is always current. :lol:

BTW, note that I said "web programming", not "web design". I know my site ain't much to look at, but the code sure is pretty.

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Re: Web Site Gear List -- Does It Matter?

Post by sessionsatstudiom » Fri Jun 03, 2011 9:30 pm

John Jeffers wrote:
...most gear lists are out of date etc...
Being anal retentive about detail and having a fair degree of skill with web programming means that my gear list is always current. :lol:

BTW, note that I said "web programming", not "web design". I know my site ain't much to look at, but the code sure is pretty.
I suck at programming so you have that one on me. Plus I suck at design also. So I live with pretty good.
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Post by roscoenyc » Sat Jun 04, 2011 1:36 pm

I own a studio but I often travel to use other studios if the band
can't make it to NYC.
When looking for a studio for a project the gear list is
a very important part of my selection process. It's also
very helpful in planning ahead for the sessions.

Photos are helpful. Floor plans can be very helpful also.

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Post by nick_a » Sun Jun 05, 2011 9:30 am

yeah, i always look at online gear lists as something more for visiting engineers (or savvy musicians, as studiom said), so they know what they're dealing with when they come to work there. I think for more private studios, it's way less of a big deal.

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Post by fossiltooth » Sun Jun 05, 2011 12:10 pm

I'm with Roscoe and Nick here. As an engineer who works at outside studios a lot, it' good to know what's on hand at a glance, to help me decide between rooms or so I can figure out what to bring with me.

I think some musicians know a few key names like "Neve" and "Neumann" and are interested in finding rooms that have a few of those assumed markers of quality. In my experience, it seems musicians usually end up happier with their results when they shop around based on people, and the sound of their work, rather than gearlists, but what can you do?

To some degree, people will always try to size up studios based on what they have, regardless of whether it has any bearing on what they can do. We're all guilty of it sometimes.

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Post by Anthony Caruso » Sun Jun 05, 2011 2:35 pm

Yeah, if you're trying to attract outside engineers/producers, it's a must. It's not the only criteria, but when I'm taking a first glance at studios and making that folder of bookmarks, I'm typically looking at size/shape of liveroom and gear list. It's a quick way to at least narrow down the places that could work form the ones that aren't right for the project.

Which brings me to... get some pictures up on your website! Pictures appeal to everyone: musician, engineer, parent of precocious teenage band... Good pics plus floorplan with dimensions is sweet, too. I probably care less about specific gear than I do about whether or not I can fit band X, or whether the huge liveroom is overkill for a vocal session, if the liveroom is an untreated rectangle with flourescent lighting, or if you have a nice lounge for the client (it matters sometimes). Does your spot look like a classroom, or have you hung sweet tapestries and lava lamps and shit? Do you have isolation for amps? How are you doing headphone mixes? Do you have any instruments/amps for use? These questions are all probably more important as whether or not you have a certain mic or preamp.

Requests (not specifically to you... "you" is directed here toward an overall call for studio website sanity): Do not use a fisheye lens just to make your spot look bigger. I see through your ruse! Panoramic stitch is cool. Normal pictures rule. Please have all the gear you list. If it's in the shop, you don't have it. If you borrowed it from a friend 6 months ago, and maybe could borrow it again if s/he's back from tour and didn't lose it in Des Moines, you don't have it. Make a section for "Upon Request". Please list headphone system... more-me, 2 auxes on a console, straight from the DAW or otherwise. If the lounge doubles as an iso booth, please do not list them separately. If one of the iso booths is really the machine room where the computer and fans on a rackfull of gear is audible, please call it something else. I'm sure there's more...
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Post by smtimecharlie » Sun Jun 05, 2011 5:37 pm

I think it can be important for potential home recorder clients too. For example, I'm sort of shopping around for mastering, I have a Duet/Mac/~$100-$300 mic sort of set up. Nothing fancy. But, of course, I look at Sweetwater and other places all the time and think how great it would be to have or use the really expensive stuff.

So there's an envy factor here... I have to admit, there are a couple mastering places that list this gear I consider awesome and too expensive to buy and that's appealing. I think to myself, "Ooooh, I wonder how my mixes would sound through THAT."

I know it's more important to pay for some time with experienced and talented ears... and that talented ears can make my mixes sound better with my crappy gear than I could with unlimited gear. But I can't help it!

(I also know that when you start with home recorded stuff, no gear will make things sound like Sear Sound)

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Post by roscoenyc » Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:05 pm

Anthony Caruso wrote:\ How are you doing headphone mixes?

.
thanks.
Added headphone set up to our site.

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Post by cgarges » Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:31 pm

roscoenyc wrote:I own a studio but I often travel to use other studios if the band
can't make it to NYC.
When looking for a studio for a project the gear list is
a very important part of my selection process. It's also
very helpful in planning ahead for the sessions.

Photos are helpful. Floor plans can be very helpful also.
This, exactly.

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Post by John Jeffers » Mon Jun 06, 2011 4:18 pm

So, yes, important to other engineers. Absolutely. If I was looking to make my gear available to other engineers, I would have never asked the question. But I'm a small operation, not the kind of thing a traveling engineer is going to be considering. I was more curious if your regular clients -- that is, the musicians -- ever ask for specific gear, or show any signs that they even looked at your gear list at all.

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Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Mon Jun 06, 2011 4:38 pm

I'm a freelancer. I do my tracking with a mobile rig or out of other people's studios and overdub and mix at my place. So.......
For my clients a gear list doesn't mean anything and I only supply one if it's requested In fact, posting one online feels to me like putting out a sigh saying "Hey burglars, I have valuable shit! Please come rob me!.
On the other hand, when I'm looking for places to work out of a gear list is a big selling feature (as are good pictures and a floor plan).

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Post by Anthony Caruso » Mon Jun 06, 2011 5:41 pm

roscoenyc wrote:
Anthony Caruso wrote: How are you doing headphone mixes?
thanks.
Added headphone set up to our site.
Nice! (looks like a great spot, by the way, great pictures...)
I was more curious if your regular clients -- that is, the musicians -- ever ask for specific gear, or show any signs that they even looked at your gear list at all.
Short answer - I guess not, thinking back.... but as recording becomes something more and more musicians know a little bit about, it can't hurt to benefit from a little API or Apogee name recognition, maybe? It's not like recording is getting any more mysterious. From now til the sweet, sweet post-apocalypse, people will know more and more about any damned thing they can Google. And by "know" I mean have a limited understanding of until the next cute kitten puke video clears their cranial RAM cache.
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Post by cgarges » Fri Jun 10, 2011 6:56 am

I don't think the equipment list matters that much to the musicians except that if you have an impressive list, it's one mroe reason for them to spend money on a studio, as opposed to recording at home. I do think that if you have a collection of instruments, that's helpful for them to know about and having evidence of a piano or Hammond organ or that kind of thing on yourwebsite can make or bear the decision for some potential clients. Still, I'm amazed at the number of people who realize that we have a lot of stuff available and want to "use our drums," but then have no idea which of the seven drumkits we have available they want to use.

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