Gear as an investment. Notice any trends? Have a prediction?

[joel hamilton]

criteria to really tell if a piece of gear will go up in value:

1.Cherished and fetishized by multiple generations of engineers (i.e. Pultec EQP1x)

2. Company no longer exists, or does not make said piece anymore (i.e. Pultec or URIE/UA respectively)

Thats It. figure out those two things and you have a winner.
Figure out those two things on a piece of gear that everyone else hasnt already figured it out, and you have a REAL winner.

I always factor price/value holding/cache as part of any purchase. I also own microphones that i simply love because of experience, and I own a few things like that
because I know I can get the job done really well with those pieces. That has value for ME because they are a part of the way I work.
I made many recordings with SM7's to get to the point that I could get an M49, you know what I mean?
I didnt win the lottery, I just made solid recordings that were the best i could do with a symetrix 501 until I could afford a Neve 33609....
I worked my way into this stuff, for sure.
Now I make sure that the stuff I have works well, and that is the most important thing to me. certain less expensive pieces that have rocked for me for years, and are still inexpensive, but i have made money using them on a zillion records, and loved them all the while...
That is the real value.

[chris harris]

certain less expensive pieces that have rocked for me for years, and are still inexpensive, but i have made money using them on a zillion records, and loved them all the while...
That is the real value.

Definitely! Those pieces deliver a return on investment and you don't even have to sell them. You can keep using them to turn time into money!

[mrc]

I'll second that motion, and add: if you are willing to learn just a little bit, you can improve some (not all) dis'd equipment to the point that it will rock you for years, for just a bit of sweat and a token of cash.

[wayne kerr]

Telefunken U47,use and NOT modified by BLUE.

Telefunken ELAM251E, used.

Teletronix LA2A, new or used.

A Fender Telecaster, american made.

A Fender Stratocaster, american made.

Studer A827 2" tape machine. Get the last model made, which self calibrates.

Fender Precision Bass, with OLD strings. Never ever change the strings. Or Die.

That should get you started.

Cheers

i call bullashirt,. thw blue modded 47s are phucking phenomenal.

[cjogo]

Just buy low -- sell high You can always buy Behringer ;; one of the most stable markets ....

[Nick Sevilla]

Telefunken U47,use and NOT modified by BLUE.

Telefunken ELAM251E, used.

Teletronix LA2A, new or used.

A Fender Telecaster, american made.

A Fender Stratocaster, american made.

Studer A827 2" tape machine. Get the last model made, which self calibrates.

Fender Precision Bass, with OLD strings. Never ever change the strings. Or Die.

That should get you started.

Cheers

i call bullashirt,. thw blue modded 47s are phucking phenomenal.

No they are not. And who are you? And why do you state this?

You probably have never even seen either one. I call you out.

Cheers

[MoreSpaceEcho]

yer gonna lose this one noeq.

[Recycled_Brains]

Telefunken U47,use and NOT modified by BLUE.

Telefunken ELAM251E, used.

Teletronix LA2A, new or used.

A Fender Telecaster, american made.

A Fender Stratocaster, american made.

Studer A827 2" tape machine. Get the last model made, which self calibrates.

Fender Precision Bass, with OLD strings. Never ever change the strings. Or Die.

That should get you started.

Cheers

i call bullashirt,. thw blue modded 47s are phucking phenomenal.

No they are not. And who are you? And why do you state this?

You probably have never even seen either one. I call you out.

Cheers

[Nick Sevilla]

yer gonna lose this one noeq.

I know... but does he?

[kayagum]

My motto: if you reach for something, and it's not there, that when you need to get that something.

Whether the piece of gear appreciates or not, it has utility for you.

I've bought, used and resold for a financial loss a lot of gear. But I feel like the knowledge (good or bad) that I got from learning how to use the gear is an intangible but valuable benefit that may go beyond the $ amount.

If you're trying to actually earn money, pick up another hobby like poker. Or a day job.

[Ryan Silva]

If you're trying to actually earn money, pick up another hobby like poker. Or a day job.

An unfortunate truth.

[trodden]

yer gonna lose this one noeq.

[Scodiddly]

This is why I currently own a half-dozen of the original CAD E100 mics. They're not incredibly special, they're just something that does the job for me in a couple odd spots. Plus I've been able to buy them for around $125 on eBay, and they're not made any more.

Bottom line is that if I want to have a working pair of these mics 20 years from now, it's decent policy to have more than two now while I can get them cheap. They probably will not go up in price, but on the other hand I'll likely still want to use them.

[Harry]

I drool over the pre CBS Fender amps sometimes.
If I had the$$ I would pull the trigger and justify it by telling myself that "yeah it's expensive as hell but in 20 years it will be worth even more"

This is also a big reason I don't work in the box.

A space echo will be worth a hell of a lot more in 20 years than some tape echo software.( not only that it sounds a lot better IMO)

There's nothing wrong with being a grown up and treating your studio like an investment. It's not like you'll make money at it but if the shit hit the fan you should be able to get out of it and almost break even.
And if you have the $$ collecting rare vintage pieces of gear is fun,creative and useful.

[Ryan Silva]

I noticed something during my hunt for a single channel comp. I was deciding between a UA LA-2A, and a Retro Sta-Level, and I found that used LA-3A's(UA) averaged at about 2k, and the used Retro Sta-Level's were between $2,100, and $2,300. Well that?s a drop of 33% on LA-2A's, the second you unwrap the new packaging.

Not sure why that was but thought it might be relevant.