Just Tell Me What Gear to Buy!

The other day I was browsing a forum on recording, and one post was a guy asking questions about beginner recording. He started off by saying that he wanted to get into recording, but didn't know all the gear that he needed. His father would apparently buy him any gear he wanted, as he supported his son's endeavors. So he began his post by naming off all of the gear that he already had, and then went on to ask what other gear he should get. He just knew that if he had the right gear, that he'd be ready to start recording.

This, unfortunately, is a trap that we all fall into as recording engineers and producers. We think that the gear that we have directly correlates to the sound we get out of our recordings. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but that just isn't true. Your gear is only as good as you are. Just like the guy in the forum, we fall into the trap that better gear will make us better producers.

Now I am not saying that gear isn't important. There are certainly differences between low end dynamic microphones and high end condensers. There are differences between high end studio monitors and low end monitors. But what I believe to be the most important aspect, is learning your gear. I would suggest to this guy starting out, to go out there and buy an SM 58 and an Mbox, and just start recording. Raw effort and hard work ethic is what will make you a better recording engineer. The guy who has done a hundred recordings with his SM58 will probably get a better sound than the guy whose done five recordings with his high end condenser microphone.

Another important reason to not fall into the trap of always trying to get better gear, is you'll do one of two things, if not both.

• Spend all of your money on continuously getting better gear 
• Never getting better at what gear you actually have

If you are at the point as an engineer where you feel like you have the knowledge and the experience to take your recordings a step further, but your gear is holding you back, then go ahead and buy nicer equipment. There is nothing wrong with that! Hopefully if you are at that point you will actually be able to utilize the gear that you have. 

Above all, remember that gear is only part of the equation. A good producer and engineer knows that getting a good mix is about hard work, experience, knowledge, and creativity before anything else.