Show 124 – Tips on buying and selling used audio gear and more

This week we have a listener segment from Anssi regarding troubleshooting a sucky guitar tone. We also talk about buying and selling used audio gear on eBay and Craigslist.
In the Rapid Fire section we talk about: gluing items in a mix; kick drum mics; and bottom snare mic

Joining us on the show is Ronan Chris Murphy, superstar producer, engineer and host of Ronan’s Recording Show.

Download Show #124

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15 thoughts on “Show 124 – Tips on buying and selling used audio gear and more

  1. Any time I sell something on Craigslist, I make it a point to include something to the effect of “price is firm. Any emails asking to take less will be ignored.”

  2. Hi guys,

    A friend of mine bought a used Neve 8128 channel strip recently. It cost him $180, which seems like a decent deal, but from what I’ve read on the forums, opinions seem pretty divided. Half seem to dig the sound, while others say to run. What do you guys think?

  3. Hey , im 15 and i run a studio out of my home, ive been doing it for a few years now but im looking for an upgrade. I run all my mics into a Behringer x2442 mixer and instead of going usb in through that i use a fast track pro because there is less latency. I want to upgrade the fast track pro to something with more inputs so my drum mic tracks can be separated when i record in pro tools. I know i could upgrade to something like a MOTU 8pre but what are some other options ?

    KlaasyProductions

  4. Yes! Thank you, Jon. Someone had to say this. I feel like it is time for Audio folk to come together and once and for all write a Craigslist constitution.

    I was laughing so hard listening to this because I am currently selling a small mixer for $130 (which is less than I bought it for) and the first email I got was from a guy who simply said, “$100 or no deal”.

    And yes, I love when someone negotiates you down to a price over email and then show up saying that they don’t have exact cash and “Can you break a $50?”

    In the words of Eric Stoltz from Pulp Fiction. “Are you in Toledo? No, you’re in my house. And Audio Folk who know the difference between good shit and bad shit- this is the house they come to.”

  5. Guys, apparently I made a mistake. For some reason I had it in my head you were remixing a stereo mix or pre-panned stems of the 4 drum recording tracks you were sent. That was why I questioned the point of re-panning it expecting good results. I will still say though, that while I never said or intended to imply the Glyn Johns method was the be all or do all to end all, apparently that is what people thought. My only point was there are some basic techniques that are used to achieve the best results, a good drummer and a well tuned kit being of primary importance as I have said every time, and it didn’t and doesn’t seem you really put your hearts into explaining it properly, including fully explaining the “normal” way it is suggested the tracks be panned to achieve the best results. Not everyone has a mic locker filled with an endless assortment and number of mics. Why even Ronan (who I quoted and linked to quite a bit when I first started talking about this method a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….) said he likes using the 3 mic method. And the 4 mic method can always be supplemented with some tom mics if preferred. Bottom line it is a useful technique for many situations and for people with limited equipment and should not be passed off as more of a novelty than a serious and versatile technique.

    RE: Ebay, I am generally skeptical and had a guy try to artificially drive up the price on an AT4040 I was bidding on. I also won an auction for 10 high end mic cords that said there were 20 available only to have the seller take my money, then contact me four days later to tell me the item was withdrawn due to running out. It took another week and a half to get my money back and available from PayPal. I won another auction for 10 mic cords that ended up having cheaper xlr connectors than shown as well as having some crossed wires and bad soldering. When I appraised the company of this, they sent me a 3″ and 6″ sample of their newer, better cables. Funny thing though both of those had been soldered with pin 2 and the shield switched. I bought a “make offer” AT4047 that was sold as “brand new, in the original box, unopened, etc. that turned out to have been opened and had some scratches that looked like someone had either tried to put it in the wrong shock mount. I paid $420 including shipping but when I got it immediately reported the scratches and stuff to the seller. He actually was very apologetic, gave me a $50 refund and a brand new $30 dual screen pop filter. But that is the only real good buy I ever got because the mic is in excellent shape and works fine, but again, even that buy had “issues”…..

  6. Almost forgot, I have to agree that there are an awful lot of people on ebay trying to sell used stuff for more than it is brand new, and we aren’t talking vintage equipment, ART MP’s fr $89 and $100 for instance. I’ve got one that I put all Burr Brown op amps and a Sovtek 12AX7LP tube in that makes a great DI that I still only have $50 in….I have a friend that used to be a big ebay buyer and seller. he told me that now that so many people are using it as a storefront like Amazon, things have deteriorated….

  7. What was the model of the Yamaha mixer again? Any more info on the mod? I have this strange sensation that makes me want to buy any kind of cheap gear you mention in the show. It should be some kind of strange G.A.S., as it doesn’t happend to me with the expensive stuff…

    Víctor

  8. Hey guys!
    Love the show. I just found these podcasts so I don’t know if you’ve covered this yet or not. A friend recently told me about Gauge Microphones. Their website is http://gauge-usa.com and they compare their mics to several higher end mics and though there are apparent differences, I’m quite impressed with the audio samples they have considering these mics run from $60-$500. I’d be very grateful if would take a listen and let me know your thoughts.

    Sincerely,
    Brando Martini

  9. Bob Dylan’s your sound design and mixing daddy. In his Chronicles Vol. 1, Dylan ran across a guy who did sound effects for radio shows, and he got the how to on the sound of bones breaking – crunsh a Life Saver. Also, in the latest TapeOp, he tells an engineer what he knows about mixing. Worth checking out.
    I’d say you’re show is great, but for that you got to pay.
    Keep on truckin’

  10. You need to add some laughing crowd when you make jokes, or some comic drum fills. i feel stupid when laughing. great shows people, i’ve been listening to them for a while.
    cya!

  11. @Tilt: “Any time I sell something on Craigslist, I make it a point to include something to the effect of ‘price is firm. Any emails asking to take less will be ignored.'”

    Even better: “any emails asking to take less will be have the e-mail address harvested and used to log on to questionable websites.”

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