Who's cheap gear do you trust the most?

Who's Cheap Gear do you trust the most?

  • Peavey

    Votes: 244 36.7%
  • Carvin

    Votes: 98 14.7%
  • Behringer

    Votes: 276 41.5%
  • Alto

    Votes: 14 2.1%
  • Phonic

    Votes: 10 1.5%
  • Nady

    Votes: 23 3.5%

  • Total voters
    665
It depends on what I'm using it for. I've got a small Phonic mixer that works great and even got soaked in the rain until it crackled out but worked again after I took it apart and dried it out with a hair dryer. I've never had a failure with a piece of Peavey gear including mixers, power amps, and guitar amps. My friend blew a channel on a Behringer mixer after a few weeks of use but I know another band that uses a Behringer powered PA (great value) on the road without problems.
 
I'm not sure which brand I'd trust the most, but right now the brand I trust the least is Alesis. The quality control is uneven at best. The customer service personnel are rude, if not downright hostile. I was having a problem with a piece of Alesis equipment. When I expressed my frustration over their poor quality and even worse customer service, I told them I would post negative reviews of that particular item on every internet forum I could find dealing with that particular topic, the customer service rep demanded that my reviews be submitted in advance to Alesis for their permission and suggested that if I did not comply with their wishes I could be sued. Whatever happened to the customer always being right? :eek:
 
One thing I've definitely seen is that even some of the lowliest gear manufacturers can build something that works. Now Rolls doesn't get much in the way of high praise from anybody, but their RA62HA 6 channel heapdphone amp has been serving me well for 3 years without a hiccup. I'm not a big Behringer fan, but my VAMP II has been a useful and reliable stage box for a couple of years, and the ADA8000 does exactly what I need it to do. What the hell?-Richie
 
lol....Everything I have is cheap.

ESP--->Boss-CS-3--->IbanezTS--->RP200-->Audigy 16-bit card.

Yet on the internet...I hear "Pro" players, or guys with $1,000's of dollars
worth of gear that sound...weak...or just plain lame.

(Britney Spears makes millions of dollars with her "music" Gotta love it...)

Anyone wanting to sell their Eventide Eclipse, Lex verb, Marshall 4x12,
or Bogner or Soldano, and Shure mic for gas money, please...let me know.

[/tounge in cheek, tired sarcastic humor]
 
BMG_SKULK_MUSIC said:
The Guitar...or the job you worked to pay for it?
You still live at home or something? :rolleyes:


What I'm saying is $8 is what Carvin pays many of their workers, if you have any idea what it costs to live around here you would know what I'm talking about.

As to your comments I have absolutely no idea what you are refering to.
 
Maybe I'm the only guy who is a Peavey hater, but I've had amps, PA speakers, Mixers, and they ALL died nasty deaths. The Amp used to work ok, but the reverb was wacky. You had to bang on the top of the amp to get it to work again!

That said, Black Widows remain good solid speakers.

As far as my favorite cheap gear, I'd second the Presonus suggestion, with Studio Projects right in there.

I have some Behringer stuff, works fine, though I feel a little guilty using it. If I had a few more bucks, I'd be seriously looking to replace those pieces. It's sort of like Microsoft, they knock off the good stuff, make it cheaper and squeeze out the inventors...
 
In general I trust older products made in the USA and Japan.

For example Alesis, Lexicon, Yamaha always had really good stuff marketed to the budget user. Alesis and Lexicon used to be made in the USA. Before Alesis ever made a mixer or a keyboard, and long before the 3630 compressor, they were known as an effects processor company only.

The Alesis Midiverb II found its way into a lot of pro studios as a secondary, which I think surprised even Alesis at the time. The Midiverb III was the last Midiverb made in USA. (the Q2 is pretty cool though, so there are exceptions)

I would choose a used Lexicon LXP-1 over a new MPX100, MPX200, etc.

So for me it’s the brand but also the era. We're talking about a time when so-called budget products were competing on the basis of quality as well as cost to survive. They were still trying to prove themselves -- pushing the technology as far as they could. There weren't as many choices, but the choices were pretty good.

Budget gear 15 years ago cost comparatively more even in a raw dollar amount, not to mention the value of today’s dollars compared to yesterday. There was a reason for that.

Now that everyone and their grandmother is making music gear in China, Taiwan and Indonesia even the better companies had to outsource and make compromises to compete; either that or close their doors.

Consider the stuff from your older brother or father’s era while you’re hunting. You can get for a song on eBay what we paid big bucks for. You really have it made.

-Tim
 
Last edited:
dragonworks said:
I have owned a few Peavey amps over the last 40 years of playing and not one of them ever quit on me.

I know a few that have Crate amps from the 80s. They never qiut on them either. Of coarse, they sound like complete shit and have exactly 1 redeeming quality, they never quit.
 
I've beat the crap out of a 400watt Carvin PA head a pair of their 12" speakers for about 7 years with zero troubles. I've run vocals, acoustic guitars, bass drums, etc. maxing out the 8 channels, using it at parties with my stereo going through it, and it's lived in my dusty garage the whole time.
 
Carvin makes sweet basses...my bro has a 5 string that he bought for 2 grand... so it's not a cheep crap bass lol... I personally haven't had any experience with any of their gear.
Peavey probably wins on that list for me though because Ive used peavey amps for a while now... I love the sound I get from my AUdition 110 with my Fender 1972 Tele Custom... like maybe it's just me lol but i really like the sound lol. Most of their mics are crap though...but I like their loudspeakers and amps/mixers just for some small club setups i've done. And i also use an old Peavey from early 80's and it still works/sounds amazing.

As far as presonus goes... The "Central Station" is like one of the #1 things on my list of things to buy as soon as I get enough money. Because I know that a couple people on here use it example bluebearsound, i remember reading alot about how it doesnt add any coloration to your monitors or anything ...and i trust those guys that reviewed it lol!
 
I have a Peavey DPC power amp that is twelve years old...200 shows a year and in 2001 was completely submerged in water...dried out and still works!
At my Wednesday night gig the bar has an old Scorpion 12 and horn stage monitor that sounds fab...easily as good as my Bag End PA speakers...

Ray
 
I've had a Behringer mixer and a pre amp for a couple of years now. I love them both. They do what I need them to, what I expect out of them and nothing more. :)
 
Back
Top