I'm gonna join in here. I've outgrown the "home" recording stage and built a commercial facility, but I still use a lot of my home gear, just needed more room.I cannot afford to go out and buy the best of the best, nor do I chose to. Unfortunately, most information about products is still, and will be for a long time, learned from magazines. At least 75% of that info is hype. Now that we all have internet access, we can get opinions from actual users of this gear, but either way, it's all objective. Opinions are just that.
The trick is to read between the lines and form your own opinion. I've had bad pieces of gear from respected companies and I've had great pieces of gear from "bashed" companies. I'm not comparing apples and oranges, I'm just saying there is good and bad involved in any aquisition you make.
Now, for me, I'd be perfectly content to buy any PMI product (and I have) because word of mouth - from users - and the fact that I can contact Alan himself (but I haven't), is a major plus when it comes to spending my hard earned money. I don't have much SP stuff, but what I have works great for what I need it to do. I also have a lot of Behringer and Alesis stuff, some of which is really good, some of which is crap. But when I bought it originally, it served its purpose. That's all I expect from gear. They're tools. When I can afford better tools, I'll get them. For right now, I'm not going to save for years to get something with the German name on it when I can get multiple other things to add many flavors to my gear. Naturally, if the time ever came that I could afford an SSL with Neumanns galore, a couple of Avalons, a rack of Neve pre's, etc., don't think I wouldn't get them. But I do a lot of research before I buy anything, no matter what it costs. If I buy a mic for $100 and it sucks, it was a $100 gamble...but for that price, I'll find a use for it someday. But if that same $100 bought me a mic that sounds good on a couple of sources, then it was well worth the purchase.
Alan can spam anytime as far as I'm concerned. I'd also welcome spammers from Behringer, Alesis, MXL, Octava, Rode or even the higher end companies, but I don't see them helping anybody out here. Where are they? Most companies are faceless and don't honestly give a crap whether you buy their product or not. They figure you will because they said it's the best thing "for the money" and it's cheap enough that you can afford it. That's all Alan's been saying too, except he's got the balloons to come here and say it. He's not telling us to buy his stuff, he's only saying what it is, probably the best product in that price range. Is it? That's up to the individual. If you believe him...fine. If you don't, that's fine too. But if you have an issue with his products, he's there to back them up and fix the problem. Where are all the other companies? I can't even get e-mail returned from Behringer...so that tells you where their support is at.
If spammers bother people, so what? If it's blatant advertising, then it bothers me too and that's plain ignorant (I also wouldn't buy their product). It's as bad as pop-ups. But if what you consider what Alan is doing as spamming, then bring it on! I'll take constructive spamming from ANY manufacturer.
If someone like DJL has a personal vendetta against Alan, I personally don't care. He's entitled to his opinion. I don't have to agree with it. He's not asking me to agree with it. He states what he feels...right or wrong. As for me, I'd be partial to listening to Alan before I listen to DJL, simply because DJL has such a reputation on this board, and also the fact that I don't know who he is or what he does. I know what Alan does. He doesn't hide. I'm not accusing DJL of hiding, only that I don't know what his credentials are or why I should listen to his opinion. And believe it or not, I've actually read a post or two where DJL was helpful and constructive!
But not near as much as Alan's were.
Have I gotten off the track? ;-)
