When my studio first started it was based around an analog 1/4" 8 track and a Fostex mixer to go with it. I worked for a pro audio company so I was able to snag racks full of comps and fx etc... and mics as necessary. Now I am well over $150,000 into my studio. I have however spent nearly 9 years taking all of the money I made and putting it straight back into the studio. I make doing live sound pay my bills, and recording buys my toys. ANyone can do this if they really want, as long as they are willing to live benath their means and work 40 - 80 hour work weeks on a pretty constant basis.
As far as the drum mics goes, lets break this all down first....
Kick.... Senn 602 ($200), AT 4050 ($500),
Snare... SHure beta 57a on top ($100) AKG 414 on bottom ($900)
Hi Hat... AKG 451 ($500)
4 Toms... EV 408e's ($200 ea. totalling $800)
Overheads... AKG 414's ($900 ea. totalling $1800)
Room mic or mics.... Royer R121 ribbon ($1100) and/ or BLUE Blueberry ($1000)
That list totals nearly $6000. That is certainly not the way I started out. Years have doing this have taught me little things though. First, having good solid overheads and room mics give me much better drum sounds (which is kind of my specialty at my place). Whenever I use cheaper mics the sound is almost always tilted with really pointy high frequency lobes that get very obnoxious. I have tried various cheap condensors and none have them have pleased me. However, 8 years ago I would have loved to have owned a lot of the stuff that is out there today. The thing is that I do this (whether it be live orin the studio) 7 days a week and on average 50 or so hours a week or more. I get a lot of practice that means and it also means that I get to try ALL sorts of different things and form my own opinions. Doing so much live work has been really great for being ablke to try new things, learn from touring engineers etc... I get to test out new gear pretty constantly, and have used MANY different mics. As I result, I have definately formed my own opinions on stuff and I am not afraid to be vocal about them. They are all based on actual experience and not some magazine article.
As far as learning what to buy, that is not an easy thing to do. I remember years ago saving up for a DBX 376 tube preamp/compressor/EQ. When I got that thing I was so stoked, but it only lasted me about 6 months before my eras were finally good enough and my technique was good enough to spot the real weak points in it. I had finally gotten a bigger console by then (TAC Scorpion), better monitors (KRK KROKS), gone to ADAT so I could do more channels etc.... The more we do this kind of thing, the more we learn. I know that I personally have gone through a lot of phases. Like I will not l;earn too much for a few months, and then all of a sudden I will get turned on to a new technique or a new way of doing something and it will trigger a large growth period for me. I look back on old projects I have done a lot. First off, there was some techniques in there that I don't want to forget, because they can still be useful. Second, I like remebering that stuff and where I came from and all the work I out into it. I am always suprised by how much I actually like the work I did years ago, but I know for certain that there are lots of things I can do better now. Most of that is due to my growth as an engineer and having more experience. I have to sya though that a good part of that experience comes from learning how to use my tools, and often times those tools are gear, and nice gear at that. Learning when and how to use them has helped make me a better engineer.
Basically, I have a few people out there whom I really trust. When I need to make decisions concerning what direction to go in, I consult with them. Where I live I can't go to any store and just try stuff out like you should. The stuff that I buy now is much nicer than what most stores stock. What I always try to do is put myself in the other persons shoes. When someone asks a question, I try and pretend that I was them at that stage in my career. I ask myself, "what would I have wanted someone else to do for me at that point?". In looking back, I wish I had found some people I trusted for advice long before I actually did. It would have saved me many purchases that were pretty redundant.
If however someone is is asking about a specific piece of equipment that falls right near a price boundary where for just a little more something much better can be had, thats a different story.
I think in general, those of us with better equipment don't look down on the others or anything like that. For one, we may have been doing it for much longer and we may be doing it for a living
