opinion of an arse!

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rockinokie

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So I went to my local music store yesterday and decided to ask some advice on my little home studio I'm working on. ...basically asking the best way to get audio off reel to CD. The guy said "I don't know why you would want to mess with analog when we have digital setups that get the same quality or better depending on what your using and also give you many many options for editing" I explained the nastalgia part of it and explained that the hands on just seems like it would be fun. I tried to explain there is a difference in analog and digital sound and it does not have anything to do with "quality" but he kept talking and left me little room. He said "there is a reason ALL studios use digital now" basically giving me a drawn out story of how analog is obsolete. ...boy he really has no idea. I can name several local studios that have the option for digital OR analog and can think of some still ever popular names that only use analog. He even said "Well, I suggest if you want the nastalgia, buy one of those shure reissue mics, use that and let the reels turn while you actually record digital into the computer. ...and just tell your freinds you are recording on the reel". He also made the digi/analog comparison by saying "its kinda like people who say records sound better than CDs. I think those people are idiots".:rolleyes: I've spent much time digging through stacks and boxes and piles of records looking for vinyl that I already have the mp3s for. ...maybe he didn't realize it but he just called me an effin' idiot!

Ofcourse, after saying all this he threw his sales pitch on a some $600 Tascam digital portastudio. No thanks.

Needless to say, I left there less than satisfied. Too bad it is the only music store for miles. I wouldn't go back if I had another local source for guitar strings and other small misc last minute crap...
 
You should call his store every week and ask him if he has any reel to reels or vinyl.
 
Not a good salesman, that's for sure. Of course, he wants to sell you the stuff he *has*, instead of what he *doesn't* have. But- giving you a line of BS is a poor way to do that. He would have been better off explaining how many studios that track and master in analog often send the tracks to the digital domain first just for editing. Instead, he told you that his way is the only way, and that you are stupid for doing it any other way. I got news for him. Analog is not dead, it has just become a little more specialized.-Richie
 
ok let me get this straight... you had a bad experience at a local music store because the guy working there was an idiot? really ? nooooooooo
 
A music store salesman is the last person I would ask anything, unless maybe, "Can you tell me where the restrooms are?"

Always go into a music store with confidence, knowing what you want. Otherwise they see you coming and you look like dollar sign$.

Generally speaking the average music salesperson has very surfacy knowledge based on manufacturer literature, and they're most concerned about commission. They don't care about the truth, but only what they can get you to believe.

My music store conversations go something like this:

Me: Do you have this in stock?

Salesperson: No, but we have...

Me: Can you get the item I asked about?

Salesperson: No, but this other brand is...

Me: Have a nice day
 
Yeah that makes sense. I don't buy into most any sales pitch anyway. I research online and make my decisions from there. There are a couple folks employed there that I have known for a long time and enjoy talking with. I actually asked one of them first and he said "well I don't know too much about recording but Jeff (the owner) does, lets go talk to him" and it just went down hill from there. I don't ever buy much from this place other than just strings and the folks working the front who I have known for years know this. ....so they don't try to sell me crap.

Yesterday sucked so unfortunately y'all got to hear a newbie vent on the board.:o

sorry...
 
JUST got thru reading an article about how vinyl was the only physical music medium that has shown increased sales in the last few years.
From 2007 to 2008, according to RIAA stats, Cd sales declined by 71% while vinyl sales went up 124%.
Still less than one percent of the market of course. But they still sold 57 million worth of vinyl last year.
Analog is hardly dead if that's the case.

I absolutely would arm myself with some stats about sales and what studios use and go back and shove it in his face that he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about.
But then, I'm always looking for a legitimate reason to tell someone they're an idiot!
:D
 
I had something like that happen when I called a local 2nd hand music store. I was hoping to find a 424 Portastudio (or something similar), and all I got was "Why in the world would you want to record to cassette? Digital is so much better and easier..." Blah, blah, blah. I told him I called because I know what I wanted and if he didn't have it then I had no use for him. Short phone call to say the least.;)
 
I know it's just the way it is but I had an experience when I went to get some head cleaner at Radio Shack and they didn't even know what I was talking about. It had only been about 6 months earlier (about a year and a half ago now) that they had it but the kids in the store looked at me like I had two heads. Well, guess what? They're stocking it again. :D
 
Ya it's sad to say but a lot of people are like that, UNINFORMED... When I was at my last job I was talking about the reel to reel I just bought and asked the woman if she new what that was and she said isn't like a movie projector thing? Well yes and no! She was 42. It's funny a girl almost half her age knew what I was talking about and was asking general questions about what set up I wanted. I really miss her!
 
I've seen all kinds. A couple of people have expanded my knowledge base considerably who were *sales staff at Guitar Center*. Both of them went out of their way to suggest and special order low ticket items that helped me out a lot. And- both of them wound up getting big commissions on big ticket items I bought from them later. Unfortunately, the big volume retail outfits don't support the overhead to hire knowledgable sales staff. Sometimes they get lucky, and some people learn as they go. If you want to talk to someone with a clue, there are lots of high end outfits like Sweetwater and Mercenary, where you will pay a premium to deal with people who know what they are talking about. On certain kinds of purchases, it's worth it. Most of the time, I know what I need to buy, and I just order it at the cheapest price I can find. But it's really true that a couple of GC salesmen have suggested things that I didn't know that I needed, but I did, or which solved a problem with a solution I didn't know existed. Not all salesmen are clueless, not all salesmen are stupid, and not all salesmen are assholes. But there are more than enough to maintain the stereotype (as it were).-Richie
 
At this point I could really care less about which medium is "better". I know what I like and I know what works best for me.

In a way, it's kind of like saying that acrylic paint is better than oil pant. Why does the type of paint matter when it's the painting itself that counts?
 
it's kind of like saying that acrylic paint is better than oil pant. Why does the type of paint matter when it's the painting itself that counts?
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Because oil paint lasts longer...I say analog recording is the oil paint.

If you want to talk to someone with a clue, there are lots of high end outfits like Sweetwater...
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I hear you, but at least 50% of my experienced jawing with a sales rep at Sweetwater have ended in frustration...Same kind of thing. They can't understand why I'm messing with the analog stuff, they then get stuck on the idea that I'm going for some kind of lo-fi old-school sound and then they suggest a plug-in that can do it. Also got some very wayward advice a couple years back that was completely incorrect and I'm glad I followed up with other sources because following the ill advice would have sent me on a goose chase.
 
rockinokie said:
Ofcourse, after saying all this he threw his sales pitch on a some $600 Tascam digital portastudio. No thanks.
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Well, there's a reason why he's a small-town music store salesman. If he really knew what he was talking about, he'd be out there DOING IT, and not blathering on about it in a music shop.

It's like a salesman at Ross telling you to dress better.
 
lo.fi.love said:
Well, there's a reason why he's a small-town music store salesman. If he really knew what he was talking about, he'd be out there DOING IT, and not blathering on about it in a music shop.

It's like a salesman at Ross telling you to dress better.
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Hahaha!

Good point!:D
 
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