the Listening Curve Catch-22

R

rathpy

New member
When you buy and listen to good quality gear more and more, your ears sharpen and improve. As a consequence, you become more discerning (in other words, picky). Agreed? Alright then, here comes the muddy question… If you haven’t yet used that (potentially) superior product much before, then how can you fully evaluate it (aurally) if you don’t yet have the listening skills/experience (that you would acquire only by using it for some time)?

Clear as…? OK, let me use an actual example…
A few months ago I chose a bass guitar on behalf of my band. (I was just adapting to bass and I hadn’t done much electric playing for 10 years). I bought a new Tobias 4-string with straight-through-neck and active electronics for $425usd. And very please I was with this purchase too…that is for about 2 weeks. I won’t try to find adjectives to try to describe why I don’t like the sound, so let’s just say I find it lacking. (Yeah, I know its xx% in the fingers, nevertheless) The instrument is not up to my standards now; I’m not talking about my playing standards; I’m talking about the quality of instrument that I want – that is right for me. The thing is, my standards only increased after having this gear.

I probably did the best job I could at the time of buying that bass. But it still turned out to be an unsatisfactory purchase. I’d sure like to avoid this kind of thing happening when buying my studio gear. Any tips for newbies? - considering the Listening Curve Catch-22.

Regards,
rathpy
 
Rathpy your post made absolutely no sense to me :) (emphasis on 'to me' though)

I'd be interested to hear what your caper is in Brisbane. ie about your band etc?
 
Hi Rathpy, welcome to the board.
I'd venture to say that we all have shared your zeal in making the wrong purchase, not once, but repeatedly.
Some of us more times than what would be deemed as normal.
I bought an SG early on and had one ever since.
Acoustics now was my failing.
I'd go into a store and tell them I wanted to try out an acoustic, and they'd hand me something and direct me to a small room. Oh my, did that thing sound good.
Was all I needed.
That was the last Harmony I bought.
I must of went through ten acoustics before I finally got an J30-E Gibson.

Harmaonicas. Another tale of quick cash flow. One was as good as another. Yeah!

I can relate with great emotion the times I bought some instrument because it sounded good, for a while.

Hey, Rathpy,,,, You interested in a Princeton Amp? Easy to move because of it's light weight. Still has the original speakers. Excellent for someone looking for the sound of a couple paper cups and a string.
Or how about a ToneMaster ten channel PA Amp? Just don't turn it over 5 on the master. No matter what speaker combo is used, it breaks up.
I have a slew of stuff I bought cuz I thought it sounded good.
Cripes, I even sang in a band once,,,,,,,,, oh never mind.
 
Yeah. I hear ya. Been there, done that.

Two partial solutions:

1) Research. The 'net is a great thing. You can get raw data, reviews, opinions, etc. Do enough legwork, and you'll get steered away from at least purchasing a POS.

2) Compare. Go into the shop and A/B the prospects. Test them against each other. Test them against better/worse models. You may not be able to anticipate what will be best ofr your down the line, but at least you'll know you got what is best for you right now.

Even so the problem will still arise. At least these practices give you the peace of mind that you did the best you could considering the circumstances.
 
Thanks fellers

I suppose if I were to stop whinging for a moment, and be objective about it, I could add the following to Lopp’s list:

(i) Buy only established makes/models that are almost universally regarded as high quality, especially if you’re unfamiliar in a particular area. The ‘net can be useful for getting opinions on more newly released gear, if you’re more confident.

(ii) Don’t rely on magasine reviews. As someone else pointed out to me, they are nearly always favourable.

(iii) Consider buying some stuff second-hand. At least you may able to resell it at a price similar to what you paid.

(iv) If possible, get the store to let you take the product home for a while to try out (Yipes! does anyone actually let you do that?), or hire with the option of purchasing, or purchase with the option of returning/exchanging.

(v) Get your ears in shape, however and as best as you can. For a lot of people (myself included) this might mean bugging the stores for lots of demo time. Alternatively, if you are surrounded by mates who have the kind of gear you’re interested in then you’re lucky.

Regards,
rathpy

P.S. Jojojeronimo, I actually just left the band Wednesday night. I played bass, guitars and sang vocals in it. I dabble in a slew of other instruments, and am building up home recording facilities for my personal use.
 
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