The worst bit of kit you ever bought?

[Planar]

It seems strange if you think about it that there isn't a better market for second hand software plugins, given that there is no wear and tear issue at all. As long as the license is properly transferred through the software supplier then you're golden. It's no different to buying new except it's cheaper.

Seems to me we're almost missing a second hand software plugin marketplace. Can you sell software licenses on ebay?

KVR forum marketplace. I picked up Pro-C from there for £50 a week or 2 back. Madness, especially as I have a discount on other Fab Filter plugs now. Some vendors do make transferred licenses NFR and some charge transfer fees.

[Lost to the Void]

I honestly don't think I have ever bought any kit and regretted it.
There's plenty I have sold and regretted though.

Oh, I have bought some really shitty microphone stands in the past.

[Jef]

Overkill on vst, waiste of money. Sold all and stick to limited resources better for creativity. Altough Hardware keeps coming, just love to play with knobs

[gabe DM]

I must say it is the Roland Tr 505.

[TheDarkInstall]

Yes, I am resurrecting a very old thread...

I have been meaning to ask... What is the deal with Behringer nowadays? I stopped making music for years, and lost touch with the whole scene around 2010. Around that time, Behringer was considered absolute junk with dodgy business practices, low quality gear and poor service. This does not seem to be the case now though, and I am regularly seeing people excited about their stuff.

Did they get bought-out by someone? I know I could Google it, but always nice to hear first hand experiences from real people...

[over9000]

well behringer has a shitty rep still, but it definitely changed from the time when they were just famous for crappy 6 channel mixers or whatever
now they clone all the old hardware synths at a decent quality and thats a good thing imo. i dident buy any of these, but i like that its making the hype for these old machines go away

worst piece of gear i bought was the arturia microbrute, its not a bad synth, but its soo limited that i ask myself why they even bothered making something like that

[ekwipt]

TR-909 the asshat sold it to me with a bum clap, i took it to a local fix synth guy who sat on it for a couple of months, i didn't want to hassle him, but when i did he must of tried that night and then said he kinda got it working (but he didn't much at all, cleaned up the sound a bit), i ended up reselling it for more than I purchased it for on eBay (even after disclosing the problem, making a YouTube to demo it etc), so in the end not at all bad. Also TR-606, didn't like the sound of it at all

[Ben Kohonays]

Yes, I am resurrecting a very old thread...

I have been meaning to ask... What is the deal with Behringer nowadays? I stopped making music for years, and lost touch with the whole scene around 2010. Around that time, Behringer was considered absolute junk with dodgy business practices, low quality gear and poor service. This does not seem to be the case now though, and I am regularly seeing people excited about their stuff.

Did they get bought-out by someone? I know I could Google it, but always nice to hear first hand experiences from real people...

Didn't get bought out, just improved their quality control. They now have mixers that are well respected and they have gained a lot of kudos for their synth recreations, the Model D for example is almost indistinguishable from the Minimoog reissue. There's also the Neutron and the Deepmind, quite original designs at bargain prices.

These days peoples complaints about Behringer are less to do with gear quality and more to do with their dubious business practices.

[Ben Kohonays]

worst piece of gear i bought was the arturia microbrute, its not a bad synth, but its soo limited that i ask myself why they even bothered making something like that

Yeah I had one for all of 5 mins. The sound is bland, cardboard like. Or rip-your-head-off distortion lacking subtlety. Plus it has the worst keyboard ever made.

[TheDarkInstall]

Cheers for explaining. Make sense.

Worst bit of kit I bought; Bang and Olufsen earphones. They broke in half an hour, when played full volume through a minidisc player. The speakers topped out and any bass made them resonate hideously. Exchanged them and they did it again. Got my money back. Pathetic.

[Críoch]

Been thinking about this. Worst bit of kit since?

Erm..

Without doubt a 2nd hand, shit hot MacBookPro. Was truly amazing for many years. Then the lead free solder problem on the second, dedicated graphics card began. Freezes. Lines on screen. Keyboard not responding. Eventually the solder completely cracked all you'd get was a blank screen. Id have to turn it on, close the lid & put it in a plastic bag to get it to overheat. Then you'd have literally moments (before it cooled down) to Get it to boot up in recovery mode on the built-in graphic card. I got all my stuff from it, but it completely died in the end.

Real POS considering it was mac. I was v.annoyed. My previous was a macpro, but i upgraded because of the os. Was back in college around that time & couldn't justify a brand new mac. Id never, never, never buy a 2nd hand computer again. It wasn't the sellers fault, just a ticking mac timebomb with the lead free solder.

There was a recall, but the timeperiod had ended & besides, without a receipt, I was fkd. New parts etc.. would be 900€. Fuck that. Didnt have a computer for a while afterwards, but went pc next. Everything can be swapped about & there is greater scope for repairs & upgrades. Was also cheaper to get an absolute beast of a machine.

[kronk]

elektron analog 4, hated that thing....

[TheDarkInstall]

Sony Vaio Laptop around 2003. Was shit.

I had to point a fan at the back to stop it overheating, then the keys started breaking so I had to use a USB numberpad. Was 900 quid when I bought it too. Shudder.

All laptops are rubbish, I reckon. Built a desktop PC and forever enjoy the savage power.

Other shit gear;

Echo Indigo I/O pcmcia sound card. Volume roller went all crackly and crunchy after a few months and it flexed every time I rolled it. Jokes.

The Chord Company 3.5mm to phono interconnect. Broke after a month and they refused to replace it. WhatHifi jokers.

Synergy DJ mixer. Every channel went crackly after honestly a day.

Since Ableton 10, and my Ryzen 7 3900x rig, honestly everything is amazing. Modern standards are way higher than they used to be, as long as you stay away from the shiny consumer level stuff.

[mindstuff]

Waldorf Blofeld is a piece of crap IMO, a complete waste of money. For me it was completely uninspiring. Now it makes me want to go try it again as I know its beloved by a lot of people.

[mindstuff]

elektron analog 4, hated that thing....

I hardly use the synthesis but do like its CV capabilities and its ability to work as a filter bank. If you use it as a CV sequencer and route your audio back into its sound card capabilities you get chorus, delay and reverb as well. Its instrumental for my current workflow.

[RWise]

Subpac mk2, the backpack looking version...

Its an interesting bit of kit but when i bought it i had an epiphany that it would help me to accurately monitor my low end. I thought it was going to help aid my mixdowns dramatically.

But it was just a nuisance that i never wanted to wear and it definitely didnt help my mixdown decisions. My monitors and headphones were a far better tool for that.

So it didnt last long in my studio before i sold it.

[Lost to the Void]

elektron analog 4, hated that thing....

I loved mine when I bought it.
But rapidly fell out of love with it.
I just didn't think the sound of it was good enough to justify the horror or having to work within the Elektron paradigm.

[borg]

Studiologic 88 key midi controller. Bought it new from Thomann at 50% off. It started with a skipping preset dial from the go, which was no biggie, but after a while, one of the keys wouldn't respond, knobs would flip, but what was worse, was the completely screwed velocity. Sometimes it would only output a velocity value of just 1, no matter how hard you hit the keys. When I wasn't understanding what was happening in the beginning, it freaked me out at times, trying to find what was wrong, changing settings, and suddenly it would change to a velocity of 127... my ears didn't like it. I still have it somewhere, waiting to be taken apart. Would be cool to build some kind of custom controller, although I doubt it's worth it, given the string of problems I had with it.

I regret selling a Waldorf Pulse1 to finance a Nordrack2 more than 20 years ago, to my best mate. I know he hasn't used it more than 3 times in those 20+ years, yet he refuses to sell it back to me.

[subvers^v]

^ You mean former best mate?

[Lost to the Void]

Waldorf Blofeld is a piece of crap IMO, a complete waste of money. For me it was completely uninspiring. Now it makes me want to go try it again as I know its beloved by a lot of people.

You can get amazing sounds out of the blofeld, but it's hard work. Multi functions and menu diving.
Better with an editor.
Ultimately I got rid of mine as it just isn't an efficient machine to use live.