ProSoundWeb: Vintage muscle cars now commonly sell for $30,000. What the heck is going on? I mean, come on – those cars were never truly “great,” were they?
I suppose it’s a subjective matter, with some nostalgia thrown in for good measure. Now that the teenagers of the 1960s are middle-aged folks with disposable income, they’re fueling a demand that seems, well, largely unfounded.
3 comments:
I think that just like a vintage car, you might want to own vintage audio equipment but you would never want to frequently use it as it will need to be maintained too often. Most vintage equipment is great because you can get almost that exact sound of an announcer for a period piece but it will not be great to use an audio system for a show. Even if you were to use just a singular microphone from the 50s in your show, this would necessitate lots of constant maintenance checks, and a backup just in case the microphone fails. The reliability of this old audio equipment is bad and therefore should never be relied upon nor be used on a consistent basis. Just like vintage muscle cars, they are amazing to look at, feel, and use, but the practicality of the equipment is minimal. There is no reason to actually use it on a consistent basis.
I always enjoy having this discussion with people because there are so many mixed views on old vs. new sound equipment. I really enjoy the comparison to vintage cars and modern cars because I really think the comparison is extremely synonymous to that of the sound industry. Cars have advanced so much in terms of technology and safety features, etc. but something about vintage cars are just so much more attractive than any modern car you can find. They are still so desirable because they truly had such an attractive look to them. Sound equipment is relatively the same. Anyone I talk to pretty much agrees that sound equipment today is miles ahead of what it used to be, but some people cannot quite get over that in their heads. Old audio equipment is stuck in their minds as being “made better” or having better quality which could be true, I just find it entertaining to have that conversation.
Maybe it's just the fact that I am not really a part of the sound world, but I had no idea this was even a debate. I would just assume that when new technology became available, and you had the funds and the time to secure it, you would. I guess there must be some old school people out there who are maybe more comfortable with old tech. But even they have to recognize the unparalleled versatility new technology brings.Maybe the only thing I can see old tech being really useful for is creating an “old sound.” But in all other regards, the benefits seem to outweigh the cons.So what if it is harder to hand solder? It is probably 10X more reliable anyway so you probably will never have to. In my opinion, if you consider yourself to be a sound designer, you should make it your responsibility to keep up with sound designer technology. If you haven't learned anything new since the 90’s then I would be worried about your job.
Post a Comment