Mbira said:
I've been lusting after a "real" console with automation, DAW control and the whole deal. It's just so crazy to me that something like a 24 channel SSL AWS 924 is $80,000!!
I'm not really saying that I don't understand why it costs so much, it's more that I just don't understand how anyone can afford one in this industry. Certainly no small personal studios can afford one unless the person is rich from some other business. I'm 42 years old now. I hope I get a chance to really put lots of hours working on my own music on a board like that before I die!
The most expensive console manufacturers cater to professional studio's, and there is still enough of them. Television broadcasts, mixing studio's for TV and movies, and high end music industry still records in professional studio's, centered around a huge mixing desk.
And there are also more than enough of stinky rich people, who do music as a hobby and willing to buy ultra expensive gear.
For some people, 80k is like 800 bucks for average people.
Of course for an average hobbyist it will always be out of reach, just like a F1 car experience will be out of reach for a regular car enthusiast.
But the question is, do you really NEED it to make better music? Most of the iconic soundtracks were recorded and mixed on pretty outdated and limiting gear by today's standards. And if you really have an album that must be mixed on high end gear, it would be wiser just to rent a professional studio. How many tracks can a full time musician produce on his own? 1 album a year is considered to be very productive. Impossible to justify the purchase of a huge console with that kind of output.
A DAW with small automated interface is really all you need these days. You can use some analog devices, if you want to add some analog flavour to your sound.
From my experience, buying fancy gear was always a rather disappointing experience. You spend a ton of money, then you have some fancy device in your possession, you look at it, twist some buttons... but now what?
I get so much more satisfaction at making DIY gear. At this point I don't even care much about music, just making stuff for the sake of it, and I love it ;D
I sell most of my work, so money is not an issue.