How to Research Studio Gear on the Net

by the Tweak

You can find LOTS (tens of thousands actually!) of answers written by Tweak using this customized Google search form

These days, getting quality information about gear you wish to get is easier than it has ever been. In the pre internet days there were only three sources: Trade Magazines, Manufacturers Brochures, and knowledgeable Salespeople. As you might guess, every one of these had a reason to put a positive slant on any product you might have looked at for more than 2 seconds. The Net has changed everything. Now you can get actual users comments on gear, can ask questions on a variety of public newsgroups, and search the entire internet for everything said by everyone about a given piece. But we have lost something important in the technological explosion. The knowledgeable salesperson is a dying breed. It's practically impossible to know everything there is to know about music studio gear. You would have to spend 12 hours a day reading just to keep current. Today, what is important is to know how to find specific answers to specific questions. You have to to this for yourself. You may have tried to post a specific question to a newsgroup and waited days for answers which, if they came at all, were clearly wrong or doubtful. No one person has all the answers. But, somewhere the right answer was probably already out there. You just couldn't find it in time. I am going to show you how to get the rundown on any piece of gear, get what everyone is saying, link you to manufacturers, point you to users groups. Book mark this page now. You will want to find this resource again.

For a good brief overview

Vintage Synth Explorer Provides a basic overview of nearly every synth made, often perfect for fast comparisons

For tons of links on each piece of gear

SynthZone This is generally speaking a massive link junction, where many information highways interconnect with manufacturers sites

For the most accurate "Word on the Street" about gearYour browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames.

TweakHeadz Lab's own forums on www.studio-central.com is a great place to learn everything going on with gear.

Industry Insider, aka "The Buzz" gives you a tool where you can browse prices marketing blurbs and often scathing newsgroup feeds on the same screen. Try it! It's a Xtremely cool if I say so myself.

For browsing comments in newsgroups do a

For getting in on Discussions of dedicated Users

YahooGroups You may need to join many of these groups to participate, but usually you can browse without doing so. The amount of information here is often vast if there is a group dedicated to your piece of gear. You will find select YahooGroups featured in "The Buzz". You can often find answers to the exact question you have. These groups are typically comprised of people that already have the piece of gear and are trying to get the most out of it. Overall, the posts reflect a positive attitude towards the piece. If you find a significant number of posts slamming the manufacturer for one reason or another you should pay attention.

Email someone

Few people think of this, but why not? Find someone in a discussion group that says they have the piece and ask them questions. Who knows, they might turn out to be a great contact in the future.

Gear Reviews

You'll find my own reviews of gear if you scroll down the left pane. Some of the best reviews of gear were published in the Trade Magazines. Here's were to find them.

Keyboard Magazine Reviews Includes audio demos of products

Sound on Sound Magazine Article Search

Tweak's Favorite: Sound on Sound Magazine

Use these reviews as a studied analysis of the piece you are considering. Note the pros and cons. You might want to open up a small text file to cut and past notes.

Traditional Search Engines

You may find other sites devoted to specific gear using the traditional search engines. It's through the traditional search engines that you can best find the manufacturers sites and the small dedicated sites that have free patches, operating tips and small close knit users groups.