One common saying among the bedroom musician community is “if only I had that piece of equipement, my record would sound like the new (insert favourite album here)”. Sure, equipment does influence the quality of a recording but in a day and age when music recording equipment is financially accessible to most of us, where do you stop?

Before buying any new piece of music recording hardware or software, ask yourself the following questions:

- what are you buying this new piece of gear for? If you don’t know why you are buying it, then don’t waste any more time considering buying it. With no purpose, a piece of equipment will bring nothing to your music recording.

- do you know how to use all your exising music recording equipment inside out? Throwing money at a problem doesn’t help solving it. Learning how to use your tools, however, is a great way to find a way around a problem.

- are you sure that you don’t already own a piece of hardware or software that could do what you want to do? Only trying things out with your existing gear will enable you to prove that nothing you own enables you to get that specific sound you want.

- is this new piece of gear you want to buy the best way for you to achieve what you want to achieve? Have you considered all your options, from the cheapest to the most expensive ones?

Related articles: