A. Brand loyalty. Becoming attached to a certain brand name and then “hearing” it sound good, while competitors sound
“bad”. PRS sounds “good” but Gibson “bad” (or vice versa).
B. “Hearing” with our wallet. When we shell out big bucks to upgrade our gear, or even move parallel, it is common to be “blown away” with the sound quality, when
really all were doing is rationalizing our purchase. When we buy a mic that cost 5 times as much as our previous one, the odds
of being “wowed” skyrocket, whether or not the "wow" factor is truly there.
C. Retro snobbery. I need to write an entire rant on this subject, but for now, we’ll discuss it briefly. In short, retro snobbery means that anything old or “vintage" is good, while everything modern is bad:
Tube gear good..... .....solid state bad.
Tape good...................hard disk recording
bad.
Outboard gear good...software plug-ins bad.
Analog good............... digital bad.
This type of
“old is better” discrimination has been a human tendency as long as there have been…well…. Humans. Whether its old cars VS new,
or jewelry, or furniture, or even cultures, ideas, philosophies, or values, its all the same. That which we are familiar with
and accustomed to, we miss when it’s replaced with something new. It’s almost as if we resist new technology because it stands
as a reminder that our generation’s gadgets are now obsolete. So we fight tooth and nail to win a place for them in the modern
world. Does tape sound great? Absolutely! Do tubes? Yes! Do old analog moogs have
a hip tone unlike their digital progenitors? Of course, but it all has its place....
But I digress……
Back to the discussion
at hand
