In contemporary music production circles, the term “vintage” undoubtedly commands a certain cachet, but does vintage gear live up to the hype? More often than not, the answer is no. There’s certainly no shortage of great pro audio equipment on the market today featuring vintage-style circuitry. Built to stringent manufacturing tolerances using reliable modern components, these designs deliver clean, problem-free audio with generous headroom and the vintage-flavored sonics we all crave. Modern products are competitively priced and come with a manufacturer’s warranty, so you can concentrate on your music production, worry-free.
When you purchase a piece of vintage gear, you are not only paying a premium — you’re buying all the problems it has accumulated over the course of, say, a half century of (ab)use. That’s because electronics age, like everything else. From scratchy pots and oxidized switches to past-their-prime resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, and transformers, old components eventually need to be replaced, not to mention the headache of finding a reliable and knowledgeable technician to perform the work. And then there’s the time and effort that goes into locating a reasonably well-maintained piece of equipment in nominal working condition. Once you find what you’re looking for and fork over the cash, your saga is just beginning. Even if it is “certified” to work now, there’s no real way of knowing until after the sale how many of the original components still lurk under the hood. Expect them to fail — and in accordance with Murphy’s Law, this will be during a particularly important project.
Presumably, the reason to seek out vintage gear is to obtain the “authentic sound” of that equipment back in the golden age of analog. But due to the aging of original parts or their replacement with new parts, plus any modifications that were done during its service life, a 50-year-old compressor will not sound exactly the same as it did when it was new. You actually stand a better chance of nailing the “original” sound with a modern clone from, say, Universal Audio. UA, the company behind the studio-standard LA-2A and 1176 compressors, is making these iconic models once again. Designed from original schematics, today’s reissues nail the sonic essence of the vintage units while providing quieter operation, increased headroom, and modern reliability. Vintage sound, without the headaches of owning vintage gear — it’s the best of both worlds.
Recording Gear
Not only are vintage reissue microphones being made by original manufacturers, such as Neumann, Telefunken, and AKG, but you also have a bountiful selection of vintage-inspired models from dozens of other companies as well. With such a dizzying array of choices, you’d be forgiven for having option anxiety. In which case, you might be ripe for a virtual modeling mic system from Slate Digital or Townsend Labs. Sweetwater carries a massive selection of vintage-style tube and solid-state mics, preamps, and signal processors from Manley, Lauten Audio, Chandler Limited, Mojave Audio, Bock Audio, BAE, Heritage Audio, Great River, Warm Audio, Golden Age Project, Avantone Pro, and other fine manufacturers.
Vintage consoles have obvious sonic appeal, but they typically need hundreds of hours of highly skilled restoration and modification by electronic engineers to bring them back to their glory days and make them operationally suitable for deployment in a modern studio. And with all the variables and things that can go wrong, once your vintage console is installed and operational, you’ll need full-time access to a maintenance engineer to keep it shipshape. Downtime can be expected, and sourcing vintage-spec or NOS parts can be a pain — or impossible. In short, a vintage console is a money pit. If you are building a tracking room and need a large-format analog board that interfaces into a modern hybrid studio setup, then we would sensibly point you to modern consoles from Rupert Neve Designs, Solid State Logic, or API. These state-of-the-art desks are offered in a variety of input and bus configurations with a range of automation options and DAW integration features. Naturally, these boards deliver the sonic punch and authority of the iconic, historic consoles from these esteemed manufacturers, but that coveted vintage sound is served up along with cutting-edge specs and features. And perhaps best of all, today’s consoles offer modern reliability and are virtually maintenance-free.
Guitars
For guitars, there’s a fine line between “played-in” and “worn-out.” How much fret life is left in that vintage electric guitar or bass you’ve had your eye on? Refretting is expensive. Electronic parts wear out and need replacement. How good are you with a soldering iron? On the other hand, we invite you to visit Sweetwater’s Guitar Gallery and click through stunningly detailed photos of new, relic’d guitars in classic designs from any number of respected manufacturers and boutique luthiers. This is the risk-free way to buy a “vintage” guitar (or any guitar, for that matter). Zoom in on the grain patterns of each serial number we have in stock. These instruments may look vintage, but they benefit from precision CNC-assisted manufacturing processes and modern electronic components. Upon arrival here, guitars are acclimated in a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment. They go through our 55-point Guitar Inspection and play perfectly, right out of the box. And they cost considerably less than their pricey vintage counterparts.
Guitar and Bass Amplifiers
Naturally, guitar and bass amps have not been immune to the vintage craze. Indeed, there are as many vintage-style tube amps and circuit-accurate clones on the market as there are high-tech digital modeling amps — which, of course, feature models of beloved historical amps.
Better Buy New
Bottom line: if you don’t have a full-time maintenance engineer (or luthier) on staff and don’t have the time, skills, or temperament to maintain vintage equipment yourself, then do yourself a favor and buy new — at Sweetwater! We offer a world-class selection of the best gear; fast, free shipping; more payment and financing choices than any other music dealer; and a free 2-year warranty on nearly every product we sell. Planning a new studio with complex requirements? Give us a call at (800) 222-4700. One of our friendly and knowledgeable Sales Engineers will be happy to assist you in selecting (and configuring) the perfect gear to fit your needs and budget.
