Mix Challenge

You've heard of it, you've been ignoring it, but you just can't hide from it:
GAS - Gear Acquisition Syndrome (see Wikipedia / Urban Dictionary)

That old "audio realm" joke aside, musicians and audio engineers are always after suitable deals to built up on equipment, to complete a certain collection, or make things easier on the long run. From sales to group buys, from second hand to freebies. The times of going broke while buying equipment are pretty much over. These days it's more of a problem of just having too much. But that's just a side-note.

This particular thread is dedicated to give you a slight overview of "what's out there". This is especially for newbies and novice people in the realm. Though maybe the "old cats" don't know of some of these pages yet.

So let's get started!



Well known audio communities with news feed, deals, and in cases second hand/classified sales or own marketplaces:
KVR Audio (main focus on software)
GearSpace (one of the eldest audio communities out there, formerly "GearSlutz", main focus on hardware)
Sonic State (news about tech, and plenty of interviews)
Sound on Sound (one of the eldest international music tech magazines out there)
Mod Wiggler (one of the eldest communities about modular synthesis, formerly known as "Muff Wiggler")



News, Freebies and Deals (those pages are a goldmine for free samples and instruments! Do expect your HDD space to shrink)
REKKERD
Bedroom Producers Blog
Audio Plugin Guy (a "central hub" for finding deals and freebies)
Plugin Deals (the "new guy" on the block)
Pianobook (great source for free sample packs)



Online Shops:
JRR Shop (CEO is Eric Dahlberg, one of the founders of the Mix Challenge)
Don'tCrack (one of the first "audio deal" places out there)
AudioDeluxe (additional discounts with user account)
PluginBoutique (backed by LoopMasters, located in the UK)
VSTBuzz (also features a selection of outstanding freeware content)
AudioPlugin Deals (similar to VSTBuzz)
EveryPlugin (needs a login to see certain special deals)
Plugin Discounts (needs a login to see certain special deals)

If you're in Europe/Germany:
Thomann (has a classifieds section, does sell plugins now as well)



Second Hand "Online Stores":
REVERB (quite pricey on certain tools, check in with other places first)

Plus the usual suspects like Craigslist, Ebay Smallads, Quoka, etc. Though be mindful of possible scam-tactics on these platforms.



There is a whole lot more existing out there, this is merely scratching the surface.
If you know of similar places, please feel free to share them.

!	Bonus Info
	Always keep an eye out for regular sales (Tradeshow Event sales like NAMM, Musikmesse and AES, Spring Sale, Spring Break, Summer Sale, Black Friday/Cyber Monday, Christmas Holidays, etc). A lot of companies regularly drop prices significantly. Which makes you question twice why to even invest in the full price. Though exceptions are the rule of course (companies that do not undersell themselves)

Well, actually I think it's a pretty real problem and should not be always treated a joke. It's part of the "consumerism disease" after all, and if it does not happen to you with audio gear it will be about clothes, car mods, computer parts... I'd say it's better if, at least, you feed your GAS with products from small developers. My go-to are of course Klanghelm (https://klanghelm.com/contents/main.php) and ToneBoosters (https://www.toneboosters.com/), U-he its also a pretty small company although their prices are not so small, but the sound and character of their stuff is simply amazing (http://www.u-he.com/cms/).

Personally I avoid buying from Waves, NI and so on, not only because I dislike their business plans and don't really like their plugins much, but also because of the licensing methods (the infamous iLok, activation centers... online DRM ). How can you cure your GAS if it's not buying stuff you really feel as yours? That's pretty easy in the hardware world but in the software realm, the closest thing to owning physically a plugin is definitely with no DRM (as Klanghelm do) or with installer and serial numbers that do not need to be online for activation (U-he for example).

Of course in a more professional environment you sometimes need to give up on certain things (iLok is probably unavoidable if you want to have good and "industry standard" plugins), but it's pretty enjoyable when you can just copy over your plugins folder after a fresh Windows install and all your projects work!

EDIT: Be careful with KVRAudio too, there's a lot of people obsessed with specs and little things and if you end like them you won't enjoy making music again! Seriously though, it's lately getting a bit toxic...

All copy protection systems have their strengths and weaknesses. Let's not drive this into OT territory for the time being (we both know how heated this debate can get).


The thread is more aimed to be a starting point.

"Where to get new tools?" (there are still people out there, that don't know this!)
"Do I have to spend an arm and a leg to get started"?

For this, places like KVR Audio (huge focus on software), Bedroom Producers Blog (focus on freeware and super-low-budget), Rekkerd (general great news and deals page) and GearSlutz (news section is sometimes faster and more relaxed than at other places) are a great starting point.

Muff Wiggler for modular https://www.muffwiggler.com/
Sonic State for news/hype https://sonicstate.com

More GAS than beans.

Just updated the first post.

Changes:

• updated and re-arranged links (certain places got rebranded)
• added: Mod Wiggler, Sonic State, Sound on Sound
• added: a new place for free/affordable deals

Just updated the first post.

Changes:

• checked links if they're still working
• added: new "webzine" to the "News, Freebies and Deals" listing