| Anyone who's been employed in the DJ'ing, party | | | | what the manufacturers might have one believe) |
| running or event hire business for any length of time | | | | between the quality of this year's must have |
| will know how quickly new sound gear drops value. | | | | upgraded super duper high tech thingamajig, and the |
| When a new piece of kit comes out, it costs | | | | product line it is replacing. Certainly, there's never |
| hundreds and hundreds of pounds; a few months | | | | anything like the hundreds of pounds' difference in |
| later, it's lost practically a third of that price; and | | | | quality that buying a new item to replace a year old, |
| before a year is up it can cost as little as half what it | | | | or two year old, piece of kit would imply. People who |
| did when it first hit the shelves. And yet still be in full | | | | make sound equipment work on the same principle |
| production, without a replacement model in sight. | | | | as people who make anything expensive - they have |
| That, of course, means that buying brand new sound | | | | to try and convince their customers that a perfectly |
| equipment can be a bit of a mug's game: proof of | | | | good product line has been superseded otherwise no |
| which pudding can be found in the huge quantity of | | | | one would ever buy their stuff. What does that |
| practically untouched used sound equipment that | | | | mean? It means, in general, that used sound |
| finds its way into the market shortly after it has | | | | equipment is so close in quality to the new stuff that |
| been purchased. | | | | has rendered it "obsolete", that no-one will ever be |
| Here, basically, is what happens. Something new, | | | | able to really tell the difference. And that, of course, |
| must have and horrifyingly expensive comes out. A | | | | means that people who wait, and buy their sound |
| load of DJs, party organisers and sound engineers | | | | gear second hand, end up with kit of practically |
| charge out and buy it. They fail to make back the | | | | indistinguishable quality from the new stuff, but only |
| money they spent on the thing and are forced to sell | | | | pay a fraction of the price. |
| it or go bust. The item, hardly used, turns up in the | | | | Basically, all high end and midrange sound equipment |
| second hand sound equipment market, offering | | | | marketing is a con. There is nothing wrong with the |
| absolutely top of the range quality and performance | | | | top of the range turntable that got released two |
| for ridiculously low prices. Savvy DJs, who've been | | | | years ago. Record deck technology has not |
| waiting for the new influx of misguided purchases to | | | | advanced that far in 24 months. Overall, anyone who |
| hit their price range, snap up the best kit in the land | | | | buys new sound gear is either too rich or too silly to |
| for the kind of price that would make its | | | | care - everyone else, though, would do well to make |
| manufacturers weep and so on. Used sound | | | | a habit of replacing anything that needs replacing with |
| equipment is the staff of life, insofar as maintaining a | | | | two year old used sound equipment. It'll be just as |
| set of balanced books as a working DJ goes. | | | | good as the new stuff - and a whole heck of a lot |
| Also - there's usually very little difference (despite | | | | cheaper. |