Studio Trix
by Keith Bradford
By now everyone who is conscious on the planet has heard we live in a disposable society. Recently we had a major breakdown with our equipment in the recording studio. I started calling all the electronic repair places I could find listed in the phone book to see about getting our gear repaired so we could continue doing business. The first technician told me there would be a $75 bench fee to diagnose the problem. In the event that there were no problems detected there was no refund on the bench fee. I didn't think that sounded right so I called the manufacturer. They told me I would have to find the original box and all packaging that came with the equipment and to ship it to them for repair. The equipment I am talking about at that moment was 5 years old. All the boxes and packing supplies that came with the purchase were tossed in the dumpster years ago. I was also told if I could find all the original packing that it could take 6 - 8 weeks to get it back. In the meantime we kept getting further and further behind in the studio work. We then found on line a new and up-graded version of what we were using and it was on sale. We opted to purchase all new gear and toss the old. Just this week we found out our equipment has been discontinued and no repair facilities will be able to help us in the event it doesn't work any longer. So should we repair or toss every time a crisis comes up? I hope you don't have to make that decision none too soon. It is costly and frustrating beyond belief.
