Quote:
Originally Posted by Alwi
- where and when do you collect information about the instrument you want to have?
- do you seek additional advise? If so, where and from whom?
- where do you ultimately buy the instrument? why?
|
The answers you receive will certainly vary by how much experience a player has and what their general attitude to 'gear' might be. When one starts out, you don't have much of a clue of what to ask. As you gain experience, your specific desires become more focused and the questions you have (and who you address them to) become more purposeful.
The internet has opened a lot of doors to information and resources like message boards. In the pre-internet days, magazines and books and physical music store clerks were your only resource.
One might start out by looking online at music e-tailers to get general ideas about price and specs you desire. Having been a purchaser of music gear I also receive catalogs in the mail that basically overlap with the online information. These are good ways of just getting the hard facts about products.
From there more pointed questions might be answered on a message board community. One might ask questions about whether a particular instrument would adequately fulfill a role that one needs - eg. does this instrument have a bright sound?
Going to music stores and physically trying instruments is the best way to actually make a final decision. I have been lucky to live in urban centers where doing this is easy. Many rely on ordering online and retailers' return policies to actually try instruments out. I have always bought my instruments at a physical store or in one case directly from an individual owner.
I think one's attitude to music gear is also very important. Everyone should be critical of equipment they buy but some are quite particular about what they want. There are a sizable number of musicians for whom 'off the shelf' instruments are inadequate; as soon as they acquire the instrument they are making custom modifications to it, swapping out parts until the instrument reaches whatever strict standard they are aiming for.
Hope that helps and feel free to ask more questions if you have any.