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We've talked about what to look for when you're buying sound equipment, what you need to upgrade and what the minimum is that you can get buy with. Practical, right? Well, this may appear to many of you as being extremely impractical. I'm going to give ya'll (I'm trying to fit in down here in AL) my ideas about when to replace your equipment and why.

I know this may seem very trivial, trying to figure out when to buy new or upgrade your audio gear, but you might just change your mind and put it on your calendar like you would an annual check up or a reminder to change your oil.

So you're saying, "My gear sounds great! Why do I need to get different stuff?" Well, understanding, that this isn't the most wealthy industry in the world of music ministry, I know this can cost some money, but it can give you a goal and maybe help you set up a budget or savings set aside for your audio upgrades/repairs.

Alright, first of all let's talk about the "why."

Audio equipment takes a beating. After load ins and outs, night after night, your equipment gets used and abused. For some of you full time groups out there, and I know there are some you reading(thanks by the way), you are very aware of this problem.

If you subscribe to any of the magazines I recommended early last year, then you've seen all of the new gear that has come out in the last year. For that matter, at least 100 new products just came out the 3rd week of January alone at Winter NAMM out in California. What does this mean for you? This highly increases the chances that something else just came that is better than what you have. So what, right? Well, what it does is it decreases the value of what you have, thus making it harder to sell. Yeah, I know it decreased the minute you take it out of the box, but it's amazing what a new version of what you have does to it. The longer you have to wait to sell your gear the harder it will be to unload when it comes time to revamp or your PA goes down. Try selling a car that doesn't run!

The new technology can make your life better. Everybody knows that in most cases, the new equipment coming out these days can do some amazing things and make life a little easier and can make a huge difference in the sound of your PA.

So the reasons why come down to physical wear, value, and audio quality/technology

Now for the how often.

With the exception of some very high quality consoles, microphones, and other accessories, your PA should be considered for replacement about every 3 to 5 years. I stress, this is my OPINION. This is a big reason why I don't recommend financing your equipment for more than 2 or 3 years. This way, it will be paid off by the time you think about replacing it, if you are indeed financing. For a full time group, if you do 180 dates a year with your equipment, over 3 years your equipment has been moved off and on the bus 540 times. 5 years would be 900 times. That's not to mention the actual job the equipment has of producing sound. That's about 1400 hours of fans turning, woofers moving, etc. Also, the vibrations of the road, a little bit of weather, the cold, heat, dust, and the occasional drop here and there and you have some pretty used stuff.

Now obviously, this 3 to 5 year period is based on what level of pro audio it is, how well it's made, maintained, how many dates you do set up for and how much you invest in transportation protection devices or high quality road cases.

So is used equipment bad? NO! Just look at what you're buying. Ask yourself this. Is it an upgrade from what you have? Is it good pro audio gear? Has it been taken care of? For example if it's owned by someone who you know takes care of their gear and it's a pro touring series, then jump on it. This would be a great upgrade, even if it would cost the same or a little more than brand new lower end gear. This type of gear will hold it's value better than the more economical new gear.

Finally, always try to upgrade. In today's market, it's easier and easier to get better gear at an even better price. Thus another reason not to hold on to gear for too long. Nicer equipment is becoming more available for good prices everyday so there really are no excuses for not upgrading some way when you make a replacement purchase.

This article is simply based on what I've experienced and I simply wanted to pass along what I've observed and learned from others.

Thanks to everyone who pecked on their keyboards last month and chimed in. That helps a lot of people that you'll never hear from or know about. God bless ya'll!

Josh Hoevelmann

Reader Comments

Another reason to replace gear regularly is visual appeal. Those 20-year old Peavey SP-1 cabinets usually look terrible sitting on stage, especially when a piece of the horn is broken off!

Seriously, hidden rack gear is one thing, but it does say something to your audience if your speakers look like they've been thru a war . . . no matter how good they still sound. If your theory is that you won't replace them until they die, at least refurbish them. It's usually possible to reload existing cabinets with new components, often at a fraction of the cost of new speakers.

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