Sam Inglis wrote:I possibly have one or two more mics than I need...

I think I have just basically acknowledged that my urge to collect things needs to be channelled somewhere! They're more useful than china figurines and smaller than cars. And since I bought nearly all of them second-hand, I hope they'll keep their value.

Hugh Robjohns wrote:

Arpangel wrote:.... you'd have to have a damn good reason to ditch the MKH's.

You're not wrong -- they're absolutely superb microphones. I actually have ten altogether -- 4x20s, 3x40s, 2x30s, and 1x50 -- and I use them all the time for all sorts of things.

I think you probably can have 'too many' mics, But that threshold will obviously vary enormously depending on what you need/want to do with them. I think I've got over 40 mics in my collection at the moment, covering all the bases from the venerable SM57 up to a Soundfield ST450mkii, with (mostly pairs) of all sorts of high-quality mics in between -- SDCs, LDCs, ribbons, and dynamics.

But I think that's the point, and I agree with Bob and JW here, that it's well worth buying the best you can because then you won't outgrow them, they'll last your whole recorsing career, and they will hold their value well for when you finally decide to downsize.

I have a policy where I review my equipment each year, and if I haven't used something for a couple of years I seriously consider disposing of it. And on that basis I did sell a couple of Neumann TLM103s last year that I wasn't using. They were/are very good mics, but I just found I always preferred using other LDC mics in my collection, and I no longer do the kind of big jobs where I needed the extra pair of mics.

Arpangel wrote:

Sam Inglis wrote:I possibly have one or two more mics than I need...

I think I have just basically acknowledged that my urge to collect things needs to be channelled somewhere! They're more useful than china figurines and smaller than cars. And since I bought nearly all of them second-hand, I hope they'll keep their value.

Buying seccondhand is good, it's the only way to loose as little money as possible. Like, never buy a new car, same thing. But getting a good mic used can be a bit dodgy, you have to be very careful.

Arpangel wrote: But getting a good mic used can be a bit dodgy, you have to be very careful.

ManFromGlass wrote:I am going through my CD and music book collection giving them away to a younger generation. It does feel good. Soon I will do that with my percussion instrument collection as I rarely use some of them anymore.

I don’t have many mics and rarely have the chance to use them so they will be next, but I suspect I will sell them except for a few faves. I like to take care of everything that passes through my hands. I even keep original packaging when I purchase new. I notice that I tend to place more value on something I have purchased, except for those few free things that have great memories attached to them.

ManFromGlass wrote:I am going through my CD and music book collection giving them away to a younger generation. It does feel good. Soon I will do that with my percussion instrument collection as I rarely use some of them anymore.

I don’t have many mics and rarely have the chance to use them so they will be next, but I suspect I will sell them except for a few faves. I like to take care of everything that passes through my hands. I even keep original packaging when I purchase new. I notice that I tend to place more value on something I have purchased, except for those few free things that have great memories attached to them.

Arpangel wrote:
Who buys CD's, or books? You might get 20p each if you're extremely lucky. Seccondhand book and record/CD shops are thin on the ground these days.

Apart from really desirable vintgae or high-end industry standard stuff, you can forget about the rest, it's almost worthless.

Mike Stranks wrote:

Arpangel wrote:
Who buys CD's, or books? You might get 20p each if you're extremely lucky. Seccondhand book and record/CD shops are thin on the ground these days.

I'm buying books - new, secondhand, charity shop all the time. Probably two or three a week.
For general stuff - and the odd specialist gem - charity shops are a happy hunting ground. Usually '3 for £1'. Then when you've read them you just take them back... a 'charity' library!
Much less often, but similarly I'm buying CDs like that - especially jazz and classical.

Apart from really desirable vintgae or high-end industry standard stuff, you can forget about the rest, it's almost worthless.

Err... no. I'm regularly buying and selling good shallow-end kit via EBay all the time. 99% of the time it's good quality and well-cared for. Concertina Chap has already made this point. I'm regularly selling in the high tens and low hundreds of pounds.

Arpangel wrote: Who buys CD's, or books?

Mike Stranks wrote:I also buy a few books each month - new - from Amazon or second-hand from EBAY. I was addressing the point, "Who buys books?" I do! :)

As for the old 'Ebay costs too much' argument... You usually have to pay to advertise if you want a good constituency. 10% seems not unreasonable for the marketplace you can access.

It's the only place I've found where you can be sure of finding purchasers for audio gear. Price it realistically and it'll sell.

Wonks wrote:I've sold a few things (well two) on Facebook Marketplace recently. Remarkably hassle-free experience. No fees and a wide audience. No fees means that you can price items more competitively over something with a BIN or reserve price on eBay.