Lay Off the Newbies!


I always try to keep my posts constructive, but there is something that regularly goes on here that I think is detrimental to our hobby - A newbie has a simple question and a bunch of neurotic geezers (of which I include myself) jump on the guy with a million rules and rituals he must follow to achieve his goal, which ends up discouraging the guy right out of hobby. There was one analog thread on static where I recommended Gruv Glide and you geezers started in with so much BS- humidifiers, move to another climate, expensive gimmicks, etc, that GG would kill him and his records.  The end result? By the end of the thread, he sold his analog rig because he couldn't deal with the stress.  In a recent digital thread, you guys are recommending a newbie buy 20 year old transports.  All this does is just make newbies so stressed out that you'll drive them to MP3s.  Newbies need simple answers, commensurate with their experience level.  Buy a Rega table, screw in a Rega cartridge and play records.  They have plenty of time to turn into us.  Somehow we survived, listening to our Sansui receivers and JBL L-100s in bedrooms thick with pot smoke and spilled Boone's Farm.  And we made it.  Sometimes I'm amazed as well.  Let the young have fun while they can. Be well.  
chayro

Showing 4 responses by td_dayton

@stuartk i agree with that, which is why it really doesn't matter what a jerk says - often they're just at war with themselves and take it out on someone they think they're better than. if a few rude comments puts someone off from pursuing a new hobby, they weren't that invested to begin with. in life you meet rude people all the time, and if you can't simply shrug and move on then you're gonna have a rough time. don't see why a stereo forum is any different 
from my point of view you're gonna get knowitalls, gatekeepers, general jerks etc in any niche hobby. and it doesn't matter. if you're really into something you'll pursue it no matter how those types treat you. just gotta roll with it - why should a 20yo care if someone who remembers where they were when jfk got shot thinks his system sucks? why should a thousand dollar system guy worry about the opinion of a guy who spent 6 figures and ruined his marriage for this thing? at some point the "wah they're being too rude. what happened to Civility??"crowd has to get over themselves and just keep it moving. 8 out of 10 people are cool towards the newbies like myself and that's good enough imo. just my .02c
anyway i am in full agreement with the OP re: older guys acting like a $4000 cleaning system or $2000 isolation accessories are the Only Way to really do it right 
hey george, you know, from a certain perspective the compact disc was "snake oil." 😉

and yeah that search feature has been helpful for me and i've enjoyed using it a lot, though i'm on the fence whether it really justifies guys who've been posting here since Bush was president turning into crybabies whenever somebody new asks a newbie question. but like i said before, not a big deal to just shrug and move on either 🍻