To the casual observer professional audio might look like a strangely retro-obsessed high tech industry, but innovation didn’t stop 50 years ago. What current gear might be the classic gear of the future, and will any of it be software?

We’re used to seeing the same old candidates reproduced in software form. ‘Classic’ is, by definition, a status which gets conferred retrospectively. Times have changed so much in the 60 or so years since the Pultecs and Fairchilds which occupy the top tier of classic gear were first produced that it's unrealistic to think that we can draw any direct comparisons between those days and anything which has happened in pro audio this century. However we hear tales of an EMI TG console being donated to a school (not a recording school, a regular school!) and TR808s being sold for pennies to fund the purchase of a long obsolete computer, so are the classics of today hiding in plain sight?

Availibility And Profile

A couple of things really help to elevate gear to classic status. High profile users really help, as does unavailability. A great example might be the Klon Centaur guitar pedal. A very limited production run of hand made examples and celebrity endorsement from the likes of John Mayer really help but the thing which drove this one into the (over) hype zone was the internet. A flurry of attention on YouTube is probably the thing which really drove this one even further into the hype zone, but it’s difficult to see the Klon ever returning to being a ‘normal’ distortion pedal. Indeed, the internet has managed to elevate mass market Boss Chorus pedals to classic status. Guitarists eh?

A few pro audio examples spring to mind. An obvious candidate for gear from the relatively recent history would have to be the Empirical Labs Distressor. For gear like this it’s probably a requirement that someone makes a plugin version and there are a few software Distressors available. Definitely a classic but probably a bit obvious for this list. Are there any other criteria we need to factor in?

Out Of Production?

A piece of equipment being out of production makes supply inherently fixed. If demand is low then this doesn’t make any difference but as soon as demand outstrips supply this makes for greater desirability and higher prices. Whether justifiably or not this feeds interest and ups the buzz.

Interesting examples can be found in my own mic collection, I have a few mics which qualify as classics. The problem is that most of them are still stubbornly in production. For example I have an old Sennheiser MD441 and a lovely pair of Coles 4038s. However their availability brand new means I hold little hope of either of these becoming any kind of investment. I’m happy with that, they are lovely mics which should be used. Availability isn’t any kind of deciding factor here. Look no further than the undoubtedly classic, and ubiquitous, SM57 or the extraordinary rise in popularity of the SM7B, with its imposing presence and must-have status amongst so many podcasters, in spite of its questionable suitability for that role. Classic gear doesn’t have to be rare, but it helps.

What About Classic Software?

What about software? Will that ever be “classic’ in the same way as hardware? I’m sure there are some who would insist that the early versions of Auto Tune are essential to get a period and genre appropriate sound. In the same way time stretching artefacts were such an inherent part of Drum & Bass and Big Beat but these examples are outliers. It we look at the plugins which represent the current state of the art we might include FabFilter’s Pro Q3 and Oeksound’s Soothe. Both of these are really excellent products, but classic? Good - certainly but to qualify as classic they need to represent some kind of pinnacle of achievement. Pro Q3 is amazing but I’m pretty sure Pro Q4 will be better. I have Pro Q2 but have no reason to choose it over Pro Q3. In the same way the next version of Soothe will be better. I don’t think you’ll hear people boasting that their copy of a plugin is more exclusive as it’s a pre-release beta!

Character And Uniqueness

Quirky and unique gear will always have an advantage when it comes to desirability. People might scoff at the toy-like quality (and distinctly un-toy-like prices) of Teenage Engineering’s instruments but they are distinctive and I have to confess, though I’d never buy one, if I was in a room with one I’d find it irresistible not to have a play.

Although the overwhelming majority of audio is software-based these days, analogue hardware is still made and sold, and new products are designed and released all the time. Most interestingly the small production, high-end products which are the most natural candidates for classic status are still produced and while many are reproductions or re-imaginings of heritage equipment, much of it is original in design. If I were to pick one piece of equipment for future classic status I’d be torn between the Rupert Neve Designs Shelford Channel or the SPL Iron compressor.

There is no plugin version of the Shelford Channel (yet…) but the SPL Iron is inevitably better know as a plugin than it is as a piece of hardware. Indeed being available as a plugin is a great way of elevating the perception of your product and the SPL Iron is available as a (really nice) plugin via Plugin Alliance. Creating a piece of exclusive, high end hardware with a view to selling a plugin version is of course something which happens. The ultimate expression of this would be found in Phil’s Cascade from Elysia. A very unusual valve unit was created as a one-off, specifically to be modelled to create a plugin version. Indeed this unique hardware unit was designed to go so far out of its components comfortable operating parameters that to mass produce such a unit would have been a recipe for many, many returned units. This was part of the point of this project.

Relationship With Hardware

It seems software inevitably replaces hardware. But hardware is so much more tangible than software. A contender for classic status is probably the Trinnov. I know several owners, all of whom are uniformly effusive about their Trinnovs in a way users of Sonarworks or ARC simply aren’t.

So. Classics of the future? I’d say high end, all-analogue gear which builds on rather than borrows from heritage gear can definitely gain that status. Rarity helps and digital gear can definitely be classic, the Bricasti M7 will always be cooler than Seventh Heaven, even though they sound the same! Software though? I really can’t see classic software happening, though if there was going to be a contender it would probably be a Pro Tools Perpetual licence!

What Would You Choose?

What gear would you highlight as a future classic? What, if anything will engineers and producers be proudly pointing out as a “vintage piece from the 2020’s” in years to come.