Here at theDAWstudio.com we have developed a rating system that will help you better compare and distinguish different levels of equipment quality. We don’t use a 1-10 scale or 5 stars, we combine many rating techniques by rating gear in different categories. Each category has between four to six levels to describe the rating of a product. Once you know the system, you can better understand the Reviews and see how much better it is than stars or 1-10.

LEVEL
FEATURES
EASE-OF-USE
SOUND QUALITY
RELIABILITY
BANG-FOR-THE-BUCK
BUILD
QUALITY

LEVEL – What is the quality level of the gear? Consumer or Professional?
Consumer – Gear that is meant for hobbyists and novices.
Prosumer – Gear priced for hobbyists, but capable of producing Professional level content.
Semi-Pro – Professional gear with corners cut to meet a price point.
Professional – Professional quality gear made to sound amazing and be reliable

FEATURES – What is the feature set? Does it have tons of options or just the basics?
Minimal – This piece as little more than an on/off switch.
Basic – There are a few features, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Just What You Need – Just enough features to make it cool, but not confusing.
Lots But Confusing – So many cool features that you don’t know where to start.
Full-Featured – Any feature that you could want…it has it.
Includes The Kitchen Sink – Has any feature that you could image and ten more that you couldn’t imagine.

EASE-OF-USE – How easy is it to get the product working?
Rocket Science – Takes an advanced degree to even get sound.
Decent Learning Curve – It might take some time to figure this one out.
Average – It works well out-of-the-box but there are a few things to learn.
Super Easy – It practically runs itself.
A Monkey Could Do It – It literally runs itself and might make you obsolete.

SOUND QUALITY – How good does the piece of equipment sound?
Sounds Like @?$&! – It is painful to listen to (but maybe that is what you want).
Gets By – Not painful, but still not enjoyable.
Good But Not Great – It sounds OK and will work for most circumstances.
Great Sound – It sounds great and impresses most everyone.
Sounds Amazing – It sounds really good putting a smile on your face.
Like Butter – When you hear it, you get chills and your legs get weak.

RELIABILITY – How much trust can you have that the piece will work when most needed?
Wouldn’t Trust It As Far As I Can Throw It – The unit is inconsistent and could combust at any moment.
Questionable – It seems reliable, but when circumstances get rough it might wimp out.
Solid – It appears to be very consistent, but it would be safe to have a backup.
Works Every Time – You should never have any failure problems because this piece is solid.
No Need For A Backup – You could run a tank over it and it would still work.

BANG-FOR-THE-BUCK – How much gear goodness are you getting for the money?
Not Worth The Money – This unit is way overpriced and not a good buy.
Kind Of Pricey – Might be worth, but not that good of a deal for the money.
You Get What You Pay For – You get a product equivalent to the amount of money you spend.
A Great Buy – This item is a good deal getting great features at a really good price.
Deal-Of-A-Lifetime – This unit is amazingly under-priced giving you the functionality of other units for a fraction of the price.

BUILD QUALITY – How well is it built? Is it professionally done or piecemeal?
Don’t Sneeze Near It – The unit could be put together better by a child.
Held Together By Duct Tape – The unit looks like it was built in someone’s garage.
Decent Quality – The unit looks professionally made, but still not the best build quality.
Excellently Put Together – If you look under the hood, everything is put together with the highest level of quality.
Indestructible – The device is built so well that it can be used as a black box on an airplane.