musicians have to be educated about what is possible and what is not possible to attain in the studio when they walk in. youre right skunkyfunk, they dont care about hd3 or neuman or what not. that is why i think it is our job to care about these things. with a limited budget, i think most studio owners focus more on the recording equipment than the instruments, which, undeniably, are SOURCE of the signal. this is mainly because they expect the clients to more or less have the equipment they need, especially if these clients are professionals and/or rockstars (they obviously are in the position to make exuberant purchases). but like balta said, we have third world budgets, and therefore have to set our priorities. question is, do we prioritize instruments and buy sub par studio equipment, or vice versa? i think the choices of instruments, amplifiers, and effects out there will make it very difficult for us to create that truly versatile setup. moreso, it might turn out to be more expensive than concentrating on just studio equipment alone. it is also my dream to have the basics covered at least. an ibanez guitar, a US fender strat, a les paul, a dual rectifier, a vox ac 30, fender twin reverb, and around 20 pedals. thats just the guitar rig alone (and a humble one at that considering that this does not cover all playing styles and recording needs). that alone will cost a couple of hundred thousand bucks already. the drums? i dream of having a tama artstar in addition to my current setup, remo skins replaced every 6 moths, a slew of high end cymbals. same for the bass. etc. this could lead to serious GAS attack if i dwell too much on it. so far this kind of setup is still a few years out of my reach. but there are gains, and patience pays off somehow.
now here's a practical solution. i'll concentrate on the recording gear for now, and advise the musicians to call up as many friends as possible, borrow and beg for the stuff their sound requires. otherwise, scout for studios that actually have the instruments they need to attain their sound. they shouldn't be afraid to divide the work among different studio's. say if studio A has the drums they seek then do the drum tracks in studio A. then move to studio B for that guitar rig they so lust after. keep at it until they finish their project. this kind of approach might also help them discern which studio equipment suits their taste best.
my 2 centavos.