Well, the fact of the matter is that commercial recording studios cannot buy a locker full of mics at $10,000+, Fairchilds at $20,000+ or a rack full of vintage Neve module $4,000, these days. It's not the old days, where people HAD to come to a recording studio, so you could pay through the nose for things, and know you were going to be booked solid at $2,500/day. It's the people such as yourself, who are producers or songwriters making their money off royalties, who can pay these prices and put things things in studios they own, that aren't dependent on bookings. Studio rates are taking a beating. If you are making your money off the front end, the impression I get from talking to studio managers and owners these days is that there's no way you can justify paying for gear like this, and hope to make your rent at the same time.
Maybe Terry can share his thoughts on it, since he owns and operates a high end facility that still stays regularly booked.
I know several rooms where big records get done that can't seem to even afford to keep their mics working properly all the time.