Wow... I've never heard of anyone saying a recurve is more complicated than a compound before. More difficult, to a certain extent. Requiring more practice, yes.But not at all complicated.

Just think. To tunea compound, you have to adjust tiller, axle to axle length, poundage, cam timing (and synchronization on dual cam bows), centershot, draw length,nock location, arrow spine, adjust the sights... And then, if you shoot year round,it has to be retuned at least every few months!

Then you have maintenance to do:cleaning and lubing the axles and bearings in the cams and the moving parts of an arrow rest, checking all the e-clips, screws and bolts to make sure they're in place and tight, cleaning the cable guard and slide, waxing the string and cables, replacing the string loop or serving ocassionally, spending$150 or soat least every couple of years - and every year is even better -to get the bow stripped down, inspected, cleaned and lubed, getting string, cables and guard slide replaced and then you have to go through all the tuning operations again.

Then there's the releases (at least one spare in reserve at all times), sights, stabilizers, anti-vibration dookickies, extra material for replacing worn or broken string loops, portable bow presses for minor repairs at home or in the field, allen wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, spare peeps, fiber optics, special lubricants, tape measures, trips to the shop to handle problems you aren't equipped to correct... Now that's complicated. Not to mention expensive! If you forego all the maintenance and simply buy a new bow every couple of years, it's even more expensive.

There are only three things you need to do to tune a recurve. Arrow spine, brace height and nock point location. If you use an elevated rest, add centershot adjustment.

Maintenance consists of waxing the stringand giving the finish a dusting or polish once in awhile. Strings... Well about once a year you spend anywhere from 8-15 bucks for a new string (or make your own) and it takes about a minute to change it out. Another couple of minutes to twist it up to adjust your brace height to your predetermined height. Put on a nock point in the same spot your last one was, thena few test shots to make sure everything is back where you want it and you're done. The only time you really have to change anything is when you change to a different kind of arrow.

Gear I would suggestis mandatory for a recurve or longbow,and you've likely already got most of it, is a bow square, serving tool, bow stringer, arm guard and a glove or tab. Nock pliers if you plan to use the brass nocksets, although you can just tie on a few wraps of dental floss for a nock point. I went a step further and bought a couple of spools of string material and made a jig for making my own flemish twist strings.

Just think of all the time you would spend maintaining, fixingand retuning the compound and all the trips to the shop you won't have to make. That will all turn into free timeyou can spend shooting with the recurve. And with all the money you'll save, you can buy more recurves, or try longbows as well.

Really, recurves are so much simpler than compounds there is hardly any comparison. There is absolutely no reason to be intimidated by them. You might find they are not really your thing, and that's okay. But I'm betting you'll really enjoy shooting a 'curve. I wish you much success.