Why gear doesn't matter...

[fleetfootmike]

Or, why spending X,000 on a new guitar/camera/whatever won't do a thing to change the person behind it.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.htm

Obviously, written for photographers. But can apply just as well to guitarists.

Comments

[demoneyes.livejournal.com]

Methinks he over-eggs his own arguments just a tad - as he himself does say, several times, gear does matter. Good gear makes it easier to overcome technical or operational difficulties and get good results. But not-so-good gear doesn't prevent your getting good results whilst good gear doesn't guarantee your getting them.

I do get better results with my new Fuji camera than with my old Ricoh. It has a better zoom so I can compose easier; it has a shorter shutter-delay so it's easier to catch an expression; it has better auto-exposure so flash photos come out useable more often; it has an LCD which is visible outdoors so I can check whether shots had the right exposure/compensation and try again if it didn't look right; it has a "last 5" multishot mode which makes marvellous 'action' pictures practical. And it's smaller and lighter so I'm more likely to carry it around. But none of those help unless I choose to take that picture and none of them help me choose what to put in it.

[fleetfootmike.livejournal.com]

I was, after I'd posted it, thinking the same.

It is possible to hit a point where crap gear impedes your progress. But, as you say, better gear doesn't in and of itself guarantee an improvement.

[aunty_marion]

I think the same applies to almost anything. In archery, for example....

I hit a point with my first bow where I couldn't tune it to be any better than it was. And *I* was better than the bow was, so it was frustrating. So I traded up to a better bow, which I could tune to my (then) more exacting standards. But then when I decided I needed an even better bow, my archery didn't improve concomitantly. (actually, it went downhill, where it has stayed, but that was another matter)

[fleetfootmike.livejournal.com]

The question becomes not just 'do you *know* your gear isn't the best' but 'can you actively recognise this by its effect on your performance?'. I know, for example, that I could make good use of a better acoustic guitar than any of the five (all cheap copies) that I own. But I don't think I'd be a much better guitarist playing a Turner Model 1 ($3000) through a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier head (also $2-3000), than I am playing a Tokai Les Paul ($500) through a Marshall JCM800 ($600). It'd be nice, though :)

[billroper]

That actually turned out to be my criterion for buying a new guitar. If I can tell the difference between two guitars when I'm playing them (as opposed to Joe Flashy Guitarist playing them), then I'm allowed to think about buying the more expensive guitar.

[madfilkentist]

As a counterbalance to this, I'd want to remind anyone starting out on an instrument that using a cheap "beginner" instrument will have a much harder time of it. Above a certain basic level of quality, much is optional. But equipment which doesn't even reach the basic level can cause great pain (sometimes literally), making the beginner think he just doesn't have the aptitude.

[bardiclug.livejournal.com]

Indeed - there is a quality gate - below that threshold it's actually counterproductive to try to work with. The 'measurable quality vs. price' curve above the gate flattens out quickly though, from "just playable" to "moderately priced good instrument" ramping up quickly, then a long tail to "exorbitantly expensive instrument". The difference in sound and playability become more subtle and in many cases subjective. (ie: The "Taylor vs. Gibson" debates. :) ) Part of the appeal of expensive instruments is their "visceral" appeal. Owning a Gibson Les Paul, to some people, just FEELS better than an Ephiphone copy - although the actual differences between the axes is difficult to measure.

I also agree that it's important to keep your instrument quality up to date with your level of play. I played the same acoustic guitar for 15 years before I finally bought a "real" instrument, which was still a moderately priced acoustic - but I can't even imagine going back to either of those. There are things I play on my Taylor that I just can't play on other instruments. Or maybe that's just all in my head. :)