Gear Addiction

Have you ever said to yourself that “I will be a much better guitarist when I buy that Gibson” or “that Fender” or “that pedal that I want for months”?

I’m here to break that myth for you. It’s not the gear that makes you play better. Is the inspiration and the practice you put into your craft. Gear doesn’t matter (to some extent, of course).

By saying to yourself that “I need that X to be better” you say to yourself that you need a piece of equipment to be a better player than you already are.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have 10 custom shop Fender and Gibsons and a few really expensive amps, but my skills would stay the same if I don’t practice my craft.

Trust me (I’ve done this before), buying a $4,000 Les Paul won’t make you play better, it may help you sound better, but it won’t help you improve your skills. What will improve your skills is practice (I know, I know, I have practice as well. But it’s something you got to do. It’s like brushing your teeth every morning).

On the other hand, if you have a cheap Squier and you want to treat yourself with something nicer, by all means, upgrade ( I don’t hate on Squiers, but a Mexican Strat could be much better for you than a bullet Strat).

The whole point of this article is to address the gear addiction that we all have at some point in our lives. I’m a gear freak (that’s why I run a business called Vintage Guitar Nerds), but I’m a musician as well and guitars and amps are just tools that can help me play music and create melodies.

I want to end the article by saying that when I buy a new guitar, it inspires me to create and to play more. This is something that happens to a lot of people but I’m trying to overcome this. Do you think that Jimi Hendrix was into pickups, bridges and the spaghetti logo? No. He just wanted to express himself. His manager gave him a white right-handed Strat and he found a way to make it work for him.

So, whatever instrument you have, find a way to make the best out of it. Don’t fixate on the idea of a more expensive guitar will make me sound better.

Please, let me know if you agree or disagree. I’d love to read your comments and discuss it!

Disclaimer, this is my personal opinion and you shouldn’t necessarily agree with everything that I just said.

Thank you for reading. 

Dimitris.