During my tenure in the music industry, primarily instrument sales, I have seen a ton of great gear. I have also seen and played with a ton of great guitarists. What I have come to notice over the past decade is that more often than not the guys with the most gear are often the worst players. The sad thing is that I speak from experience.
Early 2014 this was my setup:
- Matchless SC-30 – Sampson Era
- Top Hat Club Royale
- Custom Built Pedalboard
- JHS Pulp N’ Peel
- JHS Morning Glory
- Mojo Hand FX Rook
- Cusack Screamer
- Ernie Ball VP Jr
- JHS Panther Cub
- TC Electronic Alter Ego Delay
- Boss RV-5 Reverb
- Strymon Bluesky Reverb
- Voodoo Labs Pedal Power Mondo
- George L’s Solderless Cables
- Washburn WP-50 (Vintage Les Paul Copy from late 80’s)
- Gretsch Pro-Jet
- Gibson ES-335 Dot
- Fender American Special Telecaster
- USA Made Squire Stratocaster (Yes a USA made Squire) Will do a write up in the future.
All of this gear came in at over $12,000. I have since parted ways with most of it and gotten new stuff. Some of the old stuff I miss. Some I don’t. To provide some comparison I play with guitarist who plays through this setup:
- Fender Blues Junior (USA Made Version)
- Plywood Pedalboard w/ Velcro
- Ernie Ball VP Jr
- Ibanez Tubescreamer
- BBE Boosta Grande Boost Pedal
- Boss DD-6 Digital Delay
- Line-6 Verbzilla Reverb
- Visual Sound One Spot Power Supply
- Pieced together mismatched, different color patch cables
- Fender Standard Tele (Korean Made no upgrades)
All of his gear totals in at around $1500. The funny thing is that he has always sounded way better than me. Why you ask? Because he is a much better player than I am. The moral of the story here is that gear DOES NOT MAKE YOU A GOOD PLAYER. It can make you a better player but you cannot buy talent and substitute gear for hard work. I have to disclaimer that this is in no way an insult on the guys with $10k in gear. There is nothing wrong with buying a bunch of pedals. The problem becomes when we stop focusing on actually playing and worshiping and out all of our focus on getting the latest shiny pedal or new amplifier. The Bible specifically forbids creating idols and I think sometimes we as worship guitarists fall into this trap.
So how can we avoid this pitfall? I have started doing the following things to help keep my mind focused on Christ and learning to be a better player. Here they are:
- Purchase items that enhance your playing.
I have purchase 4 fuzz pedals in my lifetime and I never used a single one of them other than to strum a simple d chord and say “Wow that sounds good.” Never used them on stage though or even in the studio. Come to think of it if I did need it in the studio I could have borrowed it. - Create a Budget
My wife and I are huge Dave Ramsey fans and I would be lying if I said purchasing gear has not derailed us a time or too in our family budget. Nothing comes between marriages faster than money so make sure you have full disclosure of what you are buying with your spouse. Also make sure that you have a plan for paying for it. No a credit card should not be an option because that $500 amp quickly turns into the $1500 in interest and ultimately that boutique amp you really wanted in the first place. Like Dave say’s save up and pay for it. - Sleep On It
This is another Dave Ramsey principle and it has saved me many times when I have followed it and haunted me times when I have not. In a world where everything has to be right now we need to take a step back and realize that deals come and go and come again. I can look back on the 10 amps, 50ish guitar pedals, and 20ish guitars I have owned and there was only one instance I can remember where I needed to act that day on a sale or a rare item.Take the coveted Klon for example. Those so called rare pedals can be found all over the place right now. Now if you find an original for $250 but it because you can always resell it. The key here is to be smart. Scour eBay and Reverb and do your research. 99% of the time you can wait till the morning to make the purchase.
- Practice Humility and Purchase Gear for Your Teammates.
I know I have gone through stages where I look back on purchase and realize that I just had the urge to purchase something. Sounds odd but I believe everyone has them. Try getting something for your fellow guitarist that you know he wants. Not only will you get to try the product out and see if it really works for you but you will create friendships and bonds that stretch outside of band practice. - Impulse Save
Yes you read it correctly. I once had an account friend that told me that he impulse saves. Anytime he had the urge to purchase a product he instead transferred the money from his checking to his savings. He then thought over it for a few days and if he still wanted it he had the money set aside. If he didn’t then he left it in savings
Again this article is not meant to tell you to not buy gear. It is meant to encourage us as worship guitarists to look at gear as tools instead of a way to achieve an emotional high.
Well I hope this helps you in your walk with Christ and your ministries. If you have any questions or comments feel free to put them in the comments below.
1 Comment
Great reminder, I know it is easy to “justify” things for worship.
Find someone who will call you out. Sharpen each other. Keep worship (and not gear) as your focus
Try to cut back time on gear forums (even Christian ones). Coveting is sin….
I’ve been blessed to have my wife keep me accountable when I start into a tail spin.
Another leader and I are also trying to keep each other accountable in not spending money this year
Thanks for writing this one.