Gear in the context of the electric guitar is a hard one to pin down. In it's most fundamental form the concept of gear is very simple; over time guitarists noticed problems they had while playing the instrument, and over time manufacturers found new solutions to those problems. This in an of itself is not a problem but the exact opposite of a problem. However, the electric guitar community is not separated from the rest of society and like the rest of society we suffer from the consequences of consumerism.
There are two arguements to consumerism in the electric guitar community. One side of the arguement will paint the consumeristic tendancies that we see today as a negative; with their arguement consisting of poor quality control and selection rises, choice paralysis and overwhelming descisions for new guitar players, and a bad sentiment in the community (that is disapearing) that gear is needed to sound good. The other side of this arguement will paint consumerism in the community as a positive. The rivalry in the electric guitar market has pushed for over seventy years of innovation, from the analog into the digital. Options and problems that existed in the sixties are nonexistent today. The conienience of a digital amplifier is nothing to scoff at.
With both of these views on consumerism, I would finally like to offer you my opinion on the topic. I think that it is neither a good or bad thing. I think that, as players and musicians, we have what we have and these are our options. At this point I think it's irrelevant whether or not consumerism is good or bad; I believe the important thing is what you do with the options you have.
It's a challenge to describe the sheer size and mass of the problem guitar players face in the modern age. That problem is "gear". The electric is incredible in the fact that it takes the strength of the guitar as a instrument, and expands that strength into the analog (and eventually digital) world. This opens the electric guitar up to all the varieties of signal processing that electrical engineers can dream up. When you talk about gear, and pedals, and guitars, and how all those pieces come together into a rig jigsaw puzzle; it is impossible to
The path you are going to travel on your gear journey is a long one with many mistakes ahead of you. I know what it feels like to be a budget player who had to take a loss on a guitar that wasn't right for me. It's how I learned
How gear ties into playing style/technique/philosophy
How to answer "w" questions about gear who, what, when, where, why, how?
What gear I chose and use
The insights making my own gear has offered me
Pros and cons to making your own gear There are many pros and cons to making your own gear, although it isn't for everyone and a lot of people will find the challenge daunting and it will ultimately prove to be a detriment.
The idea behind making your own gear is to have a more personal and intimate connection with your instrument. I will also say that learning to make amplifiers gives me a more robust and intuitive knowledge of what is going on inside my amplifier as I play. Making your own gear also has an aspect of personalization to it that allows you to make your instrument exactly how you want it to be. This can be really important for people who have strange instrument requirements.
Gear in the context of the electric guitar is a hard one to pin down. In it's most fundamental form the concept of gear is very simple; over time guitarists noticed problems they had while playing the instrument, and over time manufacturers found new solutions to those problems. This in an of itself is not a problem but the exact opposite of a problem. However, the electric guitar community is not separated from the rest of society and like the rest of society we suffer from the consequences of consumerism.
There are two arguments to consumerism in the electric guitar community. One side of the argument will paint the consumeristic tendencies that we see today as a negative; with their argument consisting of poor quality control and selection rises, choice paralysis and overwhelming decisions for new guitar players, and a bad sentiment in the community (that is disappearing) that gear is needed to sound good. The other side of this argument will paint consumerism in the community as a positive. The rivalry in the electric guitar market has pushed for over seventy years of innovation, from the analog into the digital. Options and problems that existed in the sixties are nonexistent today. The convenience of a digital amplifier is nothing to scoff at.
With both of these views on consumerism, I would finally like to offer you my opinion on the topic. I think that it is neither a good or bad thing. I think that, as players and musicians, we have what we have and these are our options. At this point I think it's irrelevant whether or not consumerism is good or bad; I believe the important thing is what you do with the options you have.
Another one of the crossing points where