The 21st century truly is the golden age. We are living in the gearheads/audiophile’s ultimate fantasy. Gone are the days of only dreaming about vintage consoles and salivating over rack gear, it is the plethora of amazing recreations and options that can cater to your every whim and circuitry you could ever desire (Digital or analog). This has, however, created Gear Acquisition Syndrome.
We have come a long way. These days gear has become within the reach of the everyday man and professionals alike. Because of overseas production and the internet making circuit blueprints way more accessible than years past we have a smorgasbord of options at our fingertips. You can get neve style EQ and preamps, classic compressors, and Neuman-style condensers for half of the price of the real thing and most are just as good and on par (some might say even better and more reliable) as the originals. There is also a price point for everyone to get into, from the hand-wired super boutique to the mass-produced solid products.
Man versus Machine
But here is the magic question, is the sound in the mic/guitar/console/drum or keyboard, or is the magic and soul in the person sitting behind it? Does the gear make the product or the human using the gear?
The best place to look at these questions and make a comparison could be the guitar market.
The guitar market has all the extremes you would want, from the super affordable entry-level to the custom shop handcrafted dream instruments or the vintage market which has bloomed and blossomed in the last 40 years.
But what is the difference between a $100 guitar, a $600, a $4,000 custom shop, or a $40,000 vintage example? Would a player play better if you handed him the most expensive guitar?
My view on this has always been that gear creates comfort and comfort creates confidence, and confidence boosts skill, but it should never become a crutch or a downfall. Guitarists are particularly bad at this…
Players can get so stuck in a loop with this chase for the perfect gear whether that be a pedal, amplifier or guitar that they forget the rule of making music, and this counts for production and engineers too, the sound is in your ears and fingers first and then it goes to the gear. This is what we call GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome)
The chase for the gear becomes so bad that you end up having a room full of gear, but are still unhappy and chasing the holy grail. This quest has no end and you end up having 30 Stratocasters but still have not found the one. Or you have swapped pickups 300 times and still don’t get the sound you are looking for.
Minimum Gear with Maximum Skill and Imagination
Some of the best music and production was created in the early days with minimum gear and maximum skill & imagination. Early rock n’ roll and most music were recorded with massive restrictions and limitations with tracks, bleed noise, editing, etc. But the engineers and musicians knew their craft and how to achieve what they wanted to say. This came with experience and experimentation.
Jimi Hendrix could today walk into a shop, pick up a Squier bullet and a fender frontman and make it sing and scream only like he could. This is the same for you, you could buy the fender custom shop Hendrix strat, the hand-wired Marshall SLP head and cabinet, vintage 1960 fuzz face and wah, and still sound like trash.
Understand the Gear
To understand what your gear does first, how it works, what its limits are, and start with the basics. Then move up as your experience grows and you will have a better appreciation for the tools of your trade and the good stuff. Understand that the expensive gear will only make your production a small percentage if you know how to make it work
Most people are always shocked to hear that most of the best vocal recordings in rock n’ roll were recorded on a normal Shure SM 58. Some of the biggest guitar tones caught on tape were mostly small amps like an old fender champ or small supro amps (Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page especially loved them)
So go out and splash around in the pool of amazing gear and utopia of plugins and software out there in this brave new eden of production and experiment, practice, and have fun but as always remember the rule…nothing matters if you don’t have the skill and put in the hours to hone the craft and there is nothing wrong with a comfort zone as long as it doesn’t become a crutch.
This is why it is important to understand why sound production companies are the experts. They have the skills, knowledge, and experience to create the correct sound for your project without wasting your time. Yes, you can experiment at home but sometimes it’s best to leave it to the professionals.
