GEAR ISn't
everything
three Alternative ways to guitar nirvana
words by S.P. Burke
We here at Tone Report can talk about
gear until the cows come home, but
it’s easy to get caught up in the never-
ending race of chasing perfect tone and
ignoring the basics. Most of us are old
enough to remember friends buying DS-
1s en masse thinking that would make
them rock stars, or combing magazines
and online forums to find the particular
axis a particular microphone was pointed
at on the particular day a particular artist
recorded that killer hit track, as if that
would make all the difference in the
36
TONE TALK //
perfect album we’d already written and
recorded in our heads while practicing in
our parents’ basements.
Make no mistake; quality gear is
important. We’ve based our livelihoods
around that. If you feel that new hand-
wired boutique reverb and delay is just
calling your name, by all means buy it.
Our aim here is just some general advice
to make your musical journey easier,
making sure you’re what shines and not
the gear.
Gear Isn’t Everything: Three Alternative Ways to Guitar Nirvana