Black Friday will soon be upon us and if you’re a home studio producer this can be dangerous territory. Many items may have enticing prices like studio hardware, microphones, interfaces, but of course the one thing that really stands out is plugins. Many outlets have already started running deals! They’re cheap (and maybe even cheaper now) and are instantly available once you purchase them making them very attractive.
We live in an age where we can see people on social media in their home studios with the most incredible equipment. We may think to ourselves “these people are clearly doing great – look how many followers they have – if I just had some of the same gear they have then I could also be like them”. You may feel like an imposter or like you have no chance against this, or you may just be asking “how on earth can they afford all that gear!?”. That’s all quite normal to think like that, but we don’t have to believe it.
Before I became a father and had a bit more disposable income (oh what times!) I started buying more guitar pedals. Let me rephrase that – I got addicted to buying guitar pedals. What started out as a bit of intrigue into what other pedals sounded like quickly snowballed into spending more and more on sought after pedals. I had a handful of guitar pedals already in my collection (about 7 or 8) that I’d used on and off for a few years. Within a couple more years I’d bought around 200 – That escalated quickly! I got lured into thinking things like “a more expensive pedal will make me sound better”, “pro guitarists use these kinds of pedals so if I use them then I’ll be on their level too” and “I just need to find that sound that will make me sound perfect”. I think the most I spent on a pedal was £350 and while some vintage pedals like an original Klon pedal fetch around £5000, £350 is still a lot of money. I wouldn’t spend that now. My guitar pedal collection is back down to around 15 after I sold most of them.
I remember there was a moment that made me realise this was all daft. I was watching a YouTube video from a well known music shop featuring their pedal reviewers and the video was, rather than reviewing another pedal, a more candid take on how many pedals do we actually need and are we buying too much. The reviewer started out by saying something like “we don’t necessarily need so much gear, it’s more important to just go and play. But like most guitarists, here are some pedals I need for my sound.” They then stated that the once piece of gear they couldn’t be without is the £5000 Klon pedal I previously mentioned. It really hit me in the face then that this was all nonsense. The guy works for a music shop, of course he would say this. But also, you don’t need a £5000 pedal to sound good. If you do, you’re playing it wrong!
Like I say, after that I sold most of my pedals. Don’t get me wrong, I’d learnt a lot. Some pedals did sound better, some pedals didn’t. I remember a compressor pedal that cost me £25 and one that cost me £200. I thought the £200 one would be better – it didn’t – I kept the £25 one.
There’s another incident that comes to mind as well. I saw a guitarist live recently who sounded great. He was playing in an Americana band with a Stratocaster and had a really fluid style of playing. I could have listened to them all day. I stood up to get a closer look at what pedals they were using and how they were getting their sound. Yep, they weren’t using any. They just plugged into the amp.
Tips to keep sane!
So what does this all mean and what’s the point of this? I guess it’s a little friendly word of warning and a reminder that you’re doing alright as you are. If you’re looking out for those new plugins on Black Friday, then here are some things to bear in mind:
- Stock plugins are often great.
- Know more about the equipment you already have – Only when you know its drawbacks, then it might be a good time to look for something different.
- There isn’t one thing out there that will take your mix from OK to excellent.
- Focus on songwriting and better performances – A good performance can shine through a poor microphone.
- There will likely be another updated version of the thing you want to buy in 6 months that promises to be better than the one they are selling now.
- It’s a big industry that wants your money!
Funnily enough you’d be surprised if you saw my home studio how little equipment I use. (It’s all about the ears!). In fact, a few years ago I did a mastering project for a good friend of mine. He was looking to get his music mastered but he wanted analog only. I said I could help him. He asked, “are you analog?”, I said “yes 100%” – This was a complete lie. I mastered his songs, sent them to him and he said, “you can really hear the analog sound in this, it’s just so much more natural!”. It was a little bit sadistic of me, but I only told him it was digital after he released it. He laughed (eventually) and said “OK lesson learnt”.
I hope you found this helpful. It’s just meant to be a little word of warning. (I guess this reduces my chances of ever getting any free plugins!).
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