Fancy-Pants Tools and Gear
Ok. We need to do that thing where we sit down to have one of 'those' talks. Oh, yeah. You know you're in trouble now. 😄
After last week's post about strobe tuners, I got a decent number of emails. That wasn't unexpected (more on that in a sec). The replies were mainly variations on "But my strobe tuner is incredibly accurate," and "But my strobe tuner is really fast."
And they're not wrong. I replied to most with variations of the following: "I absolutely agree. I love my strobe tuner and it makes my work easier. I just don't believe it's a necessity for everybody."
I sometimes talk about ridiculously expensive tools and equipment. I think (hope) that, when I do, I make it pretty clear that they're not necessary for everyone to get a particular job done. It's perfectly fine to do a lot of work with a set of very basic tools*. My first few guitars were made on a folding work bench in my back garden. I cut them with a Jigsaw and a rasp. I don't recommend that as it's a lot of work but it's absolutely possible. I could have done it by hand with a coping saw if I didn't have a jigsaw.
You don't need a heap of expensive tools to get started. As you progress, you'll probably want to get some new tools to make things a little easier or faster. That's ok. Do that. If you start taking things further, you might find yourself investing in additional tools because, in many cases, they really can be an investment. And that's ok too, but it might not be necessary.
I have a lot of tools that make my job a lot easier. Many of these were purchased intermittently over a long period as funds allowed. As someone progresses though a profession or a hobby, this is a pattern that occurs.
But here's the important thing: Many of these tools are not necessary. I can cut out a guitar with a jigsaw and a rasp if I want. My bandsaw and router do a much faster job and make the whole thing easier but I don't have to use them. I can set guitar intonation by ear if I want (and I did when I began playing first—I'd played and tweaked my guitars for a decade or more before I ever owned a tuner). Does my Peterson strobe tuner do a better job? Sure. But it's not necessary.
When I write posts like last week's, I'm generally careful not to dismiss the advantages of <insert expensive tool here> but I try to let people know if I believe it's essential they shell out a heap of money to get the same job done.
I said that the responses I received were not unexpected. That's because, whenever I say "Expensive Tool is better but not necessary for most people," and I tend to get replies saying, "But Expensive Tool is better!" (The exclamation mark is added by me but it feels like it's present on many of these emails).
I get it. We're all guitar nerds. You haven't read my stuff for this long if you're not a guitar nerd. I'm a guitar nerd (as well as forty other different kinds of nerd) and us nerds gonna nerd. It's really easy go grow a little dismissive as we build our knowledge, or our skill, or our gear. I've done it in the past. I suspect, many of us have. But we need to be careful not to pull the ladder up behind us. I'd wager we've all seen variations of someone on a forum responding to a problem from an Epiphone owner with "You should've bought a Gibson."
I am absolutely certain that the responses I received about the benefits of strobe tuners were well-meaning and not in this vein. I genuinely appreciate that people are good enough to email me with their thoughts on this stuff I write. That means a hell of a lot. And, I'm absolutely not dismissing these particular responses because they're correct—my strobe tuner is great. I use it many times a day.
But it's not necessary for most people. I could work without it if I had to. I don't think that my setups would suffer all that drastically. I don't want to work without it but that's not the point. If someone asks me whether they should save up for a strobe tuner or if they can survive without one, I'll explain some advantages and tell them they can most likely survive without one. And if somebody decides to get a strobe tuner, fantastic. I bet they'll enjoy it and find it useful.
Of course, I'm talking about broader stuff than strobe tuners. For many of us, shelling out our hard-earned cash for some new thing is a big deal. These days, I'm in the massively fortunate position where I can weigh many new purchases against how much time or effort I'll save but that's not a universal situation. If someone can do a good job on a tuner with a moving needle instead of a spinning disc, it might be very appropriate for them to do that rather than spending a number of times as much on new hardware. You don't need a bandsaw to build a guitar. Sometimes, if you spend more, there are some tools available that can make a difference to how you work or play but many/most of them shouldn't be considered absolutely necessary.
This isn't an exclusive country club. This is Nerd Town and we welcome all comers. Pop your guitar on the kitchen table, clip a tuner to the headstock, and let's adjust the intonation with a butter knife. Are there alternatives to that? Sure; a screwdriver might be a bit easier, but if it works, that might be enough right now.
On the flip side, if you have a worksop or rehearsal studio crammed full of stuff that you find useful and enjoyable, that's awesome. It's all good. We make the calls that are right for us at that time. No judgement here. Hakuna matata. 🙂
And, if I bleat on about expensive tools (which I do from time to time), I'll tell you if they're a necessity. Hint: they're usually not*. If you decide to buy them, great. If you don't, great. Either option is probably just fine for us nerds.
It's been a while since I had a bit of a rant. If anyone's still reading after this one, thank you.
* Nut files are the exception, unfortunately. There's no really cheap, good substitute. You don't need to go crazy and get the diamond-coated ones but you do have to spend a few bucks to get a decent set. Sorry. I do believe that this is something worth spending on, though. It'll pay you back over just a couple or three setups. Other than those, feel free to use the butter knife.
P.S. I'm going to link again to my "Do you need a quest?" thoughts from a while back. It's still relevant.
This article written by Gerry Hayes and first published at hazeguitars.com
