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I aint gonna be made to look a fool no more,

You done it once too often, what do ya take me for?

DIE!

not you god, obvs

I totally agree that if you're talking about 'pub' bands then the more expensive and poncy the equipment, generally the worse the band.

But then there are plenty of bands out there using expensive (but admittedly worn-looking) equipment that sound great.

Anyway, you don't need to buy the exact same pedal as your favourite guitarist to emulate the sort of sounds they're getting...but it's a start to know what they're using.

nothing to be ashamed of

Clearly I joke a little - I do know a bit more than that but I really don't know too much about music equipment and it's certainly never been a problem for me.

It depends what kind of music you make, of course (and it certainly helps that I mostly play an acoustic guitar so don't need to give thought to effects) but I genuinely don't think my songs would be better for more technical knowledge about equipment.

I do think sometimes it's easy to get blinded by the science of it all and rely on effects, equipment & technique at the expense of actual songs.*

*Obviously not in all cases and I can of course think of several bands and musicians who've merged good song-writing with good technical playing and good knowledge of effects. I can think of several more who don't.