Gear Photos

You may have noticed, we now have similarly tagged photos at the bottom of gear photo pages. https://equipboard.com/gear_photos

We also surface photos that get at least two upvotes on the relevant tagged item pages.

Gear photos have been growing in popularity a little, but what can we do to make them even better?

How can we make gear photos more useful?

You may have noticed, we now have similarly tagged photos at the bottom of gear photo pages. https://equipboard.com/gear_photos

We also surface photos that get at least two upvotes on the relevant tagged item pages.

Gear photos have been growing in popularity a little, but what can we do to make them even better?

How can we make gear photos more useful?

A way to re-sort photos with incorrectly tagged items would be useful. Speaking of which, is there a way to convert the "JMV Racks" and "Big Rigs" submitted by jmvaughan into Gear Photos or something?

people are mis-tagging their own gear?

people are mis-tagging their own gear?

Here are some examples I can remember:

• Boss SD-1 tagged as an OD-1
• ToadWorks Barracuda MKII tagged as a MKI prior to the creation of a MKII item
• Roger Mayer Octavia Classic tagged as a Rocket Series Octavia prior to the creation of a Classic item + Colorsound Overdriver by Stu Castledine tagged as an original Overdriver prior to the creation of the reissue’s item
• Even you, Jim! - Colorsound Overdriver clone with EQ mod tagged as an original

• Even you, Jim! - Colorsound Overdriver clone with EQ mod tagged as an original

oh wow, I should fix that.... its a master volume mod, we all did them because the real one I had was worthless for creating much of its own overdrive unless you wanted to totally blow out your first triode stage

Okay. I've tried to correct some of those errors.

Here's what I'm thinking. I would love Equipboard to better help people find gear based on their specific needs. To that end, seeing pedalboards that fit my musical tastes would go a long way. For example, I would like to explore what blues-rock players are using, so I may go down that path if we had genre tags.

I think knowing how people use their gear is something Equipboard could do better.

it seems like the site is so guitar-centric and guitarists make so much of their rigs but there's so little variation between all these circuits, I really like how we're doing related items.... you know there's like 5 cents parts difference here because the circuit is terribly similar even though this ones not in a green box. If that's not helpful I don't know what is. There are classic things that are mythologized with good reason, but I was thinking about the 90s comics boom last night and the pedal boom is starting to feel similar. Eventually will people just wanna go back to Batman on a regular size cover? Are the budget TC boxes a harbinger of times to come? I lost the script here, but these things have been running through my head lately as the site's goals change and I work on this comic book with my friend. Its ahrd not to question the permanence and relevance of the current landscape.

I think knowing how people use their gear is something Equipboard could do better.

Agreed.

I think knowing how people use their gear is something Equipboard could do better.

Agreed.

however you want.... I like using SM57es to prop doors open... haven't found a musical application yet

it seems like the site is so guitar-centric

Understatement of the year, lol... but if guitarists are the ones merrily clicking the Reverb and Amazon affiliate links these days, and not the Martin Garrix-ers of the EDM craze a few years ago, I can't blame EB for leaning into it. The pandemic has been great for MI sales on many fronts, but I suspect guitar and pedal makers saw the biggest gains.

Understatement of the year, lol... but if guitarists are the ones merrily clicking the Reverb and Amazon affiliate links these days, and not the Martin Garrix-ers of the EDM craze a few years ago, I can't blame EB for leaning into it. The pandemic has been great for MI sales on many fronts, but I suspect guitar and pedal makers saw the biggest gains.

Look, I'm a guitar player... in theory.

Look, I'm a guitar player... in theory.

So are Michael and Giulio. So was I, in the 90s. There's no shame in it.

I think knowing how people use their gear is something Equipboard could do better.

So if there is agreement around this sentiment, how can we do better?

it seems like the site is so guitar-centric

Understatement of the year, lol... but if guitarists are the ones merrily clicking the Reverb and Amazon affiliate links these days, and not the Martin Garrix-ers of the EDM craze a few years ago, I can't blame EB for leaning into it.

Part of that may lie in the fact that different genres have different cultures. Orchestral music is less dependent on technology because it didn't veer heavily in that direction. It's the same with jazz, excluding Miles Davis' circle and that ilk.

The instruments in those genres are also generally less iconographic. Most violins and saxophones tend to look practically the same without closer inspection. On the other hand, competition between engineers during the rock and synthpop booms inspired extensive diversification. There is thusly greater product distinction between brands in those fields.

There are classic things that are mythologized with good reason, but I was thinking about the 90s comics boom last night and the pedal boom is starting to feel similar. Eventually will people just wanna go back to Batman on a regular size cover? Are the budget TC boxes a harbinger of times to come?

There's a scene in The Devil Wears Prada that summarizes my thoughts on this well. Here it is via IMDb:

Nate : Why do women need so many bags?

Lilly : Shut up.

Nate : You have one. You put all your junk in it, and that's it. You're done.

Doug : Fashion is not about utility. An accessory is merely a piece of iconography used to express individual identity.

Lilly : Oh! And it's pretty.

Doug : That too.

This mythologization is the mixed result of 1) nostalgia for the golden ages of certain genres, 2) celebrity association ("if he's using it, it must be good"), and 3) the overhyped commercialization of the rock and synthpop tools during those genres' golden ages. They've become symbols of identity, having been imparted the idea that they will make you a part of a celebrity world or a better era. You get beat over the head with it in those magazines from the '80s. Jazz, classical and Baroque haven't been through that gamut in comparison, unless one counts something like a Stradivarius and the big three of Martin, Selmer and Conn.

This mythologization is the mixed result of 1) nostalgia for the golden ages of certain genres, 2) celebrity association ("if he's using it, it must be good"), and 3) the overhyped commercialization of the rock and synthpop tools during those genres' golden ages.

1 and 2 sure 3 I guess but the truth is that the more complicated items have a much greater impact on what reaches the audience (assuming there is one these days)... I own a lot of iconic instruments and devices but the desert island ones actually have an irreplaceable something that's not replicated by much if anything else.... they are simply not made with the same features and the same quality anymore. Or there's something new but the old one is cheaper. Other stuff? well I have it. Pedals? Such a disposable commodity. Some stuff I keep because I got it when it was newer and I;m used to it, its not because its special.

in short, I don't know that the devil wears prada quote is always applicable

but gear pics, I wonder what we can do to get new people to not only post their rigs but look at the pics that have been floating around here since you could only put up 3 photos. I'm always trying to get in discussions with people on these photos to share knowledge just as Michael suggested we need to do in the first post.... I get a little weirder about methods but its kinda goofy, I'm trying to be more forthcoming but then I get bombarded with mixes I feel obligated to listen to and critique and I'm always still learning myself, every mix I discover a new idea about making a record, its a lifelong chore

So if there is agreement around this sentiment, how can we do better?

1) just starting with guitar, because, look, I'm now accepting guitar will always come first.... we could have like a rig layout thing with signal flow like how the old guitargeek layouts were done.... so you can show your layout and add notes to share your methods.... that simple.... sometimes this stuff is better shown visually... this could grow to studios, I think a lot of younger people shy away from patchbays for example because its hard to visualize and loaded with electronic hurdles but its way better for workflow

who has #2?

I think knowing how people use their gear is something Equipboard could do better.

So if there is agreement around this sentiment, how can we do better?

For starters, there needs to more clarity to users that this is not a platform for self-promotion. We're still getting a ton of self-submissions in the artist request queue. It's gotten to the point to where I'm not even sure anymore if they're aware that we can see their gear on their account pages. We also need to make it more clear to users like jmvaughan that Gear Photos is the platform your gear, not new items. He has only one gear photo and 32 lumped items that should be gear photos. The same goes for people who continue to submit guitars in different finishes and/or from inconsequential years, either to show them off separately or because they don't understand the redundancy. An example of the latter is user peter77a, who has crowded George Harrison's page with several Stratocaster duplicates. He also posted an attempted source as a gear photo, which reveals even more confusion.

Some people are even using the related items module as a platform for their own gear pairings now, such as a cheap microphone going into a popular interface.

That aside, Gear Photos could be clarified and more incentivized. It seems unclear to me whether or not people even realize that they can do all the things they're doing above in Gear Photos.

Some people are even using the related items module as a platform for their own gear pairings now, such as a cheap microphone going into a popular interface.

woohoo, another samson knockoff shure into a xenyx! I can't wait to hear THAT record. Bet its L2ed into a brickwall... sorry, had to

by all means use what you've got but don't try to sell the world on the cheapest setup going.... I was definitely not advertising my radioshack mixer and tape deck as a kid

found what Tom as talking about: https://equipboard.com/items/focusrite-scarlett-2i2-usb-audio-interface the recommended no name mic

the youthful assumption that I don't know a fake 58 needs a preamp and converter to bring its signal into a computer is kinda charming but its reflects poorly on the site as a professional resource....

so maybe #2 is a 101 section, like, lets make it so no one has to bring this stuff up on a product page and allow it in getting started sections where new guys can comment and help eachother with beginner gear recommendations and there will be our clear cut getting started stuff.... I know we have gear guides like that but they could be living breathing hubs like the freshman labs in art school....

I don't even want to be involved in these basic discussions or see them but they need to happen...

One thing Giulio and I have discussed and plan on heavily using in the future is notes and comments around the similar item functionality. Right now, we don't really have that exposed, but I'm excited to change that. I think that's where the value is.

I'd like to introduce a page that the community can build that will definitively answer the similar items question. I think tags could go a long way here.

Today my Ramble FX Twin Bender V3 arrives, and I'm stoked. I'd love to know in detail what is similar about it versus what differs versus the original Tone Bender. It'd be so cool to have it tagged with circuits, transistors, etc. But right now, there is no hierarchy in the similar items, and they are not as obviously useful as they could be. Soon, we will introduce a hierarchy system, so the more similar the item the more prominently it will be featured.