When you are considering a gear purchase, what are the factors you can use to decide what to get and how much to spend? When I say gear, what I really mean is anything that you use to make, record, or perform your music. This could be instruments, computers, accessories, even the car you drive to the gig. Because money is tight, especially these days, I have a series of questions I ask to make this decision logically.
Gear Factor
There are a number of reasons why we may choose to buy something and expend our precious resources. Because we all have limited funds, the questions I ask myself about this are intended to talk me out of the purchase. If I can honestly say yes to these questions, perhaps it is time to buy. They are ranked in order of priority from high to low.
- Is this an item I need for a current paying project? To be clear, this means I need to buy this item in order to get paid for a job, and that without it I either can’t take the job or can’t complete it. If the item costs significantly less than the pay I will receive, it’s a “no brainer” because the item will pay for itself immediately. Usually these are not “fun” items, but things we must have. If the price of the item is more than the job’s pay, we must proceed to the next question below.
- Can I make more money with this item? or more accurately: How much more money will I make with this item than without it, and how long will it take to pay for itself in added income? As an example: I have microphones, and if I buy a new one, will I get more business? How much added business this new microphone will bring versus the cost is the point here. If I spend $5000 on a microphone, it may take 20 years to pay for itself, if ever.
- Will I get business or clients because of this item? As above, I have to have evidence that people will hire me because of this item, and that without it, they would go somewhere else. Certainly having the basics falls under this category: as a keyboard player, I need to have an instrument, or I won’t be able to take any gigs. However, will a new instrument get me more? Is my old keyboard losing me gigs?
- Will I do a better job with this gear? As we go down the list, the concepts get “grayer.” Sounding good is important, and having quality gear is important, so if something is holding you back, perhaps this is the reason you might buy. Costs become a real object here, because it is hard to make the numbers work in a concrete way.
- Will the item make me more efficient at what I am doing? If you can do more work, you can either make more money, or get some well-needed rest. If you have been doing things the “hard way” and this item will streamline your work flow, this might work. Again, cost is the determining factor.
- Will this make my life easier? Some things are worth it because they make things convenient or painless. Example: I bought a nice hand-truck to move all my keyboards in one trip. This made one-nighter gigs much less of a hassle.
- Will it “inspire” me to be creative? This is the dangerous one. The reason for this is that we can talk ourselves into a whole lot of costs due to the emotional nature of the question. For me, at age 36 I broke down and bought a grand piano. While I have gotten recording sessions based on having it, and I have made my own records with it, the bottom line is: I am a pianist, and I want to have an instrument that inspires me. In this case, because of the costs, these “personal” purchases need to be chosen very carefully.
The Finances
All of the above questions can lead to a well considered purchase, however, excessive costs can an should be used to “shoot down” any of them, especially those toward the bottom of the list. And most importantly: AVOID GETTING INTO DEBT to buy stuff, especially credit cards. For me, the only item I bought with credit was my piano, which had an installment loan, like a car. At least this has a fixed end time, and reasonable interest. (It’s paid off, by the way) Debt can take away all your freedom and time, so consider carefully.
By all means, have fun shopping and dreaming of cool gear, just try asking yourself the questions above and answering them honestly.
Questions:
Are you considering a purchase?
What category does it fall into?
Are you shopping emotionally rather than logically?
