GEAR TALK
[ THE GEAR COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL MEDIA | Lance Seymour ]
Welcome to 2017! We live in a world filled with to sell some pedals on my timeline. I had no a few. We also started using tags like
more and more gateways to more information doubt in my ability to sell my purple flanger, #PedalboardOfTheDay,
and increasingly less time to navigate them. given all of my nerdy guitar friends! Nope – no #Straturday. An endless stream of gear photos
There has never been a better time to be a luck, no Likes, not even any snarky comments! on our phones did little to help our ‘GAS’ (Gear
hopeless gearaholic! So how was I going to get my purple flanger Acquisition Syndrome) subside.
#TeleTuesday
and
in front of the right nerds? Sometimes asking
While the pro-audio industry is ever-evolving, the right question leads us to the answer that Today, this niche community is alive and well.
with a level of uncertainty at every turn, was sitting in front of us all along. In an “aha” There are scores of gear-related groups,
there’s one thing we can be certain of. We’re moment I thought, “I’ll just toss them all in a Instagrams, and YouTubes. However, it’s not
all talking about it – a Facebook group and no just about gear. In some ways, it’s hardly about
lot! To help frame this longer will they be able to gear – it’s about connection.
conversation, here is a bit
of history regarding my
Without much
ignore my purple flanger!”
thought, I clicked Without much thought, I On social-media, we all disagree and it is
accepted! In the forums there are some
The Gear Community! ‘Create Group’ clicked ‘Create Group’ and typed in two words cliques and trolls, but I try to ignore all of that
and typed in that seemed to make as the good vastly outweighs the bad. The
I’ve been a sonic seeker sense. Voilà, Gear Talk, life-long friendships and knowledge from true
two words that my little FB group of gear influencers is abundant. In TGC we interact
head pals posting photos with builders at a one-on-one level. Robert
seemed to make of pedalboards from Keeley Electronics is an icon in the pedal
sense. Voilà, Gear (and endlessly debating industry. He’s also happens to be a staple of
on topics like “what is the TGC. He’s always around to bestow Yoda-
the best compressor?”) level knowledge to all who seek it. From an
was born! Maybe there outsiders’ perspective, Strymon could look
group of gear were 50 of us, then 300, like a corporation building slick appliances, but
then 2,000. New groups follow @Strymon on Instagram and you’ll find
head pals posting were created like Gear a small family off passionate audiophiles who’ll
photos of their Talk: send you a cat toy that looks like a Strymon
prolific Gear Talk: Praise
involvement in TGC aka
and
craver
of
gear
from day one. In the
beginning, I didn’t know
what to do with all these
crazy looking gadgets
– or what they sounded
like. Perhaps I was just
a kid that didn’t know
how to play, but deep
down thought within all
of these machines lies
the ability to make me
actually
sound
good!
Boy was I wrong, but
that is a conversation
for
a
different
day!
Talk, my little FB
Classifieds,
the
pedal!
& Worship, and fifty or so
pedalboards was
born!
In time, I found myself on these immense,
their
more. Friendships were This gear community is everywhere, and it
formed, debates raged doesn’t matter what instrument you play or what
on, and all of a sudden platform you prefer. From Sunday morning-only
there were communities musicians to full-fledged studio engineers with
within a community!
racks of hardware, The Gear Community is out
somewhat anonymous, and often cliquey
there for all who seek knowledge, friendship,
forums looking for answers. Opinions varied While gear nerd-ism continued to thrive on frequently as posters sent me in all directions Facebook, Instagram appeared as the newest in my search for the tone. Navigating the platform to share our lives, one selfie at a time. Cheers,
mysterious and sometimes treacherous waters While everyone else was busy sharing photos Lance, #geartalk
of the online gear forum was a short-lived of pets and desserts, a breed of Instagram journey for me! influencers was conceived: @AmbientNotes,
@GearNerds, @ToneHeaven, @RigsOfDoom,
I soon found myself on Facebook, attempting
@RigsOfDad
Sep Oct 2017
&
@GearTalk,
to
and a place to geek out!
Lance Seymour: Founder of Gear Talk.
Gear-Talk.com
name
GearTechRec.com
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