Guitar Pedals: Why Do We Keep Buying Them?

If you’re just starting out on the guitar you may have noticed an infatuation that certain players  have with guitar pedals: they own a ton of pedals that essentially have the same function (i.e., distortion, reverb, delay, etc.), yet they always seem dissatisfied, yearning for more. So in this video I start with the questions: “Why do we keep buying guitar pedals?”; and “Why do we keep buying gear?”

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I’ve had some time to think about it and in this video I’m just going to give you the lay of the land of the types of guitar pedals that I have purchased over the past few years, as well as share some anecdotes surrounding those purchases. Perhaps through all of this searching I will shed some light on guitar pedals that you might like to try out. 

But perhaps the most obvious answer to these questions—why do we keep buying gear and amps, or finding new pedals and even new guitars?—is that it’s fun! It’s inspiring and it’s a way for us as musicians to continually want to pick up the instrument and continually work on it. 

In fact, in the time since I first made this video, I’ve even sold some of the guitar pedals that I showcased here in favor of new ones! And in turn I’ve continued to work on my craft.

The more you learn about the guitar, or the drum set, or the keys, or whatever it is that you play, the more fun it is to do so. And isn’t that the ultimate goal of music?

About Mark Hopkins

Mark Hopkins is a Senior Academic Advisor for Berklee Online and a gear fanatic. Mark also hosts At Home with Mark, a weekly interview show on his YouTube channel.