New Gear’s Resolutions

Happy New Year from all of us at Carvin Audio! Now that we’re officially in a new year, many of us have probably spent some time making a list of New Year’s Resolutions. This isn’t such a bad idea, but we’d like to make a suggestion: how about making some New GEAR’S Resolutions?

This isn’t just some silly play-on-words; we think there are several things you can do to make your musical life more enjoyable and productive in 2021. Here are few we’ve had on our minds recently:

I WILL TAKE BETTER CARE OF MY INSTRUMENTS

It goes without saying that our instruments are the foundation of our musical life. Without them, music would not exist. But lately, we’ve been noticing a disturbing trend of musicians not giving their instruments the proper care they need and deserve.

Changing strings is a small thing we all do but what about cleaning your fretboard? How about placing your instrument in its case (or on a stand) when not being played? Have you given any thought to keeping your equipment in a room that has a consistent climate? There’s a wide array of simple things we can do to care for our guitars. And if some jobs require a bit more “know how”, find a local tech who can help you out!

Our instruments deserve our best in more ways than one. Too often we take them for granted. This year, show them the love they need when you’re playing AND when you aren’t!

I WILL MAKE THE TIME TO PRACTICE

There seemed to be A LOT of time to practice in 2020! And if the trend continues, we might have just as much time to practice in the early part of 2021. So, let’s use this time to make a practice routine for ourselves. We may be able to use the time to be more creative and push ourselves as players.

If you’re stuck on how to move forward, we have an article that may help you here: Up Your Practice Routine
We know everyone’s life is different. A one-size-fits-all solution doesn’t exist. Make the time wherever and whenever you can. And make a plan that is easy to stick to! Don’t swing for the fences right out of the gate.

The more you practice, the better you play and the better you play, the more fun you have!

I WILL LEARN MORE ABOUT MY GEAR

Many of us may have acquired some new gear during the holiday season. But what do you do when something goes wrong? Will you put that pedal you “can’t make work” back in the box? Will you send the guitar back to the store? A lot of these situations are actually quite easy to fix.

The wealth of pedal demos on YouTube and other sites can lead anyone to a tone they’ll like with just about ANY pedal. Perhaps you just don’t understand how the controls interact with one another? Find a video and learn what the controls do and how they work together. A little knowledge can go a long way.

And when it comes to instruments, what is the problem with it really? Can you articulate what it is you don’t like or is the instrument really a “bad” one? Once again, resources like YouTube can be your friend. There’s plenty of educational material out there to show you the terminology and functions of guitars, effects, and amps.

The more you learn about your gear and how to make things work, the easier and happier your musical life will be.

Of course, these are only a few things to think about as 2021 gets started. But remember, it’s okay to slip up and make a mistake. If you miss a practice session; don’t fret! If you can’t find a video on YouTube; ask questions in Facebook groups or forums. We can make 2021 a better year. We just have to do a little legwork ourselves.

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