Lets Define Pro Level Gear in 2026

[Sam SG]

Ok so starting off playing in the early 90s. I learned from my father who was a professional musician in the 60s thru mid 80s( and again in 2000s)
Anyways i was taught early on to allways use what the pros use. But that was a much simpler choice Fender was USA and Marshall plexis and jcm800s roamed the earth. And cheap guitars were crap like Kent and Teisco etc...( Dads era)
Now days a Stratocaster alone has levels from Squier Affinity all the way to " Custom Shop" models. With about 10 models inbetween from MIM TO USA.
With most highend gear being pretty steep these days and every bigshot with boutique amps etc...
So were does "pro level" start?
And what about " mod platform" guitars?
Im talking say a working class musician attends an open audition were the criteria is " must have pro level gear"??
Say a gig requires a Strat sound and a 2HB type axe. And a guy has a MIM Standard strat with duncans a steel bridge block and tuners installed and say a LP Faded with a set of whatever fancy pickups??
To me those are perfectly capable instruments just bare bones cosmetics.
What about amps? In a world of boutiquey amps and 67ch amps. Using Marshall as an example. Say a DSL100HR head and a 1960A( obviously the mdf MX cabs aint capable)?
Im curious as a few years ago bad times struck and I slowly had to sell off what really great gear I had( not a ton but a JCM800 Stack and 2 highend main axes when I had a better than bars gig) Having to rebuild the past couple years with todays Prices Ive been limited to Gibson Fadeds and Partscasters and less than flagship amps. Granted I have more guitars than ever but no real " flagship" or custom shop stuff. A couple tube amps like DSL and another amp not flagship amp...( well cept an old Dean Markley combo a bunch of pros endorsed 40yrs ago)
Just curious though what defines " pro level" gear??

 

[jeremy]

im not a pro, but ive been playing for 35 years, and for the last 15+, ive played at least 75, and some years over 150, paying gigs.

pro level gear to me means its reliable, consistent, and isnt temperamental. i expect my gear to work, but i always have some sort of backup.

jack pearson plays a squier bullet guitar and he can out play everyone i know

 

[JamesPaul]

...

pro level gear to me means its reliable, consistent, and isn't temperamental. i expect my gear to work, but i always have some sort of backup.

...

This. Right here ^ .

...
jack pearson plays a squier bullet guitar and he can out play everyone i know

Hendrix played some random Strats from pawn shops located near his venues.
Jeff Healey played Squier's with upgraded electronics.
Eric Clapton's Blackie had a neck swapped from a different Strat, and he went through several to find one he liked best.
George Lynch's original tiger stripe was assembled from parts boxes on shelves in the back room at Mighty Mite.
Steve Morse's pickup test bed Tele.
Frankenstein ...
...and there are many more examples.

Like Jol Dantzig said "Believe me when I say that, some of the most amazing music in history was made on equipment that's not as good as what you own right now."

...and as jeremy noted here, it is just as much about the musician playing the gear.

 

[Mincer]

Pro level is consistent from gig to gig, and gets the sound you need for that project. It stays in tune under different conditions, and doesn't have extraneous noises or buzzes. It is balanced and doesn't feel like you need a new shoulder for the time you are using it.
So, this means everyone will define this differently. Also, cost isn't really a factor.

 

[Sam SG]

This. Right here ^ .



Hendrix played some random Strats from pawn shops located near his venues.
Jeff Healey played Squier's with upgraded electronics.
Eric Clapton's Blackie had a neck swapped from a different Strat, and he went through several to find one he liked best.
George Lynch's original tiger stripe was assembled from parts boxes on shelves in the back room at Mighty Mite.
Steve Morse's pickup test bed Tele.
Frankenstein ...
...and there are many more examples.

Like Jol Dantzig said "Believe me when I say that, some of the most amazing music in history was made on equipment that's not as good as what you own right now."

...and as jeremy noted here, it is just as much about the musician playing the gear.

I hear ya
BUT Claptons Blackie was made up with the best parts of 3 50s strats....not really the same as putting duncans in a mim strat. Lol
Same with Hendrixs pawn shop prizes.
Those were the days when a Stratocaster was a Stratocaster your choices were color and rosewood or maple really.
Granted there was the cbs era and guys seeking leo era guitars. But all were USA.
Speaking of Jeff Healey......20+ yrs ago my buddies went to see him. I had to pass cause I had a gig somewere. They got to meet him and hang on the bus with him......while i was shleping pa gear through the snow......
I heard about it for months

 

[Sam SG]

I think what sparked this thought is. Ive been watching allot of Youtube lately.
Every gear review guy is sitting in his home studio with steel shelving units of Morgan and Bad Cat amps. And Plexis and Blackface Bassmans and Tweeds( and the metsl guys with Diezels and Bogners and Soldanos. 3 heads on each cab.
And its allways "Ill be A/Bing these two pedals using my Super Luthier 5000 custom built guitar or my R9 with throbak pups and Fender custom shop stuff etc.... )
And Im like......umm I had to skip the gloss and fingerboard binding just to get in the Gibson camp.
And I had to buy a DSL and get in there with solderig iron to make it sound right( and treats from my Box-O-old 12ax7s)

 

[Chistopher]

I think what sparked this thought is. Ive been watching allot of Youtube lately.
Every gear review guy is sitting in his home studio with steel shelving units of Morgan and Bad Cat amps. And Plexis and Blackface Bassmans and Tweeds( and the metsl guys with Diezels and Bogners and Soldanos. 3 heads on each cab.
And its allways "Ill be A/Bing these two pedals using my Super Luthier 5000 custom built guitar or my R9 with throbak pups and Fender custom shop stuff etc.... )
And Im like......umm I had to skip the gloss and fingerboard binding just to get in the Gibson camp.
And I had to buy a DSL and get in there with solderig iron to make it sound right( and treats from my Box-O-old 12ax7s)

This is probably just YouTube recommending videos based on what it thinks you want to watch. All the gear videos I get recommended are some guy in his garage recording an epiphone through an un-named amp through a cellphone mic.

I think "pro-level" gear isn't really a thing. If I'm part of a band that's making a lot of people a lot of money, somewhere along the line I'm going to pick up a tech that is of the skill to make any old guitar into a reliable one. For me, the only requirements for a guitar to be a touring instrument are that it's tuning last as long as it needs to (subjective) and it's setup doesn't need to be tweaked every 5 seconds.

Also I was not aware Bad Cat was prestigious. None of the ones I've ever played have inspired me to look at the price tag.

 

[GuitarStv]

Back in the day there weren't really too many companies making good sounding, reliable instruments and amps. Over the past 20 years or so though, the quality of cheap guitar gear has risen so much that with a good setup and maybe a pickup swap an awful lot more stuff will work well for any kind of playing you need it to do.

 

[Securb]

Say a DSL100HR head and a 1960A( obviously the mdf MX cabs aint capable)?

I will be playing a DSL100 through an MDF cab this weekend in the studio. It is my best-sounding cab. I think Jeremy nailed it, pro gear is reliable and able to duplicate the desired sound. I auditioned for a band, and the bass player was obsessed with "pro gear" he thought my Fender was a tube amp and droned on about how SS sounds like crap. He also thought my MIM Strat was Fender USA. Got the gig.

I also had an audition where the guy after me came in with the highest-end gear you have ever seen. Over the top boutique gear, I got the gig with my SS Marshall VS. They said the guy played and sounded horrible.

 

[uOpt]

ECC memory, redundant power supply.

 

[Chistopher]

If you see someone with a full stable of $$$$ they are either the best or worst player you've heard in a while

 

[Sam SG]

I also had an audition where the guy after me came in with the highest-end gear you have ever seen. er the top boutique gear, I got the gig with my SS Marshall VS. They said the guy played and sounded horrible.

I hear that. Allong time ago(20yrs+)I showed up to...we'll say a gathering.....guy was trying to start a project. Had me a real good bass player freind I know and a real good organ player.
And this other guitar player shows up. MARSHALL JCM(900 maybe 2000) 1960A/B cabs stacked real nice strat. Could pull off every guitar face and pose you ever saw......except he played like a 12yr old that got a guitar for christmas 5mo earlier. Completely out of key...flat stretchs....lagging a full chord change behind even on simple 1 4 5 stuff....all while acting like hes George Lynch.
I dont ever knock or put down musicians ever...BUT it took everything I had to not bust out in laughter...the other guys wouldnt even look at each other cause we were all thinking the same thing. A literal spectiacle.

 

[Bill Dennis]

Ok so starting off playing in the early 90s. I learned from my father who was a professional musician in the 60s thru mid 80s( and again in 2000s)
Anyways i was taught early on to allways use what the pros use. But that was a much simpler choice Fender was USA and Marshall plexis and jcm800s roamed the earth. And cheap guitars were crap like Kent and Teisco etc...( Dads era)
Now days a Stratocaster alone has levels from Squier Affinity all the way to " Custom Shop" models. With about 10 models inbetween from MIM TO USA.
With most highend gear being pretty steep these days and every bigshot with boutique amps etc...
So were does "pro level" start?
And what about " mod platform" guitars?
Im talking say a working class musician attends an open audition were the criteria is " must have pro level gear"??
Say a gig requires a Strat sound and a 2HB type axe. And a guy has a MIM Standard strat with duncans a steel bridge block and tuners installed and say a LP Faded with a set of whatever fancy pickups??
To me those are perfectly capable instruments just bare bones cosmetics.
What about amps? In a world of boutiquey amps and 67ch amps. Using Marshall as an example. Say a DSL100HR head and a 1960A( obviously the mdf MX cabs aint capable)?
Im curious as a few years ago bad times struck and I slowly had to sell off what really great gear I had( not a ton but a JCM800 Stack and 2 highend main axes when I had a better than bars gig) Having to rebuild the past couple years with todays Prices Ive been limited to Gibson Fadeds and Partscasters and less than flagship amps. Granted I have more guitars than ever but no real " flagship" or custom shop stuff. A couple tube amps like DSL and another amp not flagship amp...( well cept an old Dean Markley combo a bunch of pros endorsed 40yrs ago)
Just curious though what defines " pro level" gear?

If a pro is playing it, its pro gear..

 

[ehdwuld]

There is a lot of Amazon guitars that would be pro gear with a set up

If a pro is playing it, its pro gear..

Quoted for truth

 

[Securb]

If a pro is playing it, its pro gear..

Well said.

 

[jeremy]

thats true, but im not a pro and consider what i have pro level gear

 

[ehdwuld]

thats true, but im not a pro and consider what i have pro level gear

Are you getting paid for your gigs?
That is the definition of Pro
Professional = getting paid
Amateur doesn't get paid
Semi pro is someone who doesn't derive their sole income from a task but some of their income

Even if you don't claim it on your taxes

 

[Sam SG]

Ive allways considered Semi-pro as you are paid to play but still have to work atleast part time to pay the bills.
Pro as in touring musician.
Touring as in town to town sleeping in hotel rooms night to night.
I dont consider gigging to be touring were you play a circuit and travel local towns and mske it home after every gig.

 

[Chistopher]

I don't know if this really applies to guitars, but my uncle was a fairly renowned semi-pro golfer and my uncle was a sponsored drag racer, and they agreed that "semi-pro" means your hobby has made you enough money to pay for itself.

 

[Mincer]

Ive allways considered Semi-pro as you are paid to play but still have to work atleast part time to pay the bills.
Pro as in touring musician.
Touring as in town to town sleeping in hotel rooms night to night.
I dont consider gigging to be touring were you play a circuit and travel local towns and mske it home after every gig.

Even touring musicians have to do something when they aren't touring unless they are in a top-tier band. I think the fantasy is that touring musicians just play, and get paid so much they can afford to live, even when not touring. This isn't the case for any touring musician I've ever known. They are always hustling doing whatever they can so when the call comes to tour, they can go.