Lets Define Pro Level Gear in 2026

[jeremy]

i have a "day job" working in IT, but as i mentioned, i gig a fair amount, get paid for all of them other than a benefit here and there, and i pay taxes on the money i make from it. my full time musician friends call my day job civilian work. i hate the hustle and like to have my bills paid. i still contend i have pro level gear

 

[Securb]

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.

I know a ton of pro musicians who never leave town. My buddy Marc has been playing sax on Broadway for 30 years. My other buddy is a lounge pianist in Boston. My buddy Marty owns a music school. And my guitar teacher writes for TV shows. There are a ton of fulltime jobs in music that are not touring.

 

[Mincer]

I know a ton of pro musicians who never leave town. My buddy Marc has been playing sax on Broadway for 30 years. My other buddy is a lounge pianist in Boston. My buddy Marty owns a music school. And my guitar teacher writes for TV shows. There are a ton of fulltime jobs in music that are not touring.

Yeah, I agree- 'touring' isn't the only kind of pro here.

 

[jeremy]

a buddy of mine makes great money writing and recording music for video games. having a high quality home studio and daw, and the fact that almost everything is digital these days has changed things a ton in the last 20+ years.

 

[beaubrummels]

When your dad was playing, you had to have certain brands or models of gear in order to have the reliability, playability and tone that Jeremy alluded to. Nowadays, that reliability, playability and tone can be had at various price points from numerous brands and all kinds of gear, such that it really just gets down to Jeremy's first post. End thread.

 

[Sam SG]

I know a ton of pro musicians who never leave town. My buddy Marc has been playing sax on Broadway for 30 years. My other buddy is a lounge pianist in Boston. My buddy Marty owns a music school. And my guitar teacher writes for TV shows. There are a ton of fulltime jobs in music that are not touring.

Agreed. Yes certain scenarios. I was making a generslization. Yes a house gig. Or a house band. Obviously Broadway. A session player in a music city.
I get you dont make a living solely on touring. What i mean is yea inbetween tours your a amp tech...session player....producer....sound engineer etc....thats pro. Playing the local circuit and working parttime as Walmart or in a Warehouse or something..thats semipro.Yea i was too vague i guess.

 

[Sam SG]

When your dad was playing, you had to have certain brands or models of gear in order to have the reliability, playability and tone that Jeremy alluded to. Nowadays, that reliability, playability and tone can be had at various price points from numerous brands and all kinds of gear, such that it really just gets down to Jeremy's first post. End thread.

I do know years ago I had a good gig for about a year doing club touring with a band.
I had a couple USA strat and a hottrodded Epiphone for my HB axe. I though sounded good. I was told flat out I couldnt bring an Epiphone on stage.

 

[beaubrummels]

I do know years ago I had a good gig for about a year doing club touring with a band.
I had a couple USA strat and a hottrodded Epiphone for my HB axe. I though sounded good. I was told flat out I couldnt bring an Epiphone on stage.

Yeah, I can't account for band politics, if that's what that was. That falls more under unprofessionalism in the name of thinking they are being professional. When I was coming up, most affordable instruments wouldn't play in tune, stay in tune, and sounded very weak. That's originally kind of how certain brands became the go-to name brands.