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Stop buying pointless features! – Don’t buy gear based on features you won’t use!
Introduction
So, recently I have changed my view on not only guitar gear but also all technology in general! I have stopped buying gear based on features I won’t use! There is so much gear that is marketed to us with these amazing features; however, if you never plan to use them, then they are just pointless features and a waste of money!
Now, when I say pointless features, I don’t mean they are pointless features to everyone. Just to me personally. This is how you should think when buying gear! If I have no plans to use those features on that piece of gear, to me they are pointless features! Before I give some examples, why don’t I talk about what started all of this?
What started this?
How did this all start? What made me start thinking like this? Well, I had the chance to upgrade my iPhone. Luckily, I got a really good deal on the new iPhone 17 Pro Max (not what I wanted but was the cheapest). When I got it and was setting it up, I noticed that I wasn’t really impressed by anything (other than the colour). I am pretty set in my ways with phones: a decent enough camera, fairly quick, loud, and a good price. Anything else is just a pointless feature! Believe me, the newest phones are full of them.
This then made me start thinking about other gear and tech in this way. I took a good, long look at guitar gear (helped we also had NAMM recently as well). Looking at all the gear that was available and thinking “Would I actually ever use those features?” Once you start thinking like this, it changes how you think about buying stuff and what you actually need and don’t need.
Also, I like simple! I don’t mind pushing the boat out a bit with my rig, but on the whole, Keep things simple! My current rig is an amp (of some kind) and some pedals and a guitar. I do run a Neural Nano Cortex, but that is as complicated as I get. Not after a feature-packed rig; I don’t want it to get busy and complicated. What I found is that this stops me buying a lot of gear!
More on the how!
I don’t want to have to pay more for features I won’t use or need. The main bit of gear that sparked this thought is the Neural Quad Cortex Mini which was launched at Namm 2026. I looked at it and thought, for me, why would I need that over my Nano Cortex? I don’t want a screen or build rigs like it can. Currently happy with my Nano Cortex and don’t need the features that the Quad Cortex Mini has. All the features I would use on the Quad Cortex Mini that I would use, are on the Nano Cortex. So anything else would just be pointless features to me!
Examples of Pointless Features
So, why don’t I give some examples of pointless features? These are features I am seeing on a lot of gear that personally I have no interest in at all. Again, this is all my opinion and needs. Your needs might be different and you might look at these pointless features and see huge value in them! That is fine!
Guitars with Swappable Pickups
This is a trend I am seeing that I really don’t see the need for! Swappable pickups! If you look at this and think it is properly useful and get excited for it then hands to you! Fair play! Go and enjoy it. For me it is just a pointless feature that I don’t want for a number of reasons! The first one being that there isn’t ever a time that I feel the need to stop and swap out the pickups! I can get most sounds from any guitar!
The next reason is that it adds a layer of more options! Can’t decide on how to set your overdrive pedals? Can’t settle on a tone and volume combo? Well, why don’t we throw easy-to-change pickups into the mix! Imagine the options and the decisions you would have to make! I just can’t ever see myself using it.
I fully respect the idea and the technology behind it! Super clever and I am sure it will have its uses in the future. However, for me, how I play and use guitar it is just another pointless feature.
Bluetooth and Connectivity
Can we please stop with the Bluetooth! Not everything needs Bluetooth! I made a whole rant about this topic (Article here), but it really does irritate me that much! At a gig, even at a rehearsal, I don’t have time to whip out my phone and connect a bit of gear to change a setting! Even using my Nano Cortex, I have used its Bluetooth mid-rehearsal maybe three times. At a gig? Never! to see the point!
I also found that if something is using Bluetooth with an amplifier, either the gear is good and the app is crap, or the app is great and the gear is terrible! Haven’t managed to find something that has done both well! There is no reason I would need it! Not even to update the device! If I am updating a device, I am never doing it wirelessly! Give me a wired connection every day of the week.
"I have tried really hard to enjoy modellers, and it isn’t ever the sounds or tones you get out of them
Touchscreens
The only place I want a touch screen is on my phone! I don’t like them anywhere else! I don’t really like using my iPad, I would much rather use a laptop! However, having to bend down and navigate a menu on a touch screen is not something I enjoy doing in the slightest! I’m a physical button and knob kind of man! I want to be able to grab something to adjust and get feedback from it! I know what you are thinking! “Most modellers have touchscreens?” You are spot on! This is one of the reasons I haven’t tried modellers again!
I’ve tried really hard to enjoy modellers, and it isn’t ever the sounds or tones you get out of them that I don’t like, it is the UI and touchscreen! I hate having to dive through menus, press and hold to adjust a parameter! You are thinking “the more you use it the easier it gets!” To that, I will agree, but take a look at a 5-pedal pedalboard, nothing will be as simple as that to adjust. No menus, no hidden settings! Everything is in view and easy to change! I think the only modeller to get it right is the Boss MEl-90! Simple yet effective!
A bit more on Touchscreens!
LCD and OLED screens are expensive to replace! Have you ever smashed your phone? They crack easily and are a pain to fix! Imagine this on something you will be standing on? Something that will get slung in the back of your car or van! Do you see any screen lasting that long in situations like that?
Conclusion
I honestly think we all need to evaluate our gear needs and what features we actually need. We all fall guilty of buying gear and then trying to incorporate the features into our playing, rather than buying gear with the features we need and only the ones we need. Sit down and think about your guitar rig, your gear, and what you like. Think of all the things you use and create a list of features you like. Now look at the gear you want to buy; how many extra pointless features are on it? Is there something else you could buy that would do the job with fewer features?
I understand this is a bit of a rant! I do love a rant! However, I do believe we all buy a lot of gear and are marketed and targeted products that make us feel like we need it. Rather than letting us decide if we actually do! Once you realise this, it is rather freeing! (I know, very hippie-like).
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