vanblah

Didn't mean to imply that they were cheap ... although they were originally intended to be "student" guitars and only recently have become expensive because of the "cult" status (thanks Kurt Cobain).

And by beat up ... I meant EXACTLY that. The neck was warped and had not been set up in years (besides that it was the 22" neck model). The strings were ancient. Who knows what mods were done to the pickups, if any.

Gear matters more when you are going for a certain sound. If you're just playing around or learning it doesn't matter as much.

This philosophy does NOT extend to the INSTRUMENT generally speaking. The instruments that I write with are not what I consider "gear." This is especially true with more acoustic instruments. A spinet piano will never sound like a concert grand ... no matter WHO is playing it (although, a good spinet can sound "better" than a bad grand).

I think of gear as pretty much everything but my instruments. But the instruments I play LIVE are "gear" (cheap stuff, too) and it wouldn't break my heart if they got destroyed (except for my OB12).

I agree with you 100% with regard to instruments ... a "bad" guitar can certainly interfere with a student's ability to learn. But it doesn't take an expensive guitar to create good music; nor does it take nice "gear" to create good music.

It certainly is important. You must feel comfortable with it and you must trust it 100% so that's really why you shouldn't buy cheap stuff. If it craps out on you while playing or interferes with your ability then you may need to address if it is worth owning.