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What does it mean to have "Pro gear"?

I think it means, "Don't respond if you have only been playing for 2 months since you got your bass starter kit for Christmas with included 10 watt amp, and you broke your G string but haven't replaced it yet because you don't know how, in fact you will need us to tune your bass for you, we don't care how impressed your family is when you play the riff to, 'Another One Bites the Dust,' though coincidentally that song is in our set list."
*The below picture is in no way a disrespect to Ibanez who makes some great basses, but a picture is worth a 1000 words, and the amp for sure isn't going to cut it with a drummer.
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I had the opportunity to play a live once with a guitar virtuoso. A real virtuoso. It was a wonderful experience. Daytime, he worked on the line in a factory at $8/hr.

He borrowed an amp from a buddy, a music enthusiast who had money.

To place adds that require pro gear, and/or use words like “must have” maybe be a deterrent to a great musician joining a band.
 
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So pro's don't use duct tape? I guess they wouldn't hire Tina...
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That is what my bass looks like in my profile picture. Very professional in my opinion. It is simply the Carol Kaye mute method using gaffer's tape. Works espesially well when playing with a pick as she is, and I do 75% of the time. Gaffer's tape doesn't seem to hurt the finish either. And it stays where I put it.
 
Pro gear is the proper tool(s) for the job at hand. If you are asking for a job you should know what gear is required and have it in your possession, and in good working order, before asking. If you have to ask what pro gear is, maybe it’s too early in your evolution to be applying for jobs with a “pro gear” requirement.
 
A lot of people around her insist that THE criteria for whether you're a "pro" musician is whether you get paid or not. OK, fair enough, let's work with that definition. All of my gear is (obviously) amateur gear. I don't pay it at every gig, so no matter how reliable it is, no matter how well it performs, no matter how much it costs, no matter how many spares I bring to a gig, it simply isn't "pro" gear.

And neither is yours. ;-)
 
Being a pro at one level is being paid for what you do.

Being a pro for others is approaching music like it’s your profession - the same way doctors, lawyers, plumbers, or master tilers do. A lot of surgeons buy their own tools because they are picky about the results. That’s who I’d want operating on me. Same as many craftsmen. Professional musicians who approach music this way are particular about their results. They take the time to master songs, not just learn the chord structure. Their tools are chosen because they know what results they’ll provide. They go out of their way to learn as much about harmony, melody, and rhythm as they can, and work to master their tools.

When someone says “pro gear,” they mean the gear that they’ve associated with that being used by professionals. I suspect it’s something more often said by someone who isn’t a pro but maybe aspires to be one, or is maybe just a gear snob and doesn’t think a lot about being a professional. A pro *could* be happy with a 30 year old Squier. I know of at least one pro who happily uses his MIJ Squier Jazz at almost every gig - because he knows it, it’s something he doesn’t have to think about, it’s become an extension of his cerebral cortex. I’d laugh at anyone who said he isn’t playing with pro gear. Pro gear is the gear that is used by a pro. However you’re defining what a pro is.

Caveat: I am *not* a pro. I do try to approach gear and music like a pro, but I’m a professional in another area.
 
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Pro gear
2x 53' trucks of PA
6x 53' trucks of lights and rigging
A couple trucks of video
2-4x 53' trucks of stage and set
3 or more busses full of production, sound,
Lighting, video and wardrobe people (roadies)

Seems pretty basic to me.
 

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