Have You Been Diderot’d?

You bought one nice thing.
Maybe a Fender Telecaster in butterscotch blonde because your old Squier died.
Or a Wacom Cintiq that was “on sale.”
Or just one Tube Screamer you’d been eyeing forever.

Suddenly your other guitars look like toys.
Your iPad feels tiny and slow.
All your cheap pedals sound like angry bees.

Next thing you know, you’ve spent three months’ rent because “the rig has to match the level I’m trying to reach.”
You weren’t planning a studio overhaul. You just wanted one decent thing.

Congratulations — you’ve been Diderot’d.

Where the Name Comes From

In 1769, French philosopher Denis Diderot got a beautiful scarlet dressing gown as a gift. He loved it… until everything else in his study looked shabby next to it. He replaced his desk, chair, tapestries, bookshelves, and ended up in debt. He later wrote:

“I was absolute master of my old robe, but I have become a slave to the new one.”

BandCamp

Julience

Buy Me A Coffee

Julience

Why Independent Artists Fall the Hardest

• We tie our identity to our tools (“If I’m serious, my gear should look serious”)
• Instagram shows everyone with Neve consoles and Leica Q3s
• Gig/commission money feels like “sudden wealth” after lean months
• Everything gets rationalized as “tax-deductible investment”

Classic Artist Examples

• Buy one UA Apollo → suddenly monitors, headphones, and cables are “unacceptable”
• Get Pro Tools Ultimate → now the Mac is “too slow”
• Score a Prophet-5 reissue → every other synth feels embarrassing
• One high-end watercolor brush → entire palette and desk now look student-grade

7 Ways to Break the Cycle

1. Name it: Say out loud, “That’s the Diderot Effect talking.”
2. 30-day match test: Wait 30 days before buying anything that “completes” the new item.
3. Keep a shame board: Photos of past spirals to look at before checkout.
4. Buy the ecosystem last: Master the cheap stuff first.
5. Tour-bus rule: If you wouldn’t drag it on Ryanair, you don’t need it.
6. Celebrate mismatch: Some of the coolest art comes from deliberate contrast.
7. Remember: The audience feels the art, not your gear list.

The Bottom Line

You are the artist.
The tools serve you — not the other way around.

Buy what you need.
Enjoy what you have.
And if a scarlet dressing gown (or vintage Jazzmaster) shows up, admire it… but keep the old robe in the closet.
You might need to remember who’s really master of the house.
By: Raymond Philippe