Which instrumentalist has the most GAS

[jive1]

So which instrumentalist has the most GAS?

I used to think it was guitar players because of all the pickups, FX, amps, etc. but after being on TB for a couple years it could be bassists since we use things like preamps, and have various extended range basses.

But, what I've noticed from my selling of things it seems like it is drummers. Maybe it is because there are more little things to get like clamps, percussion stuff, or whatever. Maybe it's because the stuff is cheaper, but it seems like the drummers out there are buying lots of stuff. And the myriad of gear available to drummers seems unlimited.

I'm not including soundmen or recording engineers in the poll since they tend to get gear for any/all instruments.

[JimK]

Gotta be keyboards/synths. I mean, c'mon.
I know bassists, guitarists, & drummers still playing their stuff from the '60s. How many keyboardists you know are still playing their Farfisa organs(by choice)?

[Against Will]

Trianglists, at the rate triangle technology is moving nowadays, your gear becomes obsolete in practically 2 months!!

[Figjam]

Most here would vote bass, because we play it. I think drums, though. Drummers can have GAS for a certain cymbal and attain it for a few bills. ($100-$300 lets say). I think its less severe gas but its more often and for more stuff. I think bassists at TB have high GAS. Bassists that have not discovered TB probably have less. I know i barely had any before coming here. Gutiarists also can have a lot of GAS, but i havent seen this to be the case. The guitarists i know are pretty content with their gear and arent always searching for new stuff.

[ashbory]

I voted for guitar.
They have all the same addictions as bassists, plus they're always expermenting with tubes, effects, pickups, perfect pitch courses etc. I've met some guitarists that seem to think those little Boss pedals are like Pokemon.
As far as gear obsession, I haven't seen as much online discussion with bassists on things like biasing amps, adjusting pickup polepieces, boiling strings or what kind of insulation to put in speaker cabinets.

[Benjamin Strange]

Saxophonists, easy. It's not so much the amount of gear that they use, but how nitpicky they get about it. They obsess over reeds, what material the pads are made of, and some crazy bastards even get their saxes cryogenically treated. Now THAT'S nuts!

[jive1]

Originally Posted by JimK

How many keyboardists you know are still playing their Farfisa organs(by choice)?

Maybe not Farifsas, but how about Hammond Organs, Fender Rhodes and Roland Junos?

There's actually quite a vintage synth market out there

[scorpionldr]

Originally Posted by Benjamin Strange

Saxophonists, easy. It's not so much the amount of gear that they use, but how nitpicky they get about it. They obsess over reeds, what material the pads are made of, and some crazy bastards even get their saxes cryogenically treated. Now THAT'S nuts!

being a sax player myself, i wouldn't say that we GAS for gear, but we are big on experimenting to find the right sound of the horn. for example, yea, i think metal mouthpieces look cool as hell, but a couple i've played on my bari sax just sound too nasally to play in a band. a plastic mouthpiece does it for me. as for alto sax, there's a lot of things to look into. then it comes down to what size reed i need to get the full range on my instrument. a 2 and a half size reed allows me to play effortlessly, but if i want to reach the full range of my instrument, i would play a size 3 reed. the pads?? so long as the instrument stays tight, then it should allow me to play just fine. i think you're referring to pads and how we compensate for their age (which also is a matter of wearing down pads) by adding supports and such. i didn't hear about cyro, but it sounds pretty good. oh, and reed material is also crucial for playability. plastic reeds back 40 years ago sounded like crap, now they're almost as good as wood

[Aaron Saunders]

Guitars, bass, and drummers -- in that order.

[geoffkhan]

Keyboardists have a lot of GAS, but since most keyboard equipment is really expensive, it's kinda hampered. On the other hand, if you're a computer synth junkie like I am, it's different, because software can be pretty inexpensive.

Other than that I'd say guitarists have the most GAS. I mean, come on, I know a guitarist who has a big crate full of effects pedals. Seriously, he must have hundreds of them in there, and thousands of dollars worth of pedals.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Have you seen what <a href="http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-query.asp?String=exact&Acronym=gas&Find=Find" Target=_new">Acronym Finder</a> says about GAS?

[embellisher]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

Have you seen what Acronym Finder says about GAS?

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!

That is priceless!!!

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="80%" border=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=white><TD vAlign=center width="15%" bgColor=white>GAS</TD><TD vAlign=center width="75%" bgColor=white>Gear Acquisition Syndrome (mainly bass guitarists) :-) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[The Golden Boy]

Guitarists, hands down. When you start thinking that 3K isn't a lot to pay for a decent guitar... The amount of effect boxes is boggling, boutique boxes are insane. Try to find a good overdrive pedal that does a decent job of mimicing a slightly overdriven amp... Tubes... man, all the money that you can dump on slightly used British made tubes, the rare 30+ year old amps, vintage guitars, pot and cap changes, hardware replacement, myriads of pickups, flipping magnets, flipping pickups, paying $1000 for a 40 year old PAF... The word "Tinkerfxxk" was invented for those people that HAVE to keep attempting to tweak their tone- and they're far more than any bassist, keyboardist or drummer than I've ever known.

[geoffkhan]

Originally Posted by The Golden Boy

Guitarists, hands down. When you start thinking that 3K isn't a lot to pay for a decent guitar... The amount of effect boxes is boggling, boutique boxes are insane. Try to find a good overdrive pedal that does a decent job of mimicing a slightly overdriven amp... Tubes... man, all the money that you can dump on slightly used British made tubes, the rare 30+ year old amps, vintage guitars, pot and cap changes, hardware replacement, myriads of pickups, flipping magnets, flipping pickups, paying $1000 for a 40 year old PAF... The word "Tinkerfxxk" was invented for those people that HAVE to keep attempting to tweak their tone- and they're far more than any bassist, keyboardist or drummer than I've ever known.

Right, and how guitarists always complain about how digital distortion doesn't sound realistic and how they prefer tube distortion.

Though I have known some keyboardists with an incredible amount of GAS -- enough to put guitarists and bassists to shame.