Music is a trade. If more people treated it as such we would be better off. Making it is paying your bills and being satisfied with your self and your life. But again, music is a trade.
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Realizing that it's making you unhappy (and I can understand why) is a step in the right direction. Now you have to break the desire and the habit. I think your Internet hiatus and app deletions are very good ideas and positive actions.
I’ll confess that my much ballyhooed “great gear purge of 2016” funded my kite foiling habit. And I’m cheap, thrifty, even, if we stretch the idea. Everything used. Everything, I’ll even scrub a used wetsuit and wear it. Eewww.
I learned this stuff back in the windsurfing days. The gear pushers are relentless. Every damn year it’s a bunch of new lies. But it’s time on the water (bass) that makes it happen. Tackle box of lures that never get wet won’t catch fish. Spiffy parts on the car or bike won’t make you faster on the track if you can’t drive.
I don’t play any better on the expensive bass if I don’t spend the hours deeply involved in playing.
But I did, log off, and have a lovely hour on the mat, and next up is taking dog out in the woods. I’ll be leaving the phone, as always, at home. Gotta keep an eye open for cougars.
Hang in there. Like others have said, being out in the scene is key.
I learned this stuff back in the windsurfing days. The gear pushers are relentless. Every damn year it’s a bunch of new lies. But it’s time on the water (bass) that makes it happen. Tackle box of lures that never get wet won’t catch fish. Spiffy parts on the car or bike won’t make you faster on the track if you can’t drive.
I don’t play any better on the expensive bass if I don’t spend the hours deeply involved in playing.
But I did, log off, and have a lovely hour on the mat, and next up is taking dog out in the woods. I’ll be leaving the phone, as always, at home. Gotta keep an eye open for cougars.
Hang in there. Like others have said, being out in the scene is key.
The other thing I do is get the best instrument you can afford/imagine. That helps keep me off the web. But one or two excellent instruments is more than enough.
There’s a huge gap in your sequence of events ..
Get a good MIA second hand P-bass (preferably with a gold anodised guard and a chocolate rosewood board) and you will never have another bass to sell for many years to come …
Fill this gap and you’re done.
Opps, I missed the Sires. Those are nice basses although heavy.
^This, but it's an effects pedal thing with me.
If I'm looking, I'm eventually buying. If I'm not looking, I'm not buying.
From the list , it seems that your first bass was entry level , and you sold that to purchase another entry level bass , and kept going. This means that you being broke has nothing to do with your bass purchasing habits - you are using the same money over and over.
You actually represent the majority of talkbass users: people that enjoy reading about stuff and trying new stuff out. There’s nothing wrong about that either ; for some people the hobby of music is playing it , for others it’s collecting musical related items, and for others it’s somewhere in between.
Now , to answer your original question , I’d find a better job that allows me to enjoy my hobby. Hobbies are meant to be fun and relaxing , not full of guilt and remorse.
You are completely correct.
In these past 4 and a half years of living in Spain i have my shares of problems. From toxic or unsatisfying relationships to the aforementioned work/Covid-related issues.
Music-wise: i started working with an american singer/songwriter who got kicked out for outstating his Visa, then with a spanish artist who went into depressin, then a soul band i loved i was bullied out by my exe's jealousy, then when i had an opportunity to enter the pro world, the singer/songwriter/famous guy in the band fell during a rehearsal and died... started playing for another band and the singer/songwriter/leader also had a depression... lol and the list goes on..
And it is true that in moments when we feel down have a tendency to reach out for stuff that makes us feel good.. like tracking down the next thing to have a honeymoon with...
But no more!! U hear?!? No mooore ;0)))
I hope you can come up with an answer. My way to keep from gassing for other basses may not work for you. I ended up building my own fretted 6 and fretless 6 and they are the only ones I want to play. So no more temptations. Amps on the other hand...
A bass made by me would probably look like a drawing made by a 4 year-old...
The craziest thing i've ever done like that i changing the pickup in a Bronco, soldering pots and shielding cavities looool
No need to feel shame at all. Most of us who play or make music go on some kind of journey where we explore the tools and options available. it's part of the process. If you've reach a point that you're happy with, all of those past instruments helped you get there. Feel lucky that you've had that opportunity to try them all
True.. i need to see it as a learning experience & let it go!
Well i am seeing her tomorrow at 11AM!
And i cant have fewer basses: just one now, and one guitar.. with a second bass coming soon, and that's where i plan to stop.. stop browing, uninstal second hand shopping apps & such.. i have already unfollowed bass manufacturers on Instagram which is the only social media i still have...
I think my shame also comes from the fact that i feel stupid for having mis-invested all that time instead of playing.. that's when it started becoming a source of "guilt and remorse". but yeah.. it's all a big learning experience, that's all!
U are completely right about my buying/selling habits... i didn't completely stagnate though as i slowly gravited from the 200€ mark to instruments in the 1100€ (BTB846SC) or even 1500€ (RMI Quantum 6). But yeah generally speaking i was re-using the same money all the time!
Yeah Ur first paragraph is totally correct.
Let me clarify though that i do pay all my bills whenever they are due. I am kinda responsible after all! Obligations first, and then hobbies and misdirecting the energy that i should be injecting into creating stuff lol
I think it’s pretty obvious you are not satisfied with the lower end gear you have been cycling through. I would suggest that you stop now and start saving money until you can afford higher end gear. At that point you may find what you are looking for that you can’t find with all these “budget” options you are running through.
Great support group here:
Bass Hoarding Personality Disorder (BHPD) - You are not alone.
But they'd probably frown on the amount of basses that you sold, so maybe not the best match.
Plus, the membership there has many enablers like me, so also another not best match....
Looool! Sith Lord pulling le towards the Dark Side!!
Yes, i am doing a couple of things U mention:
One guitar with its multi-FX, two basses (cuz i cannot spend a day without playing and if one dies on me....) and a multi-FX. I only have one combo or play through my Scarlet 2i2 interface. I am keeping it minimalistic.
And i monitor how much i use my phone also, in the Settings section there is a "Digital Wellbeing and parental control" where i can see&limit gow much time i use apps/phone.
Now i need to get more disciplined...
Completely spot on!
The first paragraph is my experience too...except i only work one real job & try to earn money on the side...
U are completely right about everything.. i am staying away from review channels from now on.. because honestly i don't want to feel like there is better than what i own out there. I just need to hone my skills and that has to be enough for now!
