First, put your hands on everything you own, ask yourself if it sparks joy, and if it doesn’t, thank it for its service and get rid of it. Second, once only your most joy-giving belongings remain, put every item in a place where it’s visible, accessible, and easy to grab and then put back.
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GAS - I've officially lost my mind - downgrading (almost) everything
- Thread starter Killed_by_Death
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If you're in Staunton, there's the Music Guild jams and the Central Virginia Blues Society nearby, CVBS is especially cool about people joining and there is a good mix of great players and meh players and they mix it up. They got me back into playing. Then you can alternate basses for each jam. It also pretty straight 1-4-5 blues so it's easy to play
PS: don't sell nuthin.
PS: don't sell nuthin.
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First world problems.
Anywho, whenever i get bored with what i've got i'll look at a lot of new stuff but keep telling myself to sleep on it before i pull the trigger. When i get home i crank up my favorite rig and try to find a reason to replace it beyond i'm bored and looking for an excuse to make changes for the sake of change.
Another thing that can temper the urge to dump stuff is the loss you will most likely take, especially if you bought it new. Selling used gear also gives you an opportunity to shop used gear, a place where many deals can be had, but also a place rife with people dumping their problem pieces as well so there is something of a game of chance involved in used gear, especially if It's a transaction requiring shipping.
You can also just buy cases/racks for your amps. It satisfies the urge to change something without dumping a lot of stuff you will later regret getting rid of.
The best rule i ever imposed on gear is want one sell one. Actually wifey put that on me because i was (once again) running out of places to put stuff, but it's a great way to force you to actually consider the consequences of letting something go for no other reason than to get something else.
Lastly, two words; gear trading
Anywho, whenever i get bored with what i've got i'll look at a lot of new stuff but keep telling myself to sleep on it before i pull the trigger. When i get home i crank up my favorite rig and try to find a reason to replace it beyond i'm bored and looking for an excuse to make changes for the sake of change.
Another thing that can temper the urge to dump stuff is the loss you will most likely take, especially if you bought it new. Selling used gear also gives you an opportunity to shop used gear, a place where many deals can be had, but also a place rife with people dumping their problem pieces as well so there is something of a game of chance involved in used gear, especially if It's a transaction requiring shipping.
You can also just buy cases/racks for your amps. It satisfies the urge to change something without dumping a lot of stuff you will later regret getting rid of.
The best rule i ever imposed on gear is want one sell one. Actually wifey put that on me because i was (once again) running out of places to put stuff, but it's a great way to force you to actually consider the consequences of letting something go for no other reason than to get something else.
Lastly, two words; gear trading
I totally get it. Have done it more than once over the years. Basses and guitar. And since I now have a Squier P-Bass Special from a pawn shop, that part makes sense too.
Thinking about selling to get something different is fun. But make sure you can sell without it hurting too much. Sounds like the Blacktop might be a tougher move. Not sure what advice to offer there except see if there might be a market somewhere else. Like Reverb.com? Doesn't seem to be much in the way of Blacktops on there now.
I'm no good at advising on amps. Every time I've owned a tube amp it's needed work after a little while and the cost has always been way more than the amp was worth.
Thinking about selling to get something different is fun. But make sure you can sell without it hurting too much. Sounds like the Blacktop might be a tougher move. Not sure what advice to offer there except see if there might be a market somewhere else. Like Reverb.com? Doesn't seem to be much in the way of Blacktops on there now.
I'm no good at advising on amps. Every time I've owned a tube amp it's needed work after a little while and the cost has always been way more than the amp was worth.
Stop spending money on gear and spebd on lessons, that's what worked for me. That way you get your reward center of your brain tweaked by progress and not acquisition.
Take your best playing gear and play the knobs off of it. The other stuff is for shuffling around imo.
It's important to assess the stuff honestly and really understand why you want to keep certain things. I'm always doing cost-benefit analyses on my equipment. Sometimes the only reason to keep a certain bass is because it allows you to always have an alternative choice of strings. Sometimes an item's backstory is so unusual that you'd somehow be thumbing your nose at the universe by parting with it. There is always the 'joy of ownership' factor, but nothing is absolutely safe. I refuse to be owned by any of it. Once in awhile, one'll get away. Boo hoo.
When I get stuff with expectations and anticipated uses for it that don't pan out, I move it along. The upside for me is that I almost never buy new, so any losses in the resale are marginal and for the most part worth it as a rental. You can't get too attached. Most of this stuff is pretty common. IMO it is nutty to hoard things that you might never use, unless your ultimate goal is to open a museum. That's just dead money all cluttered up around you. If you can afford it, fine, but I'd rather have the money.
Follow your muse.
When I get stuff with expectations and anticipated uses for it that don't pan out, I move it along. The upside for me is that I almost never buy new, so any losses in the resale are marginal and for the most part worth it as a rental. You can't get too attached. Most of this stuff is pretty common. IMO it is nutty to hoard things that you might never use, unless your ultimate goal is to open a museum. That's just dead money all cluttered up around you. If you can afford it, fine, but I'd rather have the money.
Follow your muse.
I would sell one of the 3 basses (not the Rick) and keep everything else. That way you make some money but you get to keep most of your gear for when you need it.
I'm not clear on what you have in guitar gear but the same applies, just because you aren't playing it now doesn't mean you might not be in the future. I have 2 basses and one guitar and for me that's my minimum.
I'm not clear on what you have in guitar gear but the same applies, just because you aren't playing it now doesn't mean you might not be in the future. I have 2 basses and one guitar and for me that's my minimum.
No reason to buy another bass that has more frets than your current ones.
I would agree with the lesson/jam route myself. Playing more, and playing things that challenge you will replace that reward system with progress instead of stuff. I've been really inspired lately by picking up Rocksmith and playing that. For me, being able to play along with those recordings has brought new life to practice time.
EDIT: Disclaimer, I did just buy a couple of new basses, so take that into consideration
EDIT: Disclaimer, I did just buy a couple of new basses, so take that into consideration
I took guitar lessons for a while & bass lessons for even shorter of a period.
The bass instructor was just teaching from David Overthrow's book, which I have.
I try to play something on Rocksmith daily. Yesterday was the Smoke on the Water challenge. It was nice to revisit that track after I hadn't played it for a while.
The bass instructor was just teaching from David Overthrow's book, which I have.
I try to play something on Rocksmith daily. Yesterday was the Smoke on the Water challenge. It was nice to revisit that track after I hadn't played it for a while.
madbass6
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Come on now, I see that profile pic of Lemmy you got, now check out his Rig I just ran into, its a Marshall 4x15" cab on bottom and 4x12" cab on top with Marshall Bass head and that Badass 3 pickup Ric. That right there should make you want to pull out all your best equipment and blow the windows out. I have been a Bassist for 32 years and I never will get rid of my awesome equipment, its taken most of my life to get what I got now and I love it, finally got that sound I always wanted. Every time I pick up one of my Basses I pluck one note and go, MAN! This is awesome, I will never ever get board of Bass guitar or music. I live for music and Moto-cross Dirt Bikes and females, Hee Hee!
No reason to lose your mind and everything else too.
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I had that feeling when I fired up the tube amp with my G&L the first time.
I'm not sure why it wears off.
I think Lemmy's amp is only 100 watts, but it's all tube, so probably very loud.
Motorhead were definitely loud.
That thing someone said earlier about keeping the stuff that sparks joy resonated. Sometimes I'll be practicing, hit a plateau, start getting bummed. Then I look around at some of the stuff I have and it cracks me up, and I feel better about practicing some more. Not to say that I couldn't thin some of the herd. Anyone need an absolutely pristine 1968 SS Vox Cambridge Reverb? RICs rule, BTW.
I actually polished my guitars & basses today, which I usually only do when I'm changing strings. My mother was over the other day & mentioned how many fingerprints were visible on the mirror pickguards, LOL.
I'll be working out some Neil Young songs later today, in preparation for a jam session with a guitarist who lives nearby.
I'll be working out some Neil Young songs later today, in preparation for a jam session with a guitarist who lives nearby.
