gear shopping - it's a sickness

[petrus61]

Just spent the last gear penny on a replacement speaker after a two month long sell/buy binge. I'm kinda worried after the speaker gets here I'm going to get that vacuous deflated feeling I get when most of my gear is very good and don't need anything else

Seriously, barring some catastrophic bass neck explosion or a fried amp (KNOCK ON WOOD), I'm done. I'm just going to pretend I'm in total tonal nirvana, and the FEA Opti-Fet I just picked up pretty much has me there, but I know I'm lying to myself.

 

[murphy]

'New stuff' only brings temporary happiness, and the length of joy is inversely correlated to how easy things come to you.

This is so true...when I was younger my 74 Jazz bass was my one and only....my pride and joy....I worked three jobs to buy it...pay it off

Now I am older I have a collection....that really only two ever get gigged....and none hold the value I had for that first real Fender that was already 20 years old when I bought it

 

[JGbassman]

Im in the same place where I've played for many years, collected along the way, and now have a heap of gear. Problem is, I can't seem to get rid of it.

When I played professionally, it was easy to justify buying new or updated gear, and I did. I'm the guy that watces eBay for great deals, and bids a lot with a cap. Most of the time I get out bid, and honestly that's fine. I have ended up getting some great deals over the years (Jackson Dave Ellifson five string concert bass for 100.00 that was mint)

I own around 18 basses and multiple rigs these days. I still have a few basses I want to add to my collection, but for the most part I have everything I need and want. If I get the urge to buy another bass, I simply pull one out of storage I haven't seen for a while and have a go at that. That really is a trick that works great to cure GAS.

I've been staying off the eBay lately, which curbs the addiction. I've got too many bills right now to worry about new or different toys.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Today a nearly uncontrollable fit of GAS hit!

The BTB was acting up, string buzz... and it's heavy (9-3/4 lbs)

So, instead of just taking it to the local luthier for a leveling, the idea came to just go up to the Ibanez dealer & buy their discounted showroom bass that I found sounded so amazing a couple of weeks ago.
That might still happen, but the reality of it is that I only need one bass.

I'm just too damn lazy to re-tune a couple of times/day for different songs
and then there's this thing where I want to buy just because it's a good deal

A similar thing happened to me in November of 2015, when I saw that RIC 4004. I didn't need it, but it was $500 cheaper than the locally available new one.
My therapist seems to think I don't have a problem, as long as can afford it.

 

[ZenG]

Today a nearly uncontrollable fit of GAS hit!

The BTB was acting up, string buzz... and it's heavy (9-3/4 lbs)

So, instead of just taking it to the local luthier for a leveling, the idea came to just go up to the Ibanez dealer & buy their discounted showroom bass that I found sounded so amazing a couple of weeks ago.
That might still happen, but the reality of it is that I only need one bass.

I'm just too damn lazy to re-tune a couple of times/day for different songs
and then there's this thing where I want to buy just because it's a good deal

A similar thing happened to me in November of 2015, when I saw that RIC 4004. I didn't need it, but it was $500 cheaper than the locally available new one.
My therapist seems to think I don't have a problem, as long as can afford it.

Wait a sec...is your therapist a TB member?

 

[Killed_by_Death]

He's a 70 yo retired Marine.
I wish I could get him to prescribe some cannabis, but alas that's a no go!

 

[5544]

When you are unable to pay your therapist, then he will tell you that you have a problem

In all seriousness, sell off the BTB because it is too heavy before you purchase something new. This way you force yourself to have a one out / one in policy until you find something the right one. Once that happens, purchase a second model for a backup / different tuning option.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

My guy gets paid by the Veterans Administration
no more one in one out for me, because I've made the mistake in the past
sell something, get the new one & wish you had the old one back

I'd rather have them both in hand & then make up my mind slowly.
I've already got a 2nd bass, a SRX with the same pickups as the BTB.

For the rest of the day I'll be fighting the string buzz problem, yes I am slow.

 

[Jeff Scott]

The SO and I went "gear" shopping today (at antique shops in Parkman and Middlefield). Picked up a couple of small Indian vases (Navajo and Sioux), some Chinese silk embroidered pillow covers, and a circa 1915-30 Craftsman (not Sears, but in concept/design) solid quarter sawn white oak drop front writing desk. So now, while I sit on those pillows as I gaze at those Indian vases for inspiration, I can write a song at the writing desk!

We saw a L & J.G. Stickley cherry side table that I may go back and get, too. I can use it as an amp stand.

Hope this helps.

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

Multiple times I've realized that my GAS was driven by WANT.

Spock said this:

"After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but is often true."

(from my fave episode of Star Trek, BTW)

It was definitely true for me, but I still find myself wanting to go shopping for another bass, another amp, that I don't need, and ultimately will not even want.

Thankfully I don't shop online for gear when I get loaded anymore. I cut that out after making a $1,500 purchase after 9 beers.

Every time I get the feeling to shop for gear, I remind myself that I'll probably play it all of 10 minute/week & otherwise it will hang on the wall & collect dust.

Surely I'm not the only person who buys stuff & then doesn't use it to its full potential... & maybe even lament a little

This is why I go to guitar shops! I can noodle on the gear for a while, get bored and come home to my baby!

 

[HubbardsFate]

 

[HubbardsFate]

(Above) - I've been sorta somewhat lusting for this Samick-Valley Arts PJ for awhile now...

The problem? I am in Canada, and the only two I can find online (or anywhere) are both in the states: one in New Jersey, and the one above in Tennessee. And given that they have rosewood boards, and this whole CITES thing...

The one in Jersey is at about $624 CAD, which is a bit on the high side I think, and that seller doesn't have a shipping price listed for Canada. The one in Tennessee is more palatable at about $416 CAD, but the frickin' shipping price is set at $259! (Whether that's CAD or USD I'm not certain - one annoying thing about Reverb is that you can adjust settings so that the instrument or other item being sold displays in your country's currency, but it doesn't say which currency the shipping is in - or is one just supposed to assume that, by default, the shipping price is in their country's currency as well?)

(EDIT: I went back to Reverb and changed the currency setting to USD, which resulted in a change to the shipping price - went from $259 to $187, in other wortds, from CAD to USD, so yeah, shipping price shows up in whichever currency you are set at...)

But yeah...gear shopping...it's a sickness, especially when one is a USED gear junkie, and most of the good stuff is across the border...

 

[Killed_by_Death]

This go-round my intentions were to avoid GAS & instead focus on playing.
Well, since I got that u-bass, I have played every day non-stop, until...

Over time I've started trying to level out the neck, & play like everyone else. I was playing Bill Wyman style on long scales to avoid spraining my arm.
Today I decided not to play, because my arm feels jacked up, so instead I went to GC.com & used.SamAshMusic.com

Used 4004 models on GC are through the roof compared to what I paid for mine, so I focused on G&L Tribute models.
If time permitted more alcohol intake, I'd probably buy a L-2000 today

 

[5544]

Just for sh*ts and giggles, have you tried playing the same things on a guitar? It could be that when you are playing bass, the arm is in the small window that causes pain. Even a short scale bass might be putting your arm in that window.

While I'm not saying run out and buy a guitar to test my theory, just hang out in a GC and grab the ugliest guitar (usually a Les Paul - any model) and see if the same thing happens or not.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Guitar is more complicated. For instance, it hurts for me to fret a C chord.
At least it did in December.
Lately I only play power chords on guitar.

add: Playing guitar is what wrecked my arm the first time.
I got a new/used LTD (very similar to the one I have now) & played the devil out of it all weekend.
On Monday morning I couldn't even lift a bottle of water from the fridge with that arm.

 

[5544]

I'm not saying to play the guitar over bass, I'm saying maybe the position that the bass puts your arm in is causing the problem.

When I am at the gym and doing an overhead press on the machine, there is about a 3 to 4 inch range (from the ground to my hand position) that makes it feel like I am lifting 3x the weight. Sitting in my chair now mimicing the moment, I don't feel anything wrong.

Most doctors I've been to look at the total range of motion when looking for issues and completely ignore what happens in between.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

DOH!
I'm on the verge of buying another bass.
In the process of talking a newb into a model that I was checking out lately, I started to send him a link to one & right away I thought, "Wait, I'll buy that!".

I've made an inquiry & just waiting for a call back, but now I've got a pit growing in my stomach as I wait for that call back
This would take me over $1000 worth of gear, unless I sold something...

 

[58kites]

Let 'er rip!!

 

[Killed_by_Death]

It's been over 90 minutes now w/o a callback, so I am leaving it to fate.

 

[Fat Freddy]

It's been over 90 minutes now w/o a callback, so I am leaving it to fate.