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Is having too much gear bad?
- Thread starter Aldousv
- Start date
I agree with this sentiment in general, but I actually spent more time fussing with settings when I had just one bass because I was trying to get it to do things that it couldn't do. Now I just switch to the bass that can do that thing. Also, when one bass starts driving me nuts because I can't quite get the setup where I want it, I just give it a month time out and play one of the others. Funnily enough when I come back to it it's typically feeling better than I remember....
All this talk of having less GAS is shameful. Gear doesn't make you better or even make your tone better if you don't know what you're doing. But there's nothing wrong with a bass or pedal or anything that adds joy to your experience if you can afford something more than you need.
Sorry I can't help. I never realized this problem existed. Does it? Are you joking?
There’s no stigma amongst the musicians I know against owning too much gear... quite the opposite.
Keep in mind, Talkbass is full of keyboard warriors and crotchety old men who think anything that isn’t a Fender or Ampeg is too modern. Don’t worry about anons.
Keep in mind, Talkbass is full of keyboard warriors and crotchety old men who think anything that isn’t a Fender or Ampeg is too modern. Don’t worry about anons.
How mush is "too much"? It's a personal definition. Some people own a lot, others not so much. I don't think owning lots stuff is bad, but it's not for me. I have 2 basses and that's 100% more than I owned in my first 25 years of playing. I briefly had a total of 6 basses, but couldn't see the point on storing basses that I wasn't going to play very much. I kept the best and sold the rest.
"The engineer can have all the slide rules he wants."
Thank you. I hadn't thought of slide rules since my undergrad days. They were a sort of badge of honor/rite of passage item for budding engineers. Of course, that was during the Johnson administration. To clarify, I mean the Lyndon Johnson administration.
Thank you. I hadn't thought of slide rules since my undergrad days. They were a sort of badge of honor/rite of passage item for budding engineers. Of course, that was during the Johnson administration. To clarify, I mean the Lyndon Johnson administration.
Actually, too much of anything is bad.
The reason for this, IMHO, is that it tends to move your focus from where it should be, whether it's music gear, clothes, food, sex, money or just about anything else. You come to a point where you focus on those things in themselves instead of what you can do with them or how they benefit you or others.
I remember in the mid-eighties, when Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos were ousted from power in the Philippines, we saw TV reports that showed the first lady's shoe cabinet, containing 1200 pairs of shoes. It seemed a ludicrous extravagance at the time, but over time this has been diluted, and suddenly, the excesses of the super-rich hardly seem to raise an eyebrow - in fact, they've become more like role models than anything else.
Now exactly how much is too much is of course open to debate. My personal rule of thumb is that I won't buy new gear unless it replaces something that's worn out or broken, or does something I need that my current gear doesn't. Even so, I think I'm getting dangerously close to having too much. But this is a question that everyone must decide for themselves. However, when you become more fascinated with your tools than the task you bought them in order to be able to do, it's a danger sign in my book.
The reason for this, IMHO, is that it tends to move your focus from where it should be, whether it's music gear, clothes, food, sex, money or just about anything else. You come to a point where you focus on those things in themselves instead of what you can do with them or how they benefit you or others.
I remember in the mid-eighties, when Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos were ousted from power in the Philippines, we saw TV reports that showed the first lady's shoe cabinet, containing 1200 pairs of shoes. It seemed a ludicrous extravagance at the time, but over time this has been diluted, and suddenly, the excesses of the super-rich hardly seem to raise an eyebrow - in fact, they've become more like role models than anything else.
Now exactly how much is too much is of course open to debate. My personal rule of thumb is that I won't buy new gear unless it replaces something that's worn out or broken, or does something I need that my current gear doesn't. Even so, I think I'm getting dangerously close to having too much. But this is a question that everyone must decide for themselves. However, when you become more fascinated with your tools than the task you bought them in order to be able to do, it's a danger sign in my book.
Unless fussing with your gear is what's fun to you. I'm not that guy. But i know plenty who are.
I know a guy who cleans, catalogs, and mods guns all the time. He rarely shoots most if them.
My neighbor has just as much fun working on his boat as he does riding in it. He has a blast turning on his radio, getting out his suds and bucket, and giving it a good wash.
My sister-in-law knits....sometimes. But she is CONSTANTLY researching yarn, needles, designs for clothing and other items, and hunting for deals. She might make 4 pieces a year.
I helped a guy install a new UHF/VHF ham radio in his car the other day. The whole time we were installing it he was complaining about how there's no traffic on those bands anymore. He just geeks out over ham radio gear.
I could go on. I'm not that guy. But I know plenty of them.
Guilt is a wasted emotion......Screw Guilt
Sounds like my dad (RIP) in "Little" Washington. When he passed, I snagged the gear and sold it on E-bay so it would actually be used. The ham radio operators are just as fanatical as TBer's.
Riis
I have too many basses and not enough (working) amps. I am a bad person. I realize I actually like building basses more than playing them. I am a really bad person.
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
- 12,122
- 16,794
- Disclosures
- have been on nationally released albums, charting on the Billboard 200
I have never ever stigmatized anyone for having too much gear. Conversely, I've never ever been stigmatized for having too much gear (ex wife's opinion nothwithstanding), and I have a ton of it.
I once had a doctor comment on my expensive hobby of model railroading. Then he went on about the money he dropped for a luxury golf outing over the weekend. Bottom line...To each his own.
I have a lot of gear and don’t play very well at all. When I was active in Skeet, Trap and other competitive shooting, we used to say, “fear the man with only one gun, he knows how to shoot it.”
True or not, I like having choices, even if it leads to flubbed notes or inappropriate tone at times. I drive a reliable 15 year old Lexus and any 2 or 3 of my basses are worth more...so? My life, my choices...you do you, I’ll do me and let’s be glad we play music.
True or not, I like having choices, even if it leads to flubbed notes or inappropriate tone at times. I drive a reliable 15 year old Lexus and any 2 or 3 of my basses are worth more...so? My life, my choices...you do you, I’ll do me and let’s be glad we play music.
It’s neither here nor there.
One thing I’ve found is that the more “stuff” you own, the more time you spend maintaining that stuff rather than using it all.
One thing I’ve found is that the more “stuff” you own, the more time you spend maintaining that stuff rather than using it all.
I think the stigma comes from the group that can’t afford a huge collection and like to poo poo anyone that has more than a Squier CV and a Rumble 40 as a poser, not a player. It’s fine, play what you want and at least it has some resale value unlike last year’s golf clubs.
..great observation....it reminds me of an article I recently read (I forget where) called "The Surfer". The gist of it is that most surfers spend very little time riding waves.....by the time they get to the water, get in the water, swim out a bit, wait for the right wave, etc., the overall prep time dwarfs the surf time.....but most of 'em love obsessing over boards, surf wear/fashion....it's a "lifestyle" (sounds better than obsessive hobby). There are times when I cannot play....as a matter of fact, that's most of the time.....the rest of life kind of gets in the way of bass playing/making music......but even when at work, between consults, I can gander at TB....maybe waste some time and/or money....and enjoy my passion indirectly....the same situation occurs after a 10 hour day when I am too burnt to play.....I don't believe this is harmful to me. That said, it is harmful to the environment. Homo Sapiens is wired to hunt/collect/accumulate, because we spent almost about 190K years foraging/hunting/gathering. We only started farming about 10K years ago, and indoor plumbing/electricity only became a thing over the last 150 years or so...which is basically a moment ago in our evolution....so we're still behaving with the same impulses that were helpful 100K years ago......which is why we're running out of space for ourselves, our stuff and our waste, and crowding out all the other critters we depend on.....juss like locusts. Happy Thursday
