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Lost the Urge

#121
Fat Freddy said:
Near enough.....That'll do.....Expect a swat team at any moment....
Click to expand...

I've already prepped for this same, exact scenario...

... sometimes feeling like a prisoner in my own house, I have excavated a breakout in the upstairs half bath, only to find out it led to the walkout, in the lower level...

... tomorrow, I try the electrical outlets. Hopefully, putting up the wrong house numbers on the mailbox will buy me some time...

Viva, le Schlitz...
 
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#123
Spidey2112 said:
I've already prepped for this same, exact scenario...

... sometimes feeling like a prisoner in my own house, I have excavated a breakout in the upstairs half bath, only to find out it led to the walkout, in the lower level...

... tomorrow, I try the electrical outlets. Hopefully, putting up the wrong house numbers on the mailbox will buy me some time...

Viva, le Schlitz...
Click to expand...
Yeah....That'll fool 'em :whistle:.....

Is that the time?....Must be going.....Late for my tap dance class....:unsure:
 
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#124
Dr. Cheese said:
To be honest, I don't care if GAS comes back....

....Just like I finally came to terms with the fact that buying gear is a piss poor substitute for hard practice, I have come to terms with the foolishness of simply buying things without a plan.

I know I will ever be where I was in the 1990s, young, single, with a pocket full of credit cards....

... I am at peace with my judgement, and I accept my financial limits. I don't lose sleep over things I cannot afford, and I have faith that my modest abilities are enough for me to know what works for me.
Click to expand...

Lots of wise words here.
I've only missed 5 days of pedal steel guitar practice in the last 6 months and it's kind of changed my musical world. Still a piss-poor bass practicer but trimming down my collection of instruments and very carefully and deliberately tweaking/upagrading the ones I keep has virtually defeated any GAS for new instruments.

Your '90s was like my mid '00s except it was newly married, two incomes, no mortgage, no kids with a pocket full of disposable cash. Shoot did I buy alot of stuff back then.
 
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#125
Dr. Cheese said:
Lately, I just don't want to go to music stores. I guess paying off a nice bass for the Fall has reduced my interest, but whatever it is, I am just not interested in checking out basses lately.
It could be that I am happy to be getting my reading together too. My favorite bass for lessons and practice is my Peavey Fury, but my fives are still preferred for playing at church.
Click to expand...
Thanks to Talkbass, I recently purchased my Alembic Spoiler and I'm done too. No desire to play anything else.
 
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#127
Dr. Cheese said:
Lately, I just don't want to go to music stores. I guess paying off a nice bass for the Fall has reduced my interest, but whatever it is, I am just not interested in checking out basses lately.
It could be that I am happy to be getting my reading together too. My favorite bass for lessons and practice is my Peavey Fury, but my fives are still preferred for playing at church.
Click to expand...
I am in the same phase..I guess because the 3 basses I own now take care of all the options/tones that I have been wanting...Took damn long to get there but glad it happened..:-)
 
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#128
Over the weekend, while trying to relieve gas pains, I came across the website of an obscure Polish luthier who modifies the finishes of Jazz basses and I personally think they look really freaking cool and incredibly unique ... for instance:

upload_2017-7-25_8-39-15.png
upload_2017-7-25_8-42-15.png


I called a close musician friend to ask .... "What do you think about these? They are pretty reasonable considering all the work that went into the design and finish, I absolutely love the look and since I'm a lifelong "J" guy ,I'm thinking about buying one of these, what do you think"

And then .... much to my surprise .... The "INTERVENTION" began .... It started with "Bro, another bass, a paisley bass?! ... We need to talk"

I then got barraged with psycho babble such as "Why do you feel the need to always buy new gear, what part of your life is so unsatisfying that you feel like new gear will fill that void? .... Why not sell all those "mid level" basses and buy yourself a Fodera and a Marleaux Diva and be done with it? ..... and on and on and on.... and of course the famous time honored, classic line we've all heard numerous times "you can only play one at a time"

I found myself becoming very defensive and so I shut up and let him go on as I listened to see if there was any wisdom in his words that might change the way I feel. I was pretty bummed after that call actually.... I think it was because I would have loved to hear .... "That bass is SWEET, you should get it if you really want it"....

Ugh, that call was the true definition of unexpected BUZZKILL!!!

But I digress ....

I spent the weekend thinking about that conversation, reading threads here on TB about the pleasures and sins of GAS, the lives that have been made exponentially better by it and the lives that have been ruined over it .... I looked long and hard at my gear and I thought to myself ... Is he right? Am I buying just to buy, to fill a void? What would I sell? What should I sell? ...... maybe he's right? :banghead:

BUT ..... after thinking this whole thing over, I realize I truly and sincerely love my gear and I have no desire to go down to 1 or 2 basses even if they were of a ridiculously priced caliber. Not at this point in my life anyway.

What's the difference between collecting basses / guitars from collecting "artwork" or anything else? .... My instruments give me joy and even if it's from a materialistic standpoint, so what?! ..... The bills are getting paid, rent is paid, child support is paid, there's food in the fridge ..... who is my collecting hurting? And on top of all of that, 90% of my gear can be sold for what I originally paid for it (more or less) Should I ever be in Dire Straights .... (and I'm not talking about Mark Knopfler's band)

Throughout my late teens and twenties (even into my 30's) I struggled financially like many others do ...I played 1 bass (a 1975 Fender Jazz bass bought new when I was 14) and it served all my needs whether it was for practicing, gigging, recording, etc, I was the poster boy for gear minimalism = 1 bass, 1 amp, 1 patch cord, 1 strap, DONE .... and while I'll admit that 1 bass was enough for me at that point in my life .... I'm pushing 50 and life is different now .... I'm FAAAAAAAAAAAR from "well off" but I do make a respectable living and my personal mid life crisis will not be in a Porsche 911, it'll be having a music room with the basses I've always wanted / longed for over the many years I've been playing ...a 4003, a German Warwick, a MM Stingray, etc .... So a few years back I cracked the proverbial piggy bank and went hunting for great deals on great basses and I bought what I wanted.

Ironically though, I do find myself almost always reaching for the '75 J bass and not giving the others as much play time but I'm OK with that. The gear I have now and the gear I'll continue to buy makes me happy..... YMMV of course as no one gear ideology is right or wrong.

Case in point, the other day I was listening to "Close to the edge" and the brilliant bass lines from that album were rattling around in my head and I pulled the 4003 off the wall to learn some of the parts, that was a blast and felt really good ..... and yes, any 4 string bass would have sufficed but ..... I'm sure most of you can understand where I am coming from.

Anyway ..... If no one is getting hurt and nothing in your life is suffering as a result of your GAS, enjoy yourselves while you can, we only get one time around.

My name is David, I have GAS, thanks for letting me share. :)
 
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#130
Perhaps I'm a little late in saying this already but perhaps I am also ahead of myself for saying and a little crazy, but if that is exactly how you feel then congrats, you beat the common problem known a G.A.S...or at least are holding it at bay. But watch out the littlest glimpse of a new bass or piece of equipment that triggers just a small influence in the "got to have it" way and G.A.S's ugly head is already rearing itself again. I always have a good respect for people who have just what they feel they need, nothing more or less and just use it.
 
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#133
David Sutkin said:
Over the weekend, while trying to relieve gas pains, I came across the website of an obscure Polish luthier who modifies the finishes of Jazz basses and I personally think they look really freaking cool and incredibly unique ... for instance:

View attachment 1185726 View attachment 1185729

I called a close musician friend to ask .... "What do you think about these? They are pretty reasonable considering all the work that went into the design and finish, I absolutely love the look and since I'm a lifelong "J" guy ,I'm thinking about buying one of these, what do you think"

And then .... much to my surprise .... The "INTERVENTION" began .... It started with "Bro, another bass, a paisley bass?! ... We need to talk"

I then got barraged with psycho babble such as "Why do you feel the need to always buy new gear, what part of your life is so unsatisfying that you feel like new gear will fill that void? .... Why not sell all those "mid level" basses and buy yourself a Fodera and a Marleaux Diva and be done with it? ..... and on and on and on.... and of course the famous time honored, classic line we've all heard numerous times "you can only play one at a time"

I found myself becoming very defensive and so I shut up and let him go on as I listened to see if there was any wisdom in his words that might change the way I feel. I was pretty bummed after that call actually.... I think it was because I would have loved to hear .... "That bass is SWEET, you should get it if you really want it"....

Ugh, that call was the true definition of unexpected BUZZKILL!!!

But I digress ....

I spent the weekend thinking about that conversation, reading threads here on TB about the pleasures and sins of GAS, the lives that have been made exponentially better by it and the lives that have been ruined over it .... I looked long and hard at my gear and I thought to myself ... Is he right? Am I buying just to buy, to fill a void? What would I sell? What should I sell? ...... maybe he's right? :banghead:

BUT ..... after thinking this whole thing over, I realize I truly and sincerely love my gear and I have no desire to go down to 1 or 2 basses even if they were of a ridiculously priced caliber. Not at this point in my life anyway.

What's the difference between collecting basses / guitars from collecting "artwork" or anything else? .... My instruments give me joy and even if it's from a materialistic standpoint, so what?! ..... The bills are getting paid, rent is paid, child support is paid, there's food in the fridge ..... who is my collecting hurting? And on top of all of that, 90% of my gear can be sold for what I originally paid for it (more or less) Should I ever be in Dire Straights .... (and I'm not talking about Mark Knopfler's band)

Throughout my late teens and twenties (even into my 30's) I struggled financially like many others do ...I played 1 bass (a 1975 Fender Jazz bass bought new when I was 14) and it served all my needs whether it was for practicing, gigging, recording, etc, I was the poster boy for gear minimalism = 1 bass, 1 amp, 1 patch cord, 1 strap, DONE .... and while I'll admit that 1 bass was enough for me at that point in my life .... I'm pushing 50 and life is different now .... I'm FAAAAAAAAAAAR from "well off" but I do make a respectable living and my personal mid life crisis will not be in a Porsche 911, it'll be having a music room with the basses I've always wanted / longed for over the many years I've been playing ...a 4003, a German Warwick, a MM Stingray, etc .... So a few years back I cracked the proverbial piggy bank and went hunting for great deals on great basses and I bought what I wanted.

Ironically though, I do find myself almost always reaching for the '75 J bass and not giving the others as much play time but I'm OK with that. The gear I have now and the gear I'll continue to buy makes me happy..... YMMV of course as no one gear ideology is right or wrong.

Case in point, the other day I was listening to "Close to the edge" and the brilliant bass lines from that album were rattling around in my head and I pulled the 4003 off the wall to learn some of the parts, that was a blast and felt really good ..... and yes, any 4 string bass would have sufficed but ..... I'm sure most of you can understand where I am coming from.

Anyway ..... If no one is getting hurt and nothing in your life is suffering as a result of your GAS, enjoy yourselves while you can, we only get one time around.

My name is David, I have GAS, thanks for letting me share. :)
Click to expand...
And this obscure Polish luthier is???......drool......:D
 
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#135
Wow Doc. that's great! Investing in lessons is the best way to really take the most out of a bass. I find myself down to one high end bass (Adamovic Halo 5, in the pic) but I really GAS for a Precision 4 string that would go hand in hand. And to make it worse, the other day I passed by a music store and went in. It had Fender Precision Standard (MIM) and took it for a spin and was awsome. That instrument really spoke to me and can't get my mind off of it. The only thing that I didn't like was the color, but on the other side it had a maple fingerboar, so it was a black on maple.....ok, I need to take my GAS pill now

like this>
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
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#140
klejst said:
Perhaps I'm a little late in saying this already but perhaps I am also ahead of myself for saying and a little crazy, but if that is exactly how you feel then congrats, you beat the common problem known a G.A.S...or at least are holding it at bay. But watch out the littlest glimpse of a new bass or piece of equipment that triggers just a small influence in the "got to have it" way and G.A.S's ugly head is already rearing itself again. I always have a good respect for people who have just what they feel they need, nothing more or less and just use it.
Click to expand...

That is what has me in awe of Marcus Miller. He established himself very early as a special player, and if you look at some of his early videos, you can see him with Foderas, and I saw him with Modulus Q6 once, but he was smart enough to realize that people loved his Jazz Bass sound, and turned that into a trademark of sorts, and it became
a nice stream of income.
 
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