Serious question: is there a cure for a gas?

[red_rhino]

Personally, I really enjoy watching every NBD thread, and ogling the pretty basses that people post. It actually alleviates the GAS. I’ve come to realize that there will always be another beautiful bass, another perfectly voiced instrument, another amazing jazz bass for me to desire.

It’s in the sharing of these passions that gives the most satisfaction. I used to take my daughter to a park nearby where people gathered at night to stargaze using telescopes that easily cost 5 and 6 figures. When I asked one guy why they did these events, he said “All of this expense and effort is meaningless if you can’t share it with other people. Where’s the fun in keeping it all to yourself?”

GAS isn’t all about acquiring gear.

 

[Dust2Dust]

When bass after bass turned out to not be "the perfect bass" after all, I pulled the plug on it all.

 

[shadven]

My GAS has been cured for about a year since I acquired my 1954 Blonde contoured P-bass… completely original. It seems to have completed me.

 

[HelpImaRock]

GAS is a thing. It comes and goes.

The best advice I can offer is to only buy things that get you through the gig in this exact moment. If you need an upright for jazz, because that's what's expected on the gig, then get an upright for jazz. But don't buy things you think you might need for some unknown gig. That never works the way you want it to.

 

[DanAdams]

GASes only fuel the worst human instincts, it's like Gollum and the ring. Expensive equipment may only make you a worse person.
Listen to different music, make your GAS learning to play in a different genre. It's infinitely cheaper and it will actually make you a better player; Play more, buy less.
When it comes down to it, all bass guitars just sound like bass guitars.
(spoken by a man with too many damn basses)

 

[5StringBlues]

Quit talk base. This will take care of numerous problems

 

[sloppy_phil]

Unless you are unconstrained by any financial obligations, chances are getting the basses you want will have to be the long game. Given where you are at in your playing, and the fact that you are getting seriously into the woodshed, I'd try and find one amazing workhorse do-it-all bass to last you in the medium term at least. If the plan is to eventually move to upright, then I'd be considering a 4-string fretless bass. It allows you to have a foot in both worlds, and you should be able to find one that plays and sounds fantastic.

Before last summer, when I sold an electric guitar (I hadn't used it in years) and put that money into a bass purchase, I had went 10 years without buying a bass, and 6 years without buying any gear period. And even that new bass was as much about filling a need professionally as it was a GAS thing. I don't have a lot, but love what I do have, and keep it at that. There's always been a little tinkering, though; pickguard here, push/pull knob there, pickups etc. but I see that as maximizing the gear I already have, rather than buying new toys.

Probably most pertinent to this thread, though; didn't have the money to go nuts on gear back when I started out (even if I'd wanted to), and frankly, I still don't now! So regardless of my seemingly zen gear state, GAS mostly became a moot point once I realized I couldn't eat my basses or serenade landlords in lieu of rent.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I was into getting basses, I don't really think I was collecting them. I was hoping I would sound different, better. Nope

So I started working on me instead of getting more basses. I play better now and I'm much happier and understand that it's not the bass that makes you sound good but the player that makes the bass sound good!

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I hate this place - I cannot be satisfied with what I have, and even when I think I’m certain about what my next bass will be, it is sure to change to something completely different - often multiple times a day.

I currently have two basses: a fretted 4-string PJ with rounds, and a fretless 5-string with flats and a foam mute for that thump.

I am currently studying jazz and want to be a decent jazz bassist and jam/gig with others eventually (I am currently just learning by myself, though I am looking for other jazz newbs to practice jazz standards with). The obvious next bass to get is an upright. I love how it sounds, I feel like it’d suit me perfectly, and I want to take jazz seriously - it’s a win win… The issue is that I also just really, really love bass guitars, especially fretlesses. If I could own a few really nice fretlesses (preferably an aged/worn fretless P and a slick/clean fretless J), I’d be a real happy man (with or without an upright). I really have no practical uses for the fretless P and J mind you, but I still want them to a near-desperate level…

I know what’d happen if I got them, I’d barely play them, and go “yeah… I should’ve got the upright”, but I cannot stop this itch…

And if y’all could stop posting pictures of your glorious Ps and Js (fretless or not), I’d really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

(I’m joking btw, keep posting your beautiful basses… It’s a me problem).

The cure is to make the purchase. At that point, and only that point, your gas will be gone.

 

[4Mal]

There are significant differences in basses in my collection. A LeCompte with Dark Stars, a Starfire with Bisonics... sound very different due to the construction. My 2 Acinonyx short scales are a completely other thing. The 4 of those has made everything else expendable... key is the 4 are very distinctly different. Starfire is semi hollow, Lecompte is chambered. Acinonyx 1 is EADG. #2 is BEAD... I have around 10 basses on the block due to this quartet.

 

[jbasedig]

I hate this place - I cannot be satisfied with what I have, and even when I think I’m certain about what my next bass will be, it is sure to change to something completely different - often multiple times a day.

I currently have two basses: a fretted 4-string PJ with rounds, and a fretless 5-string with flats and a foam mute for that thump.

I am currently studying jazz and want to be a decent jazz bassist and jam/gig with others eventually (I am currently just learning by myself, though I am looking for other jazz newbs to practice jazz standards with). The obvious next bass to get is an upright. I love how it sounds, I feel like it’d suit me perfectly, and I want to take jazz seriously - it’s a win win… The issue is that I also just really, really love bass guitars, especially fretlesses. If I could own a few really nice fretlesses (preferably an aged/worn fretless P and a slick/clean fretless J), I’d be a real happy man (with or without an upright). I really have no practical uses for the fretless P and J mind you, but I still want them to a near-desperate level… Poverty

I know what’d happen if I got them, I’d barely play them, and go “yeah… I should’ve got the upright”, but I cannot stop this itch…

And if y’all could stop posting pictures of your glorious Ps and Js (fretless or not), I’d really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

(I’m joking btw, keep posting your beautiful basses… It’s a me problem).

 

[jbasedig]

Yeah, I honestly hope after getting my upright that that's the case. I know I won't have much time to play anything but, and hopefully I won't want to.

For whatever reason, I am especially a sucker for nostalgic things, and for whatever reason, Fender Ps and Js fall into that category... I almost feel like I want them more as collectibles as opposed to getting them to use as functional instruments, which is odd because I'm not normally like that (I may have an old Transformer and X-Men toy kicking around for similar reasons, but they don't even take up a quarter of a shelf, and a single bass takes up a lot more space - let alone two of them)!

Yes, upright bass should keep you plenty busy. It will make those puny electrics feel like kindling, you will dominate one with ease. Just don't ignore you arco work, ask anyone who has. They regret it.

 

[badinage]

The cure is knowing who you are as a player, and knowing basses well enough to know what's solid and dependable and has the best combination of looks, tone, and performance for what you need to do what you do.

After that, you say 'no' way more than you say 'whoa'.

'As you become a more skilled hunter you become a more discerning hunter.'

That's what I think you just said, or anyway that's the translation I'm going with.


Yeah.

 

[jbasedig]

Debt and poverty, abated my G.A.S, but then I got out of them. Did I learn? No. No I didn't. Between June 15th till this very day, I've bought a 2004 Passive EBMM SUB, a '91 EBMM SR5, Traded a 2020 AM PRO P Bass(white, tort, rosewood) for a 2019 EBMM SR4 Special(dropped copper/roasted maple), a 2007 EBMM Sterling 4 HH arrived Saturday, a' 97 Sterling 4 H Honeyburst should arrive by Friday, and about an hour ago, I pulled the trigger on the most expensive bass guitar I've ever bought, a mint 2008 EBMM Sterling 5, HH. I'm not bragging This is a cry for help. I am kidding. I will keep the ones that I bond with, sit on one or two to flip.. 5 or so years, and sell some of them soon and break even. I can already tell the 18 volt, 2019 SR Special isn't my thing. OTOH, I played the 07 Sterling HH for 2 hours right outta the case. Definitely a keeper. If you suddenly see a lot of EBMM basses for sale from me, it would be to get a stock 69 Jazz Bass (unlikely).

 

[Deleted member 346364]

I wouldn’t say I have cured GAS as I browse often, but the dopamine rush I seek isn’t in gear like it was in the past.

Tbh I used to buy gear because I was dissatisfied with my life. I was gigging and paying my bills solely with music, but I was miserable so I figured it was the next bass, next pedal, next whatever that was going to make me not hate my existence. Now, I have no gigs, one bass, a couple pedals and I still wouldn’t mind having lots of gear again, but music isn’t my identifier anymore, so it makes it easier to not give in to the GAS. Sorry to bring the mood down, but for me GAS was a coping mechanism for something non gear related.

I'm with you. When my GAS-phase was the worst, so was my mind. I'm prone to depression and was in day-hospital for some time. During that time I used to buy basses and sell them for a loss on a monthly basis. I was never satisfied with what I had.
Eventually, I learned a lot about myself, met my now-fiancé, adopted a stray dog from Romania and now I'm just happy all-around. I still like looking at other people's basses, but I don't feel like I need to have them (the basses) anymore.

 

[DJ Bebop]

There are significant differences in basses in my collection. A LeCompte with Dark Stars, a Starfire with Bisonics... sound very different due to the construction. My 2 Acinonyx short scales are a completely other thing. The 4 of those has made everything else expendable... key is the 4 are very distinctly different. Starfire is semis hollow, Lecompte is chambered. Acinonyx 1 is EADG. #2 is BEAD... I have around 10 basses on the block due to this quartet.

.................Dark Star

 

[bassobrutto]

If you really want to play jazz, get an upright. Commit to learning it properly--enough to keep you going for a small lifetime. Then commit to learning how to play jazz on it--enough for another small lifetime. Then more people will want to play jazz with you, in all likelihood. And by that point, electric basses will just seem like gaudily colored planks of wood with a few magnets nailed onto them (except for cool ones like the Hofners, Starfires, and EB-2's, of course).​

 

[bobba66]

I want to buy a boat.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I have undergone a transformation over the last six years. I decided to study music, and over time, I have found that actually playing music at my church has become truly fulfilling. As an old man, I have learned how to serve the song and support the choir.

Generally, I have found that actually doing stuff is more fun than worrying about buying gear for doing stuff. A few weeks ago, I was looking at a wonderful motorcycle a former boss bought after retirement and he loves it. I checked one out and it is awesome, but when I thought paying a multi year note on that bike after my retirement, I lost interest pretty fast.

There is joy in doing it with what you already have.

 

[Hypercaffium]

Yes, it's called "practice".
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.